Novia Networks: Innovative Solutions to Networking Problems

Minnesota-based Novia Networks specializes in used equipment from Cisco, F5, Juniper, Nortel, HP, 3Com and other major manufacturers. With a broad international customer base of both resellers and end users, the company offers technical support, extended warranties, and broad product and extensive industry knowledge.

Brad Bersie is a founding partner at Novia and has spent 25 years working in the computer industry. Although the company is just over 18 months old, Novia has been quite successful in a market that's changing quickly. Novia's focus on used and reconditioned equipment has placed it in a position to benefit from changes in customer behavior.

"More companies are looking to stretch their IT budgets with used equipment, but they want to be sure they're getting good product. We sell nothing "as is." All of our products are fully tested and refurbished and we offer end users a three-year warranty. Dealer warranties are typically 90 days."

The company has a large customer base in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The customer mix now is almost equally balanced between end users and resellers, but the reseller share is growing as more dealers learn about Novia's products and services.

In fact, the market for used equipment is so large that Novia's biggest issue is the shortage of good product to sell, Bersie said. "Companies are renewing leases and corporations are putting off upgrades, so we have to look to other sources for product." That's a big reason, he explained, for joining Tradeloop soon after Novia was founded in January 2008.

"Having our inventory posted is beneficial for us because it brings in more reseller customers. We do a fair amount of our reseller business both buying and selling through Tradeloop. It's a good place to find buyers and sellers we can trust."

Once customers buy from Novia, they keep coming back, Bersie noted.

"Our customers know they can buy from us with confidence. We have years of experience and know how to test, repair, and do things right. We have a very low warranty return rate. Although we offer extended warranties, returns are rarely an issue. We do it right the first time and users and resellers alike appreciate that."

From free shipping, to extended warranties, to phone and email support, Novia works to support customers before and after the sale.

"We offer experience and quality. With over forty years combined experience in the industry, we're also familiar with specialty markets like F5 and Juniper products. We may not always have the cheapest price, but our customers realize that we give them the best value for their money."

Share Public Broadcasts With Your Social Networks

Want more attention for your public Broadcasts? We've added a new application that makes it easier to email your Broadcasts or share them with social networking sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Digg. Of course, you aren't limited to sharing just your own Broadcasts; if you see a great deal, you can use this application to alert others to it.

Look for the "Recommend This Deal" link at the bottom of every public Broadcast. When you click on it, a popup box opens. It contains a number of links for various social networking services. There are approximately 50 sites and services to choose from, including:

• Send a text message or email
• Post to Facebook or MySpace
• Add to your personal blog
• Recommend it through Digg
• Send an instant message

Here's how it looks:
This is very straightforward and easy to use.

When you click on the Facebook link, for instance, you'll be prompted to log into your Facebook account, if you aren't already. Then, you can make a comment about the Broadcast and post it on your Facebook account. If you want to send an email, text message, or IM, you're prompted to enter the recipients contact information and a short comment. It just takes a minute, and you have all the social networking information available in one place.

Note that this feature is only available on public Broadcasts. Tradeloop's Dealer Only Broadcasts are restricted to our wholesale members. That helps protect the integrity of the wholesale market. But most Tradeloop members send public Broadcasts when they want to get a lot of attention to the deal they're offering. Our new "Recommend this Deal" feature makes that task even easier.

Tradeloop's On Twitter - And So Are Your Public Broadcasts.

Tradeloop has a Twitter account: http://twitter.com/tradeloop and we're posting all "public" Broadcasts to Twitter. Our Twitter feed gives more exposure to our members' public Broadcasts.

Remember that "Dealer Only" Broadcasts are available to Tradeloop's wholesale members exclusively. If you want any information about your Broadcasts to be available to search engines, end users, and non-members, you need to select the "public" option when sending a Broadcast.

If you have your own Twitter account, you can "re-tweet" Broadcasts that appear on Tradeloop's Twitter account. Just copy Tradeloop's Twitter post and paste it into your own Twitter feed. Most Twitter users identify the source using a shorthand notation like "RT @Tradeloop" or "via Tradeloop" when they re-tweet a post

Twitter is a quick and easy way to send brief messages and we invite all Tradeloop members to follow us on Twitter. Social media tools are quickly becoming less of a "social" pastime than an important marketing strategy that helps businesses publicize products and services to the online community.

We'll soon be announcing even more opportunities for you to use social media and network applications to promote your business through Tradeloop.

Trading Floor Display Change Benefits Members & End Users

We've made a slight - but important - modification to Tradeloop's Trading Floor display. It prevents non-members from seeing any portion of a dealer-only listing. We made this change to further protect the integrity of the dealer-only area. Also, it was a bit frustrating for end users to see row upon row of search results they couldn't access.

Previously, when an end user or non-member searched on Tradeloop, the dealer name and price was hidden, but the part and description would show. The vast majority of Tradeloop listings are wholesale listings, so those searchers would see this message over and over: "Wholesale Listing - Members Only"

That's frustrating to someone who wants to buy a replacement battery for his laptop, not wade through scores of search results that he can't access anyway. With the change, this same searcher can browse through 43 results on a Trading Floor search for "Toshiba notebook accessories" and every result is for product that's available to end users.

The page also notes that there are an additional 33 dealer only listings that aren't displayed.


When the searcher clicks on the "Dealer-Only listings" link, he's taken to a page that prompts him to log in (because it's information available only to Tradeloop wholesale members) or register for a Free Trial membership at Tradeloop.

This change keeps retail customers from accessing even a little bit of information about wholesale listings and gives them a search results page that's more readable and usable.

Ethically Speaking - September 2009

With no new Ethics cases filed, no companies banned, and no Fast Track Fraud Alerts issued, August lived up to its reputation in the Northern Hemisphere as the preferred vacation month.

One complaint was closed at the request of the complainant with no action taken. One complaint filed in July is still in the information-gathering stage and may be sent to the Ethics Committee for review in the coming week.

But even though the Ethics Committee had a light month in terms of Ethics complaints, they were still busy. Remember that Tradeloop's Ethics Committee is a volunteer group of industry professionals who donate their time to the community. The committee does more than review complaints: they also act as a resource for Tradeloop staff.

When we launched our popular new Ethics blog format, we established a private discussion area for the Ethics Committee to discuss ethics matters in general. Our staff can consult with industry experts on issues such as: the size of the Ethics Committee; qualifications for membership; how to handle members who spam Broadcast lists, and more.

We'd like to thank the committee for their important volunteer work. The time they donate to the Tradeloop Ethics process makes the community a safer place to do business. Their comments and suggestions also help us make Tradeloop a more valuable business resource for all members.