Any member may contribute to the FAQ by submitting entries via PM to me (Member_Zero) or one of our moderators for review.
================================================
#1
Q - How do I upload images into my listings using Internet Explorer?
A - At this time, image uploads must be done using browsers other than Internet Explorer. IE contains a security vulnerability that has not been addressed by the specific image script we use for image uploads. To upload images directly to Atomic Mall, use a browser like Firefox, SeaMonkey, Opera, or Google Chrome. These browsers embrace open standards, and are known to offer a much safer, more secure browsing environment, as well as offering the highest degree of compatibility with Atomic Mall and other web 2.0 sites. You can still insert images into your listings with IE, they just need to be linked from an outside source rather than uploaded directly. (see FAQ #3)
#2
Q - Ok so I'm using Firefox. How do I get images into my listings?
A - It's pretty easy. We even give you the ability to crop your photos. One of our users (sciencefare) made a great tutorial which explains it well: http://www.atomicmall.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1846
#3
Q - I'm using Internet Explorer, so how do I get images into my listings if I can't upload them?
A - You can insert images into your listings by linking to them from an image hosting site like Photobucket.com, Use.com or Tinypic.com. Each of these sites offers easy direct uploading of an unlimited number of images, totally free of charge. Some even allow you to crop or otherwise enhance your photos. To insert an image into an Atomic Mall listing, go to the site you've chosen, locate your photo, and copy-n-paste the image URL into the corresponding box on the Creation Station page.
Example from an image hosted on Use.com:
URL: http://www.use.com/media/2009/0116/77994/p_001.jpg
When pasted into the image url box on the edit/create page, it produces this:
#4
Q - How do I add Google Checkout to my store?
A - Adding GCO to your account is easy. Simply click "Payment Methods" from your Account page Toolbox panel, and select Google Checkout as a payment method. Then input your merchant ID, merchant key and login data to start the process. We will email you the good news once your account has been upgraded.
#5
Q - What do I need to do to get my items in Google Base?
A - We've completely automated the process for Google Base submission, requiring no action on the part of the seller. There are however some guidelines in place which if followed, can increase the odds of your items being accepted and indexed into Google Base and ultimately Google Products:
- Avoid the use of [i:]boilerplate[/i] text in your item titles and descriptions, such as "FREE SHIPPING!" or "HURRY! BUY NOW!". These can cause individual listings or even entire data feeds to be disapproved by Google. If you must include text of this nature, put it at the very end of your description. Your description should be succinct, and relate directly to your product and its features.
- Make certain your listings have valid and relevant images. Broken image links or generic "one size fits all" images can lead to disapproval or low ranking.
- Make use of product attributes when you create listings. Google desires as much information as possible about products in their index, and adding multiple attributes can increase the number of impressions your items receive.
- Avoid multiple listings of identical products. Duplicate listings are not allowed by Google Products or Atomic Mall.
- Do not list counterfeit or "replica" designer goods. These products WILL cause your feed to be disapproved, and are also a violation of the Atomic Mall terms of service agreement.
#6
Q - How do I request a category? Also, why are there only two levels of categories?
A - To request a new category for the site, submit your request in THIS THREAD. Submissions deemed appropriate and necessary will be added as time permits. Atomic Mall is currently undergoing a sitewide upgrade which will include an extra tier of subcategories. As the upgrade moves into the Category-specific pages, user submissions will play a large role in determining the overall structure of our subcategory and sub-subcategory selections, so suggestions are not only permitted but encouraged!
#7
Q - How do I get rid of this awful (skunk/pig/dog in a bun/demon dog) that shows up on my store page?
A - When you registered, our system picked an avatar at random for your store. You can upload your own by going to: Account > Toolbox > Avatar (see next FAQ also)
#8
Q - How do I upload a new (logo/banner/avatar) for my store?
A - Look HERE for another great tutorial from Sciencefare
#9
Q - How do I change my store name?
A - Your store name may be changed here: Account > Toolbox > Store Name
#10
Q - How do I put an item "On Sale"?
A - To put a store item on sale, load the listing into the Creation Station as an edit, and enter a regular price which is higher than the selling price. Then select a date from the "Sale Expiry Date" dropdown box. You can follow this same procedure with the Batch Editor if you'd like to place multiple listings on sale - up to 250 at a time. Your listings will then sell at your new sale price, and will revert back to the "regular price" on your expiration date. Easy!
#11
Q - How do I set a shipping discount for multiple item purchases?
A - You may set a combined shipping discount here:Account > Toolbox > Shipping Discount
By entering a percentage discount in this field, shoppers pay less than the normal rate for order in which more than one item is selected. There are two discount methods:
Option 1: All Items. This is the default setting, and the method we've been using all along. By choosing this option along with a discount percent rate, any order in which a Buyer purchases multiple items from a Seller, will have the shipping discount applied to ALL items in the order.
Example: Seller A has set a combined shipping discount of 40% applied to All items. Buyer B selects three items from Seller A, one with a ship cost of $2.00, one with a ship cost of $3.00 and one with a ship cost of $4.00, for an undiscounted shipping total of $9.00. Buyer B's final shipping total at checkout will be $5.40.
$9.00 x .6 = $5.40
Option 2: Additional Items. This new option allows Sellers to apply their discount rate to only the ADDITIONAL items in a multi-item order. The item with the highest shipping price is used as a base amount, and is not affected. All remaining items have their shipping discounted by the applied rate.
Example: Seller A has set a combined shipping discount of 40% applied to Additional items only. Buyer B selects three items from Seller A, one with a ship cost of $2.00, one with a ship cost of $3.00 and one with a ship cost of $4.00, for an undiscounted shipping total of $9.00. Buyer B's final shipping total at checkout will be $7.00.
$4.00 + (($3.00 + $2.00) x .6) = $7.00
A typical scenario is Sellers who offer items where you pay full shipping on the first item, and each additional item's shipping is 1/2 off. This approach would require a setting of 50% applied to Additional items only.
#12
Q - What are the fees to sell on Atomic Mall?
A - Our complete fee structure can be found on our main site FAQ here: www.atomicmall.com/faq.php
Fees for our most popular free Gold account are as follows:
$0.00 - $2.50 $.10
$2.51 - $25.00 6.00%
$25.01 - $50.00 5.00%
$50.01 - $100.00 4.00%
$100.01 - $250.00 3.75%
$250.01 - $500.00 3.50%
$500.01 - $1000.00 3.25%
$1000.01 - $2500.00 3.00%
$2500.01+ 2.75%
Vehicles: $10 + 1.00%
Listing Fee $0
Verification Fee $10
Bonus Credit $15
Image Upload Fee $0
Monthly Membership $0
Max Items 2000
Listing upgrades
---------------------
Bold Text: $.20
Bordered: $.20
Colored Background: $.20
All 3: $.50
Front Page Featured Faders: $2.99
Sidebar Stars: $1.99
Category Featured: $.99
#13
Q - I transferred my feedback score, but only part of it came through.
A - The reason not all feedbacks were imported is due to the fact that most sites do not make data available that is more than a year old, at least as far as the number of negs, neutrals and positives. The ratio of these feedback types to one another over the previous 12 months is how we determine your feedback scorecard at Atomic Mall.
#14
Q - How is my imported feedback score calculated?
A - To get your AM score, we count the total number of positives and neutrals you've received over the past year, and divide that by the aggregate number of feedbacks received. Positives count as 1, neutrals count as .5, and negatives count as 0. Say for example you had 38 positives, 2 neutrals and 1 negative for the prior year. Your imported score would be 95.1%: (38 + (2 *. 5)) / 41
#15
Q - How do I change my store URL?
A - Your custom storefront URL uses your login ID as the URL suffix. For example, if your login is "Bobo123", your store URL will be: http://www.atomicmall.com/bobo123. To change the URL, simply change your login ID here: Account > Update Profile
