Amazon

Speak Softly But Carry a Big Diecast Stick

Ever since we started accepting AmazonPay a couple of years ago, we’ve realized that Amazon has become one of the more progressive voices in the world of e-commerce. Now they are literally as well as figuratively looking to put their money where their mouth is. This year, Amazon plans to roll out voice communications and specialized vocal commands for prospective customers interested in placing orders with select merchants. So, instead of having to enter loads of information by hand or over the phone, shoppers will be able to use their Alexa-enabled devices to check on their existing orders as well as place new orders at any time of day or night. This will no doubt simplify the order-taking process and should make things easier for those shoppers that may not speak English as their primary language.

Next week, we will be attending an Amazon-hosted webinar that seeks to spell out the process in detail and hopefully provide dates as to when the system will be rolled out to merchants and customers alike. Once we feel confident that it is working as advertised, we will provide further details and go from there. Start testing your vocal chords!

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Third Party Payment Options

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We recently resolved a problem we encountered accepting payments through Amazon (Checkout with Amazon) so all systems are green for go this holiday season. Likewise, PayPal has been operating smoothly of late, although payment notifications were slow to be sent out this past weekend as the Company worked to resolve some latency issues they were facing as well as a Distributed Denial of Service attack (DDOS) by a malfeasant operator yet to be identified.

The benefits of using either payment method in lieu of a credit card to complete an online transaction are clear cut. First, neither company provides the merchant with the customer’s credit card or banking information and instead stores it through their own secure and encrypted payment system. So, there is no need for the merchant to contact the customer and review their billing information with them should an order need to be processed outside the customary 30-day payment window. Likewise, there is no need for the merchant to require that the billing and shipping address match, since both payment systems provide the merchant with payment protection in case the situation warrants. The downside is that the customer is remitting funds to the merchant ahead of the transaction being completed. Ordinarily, this isn’t a problem if the item(s) in question on the order are all in stock and can be shipped out immediately. It can cause some consternation for the customer if the order cannot be shipped out for whatever reason (the order contains either back ordered or pre-ordered merchandise), so it can appear as if the merchant has accepted the funds without showing anything for it. Please keep all of this in mind when determining which payment option you wish to use when placing an online order.

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The Motor Pool's Amazon Store Launch

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As part of our strategy to expand our online presence, we’ve recently christened our brand new Amazon affiliate store dubbed The Motor Pool Diecast (go figure, someone already took The Motor Pool). Presently, we’re still working out some of the technical issues that come with new technology and unfamiliar selling techniques, so the store is bare bones and due for a facelift shortly. Still, we wanted to make sure that we offered our complete product portfolio to Amazon’s huge and increasingly more important crowd and provide them with the very same service we currently offer to shoppers that frequent our regular store as well as our ebay and Facebook satellite stores. Look for further information regarding this new venture in the days and weeks to come.

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The Motor Pool’s Amazon Store Launch

amazon-logo

As part of our strategy to expand our online presence, we’ve recently christened our brand new Amazon affiliate store dubbed The Motor Pool Diecast (go figure, someone already took The Motor Pool). Presently, we’re still working out some of the technical issues that come with new technology and unfamiliar selling techniques, so the store is bare bones and due for a facelift shortly. Still, we wanted to make sure that we offered our complete product portfolio to Amazon’s huge and increasingly more important crowd and provide them with the very same service we currently offer to shoppers that frequent our regular store as well as our ebay and Facebook satellite stores. Look for further information regarding this new venture in the days and weeks to come.

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