Former Microsoft Execs end up at eBay!Thanks to a tip from my faithful reader Moonlight, I found out that eBay purchased a small Seattle firm in Dec. (must have been a very small transaction not to make the news) and in the deal they got two former Microsoft Search executives. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not.
"Two years ago, when Microsoft’s search and advertising unit was even more of a revolving door than now, two long-time managers, Christopher Pane and Dane Glasgow, parted ways with Microsoft.
(Payne was Microsoft’s search chief — when the company’s search engine was known as “Windows Live Search” (not just Live Search); Glasgow was General Manager of Live Search.)
In January, Payne resurfaced — as an eBay employee."
Since I'm still wearing my Tin Hat from the previous post, maybe the reason eBay hasn't identified the speaker at Internet Retail, is because he just came on board and they don't have his picture and bio yet. Though these two execs are more search oriented than retailer/seller focused, so they wouldn't likely speak at IREC.
Maybe Microsoft will just buy eBay and we will have a whole new bunch of execs to discuss --just thinking out loud.
Just my 15%  Tin Hat Alert! eBay Management Changes Afoot?An analyst buddy of mine was checking out the speaker lineup for the Internet Retailer Conference to be held in Boston this June and he noticed something odd in the press release. After announcing the featured speakers and stating this was going to be the best speaker line-up in the history of the conference, came this: "Other featured speakers at IRCE include a soon-to-be-named key executive of eBay, who will explain how the #1 e-retail portal is evolving to help established web merchants expand their Internet reach;" Now, the way this was worded seems to intimate that there will be a "new" soon-to-be-named eBay exec. at the conference. Of course, they probably meant that at the time of this press release eBay hadn't announced the executive who would be speaking. Okay, now you can put on your Tin Hats.
I checked the speaker lineup further and there are several mentions of eBay speakers during sessions and an eBay exec is Featured on the June 17 th (but there is no picture). So, you all know me, I decided to have some fun with this. I'm sure eBay just didn't provide this information in time to be included in the press release and website, but there are two other possibilities: - A featured speaker, at this type of event, is usually a senior executive, so it could really only be one of four eBay execs; John Donahoe (not likely) Lorrie Norrington President of eBay Marketplaces, Stephanie Tilenius, Sr. VP of eBay North America or Dinesh Lathi, VP of Seller Experience, so why were they not named? Perhaps none of those executives are assured of being with the company as late as June 2009, so they don't want to name somebody and then have to replace them.
- Or they just haven't drawn straws yet to determine who will speak. After all they were able to provide the topic of that featured session:
"In its more than dozen years of existence, eBay has evolved with the Internet, from providing millions of entrepreneurs an easy way to start a business to enabling established retailers to extend their reach on the Internet. Now, with a change in leadership, eBay is going through further evolution that the company hopes will attract and engage more consumers and boost revenue for eBay sellers. An eBay executive in charge of transforming the user experience at eBay will lay out in detail where eBay is heading and how retailers large and small can take advantage of the new eBay."
Now doesn't it seem odd that eBay has agreed to send a featured speaker and even provided the content of that presentation, but they were not able to provide the actual speaker information?Just thought I would throw that out for discussion. Maybe June is just too far a way for them to schedule.
Just my 15%  Sharing my 15% about Ecommerce in 2009 with ColderICE.comJust checked out John Lawson's blog over at ColderICE.com and was blown away by his intro to our little talk from last week. Thanks for the props John.
John and I converse quite a bit about the world of ecommerce via Twitter and his podcast interviews and so this interview is just something we would like to share. I'd love to hear your comments. I'm just sharing my thoughts on the world of ecommerce and yes we did discuss Buy.com, but that was only a small part of our discussion.
Just my 15%  Let's Talk Amazon FBA!Please Join us this Thursday, January 8 th at 11:00am Pacific,I will be joinging Lisa Suttora of WhatDoISell.com to discuss the Fulfillment by Amazon program and how it can benefit your business.
Basically, I'm going to share my experience with the service over the last year and cover it from start to finish. This will be less a "How To" use the service teleseminar and more a "Why" use the service teleseminar.
So why not join us Thursday, January 8th at 11:00am Pacific, for a free teleseminar on the power of using Fulfillment By Amazon (Amazon FBA) in your online business.
Reserve your seat immediately below. Can't make the live class? By registering now, you'll receive immediate notification when the replay is ready.
Hope to see your there.
Just my 15%  Infopia Appoints New CEOInfopia, the leading SaaS [Software as a Service] provider of eCommerce software services, announced today that Coleman Barney has joined the company as President and Chief Executive Officer. As CEO of Infopia, Coleman will bring extensive experience in eCommerce and business improvement to fuel Infopia's continued growth serving mid-market and enterprise online businesses. He is succeeding Bjorn Espenes, former CEO and President, who will continue as a member of the Board of Directors for Infopia.
I'll add my 15% as I get more info. Infopia competes in a tough business with ChannelAdvisor, Mercent, Monsoon and others helping retailers manage their multiple sales channels.
It is interesting that a new CEO would come on-board during a real challenging time in ecommerce, but as outgoing CEO Bjorn Espenes says " Infopia's successful expansion into higher end, multi-marketplace online businesses demonstrates our ability to support increasingly complex retail environments," said Bjorn Espenes. "We looked for someone with a proven track record who could take the company to the next level. Coleman brings his results-oriented style to a business that saw record results in 2008 - a perfect combination."
We'll have to see how this move plays out in this very competitive environment. Good luck Mr. Barney.
Just my 15%   Etsy Improves Search -- Adds RelevanceAccording to Auctionbytes: " Etsy is replacing its existing search technology with Solr, an open-source search system used by sites like Netflix and Zappos. Etsy said the new technology would provide it with the foundation to scale in terms of speed and functionality and is the first in what it expects to be a series of improvements to Etsy's search function throughout the year."
As Etsy grows and adds listings to its database, the need for search improvements becomes evident. The need for more relevant search results increases as you grow. Relevancy is a tough component to add to search because you are adding some subjective elements to an objective search using an algorithm that weights keywords. Google does a great job with relevancy but search is their core competency.
eBay should have considered using an outside search technology like Solr, instead of bringing search in-house and screwing it up. Sorry couldn't just leave an Etsy post alone without adding my 15% on eBay. Notice Etsy doesn't have anything called "Best Match" in their search. :)
Just my 15%
  Did Your DSRs Take a Hit this Christmas?When I was selling at Glacier Bay DVD, we always dreaded the after Christmas deluge of negative feedback -- we didn't have DSRs at the time. The holidays are a tough time for customer service, as you run out of inventory quickly and there are delays in shipping as well as in transit.
With DSRs being a major part of an eBay sellers exposure in search, it is even more crucial now to not get overwhelmed.
So how did you do? I would imagine Shipping Time DSRs took the biggest hit.
On Amazon, the feedback rating is just one element of your total performance rating and has nothing to do with where you show-up in search. Since I used Amazon's FBA I was able to maintain a 98% Feedback and a .21% Order Defect Rate.
A 98% FB rating on Amazon is like a 99.5% on eBay because Amazon customers only leave feedback on maybe 15 to 20% of transactions. The Order Defect Rate is a combination of Neg Feedback, A to Z claims and returns and Amazon likes to see that number below 1% of all transactions.
Did your DSRs get you lowered in search and make your listing fees even more costly, or did you survive the holiday rush with search standing intact?
Just my 15%  Meg Whitman Steps Down from eBay's BoardAccording to the Wall Street Journal, "Meg Whitman stepped down from the boards of Procter & Gamble Co., eBay Inc. and Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc. effective Dec. 31"
Right now the speculation is that she is preparing a run for Governator (sorry, Governor) of California.
  So How Did We All Do in Q4I had my best quarter of the year, but stopped buying product just after Thanksgiving, so Dec sales were lower than Nov. -- I was selling strictly from existing inventory.
The beauty with using Amazon FBA and not buying any product in Dec. was I worked way less than in any other month in 2008 and I was substantially more profitable. I still haven't decided if this is a lifestyle business for me or if I want to grow it into another Glacier Bay. I do miss the game a little... ok a lot.
So how did you do? No need to give hard numbers just provide % +/- year over year and % of revenue that came from each marketplace you sold in.
Thanks in advance for the info.
Just my 15%  Amazon FBA - Time for a Test!I've been singing the praises of using Amazon's FBA program to ship my product and now its time for you to test the service as well.
Amazon is offering a $1,000 rebate between January 1st and March 31st, 2009. [For new accounts only]
Qualified merchants will receive a one-time rebate, which will include:
- The actual cost of their inbound shipments to an Amazon fulfillment center up to the amount earned per the below schedule, and
- The actual cost of Fulfillment by Amazon fees incurred through the merchant's Amazon seller account between January 1, 2009, and March 31, 2009, up to the amount earned per the below schedule. Refer to Fulfillment by Amazon Pricing for information on fulfillment fees.
Qualified merchants are limited to one rebate. - The dollar amount of any rebate earned will be deposited to or used to offset any negative balance in the merchant's Amazon Seller account on or before May 1, 2009. The rebate will be titled "Miscellaneous Adjustment."
- Qualified merchants will receive credit for the actual amount spent on inbound shipping to an Amazon fulfillment center and Fulfillment by Amazon fees (for example, if a merchant sends Amazon 501 units between January 1, 2009, and March 31, 2009, at a shipping cost of $150, and incurs $100 in Fulfillment by Amazon fees for units fulfilled by the Fulfillment by Amazon service, it will receive $200 in rebate credit for shipping costs and Fulfillment by Amazon fees charged to their Amazon seller account during that time period).
How to Take Advantage of the Offer
Qualified merchants can automatically take advantage of this offer by sending their product Units in by March 31, 2009. Link here for more information.
FBA opens your product up to Amazon Prime members as well as making it eligible for Super-saver shipping, so you can get access to a completely different Amazon customer than you are used to with self-fulfilled orders. I highly recommend the service.
Just my 15%
  Webinar - The Amazon WebStoreAmazon is holding a webinar on their WebStore offering on January 14 th at 10:00 AM PST it will run about 45 minutes with time for questions. Sign-up today.
Introduction to WebStore by Amazon. WebStore by Amazon provides you with a branded e-commerce site backed by the support, selection, and expertise of Amazon. WebStore is easy to set up and comes with a number of great marketing features so you can start selling in minutes! Learn more about owning your own WebStore.
Just my 15%  Happy New Year! Postive Thoughts for 2009I've enjoyed the time to relax this past 2 weeks, I hope you haven't missed me too much. Originally I was going to write a 2008 year in review post, but thought nobody wants to relive that, we all know how bad 2008 was. A New Year's post is a time for optimism; even if it is only fleeting.
As I look at the rest of 2009 from the vantage point of this first day, I'm excited about what lies ahead for the online seller: - By mid 2009 eBay sellers, large and small, will finally understand what the "New" eBay is. In 2008, eBay lost its mojo and there is really no getting it back, but I am hoping it will still be a viable alternative for a great many sellers. If new management comes on board mid-year, they won't return it to its former glory, but it should still be a very viable sales channel for many. If new management doesn't come on-board, eBay may be in for another rocky year.
- Large Auction sellers will expand off of eBay in 2009. Some of the larger eBay auction sellers will follow the lead of emovieposter, bargainland and aacsautographs, and launch their own independent auction sites. JayandMarie should follow their lead, but I don't know if Jay has enough desire left to make that dramatic a move.
eBay will still be the auction platform for the small to mid-size seller and a liquidation channel for large sellers. Also, adding an auction component to an existing website will start to get some traction in 2009. Auctions are still a viable business model for lots of items.
- Online sellers will become less dependent on marketplaces like eBay, Amazon and others. 2009 will be the year when many sellers hit their stride with their own websites. Many will concentrate much of their efforts on launching and growing their own websites, while using marketplaces for profitable incremental sales and to expand their reach.
- Small eBay Sellers will continue to migrate to sites like Etsy, Bonanzle and eCrater lessening their dependence on eBay. eBay will be part of their business but no longer all of their business. Hopefully there is still room for the small seller on eBay in 2009.
- As the big retailers struggle in a slowing economy the most nimble online sellers will find opportunities to exploit. There will be lots of inventory available at liquidation prices and even opportunities for smaller sellers to get access to that product without buying a truckload at a time. In fact there may arise consortiums of online sellers who join together to source large loads of liquidated product. Co-opetition will be the buzzword for 2009
In 2009 the independent online seller will have many opportunities available for growth even in a slow economy. The lean and efficient operations will be able to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.
I'm looking forward to 2009.
Just my 15%  I Found Another Diamond Seller!But, this time I'm not going to "out them" because they are not an outside company. They began on eBay and have finally been recognized for their hard work. From what I understand they are one of 10 existing eBay sellers who have been acknowledged as Diamond sellers. Their monthly sales exceed $500k in GMV and their DSRs are 4.9 across the board.
When eBay announced the "Diamond" program, I felt it was just cover for the Buy.com deal, and I'm on record that I have no problem with deals as long as they are open to existing eBay sellers. Offering deals to outside companies without providing the same opportunity for existing sellers is wrong in my view. It took awhile, but it looks like eBay is finally acknowledging the hard work of some of their largest sellers.
It remains to be seen what benefits they will earn from this new sales level but at least eBay has opened their Diamond doors to one of their own.
Now we have to get them to help the small sellers and the tone of this blog may change in 2009.
Just my 15%  Amazon Touts "Best Ever" Holiday Season. Updated
So after we forgive the PR department for hyperbole, let's take a look at some of the numbers in light of the current economic news. - 2008 - Amazon's Peak Order Day was Dec 15th with 6.3 million orders placed, which was up 17% over 2007's Peak Order day of Dec. 10th and 5.4 million orders. 17% growth Y/Y on the peak day is pretty impressive, especially in this economy.
It is interesting to note that Amazon's 2008 peak order day was so late in the season, only allowing 9 days for orders to arrive in time for Christmas. In 2007 the peak day was Dec 10th; in 2006 it was Dec. 11th and in 2005 it was Dec. 12th. Perhaps Amazon Prime had some impact on customers waiting until the 15th to order.
- On the peak day this season, Amazon's worldwide fulfillment network shipped over [5.6]million units up [44%] over 2007's 3.9 million orders. That growth is very impressive and the increase may have been favorably impacted by Amazon's FBA program where they warehouse and ship product for 3P merchants.
While these numbers are just a snapshot of Amazon's 4 th quarter, they do show significant growth while the rest of ecommerce is contracting.
Now I'm just waiting for eBay's press release on their holiday season. :)
Just my 15%
  Retailers in Survival Mode - The Street.com TV
Just my 15%  Merry Christmas from My Blog Utopia!!I just wanted to wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I look forward to covering the ecommerce business again in 2009. I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday season and best wishes for the new year.
Thanks for being a part of My Blog Utopia in 2008.
Just my 15%
  Are eBay's Media Auctions Going Away in 2009?Thanks to a comment from a reader, I took a look at the current mix (auctions to FP) in the media categories on eBay and here's what I came up with. - DVD's - Auctions make-up 15% of total listings
- CD's - Auctions make-up 10% of total listings
- Books - Auctions make-up 10% of total listings
- Video Games - are more difficult to figure out because game systems get included in the games category, but auctions still make up close to 50%
So in the three major categories auctions have lost favor with media sellers and are dangerously close to no longer being worth the effort for eBay, Sellers like JayandMarie may find their business model doesn't make any sense any longer. If eBay is going to go to FP only in the Media category and I have no knowledge that they are, then they should be reaching out to sellers like JayandMarie and giving them fair warning -- none of this "30-days" to convert your entire business model.
Just my 15%  Top 10 Ecommerce Predictions for 2009I'm still on vacation but since Ina Steiner has posted her predictions for 2009 and Sue from Tamebay is working on hers and soon to post them (I'll link to her post when ready), I figured I would jump on the band-wagon.
Warning! This list is for entertainment purposes only and should not be used to make any kind of decision. I was correct on 5 out of 10 last year, so I should get lucky on at least a couple of these. - Amazon took over the "unique visitor" title in Nov and Dec of 2008 and will continue to battle with eBay through the 1st quarter of 2009, eventually taking the lead for good. In 2007 eBay took back the lead right after the holidays, this time they may lose it forever.
- John Donahoe will get two more quarters to turn eBay around before drastic action is taken, which could mean selling all or part of the business and/or replacing him as CEO.
There are two major caveats to this prediction.
*"Its NOT the economy stupid" scenario - If Amazon beats 4th quarter estimates and provides better than expected 2009 guidance and eBay misses 4th quarter estimates and guides lower for the rest of 2009 then Mr Donahoe may be out the door before the 1st quarter earnings announcement.
*"Its the economy stupid" scenario - If Amazon has a tough 4th quarter and so does eBay (I can't see anyway they will be worse than eBay) than the BOD and investors will give Donahoe a full year to make the turn-around complete, but he only gets 1 more year.
- Buy.com will consider leaving eBay in early 2009, but will decide to stick it out at least through Q1. I'm not sure how profitable their eBay business has been and it is certainly much more work and aggravation than their website and Amazon business are. If eBay is profitable for them, then they will stay.
- More Diamond sellers will launch on eBay with limited success. Unless eBay is willing to spend money to improve traffic and change the brand image of eBay, they can only hope to get incremental sales that require sizable investments in customer service. Plain and simply, it just won't be worth it.
- eBay sellers will have access to large amounts of surplus and liquidation product, but few will have the resources to act on this availability. Those with the cash/credit will be able to source product at unbelievable prices and improve their margins. Online sellers with margin will continue to succeed in a discount environment throughout 2009 both on eBay and on Amazon.
- eBay will continue eBay Stores subscriptions in the US, but will eliminate the SIF (Store Inventory Format) eBay Stores will just become a place to gather a sellers FP and auction listings. When they do make this change they will lower insertion fees for Fixed Price items from the current 35 cents and possibly increase FVF in some categories.
- eBay's Media category will look strangely like Half.com with items displayed 5 at a time and listed by quality. "Low Price", "Free Shipping" and "Recent Sales" will get you in the top 5 as long as your DSR's are better than your competition.
- Half.com will be shut-down at some point at the end of the first quarter. (Of course I've been saying that for a couple of years, so one of these days I will be right).
- Amazon will improve communication and tools for their 3P sellers, but will still not be open to core eBay product categories like vintage items, collectibles and antiques.
- Bonanzle.com (my favorite eBay alternative site) will reach 1 million listings by the end of the year and will open up International sites in the UK and in Australia by the end of the year. (No pressure, Bill)
One extra prediction, and this is more of a suggestion than a prediction, but I think it is likely. It is not mine, but I agree [it will happen]. It comes from a post on Seeking Alpha entitled " What will become of eBay? "There is still a market for online auctions so management can continue to bleed that business for cash while investing in growing the fixed price business to better compete with Amazon. I would also continue to invest in payments to build out the Merchant Services business. Now that Bill Me Later is in the portfolio, eBay can have a run of the payments business on the web given largely failed efforts by others such as Google. I would also continue to invest and make acquisitions along the classifieds businesses and focus on better monetizing traffic through advertising." (bold is mine)
I'd love to hear your predictions.
Just my 15%  Buy.com Enters eBay's top 25 in FeedbackI was checking out SellerDome the other day and noticed that GlacierBayDVD had fallen out of the top 25 in feedback all the way down to #28. I guess I couldn't expect to stay there forever since I haven't sold on the site in close to 3 years.
I also noticed that Buy.com had moved into the top 25 at #21 in less than a year on the site. That is an impressive feat since Buy has never used the auction format and Fixed Price items usually don't see the same sales velocity. They are still a long way from Jack Sheng's eForcity, but who knows where they will be a year from now.
Buy is doing exceptionally well (by eBay standards) over the last 30-days, but their sales have been aided by many (loss leader) Daily Deals, so I'm not sure how profitable they are.
Earlier in the year, I was guessing that Buy might be considering leaving the eBay platform after the holiday shopping season, but based on their sales in the last 30 days, I would revise that guess, especially if the Daily Deal is directing a lot of traffic to their other items, which when I look at the numbers seems to be happening.
BTW, many eBay sellers are doing very well selling on Buy.com as an additional marketplace this holiday season (I plan to next year as well), so all-in-all it looks like Buy.com is having a pretty good year even in this bad economy.
Just my 15%  Why I Love Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)As we enter the final week before Christmas, I'm sure many of my readers are busy trying to get orders out the door. Even with all the bad economic news I've been hearing, it doesn't seem to be affecting many of my seller friends. Several I've spoken with have been working non-stop since Thanksgiving.
This week and next are when Amazon's FBA service earns its money: - I have one last shipment of product going out Tuesday, so that it is checked-in by Friday and available for those last minute Amazon Prime shoppers.
- I haven't had to answer one customer email -- Amazon handles all customer service on my orders.
- My customers can have their orders gift wrapped at no cost to me. (They do pay Amazon for that though).
- If I was shipping product myself, I would have to tell customers that Friday was the shipping cutoff for items to arrive in time for Christmas; without paying through the nose for expedited shipping. With FBA they can buy my stuff up to the 23rd and have it delivered next-day for $3 (for an estimated 4 million Prime customers).
- I haven't been to the post office one time in the last 3 months. I just ship 300-400 pieces through UPS one day a week.
- No shipping supplies to order or warehouse.
- I only use one room in the house for business
- No hunting through 1600 different DVDs and CDs to pick and pack.
- My customers get world class service and I get the credit.
Now, to be fair, I am just a small business now and a year from now I expect to be much bigger so I can see this being a lot more work next year but there will also be more Amazon Prime customers next year as well, so my sales should benefit from growth in the program.
I recommend Amazon's FBA program highly, even for those sellers who still want to ship product themselves. My number one tip for 2009 and your business. Look into and test Amazon FBA.
Just my 15%  Amazon Opens Up Communication with their SellersAmazon, doesn't really do the whole community thing (eBay doesn't either, anymore) they are pretty much all business, but over the last year I've noticed a more concerted effort to communicate with their sellers. The change is happening gradually but it is happening: - Click-to-call Support for merchants. I've used this several times in the last few months and though the level of support depends on who gets your call (Most of there support team really goes the extra mile) over all the support has been excellent.
- Holiday Shopping Tips in Seller Central.
- Holiday Webinar (look for more of those in 2009)
- The new Seller Support blog. Check out the latest blog post from Cathi C. and add this blog to your RSS reader.
This gradual change shows their commitment to growing and cultivating their 3P business and so far, though the steps are not huge, they are at least going in the right direction. I would look for more of this type of communication in 2009.
Just my 15%
  Auctionbytes Interviews the Father of eBay's Best Match!Ina Steiner has a great interview of Raghav Gupta, the creator of the algorithm that would become eBay's Best Match. Very interesting reading.
Just my 15%  Microsoft CashBack - What's The Deal! Update!In this week economic environment, everybody is looking to save a buck. Microsoft CashBack search is one way folks are doing that. You just go to CashBack.com and search on a product you are looking for and then you get a list of discount offers for that item.
In eBay's case you can search on Live.com and click on an eBay sponsored link which will take you to eBay. [the % discount shows on the eBay link (on Live search) and at the top of the eBay nav bar until the cookie ends, so if you have a PayPal account you will get the discount]
Is buying the customer such a good idea? Doesn't it just encourage the same behavior next time. Look at what happened to Google Checkout. Everyone used it when they got $10 or $20 off but once Google stopped paying so did the usage of Google checkout.
I figure, I really didn't know enough about this type of program to write about it in-depth so I reach out to Brian Lawe, CEO of MyStoreRewards for his take.
Q. As you look at MS Cashback Live – what’s your take?
Let’s start from the perspective that operating a great buyer reward programs is very difficult. The Internet is littered with failed attempts. eBay has its own history of failures, notably eBay Anything Points.
A great buyer reward program requires the perfect balance between a seller’s cost versus the buyer’s benefit – sprinkled with a healthy dose of simplicity and fairness for everyone involved. Amazon Prime is a great example which strikes the right balance. It works really well to drive repeat sales at an acceptable cost.
My advice to the Cash-back Live team is to first improve the buyer registration process since is too complex today. Second, they should decrease the lag-time between purchase and reward (they are working on that). Third, they should create seller incentives for participation. Finally, they should create a really unique buyer engagement mechanism – something that will draw buyers back after the amazing 20-30% cash-back rewards go away. 20-30% cash-back is simply not sustainable – 2-3% yes, but not 20-30%. It is seductively easy to throw money at buying market share. The real challenge is finding mechanisms to get buyers back again and again --- without bankrupting the company! Amazon’s mechanism is around shipping benefits.
Q. You’ve studied cash-back search reward programs – how would you do it differently?
We have experimented with a search reward site in the past but we have no plans to launch a search-reward site today. However, we did file a patent for the method we think works best ( http://tinyurl.com/6z4cgv) and my guess is Microsoft looked at that during their development. They adopted some, but not all, our strategies. In our patent, we balanced both seller and buyer interests. The seller gets preferred placement in search results based on the seller offering better buyer rewards. In turn, buyers get their cash-back rewards fast and paid directly to their PayPal-type account. One of our built-in mechanisms to drive repeat sales is to encourage a direct seller-buyer email relationship so the seller gets the opportunity to cross-market other items over time (which drives repeat sales). Finally, when the buyer returns for a new search – any previous rewarding seller gets priority for matching items. These kinds of mechanisms create a win-win for both the buyer and seller.
Q. What would you suggest individual sellers should do to take advantage of MS Live Cashback?
I’ve heard some sellers are inserting text promoting Cashback Live as a way to save more on the product price. That might help, but its more likely just free advertising for Microsoft Live Search, which also opens the door to competition when the buyer starts a new search on Live. Risky move.
Q. What would you suggest to eBay about the MS Live Cashback program?
MS has its own goal of driving search traffic. eBay needs to blaze its own path on buyer loyalty. It can do so in a uniquely eBay-way. Consider a seller selling on Amazon and on eBay. On Amazon, there is absolutely NO question about who owns the buyer. Amazon owns the buyer. The seller is treated like an outside fulfillment house. That means the seller has no vested interest in the buyer. Amazon funds its own buyer loyalty through Prime and it can swap out sellers quickly. On the other hand, a sale on eBay creates a shared eBay/seller relationship with the buyer. If a sale goes bad on eBay, the buyer blames eBay and the seller. If a good seller disappears from eBay, a part of eBay goes with her. eBay should build on this unique shared buyer ownership. eBay can’t do it alone. It needs to encourage sellers to grow repeat sales by giving the seller new technologies and new incentives to grow repeat sales. And eBay needs to act quickly. In the past year many eBay sellers, like Buy.com, now see eBay as only a channel to “acquire” new buyers. Like Amazon, they see the buyer as “theirs.” Once acquired, they aggressively promote their off-eBay store (e.g. Buy.com) for future/repeat purchases. If large sellers continue to do this, every eBay buyer will be drained away from the site. The eBay seller base should be engaged to join the fight for, and share in the rewards of, driving buyer loyalty on eBay.
Lots of good information about rewards programs. They can work, but it looks like Microsoft needs to keep working on theirs. As for eBay, Brian's suggestion should be taken to heart. I'm pretty much tired of making suggestions to eBay.
Additional information on CashBack; Hillary over at the WhineSeller blog has a great explanation on how the program works.
Just my 15%  Source your Product From eBay and Sell ElsewhereI'm not usually a selling tips guy, but with the new Daily Deals program at eBay, this is a great opportunity to source some product at unbelievable prices and sell it elsewhere. Not quite sure that was the intent of the program, but oh well.
Case in point.
Buy.com currently has a deal for the Philips 7 Inch Metal Digital Picture Frame, that began at 8:00 this morning (PST). The listing has 2013 available for $39.99 with Free Shipping. The retail price is $179.99 and Amazon is selling it for $99.99. There are currently only 3 merchants including Amazon selling this item. One merchant is selling it as refurbished for $100 and the other is selling it New for $90.88 (My apologies to that seller for mentioning this here on the blog)
So far Buy has sold nearly 400 of these in an a little under 2 hours. Maybe you would like it as a present for somebody for Christmas and maybe you would like to make $50 on the deal. Just buy it early and pay quick because eBay hasn't figure out how to not oversell the product.
Just an idea from MyBlogUtopia.
One more thing: I will observe what happens to this listing and where the product ends up selling and for what price. If I can gather the data, I'll post what happened here on the blog.
Update: Better hurry, 900 more were sold in the last 2 hours as of 11:37 PST only about 1000 left.
Final Update: Buy's Daily Deal sold out in 6 hours, 53 minutes and 33 seconds. 2300 items at $39.99 each. Now we just have to wait and see how many end up listed on Amazon. Hopefully Buy will get them shipped out real soon. 126 buyers bought 3 or more of this one item.
Check back tomorrow at 8:00 AM PST to see what the next Daily Deal is. I wonder if it will be another Buy.com item or if they will spread it around.
Okay, this is the final update (for now): There was no daily deal this morning. I'm trying to figure out why. If you are going to call it a "Daily" deal, wouldn't you think there would be one ... each day?
Those responsible for the last final update have been sacked -- This is your Final Update: The new Daily deal is up, but its not as good a deal. It selling for $34.99 with a $119.99 retail price and there are 900 left but it is selling for $44.79 on Amazon with 34 different sellers in the Toys category (which is closed to new sellers). The one on Amazon is a 3P sellers using FBA.
Just my 15%
  An eBay VeRO Primer for the Uninformed, Like Me.I normally don't comment on discussions I find on the eBay stores board, but in the past I have found there to be some very wise thinking going on there. Today I came across a thread discussing MAP and VeRO issues, which I have been blogging about for the last couple of days (sorry, just call me Johnny One Note)
I really enjoy reading Carl's (oldspartantrader) posts because he is a wise man and though I don't always agree with him, I still value his opinion. Carl points out that these issues are not simple and that he is glad that eBay is fighting against MAP and other issues because it would be too costly for him to do it on his own. I don't disagree with that.
But, then I kept reading and found out, that according to poster ( itspostingtime), I don't know what I'm talking about in regards to VeRO and eBay's ability to change the program. itpostingtime says; " unlike Randy Smythe, who has written about this without any apparent understanding"
So, since I can't clarify my position on the eBay stores boards, I figured I would do it on My Blog Utopia.
Here goes:
"eBay is committed to protecting the intellectual property rights of third parties and to providing its users with a safe place to trade. eBay created the Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) Program so that intellectual property owners could easily report listings that infringe their rights. It is in eBay’s interest to ensure that infringing items are removed from the site, as they erode buyer and seller trust." [bold is mine] eBay created the program to comply with the DMCA or Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. Apparently this version of VeRO was deemed compliant with the DMCA, because there have been few if any challenges.
There is a great document, written by intellectual rights attorney Scott Pilutik, that describes the issues surrounding eBay's VeRO program and heaven forbid he even suggests ways to fix it, which is what I am advocating. I suggest you take the time to read it (it is quite long). Here is a quick excerpt. "Although the Internet seems custom-built for copyright infringement, trademark infringement also abounds, and nowhere is this more apparent than on eBay, the Internet’s leading online auction site, where over one million items, many of them brand name goods, are traded each day. As an online facilitator of services between parties exchanging brand-name goods, many which are not authentic, eBay may be liable as a contributory (or even vicarious) infringer.
But while secondary copyright infringers can look to section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) as a shield against liability, alleged secondary trademark infringers, like eBay, have no such sanctuary. This unfortunate void has forced eBay to fashion a self-help remedy called the Verified Rights Owner Program (“ VeRO”), which essentially deputizes the rights owners themselves to police infringing listings on eBay. But just as the fox has little incentive to act prudently while guarding the henhouse, rights owners have routinely overreached when armed with a quasi-official infringement enforcement badge. " [section 512 begins on page 8)
eBay's VeRO program has been a problem for sellers from its creation and though I have had no exposure to the program since 2006, I did deal with VeRO issues for my entire time at eBay. In the early days though, few manufacturers knew much about the program and even fewer organized to abuse the situation.
We are in a completely different environment today, then when VeRO was created. Today entire organizations have been created to abuse the system and manufacturers are getting even more aggressive with the program. eBay continually falls back on the "our hands are tied" defense which, I guess is sufficient for many, but not for me.
My main point in recent posts, that apparently wasn't clear enough, is that manufacturers are now going after sellers who are breaking MAP (minimum advertised price) or who sell product on eBay when the manufacturer has expressly told them not to. While they have the right to protect the value of their product and their pricing, using VeRO to do that is an abuse of the program and has nothing to do with intellectual rights or copyright. It is my position, that if eBay wanted to stop it, they could. So the "our hands are tied" defense is poppycock. They would rather get the PR benefit from a Dog and Pony show in Washington DC standing up for the rights of sellers.
How can VeRO be fixed? Mr. Pilutik has some suggestions" "eBay similarly lacks any incentive to protect its sellers. As a result of its virtual monopoly on the online auction market, sellers have few alternatives to eBay’s sizeable market and are forced to sue the complaining rights holder if they wish to reinstate their listings. eBay punishes sellers who have had listings removed under the VeRO Program, and it has scant oversight in place to rectify wrongful listing removals at the hands of overzealous rights owners. This inequity could be cured legally in one of two ways: eBay could modify its VeRO Program to account for the due process it owes its selling community, or Congress could enact a safe-harbor provision for online service providers under the Lanham Act similar to section 512 of the DMCA"
The point I have been trying to make regarding VeRO and I apologise if I was unclear, is that eBay has the resources available to fix the problems with VeRO, instead they tie the manufacturers abuse of VeRO into their PR campaign against MAP because it adds weight to their argument. "see what these bad, bad manufacturers are doing, they are abusing our poor little VeRO program to force seller compliance of MAP, we need to overturn MAP because we are powerless to change VeRO" I say, fix the damn VeRO program and protect your sellers from the abuse of that program, then you can go attack MAP -- MAP has enough complexity on its own. If some people don't grasp this distinction I can't help that.
I believe VeRO and MAP are basically two separate issues. I want sellers to be protected from abuse and I want Manufacturers to be able to protect their brands, but because of the abuses of VeRO in regards to fixing prices", and eBay's looking the other way, the two have become one for me.
I don't want eBay fighting a battle for me on one front while they let manufacturers shutdown businesses through VeRO by way of the backdoor that eBay has left wide open.
One more bit of info on VeRO: The Reason Codes A VeRO member can get a listing taken down for any of these reasons. All they have to do is site which one. eBay does nothing to verify if they are accurate or not. Yet a seller with 5 or more VeRO notices in a month can get suspended.
Trademark - Item infringement 1.1. Trademark owner does not make this type of product 1.2. Item(s) is unlawful replica of a product made by the trademark owner 1.3. Item(s) is unlawful importation of product bearing trademark Trademark - listing content infringement 2.1. Listing(s) contains unlawful comparison to trademark owner's brand name 2.2. Listing(s) contains unlawful use of trademark owner's logo Copyright - item infringement 3.1. Software offered for sale in violation of a license 3.2. Item(s) is a bootleg recording of live performance 3.3. Item(s) is an unlawful copy of media (software, games, movies) 3.4. Item(s) is unlawful duplication of printed material 3.5. Item(s) is an unlawful copy of other copyrighted work (paintings, sculptures, etc.) Copyright - listing content infringement 4.1. Listing(s) uses unauthorized copy of copyrighted text 4.2. Listing(s) uses unauthorized copy of copyrighted image 4.3. Listing(s) uses unauthorized copy of copyrighted image and text Other infringement 5.1. Item(s) infringes a valid patent (requires patent registration number) 5.3. Item(s) violates a celebrity's right of publicity 5.4. Listing(s) content violates a celebrity's right of publicity 6.1. The Kitchen Sink - Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
Just my 15%
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