Do you know that Christmas starts right in June or July? You don’t believe me? Then read below.

The situation is like that: it is the middle of summer in the country (may be the beginning of Autumn). The weather is still warm and everyone enjoys sunshine, barbecues and short nights under the sky full of stars. It would seem that Christmas is the last thing on people’s minds.

Nevertheless, there are certain people who worry and sweat when they hear Christmas mentioned even now. They are Product Manufacturers, Wholesale Suppliers, and Retailers.

Why? Have you ever noticed that at this time of the year almost all the manufacturers introduce their new product lines for the next year. The goods like swimwear are replaced by sweaters and winter-wear on shop counters.

At the same time the celebrations of the holidays are a long way away, but the manufacturers and all the other parties involved into sales get ready for the season. Wholesalers prepare their warehouses for new products that are to come a little later. Retailers start planning advertising campaigns for the new collections and products.

Holidays are coming much faster than you expect, and for the sellers it is even more obvious.

Home-based business is in no way different. If you own an Internet store you have to think about Christmas in June If you don’t want to miss the Holiday Season Sales Blitz.

Keep in mind that up to 40% of all purchases are made during these short two weeks before the December Holiday vacation. This is the time all the sellers look forward to.

Moreover, in some industries over 60% and 70% of products are sold at the given time. The purchases come as Gifts. Gifts for the people who buy them. When they have got some extra cash during the year, they are eager to spend the money on themselves.

The sales of products are not uniform. They sharply rise at the end of each year (read: the time of Christmas) and then fall. But they do not fall to the level that was before Christmas, they stay higher. That means that each year retailers gain more and more money from their clients. Another tendency is the following: up to 75% of online sales are made by the owners of Internet stores who do not have their own warehouses (like you and me). And that sounds great!

Moreover, the area is growing rapidly, at the moment up to 40% of all Internet users already purchase products online.

To sum up, note the following facts:

1. Internet sales are growing fast
2. Up to 40% of purchases are made during the Holiday Season
3. Start getting ready for the season long before it comes so that when it comes you are ready to deliver first-rate goods and services to your customers

Let’s consider such an issue as FREE Shipping. Sooner or later each seller faces this phenomenon. It is not a phenomenon, actually, just one of the sides of the transportation and delivery “coin.” You would think (I mean that you think like a seller) that if you write “FREE shipping” on your web-page, dozens of new customers will immediately come there and buy more goods thus making you a millionaire.

Well, to some extent it is correct. Each visitor is looking to buy items at the lowest prices imaginable. If he sees the motto “FREE shipping” he thinks that the purchase will deprive him of less money. But what does the customer do next? Customers are not blind, dumb or lazy. They will most definitely check the competitors! They are likely to look for different variants and find the cheapest or the most convenient for them. What really matter is the FINAL cost of the product, but not the offer to ship the item for free.

So, let’s find out whether your price will be the lowest. If the customer doesn’t pay for shipping, then someone else has to. And who can possibly be this someone? I don’t see any other answer but the SELLER, which in this case is personified by YOU. So if there is Free shipping, you pay for it and thus you include the cost of shipping into the price of the product! What does it lead to?

Believe me, sooner of later the customer will find out that the price of your product is higher than that of your competitor and do you really think that he will buy your product only because you ship it for free? In fact he can, but in reality it turns out that customers buy the product from the place they checks the last.

And now let’s trace the sequence of his visits. If the customer sees that you deliver products to his porch absolutely free, he goes to your site first. Then he wants to check prices and goes to your competitors’ sites. He realizes that the cost is the same, but at the moment he is on the site of one of your competitors, so he buys the product from it. Not a good thing to hear, isn’t it?

So instead of wasting time and effort on some vague scheme of attracting customers, try to focus on finding good and reliable product suppliers and creating a fast and user-oriented web-page with good customer service.

Sometimes backorders happen when you deal with selling products over the Internet. So let’s find out the major peculiarities and possible ways of solving problem issues with backorders.

In fact, what is a backorder? Fancy the situation. You place some product on your Internet store and a customer comes there and orders the product. You get quite happy that the product has been ordered and immediately charge the money from the client’s credit card. But then you contact your product supplier and realize that the ordered product is out of stock (for various reasons). This is the situation. You have to contact the client and inform him/her that the delivery of the product has to be delayed or cancelled. How you behave in a situation like this can show your mastery in the home-base business.

The major problem is the reaction of the customer to the backorder. A great number of clients understand that delays and cancellations sometimes happen due to objective reasons. These clients are pleasant to deal with. But not all the clients are that sympathetic. Some of them can be called “problem customers.” And your skills to avoid a conflict situation with this kind of customers speaks volumes about your trading skills.

There are a basic thing about Internet customers:

Internet clients are very impatient: they want everything and immediately.

• This is the reason why you have to handle any backorder situation as soon as possible. Never wait until tomorrow. Call the customer or send an e-mail (calls are preferable).If you have a slightest suspicion that the ordered product can be out of stock, check the situation with your supplier before charging the credit card of the client. Of course, you can always refund, but it is much easier to learn the product situation beforehand.
• When you contact the client, always offer to cancel the deal. From this point there can be two possible ways of the development of the situation. The client can either cancel the deal or agree to wait until the product is in stock. So when you mention the cancellation of the deal it gives you a competitive edge in the negotiations with the client.
• Try to be nice to the client. Send emails and call. Make the customer understand that you think about him/her.
• Never lose your temper. It will lead to nothing positive. You will definitely lose one client or even more. One client can recommend your high-quality service to his friends, colleagues etc. So think, do you really want to lose your money?
• When the situation is handled and the product is shipped to the customer, don’t be lazy to write the final email. This will, once again, show that you think about your client!