It’s 2010 and things have changed, I remember back to 1997 when I sold my very first item on eBay long ago. It was a pair of tickets to see Elton John at Madison Square Garden in New York City. I scored some sweet lower level seats that cost me $300 bucks and then I could not get the time off to fly from Atlanta to New York so I had to sell them. I put them on eBay and started the auction at $99.00. Those tickets ended at $800 for the pair, and I was instantly HOOKED on eBay.

Of course it was years later in 2001 that we created the company that is now one of the more successful 3rd party sellers on sites like eBay, Amazon, Yahoo and the web. The ONE thing that I would attribute our multi platform success to is our constant tweaking of the brand. The ability to move and shift with the state of eCommerce has made my company successful in marketing on these different venues by simply keeping up with the Jones’ and then out pacing them.

When "everybody" is doing it, that is when we STOP doing it. When "everybody" sits, we stand. And I am personally pushing the envelope in design to really bring our look and feel to maximize the direction of the different platforms we sell on. And EACH platform has its own uniqueness, and what works on one, will not work on another. I feel like a mad scientist trying to concoct plans and scenarios to get a perfect blend and balance. So every year we look to update and redesign components of our stores and templates to keep positioning for success. So this is one of those times.

eBay is CHANGING and the entire world is changing whether you or I like it or not. And the eBay platform is NOT in the forefront of this change, their customer are. That is one of the things I think constantly gets dismissed every time eBay takes a dramatic step, the sellers scream and yell, but I NEVER hear the buyers complaining?!? Some point to declining sales on eBay to the changes on the platform, but I think a more realistic analysis would show that the declines are due to the platform not changing ENOUGH to keep pace with a very fickle consumer. Are these the correct changes? I don’t know, time will tell. What I do know is what changes will be right for my company.

eCommerce is changing rapidly and eBay MUST change just to stay competitive. You know why? Because eBay is trying to keep up with a buyer base that is changing and evolving and they are somewhat stuck with a small portion of their seller community that is fearful of any change. They are comfortable with ways of 15 years ago, still reminiscent of Beanie Babies and Jesus Toast auctions. Unfortunately time does move on and if you are not willing to move with it you get to sit on the sideline and watch. Some will close their shops, some will leave the platform, some will just give up. After you "give up the ghost", you can always create a "sideline spectator" blog site about it too if you like, I know several that choose to do that instead of actually selling on eBay…guess it pays more?!?

I found these pictures the other day on my PC and I had not seen them in years, this was my business in the early part of the last decade. I have never been so attached to a product line or ideal that I would not abandon it for success. I got in business to be successful in BUSINESS not be successful at selling a particular product to the detriment of my livelihood, WTH is that?!? There is an old saying that "pride goes before a fall", so I am not too proud to adjust my business plan instead of falling. We can not control the changes to the platform, but we can control how we react to the changes.

Sure I am like most sellers, I bitch and moan sometimes but then I have a funeral. I bury the past knowing it will NEVER return and move on to the next great thing. So here are just a few pictures of our past…

This one was early in our game, I was not too proud to use my kid as a model for our rolling coolers. This was back in 2002 when it was a novel idea and new to the market.

This was around 2004 when we were selling desktop and laptop PC’s. That was our business for years, selling electronics and PC’s. That was my dining room!!! We were eating in the living room back in a 2 bedroom condo long ago…wow.

Then I came across these pics, LOL! We got lucky and scored a van load of Tickle Me Elmos, just b4 Christmas in 2006, man those were FLYING off the shelf. We don’t even sell toys normally, but I was  happy to sell the hot Christmas toy that year and would do it again to have a successful season.

"Change is hard." "People hate change." Those are two of the most common quotes heard when you study change management. It occurred to me that if people hate change, they have a funny way of showing it. Every iPhone sold serves as counter-evidence. So does every text message sent, every aluminum can recycled, every new Facebook post. And I haven’t even mentioned the biggest changes: Getting married and having kids. (If people hate change, then having a kid is an awfully dumb decision.)

It puzzled me–why do some huge changes, like marriage, come joyously, while some trivial changes, like design or business plan changes, meet fierce resistance?

Some brilliant psychologists discovered that people have two separate “systems” in their brains—a rational system and an emotional system. The rational system is a thoughtful, logical planner. The emotional system is, well, emotional—and impulsive and instinctual.

When these two systems are in alignment, change can come quickly and easily (as when a dreamy-eyed couple gets married). When they’re not, change can be grueling (as anyone who has struggled to quit smoking can attest). In those situations where change is hard, is it possible to align the two systems? Is it possible to overcome our internal "schizophrenia" about change?

I am a stubborn spirit,  I simply do not have an "I QUIT" bone in my body. Neurologically I don’t have the option to just give up?!? This business is how we feed the kids, this is our business and we own it, to quit this and just get a job?!? HELL NO, that  is not a option. My ONLY option is to "meet and overcome all obstacles in my path" and that included the changes to eBay.

eBay would have to simply shut me down for me to run away from this venue. Honestly, I am not cheering the changes, I just know they are HERE to stay and that they come every year, like the seasons. After nearly 10 years in ecommerce, I not only expect them, I now have begun to embrace them. It is a challenge that I look to come at me year in and year out. But of course if I could not stand the heat, I guess then I would leave the kitchen…that day has not come. We have changed and tweaked the business model, the product lines and the pricing to stay on top of our game.

This should really be an interesting year and I am sure the next 2 change cycle announcements will not be as easy on us as this one from January. My guess is this 1st set of changes were the "easy" ones…hmmm. Gird up your self, cause there could be more arrows coming from San Jose. Will you stand or fall? Like the Elton John’s song says….I’m Still Standing (Yeah Yeah Yeah). Dayam, this video is soooo ’80’s LMAO

Hands down this is by far my favorite! I grew up with a single Mom and I wanted to do this SOOOO bad, LMAO

My Runner up is the Golden Girl Betty White

Wow these two just bring the funny!

Hey look like there is a new search thingy for the web called Google … ummm WTH? Bing got you scared, LOL

The one I HATED most would have to be replacing the Chihuahua with Charles Barkley…BOO!

As many of you know I shoot my videos in my crowded office space. A while ago I had a very talented videographer suggest to my that I should get a backdrop so I could remove the "clutter" in my video backgrounds.

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I gave it some serious consideration and then rejected the idea for 2 reasons. The first reason was because I felt it added validity to the fact that I not only "talk the game, but I walk the talk" and 2nd was selfish in that I did not want all the hassle of setting up my video screens each time I wanted to talk.

Boy, that picture is a WOW’er isn’t it? LOL   But lets get to the point here. You want your business to strive, be successful and profitable and every once in a while it needs some adjustments. Be sure that your choice for information and education comes from those who know what they are doing and are doing it to success! Anyone can slide under the car (well she can’t) but it is the work that counts. As pretty as those legs are, would you trust her to fix your breaks? Probably not!

This is your business and it pays for your life, do a little due diligence when it comes to the web. Just because someone has a keyboard and a blog that does NOT mean they know what the hell they are talking about. What history do they have in business? How is their business going? What is the status of their success? While I can appreciate good fiction, I am NOT looking for it in business writing. Choose your advice and your advisors carefully. Check their fingernails, before you let them under the hood!!!

I carefully selected my neighborhood nearly 6 years ago based on its location to recreation and shopping. When we moved in years ago, this area was a booming suburban area with access to all kinds of retail locations. However since the softening of the economy back in the fall of 2007 that has changed DRAMATICALLY for the folks in our area.

Just the other day I was driving past our Mega Target with the food store and I decided to dip in and grab some meat, bread and vegetables. As I walked up to the door, there were giant red signs up on all the entry doors, uh oh….Another one bites the dust!

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In just my area of town since ‘07 the effects of the economy have seen the demise of the follow just around my house!

• Kroger’s – Moved out
• Ingle’s (a grocery store) – Closed
• Best Buy – Closed
• Old Navy – Closed
• Baskin Robins – Closed
• UPS Store – Closed
• Blockbusters – Closed
• Target Mega Store – Closed

That is just a list of the nationally recognized names. If I were to go down the list for mom and pop type operations it would be a long list. And do not get me started on the list of restaurants, banks and gas stations that either closed or changed hands. The cost of doing business gets tighter and tighter everyday. While things seem to have leveled off in our economic decline, there could be another BUST leering around the corner…what is it????

The COMMERCIAL properties bust is what I am afraid of next. We saw the effects of the economy when the housing bubble burst and banks were left with foreclosed housing. As I drive the streets today, strip malls and convenience centers are less than 1/2 full with renters. At some point I fear that many of these commercial property owners will have to go into foreclosure en-mass too. What would that do to the recovering economy?

Maybe it is just my city, town, neighborhood?!? What are you seeing as you drive your towns? Please leave your comments guys, are you seeing the effects on brick and mortar stores and shoppers?

Brent Leary and myself got into a great discussion about how some pretend to have influence simply because they have a few followers.

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Show Notes:

1:20 Outlook for 2010 in Business is optimistic
2:10 National Retail eCommerce numbers beat expectations
3:52 Amazon Kindle e-book sales crush it
5:20 The Apple iPad reviews
8:27 Lessons from Conan O’Brian from Tonight Show
12:00 The Appearance of influence with social media
15:03 The @Wiseman23 Twitter threat 
17:23 Tit-for-Tatter-Twitterers
18:00 Measuring Influence
18:00 Brian Clark (Copybloger.com)
18:39 Guy Kawasaki on Twitter
18:50 Oprah Winfrey on Twitter
19:07 Bill Gates on Twitter
19:30 Chris Brogan/Liz Strauss/Gary Vaynerchuk
23:30 Man vs. Wild
25:10 Levar Burton

Brent recently blogged on this topic with a post called Please Stop Automatically Equating Number of Twitter Followers With Real Influence

So can Twitter make you appear to look influential in a short amount of time? Apparently so, because people will give you the time of day if you have thousands of followers. Can you automate the process of appearing influential on Twitter? Absolutely – I’ve seen people’s followership rise quickly.. people I’ve never heard of before (regular non celeb types), even when they weren’t tweeting all that much…mostly through using some kind of service.

— Brent Leary

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Did you know I was CEO of a green business? Did you know that you are TOO? If you are conducting business in your home, recycling boxes, recycling packing material plus delivering and picking up packages in bulk, then you are helping to promote some green agendas that are good for us all.

Reducing your overhead by greening your operations is just the beginning. Being an eco-friendly seller also says the right things to consumers and helps you stand out from the competition. With just a few simple steps, you can do your part for the planet, and do your business a favor in the process.

The The eBay Green Team believes small actions can make a big difference in the world. And that’s what the eBay Green Team is all about: encouraging and empowering individuals to buy, sell and think green every day.

It was started by 40 employees, and today, more than 2,300 employees around the world are eBay Green Team members — promoting green business practices within eBay, volunteering in our communities, and supporting environmental legislation.

I had the distinct please to grab some time with Amy Skoczlas Cole, Director of eBay Green Team and it was eye opening. The personal dedication and clear direction she had was an education in self awareness. Awareness of some things we small business owner are doing and can do MORE to promote a greener business.

The focus and members of the eBay Green Team are a collaborative effort both inside the walls and even greater, outside the walls of eBay. With millions of eBay sellers around the world the eBay Green Team have the capacity to encourages us all to reduce our footprints. I think our planet could use some reflective consideration for sustaining all our lives…I know you do too?

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Source: eCommerce Bits

Are you building a business or do you just have a job as you grow old? Are you creating an enterprise or just going through the motions? Can you make it through the challenges, should you just QUIT or be exceptional?

Seth says average is for LOSERS…wow! Seth joined AuctionBytes to talk about his book, "The Dip: A little book that teaches you when to quit (and when to stick)." Seth gives some examples of eBay sellers who go beyond selling commodity products at commodity prices and get through the dip to become "exceptional."

—Ina Steiner (AuctionBytes writer)   

You really should listen or re-listen to this AuctionBytes interview from May 2007 today. You should absolutely listen, take notes and take action. One of the best interviews Ina ever did and this one alone changed my business!

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Auctiva, a leader in tools for online sellers, is launching AMP – the Auctiva Marketplace Platform. AMP takes item information from thousands of individual e-commerce stores and groups them together into one platform that developers can use to build custom marketplaces and applications. This simple idea offers an opportunity never before seen in the e-commerce space: open development of e-commerce marketplaces. Developers can sign up and start using AMP today at www.poweredbyamp.com.

Only a handful of online marketplaces exist today. Prior to AMP, creating online marketplaces has been unattainable for most, requiring millions of dollars of investment and a sizable infrastructure. Auctiva Founder and CEO, Jeff Schlicht, says, "AMP allows developers to create whatever it is that excites them for the e-commerce world. By releasing AMP we hope to open a new range of possibilities and kick-start innovation in the e-commerce space."

As an example of what AMP can do, Auctiva is also announcing the beta release of Elefy (www.elefy.com), a marketplace with a search-driven interface. Other AMP projects currently in development by Auctiva and its partners include a marketplace for vintage items and another focusing on "green" and eco-friendly products.

A key feature of AMP is that the items for sale on the platform come from multiple "inventory providers." It is this feature that allows AMP to launch with over half a million items from Auctiva Commerce stores and from launch partner BuyitSellit. "AMP will allow our sellers to reach buyers in multiple locations, without a seller having to do any additional work," says Greg Sisung, President of BuyitSellit, LLC, "It took minimal effort to integrate with AMP, and now our sellers will see their items in new marketplaces as they are developed."

With developers able to build apps and marketplaces of all kinds, AMP seeks to put sellers’ items all over the Web instead of locking sellers into one site. Open development on AMP not only allows for multiple marketplaces, but also apps to reach mobile users, and apps to target specific audiences on social networking sites and blogs. "Developers are creative people," says Alan Lewis, AMP Product Manager, "We have only seen the beginning of what AMP can do."

What is a marketplace?

An online store offers items from a single seller; marketplaces offer items from multiple sellers in one place. In the same way that a farmers’ market has much more foot traffic than a roadside fruit stand, online marketplaces bring more buyers by having inventory from multiple sellers.

The Auctiva Marketplace Platform, or AMP, as we call it, is a technology framework that allows software developers to build custom marketplaces. There are lots of products that allow people to create online stores, but AMP is the first to make it easy to build online marketplaces.

On Tuesday January 26th eBay made announcements to price changes on the platform. The headline reads “Our Lowest Insertion Fees EVER…” So we decided to put that claim to the Mythbuster test. We all love to watch Adam and Jamie on the TV show drop and blow up stuff to see if it works, so I figure lets put this statement to the test!

The STATEMENT:

“I reject your reality and substitute my own” …Adam Savage (MythBusters)

Since the announcement, I have had the pleasure of seeing and hearing all the comments both for and against the claim, so I will put it to the test using the following criteria:

1) I will ONLY deal with data sets that are pertinent to MY PRODUCT CATEGORY of Clothing. (I refuse to speak about what I do not know about, those who do lose all credibility in my opinion.)

2) I will compare LIKE data sets (apples to apples).

3) My results are not scientific, factual, tested, sponsored by eBay, or even all that good for that matter, so just ignore everything and continue on with your life.

But seriously folks…what is important for you to take away is not so much my results, but HOW I came to these conclusions. What I hope is that you will learn to think, do and come to your own conclusions and then make good decisions about how to navigate your business with these new pricing changes on eBay.

Auctions

OK, here we go, lets start with Auction Style Listing Fees….

Above are screen shots SIDE BY SIDE of the old fees on eBay vs. the new fees for Auction Style Listings.

1) Lets start with $.01 – $.99 cent starting auctions. Old fee was .15 cents, the New fee is FREE*, and the details are in the *

• You get only 100 of those free per month, I have not found a price after that 100?!? However my guess is that it would be .10 cents each based on the fee structure of the store fee chart (which we will look at later in the post)

2) Insertions fees for New chart shows a decrease in fees for ALL levels of starting auction price.

Determination: This is so overtly OBVIOUS that I have no other choice but to stamp this part of the myth as CONFIRMED!

Next chart, lets take a look at the Final Value Fees (FVF) for auction items, which are the fees you pay when an item is sold on eBay…

1) The Old fees had a graduated pay scale based on the ending price of the action. At the lower end items sold up to $25.00 were charged 8.75% for the fees.

2) On the New plan, fees are no longer graduated. There is a FLAT FEE of 9% which is .25% HIGHER than before for items under $25.00 however for higher priced items it is a flat 9% fee and it is capped at no more than $50.00 for any item ever.

• for example in the OLD table, an item that would sell for $100 would get 8.75% for the first $25.00 of the sale and then 3.5% for the other $75 of that $100 item. The FVF fees for that would be $2.19 + $2.63 = $4.82
• Under the New fees you would now pay $9.00 that is an increase. However as you scale the ending prices UP the FVF fee will increase until you get to around the $2000 mark. After the $2000 level the prices actually are CHEAPER than they were before.

Determination: While most items on eBay will see an increase in FVF some higher priced items ($2000 and beyond) will see a decrease in FVF fees. Logically I could stamp this one as busted, but some fees will decrease ($2000 and up) so I must stamp this one as PLAUSIBLE, yet unlikely for many sellers!

Fixed Price

Next lets look at Fixed Price Fees…

Fixed price is the FASTEST growing segment of eBay and is the focus of the leadership at eBay as the growing darling of the platform.

1) The Old fees for Fixed price was a flat fee of .35 cents.

2) On the New structure eBay has set up some tiered prices based on:

• whether or not the seller operates an eBay store.
• what store subscription level the seller has with eBay.

Personal observations: I believe eBay is wanting ALL fixed price sellers on the platform to open stores and then eBay can move all of the inventory currently as fixed price into the store. This will allow sellers with fixed price models a nice landing spot for all their listings and buyers can “shop around” better with a single seller and their wares. Good move for ANY fixed price volume seller in my opinion.

Also eBay says it will be offering “store items” to be listed in search, that is really a play on words here. There will no longer be “store items” as we once knew them anyway. eBay has completely done away with items that are in store and “not in search”.

NOW all items in stores are FIXED PRICE so this is NOT an apple-to-apple comparison if you take store items of old and compare them to store items (fixed price listings) of today! You need to keep that in mind and I will revisit this later in the store section of this post.

Determination: Store owners will see a SUBSTANTIAL decrease in fees for fixed price listing. However sellers without store subscriptions will see an SUBSTANTIAL increase in fees. I again must stamp this scenario as HIGHLY PLAUSIBLE!

Next up is the Final Value Fees of the Fixe Price listings on eBay. I want to remind you of the parameters of this article once again…

— I will ONLY deal with data sets that are pertinent to MY PRODUCT CATEGORY of Clothing. (I refuse to speak about what I do not know about, those who do lose all credibility in my opinion.)

1) The chart for the Old fees had a 12% FVF fee for items under $50 and there is NO CHANGE in the New model. These fees remain the same.

2) In the Old fees items over $50 were charged 12% on the first $50 and then 9% for anything over $50 up to $1000. On the new chart items price at Fixed Price up to $1000 are now flat at 9%.

• Let take our example from before with an item priced at $100. Under the Old fees you would be charged $6.00 + $4.50 = $10.50
• Under the new flat rate of 9% you will now be charged $9.00 for the FVF of that same item.
• If the Fixed Price item is $1000 or more you are only paying 2% and even a public school drop out like myself can assess that is cheaper than before DUH!

Determination: This one is so blatantly obvious I feel almost juvenile having to say this but this one is ABSOLUTLY Confirmed!

Store Inventory Format

NEXT we move to the last of this study, the store items…

1) The fees for stores subscriptions remain unchanged! The eBay store fees are the same as they ever where. That part was easy right?!?

HERE IS WHERE THE “eBay tabloid bloggers” and the so called “eBay seller commentary” will try to trick you!!! Look at the comparison of Store Inventory Format below…

Do you see that? I am not sure if these “tabloid bloggers” are ignorant, or if they really are trying to be deceptive?!? However the TRUTH OF THE MATTER is there is nothing to compare it too. That additional format that was once available to store sellers called Store Inventory Format (SIF) has been removed in the new eBay changes. It NO LONGER EXISTS!

There will only be 2 listing formats on eBay now, Fixed Price or Auctions….that’s it! If you have a store you get different pricing (as we have discussed above) on these 2 formats, but there is no longer a 3rd format. Do you get it!!!!

Store Inventory Format (SIF) does NOT have a special format any longer. Store will only have the Auction or the Fixed Price PERIOD.

What happens if you do NOT understand this key point, then everything else will confuse you. Just remember that eBay simply REMOVED Store Inventory Format (SIF) completely, it is off the table, no longer an option, adios amigo. If you do that then you can better make a determination on if the eBay fee changes are an increase for you or a decrease.

So over all, does the initial statement from Dinesh Lathi of “Our Lowest Insertion Fees Ever…” live up to the myth? YES it does, absolutely and you know why? Because the first 100 auctions that start at .99 cents are FREE and dammit, there is nothing cheaper than free…DUH, unless eBay pays me to list.

I want to hear from YOU, what do you think about these un-scientific findings? Please leave your comments, we love to start the discussion.