The Key to Failure

by Steve on May 26, 2009 · 3 comments

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." - Bill Cosby

As eBay marches toward the bargain basement, I can't help but think back to a conversation I had with Kevin Pursglove when we worked together at eBay. Kevin was eBay's spokesman in the early days, and I think he was great at what he did. In those days so many people paid attention to eBay they needed a guy like Kevin. eBay was cool, surprising, and interesting. Leno and Letterman mentioned zany stuff found on eBay.

I remember after work one day commenting on how eBay was moving toward the large sellers. I was disturbed at how the goods on eBay were the same as those found in every big box store in America. They weren't unique, and they weren't interesting. But lots of listings brought lots of revenue, so eBay pushed hard to get sellers to add more stuff.

The result was, the collectors, and treasure hunters were being left behind. I predicted nearly eight years ago that it would kill eBay, and it's slowly happening.

That was also about the time eBay introduced Buy It Now, allowing buyers to buy items instantly. It became necessary in part, because eBay had begun leaning toward the "practicals," everyday items like toasters and shoes. People didn't want to get involved in an auction for those items, so eBay let them buy right away.

Eventually, eBay Stores came along. This allowed even more merchandise on the site that was not hard to find, or interesting. eBay constantly encouraged sellers to make a home at eBay. They tried to teach them how to start a business on eBay. They built seller tools to help people list more and more.

eBay also tried hard to please buyers - often at the expense of the sellers. It's been very difficult to strike a balance between buyers and sellers. eBay has tried to please both, and the result is they are failing to please either.

As former eBay exec, Bill Cobb pointed out - shortly before he announced his departure - auctions are part of eBay's DNA. Another part of their DNA is unique, interesting items that are not easy to find at Wal-Mart. In their efforts to please everybody that came along, and in their efforts to please themselves with more profits, eBay corporate has failed. They're ruining a very cool brand. They should have spun the "practicals" off to their own site and kept the real eBay. But I'm afraid it might be too late for that.

When I buy an item online - particularly on eBay, there is always a tiny little bit of doubt in the back of my mind. I wonder who I'm dealing with on the other end of the deal. I always expect to get my item, but it's often not quite as I had expected. Why would I put up with that nagging little doubt if I didn't have to? Only if I couldn't get the item anywhere else. That's why eBay worked. The interesting items were enough to get people over the discomfort. Now though, eBay is playing ball on the turf of every other marketplace on the web, Amazon being the largest. When it comes to buying toasters online - I will go straight to WalMart.com to buy.

Popularity: 15% [?]

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East Bound and Down - 30 Years Later

by Steve on May 19, 2009 · 0 comments

Smokey and the Bandit Movie Poster

When I was a kid, growing up in Michigan, it was a real treat to get Coor's beer. Younger people snicker when I say that now, but it was near impossible to get Coor's east of the Mississippi River. If you don't believe me - just watch Smokey and the Bandit.

May 19, 1977 - Smokey and the Bandit opened in theaters across the country. Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason, and a brand new black and gold 1977 Pontiac Trans Am starred. The movie is funny.

Basically the plot goes like this: Bo Darville, aka Bandit (Reynolds) and Cledus (Reed) are two truck-driving southerners who accept a dare from big-shots Big and Little Enos to pick up a truckload of Coor's beer from Texas and return it to them in Georgia within a specified amount of time. They get the beer and they're on their way. But as they are leaving Texas, Bandit unwittingly picks up Carrie (Field), a hitchhiking bride-to-be who just left her groom, Junior, at the altar. Junior, however, is the son of Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Gleason). And when Buford and Junior discover what has happened, they go on a "high-speed pursuit" across the Southeast to catch the bandit.

The Real "Star" of the Show

After Smokey and the Bandit came out, black Trans Am's were simply known as the "Smokey and the Bandit" car. People who just had a regular Pontiac Firebird would order the Trans Am decals for their car, just to be cooler. In the movie, three modified 1977 Pontiac Trans Ams were built to handle all the heavy stuntwork. They were all damaged performing the stunts. The actual car used to jump over the bridge towards the middle of the movie was reportedly totaled doing the stunt. (The bridge itself, though no longer used for traffic, was still intact prior to filming. The middle section was demolished by the film-makers for the stunt.) There is at least one movie Trans Am (autographed by Burt Reynolds) still in existence.

When CB Radios Were Cool...

No one seems to point out the fact that the movie's title is comprised of CB radio terms. "The Bandit" and "Snowman" were Burt and Jerry's character's "handle" on the CB radio in the movie. And in case you don't remember the 70's - police were referred to as "Smokies" which explains the title Smokey and the Bandit.

Instead of showing lots of pictures of the human cast of the movie - let's take a look at what's available for the four-wheeled star of the film:

Pontiac Trans Am 1977 PONTIAC TRANS AM TIME BANDIT MUST SEE VIDEO
Pontiac Trans Am 1977 Pontiac Trans Am Time Bandit Must See Video
US $30,100.00
Pontiac Trans Am HURST T TOPS 38K ORIGINAL 77 BLK BLK HURST T TOPS 400 PONTIAC36PICS
Pontiac Trans Am Hurst T Tops 38k Original 77 Blk Blk Hurst T Tops 400 Pontiac36pics
US $18,877.00
Pontiac Trans Am se y81 1977 Trans Am SE Y81 4 spd allmatchphsdocbuild sheet
Pontiac Trans Am Se Y81 1977 Trans Am Se Y81 4 Spd Allmatchphsdocbuild Sheet
US $10,200.00
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Popularity: 14% [?]

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Where were you when Seinfeld ended?

May 14, 2009

May 14 - On this date in 1998, the last episode of Seinfeld aired to an estimated 76 million viewers. It was the third most viewed season finale ever, coming in after M*A*S*H* and Cheers.

Jerry Seinfeld was reportedly offered $5 million per episode to keep the series alive, but declined. He wanted the show to [...]

Popularity: 16% [?]

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Star Trek: Enterprise - The Final Frontier

May 13, 2009
Thumbnail image for Star Trek: Enterprise - The Final Frontier

May 13 - On this date in 2005, the final original episode of Star Trek: Enterprise aired. It was originally entitled simply: Enterprise, and the name was later changed to Star Trek: Enterprise.
Ironically, today I went to see the new Star Trek movie with my son. Star Trek has such a long and interesting history. [...]

Popularity: 16% [?]

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