What Trade Shows & Industry Events Do You Attend?

We're creating a page for the Tradeloop Web site that will list trade shows and industry events worldwide and we'd like your suggestions for events to include.

Will you be headed to San Francisco this fall for the ASCDI meeting or Tokyo next summer for Interop? Help us compile a list of shows and events and also share your thoughts about the events that you find most valuable to your business.

We've started with this list:

ASDI

• 2010 European Conference, June 23-25, Dublin, Ireland
• 2010 Summer Regional Reception, July 14, Minneapolis, MN
• 2010 Fall Conference, October 6-8, San Francisco, CA
• 2011 Spring Conference, upcoming details

COMDEX

• November 16-17, interactive and virtual event, "dedicated exclusively to the needs and opportunities of the high tech channel"

INTEROP

• Interop Mumbai, Sept. 28-30, 2010
• Interop New York: October 18-22, 2010
• Interop Las Vegas: May 8-12, 2011
• Interop Tokyo, June 2011

CeBIT

• CeBIT 2010, March 2-6, 10am-1pm, Germany
• CeBIT 2011, March 1 -5, 10am-1pm, Germany
  

Help us add others. Add your thoughts and suggestions here in the comments section.

User Profile Messages Highlight Trial Members & Banned Dealers

We've added two new classifications to company and user profiles in Tradeloop's member directory. There are now four profile classifications:

1. Member
2. Trial Member
3. Non-member
4. Banned - Ethics Violation

Previously, dealers with a 30-day Trial membership were listed as "Members," but some Tradeloop members thought that was misleading. Now, during the 30-day trial period, the dealer and company profile will display this label:


And a company that's banned from Tradeloop due to an Ethics violation will have this notation in its profile:

Look for these new classifications when you're visiting other dealers' member and company profiles. And please, share your thoughts here at the Tradeloop member blog.

New Warning Flags on Unverified Tradeloop User Accounts

We've added new warning flags to the user and company profiles of registered users at Tradeloop. These warning boxes alert members if some of the information supplied is incorrect, incomplete, or if Tradeloop has not verified it. This will clearly indicate if there are issues with information displayed on non-member accounts.

Remember that Tradeloop members must supply complete and correct information if they want their accounts to remain active. These new warning boxes are to alert you to potential problems with the information supplied by registered users at the site, not other members.

The new warning boxes serve two purposes: to remind Tradeloop members to do due diligence before agreeing to a deal and remind registered users to update or correct their information.

We designed them to attract attention.

For instance, a registered user who signs into his account that contains incomplete or unapproved information will see this warning box with a notation to contact Tradeloop to correct the problem:

In another example, a Tradeloop member who visits a company profile that contains information that has not been verified by Tradeloop will see this warning message:

We hope this change will encourage all registered users to provide correct contact information and/or update the information in their accounts. And we also encourage Tradeloop members to use care when dealing with non-members whose profiles display these warning messages.

At Tradeloop, combating fraud is a priority and we're constantly updating our member screening procedures and working to alert the community to fraudulent companies.

We'd like your opinion on this change. Will you find the warning messages useful?

Who's Spamming the Broadcast Lists? And What Should We Do About It?

Last month, a Tradeloop member complained about being spammed after he signed up for the DEC product list. After receiving several Broadcast emails that were not about DEC equipment but had been sent to the DEC list, he contacted Customer Support to complain. Was it a Tradeloop system problem, perhaps?

NO.

In fact, we recently implemented a new feature - Broadcast filters - that helps members control the content delivered to their email inboxes. You can set a broadcast filter to monitor Broadcasts and send you just the WTS messages for a particular Compaq part number or the WTB HP messages from Europe or many other combinations of variables. (Learn more about Broadcast filters.)

However, some Tradeloop members prefer to watch the market on a broader basis. Instead of setting a filter to look for particular manufacturer part numbers, they subscribe to entire manufacturer or keyword lists. And unfortunately, they sometimes have to scroll through Broadcasts for totally unrelated products. That's because some Tradeloop members are sending Broadcasts to the wrong lists - whether intentionally or not - and it's a form of spam.

Do you think another member is spamming Broadcast lists? Check the bottom of the Broadcast message for the "Keyword" line. It lists the names of all the Broadcast lists that received the Broadcast. If the sender appears to be sending Broadcast messages to unrelated lists, you can alert Tradeloop to possible list spamming.

We need your input.

• How should we define Broadcast spam?
  
• How should we handle the worst offenders?
  
• Is spamming the Broadcast lists a bannable offense?
  
• Should we issue warnings and if so, how many and in what format?

Tradeloop members: please share your thoughts and opinions on this important community issue here at the member blog.

Help the Gulf Coast - Tradeloop Will Match Donations 100%

Would you like to help the organizations and volunteers working to minimize the damage to the Gulf Coast? Make a donation through your Tradeloop account and we'll match it dollar for dollar. Through our matching gift offer, you can double the impact of your contribution.

The need is great. As oil flows into the Gulf of Mexico, wildlife and environmental groups are working feverishly to minimize the damage to coastal areas, fisheries, and local wildlife. That takes money and we invite all Tradeloop members to help with the effort.

The situation is quickly becoming both an economic and environmental disaster. The only way to mitigate the damage to small coastal businesses is to minimize the environmental damage to the Gulf.

Will you help? Yes, BP has pledged over and over to pay all costs - as well they should. But the environment isn't going to wait for the cases to drag through the court system.

Visit this page at the Tradeloop Web site to donate to the Gulf Restoration Network. We'll charge the amount to your Tradeloop account and match your contribution 100%. The Gulf Restoration Network is a coalition of environmental groups and concerned citizens that has worked since 1994 to protect and restore the coastal environment from Texas to Florida. Their challenge has never been greater.

Your donation won't stop the oil from pouring into the Gulf, but it can help lessen the environmental and financial damage that will affect the whole region for months - or even years.

Contact Multiple Sellers With A Single Email

Use Tradeloop's new RFQ checkboxes to select multiple sellers of a product and request a quote from each using one email contact form directly from the Trading Floor. Everyone on your list receives an individually-addressed RFQ email; they don't know who else (if anyone) you're contacting for a quote.

It's quick and easy:

• Visit the Trading Floor and enter your search term.
• On the search results page, select the vendors you'd like to contact by clicking the RFQ checkbox next to their listings.
• Scroll down to the green box at the bottom of the page and click on the link: Send RFQ Email.
• Enter your subject line and message text into the pop-up box and send the email.

Several Tradeloop members requested this feature because they found it time-consuming to contact sellers individually - particularly when they had a long list of needed items. This new feature allows you to quickly contact multiple sources with a single click.

Images Added To Computer Parts Detail Pages

We've integrated our extensive catalog of images with the inventory listings uploaded by Tradeloop members. Now, many computer parts detail pages display an image of the particular item. Searchers can see a thumbnail image of everything from a quick-release plate for a video or still camera to a PCI copper gigabit adapter:


Note that these thumbnail images are from Tradeloop's image catalog: they are not actual representations of the inventory items uploaded by Tradeloop members! It's still important to verify the condition of all items with the seller and ask for photos if there's any question about condition/quality.

But this is a neat way to add visual interest to the parts detail pages and also give searchers a quick "reality check" when they're viewing search results. After all, if you're looking for a replacement laptop battery and get a photo of a quick release plate, then you may want to verify your part number or search term.

Do you think searchers will find this new feature helpful? Share your opinion here at Tradeloop's member blog.

Use The New Ethics Search Function To Check For Fraudsters

We've added a new search function to the Tradeloop Ethics area to made it easier to find defendants in posted Ethics Cases. Now you can search on defendant name and sort cases by either date or defendant name.

Try out the new search by visiting the Posted Violations listed in the Ethics area of the site. The default sort is by date, so you see the most recent cases first. As this screen snippet shows, you can now sort by the defendant's last name as well:
Several Tradeloop members requested a more robust search feature to make it easier to check for Ethics violations. They're worried about fraud when dealing with new customers because there's no established business relationship - just a phone call or email message. Now, when someone contacts you with a great price on items for sale or wants to place a large order, it takes just a minute to check Tradeloop's Ethics area before agreeing to the deal.

Try the new search function and tell us what you think. Will you use this new function to check for violations? Why or why not?

Better Tradeloop Search Results With Fewer Duplicate Parts

We've implemented a new inventory tool at Tradeloop that helps make search results more useful and reliable. When a member uploads an inventory list, we automatically run a check on the file, look for duplicate parts, and delete the duplicates.

This is in response to member complaints about duplicate parts for the same dealer appearing in search results. We check three fields - part number, manufacturer, and condition - to determine if a part is a duplicate of another line item. IF all three match exactly, the line item is considered to be a match and a duplicate.

Note that we're only looking for duplicates in individual files. Other dealers can, of course, display inventory that matches. This new process is just to prevent a user from accidentally duplicating items in his/her inventory list.

Our goal is to make Tradeloop the number one search engine for computer parts by providing results that are comprehensive and relevant. This error-checking function helps both buyers and sellers because it makes search results more reliable and easy to read.

Many Tradeloop system upgrades have come in response to member suggestions. We welcome your comments here at the member blog.

Create Your Own Dealer Network With Tradeloop's New Connections System

Use Tradeloop's new Connections system to form your own personal network of trusted dealers and find new business opportunities. The Connections system is similar to LinkedIn, but offers more security because it's limited to the Tradeloop community.

You can invite any Tradeloop member or registered user to join your network. Here's how:

1. Go to the person's profile page and click on the "Add name to your Network" link.
2. That link takes you to the "Request Connection" page where you can type a short personal invitation.
   
   
3. Visit your account's "Manage Connections" page to check the status of your invitation.

The Manage Connections link on your Tradeloop Account Home page shows you the members you've already connected with, members you've invited to join your own network, and who has issued invitations to you.
You'll receive a notification email when other members invite you to join their networks. Accept their invitation using the "Accept Connection" button in the email invitation you receive. You can also join from your account's "Manage Connections" page. The middle column lists "Pending Approvals," which are invitations you've received but not accepted yet.

Tradeloop's Connections system is launching today. Check it out and share your comments here at the member blog. We want to you what you think!