eBay’s ProStores Version 9.0 to Arrive on March 19th, 2008

ProStores, an eBay company, is expecting to release version 9.0 of their eCommerce product on March 19th, 2008. I was pleased to see that among the many enhancements will be a better synchronization between ProStores and eBay in a number of ways. This includes:

• A quick store set-up in which a ProStores-based online store can be configured automatically from eBay listing, category, and other data;
• eBay Product Sync which allow changes to fixed price listings on eBay be mirrored in in a seller's ProStores catalog;
• And better multi-channel inventory tracking which will offer a more robust solution for inventory management across both sites (eBay and ProStores). If a seller has listed an item on both ProStores and eBay, the inventory count will be updated in ProStores when the item sellers on eBay (and an eBay listing will be ended if the inventory level is depleted).

There are many other enhancements and upgrades included in ProStores Version 9.0, and you can read more about it at:http://ecommerce.prostores.com/e_article001042772.cfm?x=b11,0,w

I specifically mention the eBay synchronization enhancements because the link between selling on eBay and on ProStores is particularly important to one of our current clients. Beyond that, I think it is an important selling point for the ProStores product itself, as I still have mixed opinions about ProStores in general. I anticipate posting a further review soon.

Now, I'm not sure if the development of ProStores Version 10.0 has begun or has even been planned, but I can think of a few additional enhancements that would make ProStores a better product in my opinion. Actually, this falls further under the category of ProStores and eBay collaboration and synchronization.

If you saw my recent post about eBay Express, you noted that I have mixed feelings about that eBay product as well. In short, I've been confused as to why eBay Express is missing some vital and commonly accepted eCommerce site characteristics, most notably, support for product attributes. It shouldn't be difficult for a buyer on an "express experience" shopping site to easily choose the specifics of an item like size, color, or even add-ons (think getting extra RAM with a new computer). It is not an a quick shopping experience if a buyer has to find another listing when they realize they want a different clothing size or some extra memory for their computer purchase.

Getting back to ProStores, I would love to see Version 10.0 focus on some solid collaboration between the ProStores and eBay Express teams. Both would increase their viability as eCommerce solutions if full support of and synchronization for product attributes were to be included. So not only have I suggested that eBay Express is long overdue for support of product attributes, but now I think it is time for ProStores to focus on product enhancements tailored for increased conversion rates for sellers via eBay Express.

Synchronization between eBay and ProStores needs to include some attention towards eBay Express. The more robust inventory control features to be introduced in ProStores Version 9.0 is a great first step in this direction. Next, eBay Express is working towards support for product attributes, it would be nice to see support from ProStores product development to find ways to collaborate with the eBay Express team and assist ProStores sellers in increasing their conversion rates on eBay Express. I should note that such a suggestion for collaboration is not specific to product attributes support only, and ProStores already offers such a feature. (And I might also note for the sake of clarity and full disclosure that I employed by eBay until I chose to leave recently, but I was not involved in the development of either of these products in any way).