Former #1 eBay Seller Glacier Bay DVD (Randy Smythe) Speaks

[Anita]

PS

It is NOT possible to have a profitable business on ebay anymore.  eBay changes tooooo much carp on a weekly basis with half of it never working. 

[rksmythe]

Hi everyone! It's nice to see the spirited comments regarding my first article about Glacier Bay DVD. I am not an eBay cheerleader, Meg appeared to be a nice person when spoke, I'm not hoping to get anything from eBay. Just to clear up a few points. I hope you will not judge my motives for at least a few weeks as I post articles on eBay issues. You may not always agree with my point of view but I am open to debating and discussing it.

The article I linked to in my post was well thought out. I didn't agree with all of his positions like this one.

"It appears that eBay is going to weather the storm, if management continues to be flexible and makes an effort to address user issues. In fact, Bob Peck, an analyst at Bear Stearns who delivered the keynote speech at last week's PESA (Professional eBay Sellers Alliance), reports: "We think eBay is listening more. We think eBay has opened up more to the community and is taking their suggestion more to heart. Our net takeaway from our meetings is positive."

I disagree with this strongly. Ebay is not communicating with its sellers and Management is not being flexible. But there are other points in that article that are accurate.

Please, don't make a snap judgment on my motivation. I am firmly behind the Ebay seller I hope you will give my future articles a fair read and then make your judgments. I have no problem with the debate.

Thanks
Randy Smythe

[BellisimaJ.]

Quick response, Randy.

[Anita]

"We think eBay is listening more. We think eBay has opened up more to the community and is taking their suggestion more to heart. Our net takeaway from our meetings is positive."

I hope their next stop was an AA meeting!   

PS  Welcome Randy!

[BellisimaJ.]

Randy,

IMO, your sincerity is still in question.

Regarding your meeting with Meg, duh, of course she is going to be pleasant to a man who at that time was bringing big $ into ebay's coffers.

However, she is the CEO of one of the most unethical and poorly run companies I have seen. Whether she is a nice person (hard to believe) in her personal life is really of little consequence. Her unending greed has caused hardship for millions of sellers worldwide.

Her decision to subsidize China, India etc., at the expense of US sellers is nothing if not unconscionable.

[rksmythe]

BellisimaJ. - I can see your point completely. I hope over time you will see that my motives are pure. Who knows? I threw in the comment about Meg because we didn't talk about business we talked about her family and stuff.  I can only say what I believe.  Of course that dinner meeting was 3 years ago so much could have changed.

If you can, please don't pass judgment on me from one brief article. I will have different views then you on many topics regarding eBay but don't throw the baby out with the bath water please. Agree with the points you agree with and disagree with the ones you don't then we can debate the issues. I look forward to it.

Thanks!
Randy

[FiberGuy]

I had a meeting with Meg once.

But I couldn't hear what she was saying... all her words were drowned out by the persistent *flushing* sound.



All jest aside, I'm sure she was cordial and "human" in your meeting... heck, even the most vile politician, I'm sure, could sit down with the average Joe (or Jane) and have a decent conversation... for the most part.

Not passing judgement, Randy... I know too few facts to do so... but it's difficult for me to think anything positive about a company who, in my opinion, has forsaken 98% of it's paying customers since the first board meeting.  Even worse, when they saw the sell-throughs and average selling prices dropping, continued to do so.

Cheers

[thentavius]

I threw in the comment about Meg because we didn't talk about business we talked about her family and stuff.

The trickster always puts her prey at ease.

I disagree with this strongly. Ebay is not communicating with its sellers and Management is not being flexible.

I agree with this statement. I don't know the rest of the article--so I guess I'll have to go back and read the in-between pages on this thread that I missed lately.

[thentavius]

We had been losing money since March of 2004, and I had to make a decision. Do I keep trying to make this work or is my business model so broken I’ll never be able to turn it around. I made the decision to shut it down, which was a very painful process for me, my employees, my vendors and for some of my customers. If you were affected by the failure of Glacier Bay DVD I sincerely apologize for the trouble it may have caused.

I feel the pain of having to shut down a business. I know what it's like to have to make that horribly painful decision to end years of work, devotion, and planning. I also know that the businesses who are able to step back and see that they're in trouble are the ones with the most potential. When we can see our difficulties, we can deal with them--even if it means permanently or temporarily closing.

Let me be clear, in speaking out now about eBay issues, I do not blame eBay for my business failings. I made the decisions or neglected the issues that caused Glacier Bay’s demise. I ignored the competition, I didn’t adapt to the changes in the marketplace, and I didn’t cut overhead when I should have. The reason I am adding my voice to the discussion on eBay now is because I believe it can still be a fantastic “venue” for small businesses and hobbyists, and I don’t want you to go through what I did. I also want to give something back to the community of eBay sellers that are truly some of the best people in the world.
In the coming weeks I will be writing down my views of the problems facing eBay today. I invite you to challenge my positions, provide a different perspective and help move the discussion forward. If we make cogent, concise, well-reasoned arguments, maybe eBay will actually listen (yeah, right).

I disagree partly here. It sounds like you were very aware of your operating processes--yet you blame yourself completely for GlacierBay's downfall.

This is not true at all.

If eBay hadn't squeezed out many book, video, and music sellers with that $1.00 cheap-for-all concept, many of you would still be in business.

This aspect is not your fault at all. When many of us began selling on eBay (I started buying in 1996 and selling in 1997), the marketplace was about finding unique items of value. It wasn't "how low can you go."

Thanks to eBay's hairbrained marketing plan that encouraged buyers to come to eBay for great deals and cheap stuff (remember their catch phrases?), many sellers who deal in items like yours have struggled with competitors (and the venue in general) constantly lowering costs. How on earth is someone supposed to stay in business if their profit margin is constantly being shrunk by the market? They're not, and they don't usually last--whether they're brick and mortar or electronic.

The bottom line is, eBay created the current environment. They have encouraged it and allowed it to flourish. Sellers who are actually paying for their stock in the book and media department struggle, while thieves with no wholesale costs can sell every move for $0.01. There doesn't seem to be a way to win in the book / media department, unless you're able to rip off huge warehouses.

What were you supposed to do to keep up with competitors? Go without food? Change the marketplace on your own? Steal?

Through all that wordiness, my message is: your business failing cannot be solely blamed on you; it's not entirely your fault, with eBay mostly guilt-free as your article claims. It's true that you might have benefited from finding another venue or two to sell through, or through opening your own website--but even those options may not have guaranteed Glacier Bay's survival. Thanks to the eBay cheap plan, many online shoppers have price expectations that cause them to say things like, "Naahhh, I can get that cheaper on eBay." You were essentially selling the wrong products after, say, 2001-2002.

Unfortunately, I believe the only constituents they are listening to currently are Investors.

Correct.

Why should you care what I say in regards to eBay? Maybe you shouldn’t, but if you care about your business on eBay I can help you avoid some of the mistakes I made. I walked the “hallowed halls” of the eBay corporate office.

A constructive offer. The information may help people not in the book / media department, but I suspect there's no way for honest sellers to make money in those areas. As I said above, you'd have to be a thief to sell below wholesale to attract the new breed of eBay-type customer. eBay has screwed it up for books, movies, and music.

Did you know that I myself often head to eBay when I want a DVD boxed set for pennies on the dollar? When I can get that movie "cheaper on eBay"? When I do *real* shopping, I go to Amazon or any number of established ecommerce (non-auction) sites.

I dined with top executives, including Meg Whitman—she is actually a very nice person. For a time I was the shining star of eBay. I sold over $15 million dollars worth of DVDs and CDs over 5 years on eBay. My business failed, but I hope I can help other sellers avoid the pain of failure that I have experienced.

I dislike arrogance, but I suppose you felt you needed credibility for the articles. The "shing star" thing is the annoying part. You're experienced. Your knowledge will speal for itself. You don't need to call yourself a shining star.

It's amazing to me that some business owners blame only themselves for the unlivable mess eBay created.

**insert "screw eBay, start your own website" ad here**

[BellisimaJ.]

Nice post, Thentavius.