Could ya'll make the member stores easier to find????

Nope. Definately no shortcuts to it, but very few companies actively pursue the opportunities to make it, and there is really only one way to pursue it effectively and by the rules.

Simply: Take good care of your customers, and after the transaction is over, send a Thank You note, and ask for feedback at the link provided. This also helps make me aware of any unmentioned problems that may occur in shipping, or a goof on our end. Overall it works very well, but expect about a 2% response rate from your requests.

Terry,

I was quite entertained by Growquests recent followup comments. I'm not sure if it helped or hurt them further..

Chris

Lol. I remember reading posts from a company on the watchdog a while ago where the only positives they had were from themselves. They didn't even try to make them sound different, each was written and spaced the exact same way.

Of course the ever watchful administrators caught it and posted a note.

That was the one I mentioned, Skipper. They've posted numerous rebuttals now, that I'm not sure if they help or hurt.

Chris

edited because my typing was horrendous


This message was edited Nov 15, 2004 8:05 PM

I guess I must have missed that last sentence.

Well, not to tell tales out of school, but CaptMicha might have seen another one...sadly there are a handful of companies we've had to post disclaimers for.

Shoot.

I've missed others? Some of them make for a truly fun read.

If only the time spent researching, analyzing and putting together the evidence against them was "fun" ;o)

Thanks everyone for the info. Now if we can just finish covering our houses for the winter we can begin work on our database for uploading and open our Scif store.

Chris, what are the banner ads, and where do I find them?

Under the tabs at the top, towards the right hand side, you'll see a link that says "advertise". Click on that, and it will give you all of the info. If you need someone to design them for you, I have a lady in Russia that does wonderfull work, very inexpensively. She did 7 banners for me for about $140.00.

Here is an example of one. http://davesgarden.com/pics/BuriedTreasures-genericBanner.gif/

The banners created for here, are also the same size as the ones that can be used for google and overture (yahoo). It's all pay per click advertising, so it's easy to see what works and what doesn't.

Chris

Chris, I must be missing something. I looked for the 'Advertise' link but couldn't find it??

Wow, after reading many entries, I still am not sure how to find the stores! I have a business and a website (landscape designing) can I advertise on this site or set up a link somewhere?

Would like more information...not try to promote right now.

Thanks

Look right under the "Garden Bookworm" tabe. The word advertise is there. Click on that, and it will give you all of the info.

For the stores, click on the "Home" tab, and look at the menu right under it. You'll find "Extras". Click on that, and "DG Members Stores", is the last link before "Some files from our members".

Chris

see screenshot for help finding it.

Thanks for the quick help, but may forums tab does not show advertising like the screenshot above! What am I doing wrong? Could it be because I customized the home page? If so, how do I go back to the original home page?

Look at the top of this thread. There's a tab for "Advertise" up there.

Here is a direct link: http://davesgarden.com/advertise/

dave

There is no Advertise at the top of this thread, there is a double line / / between the words subscription and mail though.

Dave, your link is missing.

Secludedgardens, it's in the blue bar just below the tabs at the top of mine. Wonder why you don't see it? What browser are you using?

Secludedgardens, if the menu link is missing, and even the link in my post, then you have a real problem.

either you have a virus, or you have installed some software that is hiding links with certain keywords in them. The word "advertise" is in that link so likely you have some software that is hiding it from you.

(Maybe you won't even see this post since it mentions ads!)

Dave

I do have an internet securtiy software program and high filtering system...any suggestions on how to correct this so I can see everything on the site?

You'd need to consult the documentation that came with that product, so find out why it is blocking access to certain features of the website.

You might also have some success posting over at the Computer Talk forum here - perchance someone else has experience with the product that you are using.

best,
dave

Thought I was the only 'blind' one here - my computer's the same, can't see the advertising tab nor the link you posted dave. Does this mean there might be advertising banners that I'm currently seeing as well? Guess I'll check in with Computer Talk to find out how to resolve this problem.

Wow, glad to hear that someone else is in the same boat...I was beginning to feel like an idiot! Will you let me know how and if you get this issue resolved.

I thought one of the benefits of subscribing is that ad banners are suppressed. (ref to rcn post 11/16 4:27 AM)

As a subscriber, you have the "option" to suppress the ad banners, or see them. Non-subscribers don't get that options.

But suppressing them means you won't get to see all of the pretty ones I had done for the 2005 season. :-)

Chris

PvillePlanter, have you ever seen an ad on this site? I checked your account and your advertisement preferences is disabled (that's the default and it means you'll never seen the ads).

Dave

Dave,
No I haven't since I've become a subscriber. That was my point.

Anyone know how we can get info about advertising when we can't see the link?

If you can't see this link: http://davesgarden.com/advertise/

Try removing the extra spaces in this URL: http:// davesgarden.com /a dvertise/

This message was edited Nov 18, 2004 2:26 PM

That worked Terry, thanks so much!!!

I've posted for help in computer talk and hoping to resolve this problem. Went to my preferences and enabled advertisements as I've never seen any banner ads since subscribing in September. Tried what Terry suggested above and that didn't work either. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Heading for Florida this morning so won't be back until after Thanksgiving but will be checking in as soon as I get back to catch up.

WOW, This thread has gotten long and off the whole point I was trying to make!
I got the impression that the Sicf Stores were created to help small and medium businesses attract customers from DG, not that banner ads are a bad idea for larger companies.....
I simply think that smalll businesses would get more exposure if there were a separate tab at the top of the forum pages, say for example it showed up between 'Advertise' and 'Mail'.
It seems to me if these stores were easier to find DG would make more comission and the stores would make a little more money. Gemila has never made a sale from her store.....
Here's part of what the FAQ says:


Welcome to ScifStore
ScifStore is a service provided by StandardOut.com, offering e-Commerce capabilities to small and medium-sized companies.



As a store owner, you want to sell products via the web, but you do not want to spend a lot of time or money in getting setup. Further, you may not even know where to start. This is the reason for Scif Store's existence.

Main Features:

Setup your storefront through easy wizards and forms, and never have to learn HTML or other programming.

Create a fully-enabled catalog system and cart ordering system.

Instantly accept payments by Check, Money Order, or PayPal.

Your fees on ScifStore will be on a commission-basis. This means that you only have to pay for our service if you are actually selling products. There are no startup costs, so there is zero risk.

Powerful catalog tools, including CheckPoints, Free Forms, nested categories, pictures galore, and much much more!


This sounds like my kind of set up.... easy.... as I am not skilled on computers at all. I would rather make DG a few bucks rather than E-bay.....

Both Scif and eBay provide user friendly set up. The difference is that eBay is specifically in business to provide a front end to drive the market which is an intense and expensive function.

To wit (from the Scif FAQ) "How is the store advertised? Will you be bringing customers to my store?
Scif Store isn't intended to be an advertising medium, but rather a catalog/cart system used for companies who want to sell products. Our idea is that some company or person has a website where they showcase some of their products, and then they link to their catalog on the Scif Store when it is time to get the people to purchase the stuff. In this way, you don't have to program a cart system, that's all taken care of. Currently we link to the stores from the Dave's Garden website, and we have a "Store Showcase" linked from scifstore.com, so that passers-by can find the list of stores. On top of that, we don't have any other marketing plans at the moment."

I have had a scif store for several months and have done pretty well with it - the plus is there is no front end set up fee like Ebay has so if you don't sell anything, it doesn't cost you anything. I think that I did better, however, when the link to the stores was right on everyone's home page rather than buried in the 'extra's' section. If it was meant to be separate from Dave's Garden, then why are they called 'member stores'? I think that it would be to everyone's benefit (buyers and sellers) to have them where folks can find them more easily. In fact, I may have never even KNOWN about member stores to set one up if it hadn't been right there on the home page and I was just nosy and started looking around there. I'm sure that's true for many people - so it may even be better for Dave and StandardOut to have the stores where more people can find them, know they exist and what a great deal they are and set one up for themselves!

I understand that Standardout isn't in business to market for me, but surely they are in business to market for themselves . . . .. and the more stores they have and the more business each store does, the better Standardout does - and changing where the link is on the web site doesn't cost any extra (other than the original change in programming) - so why not make it more prominent?

Just my two cents .. .

Onalee

I know I easily forget about the member stores. When I decide to buy something, I don't look just because I don't remember.

I would have to say I agree with Onalee, (whom I might add has a WONDERFUL SELECTION :) I too, liked it better the old way, but that is just my opinion
~Laurrie

I found the stores and looked at many of them. Such a high percent of the stores are not operational or had no inventory. This probably discourages many people from shopping or even looking at the stores. Too time consuming to find the quality stores that are there.

Perhaps stores that are not operational or don't have any inventory need to be taken off the list until they do have inventory or moved to the bottom of the list or something? Why would someone mark their store as 'live' if it had no inventory? That is definately hurting those of us that do have inventory and are operational.

I also think that some way to search the stores would be very helpful - I don't know if that is possible, but a way for someone to type in 'Four O'clock Seeds' (or whatever) and get a list of all the stores that sell Four O'Clock Seeds would be very nice. Like I said, I don't know if that is even possible or something that Standardout would want to get into as it may compete with the 'PlantScout' program.

Onalee

Onalee- I agree, if stores are empty they should at the minimum be at the bottom of the list, perhaps even on a different link. After veiewing the stores, I wonder if any of the stores get much business.

I'm guilty of not keeping any inventory in my store since I started moving in February. Now I don't even remember how to make changes, LOL. )I have contacted Dave, though.)