Welcome to the November issue of the Andale Tradesman. This month we'll tell you how to use Andale Coupons to generate repeat sales and how to handle additional sales outside of auctions with Andale Checkout. There are also tips on how to encourage repeat sales from your holiday buyers, and an Andale holiday special offer to save you money.

In This Issue

Andale's New Coupon Feature is a Repeat Sale Machine! Andale Advanced—Handling and Creating Additional Sales Ensure Your Holiday Buyers Become Repeat Customers Andale Special Offer

Andale's New Coupon Feature is a Repeat Sale Machine!

In October, Andale introduced a great new Checkout feature: the capability to offer coupons to customers for discounts on future sales. This feature, available at no additional cost, has become very popular among Checkout users as a great way to encourage buyers to become repeat customers. How do I use coupons? You can send coupons either automatically or manually. If you want to sent coupons manually, create them under Auction Tools>Checkout>Manage Coupons. After you click the "Create New Coupon" button, simply enter the coupon value and conditions and send to your prospective buyer. You can also create a coupon and save it to send later to anyone you choose. To automate the process, create your preferences under Checkout>Settings>Shopping Cart Rules. This will send a coupon automatically to each buyer who fits your criteria. You can choose the discount amount or percentage, and how long the coupon is valid. You can customize coupons with your own text and layout by using settings located under Checkout>Settings>Customize Emails. Once you have begun creating and sending coupons, Andale will display all the coupon information in a dashboard form. You can sort by Sent Coupons, Used Coupons, or Expired Coupons. Getting the most out of coupons Here are a few tips for getting the most out of your Andale Checkout Coupons: Use automatic coupons. This saves a lot of time and the parameters can be adjusted to fit your business. For example, send coupons only to buyers who have spent less than $10.00, but limit the coupon to future purchases over $10.00. Customize your coupons. Change the coupon's message to reflect your business and your objectives. Send a coupon to yourself by creating a manual coupon and repeat until your coupon is exactly the way you want it. Make sure you choose when to send the coupon. Do you want to send it when the buyer has paid for their last purchase? Or when the item is paid for and shipped? If you are a quick shipper or close the shopping cart at the time of the sale, you can send the coupon when the item is paid. This ensures that your buyer won't attempt to add a coupon to their existing shopping cart. Remember, discount coupons are for future purchases, not the existing shopping cart!

Andale Advanced—Handling and Creating Additional Sales

We've all had it happen: a buyer asks, "Do you have more of this item?" or, "I noticed that an item ended with no bids. I would like it." With Andale Checkout, you can create a new order, or add to an existing order, without having to make any inventory adjustments. To create a new order: from the Pending Sales page, select New Order, enter the item and attach a checkout profile. Then enter the buyer's name and email, the inventory (or create the inventory on-the-fly), enter pricing information and choose the notifications you wish to send to the buyer. This process allows you to create a new order and maintain your inventory. To add to an existing order: from the Pending Sales page, select the order number. This displays the pending sales details page for that buyer. Select "Add New Sale to This Order," and proceed as above. This process allows you to create new sales that are outside the normal Andale Checkout process: you can take orders by phone, by email, or in person and maintain correct inventory. One additional avenue you can use to create additional sales is Checkout Anywhere. Using Checkout Anywhere, you can generate a checkout button for your email, your Website or anywhere you have an item for sale. This follows a similar process to creating a new order, or adding to an existing order, except instead of adding buyer name and email, Andale creates the HTML for a checkout button. Using these features of Andale Checkout, you can generate new sales and, more importantly, stay organized while making more money!

Ensure Your Holiday Buyers Become Repeat Customers

You've worked hard to get more sales this holiday season. Here are a few tips that can help keep those customers coming back: Include an Andale Gallery in your end-of-auction email. A customer who has just bought from you is a likely candidate to buy more, if they know what you have available for sale. Create an Andale Checkout coupon for a future purchase discount, and email it to your buyer. You can give it a 30-day or 60-day expiration date to motivate the customer to buy now. Enclose a signed or initialed thank-you note with the order. Even if it's a photocopy, something that says "we appreciate your business" goes a long way toward making a buyer happy to be your customer. To really make your note stand out, put a favorite saying or recipe on it, increasing the chances a customer will keep it and remember you. Enclose a copy of your Andale Checkout invoice with the order. It will remind the customer of what they've bought, and from whom. It will also demonstrate that you are a serious, organized seller. For a significant purchase, consider enclosing a small trinket as a thank-you gift. A pen or keychain with your company name or logo will surprise and delight your customer.

Andale Special Offer

Andale Holiday Special: Five great Andale tools (Lister, Checkout, Images, Gallery, and Counters) plus free Premium Phone Support through the end of the year. Just $24.95/month through the end of 2006.