Luci and I were at Disney World in Florida a couple of months ago and we had a meal at ?The Rainforest Cafe' a themed restaurant that's popular with families. It's very similar to Planet Hollywood or Hard Rock Caf?, in that there's nothing extraordinary about the food, but it's a bit more fun than going to a regular restaurant chain. They've created an interesting environment, even if the animals are animatronic (Disney have a lot to answer for). Anyway, while standing in line I picked up a leaflet promoting their loyalty program called ?the safari club'.

There's no question that it was an attractive offer. For a one time fee of $15 some of the benefits include:

? Jump to the front of the line for reservations

? Receive a $10 gift certificate for any meal

? 10% off entrees on any visit for up to 4 people, or a free appetizer for the table.

? 10% off retail merchandise

? Discounts at 6 other restaurants

To be honest, it was the first benefit that swung it for me, simply not having to stand in line for 30-45 minutes to wait for a table. I handed over my $15 and our wait time instantly evaporated, a table opened up for us, and we were whisked through to the restaurant.

What I didn't expect was that in the three months that followed since the Florida trip, we've visited Rainforest Caf's in Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Orlando. Why? Because we wanted to use our $10 gift certificate and membership perks! There's obviously a psychology behind this because we've never had an outstanding service or food experience at a rainforest caf?, it's always been ?so-so'. Yet having the membership somehow always prompted us to use it. The $15 initial fee is irrelevant as far as I'm concerned, subsequently the fee I'd paid never entered my head as a reason I should dine there on those other occasions.

You can learn an important lesson from this. Many many people are members of loyalty programs such as frequent flyer miles, credit card cashback, cruises, gas stations, hotels, grocery stores, book stores, etc. Why? Because they feel as though they'll gain benefits and perhaps even be treated as special, a valued customer. Plus, it's been noted that consumers who are enrolled in these programs tend to spend more than non-members. Certainly my own experience bears that out.

In view of all this, it's nothing short of astonishing how few eBay sellers grasp this important concept for their eBay or online business. There are even ready-made programs like ?My Store Rewards' that any seller can plug themselves into in a matter of minutes, yet you'd have to look long and hard to find the tiny percentage of sellers that have taken advantage of programs like that. ?My Store Rewards' (which ties into PayPal) is also inexpensive. For example, if you offered your customers a 1% reward on a $100 purchase, your cost would be $1.12, with $1 going to the buyer and $0.12 cents in fees. This is a no-brainer for any eBay seller, and if you're in a competitive market this is a MUST ? it's yet another way to separate yourself from the competition