FAQ: Stores

BBB works by allowing the consumer to buy products at participating BBB online stores at a discount and be rewarded with valuable "Buddy Bucks" in the process.  "Buddy Bucks" are redeemable for products at participating "We Buddy" stores.  Upon checkout shoppers have the option of alerting their Facebook friends to their purchase with a "Buddy Alert".  When any of their friends buys that product—or any product from the store they referred them to—they get more "Buddy Bucks".  When their friends do the same thing—alert their Facebook friends of their purchase and those friends buy something from that same store—the original shopper gets MORE Buddy Bucks.  Further, when their friend's friends buy a product, they get more "Buddy Bucks"; and finally when friend's friend's friends buy, everyone gets more Buddy Bucks!  Buddy Bucks are issued three levels down thus the name "Buddy Buddy Buddy".  No one has ever used Facebook for marketing in this way.  Ours is the very first REAL E-Commerce tool to truly monetize social networking by leveraging the deep, interconnected network of friends that is Social Media.

In addition to earning Buddy Bucks on purchase, the shopper is prompted upon checkout to alert their Facebook friends of their purchase because they are rewarded when those friends make referred store purchases.  When those friends also make a purchase at your store, the original shopper is rewarded with more Buddy Bucks.  They are rewarded again when their friend's friends make a purchase, and finally a third time when their friends' friends' friends make a purchase.  The referral chain goes down three levels: friends; friends of friends; and friends of friends of friends.  Statistics show that the average Facebook user has 130 friends.  When you do the math, that's 130 X 130 X 130 which comes out to over two million possible referrals resulting from just one sale!  That's what we call REAL social marketing!

We like to say "Why pay-per-click when you can pay-per-sale?"  Because BBB charges merchants after the sale is made and pay-per-click charges the merchant for a mere visit to their site — regardless of whether a sale is made or not — we think it's pretty clear which is superior.

Because BBB draws on social media to deliver referrals resulting from sales, the three-level rewards system incentivizes your customers end up doing your social media marketing for you!  The more purchases your customers share with their friends through Facebook (and eventually other social media channels), the more opportunities they will have to earn more valuable Buddy Bucks.  With BBB there's no reason to even bother engaging in social media marketing activities because your customers motivated efforts are far more effective than typical social media marketing!

1. The three levels of rewards driven by Facebook referral sales simply has no equal.  There is nothing at all like this available which can deliver rewards again and again and again—all from the sale of a single item.
2. BBB is a rewards program that gains it's power through the "portability" of Buddy Bucks.  Shoppers can redeem Buddy Bucks earned from one participating "We Buddy" store at any other "We Buddy" store with purchase.  This greatly adds to the value of Buddy Bucks by multiplying their versatility with each and every "We Buddy" store we add to our roster.

Store owners can "maximize" their inventory by offering selected items for Redeem Sales at significant discounts in order to drive traffic to their store. 
Here's How:
BBB sales items are selected by the store owner.  The incentive nature to BBB plays out in two ways: "Buddy Premium Sale items" that ISSUE Buddy Bucks with purchase, and "Buddy Redeem Sale items" that REDEEM Buddy Bucks with purchase.  Premium items have a fixed discount of 3% while Redeem Sale item discounts are determined by the store owner.  The Buddy Redeem Sale is the KEY FACTOR to understanding and leveraging the POWER of BBB as it applies to inventory management/maximization.  Remember this: Unlike pay-per-click where you pay for a lead and HOPE for a sale, with BBB you pay after the sale*.  This allows you to effectively maximize your inventory by selecting "loss leader" items with aggressive discounts for sale as Buddy Redeem items.  This prompts the viral referral nature of BBB to engage and drive customers to your store in the way of motivated Facebook referrals.  The greater the discount, the more shoppers you draw in.  With each sale resulting in a stream of motivated referrals, it doesn't take much to see how aggressive pricing revs up the sales model, drives more sales—which drives more motivated referrals—which brings in more shoppers.... and the cycle continues unabated.

* BBB charges the E-tailer a 3% fee for every BBB item sold (fee calculated on Sale Price not including shipping and taxes).

"Buddy Bucks" are valued by the individual Etailer.  A single Buddy Buck carries a value of about 50 cents.

BBB acts as an incentive for your customers to drive their social network of friends to your store.  By offering customers "Buddy Bucks" as a reward for purchasing, and then additional Buddy Bucks when their friends, friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends purchase "Buddy items" from your store, you are leveraging the power of Social Media.  And those friends, or "Buddies" are motivated in the same way.  And so too their friends. And so on and so on.  Further, you do not need a Facebook storefront.  All BBB sales take place on your store exactly as they do now.

You benefit from "getting in between" the natural discourse between friends in a social network chain and the purchasing power of those friends.  While the incentive nature of "Buddy Bucks" are paid three levels down, the referral nature is theoretically endless.  BBB possesses an exponential factor to the number of leads it brings to your store thus providing you a "viral" stream of shoppers.  BBB is a "set-it-and-forget-it" tool for marketing on Facebook which has no equal.

No. All sales takes place on your current store exactly as they do now.  At completion of transaction the shopper is taken to our site to "Buddy" the sale.

The BBB sales cycle begins much like offering a shopper a coupon discount as an incentive to buy.  However that is where the similarity ends.  For once a purchase is made, BBB performs the following functions:

1. It rewards the customer with "Buddy Bucks"
2. It prompts the customer to alert their social networks of friends of the purchase, either immediately after checkout, or anytime thereafter.
3. It rewards the customer again if one of their friends, or their "friends of friends", or their "friends of friends of friends", makes a purchase at your store.
4. It continues this process for every customer or "Buddy" sent to your store.

BBB takes the mystery out of Facebook for business and replaces it with a "wind it up and let it go" tool that generates sales.

There are 11 levels of BBB pricing.  One standard "starting point" which gives a discount plus the issuance of "Buddy Bucks", plus 10 options each of which allow for the redemption of "Buddy Bucks" against the sale price with a maximum of purchase for 100% "Buddy Bucks".  Here is a breakdown of the 11 levels:

SEE CHART:
BBB Pricing Level Chart

In addition, there is a 3% fee paid directly to BBB for every "Buddy Item" sold.

You the Etailer makes that decision.  The Buddy Etailer Control Panel allows you to easily designate which products to "Buddy".

There are TWO TYPES of Buddy Sales:

1. "Buddy Premium" which has a 3% discount and issues Buddy Bucks with purchase at a rate of 3 per $100.00 sale price (minimum of 3 issued for sales under $100.00); and
2. "Buddy Redeem" which redeems Buddy Bucks with purchase at the rate of 50 cents on the dollar.

Our Facebook page exclusively for store owners will allow you to interact with one of our Buddy Sales Strategy experts should you ever need assistance.  You decide the discount you want to set for each designated "Buddy Redeem" sale item.  The more aggressive you get with the "Buddy Sale Level" of pricing, the more shoppers you will get to your store, and the more friends will be referred, and so on.  In order to keep shoppers motivated, there is a ratio of Buddy Premium sale items versus Buddy Redeem items which must be maintained.  The Etailer Control Panel is "smart" and will assist you with choices and options as well.  Our Sales Strategy experts are also available by phone if you work better that way.

BBB issues "Buddy Bucks" at no cost to the Etailer.

You must first complete the preliminary sign up form here.  We will evaluate your store and respond within a couple of days.  Once approved, you will create a User Account and agree to the BBB Sellers Agreement.  The BBB Sellers Agreement simply outlines the BBB procedures and rules as noted above and provides us with the necessary information so we may set up billing for the 3% BBB fee for every item sold through a BBB referral to your store (fee based on sale price only excluding tax and shipping).  You will be required to post the "We Buddy" icon on your store's Home page.  You will have the option of adding any of several other "We Buddy" icons to your store pages as you see fit.

You can login to your account at any time to see the number of BBB sales your store has enjoyed; the gross amount of those sales; and also the number of "Buddy Bucks" your site has generated.  You can gauge the amount of discounts you have given as a result of BBB against the number of sales you have made via BBB, and also the total fees paid to BBB as a result of your BBB involvement.

We can't imagine why you'd want to, but YES!  You are not obligated in any way other than the 3% sales fee for items sold as a result of BBB.  You can quit BBB at any time by simply "un-designating" products for sale as "Buddy items" and by removing all reference to BBB on your site, and by informing BBB that you are no longer a "We Buddy" participating store.

All Buddy Bucks distribution is final.