Why offer MyStoreCredit to your buyers?

MyStoreCredit provides a powerful way for you -- a seller -- to thank your buyer for their business and invite them back to buy again.

As a MyStoreCredit seller, at the end of each of your eBay sales, we will automatically establish a store credit amount for each of your buyers.  They can only use this store credit amount when they return to buy from you again. You set the store credit amount based on how much the buyer originally spent with you in the first transaction.  For example, if they pay $10.00 for the first item, you can offer $1.00 in store credit when they purchase a second item from you.

More importantly – we help you DRIVE that second purchase.

If your buyer opt’s-in with us and accepts the offered store credit, we automatically send them a periodic update email for one year.  This periodic update emails shows them your current eBay listings – the same listings where your buyer can use their store credit.

That’s our simple formula: we help you thank every buyer, we help you create a reason for them to buy from you again and then we send them update emails showing what else you are selling in the following 12 months so they may continue to buy from you!

MyStoreCredit does all this automatically.  We will establish and administer your store credits for you.  We will also get the buyer’s opt-in permission and we promote your listings through the email reminders we automatically create. All this at an incredibly low price to you (just $29.95 a year!). And all without taking up your time.
 

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How does MyStoreCredit work?

If you know how to insert a picture on your eBay listings and answer email you can use MyStoreCredit.  After you register with us and set your own store credit offer, we will send you two lines of HTML code.   You place the HTML code on your listing and it calls an image from our servers to your eBay listings.  This image file tells your buyers all about your MyStoreCredit bonus store credit program.

Once you post the HTML image, your MyStoreCredit system does everything else.  It will automatically check your closed auctions and BIN sales and create a MyStoreCredit record based on the store credit offer you made in your listing.  The MyStoreCredit system will also send your buyer (with a cc: to your email account) a verification email showing their store credit amount.
The MyStoreCredit system will requests the buyer’s acceptance of the terms and will ask for the buyer’s opt-in permission to send them update emails showing future listings where they can use any MyStoreCredit.  Next, when the buyer accepts the terms and opts-in, the system sends them reminder emails showing them their open store credit and your then active eBay listings where they can use their store credit.  From the update emails, buyers can click right to your other eBay listings to buy from you again just as they normally would.

We manage the system so it will continually monitor your eBay sales for one year.  When a buyer returns and makes a second purchase with you, we automatically notify you by email so you can apply the buyers open store credit to the second sale as you choose.

With MyStoreCredit you set it up once and you can run it on all your listings.  We will notify you whenever you need to do something.  It’s simple, direct and easy.
 

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What does MyStoreCredit cost?

MyStoreCredit only costs $29.95 per year per seller ID.  That’s it -- $29.95 for one year!  For that fee, we will track all your sales, create bonus store credit records for each of your sellers and send buyers who opt-in a periodic update email showing them up to 12 of your then active listings – the same listings where they can use their store credit. Also, we will insert your MyStoreCredit Image for you for up to 7,500 of your eBay listings. If you go list over 7,500 items, we charge an additional $29.95 for each additional 7,500 listings (store and auction listings).

Yes:  We will send up to 12 of your then current listings periodically for a year to your opted-in buyer.

All FREE with your $29.95 annual fee!

Optional Exclusive Email Service:

We subsidize our FREE email service with advertisements that we place at the bottom of each periodic email.  However, we provide another email option to sellers who would like to sponsor their own exclusive emails.  The exclusive email includes as many as 60 of a seller’s then current listings.  No other seller listings are included with an exclusive email.  This exclusive email option is available to sellers for the same $29.95 annual fee plus $0.04 per opted-in buyer who receives these exclusive emails. We will bill sellers for the exclusive email fees based on their monthly volumes.

For more information about the exclusive email option, click the question mark to the left.

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How do I give buyers their store credit after their second sale?

Buyers are entitled to their store credit only when they satisfy two requirements:

• They have accepted the MyStoreCredit terms and opted-in to receive MyStoreCredit update emails; and,
• They must return to complete a second purchase with you of more than $10.00 (or 10.00 in your currency).

When these two conditions are met, you are obligated to apply the buyer’s open store credit after they make a second purchase with you. You can apply the store credit using your choice of two fulfillment methods. We need to know your option so we can tell your buyer how they can expect the store credit to be applied.

You will be asked to choose your fulfillment method during your MyStoreCredit registration and you can change that fulfillment choice at any time.

(1) The first, easiest and most popular method to give store credit to your buyer is via a Paypal payment or Paypal refund for the open store credit amount. The vast majority of our sellers choose this option. It provides you with the simplest method and if your buyer pays with Paypal, you can refund the store credit amount without your buyer incurring fees.

(2) The second method you can choose is to issue your buyer a rebate check for the MyStoreCredit amount and include that check when you ship your product to the buyer.

Bottom line: It is your responsibility to ensure your buyer gets their open store credit amount when they make a repeat purchase with you but MyStoreCredit will always tell you when to apply it. MyStoreCredit will notify you by sending you a confirmation email after the repeat sale.
 

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What about store credit that is never used?

When you extend a MyStoreCredit bonus offer we ensure that your listing clearly states that any store credit becomes available only 1) after the buyer accepts the MyStoreCredit terms and opts-in to receive email from MyStoreCredit; and 2) after they close a second transaction with you of more than $10.00 (or 10.00 in your chosen currency) before their store credit expires in 12 months.

If the buyer has opted-in but fails to make the second purchase within that expiration date, the store credit becomes void and the seller has no further obligation to the buyer. We refer to this as unearned or expired store credit. Our system will automatically cancel unearned/expired store credits after 12 months. If the buyer never opts-in to MyStoreCredit, you are not obligated to fulfill their store credit even if they make a second purchase with you.
 

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How does MyStoreCredit affect the fees I pay eBay?

MyStoreCredit operates independently of eBay and every other market platform or auction software service. As such, you are expected to pay whatever fees you agreed to in each service’s user agreements.
 

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How does MyStoreCredit handle NPB events?

If they don’t pay – you don’t pay.  If your winning qualified buyer fails to complete a transaction where you offered a MyStoreCredit bonus – otherwise known as an NPB simply go to your account at MyStoreCredit.com and cancel that buyer’s store credit by marking the NPB field in the buyer’s record.  Once you do that, we will send the buyer an email notifying them that you have canceled the open store credit because they failed to complete the transaction with you. Of course, we do not send NPB buyers periodic update emails and we will credit you any fees if you had been billed for sending any exclusive emails to that NPB buyer.
 

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How do I get started?

Go here to register. Getting started as a seller takes less than ten minutes. During registration you will be asked how much store credit you want to offer with each sale and how you want to fulfill your store credit. You will also complete your billing and contact information.

Once registered, we will send you a confirmation email from MyStoreCredit with HTML code to place on your listings.  The HTML code calls an image file explaining your unique MyStoreCredit offer from our servers.  If you know how to add a picture to your eBay listing, you can use MyStoreCredit. Simply update your eBay selling template once with the HTML code we send you. That’s it. You will get cc: copies of all emails we send to your buyers so you know when we create a store credit for your buyers.

We give all new sellers a 60 day free trial and we will bill you at the end of 60 days. If you wish to continue, simply pay the invoice and you are done. If not, disregard the invoice and we will cancel your service.  Register now!
 

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How should I set the amount of store credit I offer when I use MyStoreCredit?

You set the MyStoreCredit amounts you want to give based on the final value prices the buyer pays (no shipping fees are included in final value prices).  There is a minimum of $1.00 for any qualifying sale regardless of the final value price.

We have created six final value price ranges.  You determine the MyStoreCredit amount you want to offer for each range. We have some suggested reference points for you to consider.

You will complete the table below during your registration.  This table determines the store credit amount we will create for your buyer at the close of every sale.

If the final value price my Buyers pay is between:	I will give my buyers a MyStoreCredit on their next purchase with me, of:	MyStoreCredit suggested High/Low and Midpoints:
$0.00 - 9.99	.  (min $1.00)	Suggested: $1.25
$10.00 - $24.99	.  (min $1.00)	Suggested: $1.75
$25.00 - $44.99	.  (min $1.00)	Suggested: $3.50
$45.00 - $99.99	.  (min $1.00)	Suggested: $7.20
$100.00 - $499.99	.  (min $1.00)	Suggested: $25.00
Over $500.00	.  (min $1.00)	Suggested: $50.00

You can change your MyStoreCredit offer amounts as frequently as you wish by returning to MyStoreCredit and updating your account profile.  MyStoreCredit really is your store credit program. You should test various MyStoreCredit amounts to see what works best for you and your buyers.
 

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Does MyStoreCredit.com work on international eBay sites?

Yes. MyStoreCredit.com works on all international eBay sites. We currently allow sellers to offer store credit in either US dollars ($), Canadian dollars (C$), Great Britain Pounds (GBP), Euros or the Australian dollar (AU$). However, as you can see, our program is currently available only in English. German, French, and Italian versions will be available in 2004 and other languages will follow thereafter.

During sign-up all sellers are first asked to select their country of operation. Later, each seller is also asked to choose the denomination for the store credit they will offer.
 

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Why must I offer a minimum of 1.00 in store credit and why must the buyer make a repeat purchase of at least $10.00?

We have had extensive interviews with buyers regarding MyStoreCredit. They love the idea of receiving a bonus store credit with every sale (even those under $10.00), but they have also made it clear that any store credit amount less than a $1.00 is too low to hold their interest. We refer to dollars, but the same is true for other currencies.

To keep buyers happy, MyStoreCredit has set $1.00 as the minimum store credit amount you can give a buyer. However, we also recognize that many sellers regularly sell items for less than $10.00 and giving a buyer a $1.00 store credit on sales below $10.00 can really hurt a seller’s overall profits.

So, our solution to this problem is to allow a minimum of $1.00 in store credit on all sales but requiring that any repeat purchase must be over $10.00 before a store credit can be used. In discussions with sellers and buyers, this was viewed as the fairest solution for both buyers and sellers.
 

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What are my obligations if I sign-up?

It sounds simple, but the most important obligation you have in our program is the same obligation you have at eBay: be honest. In our program, honesty means you fulfill any open store credits when a buyer returns to make a repeat purchase of at least $10.00 or more within 12 months of their original purchase.

Additionally, you are obligated to ensure our access to your eBay listings. You provide this access by authorizing MyStoreCredit through eBay’s Authentication and Authorization process. We will step you through that authorization process during your sign-up and then again whenever required by eBay.

Finally, to ensure we can properly notify you and your buyer to apply any open store credit to a repeat purchase, we need you to post our MyStoreCredit logo on your selling pages. We provide you this small logo during sign-up. By placing our logo on your pages, we can “see” when your sales close so we can validate if a buyer makes a repeat sale.

If you fail to meet any of these three obligations, we will contact you and ask you to correct the situation. If you fail to do so, you place our reputation and your own in jeopardy and we reserve the right to automatically cancel your MyStoreCredit service.
 

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Does MyStoreCredit apply if a customer uses Buy-It-Now?

Yes. We apply MyStoreCredit whether the purchase was Buy-It-Now (BIN) or through a traditional auction. Whenever we receive an end-of-auction notice from eBay for your ID showing a closed sale, we verify if a MyStoreCredit offer was made in that sale and, if so, we create a store credit record for that buyer based on the total final value price in that end-of-auction email. 
 

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Are there any listings which are excluded from offering MyStoreCredit?

We exclude items from eBay's Mature Audiences category. Other than that, if you can list it on eBay, you can extend a MyStoreCredit bonus offer with it.
 

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What does eBay say about MyStoreCredit?

MyStoreCredit has developed our service to meet or exceed all eBay rules and policies that might affect your listings, or standing, as a registered eBay user.

We have reviewed MyStoreCredit with eBay and they are aware of how our service operates. We are a certified developer for eBay and we actively participate in eBay’s development community.  eBay has continued to support our development efforts.  We are an independent company developing for the eBay market platform.  eBay’s stated policy on services like ours is as follows:

eBay respects the innovation and tools that third-party developers bring to eBay's online trading community. Throughout its history, eBay has exercised a hands-off approach to such development—we do not endorse third-party programs nor prohibit their use or sale, as long as the programs don't interfere with normal site performance.
 

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Does MyStoreCredit need my eBay Password?

No.  We use eBay’s latest security technologies and we do not require your eBay password.
 

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Do I need to make any changes to my systems to use MyStoreCredit?

No. MyStoreCredit is a turn-key program. MyStoreCredit was designed to work with any listing service or auction management software program you might choose to use. Once you post your own MyStoreCredit bonus offer on your eBay listing, we handle everything else. If you have an automated invoicing system, you should choose to fulfill your store credit obligations by sending your buyer a rebate check or sending them a PayPal® payment so that your invoicing system can close any sale as it always has.  Its this simple:  If you can insert a picture on your eBay listings and answer emails, you can use MyStoreCredit.
 

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Does MyStoreCredit send SPAM emails?

Essentially, MyStoreCredit sends two types of emails to buyers – neither is SPAM. The first type is non-commercial email tied to a specific MyStoreCredit record created within a transaction between a seller and a buyer. These emails do not include any commercial solicitations.  They only explain the MyStoreCredit program and/or notify the buyer and seller of actions relating to their existing MyStoreCredit account.  Within these non-commercial emails, MyStoreCredit may ask buyers to provide opt-in permission for MyStoreCredit to send them future commercial emails.

The second type of email we send is considered commercial email because they promote a seller’s active items for sale.  However, while commercial in nature, these update emails are NOT SPAM because they are sent ONLY if a buyer opts-in to receive them from MyStoreCredit. 

Our buyer’s generally opt-in to receive our update emails because they remind the buyer of their existing store credit and show the buyer other active eBay listings where they can use that available MyStoreCredit.

We will never send update emails without the buyer’s opt-in permission to do so.

Our opt-in permission meets or exceeds all industry and eBay standards for commercial email.  For instance, buyer’s can opt-out of receiving our update emails at any time. For more information read our Privacy Policy.
 

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How many of my listings do you show in each combined update email?

As part of our $29.95 service offering, we include up to 12 of your listings – FREE – in each of reminder email we send to opted-in buyers.  Thus, for the annual $29.95 fee, you get the creation of a MyStoreCredit record for each sale you can make with 24 FREE emails sent to opted-in buyers showing up to 12 of your then current listings.

If you want to show more of your listings, you can choose to have exclusive emails with as many as 60 of your listings included for an additional annual fee of $29.95 plus a $0.04 fee for each reminder email we send your buyers. We will send no less than 12 and no more than 24 exclusive emails to your buyers.

If you choose the free option and have more than 12 active listings available when we send the FREE reminder email to your buyer, we automatically choose your 12 listings with the furthest closing time/date and next those that have NO bidders.  This strategy provides you with the best chance of getting a buyer to return and shop/bid with you.

We send one update email to each opted-in buyer every two to four weeks for a year – so any opted-in buyer gets 24 emails following your sale.
 

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What is the right email option right for me?

We understand most sellers are scared to do their own email marketing. Most sellers do not understand U.S. and international laws on email marketing. Sellers are also confused by the specific eBay rules regarding email marketing. So, we made it our business to learn those laws and rules so we can help you grow your business with email marketing.

One of the best ways to get bids and close more sales on eBay is by emailing your current eBay listings to your own opted-in buyers. Those buyers have already purchased from you and are much more likely to purchase from you again. Because they opt-in, they want to receive these emails.

Take this opportunity to grow your sales with email marketing. For only $0.04 per email sent, MyStoreCredit will get your buyer’s opted-in permission; we will then create and send 24 emails to your buyer over the course of one year. Each email will show up to 60 of your then current store and/or auction listings. We create these emails for you by capturing your eBay listing and inserting your listings into your emails. The combination of a future store credit offer and the promotion of your current listings will drive up your sales. To see a sample of an email we send, click here.

Our email service is offered at the most competitive price you will find anywhere. Our email service costs you only $0.04 per email sent. Compare that to other comparable services which charge $0.10-$0.20 per email sent.

We also understand that some eBay sellers operate on very low margins so we created an advertising subsidized email option specifically for those sellers who have no email marketing budgets. This advertising subsidized email option is free to a seller and we still send 24 emails to your opted-in buyers BUT we will only promote up to 12 of your listings and we ALWAYS place other seller’s listings as advertisements within your emails.

PLEASE NOTE – VERY IMPORTANT: The advertisements chosen for a subsidized email are selected for the buyer based on what the buyer has purchased and/or from the category from which the buyer has purchased. Do not select the advertising subsidized email option if you do not want your buyer to receive ads showing potentially competitive items from other eBay sellers.

You may choose either email option.

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What sort of results can you expect from our emails?

You will see sales increase when you use our email marketing service. In fact, most of our sellers see sales increase 8-10% over the course of a year, directly from our emails.

First, our sellers see opt-in rates that are 400-600% higher than standard opt-in rates. That means more of your buyers will join your email list under our service than virtually any other email service you can run yourself or find on the internet.

What’s more, our emails will drive your revenue higher. We send 24 emails to your opted-in buyers. Each email has up to 60 of your listings. Thus, in the course of one year, your opted-in buyers can see 1,440 promotions of your listings! If you have a 1% response rate to those promoted listings – that is just over new 14 new sales! Any way you cut it, our email service will help you grow your sales.
 

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How does MyStoreCredit get access to my closed sales information?

We use the eBay approved Authentication & Authorization (Auth & Auth) system. As an eBay API certified service, we meet all eBay security and privacy policies. To confirm your participation with MyStoreCredit, during registration you will be redirected to eBay. This confirms your participation with MyStoreCredit and allows us to validate your user ID. You will also be asked to grant MyStoreCredit the right to view your closed auctions. By granting this permission at eBay, our system will be able to view your closed sales to create open store credit records for you and we will be able to access your other listings to promote to your opted-in buyers. We only access information relative to your use of our service on eBay.
 

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How do I get help with MyStoreCredit?

We offer easy-to-use forms during registration, and our processes are simple for you to use. We also offer these extensive FAQs to answer most issues. Lastly, you can send us any questions via email at customerservice@mystorecredit.com and we will respond to them promptly.
 

Can I see a sample of the update email that is sent to buyers?

Yes, please click here for a sample of the FREE update email option. Click here for a sample of the exclusive email option.
 

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Can I cancel at any time?

Yes. To cancel your MyStoreCredit account at any time, simply send an email to customerservice@mystorecredit.com with the subject of "Cancel My Account". Be sure to tell us your eBay User ID as well. Once you cancel, MyStoreCredit will contact each of your buyers with open store credits. We will inform them that you will be managing your store credit program directly. We do so using the following email form:

Upon canceling, if you set-up your account to have your store credit offer automatically inserted into your listings, all insertions will stop. Moreover, you are responsible for removing all reference to MyStoreCredit from your eBay store and auction listings. There is not an eBay process that we are aware of to automatically remove an HTML image from a listing after it has been inserted. As such, we recommend that you first stop inserting your MyStoreCredit listing until your last store or auction listing expires, then cancel your account.
 

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When does MyStoreCredit notify buyers of newly earned store credits?

MyStoreCredit sends emails notifying buyers of store credit upon the closing of an eBay sale according to the table below. Please note: Auctions with a Buy-It-Now option will be processed at the scheduled ending time for that auction regardless if the purchase was made using the Buy-It-Now option.

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I have numerous customers with "REVOKED" credits. Why are they revoked?

Each buyer is asked to read and accept the rules for the MyStoreCredit program before a store credit can be used on a repeat purchase. We send an email after each transaction to ask your buyer to read and accept the rules.

It is important that the buyer read and accept the rules so they understand how the program works and they understand that they are opting-in to receive emails as part of accepting the store credit. A buyer has 30 days from the date of the purchase to accept the rules. If the buyer does not accept the store credit within those 30 days, the open store credit is revoked and cannot be used on a future purchase. Alternatively, you (as the seller) may decide to manually revoke a store credit at your discretion, such as in cases where the buyer does not pay you.
 

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What is an eBay® token?

An eBay token is a piece of data that is created by eBay and passed to third party applications. eBay created tokens so applications, such as MyStoreCredit, do not have to ask for eBay User IDs and eBay passwords. This is for security reasons as it helps to prevent the spoofing of eBay accounts. This is why we suggest that sellers do not use their eBay password when signing up for a MyStoreCredit account, but instead choose another one.

Towards the end of the MyStoreCredit sign up process, we redirect sellers to the eBay web site where they have to enter their eBay User ID and password (for the account they are signing up with MyStoreCredit). At that point, eBay sends us a token for that particular seller account. Tokens can expire if there are any changes done to your eBay account such as email address or changing your eBay password. It is important that we always have an active token in order to process seller auctions and to issue store credits to your buyers. Without a valid one, we are unable to process your auctions. 

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What happens when a buyer makes multiple purchases that can be combined?

For the purchase of multiple items, there are are two scenarios: (1) A buyer purchases a quantity of 2 or more items in 1 transaction; (2) A buyer purchases 2 or more items but of different item numbers and different times. In the first scenario, since the items are purchased as one transaction then their store credit would be based off the quantity times the item price. However, in the second scenario, since the multiple transactions are separate, each one generates its own store credit. Even though you combine the purchases and make one shipment we still treat the items as their own separate purchase.
 

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