I got an e-mail from Pandora with some tips to make my radio station better for me. It reminded me of an e-mail I received from Mint after a lapse in visits.

These kind of e-mails are well timed and effective. I know because both prompted me to get back to the service and I’m not one to read unsolicited e-mails.

While I’m not a proponent of unsolicted e-mails in most cases, a strategically timed one may just re-engage your website visitors.

After Tuesday’s presidential debate, some people create “That One for President” t-shirts based on a comment Sen. Mccain directed at Sen. Obama.

• Zazzle
• Cafe Press

Sometimes I forget how much power the internet gives us and this was a good reminder. Some entrepreneurs went from idea to market in a couple hours. Services built around the internet provide marketing, billing, production, and delivery on the fly. That’s real power and benefit for a business willing to use it.

If you’re going to sell online, take credit cards and if you’re going to take credit cards online, go all the way. Don’t just take the order and process offline. It’s rife with problems, security issues, and just annoys me.

Ever since we left apartment living, I’ve ordered Dogi Pot bags online. These particular bags are for picking up after your dog. They seemed to be targeted at commercial customers but I like them so I’ve been ordering online. Thing is: I’m out, I’ve been out for weeks, and if the online store processed my card properly, I would have some now.

I typically order 3 boxes. At 200 per box, it’s nearly a year’s supply but I spend less on shipping. About a month ago, I ordered online and completed the transaction as expected. I even got a confirmation e-mail. After a couple weeks, I contacted them for an update and found out that my order had been cancelled. The credit card number I entered was invalid. They said they sent an e-mail but I didn’t receive it.

Had they connected to a payment gateway and processed the order online, they could have verified my card details before the transaction completed. I would have had an opportunity to correct my typo and the bags would be here now. They didn’t. They let the whole transaction process. They let the online store e-mail me a confirmation of my order marked as complete. Then someone manually took my CC number and typed it into a terminal for processing.

I know I’m not a big customer but I also know I’m not the only one with this problem. I’ve seen customers try this in the past. Don’t run your store this way. I can think of 3 open source online stores that will connect directly to most online payment gateways off the top of my head. You could also run a Yahoo or Amazon store.

Talk about a usability failure. Make the customer experience seamless. Make me happy.