Beware of Credit Card Fraud Schemes Coming from Singapore

We normally don’t discuss these types of issues but we felt this could potentially affect many of our customers and readers. The U.S. Department of Commerce recently received reports from companies in Florida that were almost victims of this latest credit card scheme. Thanks to the Department of Commerce alerts, the companies avoided being swindled. But if you are not careful, your company might not be so lucky.

American Internet retailers selling globally remain a primary target for credit card fraud schemes using Singapore as the purported ordering point and shipping destination. Detailed information on these fraud schemes can be found at:

http://www.buyusa.gov/singapore/en/warning_credit_card_fraud.html

The orders normally range from US $5,000 to US $30,000. The buyer places the order via telephone or Internet email correspondence. The buyer either splits the total purchase price between several cards or makes several attempts (using multiple credit card numbers) to complete the transaction. Once the transaction/credit card number(s) are accepted, the buyer requests immediate air shipment. Not aware of the fraud that has just occurred; the merchant complies with the customer’s request of an expedited shipment to a legitimate freight forwarder in Singapore. The merchant will then receive a chargeback from the credit card company after the card is reported stolen. By that time the goods have been transshipped out of Singapore and are unrecoverable.

The FBI is working with the Singapore Police and other law enforcement agencies in the region to combat this crime. If you suspect that you are in receipt of a fraudulent order and would like to verify its legitimacy, please contact your local U.S. Department of Commerce office, or the Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore at:

U.S. Commercial Service
Singapore.Office.Box@N0SPAM.mail.doc.gov
Tel: [+65] 6476-9037
Fax: [+65] 6476-9080

Put Best-Price Shopping for Time Sensitive Packages on Auto-Pilot

Rate shopping is something you expect in a multi-carrier shipping system. How about time shopping? By that, I mean getting the best rate for a time definite delivery? That's something you may not see in every multi-carrier shipping system. Real-time, best price control of time-guaranteed carrier services with Smart Ratebots™ is recently introduced in our CPS™ Shipping Software is. The concept for this powerful shipping optimization tool is simple.

Let’s say a package needs to be delivered tomorrow. If delivery tomorrow is guaranteed by ground service, why use a more expensive express service for the same result? Not every package that must arrive within a specific time needs to be shipped by an express service. Many companies just use the express service without considering alternatives. Free shipping and other holiday shipping offers, especially as the holidays come closer, may have delivery date promises included. Smart RateBots give shippers alternatives and even make this an automated choice. The shipper completely controls the decisions made by Smart RateBots, which means they control their shipping cost. Companies today want this kind of shipping system power and the significant savings it brings.

If you have time sensitive documents, perishables and other packages that need to be delivered within a specific number of days, use Smart RateBots for the best priced delivery for all your packages.

If you would like to see how Smart RateBots work in CPS click here...

Oil Affecting Your Bottom Line - (AGAIN!)

Just a quick note…It looks like the carrier's fuel surcharges may not change much for this season's biggest shipping days. Effective 11/2/09, the surcharge decreases for air/international and stays constant for ground shipping. The ground surcharge has been inching is way up since July, and the air/international has bounced around a little. Although they don't appear to be changing much, you still loose track of 4-6% of your shipping costs if you do not account for them.

Make sure your shipping system can let you know about the total cost to ship a package, including the fuel surcharge. Our CPS shipping software notifies the user when the fuel surcharge changes and provides the option to update it for UPS packages. The fuel surcharge is automatically included for FedEx packages. Currently there is no fuel surcharge for USPS packages…I wonder if that can last?

Oil prices are really bouncing around, so keeping up with the fuel surcharge on a monthly basis is just good business.

Considering a Mail Consolidation Service for Last Minute Shipping Bargains? Questions to Ask...

Each year, especially at holiday time, shippers receive offers for better shipping rates from one of the hybrid services that combine a regular package carrier with final delivery by the US post office. The savings that are promised are often attention getting. From calls we receive, it appears there is strong competition for smaller packages weighing 15 pounds and less.

Are these services the best for you and your customers? Here are some things our CPS multi-carrier shipping software users who use some of these services with CPS suggest considering as you evaluate using these services, especially at this most important time of the year.

Package Delivery Time

Ask how long it takes to deliver a package compared to their normal delivery service. This includes finding out what path the package takes. It's possible for packages to go from your business to a consolidation warehouse, then be held there until there are enough consolidated packages to forward to their destination. If there is a delay like that, is that acceptable to you? This process can vary according to your location, so it's an important question. Finally, how does holiday volume affect delivery times?

Returns

If a package cannot be delivered or is refused, how is it handled? Is there an additional cost if a package is returned? Will you know it has not been delivered? You need to know what to expect so you can tell you customers.

Billing

We've heard reports of billing for these services not matching the promised rates. Will you receive enough information from the carrier to be able to check your bill? How are unexpected billing issues handled for the hybrid service?

Tracking

Ask how you and your customers can track packages. Today's customers expect a tracking number and package information with just a "click". If delivery takes longer than the customer expect, being able to track a package without a call to your customer service department is important.

The carriers are also negotiating rates for their regular services that you already depend on. A multiple carrier shipping like our CPS shipping software can automatically rate shop for the best price using your company's rates. You can still get great rates for every package and get the service you (and your customers) expect.

Weigh the answers to these questions above and be sure you choose the best service for your business.

Merchandise Returns, Multi-Carrier Shipping Software and Great Customer Service

Great customer service is an important part of sales. Making returns easy is part of great customer service. It's a fact of online business that some merchandise will be returned. Sometimes to exchange for another size, another color, or perhaps the wrong item was ordered. How well these are handled can define repeat business. Make it easy for your customers and they will be back and sing your praises. If you provide a return label with every order you ship, your customers know you are there to help. So, how can a shipping system help with this?

Many shipping systems handle the different carriers' return services. The trick is to make it easy for you like you are doing for your customers. In some shipping systems you may have to create a separate shipping record for each return. That's an extra, time consuming set of steps. Not easy and not good for you. Mass printing return labels can be done, but then there is nothing identifying the order on the label. There is another way, and your shipping system can help.

The US Postal Service Merchandise Return Service is an established, accepted way to handle returns. In our CPS shipping software, there is a setting to print a USPS return services label automatically for every package shipped. It does not matter which carrier you use to ship the package to the customer. Ship the package and the carrier's label is printed and then the USPS return label. The return label has information about the order so it's easy to match up the incoming merchandise. You don't pay unless the item is returned. Easy again.

This year, make it easy for yourself and your customers to do business with your company. Use your shipping system for fast delivery and to help with returns. That's an effortless sales builder.

Do I Need a Backup?

"This computer will not start up. What should I do?"

That's a computer statement that no one wants to hear. This is bad in any department and it's a real problem when this happens in the shipping department. If you suddenly lose your shipping computer, it's a good bet that the next question will be "Is there a backup?". If the answer is "No", what follows will either be silence or bad words. So what's the best plan to keep your shipping computer and others as safe as possible? It's a fact that computers still fail without any warning and what follows is either a real pain or relief that the planned backup system has saved the day.

If you have information on a computer that is absolutely, positively necessary for your business, it should be backed up. It's easier than you might think. You can make local backups, you can use an online service, and some applications (such as our CPS™ shipping software) have a built-in backup to save those specific applications and their data. Local backups might be set up by your network person, or you might just copy your important files to a file server using a backup application, Windows Explorer or the Windows backup program. Online backup systems include Carbonite.com and Symantec. There are solutions out there to help make your data safer.

Keep in mind there is both direct computer failure as well as indirect computer data loss to think about. Data corruption due to a power failure, files that are deleted accidentally (or otherwise), and other things happen. A current backup can save the day. And use a battery backup. Be ready.

Using Free Shipping to Make More Sales

We've talked a couple of times about free shipping. According to one survey, free shipping offers are up this year compared to last year. Free shipping should always be used to gain more business, not just give away the shipping cost - a profit and sales tool, not a giveaway. But there's more to it than just posting "FREE SHIPPING".

Generally, a free shipping offer gives the best return when it's matched to products and services for consumers. And the products offered are important. For example, overstock merchandise sales do not benefit as much with free shipping offers. Current products that have caught consumers' interest respond much better when matched with a free shipping offer. Also, always offering free shipping can reduce its success. Offering free shipping for a limited time typically provides superior results.

A final note-
When preparing marketing, whether email or other, keep in mind that a limited-time free shipping offer provides better results for the more popular items and services sold to consumers. Moving away from any of these points can definitely affect sales results.