In GNC #539, Todd related the problems that brick’n'mortar stores were having competing against the online retailers and I agree entirely with Todd’s sentiments. While I’m happy to use Amazon et al for specialised purchases or gifts to faraway relatives, I now regularly buy from local stores to try and keep them in business.
And do you know what? Although it started out as a point of principle, I’m actually discovering that I can sometimes get things cheaper or else I get some freebies thrown in.
To illustrate, while shopping this Christmas, I would price goods on Amazon and then go into town to see what I could get in the real world.
1) In a local toy shop, K’Nex was being sold 2-for-1 at a price only 10% more expensive than Amazon. Gift just went twice as far.
2) In a sports shop, a “brand name” golfing jumper was being sold with a free box of six golf balls, again at a price very similar to online golfing retailers. The recipient is always in the water with his shots anyway….
3) The main bookstore was offering best-sellers on three for the price of two, basically a third off, pretty much matching Amazon. Great for stocking fillers.
So I encourage you to get off your backside and at least see if your local stores can come close to matching the online retailers. Sure, if they’re wildly uncompetitive, walk away, but at least try to keep some of your money in local circulation. Local businesses support other local business and we need them to keep our communities thriving.
When eBay was fresh and shiny and new, I spent a lot of time there. I bought things that I needed, sold things that I didn’t need, and had good experiences. It was like going garage saling without having to get in the car, with a few perks like the ability to search for something I wanted, and to compare prices on comparable items. When I got married ten years ago, I paid for my wedding dress with proceeds from eBay sales of things I didn’t need anymore. eBay was the first place I looked when I was looking for a specific item.
Ah, those were the days. Now, when I head over to eBay, it’s mostly “power sellers” that are really just big warehouses of closeouts, lots of over-priced Chinese knock-offs, and plenty of businesses in the business of buying crap at flea markets and reselling it on eBay. It’s not the first place I go to anymore when I’m looking for something. Searches I’ve done recently for simple items like netbook cases or sewing patterns have brought up mixed results at best. One of the things I dislike about the eBay search model is that it doesn’t allow you to search within your search results to narrow down your choices. And what I really dislike is how overpriced things seem to be. In my search for a netbook for my daughter for Christmas, I of course took a look over there, but found that the prices were higher than purchasing the same item through a more traditional online retailer (I ended up with an HP Mini 10.1 from OfficeMax for an unbelievable price, for those that are interested). I haven’t seen a reasonably priced computer on eBay in years.
I don’t doubt that eBay still has its value. If I’m looking for a particular thing, like extra-long jeans of a certain brand, or a collectible teapot, eBay is still a great resource. But that is so specialized, and I don’t believe that that is where eBay is making its money in sales fees. A $400 netbook when I can get the same one for $250 delivered from a big-name retailer is not a bargain, and dilutes the value of the eBay brand, in my opinion. Yes, everyone wants to make a dollar or two, I understand that, of course, but when making a dollar borders on gouging, I have to wonder about the business practices of the organization running the show.
What does eBay want to be? Is it ready to devolve into a place full of out-dated closeouts and overpriced Chinese knock-offs? Because that appears to be where it’s headed. And how do they fix what is broken to clean up their act (or the act of their sellers)? I wouldn’t know where to start, but if they want to be Amazon (their main competitor at the moment) then they need to find a way to fix what is going downhill in a hurry.
Ah, eBay. I knew you when…
I have been very outspoken in recent past about AT&T’s growth, primarily the BellSouth merger. While I cannot do anything about that merger except grumble internally, I can keep my eye on the anti-competitive actions of large companies. If the Internet had not evolved the way it has I would almost be willing to call AT&T a monopoly again. But in the true definition of the word I don’t think they can be classified as that.
But they are big and they own a heck of a lot of real estate both in the hard wired world and in the wireless world so an announcement today to allow customers of AT&T Long Distance that also have Cingular wireless service to talk free is what I would consider a major first strike against the VOIP operators such as Vonage.
If Vonage was smart they would start inking deals with companies like Verizon and Sprint to stay competitive. This move by AT&T is a smart one and how would not want to eliminate all of there Long Distance charges. The question is which of the remaining land line carriers will be the first to broker deals with companies like Vonage and cellular carriers to swing the entire marketplace so that all land line long distance is free so long as you are connected with partner companies. thevoipgirl.com
Well my Sprint Novatel USB Ovation U720 arrived yesterday and after three tries with Sprint was able to get the ESN from my old card swapped to this new one. Overall the performance is great but I was surprised to see that the you have to use a Dual USB Port Dongle with the unit. Thus running the device on your laptop requires the utilisation of two USB ports.
The antenna access for the device is under the flip-up antenna and I am already concerned about the longevity of the card as looking down into the antenna port hole I do not see a lot of supporting material in and around the connection. Only time will tell if the external port will hold up or not.
This card is Rev A. capable but seeing Hawaii does not get Rev A. till the first of the year I will not be able to report on speeds. In download speed test the unit is comparable in transfer speeds of the PCMCIA version of this card.
I think the folks at Novatel would have been smart of they would have provided a power port for the USB card so as to allowed those that were using it in a permanent location to not have to use two USB ports to run the device.
I paid full retail for this card as I had existing service so I am hoping that in the long run this card works out ok. Meanwhile I have a Sprint PC-5740 card for sale if anyone wants to purchase it.
Update: The Novatel U720 does work with the Kyocera KR-1, I was concerned about this, but my testing here validates the KR1 works with the U720!
For the first time in a long time a decision by the FTC may actually have a positive effect to some bad things that have been happening on the Internet. Primarily that word of mouth marketers may soon be forced to disclose when they have a financial relationship with a vendor.
Some bloggers, podcasters and others have been criticised in recent times for not disclosing when they have been paid an incentive to talk about a product. For example I do reviews on products from time to time here. While I never guarantee a favourable review I always try to put a disclaimer on the review the company has sent me a loaner unit.
This action if enforced will cause sites like PayPerPost to enforce disclosure among those that have been promoting products they have been paid to review.
As many of you remember several years ago I was involved in the Marqui pay to blog program. That promotion was a terrific success not only for Marqui but it also set a standard in which bloggers were asked to disclose the relationship and bloggers were told to say what they wanted to say positive or negative. [Washington Post]
Well the free ride to make Skype calls to regular land line phones ends Dec 31st, but through the end of the year you can sign up for their half price plan at $14.95 for a year of unlimited long distance calling to the United States and Canada.
This is great deal for those that use the SkypeOut function to call land line phones. [Skype.com]
No not really but the linked article will make you laugh, and give you somehing to think about. In this crazy world of desperate attempts by organizations like the MPAA to control what you do with content you own. I would have not been at all surprised if this had been a real news story instead of being satire [www.bbspot.com]
As I have been ramping up production for the Videos Andy McCaskey and I will be creating at the Consumer Electronics Show I have been looking for a service that I cannot believe does not exist. With the proliferation of video sites out why is there not a service that will submit a video to multiple sites at once?
Seems like that would make a pretty good service. Submit your Video to one site and then have it pushed to other sites that you have accounts on. This would save you a lot of time and is a service I would pay a reasonable fee for.
There is more information surfacing in the Zune – Rocketboom promo proposal that made headlines yesterday when Andrew from Rocketboom publicly responded to Microsoft on his turning the deal down. From what I have gathered the following quote in the deal was what turned the deal sour.
“You may not display the Logo(s) on any site that disparages Microsoft or its products or services, infringes any Microsoft intellectual property or other rights, or violates any state, federal or international law.”
Part of the deal was putting the Zune logo on his website and by doing so he would have been bound by what he could say about the product in this lawyer heavy handed license agreement.
The question I ask is this, did some lawyer wreck the intent of this deal, or did the Zune management want to be assured that nothing negative could be said on sites that have signed a promo deal? I understand Microsoft’s likely reasoning, but at the same time Microsoft obviously is displaying that they really do not know the new media space when they ask Rocketboom or any new media Podcast/Videocaster to agree to such terms that go against the very grain of what the new media evolution is all about. [Yahoo]
I really went off last night when I saw the linked article on Engadget. I think I ranted about this for about 10 minutes on my show last night. The corresponding 42 screen shots made me realize that the Zune team and Microsoft learned nothing from Apples Success!
Whoever was the brain child that decided to make people convert money into Microsoft Points to use in their online Zune store needs to be fired or transfered to a outpost in Siberia.
I am going against my better judgment today and will buy a unit not based upon what I am seeing so far, but based on the hope that Microsoft will try to listen to the community. But when I see a review that required a person to click through 42 windows during setup it is obvious the Zune team thought very little about the user experience. [Engadget]
TiVo has made what I consider a strategic blunder in announcing their new subscription plans. If new subscribers are not willing to sign a three year subscription fee the monthly charge for the service is going to be $19.95 per month. Let me see I have a HD-DVR from my cable provider that cost me $9.95 per month why would I want to pay $19.95 per month on a device that will likely be obsolete in two years. Someone at TiVo did not in my opinion think this through; no educated consumer would sign a three year contract that has a $150.00 early cancellation fee.
Sorry No TiVo for me. [www.zatznotfunny.com]
If you have registered more than a couple of domain names you will likely know what to watch out for from fly by night registrars. This is a good refresher list none the less. [www.domainwarning.com]
. Listen to the show for the promo code tonight to enter to win at PodcastMadness.com you cannot win unless you listen. Special prize next Tuesday for one listener that enters to win.
