| LED Digest 1531: International Job Markets |
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================================================== The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest ................................................. March 5, 2003 Issue #1531 ................................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ==== CONTINUING ================= --== Site Revamps and Outsourcing ==-- ~ Viggie Bala "Many people are writing in this thread with a nationalistic feeling..." ~ Khun Sanuk "...some people need to realize that the world is larger than just the US." --== Online Credit Cards & US Dollar ==-- ~ Todd Sumrall "This is a specific reply for Canadians..." ~ Philip Scriver "I find...PayPal excellent and easy to use." --== International Fraud Protection ==-- ~ Peter D'Aprix "It would be very useful if you could tell us exactly how to look [IPs] up." ~ Glyn Berrington "It is about time the banks started to sort this out..." ==== BILLBOARD =================== --== Small Business Web Design ==-- ~ Margaret Chiffriller ===== CONTINUING ================================= From: Viggie Bala Subject: Site revamps > I recently learned that even the very top companies in > the U.S. - including ones that portray themselves as > American as apple pie - are outsourcing to India... - Lorilyn Bailey, LED 1530 Many people are writing in this thread with a nationalistic feeling of US work should go to US programmers first. Maybe practical for other types of industry, but web designing / programming is truly an 'industry sans borders'. As for the top US companies outsourcing to India, it should be remembered that these companies are not catering to US alone. Much of their earnings comes from rest of the World. They were MNCs who see the whole world as one market. They try to be as cost-efficient as possible without compromising quality. On a different note, on companies portraying themselves 'as American as apple pie', they are doing this to create a feel good factor in their customers. Currently the cricket world cup is on, and in India the most vociferous companies that makes all kinds of patriotic noises and root for the Indian cricket team is, can you beleive it, Coca-cola and Pepsi! Guess, they do the same in UK, South Africa, Pakistan and Australia as well. Times have indeed changed. Everything is seen through the marketer's eyes and used for their purposes. For the US based programmers 'on the bench', they should try and move up in the value chain. Or move out of US and lead an affordable life, just as Lorilyn Bailey's (in LED 1530) programmer friend did. > ... I was lucky enough to find a brilliant American programmer > living (permanently) overseas... for less than half of a U.S. wage. I came across a few american programmers (in other forums), now living (permanently) in Thailand, Australia, etc. And also aware that a few have settled down in exotic island countries, living comfortably by doing the projects at 30 - 50% of the price they once did in US. Viggie Bala http://www.viggie.com ------- new post - same topic ------- From: Khun Sanuk Subject: Site revamps > ... offshore contractors who offer below minimum wage offers... > on American companies' projects AND the Americans who will > pay that do an injustice to their fellow Americans... - Merrilyn Romen, LED 1529 I think that some people need to realize that the world is larger than just the US. I live in Thailand and the minimum wage here is $4, a day! An average webdesigner here will earn about 8,000-20,000 Baht a month, that's about $190-$475. This is pretty much a normal salary as the cost of living here is much lower. My rent for instance, for a 3 bedroom house in the middle of Bangkok, is ~$180 a month. Most people pay much less, some as low as $40 a month. This has nothing to do with doing "an injustice to their fellow Americans", but with good economic sense. Would you pay 3-4 times the price of a car, because it was 'Made in America'? Nah, didn't think so. Oh, and as a non-American can I just say that I get really annoyed by the patriotism often expressed by Americans. Can we please leave the flagwaving out of the discussions here. Sanuk! Khun Sanuk ------- new post - new topic ------- From: Todd Sumrall Subject: Credit cards > US legislation... now insists on a one-to-one relationship > between merchant and merchant account, and... you have > to have a US bank account to do this. - Andreas Huttenrauch, LED 1530 Hello Ledr's, This is a specific reply for Canadians who have run into problems obtaining merchant accounts that need to bill in US dollars. I just want to let you know we specialize in getting merchant accounts for Canadians who need US dollar merchant accounts. Furthermore, we have a relationship with a US bank that will provide our Canadian merchants a US checking account with no incorporation required. They guarantee or clients a US checking account within 7 business days. We can help with this setup. Details and an application can be found at http://canada-merchant-accounts.com Sincerely, Todd Sumrall Total Merchant Services ------- new post - same topic ------- From: Philip Scriver Subject: Credit cards My business has prospered since I was able to charge and accept foreign currency payments via my PayPal merchant account. This allows me to accept & charge in US Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Yen, Euro and in my own currency Pounds Sterling. I have experienced no problems as indicated by Andreas. I suggest that he looks seriously at moving his merchant account. I find my the service I provide by PayPal excellent and easy to use. There are "some" irritating" events as PayPal is geared for ease of US customers rather than other countries, but if one looks at these as just a required level of security both my customers and myself can live with them. Cheers, Philip Scriver Explore Britain http://xplorebritain.com ------- new post - new topic ------- From: Peter D'Aprix Subject: Fraud protection > Check the IP address. Ensure your developer / software > includes these in the order and learn how to look them up. - Martyn Gay, LED 1523 Dear Mr. Gay, Thank you for your very informative responce. It would be very useful if you could tell us exactly how to look them up. It would save a lot of us a lot of time if you know the answer. Many thanks Peter D'Aprix exclaimbranding.com ------- new post - same topic ------- From: Glyn Berrington Subject: Fraud protection I just like to add the we in the UK are in total agreement with Ron Coble (issue 1525). UK bank offer no help in verifying card details and take a very offhand view with regard chargebacks. We do the majority of our trade in the UK mainly due to the price of clothing in the US being much cheaper but we do have customers in Japan and other parts of Europe. Like Ron we have a standard email that when an International order is made we send out asking for a fax or scan of their last credit card statement. The majority of our customers are very happy to do this and are pleased to know that companies are working for their safety. It must be said that the majority of our attempted fraudulent orders come from Java even though it seems that most of the people that live here do not know were they live and give the country as Hong Kong and even New Zealand. It is about time the banks started to sort this out and didn't leave such things to the internet traders who really have very little experience of this, but seem to understand the problem. Glyn Berrington headstrong.co.uk ==== BILLBOARD ==================================== <Moderator Comment> Here's a post that I wasn't able to fit into the "Darwin and the World Wide Web" thread that ended in the beginning of February. Margaret has some great insights and I thought I'd give it room in today's LED. Enjoy! -Adam --------------- From: Margaret Chiffriller Subject: Small business web design In defense of the good designers who work at mom and pop shops... I have to agree with Eric. In many cases, the overhead is low and the prices reflect that, rather than the level of expertise. My husband and I started designing web sites in 1996. His background is in graphic design and I have years of computer and freelance writing experience. We cover our expenses at market rates, but still come in within the budget of most small business sites. I know plenty of other designers who create web sites for small companies at the same reasonable rates. We fell into designing because it was exciting and fun. It still is. We do corporate work, but the small business sites are the ones that we like best. By the way, the rates we charge for corporate work are higher than our small business sites are charged. Maybe that's one reason that we can afford to work within the budget of smaller companies and nonprofits. A search for companies that target small business sites should have brought you a decent number of good designers to work with. Most of these smaller companies show a portfolio online, so that you can see what kind of work is being done by the firm. There are a lot of people who bought a program that allows them to "design" web sites. One company came to us after the"designer" they were working with informed them that there was no way to change the background color on their site! Copy writing and graphic skills don't come in a box. No one packages experience with search engine algorithms. Using a canned program will get a site on the net, but it may not be an asset to your business! Running your own business is too time consuming for taking on the nitty gritty of design and optimization. Most of our business comes from word of mouth. Talking to other small business people in your area should give you leads to design firms that can handle a small business site and do it well. Yes, you get what you pay for, but that doesn't mean you need to overpay to work with a good design team! Margaret Chiffriller Web Design by Chiff chiff.com ------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1995-2003 Adam Audette. All Rights Reserved. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "You may delay, but time will not." - Benjamin Franklin |
