Online retailer Elite-Electronix believes in two core principles: great prices and superior customer service. Headquartered in Marietta, Georgia, the firm's focus on supplying the most sought after consumer electronics below market prices has resulted in a 600 percent growth year to year.

However, according to Elite-Electronix president Kameko Oliver, achieving such success hasn't been easy. "Our biggest challenge as an e-commerce organization has been avoiding fraud," he says. "It may sound simple, but fraudulent purchases can put companies like ours right out of business in a hurry."

Safety in numbers

When Oliver first decided to use Google Checkout, he simply wanted to provide Elite-Electronix customers with an alternative checkout method. He soon realized that it offered much more – Google Checkout virtually eliminated fraud and helped the company grow to where it is today.

Prior to adopting Google Checkout, Elite-Electronix had constantly struggled with fraud, with other service providers doing little to help. In one fiscal year, Elite-Electronics received $21,000 in chargebacks with no way of disputing them – a situation that nearly put the company out of business.

Since implementing Google Checkout as its exclusive checkout option, Elite-Electronix's fraud and chargeback rates have been reduced to zero, and profits have soared. "Google does a great job of identifying and filtering out fraudulent transactions," notes Oliver. "And the company's Payment Guarantee offers another level of protection. When orders are covered by Google's Payment Guarantee, we're guaranteed payment on that order even if it results in a chargeback." Now, rather than having to set money aside for looming, unexpected chargebacks, the company can put its cash to better use.

In addition to eliminating fraud and chargebacks, Oliver notes that Google Checkout provides a number of other benefits. For example, since implementing Google Checkout exclusively, Elite-Electronix has seen a substantial increase in sales. Google Checkout has helped Elite-Electronix acquire new customers, increase retention and boost conversion rates. "When customers see the familiar Google badge next to our name, they trust the brand to provide a fast, safe, secure checkout experience," says Oliver. At the same time, for every $1 of Google AdWords advertising that Elite-Electronix uses, the company can process $10 in sales for free. Says Oliver, "Google Checkout, when combined with our Google AdWords spend, has enabled us to process transactions for free."

Top of search, best pricing

From his own life as a consumer prior to starting his business, Oliver had always found great value in using Google Product Search for fast, easy, comparative online shopping. He relied on it to find the best prices on products he was looking to buy. "When I established Elite-Electronix, I already knew that Google Product Search would be essential for driving traffic to the site," he notes.

During its first year and a half in business, Elite-Electronix relied almost exclusively on Google Product Search as its source of site traffic. Since then, Google Product Search has substantially contributed to the company's impressive growth, and is now responsible for generating more than 80 percent of the company's traffic. "Our favorite feature of Google Product Search is the ability to show customers we use Google Checkout. That familiar, reliable Google badge differentiates us from the competition, tells our customers that we are aligned with a well-respected brand, and reassures them that they will experience a smooth, secure checkout process. It's an incentive to buy," says Oliver.

Listing its products in Google Product Search enables the company to boost site traffic at no charge. In addition, Google Product Search acts as a barometer for Elite-Electronix to keep its products competitively priced.

Reaching more customers

By taking advantage of Google Checkout, Product Search and AdWords, Elite-Electronix is able to reach more customers than ever. "We are no longer constrained to processing only domestic sales orders, thanks to the ability to service customers globally with Google Product Search and Google Checkout," says Oliver.

Listening to customer feedback has also helped the company improve all areas of operations. "We have received positive and constructive feedback from our customers that find us through Google Product Search and use Google Checkout, which we really appreciate," says Oliver. "People are helping us become a better merchant, and ultimately more service-oriented."