Features and Fixes: April 2007

Another month of solid progress all around. Here is an update of what we've been working on...


PayLoadz Store
Store Image Upload - A long overdue feature that allows sellers to upload images for their product listings in our Store and in the PayLoadz eBay Store. This increases sales for sellers as products with images outsell products without images by several times.

Require Category and Subcategory When Listing - Small issue that the system would not require both a category and subcategory when listing their product in the store. This would cause the item to not be displayed in searches. Proper listing of items ensures the customers find what they are looking for.


PayLoadz Site
Sales Statistics Charts - The Sales Statistics page has been expanded to host a few other types of stats for our sellers including product performance and history for the past year. Also added some flash based graphs and charts so the sellers can get a visual representation of their performance. Going to expand this functionality. If anyone has any suggestions on what data would be helpful, please add a comment. Providing more information on sales data increases the seller's ability to know what is working and what isn't.

Success Message After New Product - Simple success message after listing an item and link to create another product. Saves two unnecessary clicks. By increasing the ease for sellers to list items in the store, more inventory is created and therefore, more potential for sales.

Enhanced Listings Status - If the seller has an Enhanced Listings Balance, they can choose to enable or disable the Enhanced Listing for the individual product directly on the detail page. Previously, all items in the seller's account were set to "On". By providing the seller with the ability to get preferred placement for their items, they have a better chance of making sales.

Restore Account Access - If a seller exceeds their account limit for an extend period of time and does not upgrade after receiving several warnings, the account is placed offline. Now, when the sales volume drops below the limit, the account access is restore automatically. Permanently removing account access does neither the seller, nor PayLoadz, any good. Showing them the value of the system will increase the chances of them paying for the service.

Email Notifications Email Address - Updated all email communication from our system to be from one of two email addresses, sales or support at PayLoadz.

Code Generation Page - A centralized code generation area for all products a seller has in our system. Can customize the type of code and purchase buttons to be displayed. Very useful. Making it easier for sellers to get selling code means more sales buttons on the net. More buttons increases the chances for sales.

Registration System XML Bug - Sellers requiring registration keys pulled from a web-based script were required to provide a specif XML result to our system. It required the nodes to be present for multiple keys even if only one key was needed. This requirement has been removed.
Direct Link to Subscription Modification Alert Email - Transaction Limit emails now include a direct customized subscription modification link that allows the seller to modify their PayLoadz subscription to the correct level without logging into their PayLoadz account.

Sort by Columns - Sales and Product Histories both allow the seller to sort items by categories. Providing data easily and clearly to the seller reduces stress and frustration.

User-Defined and System Keywords - Sellers can specify a set of related keywords for their products in the Store listings in addition to the ones generated by the system itself. This should increase the effectiveness of our product placements. By providing more relevant keywords, correct products will be presented to potential customers thereby increasing sales.

In-line HTML Editor - A rich HTML editor has been added to product setup to allow sellers to create better looking and more informative product descriptions for their products. We store the HTML and also store a plain text copy version of the product description for our own use. Being able to present product information more clearly increases sales conversions for our sellers.

Contextual Help System - Depending on which page is being viewed, relevant help for that page will be displayed to the seller. Enabling the seller to get help for the system decreases support time and frustration when using the system.


PayLoadz Syndication
Multiple Ad Formats and Customized Appearance - Affiliates who take advantage of our Affiliate Syndication System can now chose from a variety of ad formats. The ad formats can also be modified in terms of font, color, sizing, etc. These changes should help to increase the number of installations. Increasing the installations of the system, means happier affiliates and more sales for the seller.


PayLoadz eBay Store
Auction Format Bug - A small bug was affecting the format of the auction listings. This has been fixed.

Auction Admin Approval - New sellers were previously not allowed to sell on the PayLoadz eBay Store. We now have the ability to approve individual products via an administration page. More inventory in the store means more potential for sales.

Enable eBay Listing on Product Setup Page - Sellers can now list their item in the PayLoadz eBay Store without having to go through a separate process. All listing duties are done via the Product Setup page. Making it as easy as possible to list in the store means more inventory and a greater potential for sales.

That is all for now. Please feel free to send any suggestions our way...

Shannon