Trade Shows & Events You Can't Afford to Miss

From Atlanta, GA to Singapore, wholesale IT dealers will be meeting at various locations throughout the first quarter of 2011. Learn about new products, services, industry trends, and meet with your peers to discuss the state of the IT industry.

ASCDI USA Winter Reception Atlanta, Georgia, USA: 01/13/11
The Association of Service and Computer Dealers International (ASCDI) represents IT companies that provide hardware, software, maintenance services, leasing services, business solutions, technical support and value added services.

RLTS 2011 Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: 2/7-2/11
Third Party Service Providers (3PSPs) will be exhibiting their Reverse Logistics services & solutions at the Reverse Logistics Conference & Expo in Las Vegas in February 2011.

NTCA Expo 2011 Dallas, Texas, USA NTCA (National Telecommunications Cooperative Association): 2/15-2/16
EXPO ‘11 gives you direct access to key decision makers and industry buyers in the rural telecommunications sector.

ASCDI Asian Conference Mandarin Orchard, Singapore: 2/17-2/18
The Association of Service and Computer Dealers International (ASCDI) represents IT companies that provide hardware, software, maintenance services, leasing services, business solutions, technical support and value added services.

Enterprise Connect (VoiceCon) 2011 Orlando, Florida, USA: 2/28-3/2
The leading enterprise communications event in the industry to swap logic with your peers, see the latest solutions available, and analyze how to take advantage of all the dramatic changes reshaping our industry.

CeBit 2011 Hanover, Germany: 3/1-3/5
CeBIT is the world’s largest trade fair showcasing digital IT and telecommunications solutions for home and work environments.

IWCE 2011 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: 3/9-3/11
At IWCE, visit over 330 exhibitors showcasing the hardware, applications, interoperability and integration that will make your systems more effective and efficient.

Comptel Plus Las Vegas, Nevada: 3/20-3/23
USA COMPTEL PLUS is the preeminent networking event for innovative communications companies, hosted by the trade association COMPTEL.

ASCDI 2011 Spring Conference New Orleans, Louisiana, USA: 3/23-3/25
The Association of Service and Computer Dealers International (ASCDI) represents IT companies that provide hardware, software, maintenance services, leasing services, business solutions, technical support and value added services.

AIIM 2011 (info360) Washington, DC, USA: 3/21-3/24
Join us as thousands of technologists and business users from the world’s largest and most successful companies gather at info360 to explore the technologies that are about to run your business.

Data Center World Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: 3/27-3/31
Hosted by AFCOM, the leading association of data center management professionals, is a dynamic community providing a forum for discussion, learning and problem-solving.

How Should We Screen & Approve New Tradeloop Members?

As we continue to refine and revise our Tradeloop member validation procedures, we'd like input from community members. What would you like to see in terms of validation of new members and how should we determine qualifications for membership?

Here's a brief description of what we already look for and/or require when a company applies for membership. Note that there are more checkpoints, but we keep them confidential to thwart fraudulent companies.

• Check their IP address.
• Verify email address and phone number.
• Search for public listings and compare the addresses listed there with the information provided to us.
• Search for public complaints against the company.

If some of the information isn't correct or seems suspicious, then Tradeloop's customer support staff will contact the prospective member and ask for additional information, such as industry references or other documentation.

It's a time-consuming process, but worth the effort to help stop fraud.

We also encourage Tradeloop members to do their own due diligence and visit a member's company profile before agreeing to a deal. The profiles display how long they have been members and it shows a message if they are non-members or if their information has not been verified.

We're always updating and strengthening our anti-fraud procedures at Tradeloop and we'd like member input on this important topic:

What do you think should be required of new members?

• Bank references
• Trade references
• Other documentation to establish identity

Anything else? Tell us what you think here at the member blog.

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.

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.

New Broadcast Messages Provide More Information in an Easy-to-Read Format

With Tradeloop's new Broadcast email format it's easier to read messages on your mobile phone, scan your email inbox for a particular sender, access the message content - and more. We launched the new email format last week and are already getting feedback from Tradeloop members.

Important changes include:

• Mobile phone accessibility: Broadcast emails now display in full size, making them easier to read on an iPhone or other mobile device.
• Content on top: We eliminated the administrative information at the top of the message. Now, if your email reader uses a preview pane you can see the message content right at the top.
• Broadcast filter name displays: The filter name displays at the top of the Broadcast so you can see exactly why you're receiving a particular Broadcast - such as "WTS Dell laptops in Europe." Learn more about Broadcast filters and how to set up your own custom filters.
• See the sender name: Previously, all Broadcasts displayed the "From" address as "broadcast@tradeloop.com." Now, you see the actual sender's email address, making it easier for you to quickly scan your inbox and search for a particular sender.
• Subject line now says "Tradeloop," followed by the rest of the subject. That's how you know it's a Tradeloop Broadcast message.
  

Note that you may want to adjust the filters in your email account. Some Tradeloop members had an email filter set up based on "broadcast@tradeloop.com" that sent Broadcast messages to a special folder. Now, instead of filtering based on sender, you may want to filter messages based on the "subject" line instead.

We've received comments and feedback already from some Tradeloop members. If you haven't commented yet, let us know what you think.

What do you think? Do you like the new message format or do you prefer the old format?

Share your opinions with our staff and with other Tradeloop members here at the member blog.

Top Tradeloop Blog Discussions - Have You Shared Your Opinion?

Two Tradeloop blog posts this months generated a flurry of comment and discussion. Both were Member Discussion posts about inventory: the pros and cons of posting prices and the issue of "ghosting" inventory (posting items you don't actually have).

Here are some excerpts from the discussions:

Why don't members post prices?

• "We normally do not post prices because our prices will change often.
  [...]
  if someone wants only a few it costs us a lot more per unit to cover the cost to process that with internal labor, packing, and admin work, however 1,000 units and that cost goes way down.
  
  We also have product all over the country so depending on where the customer is could have some bearing on the price as well."
  

• "I have seen too many clients and vendors lately duped by brokers without capital or credit. Pricing and availability is so visible, they can make it appear they have it all!"
  
  
• "Also, it would help if people post their target prices on WTBs, but this should be voluntary."

How should we handle members who post inventory they don't have?

• "You're going to lose at least 25% of your members if you start doing anything like you are talking about. A broker usually is selling someone else's product or inventory and dealers do the same."
  
  
• "I’m for a '3 strikes you're out' style of enforcement for something like this."
  
  
• "Not every company has 'real-time' inventory so you will be losing a lot of business. We have an inventory of over 1000 line items and it changes by the minute."
  
  
• "Create a tab for positive of negative marks ala ebay."
  
  
• "There is a distinct line between advertising a 'list' for sale, or gathering 'bids.'
  
  
• "...it will be difficult to enforce these situations, or even to have the capability and resources to investigate and identify the malicious situation."
  
  
• "I would like to see Tradeloop investigate this issue further and implement some type of falsifying infraction. Help keep the businesses who mean business alive and quell the abilities of no name startup broker-only companies from gulping up so many of our valuable consumers."

The "ghosting" inventory post seems to be a hot button issue with many Tradeloop members. Please share your opinion on both issues with us and other Tradeloop members.

Why don't members post prices?
How should we handle members who post inventory they don't have?

Member Discussion: Some Tradeloop Members Don't Post Prices - Why?

Only Tradeloop members can view wholesale prices and search engines don't display wholesale prices from inventory lists. Even so, some Tradeloop members are reluctant to display prices when they upload inventory. Why?

It's an important issue for many buyers. We've had a number of new Tradeloop members express their frustration about the lack of pricing. They complain that some members don't want to display their "best price," but would rather haggle via phone or email. Buyers however, prefer to know the price in advance.

We want to remind all Tradeloop members about the benefits of posting prices:

• Better search results position. Listings that have prices displayed are always listed before parts without prices – even for Premier members.
• More reliable price history data to help you track demand and market changes.
• Increased sales! Buyers are more likely to contact sellers who post prices.

Remember that retail members never have access to wholesale prices, so you can post prices without eroding the value of the market.

Buyers: Would you rather call and haggle over the price or are you less likely to call those sellers?

Sellers: Do you post prices? Why or why not?

Share your comments with the Tradeloop community here at the member blog.

Member Discussion: How Should We Handle Members Who Post Inventory They Don't Have?

How many times have you found what you need on Tradeloop and contacted the seller, ready to buy - only to find out they don't really have the product in stock?

That's definitely frustrating and it's also against the rules at Tradeloop to post inventory you don't have in stock. How do you think we should enforce it?

Naturally, we don't mean the member who just sold the part a hour before you called about it. Rather, we're focused on the chronic offenders. Tradeloop is a trading community - not a place for people to advertise inventory they don't actually have.

We're discussing options internally, and we'd like your opinion too:

1. Should it be an Ethics violation?
2. How should we police it?
3. Should we ban someone for it or just delete their inventory?
   

We urge you to comment here at the blog so other members can review and discuss options. Tradeloop is a community: we want member input before we implement new features and policies.