Posted by jim on October 26, 2009 under Consumer Experience, eCommerce | 
There is nothing worse in my business than a manufacturer refusing to sell to me. I remember last year – begging – yes actually begging – Step2 to sell to us. Mind you, I am not talking about extending us credit. These are prepaid orders. Step2 informed me that they were not adding anymore “e-tailers” so they wouldn’t let me buy….
Well, after I explained to them that we “e-tailers” HATE the term “e-tailer”, I finally got them to make an exception and sell me product. Can you believe it?
Once again, we are in the same situation, besides this time there is no one available to beg. We have been purchasing Bakugan (a Spin Masters product) from a distributor in NYC for 1-2 years now. This year Spin Masters has come out with a pretty sweet new product called Liv Dolls. So, I contacted our supplier, told him to get me some product when he places his next order from the manufacturer. And, nope, they won’t sell it to him.
That doesn’t stop me. I call the manufacturer and, nope, they won’t sell to me either. Only available in “mass” this year. That’s ‘toy’ for ‘we don’t need your little insignificant store’. They tell me I can buy them from Wal Mart.
In any event, be careful this Christmas. If Big Box stores continue to dominate the toy market…. If they kill the category – it is only a matter of time before they select for you what toys you can buy. If the independents like us go away, there will be no more balance. Just check out this article in Time.
Posted by jim on February 26, 2009 under Consumer Experience, Economics, eCommerce |
Two weeks ago, Toys ‘R’ Us announced that it had acquired eToys.com (as well as BabyUniverse.com and ePregnancy.com). While Toys ‘R’ Us claims that eToys.com will continue to operate as a seperate entity from toysrus.com, this acquisition is another blow to the consumer. As smaller and mid sized toy retailers go bankrupt or get purchased, the consumer will see less and less choices. With fewer companies in control of toy retail, there is less opportunity for product variety, new manufacturers, innovation, etc. And, again, the consumer suffers.
It seems like the current situation with the American economy, coupled with the significant boost in regulations relative to the toy industry, is already resulting in, not the survival of the fittest, but the survival of the biggest. Unfortunately, small toy manufacturers and smaller independent toy retailers may be the ones who end up suffering the most. Hopefully, that is not the case in the long run. Because if it is, the end game is one or two corporations (like Wal-Mart – hint, hint) in complete control of the industry. When that happens, and it is a lot closer than you think, quality goes down, consumer choice goes down, and prices go up.
Posted by jim on December 8, 2008 under eCommerce |
There certainly is a lot more to being an E-tailer these days than selling products on your web site. And I am not alluding to adwords or affiliate programs or price comparison sites or anything of the sort. I’m talking about Amazon.
Amazon owns and buys so much of the online retail traffic these days that you can’t really have an e-commerce site without also selling your products on Amazon.com. Even Target has an Amazon.com store. If you google “Gile Toys”, an Amazon listing comes up in the top six results and you will see the adwords “Gile Toys at Amazon”.
Let’s face it. Amazon allows you to use their brand to move your products. How can any of us say no? But my point here is not to discuss the pros and cons of Amazon – or even give an inside look on the entire process. I don’t even want to discuss their buyer feedback process and system.
I simply want to share some of the feedback we have received lately on Amazon.com. Not the ones that say we are really great, just the ones that make me smile.
How about this one?
“Subliminal experience. The whole family experienced a life change. I only can kneel in the lotus and pray for future business exchanges. I bid you peace.”
[insert joke here]
Or this?
“Extremely fast shipping and I know my nephew is going to go nuts over these. The only downside is that the box that it arrived in shows pictures of exactly what the item is–we’re lucky that the person it is for wasn’t at the house or he would have known what his Christmas present was. I prefer my packages to look anonymous (typical brown box, please) so I can keep holiday surprises a secret!”
Granted, we are sensitive to this – especially as a toy vendor at Christmas time, but you have to see the size of this product. To put this box, which is actually full of individual little boxes by the way, inside another bigger box, is a bit impractical to say the least. Can you say TMI?
Not sure why I think this is funny:
“I ordered these monkeys & they were delivered very quick & exactly what I ordered. I’m always leary about ordering online for the fact of not knowing what I’ll end up with, but was definately pleased!”
I guess anything with the word “monkeys” in it makes me laugh.
And, finally for the minimalist in all of us, how about these three:
“A”
“.”
“X”
Now that’s what I’m talking about! For more, go to Amazon.com.
Posted by jim on October 14, 2008 under eCommerce |
Our new web site is just a few days away from launch – cutting it a little close for the Christmas rush. But, as my father always says, “That’s small business.” We chose an open source product this time around called Magento. 
Currently, our site is on an X-Cart platform. I guess I would describe X-Cart as a good A to B product for us. It gave us something that looked pretty good and functioned pretty well. When we started the toy business a couple of years ago, it was a nice fit. I think words like “pretty” and “nice” describe our experience fairly well. It was a big step up from the previous shopping cart solution we were using before, Miva Merchant. Although, in their individual defenses, I think X-Cart and Miva have improved beyond what we ever utilized them for.
In any event, the open source model was a much better fit for us this time around. We needed a platform that was flexible enough for us to change the entire giletoys.com shopping experience. As we set our sights on much more than a “shopping cart”, completely adapting our focus from checkout to engagement and participation – we hope that Magento will be the tool to utilize.
