A Smile on Children's Faces

One of my neighbours is overdecorating the area outside his apartment door for Halloween. It now has more cobwebs than I've ever seen, a coffin wrapped in chains, a spooky fence, a decapitated head hanging from a real apartment complex tree, a huge skeleton, a skeletal and bloody devil clown surrounded by bloody fake cobwebs, half a sinewy skeleton made to look like it's trying to push its way out of the ground, a skull on a stake, a tombstone with battery-powered hands that seem to be coming out of the ground and scratching at the stone, a scary sign, and lots more. Yeah I wasn't done listing what he's put outside his apartment door.

I asked him if he were trying to win our apartment's Halloween decoration contest. Nope, he said. It's for the kids. I said that nothing's good for kids like good old blood, death, and destruction. He said, "It puts a smile on their faces." I offered to pay for their therapy. I've seen his kids, and I'm guessing they are age 1.5 (girl), age 3 (boy), and age 4 (boy). The guy is out there setting this up with a buddy, and I think they're really having fun. But is this age appropriate?

Sometimes, people are crying out that video games, movies, and TV programmes desensitise kids to violence. How about the decorations we put up at Halloween? When I was a kid in the 1970's, I remember most Halloween decorations being cardboard prints of an ugly witch on a broom stick with a black cat and the moon behind her. Now, my supermarket sells a tombstone with hands coming out of the ground that really move and claw at the tombstone. In the 1970's, a kid dressed up as a kitty cat. Now, you can dress up as "sexy pirate" even if you're age 11.

I have no idea what kinds think when they see this. Are they scared? Are they not scared? Are they haunted by this? What do they really think of the severed head in the tree? Would they think the same of a real severed head in a tree? Do the think cutting off a head is a fun thing that'll bring a smile to their faces? I have no idea. When did we decide that children needed to decorate their homes (supposedly a safe place) with symbols of death, mutilation, torture, undeadness :), and fear? This just can't be good for the soul.

I just think we can do better.

Posted at 05:00 AM in Just An Observation | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Improve What?

I'm very used to checking my spam filter and seeing headlines over and over relating to things that will supposedly improve my sex life. Most assume I'm male, but I know we've all seen these. They want to make "it" bigger. Last longer. She'll love you more. She'll have more pleasure. Don't be the little guy. Satisfy your partner. Take this pill, use this device, etc...

But I was recently eyeballing my spam filter (as I do a few times a day) to make sure nobody I recognise got stuck in it, and I noticed a spam headline that went in a new direction. At least I've never noticed this one before in my 15+ years of getting email.

Really? With all the spam about my partner and giving it to my partner and so on, I wonder how much this product will sell. I think people think about improving sex as they may imagine the other person is judging their performance, comparing to past lovers, or who knows what. So there may be some pressure felt to improve in the bedroom. But are any of us really looking to bring masturbation to a new level? The people who may have that as a goal may have already found some things to help, I would imagine. Isn't that what porn's mostly about? No lack of that stuff!

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Bad Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

A GREAT eBay and Online Seller

eBay User ID bidpax

This guy is fantastic. I was searching eBay for two-way radios for our upcoming conference. I found his listings and those of other sellers. I loved his pictures. I liked that he was an Authorised Dealer for Motorola. He had a great guide about how to buy a two-way radio, which made me start to rethink what I'd been searching for. He answered my emailed questions quickly and expertly. He helped me choose the right products for my needs.

All eBay sellers should be this patient, knowledgeable, and pleasant. If you are looking for two-way radios, you want to buy from bidpax.

Posted at 09:00 AM in That's Good Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

It's Hard to Focus with Hot Pockets

"It's hard to focus with Hot Pockets" is the caption on a photo from the Hot Pockets "Got Milk" photo contest. I sure agree, but more for the dizzying lack of nutrition.

This was the photo. Evidently like sleeping pills and other heavy drugs, do not eat Hot Pockets while driving machinery. They are so distractingly scary tasting that you may run over a farm hand or perhaps a family member with your tractor.

Maybe instead of cell phone bans, we need to look at banning Hot Pocket eating and milk drinking while driving. This is clearly dangerous not just to the human digestive system.

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Bad Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Like New and How To Fix That

eBay is reportedly starting to ban the use of the phrase "like new." Of course, people are going wild over it. They are saying that "like new" is a term used all the time in the sales of items, so why ban it?

Let's think about this from the point of view of a shopper. If you want something that is new, what percentage of the time are you willing to buy something that's not new? For me, that's not often. If I want something that is really brand new, I don't want anything that was used, opened, returned, or who knows what.

Now let's think about how eBay searches work. If in your listing title you say LIKE NEW, and I search for NEW, I will get your listing unless I know how to use Boolean operators in eBay searches. That's probably relatively few people. But you could search for NEW -"like new." As I am writing this, I'm searching eBay.com:

2,288,673 items found for: new
8,259 items found for: (like new,"like new")

That means that less than 0.4% of items are saying LIKE NEW. That seems small to me honestly. I expected to see many more in my search results if eBay's cracking down on this. I know that as a shopper, when I want new, I probably don't want LIKE NEW, so I get this. When I want used or refurb, I search for that.

I think the best way to go is to create condition grading. Then, you can ask people what is the minimal level of use. So you might have:

1. Brand new, in box, never used
2. Brand new, open box
3. Slightly used but with box and all manuals/parts
4. Slightly used missing box and/or manuals/parts
5. Moderately used
6. Heavily used
7. Not fully working

So for one item, I might want level 3 or higher. For another item, I may only want level 1. For another item, I may be OK with level 6 or higher. If you could do a range of levels, that would be great. Say I want to save money by getting something used that works. I could search for anything that fits into levels 3-6.

I like my idea, and hope eBay adopts it. :)

Posted at 05:00 AM in Just An Observation | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

It's My Shoes

If you read my blog, then you know I was recently in court. I had to go through a metal detector. It went off. I told them it was my shoes, which are Z-Coils, so they have a huge, metal coil in them. The guard with the wand said, "OK." And let me go.

???

You don't want to wand me? You don't want to ask me to empty my pockets? You're just taking my word that it really was my shoes that set off the metal detector? So I could have carried ANYTHING metal through, and just said it was my shoes?

???

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Bad Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

AuctionBytes Survey

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y207/m10/abu0200/s03

I'd like to see the same people surveyed in 6 months about what they DID do. Many of them said they would leave marketplaces or stop selling through e-commerce systems like MarketWorks. But did they? We'd only know if we surveyed the same people in 6-7 months to see what they really did.

We all want to eat and be healthier. Many of us think we eat right. But do we really? I know there is sometimes a gap, purposeful or accidental, between what we say we will do and what we actually do.

Posted at 05:00 AM in Just An Observation | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

I'm Not Doing What I'm Doing, So Don't Notice!

There are "eBay experts" out there with whom I rarely agree, and when I look at these people, I wonder why people follow them. So what I like to do is point at them. Give them more attention. You can decide for yourself what you think of these other people. I make or lose no money when you decide you think they are fantastic experts or losers. You pick! I'm pointing. :)

So this appeared in one of the "expert" blogs last week. I guess he doesn't like my pointing, but from what I heard is being posted about him on discussion forums that I don't read, my pointing at him is the least of his problems right now. But here is some of what he posted. Then, let's discuss.

The other thing you should do is consider who is giving you the advice.  What are their qualifications and experience? 

Karen and I have been selling on eBay for over 8 years and still sell on eBay every day. In fact eBay is responsible for about 1/2 of my income. Other experts that I work with like Lynn Dralle, Jennie Hunt, Jim Cockrum, Tim Knox, James Jones, Mike Enos and others, are all people who can do, and do do, what they teach and write about. Yes, we do profit sharing our knowledge with others but there is nothing wrong with that as long as you are delivering good value for the money.

I have read blogs and websites by many others about selling on eBay, and the internet, who have little or no current experience actually selling. Mostly these inexperienced people just write, grouse and critizise. They usually have little of value to contribute.  Often these are people who make money selling something else, who write stuff about others to generate hits to their own site to make money for themselves --rarely do they care if they are accurate or not. So one thing you should always do is research and consider the source.

As for attacking and criticizing the opinions of others, I have better things to do with my time.

He had links for most of those person's names, but I've taken them out. So here is my commentary on the above.

1. I agree with most of what he's saying. People should do more research on who is giving advice. Check if they speak at eBay events as that's a good mark of who eBay wants people to hear from. Always consider your source, especially money they might make from the products they are recommending. Some people actually recommend things because of what they get paid for the recommendation, and I'm against that. Always have been, always will be. I'm not for sale. Is your eBay expert for sale? :)
2. I like the part where he says that people write about others to generate hits to their own websites... but then he takes the time to mention names that are probably put into search engines more than his own. When I point at this particular guy, I rarely name him, so I won't today either. But he's welcome to pretend that I name drop him for hits to my own site.
3. Do I make money selling something else? Yes, I make money when people hire my company for our design, marketing, branding, strategy, operations management, and other consulting services. But this is my Marketing commentary blog. I rarely mention my company's services here. It's not like I have a post about a tip for selling on eBay, and I link it to a bunch of my own books or webinars or something like that. I'm just here to share my ideas, opinions, and point at people since we should always take more opportunities to look in the mirror.
4. I buy heaps of things on eBay each month. I don't claim to be a big seller, but I used to sell daily as a part-time income (under another ID, not the one you see me with now). My company has an insanely awesome track record with our seller clients, which speaks for itself. But if you're looking for an eBay consultant, what do you need more? Someone who makes half their living selling, may have a view on what it's like to sell, and spends all that time selling? Or someone who makes a living helping sellers of all kinds, sizes, and levels of proficiency start and grow? Someone who is your potential buyer, helping you tap into the minds and behaviours of your potential buyers. If I wanted to know how to improve my consulting business, I probably wouldn't talk to other people with potentially competing consulting businesses. I'm not sure they're really want to help me. I'd ask clients and potential clients what they want and how we could be better. Being a seller is great, but I've sometimes received calls from people who tried to use sellers as consultants... I was told that that seller really knew his or her business, but not how to grow a business that may sell something else or have another model. We don't have that narrow focus. We work with sellers that have forklifts, shoes, sporting goods, diamond rings, posters, electronics, everything you can think of including sellers who never know what they'll sell tomorrow.
5. I like the part where he says he doesn't have time to attack or criticise the opinions of others after taking a paragraph to attack and criticise others.

This guy must be going through some real stuff right now to post that. I've never been asked to prove that I have eBay expertise... I've spoken in so many places, I've been interviewed, I'm an author, I help other authors (check the index for my name), I work with eBay, I don't hang with a small group of internet marketers who just keep mentioning/plugging each other, my clients speak up for me... my knowledge and expertise on eBay is rarely in dispute. I guess if you're writing what this guy is, yours must be in dispute, and this is the best way you can think of to distract from that.

I always look at the hand the magician wants me to NOT notice. The hand that waves around in the air is the one he wants you to watch. I watch what the other hand is doing. And in this blog, I'll point at it. I am not afraid to point at behaviour that in my opinion may be odd, inconsistent, or lacking integrity. I think the general public is better off when someone is willing to not say the popular thing and be willing to rock the boat by telling you to pay attention to the man behind the curtain. Watch the hand the magician doesn't want you to see. Look very carefully at these things... read what's being said, what's being implied, and what's not being said... and decide for yourself.

If you don't want me to point at you, stop doing pointable things. :)

Posted at 07:00 AM in That's Bad Marketing | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

I Lose It in Court

Well, I won a lawsuit recently. It was a civil suit. I sued an ex-boyfriend for money I had lent him that he never repaid. It was over $4,000, so it was in justice court and not small claims court. Filing the case was a good, empowering thing given who I used to be. Winning the case was a slam dunk, but still felt good.

At one point, I lost my cool. The Defendant was using my exhibit 9, which was an email from me to him. He had offered to pay me $50 per month (for 8 years?) but had said he didn't even had that money, and he's "had to cut back on food" (sob sob). I really disliked that email (it was from July 2006), and wrote him back that day that, among other things, he shouldn't bother paying me anything this summer. Use the summer to come up with a better remedy, and I'd decide in September if I wanted to sue him or enjoy having nothing to do with him.

I ended up choosing both. I was loving having nothing to do with him, but really wanted my money. I decided in September 2006 to sue, but didn't make time to write up the paperwork and go down to the court until March 2007.

So back to my story. The Defendant asks me in relation to exhibit 9 if I think that it would be unreasonable of him to assume that my statement saying not to pay him for those two months really meant that the whole loan was called off. Oh I lost it. I address him by Mr. ______ (last name), and said, "If you buy furniture, and they offer you no payments for your first year, do you then have free furniture with no obligation to ever pay for it?" The judge reminded me that it was the Defendant's turn to ask questions. Oops.

The judge had to reel me in another time when I gave a long-winded, somewhat angry answer. I was pretty ticked off since I had lent someone I didn't like money I didn't have while I was in the process of leaving him because he seemed to be more needy than I was at the time, and here he was telling the judge how he hadn't paid me anything, but was just trying to do the right thing. I was really not OK with that statement, and went on a bit in response to a question from the Defendant. The judge asked for yes or no. Oops. Sorry. I can be long-winded. The judge said it was OK, and that part of his job was to "direct traffic." :)

I may have lost my cool twice, but the Defendant lost the case. His evidence for trial? My exhibits 8 and 9 that I submitted (he brought nothing). The judge asked him great questions, and the Defendant admitted that it was a loan, he knew it was a loan, he wasn't disputing the amount of the loan, and he'd never paid me anything back. He was not successful in proving that I had released him from the loan, which was the most recent of his many claims.

I'm posting here because I'm proud of myself for standing up for what was right, which was the repayment of the loan. I'm glad I stood up to this person after being in an abusive relationship with him years ago. I hope that in court that day that this person felt as low and powerless as he used to make me feel. I hope he felt like the judge had his number when the judge was reading my exhibit 11, which was a copy of a police report from when the Defendant had threatened to kill me the first time I tried to break up with him. I didn't end up using that one, but it was in the exhibits I submitted, not knowing which ones i might need. If the Defendant had asked me GOOD questions, which he didn't, exhibit 11 was going to answer some of them.

And now that I have a judgment, I hope he pays me. Based on what my lawyer said are my options to get paid, he should be hoping he pays me. The judgment was for the full amount with interest starting to accrue the day I won the case. I hope that when the Defendant is scraping together the money to pay me back he thinks about how I must have scraped to lend him money when I didn't have it to lend. The Defendant always seemed like a proud guy and put himself out there as a man of his word. I hope he's looking in the mirror wondering what's looking back.

Sorry, just wanted to vent. And I like to remind people who have been or are in abusive relationships that you can get out, you can have your power back, and you can get past those things.

Posted at 05:30 AM in Just An Observation | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

To Marketworks Users

After eBay Live 2007, we decided to no longer recommend Marketworks to our clients or eBay sellers we met here and there. I was upset by the number of negative comments I heard about my clients' experiences with Marketworks. It definitely doesn't benefit me or my company to have clients using a service they don't like, or clients wondering why I recommended to them a service they didn't like.

We thought that most of these sellers would be better off with a service like Kyozou, and we emailed some of them about it, just in case the idea of switching were attractive. In the continuation of that suggestion, I wanted to point people to:

http://www.kyozou.com/marketworks.asp

Kyozou is offering a sweet deal for MW users who want to move to them. I say talk to Kyozou, see the demo, and consider them. No, I'm not being paid to say this. I have seen many people unhappy and frustrated with Marketworks. If that's not you, you're welcome to stay with them. But if you are looking for another option, we have been suggesting Kyozou as many of our clients have been very happy with them. What's in my best interest is seeing my clients with a service they like, whoever it is.

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Good Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

How To Not Speak at Our Upcoming Conference, Part 2

This guy contacted me, wanting to speak at my conference.

Interesting look, and based on the music and it's volume, this must be the video where he gets eaten by the shark in slow motion.

I've said it before and I'll keep saying it. We don't touch anybody doing "internet marketing" (those long webpages that make you give your email address before you get anything), pushing eBay selling "systems," or anybody who claims to be a huge seller but doesn't tell you his eBay ID. I'd like to see that on the home page of his site.

And we definitely don't work with anybody who doesn't respect eBay enough to NOT infringe their trademarks.

So no thanks. I am running a conference to get good information to PowerSellers. The target audience for my conference has been selling on eBay longer than this guy evidently, and I think this is not the right audience or vibe for him. Let's see if he walks around eBay Live with his message.

PS: He wouldn't take no for an answer (three times I emailed him no), and keeps emailing me about how great he is and how my conference won't teach anybody anything. This is now super, ultra bad marketing as this guy now seems like a crazed stalker type who keeps emailing me asking insulting questions. I'm amazed that anybody has him speak anywhere with this sort of attitude and unprofessional behaviour.

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Bad Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Wearing A Particle Mask on a Plane

I was flying last week,and saw something I can't explain.

A female senior citizen sitting near me put on what looked like a homemade particle mask. It had Snoopy fabric or something. I doubt it had any real particle filtering. It was just fabric.

During the flight, she took it off for at least an hour. For the last bit of the flight, she put in a regular surgical mask, the disposable kind.

So what horrible germs did she filter out and save herself from that she could go without the mask for part of the flight? Who suggested this to her? Dr. Phil? If a real doctor suggested this, he/she should have been clearer about technique and follow-through.

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Bad Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Don't Put Feedback Comments in Your eBay Listing

http://blog.skipmcgrath.com/public/item/186376

Here we go again. He's moderating comments, so on the assumption that mine wouldn't be accepted, I'll comment here.

We don't suggest putting feedback comments into your auction listing. Why?

• It's more words on a page for a target audience that HATES to read. If I want to get people's attention to have them read something, I'd rather they read about my item for sale or my policies. There is SO much information I want shoppers to know in a listing, and a handful of good feedbacks isn't on the list.
• Anybody can distill good comments and put them in a listing or on a website. Anybody can list good testimonials. Shoppers who care will be reading your feedback page for the FULL story. You're not going to fool them into thinking you're perfect. If you ARE perfect, then they don't need to see positive comments because...
• Your feedback speaks for itself. People see the number rating and the percentage positive. I wouldn't buy from a seller with 96% positive even if he puts 5 positive feedbacks in his listing. I don't believe that you build trust with people by distilling the good testimonials and assuming nobody will look into you any further. We know that people go to feedback pages, read comments, and view the items to which they related. So your whole story will be known by your shoppers ANYWAY.
• When I go to a listing that has feedbacks in it from 2006, I'm not impressed. If you really want to do this, you have to keep it current. Otherwise, outdated positive comments are not likely to have much of an effect. "Oh, this seller made 5 people happy last year."
• We don't let clients do this. If clients are doing it, we take it out when we do their new listing template. And yet, people's sales go up. It's not like shoppers don't know where to go to find out if people are happy with you!
• eBay has a rule against manipulating feedback to make yourself look more trustworthy than you are. Repeating your feedbacks in your listing may or may not break this rule, but if eBay ever decides that it does, you're not going to be glad that you put feedback comments in your listing.

That's the story. Once again, I disagree with Skip, and I maintain my objection to him claiming eBay expertise. He's just a marketing guy trying to get you to buy his stuff and sign up for things that make him affiliate money. Or so I say.

Posted at 09:00 AM in That's Bad Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Third Party Companies Breaking eBay Rules

I have a real bee in my bonnet about third party companies being non-compliant when it comes to what they forcibly put into sellers' eBay listings, or suggest gets put into eBay listings. Here is a great example of why:

http://onlyebay.blogspot.com/2007/10/skypes-competitive-troubles-continue.html

Some third party company told people to put something in their eBay listings without realising (or caring?) that it was against eBay rules. Sellers' items started coming down. That's REALLY bad for sellers, and I'm sure damages the trust of that third party company.

So if you see me blogging more about it, that is why. I feel strongly that third party companies:

• Have integrity.
• Know eBay rules before telling sellers to put things in their listings.
• Should not tell sellers to put things in their listings if it breaks rules like the third party credit rule and the third party endorsement rule.
• Should care about a level playing field. We should all be going by the rules. Nobody is special, and those who are dishonest or trying to "fly under the radar" should change before it starts really reflecting badly on their business.
• Should care that they are jeopardising their relationship with eBay.
• Should care that they are jeopardising the community's trust (and adoption) of them.

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Bad Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Typepad's Featured Blog of the Day!

What an honour! Today, we are Typepad's Featured Blog of the Day. Thanks, Typepad. Your marketing may say "Typepad Loves Me," but you're forgetting how much we love Typepad. And Six Apart.

I started a LiveJournal in May 2003. I still post to it (mostly Friends Only), which I love as it allows me to keep in touch with a group of people who care about me. When you're really down or really excited, it's great to have that easy way to update people who want to know.

I started this blog in April 2005. It's been a huge amount of fun to run. And with how weird our world is, it's easy to point at the lows and a few highs of human behaviour and how companies market themselves and their products. If you read my post from last Thursday, then you might say that this blog is shooting for Theoretical Helpful or better. :)

I'm a big fan of blogs, and we're trying to get our eBay seller clients to start using blogs. Not only can they voice any relevant opinion that they want, but they can frequently post great keywords and brand names relating to their items. This will then show up in Google, these sellers will have their blogs found in searches, and then can lead people to their items for sale. With widgets, you can drop into your blog your own eBay items, and you can also turn your blog into a mailing list to which people can subscribe. We're now offering a blog setup and design service for our clients who want to benefit from blog features.

So three cheers for blogs and Typepad. Good marketing, and we're long-time fans. Yes, we were fans before they made us a Featured Blog. :)

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Good Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Registration is open for The 2008 As Was Conference

Our press release hits today.

As Was Announces Their First Annual “As Was Conference”

As Was is known around the eBay community for shaking things up; going in directions people may not expect; and providing the design, advice, and strategies that help eBay sellers significantly grow their businesses. Starting in 2008, As Was will bring their fresh approach to a conference. Registration is now open for eBay sellers, trainers, consultants, vendors, and the press to attend The 2008 As Was Conference. It will be held at Disney's Yacht Club Resort at Walt Disney World, Florida on Thursday 28 February, Friday 29 February, and Saturday 1 March 2008.

The As Was Conference is the newest conference where serious eBay sellers can learn about products and services that will propel their growth with sessions that will go beyond education. Speakers and exhibitors are being hand-picked by As Was so that attendees are only exposed to companies, products, and services that As Was highly recommends. Classes will include in-depth demonstrations on how to use the tools and concepts that will boost sellers' profits. Conference attendees can expect everything you typically get with As Was: intense and personalized attention, information and training, and a passion for growing your business, all in a fun and casual environment.

The focus of the conference is to present classes, products, and services that improve the Seven Elements of an eBay Business:

• Branding and Marketing
• Research and Strategy
• Sourcing, Manufacturing, and Storage
• Listing and Business Management Software
• Payments and Accounting
• Staffing
• Packing and Shipping

“Remember how it feels when you discover something that sets you apart and ahead of other people? Attending our conference is going to be two-and-a-half days of that feeling.” explains As Was President, Debbie Levitt. “We know that many sellers are hungry for the type of education they can receive at the annual eBay Live! conference. In our day-to-day consulting work, we are constantly asked what companies, products, and services will help eBay sellers grow right now. We decided to combine these two with the fun environment we knew we could create, especially at Disney, and The As Was Conference was born.”

Apart from As Was staff, speakers at the event include representatives from eBay, Monster.com, Six Apart, Constant Contact, ChannelAdvisor, Kyozou, buySAFE, Worldwide Brands, JDT Technologies, Keepmore.net, HammerTap, Merchant Advantage, Z-Firm, and Refund Retriever. Represented programs from eBay include Seller Development, Affiliate Program, and eBay Stores.

Unlike traditional conferences, the two-and-a-half day conference is designed to spur attendees’ excitement with sessions packed with actionable information and demonstrations. Early bird registration is $399 per person, and includes all of the presentations and sessions, expo, round table discussions, and sit-down lunch and dinner networking events in a festive atmosphere. Attendance will be capped at 400 so that attendees can have quality time with speakers and vendors.

To learn more about the As Was Conference and to register to attend, visit www.aswasconference.com.

About As Was

As Was is a full-service consulting firm specializing in branding, design, sales and marketing strategies, operations management, and training for eBay and online sellers. As Was has been making the world’s marketplace your marketplace since it was founded in April 1995, and has been an eBay Certified Service Provider since August 2004. For more information, please visit www.aswas.com or call 520.204.1935.

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Good Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Theoretical Wanky + Other Types of Presentations

After attending a recent conference, I've decided that there are different types of sessions at conferences and conventions.

• Theoretical Actionable - These are sessions that tell you how people feel about trends, the past, or the future. That's theoretical. But then their session is "actionable" because it contains information on what you can go and do to be better/more profitable/whatever.
• Theoretical Helpful - This would be like going to a medical convention and seeing a presentation about the newest equipment or a discussion of a new surgery that's going to help people. They're not performing the surgery on the stage (I hope), so it's "theoretical" in that sense. Surgical theory. But it's helpful in that you may not be able to perform it, but you got really goot ideas about what to do next so that you're lead to the actionable.
• Theoretical Wanky - This is a session where someone gives you those theories and ideas, but the presentation has nothing that helps you right now. This can also be used if you saw a panel where panelists disagreed, and you walked away still not knowing what to do.
• Demonstrative Actionable - This would be a real live product, service, company, or technique demonstration. Maybe it's a walk-through of how to use a certain type of beloved blog software. But it's actionable because it gives you a foundation that you can use to do what you just saw, or at least start to do it.
• Demonstrative Helpful - This is the live product demo but it doesn't show enough for you to put into action what you just saw. Maybe it's a video of that new surgery that's going to help people. You're going to need more training before you can do it, but that was a helpful demonstration.
  
• Totally Wanky - This is the speaker who has lots of anecdotes, doesn't know he's lost his audience, speaks above their heads, speaks off-topic, spends most of the time on how great he is, or something else that ends up having NO value to the attendee.

Next time you see a session, presentation, or some corporate bigwig speaking somewhere, blog about which one it was:

• Theoretical Actionable
• Theoretical Helpful
• Theoretical Wanky
• Demonstrative Actionable
• Demonstrative Helpful
• Totally Wanky

Incidentally, the plan is for The As Was Conference [http://www.aswasconference.com] to only have Actionable and Helpful topics. We will proofread presentations and choose speakers to eliminate the Wanky.

Having just given one Theoretical Actionable and one Theoretical Wanky, I feel strongly that we can go make these industry terms. Tell a friend! :)

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Bad Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Exponent Trading

http://blog.skipmcgrath.com/public/item/184729

I almost accept Skip's almost apology for having recommended something to you that:

• He never really checked out.
• He now realises is crap.
• Made him money all along while you signed up for something he never checked out that was crap.

More bad marketing. When an "eBay expert" does stuff like this, we should all notice.

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Bad Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Dress Down Day

I was recently looking at another apartment complex in my town. The front office had a sign up that said that the leasing staff were dressing down that day for Breast Cancer Awareness. The leasing agent was in a nice top, jeans, and nice shoes.

Is there a lack of Breast Cancer awareness at this point? Does a casual Friday really help highlight cancer and healing? There was no jar out, so how should I donate? What's the action item?

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Bad Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Processed Cheese

I recently heard a KFC commercial for "cheesy chicken fries." I wasn't fully paying attention, but I did notice them saying that whatever these were were going to be FILLED with "processed cheese."

What sort of consumer gets excited about processed cheese? This is KFC, so I'm not going to bother asking why this isn't real cheese. :(

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Bad Marketing | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Customer Service for the Intuitive Interface

I'm using RegOnline.com for an event I'm working on planning. I've been getting to know the system, and I had added a custom user field in one spot. I then decided to have it somewhere else within the registration flow. I tried to delete it, and it wouldn't delete.

How do you delete it? The UI is SO intuitive that it's really easy to use. You can delete something by clicking a HUGE red X next to that item. It confirms, and then it deletes. It's really obvious!

So what happens when I hit the red X a few times, and it refuses to delete. I email customer service of course. They misunderstood what I wanted, and accidentally deleted the new one I'd put in the new location. I wrote back that she deleted the wrong one, and she called me. I told her which one was supposed to be deleted, and she told me I hadn't been clear enough in my original email. No, I know I was clear about which section the wrong one was in.

Then she says (and we're on the phone - this isn't email) that she'll walk me through how to delete something. I asked if you just clicked the red X to delete something, and she said yes. So I said that this is NOT a case of Deb couldn't figure out hitting the big red X. I hit it about 4 times this weekend, and it wouldn't delete. I'm in Firefox, and maybe this is a bug.

I heard a little attitude from her. She said she'd delete it for me. I said GREAT! And then she said she couldn't delete it either. Hitting the red X didn't work for her either.

I was a little insulted that she actually thought I didn't know how to delete it. If you're going to make a UI that obvious and clear, customer service people should listen more and maybe ask questions. She could have asked if I had hit the red X, and if I said yes, then she wouldn't have needed to offer a lesson on hitting the red X. Adjust your customer service for what people's experiences are likely to be, especially when your system is obvious to use.

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Bad Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

How To Not Speak at Our Upcoming Conference

When I first started mentioning to our mailing list that I was planning a conference, I got an email from someone I didn't know. She said she wanted to teach a class, but didn't say on what. Her email signature said that she was an Education Specialist. EduSpecs often teach beginners' classes, and we won't need those at our conference.

Well, lacking information, I wrote her back saying that I wasn't looking at having EduSpecs speak, but if I did, I would always pick my favourite EduSpec, who I named in the email.

This person emailed me back, basically blasting me for not being organised enough to have a "request to speak" form for her to fill out. She had evidently expected that of me, which is interesting as the conference did not yet have a date or location. I didn't know if it would be Jan or Feb 2008, and I didn't know if it would be in Arizona or Florida. I had emailed my mailing list to take a survey about ideas for the conference, so no, I did not yet have a request to speak form.

This person then went and basically blasted me to the EduSpec that I said was my favourite, who reached out to me saying that I should have this person speak. I emailed the original person trying to clear things up, and basically got an "oh well" kiss-off letter.

When I DID have a request to speak form, I emailed her to see if she wanted to speak. I didn't hear back. When I posted on a discussion forum that I was looking for someone to do that presentation, she eventually wrote in saying that my conference was too far from her. Ooooook.

At this point, we are getting so many great ideas about sessions that we may not cover that topic at all. So everything happens for a reason, and everything works out the way it's supposed to. But while this person who emailed me seemed so disappointed in me, her behaviour really sealed for me the idea that I would not want her to speak at my event. I want people I can recommend wholeheartedly, and who I know will be patient and helpful to audiences. She wasn't patient or helpful with me, and that's bad marketing for her. She's going to miss a great opportunity, and not because she's too far from my event.

http://www.aswasconference.com

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Bad Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

I'm Speaking at OMW This Week

Hey there. You can catch me, Debbie from As Was, at Online Market World in San Francisco on 4 & 5 October. Here are my sessions:

4 October @ 5:30pm: Impromptu Session on Online Branding and Marketing

5 October @ 10am: "From Online Sales to Online Branding"

5 October @ 2:45pm: "What's Driving Growth in the SME Sector?"

See you there!

Posted at 09:11 AM in Announcements | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

PESA Logo Can Get You In Trouble With eBay

Have you seen some eBay sellers with a PESA logo in their listings? Maybe something like:

Guess what. It breaks an eBay rule. The rule is that you can't put something in your listing that is a third-party endorsement of you.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/third-party-endorsements-of-eBay-members.html

The rule says that any logo, service, or representation that appears to validate, verify, or claim trustworthiness is not permitted. PESA has always tried to say that its members are a cut above the rest of the eBay/online sellers. If you weren't trying to increase your credibility, why put the logo in your listings? Why would PESA tell you to put the logo in your listings, and why link that to a page that verifies your PESA membership? Do buyers have better experiences from PESA sellers than other regular sellers or PowerSellers?

Isn't this a third party credit as per eBay's rules? No. A third-party credit is a logo, statement, and link that goes to a company that has provided you with a service directly related to your listing. For example, if we designed your template, if a certain piece of software listed your item, if a company provided you with a video clip, or if a company provided the animated gallery in your listing. PESA didn't provide a service or product that got your listing on eBay, helped with checkout, designed the look of your listing, or anything else in the spirit of the third party credit.

This looks to me like a third party endorsement. I wonder if anybody has seen their listings come down because of this. I wonder if anybody will in the future. I always see LOTS of rules cracked down on in new and fresh ways in November. Maybe this one will be cracked down on this year. Maybe not. Who can say?

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Bad Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

I'm Not The Only One Saying It

http://www.loomag.com/archives/83/trackback

Hooray for someone else saying what I'm saying. I've never heard of internet currencies, so I don't know about that part. But hooray for the rest of what he's written here.

I want to see more blog posts like this! Let's get out there and tell the truth about these products.

Posted at 05:00 AM in That's Good Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)