Archive for November, 2008

Internet Shopping (with us) is Safe!

November 27, 2008 at 10:37 am · Filed under online security, Our business ·Tagged , , , , , ,

I’ve recently read reports in the technology press saying that a percentage of Irish e-commerce sites don’t take customer security seriously.  See one of the reports here. I have no reason to doubt the statistics but this type of report fills me with dread, as it gives the impression that it is unsafe to do online shopping with any Irish e-commerce websites.

Firstly let me say this at the top of my e-voice to everyone who’s listening. “We do take security extremely seriously”. Why wouldn’t we? Our whole business (and livelihood!) is dependent on convincing our potential customers to trust us and enter their personal and credit card details on our website. So, here is a list of the reasons why you can be sure that shopping with us at puddleducks.ie is safe:

  1. All communication of your personal and credit card data is encrypted. Check the “https://” and the padlock on our checkout pages.
  2. We have an up-to-date security cert from Thawte. Check that it is current by clicking on the cert. It will show it is current and it will display today’s date.
  3. For credit card processing we use Realex – the leading payment service provider, also used by companies such as Aer Lingus and Vodafone.
  4. We do not store your credit card details on our server. In fact, we never ever see them.
  5. We show our actual real address and land-line phone number on our homepage. Go on – phone us – we are real people!
  6. We publish a security policy on the site showing the measures we take to protect your personal data.

It is important to educate internet users on how they know whether a certain online shopping site is safe or not. Occasionally, we hear scare stories in the media regarding internet security. In some of these reports, instead of teaching people about the few steps to know when a site is safe or not, commentators often say “To be really sure only shop at large well known websites such as Amazon or Ebay”. This type of advice can have a huge impact our business and is very simplistic. 

Instead, the advice should be “Learn the difference between a safe and unsafe site and then go shop at the safe and secure Irish-owned small businesses (like us!) that are introducing more competition and extra choice to the Irish online shopper. Learn that sites taking the type of security measures listed above can be trusted and you can safely shop with them.” Please!

— Aedan

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Drumming for Business

November 23, 2008 at 10:39 pm · Filed under Blogging, networking ·Tagged ,

I attended the Women in Business Network Evening last Wednesday.  It’s organised by the Cork City and County Enterprise Boards and usually involves a motivational speaker but we had been told to expect something a bit different this week.  It certainly was! Dave from Team Samba was on board for the night and his mission was to turn a bunch of business women into a Samba Orchestra – in just one hour!  Brazilian Drumming was the order of the night! 

By virtue of the chair that I choose to sit in when I arrived, I found myself as the Lead Bass Drummer and that meant if I missed a beat then everyone went wrong!  That’s a lot of pressure for someone who gave up aerobics due to lack of musical co-ordination!!  Everyone in the room had an instrument of some kind and each instrumental group had to learn their own little piece as well as our combined effort!  I have to admit that I was concentrating so hard on my own drumming that for much of the time I barely noticed the rest of the beats going on around me!  And to be sure, I did make a few mistakes, missing the starting beat (just a couple of times….) which Dave was sure to point out to everyone!  But it was great fun, I don’t think there was anyone in the room who didn’t enjoy it and certainly by the end everyone was buzzing with energy and smiles!  We even managed to play our Brazilian piece to some partygoers from the room next door!  

At the beginning of the evening organiser Joanne Hession (Cork Enterprise Board) had asked the question – ‘If you had know what the evening entailed would you still have come?’  My answer is “Absolutely – but I might have just chosen my seat a bit more carefully next time !!‘

— Suzanne

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Special Offer for Facebook Fans

November 13, 2008 at 1:18 am · Filed under facebook, Our business ·Tagged , ,

I’ve just added a Special Offer for anyone who’s joined us as a fan on the PuddleDucks Facebook page: Free Shipping on any orders placed before Christmas.

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To avail of the offer:

1. Make sure you have joined as a fan on the PuddleDucks Facebook page

2. Just write “Facebook Fan” in the Customer Comments on your online order and we’ll refund your shipping charge.

Cheers!

— Aedan

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New additions to the PuddleDucks range

November 8, 2008 at 1:13 am · Filed under Our business ·Tagged , ,

When we started out with PuddleDucks in 2005 we had 4 items in our range. I have just counted what we have now and I am surprised to see that we now have 84 items available for online sale. Phew! My … how we’ve grown! 

Anyway, our two most recent additions are our Apron and our new Fleece-lined Coat. We have had them manufactured especially for us,  to our specifications. This is the first time we’ve had this done and we’re delighted at how they have worked out.

Kids Apron

Kids Apron

The apron was made at the suggestion of an owner of a creche who wanted a full length waterproof apron for the kids doing activites like painting and water play. They come in either red or navy and are priced at €8.00. For more information click here

 

Fleece-lined Coat

Fleece-lined Coat

The second new item is the Waterproof Fleece-lined coat. This was made at the suggestion of a primary school principal who wanted a snuggly school coat suitable for everyday wear. It is made from a soft waterproof material combined with a warm and snug fleece lining. It is a lovely general purpose or school coat. It is priced at €39.50 and more info can be found here.

 We hope you like them.

Oh … and many thanks to our models Andrea, Jake and Sophie.

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