I had a chat over the weekend with a guy here in Tucson, AZ. He was a young, gay guy, and he was planning to vote for McCain. Well, I was surprised... don't you want gay rights? He said he didn't care if gays got the right to get married. I said OK, what about benefits! Not sure he thought about that.
Why McCain? He told me McCain deserved it. OK, why? He told me McCain deserved to be President because he had run SO many times that we should just give it to him. He's tried so hard, and according to this guy, he had never heard of Barack Obama before he was running for President. I thought this was like giving the Miss America crown to the girl who's been doing pageants the longest, whether or not she had won any. :)
The guy I was talking to goes on to say that Obama is half-muslim, and he seemed to think that was a bad thing. I said that Obama was a Christian, and that you kinda can't be half-Muslim. If your mother is Christian and your father is Catholic, you are not half-Catholic. You are whatever religion you were raised, or whichever one you choose to follow. If you chose to follow Christianity, the Catholic church may not see you as half-Catholic.
And this got me thinking about people's ethnic identities. If your mother is from Spain and your father is from France, you might say you're half Spanish and half French. Well, if you were born and raised in the USA, I'd probably say you are just American.
My evil grandma was born here, but her parents were born in Poland. So with two Polish parents, does that make her Polish? Well, she'd be of Polish descent, but she wouldn't be half-Polish or full-Polish. If your grandparents came from Ireland, but you were born and raised in the USA, you are American. I wouldn't call you Irish-American unless you had spend enough time in both countries to culturally identify with both countries. Most of the Americans who will tell you they're "Irish" have never been to Ireland, don't speak the language, and wouldn't know anything about Ireland. My great-grandparents mostly came from Poland, but I don't say I'm Polish!
I have a friend who used to tell me that he hated the term African-American. Evidently, to be politically correct, people would use that term for him (he's black), but he said all of his family traces back to the Caribbean. So wouldn't he be Caribbean-American? No family he can trace came from Africa, but people will look at him and call him African-American.
I think we should be looking at the labels we put on ourselves and each other. I think a lot of these don't make sense, especially to call someone half-Muslim. Either are you are a follower of Islam or you're not! I don't think there's a halfway here. :)
Remember my Lenovo fiasco? Well, it only took 25 months of fighting them, but they've finally agreed to replace my faulty laptop.
Next time I have a lemon, I will dispute the credit card charge good and early so that I'm within the appropriate dispute time frame.
Any company can make a lemon. It's usually an accident. Lenovo has a decent reputation. The real problem was the company not being able to admit this laptop was faulty. By keeping me from a working computer and proper replacement, it was super bad for customer satisfaction and marketing. They did the wrong thing.
I'm glad Lenovo came around, and I hope the replacement computer will impress me. I'm willing to change my impression if the replacement can really impress me. I'll never be happy with how they treated me over the lemon, but hopefully someone there will review my case, and want to change. I know that's a long shot, but I believe in change. :)
I've ordered the Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet version. CNET seemed to really love the X200, but didn't like that it didn't come with a trackpad. I love trackpads, so by getting the tablet version, the entire screen is touch screen. I've never tried a tablet computer, and I hope that I love it.
The question is will it replace the HP 6985SE I bought in August to replace the non-working Lenovo? Which will be my day-to-day work horse? The battle begins in about 10 days when I should be getting the Lenovo, and I'll start to put it through its paces. :)
We have borrowed billions from other countries. The USA is in super debt. Taxpayer money we don't even have is going to bail out private banks. And we have a deficit, meaning the government is spending more than it's collecting.
Sounds like the government is some sort of bad college kids who just got a credit card or something. :)
Here is what I don't understand. McCain keeps saying, "Read my lips. No new taxes." He's talking about tax cuts for just about everybody. Cuts in how your cell phone is taxed. Cut corporate tax rates. He makes it sound like everybody's everything tax will go down if McCain is the President.
Question 1: Remember the last time we heard "no new taxes"? How do we know that a campaign promise will be kept? Many campaign promises aren't kept.
Question 2: If McCain wants to decrease everybody's taxes, and the government is already taking in less in taxes than it's spending, how will we get rid of the deficit and our debt?
I would think some taxes would HAVE to be raised. How else are we going to get back to having no deficit or debt, and hey, I'd like a surplus! I'd like our government and country to be strong, have heaps of money, take care of its own, and not need other countries to bail us out. China basically owns us right now... but we're afraid that people in Congress might be un-American? We're owned by China, and what China doesn't own, we pretty much buy from them anyway.
So can somebody who knows more about politics and economics please explain to me how our country is going to clear the deficit, pay off our debts, and have money in the bank :) if the plan is to tax most people and businesses less in most ways. Thanks.
I have been spelling the British way for a couple of decades now. Weird habit I got into from watching so much British TV growing up. My father thought I was a jerk, but once I was living in the internet world in the early 1990s, I had to explain to him that we're the only country that spells English this way. Pretty much the whole rest of the English-speaking world spells British... "colour," "optimise," and "mobile phones." :)
When I try to mark UK English, I get myself into a heap of trouble you wouldn't believe. Evidently, despite the number of British, Irish, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and other people who are in the USA, computers seem to expect them to not keep spelling how they have been spelling.
I get the UK MSN site. I am defaulted to UK Windows Live searches. I had problems getting the Windows Live cash back promos because my browser decided I was in the UK because I am set to UK English. I think I might be set to Canadian English right now, to see if that helped. Nope, I see "ca" and "cdn" added to lots of URLs when I try to visit sites. Shopping.com defaulted me to UK shops. When IE was defaulting to AOL for some weird reason, I was getting AOL Canada.
Weirdest was an apartment hunting site that showed me the rates I know local apartments go for, but threw a £ where the $ should have been. So where I know rent was $865 locally, it said £865, and it's certainly NOT £865.
Facebook won't charge my credit card for the ads I have been running. Evidently, it's really scary that I might be marked UK English in Facebook while trying to charge a card with an Arizona billing address. The best was when Facebook asked me if I speak UK English, and would I help translate their site. Huh? Translate?
This is all because of my LANGUAGE. So if I live in the USA but would like to mark things as Chilean Spanish, I can expect to be defaulted to all sorts of non-USA sites. How about the ultra religious Jews who may be writing in Hebrew but are in New York... where do websites dump them?
I'd like my computer to recognise that where I am and/or where I might want to have purchases shipped is where things should default. Language or spelling choice shouldn't completely affect my entire web surfing and web shopping experience in IE and Firefox!
I love this Ultramotor A2B hybrid electric bike. Pedal or scoot for up to 20 miles on one battery charge. You don't need a license, registration, or insurance since this is legally a bicycle.
I'm totally getting one.
Oh this one is SILVER despite the pictures I took of other ones in the shop.
Take a good look. This is my car at River & Oracle here in Tucson. I'm making a left from Oracle heading south to River heading east. The red light camera got me, and most of yesterday was spent in defensive driving school.
(click to enlarge)
Why? What was wrong here? Why didn't someone look at this and say hey, you're in the intersection on a yellow light, you HAD to complete your turn, and that's not illegal!
The answer is what an officer explained to me as "prolongation of the curb." The lines you see in the photo are the crosswalk, but are somehow NOT considered the line that designates if you are in the intersection. That line is about 10 feet in front of my car. I hadn't crossed that line yet, which means legally, I wasn't in the intersection yet. Which means I "ran a red light" by driving into the intersection on a red light.
The officer told me that if I had stopped behind the line 10 feet in front of me, that would have been totally legal. I would not have run the red light. Yeah, it's weird.
How do they get away with that? It has to do with where they painted the crosswalk compared to where the lanes of traffic running east and west in front of me actually are. You'd think that the cars driving left to right in front of me would come RIGHT by that crosswalk, and if I pull out further, I'll get creamed. But not at this intersection. I can pull out further and nothing happens because there is a turning lane that doesn't continue. But the space for it is still there. So the cars driving left and right are not passing right near the crosswalk.
Look out for intersections like these if your town has them! They are setting up red light cameras to catch people who do NOT know about this law. And you can't win in traffic court because legally speaking, you ran a red light, and not knowing about the law doesn't excuse it. I heard people give lots of good excuses as to why they made the left, and the judge rejected all of them. So I decided to not have my case heard, and just go to defensive driving.
You pay for the class, and they wipe the ticket off your record. So it's a scam to bring in revenue. Don't fall for it! Know about this weird law!
I recently saw that AuctionBytes was asking readers who they would want as eBay CEO if what's been going on this year at eBay meant a change of the guard.
Well, I just want to put everybody's minds at ease, and let you know that should this position open at any time, I would make myself available to take this job. As we're knee-deep in Presidential campaigning, here would be my promises (except unlike Pres campaigns, I'd keep them :) ).
If the Electoral College chooses me as your next eBay CEO...
We'll get to work on an As Was eBay listing template for everybody who wants one. Considering that our average client sees their eBay sales go up 15%, DSRs up, stupid questions down, more Store traffic, higher prices, and faster sales within days of using our work, every eBay seller should have this available to him or her for free. As CEO of eBay, I need to make sure that every serious seller has ALL the tools he or she needs to be long-term successful.
I promise to not become Amazon Junior or more of Half.com. I will make sure that eBay innovates, as it always has, and stays a true eCommerce leader.
I would reduce FVFs, as you already know, to make eBay more attractive than other platforms charging similar percentages.
I will run national TV ads aimed at buyers, and I will run GOOD ads... not ads that make eBay shoppers look like insane, obsessed clock collectors. Shoppers are regular people getting necessities and fun things, and I want to remind them that in this economy, eBay is probably THE best place on the planet to do your shopping.
I will make a DSR of 4 a good rating. Nobody should be punished for getting a mark buyers are told is a good mark. You probably never grounded your kid for getting an 80 on a test.
I will make sure that my selling population understands what's going on. Nobody should be surprised by being hidden in search or getting suspended. People need better communication to know what is going on, when, and how eBay expects you to react.
I will re-hire the Community department because eBay needs a great public face of people we like and trust. If fat has to be cut, I'll look at middle management and Vice Presidents.
You're going to get something fresh. I've never worked in the corporate world. I spend my life innovating and making people happy. I do a lot of eBay and online shopping, so I understand the shopper. And with my company, As Was, we have made sellers better, stronger, happier, and more profitable, even in bad times. I've run my own company since I'm 23, so I understand what the eBay entrepreneur lives through, 7 days a week.
I can pick up where Meg forgot she was going. Meg moved things forward, and then got really nostalgic about how far she moved things forward, and didn't change enough or fix problems. That left John a HUGE pile of things to fix, and we've ended up with a year that reflects that.
I will do things that make sense. I won't fire people, buy a company, and take out a loan in the same week because hey, that can look a little weird. That can chip away at confidence, and eBay needs that confidence from buyers and sellers.
I will make sure that new ideas are multidimensionally tested before you see these ideas. For example, I won't just test "current way" vs. "new idea." I would test "current way" vs. "new idea" vs. 3 variations of the new idea. Sometimes, the new idea isn't the best way, and just because it may test better than the old way doesn't mean the idea can't be improved!
I will connect better with third-party companies. So many of you rely on Vendio, ChannelAdvisor, and others for small tools or major enterprise systems. I'll make sure the companies you rely on are strong, staying up to date, and helping us make the marketplace stronger and easier.
eBay will save lots of money. I'm happy to take a salary of $350,000 per year plus incentive-based bonuses. And please cover moving costs. :)
And there you go. I know that eBay can get past this tough year. I'm happy to steer the ship if anybody wants the Deb version. :) Did I mention that Pierre and I went to the same uni around the same time? He graduated in 1988; I started there in 1989. I double-majored in pre-med and music, but then dropped pre-med. He has a degree in computer science. See? You don't need an MBA or fancy corporate experience to enact great ideas. :)
In the scheme of all the Web 2.0 discussions, I decided for the first time ever to look at Second Life. After all, there are a few people who consult or give seminars, and their advice has been hey, you have to be there. So let's imagine that you are an eBay seller, and you're thinking about Web 2.0 stuff. Blogging? Sure. Twitter? Definitely! Facebook? Yes. MySpace? Maybe... I think it's very teen and not business oriented. Second Life? Well here is what I found.
I spent about a total of 4 hours over 2 days in Second Life. Met some nice people. I'd shout out to them, but you get fake names on Second Life (SL), so that would only go so far! For those who are as new as I am, it's a 3D virtual world where you are in the moment interacting in a whole SIM game... think Roller Coaster Tycoon or The SIMs, but it just keeps going, and other real people are involved.
Money changes hands. Lots of it. I read a stat that something like $1M USD per year changes hands through SL. So you may think hey, I sell on eBay, I have to get in on that. Well, wait. Did I mention that SL has its own currency, the Linden, abbreviated as L$? The currency fluctuates, but tends to be around 250 L$ to one US$. People are selling things around SL, and just about all of those things are for use in SL. For example, you might buy an outfit your avatar can wear. It might be L$400, so that would come out to under $2. It's like dressing Barbie. :) You can spend money on it, but it doesn't really translate into a real world life.
But people buy and sell these things! There are always news stories about people making great money being an architect in SL, designing buildings. Land is for sale... create your own place in SL. eBay allows SL things to be sold, so you can get land, L$, and other stuff. I haven't bought anything yet because I'd like to spend zero on this whole thing! Luckily, SL is free to join, and as long as you keep finding free things to wear or do, you don't have to pay anybody.
What else to people do there? Hang out. Meet people. Text and voice chat. Buy stuff. Fly around. Build their land. Have virtual sex (can't speak personally on that one). Pretend they're someone they're not. Maybe if you are in a wheelchair, it's a place where you're not in a wheelchair. So it's an escape. But is real life business going on there? Here are my conclusions.
1) No, not really. I wandered into a lot of cool shops that only sold things for my avatar. I would have considered purchasing them to wear in real life. I could only buy them for my avatar. Ads around the shops pointed me to more SL stuff... more SL clothing, even a magazine within SL that claims 25,000 readers. They wanted to know if I wanted to advertise. Not sure about that! :) But even when people in shops had my attention, they didn't send me to a website where I could buy those boots, those pants, those earrings. It was all stuff for my character, and THAT is the impression I get from SL. Everything is for your character.
2) I think most people are in SL for fun, socialising, and escape. So they may not be thinking about on what to spend real money. They may be into their escape, and may not want to follow a link outside SL to see your cookie jars or cell phone cases. I guess I equate it to walking up to someone who is just getting off a ride at a carnival or fair, and asking them if they would like to buy a spare cell phone battery. They are TOTALLY not "in that space," and may just keep walking past you.
So to speakers and bloggers telling eBay sellers to have a presence in Second Life to promote their eBay Store, I just don't see it. I DO think SL has business potential, and I'm still investigating. But I don't think it has a lot of relevance to an eBay or online seller looking for more and new buyers.
Twibler. Pretty much the most awful thing I've seen relating to Twitter yet. Twibler so far is on the short list of things that will get me to follow you on Twitter, and then UNFOLLOW you.
What is Twibler? It's a tool that automatically posts everything you list on eBay to your Twitter account. This means that for eBay sellers who list a fair deal, especially those with third-party tools that make listing and relisting much easier, the rest of US have to get an ongoing feed of everything you've put on eBay. It might look something like this screen shot, taken from the an eBay seller's twitter feed...
If you were following this person, you would have received all of these tweets. Now, if you REALLY love this seller SO much that you want to know everything they've listed the second they listed it, then this tool is GREAT. But for everybody else who thought that Twitter was more about networking than spamming people with every item you have, then Twibler is the devil.
By the way, all the tinyurls are long eBay links that are shortened. And guess what. They are actually eBay Partner Network links. So as you are spamming people who thought they liked you, Twibler is making commission off your sales. You could be making that commission by dropping around your own coded links!
Note to the above seller... try keywords like NEW, pocketbook (not everybody thinks of these things as handbags or purses), and get out the dollar amount. Nobody searches for "fossil handbag $168." Do people still search for NR? You could be using better keywords, IMO.
Twibler has another tool called pricetweet. Evidently, you find an eBay item, and it will let you know when the bidding gets to a certain number. I absolutely cannot find the importance of that! Let's say you land on an MP3 player you want. Bidding is up to $50. Maybe you have bid and maybe you have not. Pricetweet lets you enter a price at which you get a tweet telling you the item hit that price. Why would I want to know if that MP3 player is now at $80? If I'm bidding on it, eBay will tell me if I'm outbid. If I'm not bidding on it, why would I care if something I'm not bidding on reaches a certain price?
Sorry, Twibler, but I think both of your ideas stink! I don't see the advantage to the seller or buyer here. I'm for you making affiliate revenue if you can, but am just not impressed with the tool. Twitter can do so much, and I'd like to see something really innovative that solves problems, not creates them! I have unfollowed a bunch of people using Twibler, which means now they have a much lower chance of marketing to me.
Many people have been reading about my Lenovo debacle, and a few people have told me that I should have bought the computer with an American Express card. Why? Because according to them, Amex has the best policies for standing up for you when something goes wrong.
I disagree, but mostly because I had to dispute a charge once, and Amex didn't stand up for me.
In 2002, I went to London, England, and stayed in what was my favourite hotel. Good location. Cheap for London. :) I used a calling card that had a toll free number so I could keep in touch with people back in the USA.
When I went to check out, there were nearly $400 of charges on my bill for calling Malta or some weird country. I asked what that was. Long story short, the hotel's computer didn't recognise the toll free number, and thought it was a call to a foreign country. The hotel charged me as if I had been making long calls to Malta or something like that.
I told the hotel staff it was a free phone number, and if they weren't sure, they could walk over to their pay phone (which you can see from the front desk) and call the number. They will find it's a free phone number, and doesn't require any money to go into the pay phone. Then, they can credit this to me because these were toll free calls.
I was told no, it doesn't matter because if the hotel phone system thinks these are international charges, then surely they are, and surely the hotel will be charged international rates by their phone company. So why should they lose money just because I'm claiming they were toll free calls? I was told there was NO manager on duty who could help me, and that nobody on staff could adjust my bill.
I had to check out to catch a plane back to NY, and I didn't feel like getting arrested for not paying my hotel bill. I believed that Amex would stand behind me, so I signed the charge slip, flew home, and disputed it with Amex as soon as I could. I sent them a 4-page letter explaining what had happened, proving these were toll free numbers, hating that no manager was on duty to discuss this or adjust my bill, etc...
The hotel won. What amazing piece of evidence did they send in that swayed Amex to their side? They faxed over a copy of me having signed the bill. They didn't even write any prose. The idea was that I signed the bill, I must have agreed with the charges, and that's that. I sent another 3 pages to Amex to fight this. The hotel faxed over a signed Amex receipt for the full amount including what I was disputing.
Amex found in the hotel's favour. I was incensed. I don't trust them to stand behind me any more than Visa or Mastercard will stand behind me. I will always feel that Amex owes me that $400.
You can tell me ALL the great "Amex stood behind me" stories that you want, and they won't matter. When it was time for Amex to stand up for me for a whole $400, they didn't. And that's enough to piss me off for a really long time. I may use an Amex card again some day when I pull them out of the "time out" corner, but I will never believe that they will stand behind me in any bad situation. I will assume that it'll be a fight, and maybe I win and maybe I lose.
Here at As Was, we are fielding more interest in what we do than we've seen before. Not only are people in love with our custom and unique designs, but they also understand the strategy help and advice that comes with our services. You don't just get a pretty picture and a hardy handshake... we get to know your business, and work to improve sales and customer satisfaction, leading to higher DSRs. Did you read our study on the PowerSeller who tested her old eBay listings against the same pictures and information in the template we designed?
But with that high interest in our work comes economic concerns. And in this climate, it's understandable. We want to try to make it easier for people to afford the best company out there (that's us!), so here are our three new payment plans.
Each new client can choose whichever he or she likes for the services in your initial contract. As per our pricing page, the minimum for which you can hire us is for our "template and consulting" package at $2000. Many clients tend to add more services to their initial contract so that our work can have an even bigger effect up front.
Full payment up front. Pay your entire As Was contract in
one payment when you sign the contract, and get a 5% discount. For
example, if your contract is for template, 1-level matrix, and simple
Store, you'll be able to make one payment of $2,992.50 instead of
paying $3,150.00 (the total of these three services).
Two payments. Upon signing your As Was contract, 50% of
your contract total will be due. Six weeks later or when the tasks in
your contract are finished, whichever comes first, the remainder will
be due. For example, if your contract is for template, 1-level matrix,
and simple Store, you'll be able to make two payments of $1,575.00.
Three monthly payments. A third option is to pay your
As Was contract over three monthly payments. We will add roughly 5% to
your total as a finance charge. Your first payment is due upon contract
signing, the second payment is due a month later, and the third payment
is due a month after that. For example, if your contract is for
template, 1-level matrix, and simple Store, you'll be able to make
three monthly payments of $1,110.00.
I've been following politics more than I ever have in my LIFE. I don't recognise myself. :) I'm even making new Twitter pals by finding cool people "tweeting" during the debates. Hi, new pals!
I've been thinking about who should be President, and my main criteria are:
Someone who knows "criteria" is plural, ahem John McCain. :)
Someone who is a great speaker.
Someone people want to listen to.
Someone with solid ideas but open to help and ideas from people who may know better.
Maybe this person isn't a politician, but a political activist. Someone who cares about local, state, national, and global events, injustices, and changes.
Someone who gets out there and does things. Don't just talk about it. Let's see you mobilise people or get on a plane or DO something.
Someone with such broad appeal that he (or she) could bring the whole country together.
Therefore, I am suggesting that our President be George Clooney. I don't go to his movies and I don't think he's hot. But I think he's good at what he does, and is easy on the eyes. :) I think he speaks well when he talks about what's near to his heart, and I think he's clever. He could answer questions extemporaneously. He's rarely (if ever) involved in any scandals, and the most the tabloids seem to be able to find on him is where he took a vacation. I'm sure they're digging, and that's all they can find?!
He's somebody everybody would want. Who wouldn't want to vote for him! But is he ready to lead as a President? Yes, and here is why.
I believe that the President of the US can be more of a figurehead. Did Reagan or "W" come up with every policy attributed to them? Probably not. They have a cabinet of people we know, and I'm convinced that the President has a shadowy cabinet of people we never get to know. These people fill them in where they don't know the right answers or best ideas, and then the President can go out and make speeches that make people feel good. So whatever George Clooney can't decide himself, someone will help him.
Who should be Vice President under Clooney? Well, thinking of the same kind of thing, I am really not sure. Which man or woman do you think would be a great unifying force, and would be dedicated to making the big changes and tough decisions that America needs to get back on track?
OK, I have a weird idea here, and this is a long post. Stick with me on this. It's more inspiring than watching CNBC right now. :)
Disclaimer: I am making this idea up. I have NO knowledge of any such plans being considered or undertaken by eBay. I hope they will do this because it's a good idea. And I'm publishing it so that if they do it, I get to say "I told you so." :)
Problem 1: Between eBay and PayPal/credit card processing fees, someone can easily be losing 12%, 15%, even 18% of their sale price. We even had a client recently tell us her eBay fees were 20-25% of her sale price. This fee is probably most or even all of your entire markup. You can't have money in your pocket when the costs of doing business leave you with little or no profit (or even a loss).
And what is your time worth? Even if you end up with a profit, if you are your worker, that money left over is your pay. If you spent an hour photographing, describing, determining the price, determining the best title, researching the best times and ways to list, answering questions, packing and shipping, dealing with any post-sale issues, etc... then whatever you made on that sale was your hourly pay. $1? $5? $10?
Problem 2: Sellers want to list items in
the WRONG category because the category they should be listing in has
higher FVFs than other categories. Bad idea since that would break
rules. Bad for shoppers trying to find you and your item.
Problem 3: What I'm calling the Negative Equity Mentality. People have become used to paying more than they should for things with ever-dropping values. My not-quite-2-yr-old car is in perfect condition, and I pay my car loan on time every month. I still owe over $26K on it, but the Blue Book on it is $19K. Your home? You may be one of those people who owes more than it's worth. Things you've put on your credit card? The late George Carlin does a bit about people paying 18% for years on a $12 item they didn't like when they bought it.
Here is an example of how this moves onto eBay. I once had a fight with a seller who told me that she buys her items for $9, and sells them on eBay for $10. I told her after her fees, she was LOSING money, and this was a BAD idea! "NO!" she barked back at me, "That's a dollar I didn't have yesterday!!!" Negative equity mentality.
We also know sellers who have ruined their product line on eBay by undercharging. I remember in 2004, I was selling body jewelry with my then-boyfriend. We got many pieces for 57 cents, sold them for $3.99 plus shipping, and undercut the mall and stores, which had the item for $12 and up. So we were doing OK, making a few dollars on each sale. A guy then started selling the same item for 99 cents. Even if he got it for FREE, by the time he pays all his fees, this is NOT going to be a major money-maker for him. He could have done better by undercutting us and charging say $3.49.
We actually got hate mail for charging $3.99 once this guy came on the scene. People were so mad that we wouldn't price match because the item is only WORTH 99 cents. So not only did this guy ruin his own (and our) ability to make a profit. He priced it so low that the perceived value of the item plumetted. This is part of why manufacturers have MAP (minimum advertised price)... they don't want you to sell an item for less than what they want the public to think it's worth.
Problem 4: The economy. Hey have you seen our economy? It's a mess. People can't pay their mortgages. They are taking their kids out of good schools and putting them in stinky schools because they can't afford the good school. There goes that kid's education. People have to decide between eating and gassing up their car. They're losing their jobs. They got into mortgages, credit card balances, and other things their either couldn't afford then or just can't afford now. People are losing their lives and homes. People are going without health insurance, procedures, or medications because they can't pay for them.
As my husband put it on Friday, "I think we've seen five or six 1929's over the last week or so." The Dow dropped 2400 points (22%) over the last 2 weeks. The credit markets are frozen. This is NOT a blip. Whatever any pundit or politician wants to call this, this is life-changing for just about everybody (other than the ultra rich).
Forget McCain's proposed $2500/$5000 health care tax credit, or Obama's tax drops, though you probably would like to have both. Serious eBay sellers seeing their fees drop like this could actually help the middle class. There are over 1 million people who make a full-time or part-time living selling on eBay. Make them more profitable, and it can ripple out. Maybe they can pay their workers on time, or hire the people they had to lay off. That's a million people who might make their mortgage payment more easily this month. This could be big.
How does eBay slashing FVFs solve problems? Because math can be your friend. :) Let's take a few examples for someone who sells around 500 items per month (17 items each day):
$10 sale price. FVF now, $1.20. Feb 2004 FVF, $0.53. Sell 500/month, and $335 goes back into your pocket.
$50 sale price. FVF now, $6. Feb 2004 FVF, $2. Sell 500/month, and $2,000 goes back into your pocket.
$100 sale price. FVF now, $9. Feb 2004 FVF, $3.37. Sell 500/month, and $2,815 goes back in your pocket.
OK, maybe the low ASP seller gets his gas money back for the month. But look at the other sellers. One month of these lower FVFs could pay a month of a mortgage. For many people, that one month could be TWO months of their mortgage, and NOW the economy is getting stimulated. Now people have that money to keep their kids in the good school... or pay down that credit card... or hold onto their homes... or buy something from that local shop... who can then keep their staff employed and the shop open.
This would be a marketing COUP for eBay, and could raise their stock price. Their stock price is partially a reflection of consumer confidence and what the media and experts say about them. What would the media and experts say about eBay if eBay made a move that could almost be seen as a "bail out" of the American middle class? eBay would be helping Joe Six Pack pay his mortgage and keep his house. I'm no economics expert, but I think that if people saw buying and selling stimulated on eBay, and public feelings about eBay improved, that could help their stock price. Which means a winning situation for EVERYBODY.
More items on eBay. Sellers being able to move their inventory, especially during the holiday selling season. Best Match showing shoppers lots of great items from great people, many of these people are the hard-working middle class just trying to make a full-time living on eBay or possibly desperately-needed side money. Joe Six Pack gets to keep his house... or get that medication he needs... or put his kids back in the better school.
This is a crisis, and eBay could help. Think about it. Do your own math. Based on your eBay sales, especially what they tend to be during the holiday season, how much more could you put back in your pocket with 2004 fees instead of 2008 fees? Would it solve your economic concerns right now? Does it pay your mortgage or rent? Does it put money in your pocket that you can save? Does it give you money to put back into the economy and put into play?
If you feel how I do, blog about it. Link back to this post, and let people know how a drop in eBay fees would change your life. Does it pay your mortgage? Does it allow you to create a job? I would love to know how this could work. I believe eBay is listening to people now, and we can at least communicate this to them in a friendly and honest way. Let's let eBay know how lower FVFs could help save the economy. :)
Have you been following my earlier blog posts about my horrible experiences with Lenovo? Well, for 2 years, I was trying to get them to replace a faulty laptop that they couldn't fix, over and over. That's the short version. The story ended yesterday.
It started when someone from some sort of customer care department called me. His attitude told me he was not there to help me, even though he claimed that was his job. He told me the reason why my laptop didn't get fixed when it was at the depot last month was because nothing was wrong with it. Everything tested to be totally fine. I told him that the tech team were high because they didn't fix my problems. He told me he was very insulted that I would say such a thing about his co-workers, and he was taking it personally. Really? This is now YOUR emotional issue? I've been fighting Lenovo for 2 years, I'm frustrated, but YOU'RE insulted that I might think the tech team that's had this laptop twice might NOT be the best at their jobs? OK, Tyrone in the North Carolina office, I am so sorry I hurt your tender feelings about your co-workers.
The message? I'm crazy, and I have nothing better to do than to create a two-year hobby of trying to get Lenovo to fix a good machine. I called back and asked for somebody else who might actually care about my situation. I got Janice, a "Customer Complaint Advocate." She immediately sounded unhappy to talk to me, but was saying that helping me was her job. So I can only imagine that my account is flagged as some sort of whiny troublemaker that people should get off the phone. Otherwise, you'd think a Customer Complaint Advocate is there to listen to me and help.
She basically said what Tyrone said, and her attitude was palpable. So basically, the computer works fine, and according to her, the techs did me a FAVOUR by updating the system software. I should evidently be grateful to the techs for what they did. According to her, everything works fine, and if there is anything wrong with my computer, it's my fault. It's something I installed, and Lenovo doesn't support customer-installed software. She didn't care about my 2 years of problems with the machine or how Lenovo staff are treating me.
So somehow, the software I use simultaneously on my old Dell Laptop, new HP laptop, and this Lenovo laptop is bad and causes blue screens, so it's my fault. But somehow, the only blue screens I get are on the Lenovo laptop. But it's all my fault and problem, and Lenovo can't fix it when it's my fault.
While I'm talking to her, the computer is blue screening. I boot it up, I put in the password, and about 10 min later, it blue screens and reboots. All on its own. She tells me that I must have some bad peripheral plugged in. Nope, I tell her all my peripherals are plugged into my new HP laptop, which replaced this Lenovo. She says I must have something in the USB, maybe an external hard drive. No, I can do this. I can see that I have not plugged anything into the Lenovo other than the power cord. Am I using the computer? No, I just turn it on, put in my password, and let it sit there.
I ask her what does Lenovo do if I go to outside computer shops like Geek Squad, have them diagnose the computer, and THEY find heaps of things wrong with it. Will they then believe me that it's faulty? Will they ever replace it? She tells me they don't care what anybody else says about the machine. It won't matter what Geek Squad finds wrong with it. Lenovo techs found it to be completely working, and they go by that. She told me Lenovo will NEVER replace my computer because it works fine, but she doesn't understand why I'm getting blue screens, so she'll have me send it in AGAIN. OK, but I know they won't do anything, especially while they have to keep up the "nothing's wrong with it, and if something is, it's your fault and not under warranty" thing.
Janice and I end up joking about spam email, and I asked which candidate we can vote for to end spam email. She said, "That would be Al Gore." I jokingly said, "I'm starting to miss that guy." She replies, "Well, now that you said that, I wish I didn't have to help you."
Really. You so don't like the idea that I might say something nice about a guy who happens to be a Democrat that you wish you didn't have to help me. My reply to her was, "Get on the pile of Lenovo people who aren't helping me!"
She emailed me a mailing label for sending the computer back in for more service if I wanted it looked at again. By then, everybody I knew was telling me to just stop with Lenovo. Stop wasting my time. This computer will never be what I wanted or paid for. Lenovo will never stand behind their own warranty. I'll never have enough faith in this to put important data on it. And once you're dealing with people who start out disliking you and wish they didn't have to help you because you might not have the same politics, you're not going to win. But my husband has come up with a good idea on how to use the Lenovo. I tell Janice I won't send it back until I do more testing to make sure the problems are still happening.
My husband is working on turning the Lenovo into a "hackintosh." That's what should be a Windows computer running a Macintosh OS. He has really wanted a Mac, and now is his big chance. I'm selling this one cheap. :)
And that's the end. The Lenovo story ends with a whimper as Lenovo wins. You win, Lenovo. You got my $2500, and you should be proud of how you beat me down. Only took you two years. I'm sure it has taken others much less time to give up on you. I recently saw a new book that claims that one unhappy customer tells 3000 people. When I think about how things ripple out, I can believe that. So remember that by making one person unhappy... by not replacing my computer, which probably costs you internally about $700, 3000 people may know my story. Some of them may choose to not buy from you because of it. I hope your financial savings will be worth it. I'm a marketing person, and I'd say it wasn't.
I also hope that someone in Lenovo tracks down Janice (I have her last name, but don't want to type it here) for saying what she said. I hope that call was recorded. I can't imagine my staff saying something like that to a client. I hope 3000 people read what Janice said to me, and buy someon else's laptop.
The web of customer service lies... I'd imagine nearly all of us have experienced this.
You take your computer to the shop, and they magically can't find ANYTHING wrong with it.
You go to the doctor with complaints, and they can't find anything wrong with you.
You take your car to the mechanic, and even though they drove it for 2 days, they just never heard that noice.
And OK, maybe they didn't hear the noise and maybe you are fine!
But what happens when these things are actually part of a larger web of lies? What's left for the customer to do?
Take my experience with Lenovo. My T60p ThinkPad laptop has never worked right, and I've been calling tech support there for 2 years. It went back to the repair depot twice in 2007, and I just sent it in again. I sent it in with a 3-page list of what's wrong with it and my history with it. And guess what. They found NOTHING wrong with it and fixed nothing. I got back a laptop with ALL the same problems. But they're claiming nothing was wrong.
This leads me to a number of conclusions:
They will never find anything wrong with this computer. If I sent it back again, they would HAVE to find it totally working. To find it NOT working would raise questions about why they found it to be fine in Sept 08.
To find it NOT working, now or in a future visit to the depot, would make me right, and would support my requests for a replacement maching or my money back.
This is cover your ass in a big way. By making it seem like the computer is just fine, Lenovo gets to cover their ass and say that it's working just fine.
This is incredibly wrong and unfair, and cheaters will always lose out. I plan my next move against Lenovo now...
This is my opinion. I'm no economist. But my theory is that some businesses can do well in a down economy. I remember my grandparents' stories of The Great Depression, and I was surprised how many of my grandparents did OK during it. Evil Grandma Rose's family were bakers and had a bakery. People still needed bread, and whatever they didn't sell, they ate. Well, today we get bread in a supermarket, but I still think some businesses will do OK in a down economy.
Entertainment. Relaxation. I think that these will do well. Even when times are tough and it's hard to pay bills, people will want some diversions. They may not afford the vacations they used to take, or maybe any vacation, but they will still want to escape from things a bit. This is where entertainment comes in.
I know people who are going to sell their personal possessions to get their kid a Wii this Xmas. I know people who may cut some things out, but are still buying concert tickets for their favourite artists and tours. I think you may not buy the CD but you may see the tour. And these aren't cheap tickets. I'm still hoping to have a honeymoon this year, but I'm thinking about budgeting a bit less than before.
I think online sellers should do well if you have bargains. Now is not the time to open the boutique, luxury website with the $900 cigarette lighter (sorry to the person who recently called to show me her website). Now's the time to be high in the food chain, have the great prices, and get these things online. There are still things people need or want, but they want them at Walmart or lower prices.
I think eBay and many eBay sellers can survive in this economy. I think eBay should lower FVF because I think they're too high. Many sellers are paying 12-20% of their sale price to eBay and PayPal. That's going to be most if not all of many people's markups, especially on lower-priced items. I think eBay can stimulate selling if fees weren't such a huge chunk of the sale price.
I think that people will look to cut costs anywhere they can. One person who called me said that her accountant questions her on anything that costs more than $5 per month (for subscriptions). I think people will cut $5 anywhere they can. Cut $5 once, and you still can't gas up your car. But cut it in a few places, and it adds up. I think people will cut absolutely everything they can.
When it comes to eBay software companies, we are having a hard time getting people to sign on with the more expensive companies (not naming names). We know these are good companies and good services, and if we're recommending them, it's because they match the needs the client is expressing to us. But we can't get people to commit to such large fees. I even asked one of these companies to help me and give me some selling points I can use. They told me their system is more stable than other systems. OK, it is, but I still can't get people to open their wallets. They didn't seem to have anything else.
So eBay sellers are moving towards the less expensive software tools. And hey, if they have all the features you need, we're for that! I'm just mentioning this as part of the move this whole year towards people really wanting to cut expenses they don't deem as necessary. If one company wants $500 per month and another wants $300 per month, even if I talk the higher-priced one up, I am watching people choose the cheaper one time after time.
I know from talking to eBay sellers and other online sellers that sometimes, you feel like you need to give someone something for free to smooth over a major bump. Maybe you shipped the totally wrong item, the customer got mad, so when you shipped the right item, you threw something else in. That's an apology, and it's tangible, and many people will respond favourably to it.
But they are responding to you fixing the problem. The freebie is an extra. You could have just said "sorry," and maybe most people would have been OK with that. Maybe that would have smoothed things over.
The trick is to remember that the freebie WITHOUT a real "sorry" and/or a freebie without making the original problem right doesn't work. If you shipped that person the wrong sweater, you couldn't send them the matching pants for free without shipping them the RIGHT sweater, and have fixed that issue.
If you haven't been following my troubles with Lenovo, this post is part 2, and has a link to part 1. My point is that Lenovo didn't fix my broken computer, but sent me a docking station to apologise for the troubles I had. OK, the free docking station is nice, and hearing that Lenovo never sends anybody anything free made me feel like somebody there almost cared.
But when I have a ThinkPad T60p computer that doesn't work, tech support can't help, and the fix-it depot gets it numerous times and doesn't fix it, then the free"we're sorry" is really empty and meaningless. There's only so much a docking station for a non-working computer feels like an apology. It absolutely does NOT fix the bump in the road.
Tucson,
AZ -- In a marketplace where most sellers think that
all you need for success are good products, good pricing, and good seller
reputation (feedback and DSRs), would listing design really make any
difference? Judy Oglesby of eBay seller “BluePennyLady” hired As Was, eBay’s
first Certified Service Provider, in the summer of 2008 for their template and
consulting package. As Judy is a liquidator and selling a wide variety of
items, the plan was to do A/B testing, comparing the style and layout of Judy’s
existing listings to the custom and unique design created from scratch by As
Was.
Judy’s
sales have skyrocketed. Items that were listed over and over but never sold now
sell quickly. Shoppers who had been confused about her policies and now very
clear. Judy said, “I know my seller friends are impressed with the template,
are asking me questions concerning how my sales have climbed. I have seen
almost a 30% increase in sell through rate in the last two weeks. I think it is
simply the template design.”
Judy’s
reports on her A/B testing were as follows:
After 10 days of running both old-style listing and As Was design listings, watchers
on the As Was design listings were at least twice in number of those same items
listed with Judy’s old template. Bidders who placed bids on numerous listings
chose to bid on the As Was design listings before placing bids on items listed
using Judy’s old template.
Between August 27, 2008 and September 2, 2008, the As Was design was being used
in 13% of auctions but represented 50% of the successfully ended auctions.
In mid-September 2008, Judy announced at the RocketPlace conference that the As
Was design was being used in 30% of her listings but represented 90% of her
sales.
By late September 2008, the As Was design was being used in 50% of Judy’s eBay
items but represented 90% of her sales.
As Was design Fixed Price items sold more quickly, some in less than 24 hours
as opposed to the normal 36 to 48 hours.
The quantity sold from As Was design Fixed Price items also increased.
Judy’s Store traffic has increased, having changed nothing other than the
template. She even removed the eBay Store categories from being displayed in individual
listings weeks before using the new As Was template. Judy is finding that her buyers
are entering her eBay Store from the template instead clicking on the Store
link elsewhere on the individual item page.
Judy
also had examples of how inventory that had not moved in a while suddenly
started to sell with the As Was template.
“I listed some dry storage camping bags that have been listed since May 24, but
had not sold a single one in my old design. I listed them in the As Was design
at 5:30 pm CST and sold some by 6:37 pm CST.”
She moved product that had not sold after multiple listings in the old design to
the As Was design template making no other changes as far as image layout,
title, format, or time of day. Roughly 25% of those auctions sold by simply
moving the product to the As Was design.
“I have had these Donner toothbrush/cup holders listed four different times
without selling a single one. I moved them to the As Was design on September 10th,
and they are now selling.”
“I have Amerock cabinet pulls listed ten times, 30 days at a time, and not sold
one. I listed them with the As Was template, and they are selling.”
Judy explains, “Quite a few of the listings I changed over to the As Was design,
which had not sold in a coons age, sold over the weekend as fixed price or
Store listings. Staff noticed items that had not shipped out in a very
long time, probably months. The stuff had been listed, but didn't sell. If it
were only one or two lots, I would tend to believe it was simply timing. But
that is not the case.”
As
Was uses design to try to communicate important points that shoppers were
missing, leading them to feel confusion, frustration, and disappointment. When
buyers have questions, they often end up buying from other sellers; even if you
answer their question quickly, the shopper may have hit the back button and
bought from someone else. Therefore, it’s important that an eBay listing give a
shopper complete trust, and leave them with no questions.
Quite
a few buyers have been emailing Judy on how eye-appealing her design’s new look
is.
“I can easily remember you combine shipping because the Mule says it.”
“The goose stating "Ask me a question" makes me want to email. It is
much more relaxing and friendly than a statement saying “have any questions,
click here.” “
Judy is getting comments about the top of the template being interesting, and
making shoppers want to scroll down to see what this seller has to offer.
Judy is getting comments about how the template depicting Judy’s life on her
ranch makes people feel that it’s wonderful it is to have the "dream life"
everyone else would like to have. The design makes people feel comfortable, and
they love the feel of it. Buyers are sending Judy pictures of their own farms
and ranches.
One repeat buyer Judy had not seen in a long time recently purchased product
yesterday, and told Judy he just had to buy something and let her know how much
he enjoyed the new look.
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.
eBay bought Bill Me Later. PayPal already had PayPal credit, PayPal credit cards, and various PayPal flexible payment stuff. Those aren't owned by eBay as far as I can tell. My little PayPal credit account comes from GE Money. So if I incur interest on a balance, GE Money gets it. If PayPal gets anything, that's between GE Money and PayPal, but if I'm paying interest, it's to GE Money.
Why buy Bill Me Later? I'm still trying to figure that out.
Bill Me Later extends credit to people, and lets them pay for things on their own terms. If you pay in full by a due date, you are assessed no interest. So you don't have to pay interest to have credit. That's a nice thing!
If you don't pay in full by the date, you get hit with back interest, and then more interest will be coming. So that's not as nice. Plus, with such flexible payment options (like pay nothing now if you don't want to), it's easy to lose track, and end up owing lots of interest later.
So why would eBay get into that business? The only thing I can think of is that if you can deal with the money being "out there," if you can deal with the deadbeats who won't pay or will declare bankruptcy, if you can wait for the interest on the people who will end up having to pay it, then lending money can be profitable. Lending money in THIS economy seems just a bit risky.
eBay will have to sit on this stuff for a while for it to make more sense. This is not the best time to be a creditor. But eBay doesn't seem to be making the interest money on PayPal's stuff because of what lenders are behind it. Why not just buy GE Money? I think they're must more interesting than Bill Me Later. But BML was integrated with Amazon... maybe eBay wants to try to make money on interest payments for things people buy from Amazon.
Maybe eBay wants to track who buys what kinds of things from Amazon. That's my best theory so far!
And will Amazon keep accepting Bill Me Later with eBay owning it. Who knows!
I recently stumbled on a local store in my town that has these AWESOME bikes. They are all bikes. You pedal. You move! But they all have rechargeable batteries and electric motors. Excited already? Then view my link without reading on. :)
Here's an eBay Store that has one listed so far. More bikes coming soon as long as eBay doesn't limit the account and as the source has them in stock since Bike Eco would never list anything on eBay that it didn't have ready to ship, right there.
There are two types of hybrid bikes, as I've been learning. Some are part bike, part scooter. They have throttles, and when you hit the throttle, the electric motor kicks in and propels you. Some let you keep pedalling, some bikes want you to stop pedaling since the motor will drive the bike faster than you're likely to pedal.
The other type of bike "assists" you. It has a sensor that determines how hard you are pedalling and how fast you are going. You set how much you'd like it to assist, and as you start pedalling, the electric motor kicks in to help. If you stop pedalling, the motor stops helping. That's why they call it assisting. It's not a scooter in that there is no throttle. The motor works when you work. But man oh man, it works. I tried one, and accidentally had it set on the highest setting for how much it helped. I started pedalling, and before i was barely on the seat, I felt like someone turned on rocket boosters.
Do I need a motorcycle license or special insurance?
Nope. The law is that something is a bicycle even if it has a motor as long as:
The motor is 750 watts or less powerful.
The pedals work (it's a bicycle).
The maximum speed that the motor drives you is 20mph or slower.
Everything Bike Eco will be offering will fit this description, so these are not mopeds, motorcycles, or anything that requires insurance, registration, or a special license. It's classified as a bicycle. If your state requires helmets for cyclists, make sure you wear a helmet. Let's not mess with helmet laws!
With rechargeable batteries and a great warranty, I'm totally in love with these bikes. The ones that Bike Eco carries start at $1099. Hey, you can easily drop $500 on a bike that doesn't have an electric motor and won't help you get up that hill or bike longer distances. These are nicely priced for holiday shopping, though you'll want to buy one for yourself and one for just about everybody else who likes to ride a bike even a little bit.
I just read http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y08/m10/i02/s01, and I can't help but say, PESA, be careful what you wish for.
I remember the very first days of PESA. Joe promised members "Meg on a silver platter." I remember all the talk about how he was going to bring together eBay's biggest sellers so that they could demand lower fees or some sort of special treatment. It was years ago, but I was there for all of that.
Now, PESA's unhappy with eBay for things like the Diamond level of PowerSeller, making deals with "big" businesses, and negotiating fees with those big businesses. I'd like to just come out and say hey, isn't that why PESA was formed? I remember when this was PESA's whole mission... Be careful what you wish for!
And while I'm at it, there's something I never understood about PESA. They claim to be a trade organisation for "professional eBay sellers." Yet every statement they release complains about eBay. It's negative about eBay. They never seem happy with eBay. They try to disguise it by saying eBay's going in the right direction, BUT... But they don't really believe that. When I was in PESA years ago, I was on the marketing committee. All they wanted from me was to write anti-eBay statements about every move eBay made. I refused.
I always thought a trade organisation supported the trade, and did things to make the public feel better about the trade. You're not going to find a beef trade org putting out pro-vegetarian statements. You won't find the beef and cattle growers group putting out statements about how the quality of beef these days has totally fallen.
So if PESA's statement shakes shopper, buyer, or Wall Street confidence in eBay, then they are help killing the platform where their livelihood is. That just doesn't seem smart to me. I don't expect everything to be rosy or perfect, but I feel like I'm watching year 5 or 6 of PESA just crapping on eBay while claiming to be a trade organisation. I think it's an anti-trade organisation!
I have just seen the most bizarre attack ad. Well maybe 2nd most. Well they're all bizarre, aren't they.
This one was interesting. We have a Democratic Congresswoman that evidently everybody loves. She's evidently done a world of good, and nobody seems to have a bad word about her. I wasn't seeing attack ads, which made sense, but now, her opponent has an attack ad.
Now mind you, this is a guy who has been running ads and has signs all over town, and NOWHERE does he say that he's Republican. No mention of his party at all. And his attack ad doesn't mention that our Congresswoman is a Democrat. So what's in the attack ad? It goes like this.
"Nancy Pelosi is leading our Congress in the WRONG DIRECTION. Gabrielle Giffords has voted with Nancy Pelosi 90% of the time! She even voted to cut funding to our troops to end this war!"
Hey, I'm FOR that! Sounds like the ad really wants to say, "Gabrielle Giffords is a Democrat. Did you mean to put a Republican in her place? Then vote for Tim Bee."
