Tradeloop's 2009 Year in Review - Top New Features & Upgrades

2010 will be a big year at Tradeloop. We're working on new features and upgrades to make your Tradeloop membership a more valuable - even indispensable! - part of your business model.

We implemented a number of new projects in 2009 as well. They help our members manage their accounts, grow their market share, and protect their privacy. Are you taking advantage of these features? They're free to every Tradeloop member!

Social Media Tools
2009 was the year that social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter moved from the "teenstream" into the mainstream and became important business networking tools. We implemented some new features to make it easier for members to integrate their Tradeloop accounts with their social networks:

• Tradeloop's on Twitter and so are your public Broadcasts. We post all public Broadcasts to our Twitter account: http://twitter.com/tradeloop. Our Twitter feed gives more exposure to your public Broadcasts.
• Share public broadcasts with your social networks. Look for the "Recommend This Deal" link at the bottom of every public Broadcast. When you click on it, a popup box opens that contains links to approximately 50 networking and social networking sites.
  

New Privacy and Email Management Options
Tradeloop is committed to fighting online fraud and protecting the privacy of our members' personal and business information. We understand though, that some members want to display more information to the community and gain more visibility online. So we launched some new tools to allow members topersonally control how much information is displayed about their business and even their Tradeloop searches.

• Control email address display and more at the new Privacy Settings page. You can choose to hide your email address from other members (the public users never have access to that information). The page contains other privacy options as well, such as the option to hide your entire member profile from public users.
• Manage emails, Broadcasts, and more at the new Email Center. We made it more convenient for members to manage emails, set email preferences, monitor search history, and see who is viewing their inventory. Do all this - and more - from a single Web page.
• Anonymous search option protects member privacy. Many members prefer to search anonymously. It allows you to protect your competitive advantage as you research the market.
  
• A Broadcast policy change helped stop list spamming. Tradeloop members can send a "regular" Broadcast to up to three lists at no charge. But any Broadcast that goes out to more than three lists is classified as a "premium" broadcast and incurs premium charges.
• Tips to identify fraud and identity theft. Use this simple, five-step checklist before agreeing to a deal with a new buyer or seller - particularly if the company is not a Tradeloop member!
  

Market Research Tools
Tradeloop is more than a place to buy and sell. Our extensive data warehouse containing wholesale inventory and pricing information offers our members access to valuable market research and price history information. Monitor cyclical price fluctuations, watch for hard-to-find products, and more.

• Customizable Search history tool. See who's searching on your inventory, the most popular searches, most recent searches, and sort results by dealers, registered end-users , or public searchers.
• Price history charts are helpful research tools. Price history data helps traders track pricing trends and monitor price changes in the market. Use it as a handy research tool when you're trying to determine the optimum price for buying and/or selling.
• Saved Search: let Tradeloop watch the market for you. Never miss out on a hard-to-find item again! Our new Saved Search feature automatically notifies you by email when someone uploads a part that matches your saved search.

All these features and options help you monitor the market and increase your market share. But Tradeloop offers even more benefits to members.

Simple things like writing a good company profile or adding a custom signature can increase your credibility and drive traffic to your company's Web site. We shared a number of tips that explained how your Tradeloop membership can raise your online profile and increase your search engine visibility.

2009 was a great year at Tradeloop and we're already working on features that will make 2010 even better for the Tradeloop trading community.

Happy New Year!

Access Your Member Account Options From The Main Navigation Menu

Need to upload your inventory list, tweak your company profile, or update your privacy settings? Tradeloop members can now access these functions and more directly from Tradeloop's main menu. The "Account" tab contains drop-down options that take members directly to many account management functions.

Here's are the new options available under the Account tab:


All these options are also still available at your Account Information page as well and there's no change to the layout or page function. The new tabs simply make it easier to access the most-used account management functions.

Let's quickly review some of the important management tools on the Account Information page. This is the place to go to keep your account up to date. Use it to manage contact information, set up sub-accounts, maintain inventory listings, and more.

• Set Email preferences to opt in or out of Tradeloop emails.
  
• Manage email accounts and keep contact information updated.
• Manage your sub-accounts (learn more about sub-accounts at our multi-user FAQ page).
• Update billing information or upgrade your Tradeloop membership.
• Manage your End User program inventory (visit Tradeloop's End User program details page to learn more).
  
• Change/update your Privacy Settings
• Manage your Tradeloop inventory.

Remember that you need to be logged into your Tradeloop account to access these functions.

We encourage all Tradeloop members to regularly check their account and company information. A simple typo in an email or phone number can mean lost sales. So can a couple of parts accidentally deleted from an inventory list. The new navigation options will make it even easier to maintain information and get the most from your Tradeloop membership.

Search Directly From Your Saved Search Report

It's easier than ever for Tradeloop members to monitor the market and locate hard-to-find components. We've added links to the saved search report that allows members to run searches directly from their report pages.

Tradeloop's "Saved Search" tool replaced the old "Email Alert" system last May and it quickly become one of our most popular features. If you're looking for a hard-to-find part - or for products you need on a regular basis - the Saved Search tool saves you time by eliminating the need for regular, manual searches on the Trading Floor.

Once you have a search query saved, we'll send you a notification email every time someone uploads that part to Tradeloop. You can save one search, a dozen, or more.

Modify or delete your saved searches at any time just by going your "Account Information" page and selecting the "Email Center" link. From there, select the "Your Saved Search Alerts" option in the right-hand column. It takes you to your "Saved Search" report where you can change or delete saved searches.

And now, you can even repeat the searches directly from your Saved Search report. Each individual named search is also a link that will repeat the search on the Trading Floor and display the most current results.

Learn more about how Saved Search works or set up your own Saved Searches when you search Tradeloop's Trading Floor.

Ethically Speaking - December 2009

November was a busy month for Tradeloop's volunteer Ethics Committee. Two non-member companies were banned from Tradeloop. One Fast Track Fraud Alert was issued about a non-member company and one new complaint involving two Tradeloop members was filed.

Non-member company, The McEvoy Administration, was the subject of three Ethics complaints filed during October (Case #5046, Case #5048, and Case #5050). In each case, the complainant alleged that the defendant had failed to refund prepayment when the goods were not received. The defendant responded to each case and the details of the discussions are available at Tradeloop's Ethics blog.

The second non-member company to be banned from Tradeloop was xFusion Trading, LLC. This complaint (Case #5044) involved a dispute over a refund payment schedule.

A Fast Track Fraud Alert (Case #5053) was issued to the Tradeloop community after a member reported a possible identity theft scam that targeted Recruit Veterans, LLC.

Finally, a new complaint between two Tradeloop members is in the information-gathering stage. It involves a dispute over Broadcast messages.

More information about Tradeloop's Ethics process and details of posted cases (including an archive section of older cases) is available at the Ethics area of Tradeloop's Web site.