Wow, we got a new “intelligent” President, a Clinton back in power, an Indian movie sweeps the Oscars and Randy Smythe working for Buy.com?!? Now that is change! LMAO
So it has been a little over 4 weeks since Randy went venturing to the “other” side of things. I check in with my friend to see how things are over there. He is such a great guy to chat with ALL THE TIME, and this one is NO LESS exciting that all the other calls we have done (more Randy Smythe Interviews and stories).
The big topic on this call is the eBay’s TOP secret, Top Seller conference. Randy crashed the party, LMAO and now gives us his take on the state of things. All things eBay, Buy.com, and his new roll are addressed and YEAH, I was stunned again buy his openness and views on My Blog Utopia, eBay and ecommerce and where we are going in this tough economy.
Listen to the Interview NOW! (press play button and be patient, it takes a minute to buffer)
Look folks, I am doing this whole week of interviews, before my birthday on the 13th for many reasons. But a big reason is to highlight some of the mentors, movers and shakers in eCommerce and reflecting on how they made a difference for me and my business personally. So I am so glad to have Randy spend a little time with us here on ColderICE.com for this interview.
– John
Got your attention with that title didn’t I? Well that is really a valid question and our buddy Randy Smythe is the man who can give you an “educated guess” for the answer. And I DID ask him too.
Listen to the Interview NOW! (press play button)
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You know, when I was selling my used books off of the shelves of my house just to keep from going broke back in the beginning of 3rd Power Outlet, I used to see this buzz around the now defunct, Glacier Bay DVD on eBay. Back then, Glacier Bay was eBay’s top feedback seller with over 15 million in sales from 1999 – 2006. Which I must laugh about the fact that eBay STILL buys Google Adwords for his company name even today!
But I got off topic there… I remember back in the day I would say to myself, how could this company have so much volume, traffic, and most coveted of all (back when it meant something) positive feedback?
I remember just wishing I knew “that guy”! I remember interviews where Randy would spring thought and wisdom that blew me away. I would literally sit and take notes on the rare occasion that he would give an interview. I also remember the day I got Scot Wingo’s book (eBay Strategies) and how delighted I was to see Glacier Bay DVD in the case study. WOW, and now I got both Randy and Scot on my speed dial? OMG that is so cool!
Randy is by far one of the coolest and most giving ecommerce big dawgs out there. He is so much fun and so freaking smart at the same time. I have done a couple other interviews with Randy and I will tell you this; you have to be careful when you listen to him talk because his wisdom is spewed out in such a conversational way that you might miss a BIG NUGGET that could make or break your year. I am serious about this, the dude knows his sh*t, and if you don’t subscribe to his blog over at MyBlogUtopia.com, you are missing a whole lot of good stuff.
Randy thinks that eBay is on the decline and Auctionbytes showed charts that look like the traffic does show it is soft. I throw my hat in the ring and I got another chart to show you!
Plus I am using my new screen capture tools that you can see my desktop and I will walk you through this as I test my new tools, YEAH
You know him and you love him. He is the happy ol’ dude at the end of the block who you visit on your way to the store. But then you end up chatting with him till the store closes and you have to go home with nothing purchased. You look up and the day is long gone.
(press play button)
That is what it feels like when I get the opportunity to talk to my buddy Randy Smythe the blogger from My Blog Utopia. He is full of so much experience, wisdom and plan old gruff that it is always thought provoking that entertaining.
This interview is a follow up from the eBay Top Seller conference call from the other week and boy this is some GOOD stuff. I was going to hold off on publishing this until I got the final edit, but this was just too timely. In light of the Dinesh responding to Randy’s post over at his blog, I had to post this one IMMEDIATELY.
Because you loved this movie so much there is now a sequel….NOT. But there is a sequel to what I have dubbed the Buy.com Scarlet Letter saga, that now PeSA (Professional eBay Sellers Alliance) has step into the ring. Today they have released a response to this first letter from “unknown” that was sent to our friend Randy Smythe of My Blog Utopia last week on October 15th. He wrote the original article on his blog called “On eBay: The Little Guy Can’t Take it Anymore!” and gave me an exclusive interview that very morning after he got the letter right here!
Since then there has been not even a whisper from either eBay or Buy.com, so maybe someone will address PeSA on this? Can someone just say something? I doubt it, but following this drama is way better than renting that crappy ass video or buying it from Buy.com LOL.
Here is a full reprint of the OFFICIAL response from the PeSA website…
PeSA’s Official Response to buy.com/Diamond Seller Article – October 20, 2008
The Professional eBay Sellers Alliance was recently contacted about the efforts in the eBay community to “not shop from buy.com this holiday season” because of the damage the eBay seller community is feeling from the special pricing program eBay struck with buy.com. Since this issue underscores the greater issue about the future of the eBay marketplace, we felt is was important to comment publicly on the article, which we have also posted the article on our site
for reference. Our comments are below:
We agree that the deal eBay arranged for buy.com, as well as the new diamond tier pricing, hurts the eBay community overall because it provides free access to the marketplace without the same commitment to success that the current listing fee structure requires of the rest of eBay sellers. Zero upfront cost allows a merchant to oversupply and saturate a category with pricing that’s not matched to the interest of shoppers. The result is a dramatic drop in conversion category-wide. Meanwhile, the rest of the sellers in the category still must make the upfront investments to list but experience dramatically lower exposure.
We agree that eBay needs to focus on the buyer experience. However, we are disappointed that sellers that are delivering great buyer experiences find themselves at a substantial disadvantage because of the pricing disparity of the diamond tier access. We believe that sellers that are doing the right things by all of eBay’s measures should not be disadvantaged.
Early in 2007, eBay experienced an issue with too much supply overwhelming the search functionality on the site. The result was that eBay adjusted their fees to encourage sellers to reduce supply to the marketplace. We believe that eBay is experiencing the fruits of that strategy. It is puzzling to us that when eBay was interested in expanding supply on the marketplace, it went outside its large community of merchants to strike a special deal with a company that had no history on eBay and carried the same products currently available from smaller sellers on the site.
PESA continues to be concerned about the health of the eBay marketplace and eBay’s supply issues are a symptom of a declining value proposition. Companies such as Dell, JC Penney, Circuit City and Home Depot have tried the eBay marketplace over the years, but left due to limited success. As buy.com saturates a number of categories, hundreds of sellers are at risk of shutting down their eBay businesses. Like the other companies that have tried eBay, should buy.com find that the economics don’t work and leave eBay, there would be a substantial supply hole on eBay that would not be filled easily since the large community of sellers was diminished due to the diamond tier pricing advantage and current macro economic environment.
In light of the above, we can understand the argument that buying from buy.com and supporting their business can contribute to the further disruption of the eBay marketplace. We support the individual decisions of our members and the rest of the buyer community who wish to avoid patronizing diamond tier sellers.
For over 5 years of success PESA has been dedicated to supporting eBay and eBay sellers in growing and managing a healthy online marketplace. We measure success by the health and vibrancy of the seller community and we are fighting extra hard for the seller community in difficult times such as this.
Edge Out the Competition: My Top 5 Sites for eBay News and Why I Read Them Daily
You know things this year have been moving rapidly. Changes on eBay, the economy and the ecommerce marketplace have been moving in rapid fire succession and sometimes it is hard to keep up. As a business owner and entrepreneur you MUST try to keep up with the latest news and movements in the market.
Many of you read my ColderICE .com blog, but I am NOT a news source. What I do at ColderICE.com is simply give you what I found elsewhere or what ever crazy topic is in my twisted mental at the time, LOL. So where should you and I go to get tips that will keep us ahead of the competition? That is the question I ask myself daily!
What I did is went back to the “Morning Papers and Coffee”, what is that you ask? Well, for those of you not yet on Twitter.com I would suggest you sign up (it is totally FREE). On most business days, Monday – Friday, I will post some of the more interesting blogs, news stories, and ecommerce related posts that I have come across in the last 24 hours. I post them on my Twitter feed which is available to you FREE at www.Twitter.com/ColderICE.
So what I did this weekend is combed through the last few weeks of the Morning Papers and Coffee links and found out which news sources had the MOST reportable and informative news stories for eBay sellers. The results of the top 5 sites for eBay seller news is below:
TameBay is owned and written by Chris Dawson and Sue Bailey, two British PowerSellers. Between us we have been trading on eBay for nearly two decades, and have more than 50,000 positive feedback comments (and just 2 negs!).
Chris and Sue met on eBay UK’s PowerSeller forum longer ago than either of them like to admit. By October 2006, both had become frustrated with eBay’s inability to keep their users informed of new features on the site, with the impenetrability of eBay’s Help pages, and with the lack of a UK- and Europe-centered news site for all things ecommercial. In a moment between classes at eBay University,Dan Wilsonsaid what were to be fatal words: “you need a blog”. TameBay is the result.
Why I like it?
How in the world two UK eBayers get the scoop on US eBay reports amazes me. This is a testament to the genuine care and concern Chris and Sue have about their eBay endeavors. So they are not only keeping tabs on what is going on in the UK, but they have “hawk eyes” in the US eBay goings on as well. These guys are the 007’s of the eBay world of news and happenings.
Things that happen on eBay UK can somewhat shape changes in the US and that gives ME an edge on the competition.
Scot Wingo’seBay Blog In addition to discussing eBay strategies,Scotwill provide his take on the latest eBay related news. As President and CEO of ChannelAdvisor, Scot Wingo leads the company in its mission to provide retailers and manufacturers with the tools and services they need to successfully utilize consumer marketplaces as a sales channel.Prior to launching ChannelAdvisor, Wingo played a role as the General Manager of GoTo Auctions, CEO and co-founder of AuctionRover.com and CEO and co-founder of Stingray Software.
Why I like it?
There are several reasons to like this blog, but the #1 reason this blog is important is that Scot has information from THOUSANDS of eBay sellers to look at when he makes his comments or thoughts. It is one thing for me and you to sit in our singular businesses and make assumptions on trends at eBay. But it is an entirely different view point when you get to sit above the data of thousands of eBay sellers and watch trending in that data. What Scot may say, might not be what you and I see today. But ultimately, the numbers don’t lie and that means what he sees today could be what you and I see tomorrow! And that my friends gives us an edge on the competition.
I write about ecommerce from the perspective of the online seller. I do tend to concentrate on the top two marketplaces, eBay and Amazon, but I’ll write about anything I find of interest in the ecommerce business. I also, consult for companies like (Amazon, BuyBak, Riders Discount, Reuters) and advise analysts from major brokerages and investment banks. I do not own
any shares in either eBay or Amazon.
Why I like it?
When you come up in this eBay business world, back when I started, there are not many people that you could actually find to mentor you in the world of eBay. The book that changed my world and how I looked at my eBay business was Scot Wingo’s eBay Strategies book. In that book Randy Smythe was heavily featured as one of the top, if not the top, eBay sellers during that time. I immediately connected with the philosophy contained in that book by both the author and the featured sellers. To think that I communicate one on one with both Scot and Randy today was absolutely UNTHINKABLE back then. I am amazed that they even talk to lil ‘ol me!
But what Randy has to say and what his perspectives are on both eBay and Amazon selling is vitally important and will most defiantly be and edge on the competition!
Steiner Associates LLC launched AuctionBytes in 1999 and is the leading publisher and number one source of news for ecommerce and the online-auction industry. AuctionBytes publishes email newsletters and the AuctionBytes Web site, which provides resources for online auction buyers and sellers, including “Cool Tools” and Discussion Forums. AuctionBytes publishers David and Ina Steiner are frequently quoted by major news organizations about eBay, online trading and Internet fraud including such publications asWall Street Journal, New York Times,Smart Money Magazine, andFortune Small Business.
The AuctionBytes Web site is a portal to the world of ecommerce and online auctions. New features are added to the site as the industry changes.
Why I like it?
Arguably this is where is ALL began. Long before others were blogging about eBay….NO scratch that, Ina Steiner was blogging BEFORE blogging was even “cool”! She was doing this in email newsletters first and then with blogs and video clips. She is like the Dr J. of eBay blogs, she was the first one to dunk
While many come and go, AuctionBytes have stood the test of time, controversy and scrutiny and they have been a rock for the eBay seller for nearly 10 years. That kind of edge, experience and longevity makes Ina Steiner the Walter Cronkite of eBay reporting. Hate it or love it, none of this would even be possible if not for the efforts of Ina making eBay reporting a legitimate endeavor. THANK YOU INA!
I am not one of these guys who just sells books, we really do practice what we preach. My wife and I are eBay Power Sellers and we still sell on eBay every day. Our eBay username is McGrrrrr (Look us up)
Here are my credentials:
* eBay Gold Power Seller since 1999
* Contributing editor to eBay Radio
* Only information seller allowed to exhibit at eBay Live
* My books are used in community college adult education classes
* Publish the largest newsletter for professional eBay sellers
* Invited to teach consignment selling by eBay
* Author of seven books about eBay and web marketing
Seven years ago after losing my job for the second time in my life, I decided to quit playing the J.O.B. lottery and go into business for myself. My wife took a deep breath and said: “Well there isn’t much security in that, but I’m willing to try it for a while.” We had just started learning how to sell on eBay so that is where we focused our efforts. We haven’t looked back since.
Why I like it?
Now I have never met the guy, or maybe I have and don’t know it since I do go to several eBay conferences annually, but Skip McGrath has been in the eBay “game” along time. He sells books, tapes, coaching, sourcing blah blah blah…I can go on and on about where you can find Skip on the net. I have not ventured into all the systems and methods that this one man has but together. However, I was searching the book shelves for a good eBay book one day and came across this fat ass book called “Titanium eBay” by Skip McGrath.
I picked it up that book and took it home. I found it both fascination and confirming, because many of the strategies and techniques that I was currently doing or were planning on implementing were in the book! And on top of that, he had fleshed out many plans and strategies I never though of. To this day, I still use that book as a sort of reference material that still works even though many things have changed on eBay.
That was enough for me to sta
rt following the comments and insight of an eBay seller that knows how to eBay…Skip McGrath is not just writing about it, he does eBay everyday and in everyway. Skip has a way with words and makes complex strategies accessible to the lay seller, both large and small, and I simply love that. So you get the meat on this link, without all the fluff. Check it out, cause this will give you an edge on the competition!
The big topic on this call is the eBay’s TOP secret, Top Seller conference. Randy crashed the party, LMAO and now gives us his take on the state of things. All things eBay, Buy.com, and his new roll are addressed and YEAH, I was stunned again buy his openness and views on My Blog Utopia, eBay and ecommerce and where we are going in this tough economy.
I remember just wishing I knew “that guy”! I remember interviews where Randy would spring thought and wisdom that blew me away. I would literally sit and take notes on the rare occasion that he would give an interview. I also remember the day I got 
Because you loved this movie so much there is now a sequel….NOT. But there is a sequel to what I have dubbed the 
Scot Wingo’s
Steiner Associates LLC launched AuctionBytes in 1999 and is the leading publisher and number one source of news for ecommerce and the online-auction industry. AuctionBytes publishes email newsletters and the AuctionBytes Web site, which provides resources for online auction buyers and sellers, including “Cool Tools” and Discussion Forums. AuctionBytes publishers David and Ina Steiner are frequently quoted by major news organizations about eBay, online trading and Internet fraud including such publications as
