Published on April 11, 2009 by steve in TM Auctions
Along with a host of tweaks to improve the accuracy of search results, TM Auctions search pages now suggest categories based on the entered keywords.
This is a great way to get buyers looking in the right section right off the bat. Click on the image below for an enlarged version.
Published on April 7, 2009 by steve in News
“More than 13 million Australians have access to the internet, and online consumer sales are expected to grow by some 24 per cent annually with predictions of over $30 billion in 2011.”
This article quotes some research indicating that online shopping is set to grow exponentially over the next few years - the indications for Australia at least are that age and location are proving no barrier to purchasing online – what a good time to start up your own e-commerce auction site!
Published on April 3, 2009 by steve in TM Auctions
This post in the first in a series of tips we will be publishing to give web auction site owners and auctioneers some pointers to making their auction site a success. Whether you use our web auction software TM Auctions or another web auction platform, the first hurdle is always engaging your buying audience.
No Reserve auctions, particularly $1 No Reserve auctions are a simple concept – the auction has a pre-determined minimum bid, and any bid matching or exceeding that minimum bid will result in a sale. So if you start an auction with a minimum bid of $1, and only one bid is placed, the item will sell for $1.
You might think this is a huge risk on the part of the seller, but its much more of a calculated risk. Obviously you should avoid listing something you think you would lose money on. So does that mean you should list junk items in the hope of gaining some feedback/reputation? No!
In fact the No Reserve $1 category should contain only quality items. Just take a look at the items listed in this $1 No Reserve category. Any day of the week, we can confidently say that the more expensive looking items will attract the most bids – whereas the cheap stuff is probably rotating without a single bid.
Not only do quality no reserve auctions receive the most bids and deliver the most profit to the seller, but they increase the site’s popularity. If you put on your buying hat, would you be comfortable bidding $1 or $100 on your very first bid? Buyers will often test the waters in no reserve, and quickly gain confidence with the system and with the sellers.
See also our article on Reserve Auctions.
Published on April 2, 2009 by steve in Web Design, Web Development
If you have never picked up a hammer, would you build your own house?
Having worked in the web industry for the last 5 years or so, I always get a laugh at the DIY website building crowd – that is, people who have no real experience or knowledge in web design, development and web marketing.
I don’t know about you but I would love to have a dollar for every time I have heard “my cousin John can build websites”.
Sure there are dozens of tools that are designed to empower non-technical people into being able to publish their own content – in fact that is the aim of my online auction software and other excellent systems like Wordpress. So I don’t mean to create a barrier to entry that non-technical people cannot contribute and thrive online – just don’t try and build the system!
For those who think that they can produce something adequate based on their desktop publishing skills alone (such as Word, Powerpoint) – please consider that the web industry is easily as involved as any other profession, and only true experience can produce results.
In fact I would argue it is more involved that many professions, based on the rate of change, and the vast array of technologies to grasp.
Here is a simple test – if you don’t know the meaning of any term on this list, don’t build a professional website:
Believe me, this is the tip of the iceberg – the list will double in size as soon as you want a functional website.
Give your business / idea a real shot at success by employing the services of a web professional.
Published on March 24, 2009 by steve in TM Auctions
You’ve probably already heard the famous quote by Benjamin Franklin:
“The only things certain in life are death and taxes”
On this bombshell, we decided we better introduce some taxation controls into our web auction software, TM Auctions. From the seller settings page, sellers can now choose whether to apply tax to buyers in the same country, and enter the applicable percentage rate. The tax component will then be added onto the order value.
This new feature will work nicely with the vast majority of international taxation systems such as VAT and GST.
Published on March 18, 2009 by steve in TM Auctions
TM Auctions now supports bulk shipping discounts that can be set by the seller.
The discounts can be set either on the order quantity or order total. In other words, if the order total is greater than $x, the seller can have a fixed shipping cost of $y - OR - if the number of items in the order is greater than x items, the shipping cost can be fixed to $y.
This is a big advantage particularly for high volume sellers who wish to offer their loyal customers a shipping incentive.
Published on March 17, 2009 by steve in TM Auctions
Thomas Multimedia is pleased to announce the official launch of our web auction software, TM Auctions.
Why did I build TM Auctions? Because their is an abysmal lack of easy to use auction software for every day business. It seems like everyone else is focused on feature on top of feature, slapping on a price tag and mass releasing their software, and leaving it to their customers to figure out the rest.
I thought to myself – why not offer web auction software as a service? What this means is that Thomas Multimedia takes care of the technical aspects – hosting, server maintanence, scaling issues – while the auction site owner can focus on what matters to them, building up an online auction community.
Besides the lack of availability of a true auction website service, I think i’m not alone in thinking online auctions are alot of fun. It’s a win-win for the buyer and seller. The buyer bids only as much as they want to bid, potentially saving big bucks compared to traditional retail buying, while the seller sets a minimum acceptable selling price with the potential for a bidding war and healthy profitibaility from the sale.
Our product is designed with a wealth of auction site production experience to learn from. We figured people really like to use web software that is easy to use and does the things an auction site should do, without bloating the whole process with a million seldom used functions, and buttons left right and center. As well as being able to customize your TM Auctions auction site design however you like, you can also have us customize it in all sorts of ways for you.
Sounds great – but what about the pricing? TM Auctions removes the big barrier to entry by being priced on a monthly basis, starting at just $49 Australian dollars per month with no startup fees.
You get to use a product with thousands of hours of development already in it, a constantly evolving product that grows on user feedback – without paying big bucks up front.
In fact the first 30 days are free!
Read more about our niche web auction software on the official TM Auctions website.
Published on March 17, 2009 by steve in News
Here is a target – at least one blog post per week on the Thomas Multimedia news site starting today, Tuesday 17th March.
Unfortunately our business blog has been gathering cobwebs for a while now, and its really time to keep our customers up-to-date!
Published on May 29, 2008 by steve in Web Development
I would like to address some of the misconceptions about online security. First lets start with some facts.
Sources: Purchasing of Goods and Services via the internet (2006-07) Australian Bureau of Statistics www.abs.gov.au, Visa International, www.ecommercewebsites.com.au
The dangers involved in online payments is generally exaggerated in the popular media and as a result alot of people I talk to are still uncomfortable sharing their credit card details online.
I see the risk break down into two main areas:
The Client Computer
A website and web server can be designed to take all the precautions in the world to protect your sensitive information, but that is only half of the picture. Your personal computer can be infected in ways that can capture your details BEFORE if even reaches the web server. Some general guidelines:
The Website
A website can securely communicate with a visitor. The golden rules to securely transmit data are based on encryption and common sense. For example:
After working and studying in the web development field for a decade, it has become apparent that the internet landscape is not so different from everyday life. There are certainly dangers in dark alleyways, but on the other hand the majority of people are simply enjoying interacting with the wonderful online world.
It is certainly frightening to learn just how much spam and malicious robot activity trawl the internet trying to collect and pry information, but the reality is the success rate is very very low. Unfortunately there are enough insecure websites and insecure personal computers out there to sustain the hacking industry – and that is not going to change.
If some simple rules are followed by both the visitor and the web development team, the potential risk is reduced to virtually nil.
Published on May 4, 2008 by steve in News
Just a quick note to advise that Thomas Multimedia has now reopened for business after business owner Steve Thomas returning from a 5 week holiday in Asia.
Feel free to contact us regarding any of your online requirements.