My Problem With 1&1 Internet

Ever since our business was born nearly three years ago, our website had been hosted by 1&1 Internet. Didn't really know much about them except that a friend recommended them. Our business is solely online base hence we needed a competent and reliable host. The first issue was the price, each additional key component required for making it a professional website was added fee. Well, I didn't quite mind that except that the monthly bill varied from month to month.  Again, we continued with them. It did not help that their technical support team based somewhere in the universe did not quite understand the technicalities of phone support. one of them thought I was referring to weight when I mentioned British pound which happens to be the currency we trade in.

The last straw for me and the reason for this blog, is that from the first of May 2012 till 2nd of June 2012, our website suddenly went off line. I panicked because our business is mainly online based. Rang and emailed their technical support team several times, no result. Eventually, one of them said they had a bug in the system and we should be back soon. It dragged on with no communication from 1&1 internet except for a bill sent despite not providing service. It was during this time that I spoke to a friend in panic and he advised that I googled I hate 1&1. There I found so many appalling  stories by disappointed customers. I think that 1&1 has taken more than they can handle and are struggling to cope in the UK. I get very angry when I see their adverts on television, asking for more customers.

As I write this blog, 1&1 has still not rectified nor given me a viable reason why our website is still down despite us being up to date with our fees to them. I have had to cough out another hefty bill for another website as its impossible to move your website from them to another host. Once they have you, you are stuck.

Currently, our brand new website designed and hosted by competent and I think, very professional host, Ipage, is up and running. So far so good with Ipage. We are glad to be back. As a small business, 1&1 internet has caused us serious loss of revenue and customers by their incompetence. If not for Amazon Uk, we would not have a store to sell our fabulous products.

Please visit our fabulous new website. www.fab4hairnbeauty.com and get shopping. We are still in the process of uploading our products.

Happy Diamond Jubilee celebrations everyone. Long may Queen Elizabeth 11 reign.

Its all about you!!

My Problems Selling On Amazon UK

Its been two years since our business Fab4hairnbeauty was born. Our business is mainly an on line retail shop for fabulous hair and beauty products mainly for women of colour and class. In our quest to get our fabulous products out there, we decided to register with giant on line market places like eBay and Amazon UK alongside having also our own website.  Now, sales on our website is fair, but,  in these harsh economic situation, one needs on line retail giants to help get your products seen by consumers. Selling on these giant on line retail shops has its ups and downs. First, it does not come cheap. A percentage of your sales is taken alongside paying a monthly fee.  My problems  with eBay is documented in one my older blogs.

We have had our shop on Amazon UK for close to two years. It is fair to say that our Amazon sales account for almost 70% of our sales. It is a fairly good place place to trade as customers have come to trust  Amazon due to their good reputation. Its estimated that almost 80% of on line retail is done on its website. One of their great qualities is good seller support. Regular webinars are organised for traders to support and educate. I have found some of these webinars valuable as a seller too. However, its becoming frustrating to comprehend some of their policies.

One of the problems I have encountered on Amazon UK is their "Buy Box" policy. Buy box is where a seller wins the top position of a product advertised. Now, Amazon offers buyers different options of sellers to choose from, which is great. My question is how is the winner of the buy box determined? For instance, we have created a product on Amazon for the first time and did all the hard work of writing the product details and uploading images of this product and then all of a sudden another seller is awarded the buy box of this same product we created without due consideration for all the hard work put into creating this product on Amazon. When asked, Amazon has said that 'Buy Box eligibility is based on factors such as pricing, availability and sellers performance.'. Sometimes when as a seller, you get all this right, you are still not guaranteed to win the eligibility of a buy box.

There is also a lot of emphasis on sellers performance. Sometimes, it feels like you are under pressure as a seller  to meet their criteria as a seller. Seller performance is largely determined by the all important 'Feedback".  Feedback from buyers is great if it is fairly done. I have noticed however, that some buyers use this tool to intimidate and bully sellers. What happens when you have done all you can as a seller to fulfil your side of the bargain and a difficult buyer decides to leave a negative feedback? One advise is to contact the buyer to remove the feedback. What happens if they don't? In some cases, Amazon has removed feedback's that are deemed a violation of their policy, but a lot still needs to be done. The buyer needs protecting as well as the seller.  Feedback's are invaluable if they are genuinely done.  There are however, difficult customers who abuse the system and aim to defraud. Sellers should be protected from these minority.

All in all, its been a great experience.

Get It Right This Festive Season

Its the season to be joyful and thankful. Its also a time to look glam and fabulous. With a lot of party invitations to keep up with, its hard to look ones best all the time . Looking great means getting it right with ones choice of outfit and of course your hair. They say a woman's crowning glory is her hair. So you have purchased the perfect outfit and a fabulous pair of shoes and handbag to go with it, what about the hair?  Your hair can make all the difference.  For the the woman of colour,  and I suppose most women, the hair is the most important part of the outfit.

 What are the options? For the lady who prefers the natural  and short look, its best to perm or at least texturise to make it manageable and fabulous. I prefer texturising as its mild on the scalp and the hair.

For lovers of the weave, get it right by making sure that it looks natural and glam. Aim for an invisible closure. There is nothing as distracting as an obvious  look of hair extensions. Cover it up with the perfect hair closure. Use a lace or weave closure for the perfect and natural result.  You can also achieve the perfect glam look using wig clips to clip in the hair extensions. This works perfectly well if you already have long hair and just need to add a bit more for fullness or to achieve a longer length.

And then, there is the full wig or the lace front wig. The wig or lace front wig is perfect as it instantly gives that glamourous and instant help that you need for a great hair day.  When purchasing a wig or lace front wig, choose the one with inner securing combs. This ensures that the wig is secured even during windy moments. Also choose the style that suits your face. The colour of the wig also matters. Most woman prefer the easy option, dark colours. Experiment with lighter colours. Try a mixture of light brown colours and light colours. I love colour 4 and 4/30 or 4/27. See our colour chart at www.fab4hairnbeauty.com for guidance.

For emergencies, use the very dependable ponytails or hair buns. It is the best and cheaper way to enhance your look in seconds. Its fab and its suitable for all occasions. I love ponytails and have it in different styles and lengths. Its a must have for giving your hair a helping hand when it matters. Its quick and easy to apply. Just click in with the securing inner combs which ensures a perfect fit. We love the ninja look ponytail.

Whatever style you choose ladies, aim to achieve an invisible hairline. You want people admiring not looking at your hairline. Get it right with your hair this festive season.

Happy Xmas everyone, and a happy fulfilling 2012.

Happy celebrations. Remember, its always all about you.

Image Is Everything

Back home in the UK after a fabulous time in Dallas Texas. No doubt I came back with fabulous goodies for our customers. Have uploaded some of them on our website, more to come as soon as we take delivery of all of them. Watch this space guys. Its Christmas season and everyone is in a fabulous mood. Went into Guildford town centre today and it was filled with shoppers. Great news for the retail industry I must say.

Trying to catch up on the news while I was away.  First was the strike action by the unions protesting the cuts in their in their pension and the furore that was generated by the comments made by Jeremy Clarkson a presenter on BBC television channel. Its a free country guys and he is entitled to his opinion no matter how insensitive some think he was. Anyway, he has apologised. Also read in the Mail newspapers an article by one of their writers, an Asian beauty editor about how black and Asian celebrities and superstars are lightened up and made to look paler in photo shots for magazines and posters. She posted pictures of black celebrities including Rebecca Ferguson, a mixed raced runner up of last years X Factor. It made me think why? Whats wrong with representing black and Asian women in their true glory? Black and Asian women are blessed with beautiful ageless skin. Like I have posted in my older blogs, the beauty and fashion industry need to do more to promote black beauty. Times in the past I have gone into big stores in the United Kingdom  outside of London, only to be told they do not sell beauty products for darker skin.  Shocking I think. Its my opinion that the fashion and beauty industry should be made to represent the different skin colours.  This  is however changing thank goodness. I was pleasantly surprised to see hair relaxers being sold in my local Boots store in Guildford, Surrey.  Its my opinion that large supermarkets and department stores should be encouraged to cater for all skin colours just as they cater for all skin types.  For some reasons, its easier to get beauty products for darker skin in the United States than in the United Kingdom. I actually discovered that some of these manufacturers do make products for black skin but for unknown reason we don't see them here. Some manufacturers like  Estee Lauder  and Clinique have always catered for darker skin. More need to follow. Women will buy good beauty products be they white or black. Image is everything to a fashion conscious woman whatever the skin colour.

This is why our fabulous shop was born. To offer good quality hair and beauty products tailor made for the black woman. You will love our 100% natural skin products, like our pure natural Shea butter. Fabulous. Visit www.fab4hairnbeauty.com.

Remember, its all about you.

From Dallas Tx With Love

Still in Dallas Texas as I post this blog. Recovering from a manic weekend of Black Friday sales after an awesome thanksgiving. This is my favourite time of visiting the United States mainly because of it's celebratory atmosphere and of course the thanksgiving sales which kicks off with the manic Black Friday. I understand it is called Black Friday, because it is a time when struggling businesses previously in red get back to black due to unprecedented sales. Fabulous. Last Friday didn't disappoint as shoppers thronged the shops as early as midnight for bargains. Won't forget the story in the news of a woman shopper who sprayed fellow shoppers with pepper spray just to get ahead. Incredible stuff. In this dire economic times, bargains come in handy.

Did a bit of shopping myself. Great bargains in Macy's, Nordstrom and other great stores. Also met up with my fabulous supplier Jenny. We spent sometime discussing fabulous beauty products that will be hot on the list for any beauty conscious lady in the year 2012. No doubt I have great products for my fabulous customers. Will be uploading them ASAP onto our fabulous website and our online shops on Amazon UK and our facebook store. Keep looking up our fab store www.fab4hairnbeauty.com for regular updates. Jenny is also attending a Hair Show taking place in Las Vegas this week. Hair shows enable us to stay on top of things fashion wise.

With Christmas around the corner, start your shopping early by visiting our fabulous stores online for great bargains. Just to also add, we ship all over Europe and beyond. Also check out our fantastic feedbacks on our Amazon UK shop from satisfied customers.

It's all about you.

Cheap is Not Always Cheerful

They say when you buy cheap, you buy twice. In this hard economic times, its advisable to go for bargains. Bargains are great, but not when quality is compromised.

How then can one remain fashionable, glamourous and fabulous in these tough economic times? I would suggest looking for bargains but still sticking to quality products. They say, when you buy cheap, you buy twice. I am not a believer in disposable fashion. Its more economic to buy good quality stuff because you can use and reuse them as often as you like and because fashion is rotational, it always comes in handy.

A fashionable woman would always splash out on fabulous items. I have discovered in my quest for good quality fashion for less, awesome shops. I am a lover of Brandalley UK. I also love TK Maxx. Other high end department stores, like House of Fraser is great when items are reduced.  Love Next and this seasons collection of Marks & Spencers look fabulous too. Online shops, for me are the best for bargains. I have recently discovered Boohoo. Good stuff at affordable prices.

At fab4hairnbeauty, we remain committed to great quality hair and beauty products at affordable prices. All our products are tried and tested by us first before selling. For instance, our fabulous Makari beauty products, we bought directly from their major distributor in New York where I met the fabulous Leah, one of their major sales manager. Our lace front wigs are also branded. Fabulous wigs from  trusted major makers of quality hair like Bobbi Boss, Model Model and Janet collections just to mention a few. Visit www.fab4hairnbeauty.com

It is possible to be fashionable even in these tough times, you just have to know where to shop. Don't compromise, look for bargains.

My Problem with selling on eBay UK.

I have just returned from a business cum holiday trip to NYC and the garden state of New Jersey. Love New Jersey I must say. Came back with more fabulous products for our fab customers.

Being a sole trader is hard but exciting sometimes. I love the feeling of getting it right with my customers. Its an amazing feeling when you receive positive feedbacks from customers who genuinely love your products and services. Its even more rewarding when some of them take time off to write you an email saying thanks. It makes it all worthwhile. We do sometimes encounter some difficult customers but the good ones far outweighs the difficult ones.

This week after a lot of thinking, I have decided to close my shop on eBay UK. We still sell on Amazon UK and on our fabulous website, fab4hairnbeauty.com. We are also in the process of opening our facebook store. We decided to again close our eBay store because of the many difficulties with both customers and their seller support whom I discovered are based in the United States. From my experience, we were not supported as sellers while dealing with some difficult customers. A lot of support for buyers but not enough for sellers. To make matters worse, they introduced a payment hold method for no justifiable reasons. This payment hold, allows eBay to hold on to money paid to us through Pay pal by buyers on eBay for 21 days except a buyer leaves a positive feedback. Now, it is good practice to try as much as possible to get positive feedbacks from ones customers but I don't believe in hounding buyers for feedbacks. We discovered that despite sending out tracking informations which confirms that buyers have received their products, our payments were not released. As a  small business we need our money as soon as possible to replenish stock. So after several unsuccessful  emails to them to release our money as soon as payments are made we decided to close the shop. In these tough  economic climate, you need all the help you can get and we weren't getting much help from them.

So, its business as usual on our website and our Amazon UK store. We will also be updating you on our new facebook store that is coming soon. Keep reading my blogs as I share my experience running an online business.www.fab4hairnbeauty.com