The Retail Review - Virginia Retail Merchants Association

The Retail Review
Vol. 49, No. 4 August/September 2011
Attend the Annual Membership Meeting on Oct. 7 - 8, 2011
Meet and greet the VRMA
Legislator of the Year during the evening. (Business
attire)
On Saturday, October 8th,
attend a sit down breakfast
just prior to the Annual
Membership Meeting.
You’ll hear speakers on issues of importance to retail.
Caption describing picture or
graphic.
Plan now to join us on
Friday, October 7th, for
the Welcome Reception/
Dinner/Silent Auction.
Enjoy great food, good
company and do some
early holiday shopping,
online prior to the meeting and at the silent
auction.
An important event at
the VRMA Annual
Meeting is this fundraiser for the political
action committee
(VARPAC). Funds from
the PAC are used to
help elect retail-friendly
state legislators.
While in Richmond, the
afternoon will provide a
great opportunity for you,
your family and/or friends
to visit the area. Richmond
falls are typically picture
perfect with colorful foliage
and warm daytime temperatures. (Let us know how we
can help you plan the afternoon.)
Calendar of Events
HOTEL REGISTRATION
DEADLINE
SEPTEMBER 9
COUNCIL OF STATE RETAIL
ASSOCIATIONS MTG.
SEPTEMBER 24-27
ENERGY STAR &
WATERSENSE SALES TAX
HOLIDAY
OCTOBER 7-10
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP
MEETING
OCTOBER 7-8
ELECTION DAY FOR ALL
VIRGINIA HOUSE & SENATE
MEMBERS
NOVEMBER 8
Inside this issue:
Duel Membership with VRMA and NRF
The National Retail Federation’s stated mission is to advance the interests of the retail industry through advocacy, communications and education. As a member of the VRMA you
are now automatically a member of the NRF. A duel membership sticker is included in
this mailing for display on your door or window.
This is an important benefit of VRMA membership. As the world’s largest retail trade association and the voice of retail worldwide, NRF’s global membership includes retailers of
all sizes, formats and channels of distribution as well as chain restaurants and industry partners from the United States and more than 45 countries abroad.
CHAIR CORNER
2
NEW MEMBERS
2
ON LINE BIDDING
INFORMATION
3
NEWS ARTICLE
4
VRMA/NRF MEMBERSHIP STICKER
ANNUAL MEETING
REGISTRATION FORM
AUCTION ITEM
DONATION FORM
Thank you for your membership and your participation in the VRMA. Please
recommend your fellow
businessmen in your community to join with you and
the VRMA in making Virginia a more friendly retail
environment.
Chair Corner — Ken Vaughan
We are half way through the
2011 calendar year. The first
half was busy for the VRMA
and the second half will be
busy and challenging as well.
The VRMA is planning our
annual membership meeting.
Please help make this a more
meaningful and successful
event by encouraging your
nearby managers and associates to attend this year’s
meeting at the Westin Hotel
on Broad Street in Richmond, VA. All will enjoy the
Friday night reception, food
stations, and silent auction
and the organization will
benefit from your manager’s
participation.
As we move into the coming
election the VRMA staff
and Board are working to
support legislators and candidates who are business and
retail friendly.
We need your help in this
effort. Please know where
your local candidates stand
on business and retail issues
and vote for those you feel
will make the best legislator.
Please encourage all of your
associates, friends, and
neighbors to vote in the primaries and the November
elections.
VARPAC, our political action committee, needs your
support as well. Please participate by donating to and
participating in our silent
auction to raise funds to help
us support legislators who
are retail business friendly.
Our silent auction will be
online as well as part of our
Friday night reception on
President
Laurie Peterson Aldrich
Chairman
Ken Vaughan
Peebles
First Vice Chairman
Greg TenEyck
Safeway
The Retail Review is intended to be a
source of information for VRMA members.
The contents are advisory in nature and not
intended to be legal advice.
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We hope you had a very
successful Tax Free event
and Back to School season.
Let us hear about it. We
always welcome success
stories!
Please send VARPAC
contributions to:
Virginia Retail Merchants Association
Attn: Laurie P Aldrich
701 E. Franklin Street
Suite 809
Richmond, VA 23219
Register online or find
sponsor and donation
forms by visiting our
website at
www.virginiaretail.org
VRMA Welcomes These New
Members
Visit VRMA on
The Retail Review is published bi-monthly
by the Virginia Retail Merchants Association, Suite 809, 701 East Franklin Street,
Richmond, VA 23219; Phone: (804) 6490789; Fax: (804) 644-8762;
www.virginiaretail.org
October 7th. Please
share the online auction
site with your associates, friends, and neighbors in your email address lists.
The Good Cherry
Forest
Lynchburg Guitar Lessons
Lynchburg
Hello Nifty, LLC
Forest
Sale Concrete Construction
Forest
Home Check Inspections,
Inc.
Forest
All Washed Up
Forest
BeautiControl
Forest
CBIZ Payroll
Roanoke
Craddock Terry
Hotel and Event Center
Lynchburg
From Shabby to Chic
Forest
Stone Blue Productions
Lynchburg
Hospitality Marketing
Solutions
Forest
Sweet Peas Children’s
Consignment Boutique
Lynchburg
LAE-LAH Consulting
Lynchburg
Winridge Manor
Madison Heights
The Landtech Group of
VA
Lynchburg
LogHomesbyJack.com
Huddleston
Goal $10,000
VARPAC Silent Auction
You Can Help Us Meet This Goal... Here’s How
1) Donate
- These are a few of many items already donated!
CharBroil
Grill
iPod Shuffle
Yum! Brands Gift Basket
$100 Home
Depot Gift
Card
24” Toshiba LED TV
Mounting Hose Reel
Mosaic Table
2 ) Bid
- Start your online bidding as soon as you begin receiving
emails from VRMA reporting that the auction is up and running.
3) Share
- Pass the online bidding information on to family
and friends as instructed by the online bidding site.
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Never wire money as part of a retail sale
John Mayleben, RPN senior vice president, technology and product development, writes a
monthly column on retail technology. Contact John at [email protected].
“Never say never” usually holds true in life, but in the case of handling a MOTO (mail order/telephone order)
transaction as a retailer, you should never wire money to someone. Let me repeat, because it’s that important.
Never wire money to someone as part of a retail transaction. With the Great Recession of 2009-10 has come a
marked increase in the number of merchants who are being taken advantage of by fast-talking scam artists who
want something for nothing.
The scam usually starts innocently enough. You get a nice size order for products or services from an unexpected source. The story seems legitimate and fits your business model. After the bad guy has set the hook, he
suddenly “discovers” a problem that can be “solved” with the help of you, the merchant. Usually it is for shipping or for other services; the problem has even been to help the “customer” with customs (for an international
order) or tax reporting. The solution to the customer’s problem is for you to run another transaction and wire
the money to another person or company.
These scams are limited only by the imagination of the scam artist and the gullibility of the merchant. Here are
some real-life examples:
A jewelry store customer requests a custom diamond ring, but needs part of the purchase price rebated to cover shipping and/or duty;
A car dealer customer is interested in purchasing a unique used car, but needs part of the purchase price rebated to handle the shipping of the car;
A granite memorial customer is interested in purchasing a custom headstone for a dead relative, but needs a
portion of the purchase price rebated to facilitate delivery and installation;
A tire dealer customer wants to purchase four racing tires, but wants them shipped to the racing event and requires a special shipping method;
A B&B owner receives a request to “rent” the entire facility for executive meetings, but requires the use of an
interpreter and needs the separate services to appear as one transaction for tax reasons.
As you might expect, the person or company receiving the wired funds is a partner in the crime being committed. The scam artist has no interest in the actual item or the service, just the wired money. If you receive an
order that follows this track, do not wire money. Ever. Once you wire the money (via Western Union or similar
service) it is gone forever, because there is almost no way to get it back. The bad guy has your money, and the
credit card transaction will become a chargeback with you holding the bag. If you ever have doubts about a
transaction, call your help desk. They have probably seen or heard of the scam before and can offer sound advice. Remember, a sale that turns into bad debt is not a sale, it is just bad debt.
“Circumstances may cause interruptions & delays, but never lose sight of your goal.” - Mario Andretti
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