Amazon not only hurts small stores when it steals their customers, but it also hurts small stores by disrupting their websites. Amazon and businesses that host with Amazon (on AWS) send bots to crawl competitors' websites. These bots take up bandwidth and create errors that delay real users from accessing the sites.
In the example shown, we see Amazon or one of its clients using AWS to crawl the indie store Dalton Brody and create an error that only a bot would create.
Bridge's ability to process retail purchases using credit cards on Authorize.net was suspended today through approximately 4 pm EST. The issue is fixed now.
The reason for this is early this AM Authorize.net changed its processing location to Singapore and did not alert us. They updated their API domain to a Singapore-based IP. Since that city state is a hotbed for hacker activity, Bridge historically has blocked all traffic all incoming (and outgoing) traffic to Singapore as a ...
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Glassworks wishes you a healthy & Happy New Year!
Stop in on New Year's Eve for last minute serving pieces and glassware (like the set of Baccarat Massena crystal glasses in the video) or visit us "next year" for all of your hosting needs.
Cheeks wishes you a healthy & Happy New Year!
A perfect tradition! New Year New Underwear! Start yours at Cheeks, Walnut or Forbes locations. Just like Brazil, Venezuela, & many more!
Love it!???...
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Modern and vibrant, inspired by nature’s herbs Colors! perfect for hosting your next event. From Intrada Italy’s Vivere Italian Tableware collection, the sleek modern and the photorealistic petals and coloring, give this collection a modern sleek uniqueness. Dishwasher safe. Hand made in Italy.
Perfect to use with our simple delicious spaghetti pesto recipe.
Combine basil, garlic, pine nuts and Parmesan in a food processor; season with salt and pepper, to taste. With the motor...
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When a business offers a website, it's a costly venture. A business, such as an indie store, brand, or sales rep group, will build the site and then have to maintain it. On a day-to-day basis, it has to ensure the pages load quickly. This often requires the business use image-optimization software to reduce the page size and a CDN (content delivery network) to get the content closer to the visitor's geographic location. These costs add up.
Bridge and Shopify both bundle many services under a ...
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I believe that no business will survive the COVID-19 pandemic alone. Together, we can help indie stores survive this crisis.
Here is what Bridge is doing to help members:
Bridge is hosting COVID-19 preparation webinars for retailers, brands, and sales reps. For retailers, we hosted three trainings this week. You are invited to watch a replay of the COVID webinar for retailers here: https://vimeo.com/402693440/844cc20eec Our webinar
Retailers have asked how they can stay busy and boost orders.
1. Bridge is going to announce new webinars soon. We will be hosting SEO and social media webinars.
2. A customer called today asking about selling on Instagram. I found this page with some tips:
Sadly, we learned of this hack LAST week when it actually happened in...wait for it...April 2019–almost a year ago.
I predict that hacking is going to happen to more and more brands and stores in our industry. I think these victims will either turn over most online operations to a third party—or close due to costs. I know of a jewelry ...
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A special thanks to Vietri’s Hali Vradelis and and Adam Sigel for hosting Bridge. We shared 10 steps for stores to boost their gift registry sales by 14%.
Shown above: Jason Solarek and Shop of Provence store owners in front of the Bridge ethos poster.
Are websites a waste? I'll thank they are and I'll explain. But first, it's important to note that websites are different from platforms. A website is something for which your business is solely responsible. A platform is a digital service to which you subscribe that you are not solely responsible. You may add content and pictures, etc. but you do not manage the technical aspects. You likely use platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and Airbnb.
Amazon sales are up 24% last quarter. How much are your sales up?
If theyโre not up 24%, it likely means that Amazon is taking your customers and your neighboring businessโ customers.
Do you buy from Amazon at home? Or for your store? If so, you may be helping sharpen your executionerโs sword by 24%.
While the Times paints the quarter as a mixed bag, I believe this is great news for Amazon. It also shares that Amazonโs advertising revenue is up 45% and that Amazon Web Services Is up 35%. Do you...
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We'll see you in Atlanta in 2020. We're hosting two free seminars:
Casafina Seminar: 5 Steps to Sell 11% More Casafina Online
Friday, January 17th at 5 pm EST
Location: Casafina showroom (Building 2, Suite 1208B; next to the Werner Frank showroom)
Designed for: Retailers that sell Casafina.
Event link: https://marketplace.bridgecatalog.com/news.cfm?id=19184
Vietri Seminar: Grow Your Vietri Gift Registry Business by 14%
Saturday, January 18th at 5 pm EST
Location: Vietri ...
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August 18, 2019
August 18, 2019
Is Amazon a 'Retail Hacker'?
Amazon may be spying on your business. It may be crawling your website, checking your prices, and then stealing your customers. If this sounds creepy, it is.
Every week over the last few years, I have found Amazon-hosted bots crawling my 400+ retailers' web pages. In the example shown, I'm displaying a bot that crawls my site and its IP address (34.217.74.229). I look up its IP address (https://www.infobyip.com/ip-34.217.74.229.html) and we see that it's hosted at ...
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August 9, 2019
August 9, 2019
Is it football season yet? We can't wait to start hosting watch parties again, like this adorable setup from @lyraandjanekitchen.
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July 13, 2019
July 13, 2019
Thank you for attending our July gift registry seminar. A special thanks to Kathy Pitts and Diana Duffy at Skyros for hosting us. Nice to see you: Susan, Hal, Tish, Bob, Laura, Melinda, and many more :)
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