Who is eligible to create a listing on this site?

Any owner/manager/representative of a business, non-profit, or agency in Alaska. The minimum requirement is that the organization must have a physical location in Alaska. Local offices contribute to the local economy whether they are a home-based sole proprietor or a branch of a national chain store. They pay local property taxes, hire Alaskans, support local businesses through their own purchases and often contribute to local charities.

Is this site only for businesses that make a product in Alaska?

No, again BuyAlaska.com is for ALL types of businesses. Those that sell products OR services. You'll see that Alaska Airlines, Wells Fargo, and other major companies that have both local offices and Outside offices have listed their local offices at BuyAlaska.com.

Does a business have to be Alaskan owned to be eligible for a listing?

Not necessarily. As long as the business has a physical location in Alaska and adds money to Alaska's economy (i.e. the business hires Alaskans, makes purchases from other local businesses, pays property taxes, etc.), it is eligible for a listing on this site.

Who is eligible to create a listing on this site?

Any owner/manager/representative of a business, non-profit, or agency in Alaska. The minimum requirement is that the organization must have a physical location in Alaska. Local offices contribute to the local economy whether they are a home-based sole proprietor or a branch of a national chain store. They pay local property taxes, hire Alaskans, support local businesses through their own purchases and often contribute to local charities.

Is this site only for businesses that make a product in Alaska?

No, again BuyAlaska.com is for ALL types of businesses. Those that sell products OR services. You'll see that Alaska Airlines, Wells Fargo, and other major companies that have both local offices and Outside offices have listed their local offices at BuyAlaska.com.

Does a business have to be Alaskan owned to be eligible for a listing?

Not necessarily. As long as the business has a physical location in Alaska and adds money to Alaska's economy (i.e. the business hires Alaskans, makes purchases from other local businesses, pays property taxes, etc.), it is eligible for a listing on this site.

How do I get the most from my BuyAlaska.com listing?

1. Refer friends to the site both for shopping and to list their business. The site will get exponentially more promotion with increased listings, bringing many more sales for all listings, including yours.
2. Add a photo right away. That way you’ll get rotated on the home page and also attract more viewers.
3. Add specials and news. It’s free advertising that can be updated frequently.
4. Encourage customers to submit a review. From your computer or theirs. Then post positive comments!
5. Keep your listing updated making sure to add new keywords as you think of them.
6. Report successes to us. We will promote them giving you visibility!
7. Tell us how you heard about BuyAlaska.com and
8. Tell us when you see BuyAlaska.com notices or ads in your communities’ media. We can then better promote the site, bringing you more sales.
9. Encourage the organizations you belong to promote the site too.
10. Add the BuyAlaska.com link to your website. Give your business more credibility by telling your web visitors, “Find us at BuyAlaska.com!”

Will my email address be published thus attracting unwanted emails and spam?

No. Your email is not displayed. In order to proect your email address, those who wish to send you an email will need to click on the link, which will then display an email form they can fill out.

How do I change my email address?

Note: The contact email and login email must always be the same.

1. Login with your previous email address and password.
2. Add yourself as a new contact using the new email address.
3. Check your Email Inbox for the new confirmation email that will have a link to your listing and a prompt asking you to create a password. Follow the link and create that password.
4. Finally, delete your original contact information along with the old email address.

How do I change my password?

Click the "change password" link under the seller tools section. Or you can call us at 907-274-7232 and our staff will reset the password for you.

I forgot/lost my password, how can I retrieve it?

When you forget or lose your password, we can't retrieve it for you (it is encrypted in our database), however we can email you a link to reset your password.

From the login screen, simply enter your email address as if you were logging in and click the "forget your password?" link below the login button. It may take a few minutes for the email to arrive depending on your email provider, so please be patient. If the email does not arrive within an hour, please contact BuyAlaska at 907-274-7232 or email info@buyalaska.com.

How frequently should I update my listing?

There is no set number of times a business can update (and therefore be featured on the homepage) we ask that those updates reflect actual change - whether it be a new special, an upcoming event or award, a new keyword, changed description, different photo, etc.

I created a listing and verified my account, but when I do a search for my listing, it doesn't show up. Am I missing something?

It sounds like you have not yet enabled your listing. Before your listing can be viewed by the public, you must first enable it by clicking the green enable button in the upper left corner of the editable listing. This mechanism is in place so that your listing will not be seen by the public until you think that it is ready.

Once it has been enabled, you can disable your business by clicking the listing status bar above "seller tools" and clicking the disable button when it appears. You might want to do this if you plan to make major changes to your listing. You can then re-enable it when you are finished

I noticed there is a section for customer feedback/written reviews. If I get negative feedback, will it show up on my listing where everyone can see it?

No review will ever be displayed to the public unless you approve it first. You read and approve new reviews by logging in and clicking [edit] in the customer feedback section.

I accidentally created a duplicate listing for my business. How do I delete it?

Simply click the "delete this listing" link under the seller tools section. Just remember, once you have deleted a listing, it is gone forever.

I run my business out of my home, but I don't want to display my home address for everyone to see. What should I do?

Simply leave the field entirely blank. When you go to save, it will tell you that your physical address will show as 'Undisclosed'. This will show that you have a physical address in Alaska, as indicated by the city and zip code, without giving out your exact home address. This will also remove the "view map" link.

I created a listing the other day and now I want to make some changes. The login screen asks for a password, but I don't ever remember creating one. What gives?

You probably never verified your account. After you created your listing, confirmation emails were sent out to every contact you listed and marked as allowed to edit your listing (which should include yourself). This email contains a link that takes you to the account verification page, which is where you set your password. If you did not receive this email, please contact BuyAlaska for assistance.

When I tried to create a listing, I got an error message saying that a business with this name and physical location already exists. How can that be?

If you listed this business on the old BuyAlaska site, it was carried over to the new site. In this case, please contact BuyAlaska and we will help you access your old listing so you can update it.

If you never listed the business with BuyAlaska before and you don't think that anyone else within your company has already created a listing, please notify BuyAlaska immediately so we can resolve the issue.

Is there a place to designate that this is a Veteran-owned business?

While there is not currently a specific designation for Veteran Owned businesses, you can add a comment in the Note section, near the bottom of your listing describing any additional information such as Veteran Owned or Service Disabled Veteran Owned, etc.

How do I get icons like the Alaska flag for being Alaska Owned to show up by my listing?

Edit the Company Details section of your listing. You'll see the checkboxes. Choose those that apply. The flags will then show up automatically.

The map is incorrect. How do I fix that?

Go to http://maps.google.com/ to submit changes directly to Google Maps.

Can I buy products from this site?

You have to contact the businesses directly to make purchases.

What should I do if I see a listing with content that I think is inaccurate or inappropriate?

In the upper left corner of each listing is a link to report inappropriate content. This will open a pop-up window with a text area for comments (which are optional) and a send button. Simply click the send button to send an email to BuyAlaska. We will inspect the listing and if we determine that the listing violates the terms of use, steps will be taken to remove the listing from the site.

I heard on the news that you can search for businesses that are woman owned, but when I search for that term, nothing comes back. What is the correct way?

Click the link view all listings under the search button. On the next page, you will see several icons above the list of results. Here you will see, among others, woman owned, minority owned, Alaskan owned, etc. You can click these icons to filter your results to show only listings that have that icon. You can have multiple filters turned on at once.

What are some of the other special features I can use as a buyer?

You can:

1. 'View All Listings' and then choose by community, category or special designations. Designations include ownership: Woman Owned, Minority Owned, Alaska Owned, Chamber Member; Alaskan Products: Made in Alaska, Alaska Grown, Silverhand.
2. Sort by those businesses that Accept Orders Online.
3. Submit a customer comment.
4. View a map to the business.
5. View any specials the business might offer.
6. Flag a business as inappropriate if needed.