» Amazon

I was updating some of our items today on Amazon and I noticed that Amazon has set the expectation for its customers on shipping during these harsh winter conditions. These and other reasons are why Amazon is a superior shopping experience for its customer and vendors.

Amazon takes OWNERSHIP of the customer experience by setting the standards and the guidelines and they CLERALY set expectations and communicate it to its end users.

Here is what OTHER sales marketing channels should take notes on, or Amazon will hand you your lunch! And you will be relegated to "sloppy seconds" in the world of eCommerce.

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

Welcome to the new decade, it is almost hard to fathom for me still that we are in the 21st century. And equally hard to believe that we are 10 years into it, dayam I am getting old, LOL. This time of year is one of the MOST important times for your business for two reasons…

1) You just wrapped up the most busiest time of the year with Holiday sales.

2) Your data is fresh and needs to be capitalized on.

So while the rest of the year is filled with promise, you want to take time RIGHT NOW and reflect on what worked, what did not work and what you can do to make 2010 even better than 2009 for your business.

Do NOT forget that you just got a whole new set of holiday buyers that found your product during the shopping season. Be sure to calculate and strategize how to turn that occasional holiday shopper into your long time customer. Maintaining a % of these new buyers can make or break the slow 1st quarter of the new year when the economy settles down for its winters nap.

Oh well, right now I got to go do the "dreaded" year end inventory counts today for taxes. I think this is the one thing I hate doing, but glad I only have to do it 1 time a year. Till we chat again on Monday, have a wonderful and prosperous NEW YEAR!

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It is with great excitement that we announce our plans to take eCommerce Merchants local to a neighborhood near you in 2010 with the launch of eCommerce Merchants Local Chapters.

With over 5 years of successfully developing the most vibrant community of online merchants sharing best practices and educating "By sellers for sellers" we believe going local will deliver additional value for our members developing a network with other online merchants in your area and discussing the latest strategies.

We are currently seeking members who wish to help us get eCommerce Merchants Local off the ground in their area. If you would like to help coordinate the first meeting in your area, please contact Brandon at Brandon@ecmta.org for more details.

First Local Chapter: Atlanta

Our first local eCommerce Merchants Chapter is in the Atlanta, GA area and our first eCommerce Merchants Local meeting will be held on Tuesday January 12th at 6:30 PM. The topic for this meeting will be Social Marketing as well as a networking meet and greet and dinner. If you are interested in joining us in Atlanta on January 12th, please click here for more details or email Brandon at Brandon@ecmta.org.

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Some things are just too good to keep to yourself and this happens to be one of them. Santa Claus came to my house today in his "brown uniform" with the electronic signature pad and the big brown truck

Yeah, that guy left me my Christmas gift and I do an unboxing video for you on the Amazon Kindle that I just got at $40.00 OFF! Directly from Amazon.com at a huge discount. In this little video I show you how I did it and you can get one too in time for your holiday gift giving or gift keeping, LOL.

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A recent story from The Daily Mail showcases the size and scope of just ONE, yeah just 1 of the dozens of fulfillment centers for Amazon.com

The size and scope of this operation really hits home when you see it in wide angle view from the top. Just thinking about the systems and management processes make me nauseas. I need to sit down and get a drink, LMAO.

On Monday, John Donahoe the CEO of eBay declined to give out much information on eBay sales for the holiday season. At the investors conference, Donahoe was giving most of the hype to PayPal which has seemed to be the song and dance of 2009. You talk about the moving ball to keep all eyes off the one that is sitting and not moving. I have noticed this a lot from the CEO in his most recent appearances, eBay does seem to be second to PayPal on the hype meter right now.

Donahoe is quoted in a Wall Street Journal article saying, “There’s no killer item this year. There’s no Xbox or item that’s out of stock that everyone has to have,” he said. Zhu Zhu pets, the stuffed hamsters that have become intensely popular in recent months, are an exception and are doing brisk business on the site.

We do know that Amazon reportedly topping the list as the most visited retail website on Cyber Monday, seeing a 44% increase in visits compared to 2008. Amazon received 15.53% of the visits among the top 500 online retail sites.

On the flip side, eBay released a eBay “heat map” for Black Friday on its website and that caused many to ask well how much was sold for real? The visuals are cute and all, but why all the techno crap? What were the NUMBERS? That was my question.

With Donahoe’s continued interest in luxury brands and the new out-of-season mentality of eBay 2009, I want to know if it is WORKING? Do the numbers show that eBay is more successful than in the past? Is the number moving the needle to the left or right? Guess we will not know?!?

However on Monday, Scot Wingo (CEO, ChannelAdvisor.com) decided to break out a calculator and do some "Fun eBay Math" and concluded that…

If that math is correct, Black Friday’s 1m transactions were actually 25% below average and Cyber Monday was a paltry 3% above average.  Of course our assumptions could be off here, but they’d have to be off pretty significantly to change these results.  Also they are based off of real-world data points so they are far from guesses.

Black Friday Verdict: As Expected, Number of Shoppers Up, Average Spending Down

-Americans Spent $41.2 Billion Over Holiday Weekend-

Washington, November 29, 2009 –As the closely-watched Black Friday weekend winds down, a National Retail Federation survey conducted over the weekend confirms the expected: more people spent less. According to NRF’s Black Friday shopping survey, conducted by BIGresearch, 195 million shoppers visited stores and websites over Black Friday weekend*, up from 172 million last year. However, the average spending over the weekend dropped to $343.31 per person from $372.57 a year ago. Total spending reached an estimated $41.2 billion.

“Shoppers proved this weekend that they were willing to open their wallets for a bargain, heading out to take advantage of great deals on less expensive items like toys, small appliances and winter clothes,” said Tracy Mullin, NRF President and CEO. “While retailers are encouraged by the number of Americans who shopped over Black Friday weekend, they know they have their work cut out for them to keep people coming back through Christmas. Shoppers can continue to expect retailers to focus on low prices and bargains through the end of December.”

Shoppers’ destination of choice over the past weekend seemed to be department stores, with nearly half (49.4%) of holiday shoppers visiting at least one, a 12.9 percent increase from last year. Discount retailers took an uncharacteristic back seat, with 43.2 percent of holiday shoppers heading to discount stores over the weekend and another 7.8 percent heading to outlet stores.** Shoppers also visited electronics stores (29.0%), clothing stores (22.9%), and grocery stores (19.6%). As millions of shoppers gear up for Cyber Monday, one-fourth of Americans shopping over the weekend (28.5%) were shopping online.

“In an economy like this one, every retailer wants to be a discounter,” said Tracy Mullin, NRF President and CEO. “Department stores have done an admirable job touting both low prices and good quality, which are important requirements for holiday shoppers on a budget.”

According to the survey, nearly one-third (32.2%) of shoppers purchased toys, an increase of 12.9 percent from last year. Additionally, more people purchased sporting goods (12.6% vs. 11.4% last year), personal care or beauty items (22.4% vs. 19.0%) and gift cards (21.2% vs. 18.7%). The most popular purchases were of clothing (0.9%) and books (40.3%), which remained nearly unchanged over last year.
In order to nab the best holiday items, more shoppers headed out for bargains while it was still dark outside. According to the survey, nearly one-third of shoppers (31.2%) were at the stores by 5 a.m., compared with 23.3 percent who were at stores by that time last year.

“During a more robust economy, people may be inclined to hit the “snooze” button on Black Friday, but high unemployment and a focus on price caused shoppers to visit stores early in anticipation of the best deals,” said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch.
About the Survey

The survey, conducted Nov. 26-28, 2009 by BIGresearch for NRF, polled 4,985 consumers and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.4%. BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides unique consumer insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample sizes.
BIGresearch’s syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions survey monitors the pulse of more than 8,000 consumers each month to empower its clients with unique insights for identifying opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace.

The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry’s key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 24 million employees – about one in five American workers – and 2007 sales of $4.5 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com

Pop Quiz for the holidays! Put on your thinking caps all you smart entrepreneurs. Riddle me this, here is the layout, answer this puzzle….

The NEW Carrie Underwood album is selling right now for $7.99 with FREE shipping on eBay from Buy.com

One the Buy.com website, that same CD is selling for $11.19 with FREE shipping.

In comparison on Amazon.com the CD is $9.99 and the MP3 download is $8.99

While iTunes has Carrie’s CD download for $10.99

Yes, I do think I have my answers to why this is and what they might be doing…but I want your opinions before I start to pontificate, LMAO.