Now is it just me or does it seem like the Obama administration is changing all the logos associated with the Presidency? From the Presidential seal, to the State of Union and Whitehouse.gov – everything is being shifted over to brand Obama. Whats next the flag?

When we advise clients on rebranding, we typically advise in either doing gradual changes to reflect the new brand or an all-out media blitz when the brand changes – if budget allows. Interesting enough, the Obama camp seems to be curiously evolving much of America’s most treasured icons into his own brand.

What’s the danger or concern in this? Image is perception. Without an image their is no perception and perception is reality. We are made to think the hope and change essence of brand Obama is somehow our only hope and future for a better America.

This is why branding is so powerful, especially when you have a multi million dollar marketing and media budget backing it.

Below is a video proving some of these observations.

Volusion vs. PayPal: Which to choose?

If you’re in the process of starting an online business, you most likely have checked out PayPal or at least heard of it. If you’re looking to sell a few products whether they be books, CDs, to taking donations and don’t have a lot of money to invest, PayPal is a good option — but perhaps not the best option.

I frequently get questions on the differences betweeen Volusion and PayPal. Included below, I’ve listed some of the pros and cons about Volusion and PayPal that we’ve gathered ovet the past few years to help you understand the differences. To be fair, Garrison Everest has clients set up on PayPal and Volusion for their online businesses needs. The decision on which solution to choose were determined by the clients budget, type of products and the requirements of their business.

Pricing
Setup Fee: $49		Free Setup
Hosting by Rackspace for 25 products: $25		Price Included
SSL: $79/per year		Free SSL – unless you’re using a graphical header
Transactions fees: 2.17% + .27 per transaction		Transaction fees: 2.9% + .30 per transaction
No cancellation fees		No cancellation fees
Support
24/7 Free Timely Support		Customer service is non-existent. They used to hide their telephone number, (intentionally – by their own admission) and only provide support via “form” emails. Source: paypalsucks.com
Design
Custom template design or you can choose from Volusions 15+ free templates or have a customized cart designed.		Header and background color only. If you use a header graphic, you’ll need to secure the images with a an SSL, otherwise Windows browsers alerts the user of non-secure items to display. You can choose your own buttons but will need to embed the code in your website.
Customized user experience and features		N/A
Optional account signup which decreases cart abandonment		Must sign up for an account unless you have a business or premier account otherwise you will be prompted to sign up for an account
Professional and creditable		Amateur
Product delivery & admin
Manually deliver downloads directly from site in two clicks		Require secure access hosting or to be sent by email. Files over 5MGs, would need to link third-party service.
Interface directly with fulfillment center in most cases		Invoice sent to designated inbox
Misc.
You will be notified of a possible fraudulent account or transaction via your gateway provider -we recommend Authorize.Net		Paypal can cancel or shut down your cart ay any time if they record a possible fraudulent charge.
		According to PayPal accepting their ToS (Terms of Service) in effect means you waive your rights to credit card consumer protection laws if you want to use their service, and that you may not issue a chargeback for unauthorized use of your credit card and PayPal account, or if you do, then they have the right to limit your account.
		They fail to mention their total lack of security to prevent your account from being compromised by phishing & spoof sites. That if your account is accessed by a criminal using one of these methods, PayPal will hold YOU monetarily & legally responsible!
Search Engine Optimization
Built-in		N/A
International Capability
International capability – with Gateways available in the UK, Canada and US only		International capability across all markets. For example, if you want to collect payments in Hong Kong you may do so with PayPal

Garrison Everest is a Denver Web Design Company and Authorized Volusion Reseller. We have been working with Volusion for over 3 years now. We find the platform very flexible and more importantly it gives our clients everything they need to do business online. It also enables them to have a shopping cart / website that can be customized to fit their branding. Contact us to learn more or download our Volusion Web Design Process.

Related Article: Forrester Forecast: Online Retail Sales Will Grow To $250 Billion By 2014