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Kyozou

Summary
Links
Product: Kyozou
Main Page Open this page in a new window
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Company Info
Company: Kyozou Inc. (no other products listed)
Platform: Web Based
Trial: None
Rating: (10 reviews)
Marketplaces
eBay: All, eBay Motors
Others: Amazon, Bidtopia, Google Product Search, Half, Yahoo!
Price on asking
Hosted auction management solution including support for auction, web-based, and retail sales. Also includes inventory management, multiple user support, listing management, and customer relationship management.
Reviews
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Average Rating: (10 reviews)

An extremely unprofessional company with poor systems, 3 January 2012

Reviewer: alongtimepoweruser Junior Member

Kyozou, on the face of it offered a good, feature rich, back office system, integration with marketplaces (eBay, Amazon and ecommerce site), personalised customer service at a mid range price.

Unfortunately, in reality, this was not the case:

Initial promises were not kept:
•There is no turnkey ecommerce site, while some extremely dated templates exist, an ecommerce website must be created from scratch.
• Implementation of an ecommerce site didn't occur despite waiting over two months
• Importing of items missed a lot of photographs and text formatting was lost

The back office system was extremely buggy:
• ActiveX makes the system very slow
• Kyozou is only compatible with IE on Windows (it is not Mac compatible)
• Poor design: The checkout system is very awkward to manage, several lists have overlap, the listing process is overly complex, very minimal amazon support, non-standard terminology, outdated templates

The turnkey ecommerce solution promised did not exist:
• The ecommerce solution is non-existant and has to be built for you by Kyozou, they will not accept an ecommerce template developed for you by someone else and will attempt to sell you their service for a high fee (over US$1000). I should point out that all of the example customers they showed me did not rank in the top 100 hits of a google search when I tested their search engine visibility using some pretty specific key words. They claim to provide SEO for an additional fee of several hundred US$ a month.

I was also assigned an account manager whose approach was one of the most unprofessional I have ever encountered. Apart from some off colour racist comments, unclear, overly lengthy discussions and general immaturity, he decided, without authorisation, to insert a Kyozou checkout link at the bottom of my listings. When I asked him to remove it he revised all listings with incomplete data as had been imported to Kyozou. This meant incorrect prices and descriptions on all listings. I told him in a professional manner this unauthorised activity was unacceptable and that there could be no further miscommunication, he proceeded to berate me and wrote that I should be thankful to him as my old templates were 'horrid'. After trying to salvage the situation several times and receiving childish vitriol back, (I have the emails to prove this) I ended the relationship. I was then left to salvage what was left of my business, fortunately I was able to do so in time for Christmas.

Slightly off topic, but Kyozou also has no method to open a facebook store (they suggested a third party option) or have a mobile compatible store.

To be fair they did implement, after several weeks, correct shipping label sizes at no charge.

My experience has been that Kyozou has little control over its employees and internal procedures, furthermore I have seen little evidence to suggest they have upgraded their systems in years apart from general patching (no one uses ActiveX any more). This I can deal with, but the authorised revision of listings on eBay has a material cost that is unacceptable to anyone who is in need of an inventory management system. If Kyozou cannot ensure their staff abide by this simple premise then they have no business providing this service.

Avoid at all costs.

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Horrible experience, 22 November 2011

Reviewer: Buyer Junior Member

Horrible experience, absolutely horrible, I was promised Amazon when their Amazon capability virtually doesn't exist. They lie to your face and pretend that they care. Their Support services are terrible, it seems like they don't know their own program. Unless you liked being lied to don't waste your money! Would give them 0 Stars (one is too good for them)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Kyozou was not right for me, but it may work for you - Do your research, start here..., 25 August 2011

Reviewer: Platinum-PowerSeller Pro

After months of research into various selling solution providers & numerous phone calls, Kyozou seemed to have all of the features that I wanted, such as multiple marketplace management, inventory control, automation processes, and an eBay certified provider. Kyozou’s software platform looked good on the surface, but had technical problems & lacked many features for eBay, Amazon, and e-commerce (website) integration. After my ~2 month experience with Kyozou (Aug 2010 – Oct 2010), I canceled my service on bad terms. However, a representative from Kyozou did contact me to bring me some satisfaction after canceling.
Here are some things which you should check prior to signing up with Kyozou (note: some of these may have been changed since I used the service):
• Kyozou has one of the best web interfaces for adding/editing products. However, ActiveX plug-ins do slow it down
• eBay item specifics are set at item level (versus template level), which is good for anyone with a lot of varying item specifics
• No Contracts, but a terms of use exists to which you must agree to login to the site
o http://www.kyozou.com/index.php/main/terms-of-service.html
• USPS shipping options are:
1. Pay $0.20 per label for direct Endicia integration.
2. Bulk label processing through import/export from Kyozou to Endica Dazzle
3. Manually add tracking number, shipping carrier/service, & shipping cost
• Best Offer – if you use best offer, YOU CANNOT SET AUTO ACCEPT/DECLINE LIMITS PER ITEM. Kyozou has a GLOBAL setting, which can apply the limits based on a percentage.
• Generic Shipping options – If you like to use Generic shipping options, such as ‘Standard Flat Rate Shipping’, Kyozou did not support this. The closest they had was to choose ‘other’, which maps to ‘Economy Shipping’
• e-commerce (website) is extremely basic & lacks many features such as Checkout with/without account, wish list, display shipping charges in cart, site-specific shipping/images (uses same as eBay), etc. Kyozou can customize this for you at a price
• Amazon integration was very basic. At that time only listing against ASIN – this should now be improved…
• There is a hidden features of Kyozou called ‘Virtual Products’ that must be enabled on their end. This is useful for creating multiple eBay titles for the same product.
• No automation for unsold items to be put back into inventory
• No apparent way to export product data (all exports tested only provided partial data)

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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Kyozou is a awesome software, don't be fooled., 23 July 2011

Reviewer: levmans Junior Member

I been reading through some of the reviews here on this site about Kyozou and i must say that some of you are totally mistaken, i been using Kyozou now for about a year and i am very happy with the service, customer support and software. As an ex eBay employee i knew there was a lot of options for software, but i did not just want any software, i wanted a software that was going to make me successful on eBay and various other channels including my warehouse, i had talked to many power sellers over the time i worked at eBay many which used Kyozou and loved it, when i went into a demonstration of Kyozou i was treated as if they really cared about my business and making me more successful by pointing out the holes that i had in my business and how their software was going to make me more efficient and profitable. Since that day i signed onto Kyozou i had no regrets and must say my business runs smoother then ever. Once in a blue moon there maybe a problem with the software but they are quick to resolve the issue when i call, besides what software do you know that does not have a glitch of two that has to be fixed.

We probably sell and ship around 80 packages a day, having Kyozou has made that possible, we know that the longer we sell online with the right tools the better our business is going to get with traffic and sales.

You can always go out and find a solution for your business, but at the end of the day you need a solution that is flexible for your business, the is cost effective, and great customer support. As an Ex-eBay employee i'm telling you 110% Kyozou is the right choice for any online seller.

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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Been on board with Kyozou for just over 2 years now and I gotta say - don't listen to these haters!, 18 March 2011

Reviewer: Dan_the_man Junior Member

We've been on board with Kyozou for just over 2 years now and I gotta say - don't listen to these haters!

One of my workers came by today and showed me the bad reviews Kyozou's got and I had to reply.

Let's put it like this:

Yes, we've run into some bugs using the Kyozou software but all of them were fixed in a timely manner and nothing was ever that drastic where it really impacted us on a big level.

Yes, we've seen the occasional error screen when trying to load a page - but the last time happened was over a year ago. I think Kyozou was growing so fast that they needed to update or increase their server bandwidth, and they did - I noticed a difference in speed too, it's real snappy now.

Yes, Kyozou does not do EVERYTHING! This is the one thing I never get.. Folks expect to sign up for a service and have it fit them like a glove. WAKE UP PEOPLE, NOT GONNA HAPPEN! You want something that fits you like a glove? Shell out $100K for a custom software (like we were about to do) and then pay another $15K every 3 months when eBay makes updates to maintain it.

When we started with Kyozou, our eBay department had 2 employees (me being one of them). We were listing 20 items a day, and shipping about 80 orders a week. (We sell high-end sports apparel and gear so that was a pretty good ratio for us). Now we got 7 employees (2 shippers, 3 listers/inventory people, 1 customer service/email, and me) and now we're doing about 150-200 listings a day, and shipping 500 orders on a bad week.

All I know, is Kyozou did us a lot of good - we have our Kyozou account manager to thank for a lot of it too. He knows what he's talking about, when he tells us to jump - we ask how high?

Anyways, as you can see by how long this post is - I really feel strongly about Kyozou, their level of support, and the way they treat us. In the last two years, I've been promoted 3 times, we've tripled our staff in the eBay room, and the owner bought a Ferrari (no joke!).

STOP HATING PEOPLE, IT'S NOT THEM, IT'S YOU.

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Write a review and share your thoughts with others
  See all 10 reviews...

Re: Software Help Ebay.ie/Ebay.de/Ebay.co.uk Multi-Shop
Thanks a lot I have called Kyozou but they dont have an Ebay Sync functionality for...

Re: Software Help Ebay.ie/Ebay.de/Ebay.co.uk Multi-Shop
I would say have a look at Kyozou and ChannelAdvisor. Also, here is Ebay's list:...

Re: Wondering if there is a better life outside inkFrog/High
...Vendio, ChannelAdvisor, Infopia, Kyozou, etc all pretty much require you to...

Re: Anyone heard or used solidcommerce.com?
...(after a huge mistake in trying out Kyozou - recently posted a review about this...

Re: Listing Management Help.. Ebay, Amazon, My Site - Medium
...their pricing was as mysterious as say Infopia, Kyozou, etc. Regards, Tracker

See all 112 posts...
 

Overstock Auctions Closes Down (20 July 2011)
...including ChannelAdvisor Marketplaces, Kyozou, Zoovy and their own O-Lister.

eBay Revamp Certified Provider Program (30 June 2011)
... GarageSale Infopia inkFrog Kyozou Mercent Monsoon The...

Kyozou Integrates Geckobyte Tire and Wheel Matching System (13 April 2009)
eCommerce solutions provider Kyozou has announced an integration with automotive...

Kyozou Announces Plans to Integrate Bidtopia (3 March 2009)
E-commerce management solution Kyozou has announced plans for full integration with...

Kyozou Adds Auctions for Online Retailers (22 September 2008)
Auction management solution Kyozou now features an auction platform that allows online...

  See all 17 news stories...
Categories
Selling » Management Solutions » Web-Based
Selling » Management Solutions » Consignment
The Company Says

Your business is one click from paradise

Built from the ground up to leverage the common sense and operational experience of a group of highly successful online and offline retailers, wholesalers and auction sellers, Kyozou represents the next-generation of eBusiness software. We know all the challenges ebusinesses face we've experienced them. We know the operational reality of offline business we face it every day in our own companies. We built Kyozou to solve all of the those operational, logistical, sales and customer satisfaction challenges. We designed Kyozou to take the headache out of our online and offline operations. We designed Kyozou to bring together the three fundamental sales channels of the future - ecommerce, auctions and regular offline retail - into one clean, clear interface.

Posted by Kyozou Inc. on 22 December 2005
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Date Added: 15 November 2004
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