Our team of customer care experts has assembled a number of online resources you can access
anytime for detailed help and information. Whether you're new to Merchant Solutions or an experienced user, you'll find
answers to frequently asked questions like these:
|
|
Pricing
1. How much does Yahoo! Merchant Solutions cost?
2. Do I have to sign a contract with Yahoo! Merchant Solutions?
Domain Name
1. Can I use a custom web address, like www.my-web-store.com?
2. What if I already have a domain name I'd like to use for my Yahoo! Merchant
Solutions site?
3. What if I want to change my domain name after I sign up?
4. How should I select my domain name?
Hosting and Email
1. What hosting features do I get with Yahoo! Merchant Solutions?
2. What email functionality comes with Yahoo! Merchant Solutions?
Site Design
1. Do I have to know HTML to use Yahoo! Merchant Solutions? Can I use code if I want
to?
2. Do I have to do it myself? Can someone build my online store for me?
3. Do I need any special hardware or software to use Yahoo! Merchant Solutions?
4. Can I change my online store once I've created it?
5. Will my online store look unique and professional?
Store Operations
1. How will I know how my online store is doing? Can I get statistics about traffic
and sales?
2. How can I manage my portfolio of products?
3. How can I receive orders from my customers?
Order Processing and Merchant Accounts
1. Can I process credit card transactions online using Yahoo! Merchant
Solutions?
2. I don't have a merchant account yet. Can Yahoo! help me get one?
3. I already have a merchant account. Can I use it with Yahoo! Merchant Solutions?
Shipping and Order Fulfillment
1. Can I create and print shipping labels directly from within Yahoo! Merchant
Solutions?
2. How can I track packages that I have shipped?
3. Do you integrate with high-volume shipping software such as UPS
WorldShip®?
Privacy and Security
1. What security features does Yahoo! Merchant Solutions offer?
2. Will anyone else have access to my sales data?
Promoting Your Business
1. Will my Yahoo! Merchant Solutions products be included in Yahoo! Shopping?
2. Will Yahoo! help me drive traffic to my Yahoo! Merchant Solutions site?
Other
1. Is Yahoo! Merchant Solutions available for merchants outside the United
States?
Pricing
1. How much does Yahoo! Merchant Solutions cost?
Yahoo! Merchant Solutions pricing varies by plan. You will pay a monthly hosting fee, a setup fee,
and a transaction fee on all orders. You can cancel your Yahoo! Merchant Solutions plan at any time. Here is a chart
that explains your Yahoo! Merchant Solutions fees:
|
|
What |
|
Price |
|
What does it cover? |
|
How is it applied? |
|
|
|
Setup fee |
|
$50
for all plans |
|
Provisioning your store on the Yahoo! Network. |
|
Billed at purchase. |
|
|
|
Hosting fee |
|
Starter:
$39.95
Standard:
$99.95
Professional:
$299.95 |
|
Hosting your storefront and products on our secure, reliable servers.
Using our powerful, award-winning, and always-evolving Merchant Solutions software platform.
Conducting business on our infrastructure.
Providing you with your own domain name and robust, personalized email service that can be accessed from anywhere. |
|
Billed monthly. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Transaction fee |
|
Standard:
1.5% per transaction
Standard:
1% per transaction
Professional:
0.75% per transaction |
|
|
Applied to every Yahoo! Merchant Solutions transaction. |
|
|
Fees for marketing options, such as listings in Yahoo! Shopping, the Yahoo! Directory, and Yahoo!
Sponsored Search Pay-for-Performance are provided on the Yahoo! Marketing Tools page.
Back to
top.
2. Do I have to sign a contract with Yahoo! Merchant Solutions?
While you do have to agree to our Terms of Service, you don't have to sign up for a fixed period of
time. You can cancel your account at any time. Back to top.
Domain Name
1. Can I use a custom web address, like www.my-web-store.com?
Yes, all Yahoo! Merchant Solutions plans include a personalized domain name, like
www.my-web-store.com. You will select your domain name during the sign up process. Your domain name will be renewed
each year as long as you continue to subscribe to the Yahoo! Merchant Solutions service. Back to
top.
2. What if I already have a domain name I'd like to use for my Yahoo! Merchant Solutions
site?
You can use an existing domain name for your Yahoo! Merchant Solutions service. During the order
process, you'll select the link that says, "Already have a domain name? Use it with a Yahoo! plan." Once you've signed
up for Yahoo! Merchant Solutions, you will need to contact your domain name registrar and ask it to point your domain
name to your new Yahoo! Merchant Solutions account. We provide you with step-by-step instructions to make it easy. Learn more.
Please note: this is not a registrar transfer. Moving a
domain name means directing your nameservers to Yahoo! Merchant Solutions servers. Your original registrar must make
this change for you, at your request. Your domain name registration remains with your current registrar and you are
responsible for all ongoing domain name registration/renewal fees. Back to top.
3. What if I want to change my domain name after I sign up?
If you wish to change your domain name after you sign up, you will need to cancel your service and
sign up all over again. For this reason, we recommend that you choose your domain name very carefully, to avoid having
an interruption in service later. Back to top.
4. How should I select my domain name?
Your domain name is your company's address on the Web and is how customers find your business
online. When you pick your domain name, keep the following tips in mind:
- Domain names can only use letters, numbers, and hyphens ("-"). Spaces and other symbols are not
allowed, and domains cannot begin or end with a hyphen. Domain names are not case sensitive. They can be between 2 and
63 total characters, not including the domain extension.
- People who do not know your domain name may try to guess what it is based on your company name
(e.g. www.yourcompanyname.com), so it is in your interest to choose a domain that is as close to your company name as
possible. If your business is based around a specific brand or subset of your products, you may prefer to choose a
domain name that highlights the brand or product
- Try to register the .com version of your name first. When people look for your site on the web,
they are likely to first try your company name with the .com suffix. If .com is taken then consider using .net, .org
(for noncommercial), .us, info, or .biz.
- Keep your domain name short, but not too short. Shorter names can be easier to remember, but
only up to a point. Be careful not to abbreviate your name so much that it becomes unrecognizable. If you must use
abbreviations, focus on the one or two words in your company name that have the most impact, and work your
abbreviations around those words. For example, Carlton's Sporting Goods might choose www.carltons-sports.com or
www.carltons.com.
- Choose a domain that is easy to say, understand, remember, and spell. For example, you may not
want to select www.scents.com because that could be confused with www.cents.com or www.sense.com when said over the
phone or radio. Also, be careful with the use of hyphens and numbers, as they can make domain names harder to type and
recall. You don't want to lose potential customers because your domain name is difficult to use. Test out potential
names with friends before making your final selection. Back to top.
Hosting and Email
1. What hosting features do I get with Yahoo! Merchant Solutions?
All Yahoo! Merchant Solutions' plans come with plenty of storage and bandwidth to create media-rich
and interactive web sites. They include 20GB of storage and 500GB/month of data transfer. You can choose to increase
your available storage at any time. You also receive snapshot backup and restore capabilities, SSL security and a wide
range of web design tools to choose from. See the Site Design section below for details.Back to
top.
2. What email functionality comes with Yahoo! Merchant Solutions?
All Yahoo! Merchant Solutions plans come with 100 personalized Yahoo! Business Mail accounts, such
as you@your-store.com. Yahoo! Business Mail is a full-featured email service that can be accessed through your browser
or your favorite POP desktop mail client, like Microsoft Outlook. It features SpamGuard Plus and filtering options to
help protect you and your employees from distracting junk mail. Each account has 2 GB of storage so you can easily
manage and archive your business communications. Back to top.
Site Design
1. Do I have to know HTML to use Yahoo! Merchant Solutions?
Yahoo! Merchant Solutions has site building options suited for everyone, whether or not you know
HTML. Yahoo! Merchant Solutions site design options include:
- The Store Editor, available in the Store Control Panel, is an easy-to-use, web-based tool
appropriate for those with limited experience creating web pages, a desire to get their store up and running fast, and
little need for a customized look and feel. With the Store Editor, site building is as easy as filling out online forms
and choosing from pre-defined styles for your site. Also, if you are familiar with HTML, you can take the Store Editor
to the next level by learning to create customized templates using RTML, our proprietary coding language.
- Your favorite web publishing tool. You can use any web page editor, like FrontPage,
Dreamweaver, or the free Yahoo! SiteBuilder application. Yahoo!
SiteBuilder requires no HTML experience and is appropriate for those new to web design. We also offer a Dreamweaver extension that allows you to easily create web pages using information
retrieved from your Merchant Solutions product catalog.
- Advanced Publishing Options. To allow you to create an even more interactive and dynamic
storefront, advanced scripting and database tools, such as PHP, PERL and MySQL, are available in all plans. Back to top.
2. Do I have to do it myself? Can someone build my online store for me?
You're welcome to have a professional web site designer build your Yahoo! Merchant Solutions site.
To contact web site designers with Yahoo! Merchant Solutions experience, visit our Designer Directory. Back to top.
3. Do I need any special hardware or software to use Yahoo! Merchant Solutions?
All it takes is what you're using to read this page -- a computer with a web browser (Netscape
Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer) and an Internet connection. If you want to use Yahoo! SiteBuilder to design
your site, you will need to download that application to your desktop. To include images in your store, you may also
want to have access to a digital camera or scanner. Back to top.
4. Can I change my online store once I've created it?
Yes. You can update your Yahoo! Merchant Solutions site as often as you want, from any
Internet-connected computer. Some of our merchants update their sites several times a day.
You can edit your site behind the scenes, while visitors continue to shop at the current version of
your online store. Then, when you publish your revisions, the updated version of your site becomes visible instantly.
Back to top.
5. Will my online store look unique and professional?
Yes! We don't believe in cookie-cutter sites. You have complete control over the look of your site.
To see for yourself, take a peek at these distinctive sites, all made with Merchant Solutions:
Back to top.
Store Operations
1. How will I know how I'm doing? Can I get statistics about traffic and sales?
Yes. Yahoo! Merchant Solutions' tracking tools are powerful and
extensive, and make it easy to view traffic and sales on a daily basis. This information gives you valuable insight and
helps you make decisions about how to optimize your product line and how to better invest your time and money. Back to top.
2. How can I manage my portfolio of products?
You can manage your portfolio of thousands of products using Yahoo!'s Catalog Manager. The Catalog
Manager comes with standard and user-defined fields that hold details about each item in your inventory, such as
Product Name, ID, Price, and Size. It also allows you to describe each product with captions and images. You can
manually enter all of your store items into Catalog Manager or simply upload a file containing that data in .csv
format. You can also group items into categories for easier management.
Once you've set up Catalog Manager, you can use it to monitor inventory levels by options.
This allows you to track exactly how many red, extra large t-shirts you have in stock to prevent over-selling and so
you can receive automated alerts when it is time reorder your inventory. You can also insert Store Tags into your
pages that access and display the information contained in your Catalog Manager. Back to
top.
3. How can I receive orders from my customers?
There are four ways to receive orders:
- Online. Most merchants view their orders online: Just go to the Yahoo! Merchant
Solutions homepage, sign in to your account, and go to your Store Control Panel to view orders over a secure connection.
- As a database file. Some merchants with large inventories, high sales volume, and/or
bricks and mortar businesses choose to retrieve their orders in a single database file, available in common database
formats. This allows the merchants to integrate web orders into an existing order stream.
- By fax. This works for merchants who want instant notification about new orders but
can't be online all the time. This is only available in the Yahoo! Merchant Standard and Professional plans.
- Via your own server. If you have your own secure server, you can have orders posted to
you in real time. This is only available in the Yahoo! Merchant Standard and Professional plans. Back to top.
Order Processing and Merchant Accounts
1. Can I process credit card transactions online using Yahoo! Merchant Solutions?
Yes, you can process credit card orders online, but you must have a merchant account to do so. Back to top.
2. I don't have a merchant account yet. Can Yahoo! help me get one?
Yes, you can apply online for a
merchant account with Paymentech, a Yahoo! Merchant Solutions partner. Your application will be processed in one to
three business days. If you're accepted, your new merchant account will be hooked up to your store automatically. Learn more. Back to top.
3. I already have a merchant account. Can I use it with Yahoo! Merchant Solutions?
You can use any preexisting merchant account to process your Yahoo! Merchant Solutions orders
offline. If you have a preexisting merchant account that is compatible with the First Data Merchant Services' Nashville
platform (formerly known as Envoy), it will take just two business days to link it to your Yahoo! Merchant Solutions
site to allow online credit card processing. Learn more.
Back to top.
Shipping and Order Fulfillment
1. Can I create and print shipping labels directly from within Yahoo! Merchant
Solutions?
Yes. Yahoo! has partnered with UPS to offer integrated processing of UPS
shipments from the Yahoo! Merchant Solutions Store Control Panel. After completing
the free registration process to use the UPS OnLine Tools, you may print
shipping labels directly from the order screen without leaving your web browser.
The shipping charges will be billed to your UPS account. We support printing
to laser printers as well as label printers such as the UPS Eltron. Learn more. Back to
top.
2. How can I track packages that I have shipped?
If you ship your packages using the integrated UPS tools, the package tracking number will be
automatically inserted into your order after you process the package. If you use another shipper, you must manually
type the tracking number into the order. Once the order has been updated with the tracking number and the order status
has been set to .Shipped., you may click on the tracking number to track the package. Your customers can track the
status of their packages by clicking on the tracking number on their order summary page. Learn more. Back to
top.
3. Do you integrate with high-volume shipping software such as UPS WorldShip®?
Yes. As part of our partnership with UPS, Yahoo! Merchant Solutions Standard and
Professional customers may export a range of orders for keyed import into
WorldShip. This allows customers with many shipments per day to process their
packages in the most efficient way possible. You must register to use the UPS
OnLine Tools before exporting to WorldShip. Learn more. Back to top.
Privacy and Security
1. What security features does Yahoo! Merchant Solutions offer?
We use industry-standard SSL encryption to transmit credit card information securely on its way
from the shopper to our computers, and from our computers to you, the merchant. Back to
top.
2. Will anyone else have access to my sales data?
Absolutely not. We publish aggregated statistics, but we never disclose sales data for a specific
Yahoo! Merchant Solutions customer unless we have received your prior consent. Back to
top.
We understand how much direct marketers value customer lists, and our policy is that this
information is your property. We do not sell customer names, nor do we use them ourselves. Back
to top.
Search Engine Submission/Promoting Your Business
1. Will my products be included in Yahoo! Shopping?
You have the option to include your products in Yahoo! Shopping's search results and Buyer's Guides
so that you can acquire highly-qualified customers from one of the largest online shopping sites on the Internet. You
will pay a fixed cost-per-click charge, based on the category of the product listed, and will manage your inclusion
with an easy-to-use, web management system. Back to top.
2. Will Yahoo! help me drive traffic to my online store?
Yahoo! Merchant Solutions customers can take advantage of exclusive offers on a variety of
marketing and promotional services.
- Shopping Portals
- Yahoo!
Product Submit - Access millions of targeted leads by getting included in Yahoo! Shopping, one of the Web's top
shopping portals. Yahoo! Merchants receive a 20% discount across all categories.
- Shopping.com and BizRate - Yahoo! Merchants receive
discounts on fees and special product integration makes it fast and easy to get your items listed on these shopping
destinations.
- Search Listings and Ads
-
Direct Marketing
- Got - A
powerful set of Web-based tools that enables you to easily create and manage email marketing campaigns. Got provides a
special introductory offer to Yahoo! Merchant Solutions customers.
- InfoUSA - Offers special discounts
to Yahoo! Merchants who purchase mailing lists and sales leads. Back to top.
Other
1. Is Yahoo! Merchant Solutions available for merchants outside the United States?
Yahoo! Merchant Solutions is available in the United States only.
We look forward to offering the Yahoo! Merchant Solutions
platform to merchants in other parts of the world. Stay tuned...
Back to top.
