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.
Please bear with me and let me set this up with a little background and then I will bring this up to TODAY and why I would like to try this Alpha Test…
Each One Teach One is a known African-American Proverb. This phrase originated in the US during slavery, when Africans and African Americans were denied education, including learning to read. Many, if not most slaves were kept in a state of ignorance about anything beyond their immediate circumstances which were under control of owners, the law makers and the authorities. Denying education was one of the methods used to keep them docile and instill and maintain the belief that they were inferior and unworthy of a life beyond subservience, labor and harsh treatment.
Using these methods those who were in bondage to others would teach each other. This was done in violation of state and federal law, since those in the position of power used government rule to deny slaves proper education. The denial of education made it possible for the system of slavery to exist and prosper because it is HARD to enslave an educated human.
NOW for how this relates to today….Well first and foremost I am Black and this is Black History Month so I was reviewing some of these lessons with my kids so the legacy is maintained in our home. As I am doing this study for them, I am learning more and more about myself and how learning from the past can be applied today in life and business.
Many of the ecommerce merchants that I speak with are not as astute and learned as they should be. Some of us started our businesses out of hobby selling on platforms like eBay, Etsy or Craigslist and got sudden success via these tools. Our businesses grew over time on the platforms and we learned methods for harvesting crops on the farm (ecommerce platforms) but never learned how to "own the plantation."
What we have become is somewhat similar to the days of indentured servants or share croppers. We are at the whims of the platform and its movements due to a lack of concrete education on the principles that govern ecommerce. That leaves you and I vulnerable and almost like a slave that is subject to abuse at the whims of the "master" because we simply do not know how to provide for ourselves. We are locked in fear and uncertainty about or future because there is no way out in our minds and we simply don’t see an answer. We can not adequately formulate an option or an answer due to our lack of education and ignorance of opportunity.
We can NOT expect eBay, Amazon or any other marketplace to willingly teach me how to NOT be dependant on them. It makes no logical sense for me and you to expect the owner of the plantation to teach the the servants who PAY THEM for the privilege of selling to THEIR customers…….just think about that statement for just a second…wow! We are PAYING these marketplaces to list our products so they can offer our wears to their customers as if THEY are the vendors of the products. If that is not a similar tie to a share cropping, I don’t know what it is?!?
So with that same spirit of addressing and ending ecommerce illiteracy amongst us as sellers, I would like to try an Each One, Teach One Topical Discussion here on the ColderICE.com blog. I will post a topic related to us a merchants and the the COMMUNITY…YOU GUYS will come in on the comments and post. You can post your comments on the subject, links to articles or posts to other blogs on the topic, you can post links to YouTube videos or Podcast episodes. I do not care what you post as long as it furthers the education of the community, it qualifies. But of course this will ONLY work if you participate. This is why it is an Alpha test because I want to see if the community would participate to make it great. Come on guys, lets each one, teach one!!!
Topic is… Brands and Branding: What is it? How can you do it?
OK, I need your input now so lets start posting to the thread topical information on Brands and Branding.
A great friend to me recommended that I meet some guy named Akin. He said to me, "John you have got to get Akin on your show, the man is a genius when it comes to analytics. So he did the introduction and I set up the phone call. I went to Akin’s site at Multi Channel Marketing Metrics and was blown away by the quality of the content.
Akin is the author of Mutichannel Marketing which is a book aimed at providing the missing keys for your marketing strategies. Akin know his stuff! And he is very passionate about what he is doing. This is a fantastic and informative interview to aid us ecommerce merchants and newbies on what to do to make your SEO, PPC and web pages better. In the interview Akin talks about his Web Analytics Wizards which are a must have tool to aid in troubleshooting your results.
Listen to the Interview NOW! (press play button and be patient, it takes a minute to buffer)
Event Date: Thursday, February 18, 2010 @ 12:00 PM ET / 9:00 AM PT
Join SEM practitioners and Unica specialists in this webcast to keep pace with the unstoppable innovation in search engine marketing and the related analytics.
New capabilities offered by the search engines today have expanded the web of possibilities into mobile, social, and other types of PPC ads.
Web analysts tasked with optimizing their company’s pay-per-click (PPC) vs. natural search have a complex set of questions to weigh. Tune into this webcast for advice from the front-lines on SEM optimization with web and other kinds of analytics tools.
In this webcast you will learn:
Top 5 changes with search marketing in 2010 that you should be aware of
Analytics methods for optimizing new types of search, e.g. the real time web, mobile, etc.
Top DOs and DONTs for helping your colleagues increase returns from PPC
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
I believe eBay knows that some of those 62 million (Note: Refers to the number of current eBay Store Inventory format listings) will NOT move to core, cause it was the low .03 cents that allowed many to keep them on the site. I think eBay is charging MORE to actually "de-clutter" the system. Raising the price will action make people either SELL the stuff or get it OFF the platform.
Currently I have a Basic eBay Store with about 4,500 items listed on the site. Many hundreds of my items are listed for as little as $5 or less—they’re niche long-tail items you’d be correct in assuming they don’t turn-over very fast.
Will I be de-cluttering?
John’s extracted quote above seems to apply directly to me, however the morning the announcements came down from eBay I ran my numbers through their magic calculator and the results were surprising.
By upgrading my $15.95/month Basic Store to a $49.95/month Premium store and qualifying for the nickel per item insertion fees on Fixed Price listings the calculator claimed I’d knock about $125-$150 per month off of my bill. That’s without changing any of my listing practices.
As with any changes the differences to each of our individual bottom lines are going to vary seller to seller. Extremely so in many cases. The morning I first read of the coming changes I looked them over and was first relieved that they weren’t going to have any obvious negative impact on my business. By the time I ran my numbers through their fee illustrator I went from relieved and non-committal to happy over the changes.
I absolutely understand that just because eBay says it’s a fee decrease and I say my fees are going down that this isn’t necessarily going to save you one red cent. In fact it might be costing you money, I get it. It’s the wide range of businesses and styles of business across eBay which actually makes these changes both so controversial and interesting to discuss.
But bottom line, in my world my bill just went down. In your world the reverse may be true. The key is understanding what just happened and what changes you can apply to continue being profitable, even if that means discontinuing use of eBay altogether.
Towards that end I want to lay out the circumstances of my own eBay business which again, are going to differ greatly from seller to seller. I think these few factors add up to show why these changes work for me:
1) I’ve been listing 800-1,200 Fixed Price items per month under the current fee structure. Those listings, formerly 15 (media) and 35 cents now cost just a nickel, far off-setting the other 3,500 or so items that will cost me just an extra 2 pennies per pop.
2a) Low ASP.
2b) Auctions as usual, which pretty much always start over 99 cents.
With auctions I’ll be paying 10 cents less per listing with most of my Final Value Fees only climbing from the existing 8.75% to the new flat 9% remaining the same because of my store subscription (thanks Karen!).
3) Overall quantity. Having maintained an eBay Store in the past I’ve stocked it over time. If I only listed auctions, the store upgrade would be an expense but necessary in some form to avoid 50c Fixed Price fees. Already having a store I get to upgrade it and actually save by laying out more.
4) Top Rated Seller discounts. I hate to put this one here because nothing’s guaranteed, but I’ve yet to see a negative impact. I understand that this often varies category to category and I seem to be in a good place to benefit from it.
So back to John’s original quote, will I be helping eBay to de-clutter? The obvious answer is no, since I can do what I’m doing and save doing it, however that indicates time standing still. I add listings to the site on a daily basis, they sell much slower, so my current number of items in stock is going to continue to grow over time.
How many nickels can I spend to list a $3 item that might take forever to sell? The answer looks like 60 to break even, but it’s really not. That $3 item listing is an ad, a portal to my other 4,500 listings, so the actual answer is I can afford to pay that nickel until the end of time as long as everything else is moving.
eBay aside, I’ve been working on my own off-eBay shop for some time, and so my plan coming into these changes had been to begin selectively retiring listings from eBay to farm them off to my new store. I consider my vintage goods long-tail items, well, my off-eBay store is going to be the very tip of the tail!
I’ll be pressing forward with this plan, but here’s the best part for me—I don’t have to if I don’t want to … and I can if I want. eBay isn’t dictating this move to me, in other words, I’m facing no pressure from their changes. Believe me, I can recall one eBay fee hike which clamped around my wallet so hard I was forced to immediately cut what were at the time 7,500 store items down to 600—that was several years ago and I’ve been working to up my inventory number ever since!
In the end my own hope for this round of changes is not to save that $125-$150 per month, but to keep my bill right around where it’s always been and use that extra money to list more and sell more. If moving my store items to core works towards that goal then I’d happily pay eBay even more than my current bill in order to increase what I take home in the end.
So John, yes, I am going to de-clutter, but at the same time I’m going to re-clutter my eBay listings.
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.
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!!!
Ok the reviews are all in and the iPad has impressed us all when it was finally unveiled by Apple CEO Steve Jobs on January 27th. All the hype finally came to an end when Mr. Jobs gave a run down of all the great features the iPad has to offer its users. I was just as impressed with many of the specs of this long awaited device. I have read many reviews that were Good, Bad and even down right Ugly when it comes to the iPad, so here is my take on those reviews.
The iGood iPad reviewed by Ben Parr of Mashable.
Apple iPad: A Comprehensive Guide
This review is the most comprehensive of the reviews I read. It is very detailed and well thought out. Ben does a great job of first giving an overview of the iPad by showing the introduction video that is also featured on the Apple website. Ben goes on by breaking down all the specifications of the iPad. He then gives you the pricing, the availability, the closest competitors to the iPad and then finally what the iPad lacks.
The iBad
iPad reviewed by Bianca Bosker of The Huffington Post.
Apple iPad Review (PHOTOS): 9 Worst Things About The Apple Tablet
This review gives you a breakdown of all the things that are not so good about the iPad. I like this review because it uses pictures to tell the story of why you may want to think twice before you run out and pre order the iPad. It starts with the fact that Apple chose to name their new device iPad instead of one of the rumored names like iTablet or iSlate. This review then goes on to criticize all of the many things wrong with the iPad that include the lack of mutitasking, a camera, flash capability and a USB port just to name of few. I thought this review was very creative in bringing more attention to the weaknesses of the iPad.
The iUgly iPad reviewed by Michael Arrington of TechCrunch.
iPad v. A Rock
This was the funniest review and the most harsh, hence “The iUgly” term used. Michael goes so far as to compare the iPad to an actual Rock. Even though this review makes fun of all the things the iPad does not do, it gives you a cut and dry understanding of why we should not have played into all the hype. And get this, the rock almost wins in this side by side comparison.
When first hearing about and then seeing all the cool stuff the iPad could do I was convinced this device would be the first Apple product I would choose to own. Unfortunately after then hearing about all the things the iPad could not do, I am going to give it a PASS for the wish list this Christmas. Their were a couple of deal breakers but the ones that sealed it were the lack of USB and SD ports on the device without an adapter or docking station, the lack of multitasking and the lack of compatibility with the T-mobile 3G network. I just signed up for T-mobile and even though the iPad is sold unlocked it will not connect to my cell phone carrier. I guess I will have to wait for the iPad II or see what the HP Slate has to offer when it debuts some time this year.
Will you, get an Apple iPad?
If so please let us know why.
All the best
JB
Jeffrey Alexander Brathwaite, aka “JB”
Internet Strategist, Speaker and Trainer
404-287-0848 Office
Jeff[at]2thenextlevel[dot]com
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!
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.
Listen to this episode of B.S. Walks NOW! (press play button and be patient, it takes a minute to buffer)
OR Click to Download
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
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.
A great friend to me recommended that I meet some guy named Akin. He said to me, "John you have got to get Akin on your show, the man is a genius when it comes to analytics. So he did the introduction and I set up the phone call. I went to Akin’s site at 
Join SEM practitioners and Unica specialists in this webcast to keep pace with the unstoppable innovation in search engine marketing and the related analytics.
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.
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?!? 
In John’s recent 
Towards that end I want to lay out the circumstances of my own eBay business which again, are going to differ greatly from seller to seller. I think these few factors add up to show why these changes work for me:
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!
The Verdict
