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AuctionContact is a new service that promises to increase customer loyalty by allowing eBay sellers to conveniently inform their customers about new items they?re offering. This is done through automatically generated emails that are sent to subscribed customers on a weekly basis. The e-newsletters contain a list of the seller?s current auctions with end-dates and times, current prices and direct links to the auction pages.
Founder Alex Stankovic was an eBay member for several years and realized that auction sellers were limited in the way they could promote their auctions. "That prompted me to compare auction sellers with traditional store seller and see what the similarities and differences existed between the two. One difference I found was that traditional stores had a tremendous benefit of high customer loyalty," Alex said. He began to think about how to help auction sellers promote their auctions and generate repeat business, and the idea for AuctionContact was born.
Alex said that bidders like the service so they can keep up-to-date on auctions from their favorite sellers. Subscribers can choose either the HTML or text versions for the e-newsletters, and they can choose the length of the subscription as well.
The AuctionContact service is currently available for all eBay sellers. The service is offered in three levels based on the number of subscribers: Level 1 allows a maximum of 300 subscribers ($4.99/month), Level 2, a maximum of 2,000 subscribers ($9.99/month), and Level 3, a maximum of 5,000 subscribers ($19.99/month). Each level comes with a free trial period: 2 weeks, 3 weeks, and 4 weeks, respectively.
Sellers can insert a "Subscribe Now" form in their auctions or on their Web site and can also add email addresses of customers manually through the list management interface. Spamming is not allowed: "We monitor large imports of email addresses, and if we determine account abuse, we reserve the right to terminate those accounts." At the bottom of each newsletter, there is a direct link to the page where customers can unsubscribe by clicking on just one button.
Alex will graduate in a few months with a major in Computer Information Systems and a minor in Management. He developed the software himself, and said he and his fiancee Tatiyana are the only employees at present. For more information about AuctionContact, visit <http://www.auctioncontact.net/?ab>.
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