Photo from bharian.com.my

Tanah Tumpahnya Darahku!

Congratulations to the Malaysian football team for being crowned the Champions of Southeast Asia!

Malaysia won against Indonesia 4-2 on aggregate. Malaysia went into the the 2nd Leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 in Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta with a 3-0 aggregate from their win in Bukit Jalil in the 1st Leg, and was crowned Champions although they suffered a 2-1 defeat in Jakarta.

Congratulations Harimau Malaya! Let this be a stepping stone to something bigger! Asian Cup next perhaps? We’ll see..

While we can start selling unused things around the house to start profiting, at one point we willrun out of stuff to sell.

So here are the favorite sites that I would refer to for my product sourcing to sell on eBay:

Alibaba
Website: www.alibaba.com

Alibaba.com is one of the top portal, if not the top, to find wholesalers from around the globe. With thousands of suppliers offering many products, it is one of the eBay Powersellers’ best kept secrets. Suppliers on Alibaba usually requires an MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity), so be sure to ask the suppliers before ordering.

You can sign up for a free buyer account, and with the free account, you can chat/contact the suppliers to negotiate pricing, MOQ, shipping terms etc.

DHGate
Website: www.dhgate.com

DHGate is a trending wholesale marketplace site. Most of the sellers on DHGate are Factory suppliers, so you will be getting prices that are close to what the big time retailers are getting.

Some of the suppliers do require an MOQ, so be sure to ask before ordering.

One of the great features of DHGate that I like is their escrow service. Basically when you order and pay to DHGate (they accept Paypal, Mastercard, Visa & Discover), DHGate will hold the payment and instruct the supplier to send your item first. Once you receive the order and are satisfied with the order, only then will DHGate pays to the supplier.

This neat feature definitely helps me out as I’ve been scammed by suppliers before.

So get started! If you’re looking for a good place for product sourcing, go to these sites and you’ll be amazed at how many products there just waiting to be sold by you. Good Luck!

Furthermore, Powweb Hosting also claims that they offer the following with their $3.88/month hosting solution:

• FREE Domain
• UNLIMITED Storage & Bandwidth
• $125 in Google Adwords, Yahoo! Search and Facebook Ad credits
• Free Yellowpages.com Listing
• MySQL, PHP, CGI
• Point & Click WYSIWYG Site Builder
• 30 Day Money Back Guarantee

The offer sounds Too Good to be True doesn’t it?

Well the verdict is…. IT IS TRUE! POWWEB HOSTING is NOT A SCAM!

I had a small project designing a website for a client just recently, and decided to give Powweb Hosting a try given their great deals & freebies, and found out that their claims for superior service is a fact, NOT A SCAM!

Not only that, their customer service is top notch, especially with the option to contact them via Live Chat. They were available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, even when I contacted them once at 1pm (Malaysian time, GMT +8), and again at 3.30am. Seems that although they are in the USA, there is no problem to contact them be it during the day, or late in the wee hours of the morning, in any time zone!

So if your small business needs a good hosting, I can tell you that Powweb Hosting is well worth the money. Their $3.88/month Unlimited Hosting Solution package with free domains is one of the best in the market, if not the best.

To be real honest, I was so attracted to Fatcow’s  brand name that I decided to host this blog with them. To me, the layout of their site is “relaxing” to the eye, and it was a “fun” brand to buy from. Below is their landing page.While I do not have the exact numbers, I bet they are doing well selling their web hosting packages.

Other than that, Fatcow offers Unlimited Storage & Bandwidth, definitely helpful to store my files and handle millions of visitors (will get there someday).

So that’s a lesson to be learned – when marketing products, you don’t have to be serious or formal all the time. Sometimes a tinge of humor will go a long way in helping you bring in the sales (and of course, a “Beefy” discount will also help… lol).

So if you’re interested to join the herd, checkout Fatcow’s 50% discount offer. They’re even giving away a Smart ForTwo car, so don’t miss out.

Maybank Visa Debit Card

A visitor emailed me the other day asking about the spending limits for the Maybank Visa Debit Card. They have also asked how can they change/increase the spending limits of the card.

By default, Maybank has set the spending limit for the Maybank Visa Debit Card to RM500 per day. The spending limit includes purchases made online or offline.

You can change the spending limit to a maximum of RM5,000 per day, however you cannot do it online. The spending limit (along with withdrawal limit) for the Maybank Visa Debit Card can ONLY be changed at the Maybank ATM. I have called the Maybank customer service line, and they did confirm this, and that the spending limit cannot be changed online.

Do hope this helps! Please do email me at info [at] mrcuz [dot] com if you have questions, and I’ll do my best to answer them for you

Of late, there has been many emails “supposedly” from CIMB claiming that your CIMB Clicks account needs re-verification and such, and requires you to login at on a link that they provide.

DO NOT FALL FOR THIS CIMB CLICKS PHISHING SCAM!

Ignore the email, and do not click on the link that they give in the email.

This is the most recent CIMB Clicks email phishing that I received (links removed of course)

We noticed several unsuccessful login attempts on your CIMB Clicks online bank account. Therefore your account has been suspended as part of our security precaution.

You are therefore required to re-confirm your account details on file with us in order to prove that you are the legitimate owner of the account.

This is a 2 step authentication process, which must be completed.

Confirm Your Details [link to the phishing site]

Note: You are requested to have your mobile phone close to you

You will be requesed to enter a Transaction Authorisation Code (TAC) in other to restore your account access.

You shall receive the Transaction Authorisation Code (TAC) on your mobile phone during the step 2 of the account restoration process

Failure to provide the Transaction Authorisation Code (TAC) which you will receive on your mobile phone shall lead to permanent closure of your online banking account

You are advised to adhere strictly to the instructions provided in this email.

Thank you,
CIMB Clicks Team.

Phishing scam (pronounced as ‘fishing’), is an act of masquerading to acquire your sensitive information such as bank account numbers, passwords etc. Phishing scammers will usually send emails to unsuspecting victims, posing as a bank officials requesting you to update your information, confirm your details and more. Phishing scam is a major financial threat, and in the UK, an estimated total of £23.2 million has been lost to phishing scam in 2005 (source: Association for Payment Clearing Services, APACS. Click here for article).

So be very careful guys! Always remember to login from cimbclicks.com.my if you want to check your CIMB account, and never use any of the email links to login!

Snapped this pic over at Tesco Cheras a few weeks back.

There are 2 possibilities here:

1. Malaysia is a very prosperous country. So prosperous that even a disabled/handicapped guy can afford an RM200,000 Toyota Estima.

2. Damn-bugger-with-no-civic-consciousness parked in a parking space reserved for a disabled customer.

If it was case number #1, I should be kicked in the butt for being such a loser.. I drive Proton only!

In any case, if the parking is reserved for the Disabled customers or for customers with young infants, don’t park there. Be a kind hearted guy or gal!

Happy New Year Malaysia!! What’s your Plan for 2010?

Christmas is (almost) here!

To all readers & visitors, I would like to wish a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

If you’re not celebrating Christmas, have a great 3 day weekend! (Yay!!).

Finally we will find out who’s on Santa’s Good Boys & Good Girls list for 2009.. lol

So, what’s your New Year’s resolution & target for 2010?

Google Adwords is now offering RM200 worth of advertising, on the house!

Google Adwords RM200 Coupon/Voucher Link

Call it a social responsibilty or a marketing move or what not, Google is offering an RM200 stimulus package for Malaysian Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to advertise on the Google Adwords platform. Google Adwords is the world’s number Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising platform, and many businesses worldwide, from sole proprieties to Public Listed companies have advertised their products and services on Google Adwords.

For many affiliate marketers, Google Adwords is the primary source of traffic and conversions. So if you’re planning to start affiliate marketing through PPC advertising and you’re short of capital, take advantage of this offer.

Google did not state as to how long this offer will last, so Signup Now as they can (and always do) take it down anytime!

It has come to my attention of late that many Paypal users withdrawing to CIMB Bank (in Malaysia) is facing some problems, and most of their withdrawals were rejected and charged a fee of RM15 (for failed withdrawal).

This error is mainly due to incorrect MEPS routing code (SWIFT code).

Quick Info – the MEPS routing code or SWIFT Code is the bank’s identification code, which consists of alphabets and/or numbers. Some banks have all alphabets as their routing code, some others have a combination of alphabets and numbers.

The MEPS Routing code or SWIFT Code is required by most banks when making telegraphic transfers (or wire transfers), and is required by Paypal in order to withdraw funds to bank accounts.

Paypal incorrectly stated CIMB’s routing code as BSNAMYK1, which is actually Bank Simpanan Nasional’s routing code. CIMB’s correct MEPS Routing Code (SWIFT code) is CIBBMYKL.

So if you did experience this problem, please check your bank details with Paypal again. I’m sure 99% of cases of failed Paypal withdrawal to CIMB Bank is caused by this problem.

Apart from this problem, Malaysian Paypal users are “enjoying” the Paypal withdrawal to Malaysian bank facility as it has been a long awaited feature, and there hasn’t been any complaints. The fees are much lower  compared to withdrawing to a Visa debit card, and in most cases, faster (4 working days max).

So no more excuses not to sell online using Paypal for Malaysians