posted on February 4, 2006 04:34:17 PM new
Well, one of the biggest sellers, anyway.
As I recall, Glacier Bay DVD consistently placed in the top 3 in the eBay Nortica 500. (The Nortica site seems to be completely trashed at the moment.)
Now Glacier Bay is suspended, with more than 200 non-receipt complaints in the last 30 days, many of which say the disgruntled bidder filed a PayPal claim.
Here's what I find equally amusing and dispiriting:
Glacier Bay DVD was one of the poster children for BuySAFE, incessantly touted as THE company that's making eBay safer for buyers. Hollow laugh!
Some odd facts:
- Most recent Glacier Bay DVD auctions cannot be accessed. Instead you get a "Item Unavailable -- Seller Currently Away" message that asks you to try again later.
- No one answers the phone at Glacier Bay DVD.
- Glacier Bay DVD's web site is gone. Vanished.
More amusement:
How many BuySAFE claims do you think have actually been filed? BuySAFE claims they guarantee transactions up to $25,000. Do you think any of the defrauded buyers were able to get back to their item page (remember, eBay isn't showing most of them) to see the BuySAFE seal?
Last:
Why isn't the media all over this? This is a HUGE story.
posted on February 4, 2006 05:32:35 PM new
Fluffy,
buySafe sends each auction winner an email after the auction ends (apparently they are obligated to do so). The buyer doesn't need to see the auction to access the seal, as long as they didn't delete the email. If they contact buySafe, they can also be covered as long as they have the auction number.
I think it's premature to smear buySafe. If they don't make good on the auctions, that's the time, and it would be Liberty Mutual that you should be angry at in that case, as they're the ones who are supposed to pay out.
posted on February 4, 2006 05:50:59 PM new
Maybe they up and croaked so from 6 feet under they can't get to the local post office.
You know I often wonder what would happen to my ebay customers if something happened to me and could not finish things properly. I even thought about asking my Sister-in-law to finish them up for me so customers would not be disappointed. Like it would really matter in the end. But hey that is me always worried about the other guy.
**************
Can't touch this! uh huh, uh huh.
posted on February 4, 2006 05:59:04 PM new
According to various sources, there are two principals in Glacier Bay. I would name them here except that I do not want to run afoul of eBay's contact information rule (which is broader than most people think). Email me if you need to know.
We ran web searches on both partners. Neither person turned up linked to an accident or obituary.
posted on February 4, 2006 06:16:51 PM new
Fluffy,
The word "smear" was an unfortunate choice on my part.
I never said buySafe is beyond reproach; heck, I think that they charge too much, and their system is clunky for selecting which auctions you want to have bonded, and which not (my preference is to bond all, other than automobiles and pick-up items).
I have just had some auctions that I truly believe did better because of my use of buySafe. In a better world, my feedback alone would convince people that their money is safe with me (Glacier Bay's feedback wasn't that great even before the past 200 negatives, although I think DVD buyers are probably quick on the negative trigger). In the meantime, I think the 1% FVF I pay comes back to me with interest. When I decide that isn't the case, I'll drop them in a heartbeat.
And you're correct, I wasn't on the auction boards three years ago, so I didn't know their history of spamming.
posted on February 4, 2006 06:28:20 PM new
Irked: You wonder what would happen to your customers if something happened to you (before shipping). I'm smiling: My husband's biggest waking nightmare is what to do with my eBay stuff--and current sales--if I suddenly croaked. I told him to call in some dealers we know, sell to them, and then have a giant garage sale.
______________________________
posted on February 4, 2006 06:44:59 PM new
Claude: I think we see pretty much eye to eye.
All other issues aside, though, it does make you wonder just what happened to Glacier Bay. Okay, so why do most businesses fail? They're losing money. It's unsustainable. We know for sure that Glacier Bay had to raise their S/H for eBay, though we don't know when they did it.
My auction workcenter -- two laptops and a ton of jewelry filed by auction number in shoeboxes -- is 24 inches away from my stacks of DVDs. I have purchased exactly one DVD in the last year ("Love Actually" if anyone cares and I doubt they do). Why?
Netflix.
I can get almost any DVD I want in two days. I have 3 romantic comedies and a documentary on John Steinbeck sitting here right now waiting to be seen.
I would not have been a Glacier Bay customer.
Anyone else still buying DVDs? It looks like they did have significant international business.
I bought a DVD 2 weeks ago and still haven't received it - just checked and the seller isn't Glacier Bay. Is drop shipping common in the DVD biz? I haven't gotten status information from the seller either.
-------------------------------------
posted on February 4, 2006 08:53:57 PM new
I wonder how Glacier Bay got that "away" message when trying to view items sold through the FB! This seller was MURDERED in Mass. and she doesn't get an "away" message
posted on February 4, 2006 08:59:03 PM new
For nearly 14 years, my retail store sold videos and later on, DVDs. We stopped carrying them when the profit margin vanished. I had essentially FREE access to any movie I wanted, over ten thousand in stock in one point.
------- Three years passed -----
Let's see, as I look at my current personal collections, I see 12 DVDs and 2 videotapes. They don't even take up a full shelf. I have the major classics that can be watched over and over; the Godfather, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Cosmos, Dune and a couple of horror films from the dollar store.
Netflix is amazing, and Bittorrent ain't bad either. I cannot think of a single movie that I want to own that I don't have right here.
Video is dead.
Dr. Arcane, revelator of mystical secrets http://www.drarcane.com
Got questions about the secrets of the universe?
posted on February 4, 2006 09:54:04 PM new
For videos and dvds, there definitely is no margin for new items, the problem is that after a few weeks, the $20 titles are available for $5 to purchase at Blockbuster. The new stuff is never going to be worth anything. The real value is finding the older rare titles that can go for some big bucks. In the 80's, people didn't buy videos, they rented them. That is because they sold for $90 or $120 each. As with anything, it comes down to what you can buy things for. As far as videos go, short term things will be ok for VHS, but as soon as they stop making vcr's, then they are pretty much history. DVD's won't ever really be worth anything to deal in used in quantity, unless you can pick them up dirt cheap (and I mean dirt cheap)
posted on February 4, 2006 10:15:22 PM new
hmmm? The Seller is currently away? I wonder if this was the reason for the 'relaxed' (as I read it) suspensions posted on another thread. Perhaps eBay will reinstate them if they take a 15 minute tutorial.
[ edited by pixiamom on Feb 4, 2006 10:16 PM ]
posted on February 4, 2006 10:28:16 PM new
ebayvet, I respectively take exception to 'no margin for new items'. The $5 bin at my Blockbuster (actually, I think it is a bit higher) is not sorted and I never find the movie I really want. A much surer bet is searching on eBay and hoping I don't get gouged too much on the shipping charges. But then, I can't claim to be the average shopper..
[ edited by pixiamom on Feb 4, 2006 10:37 PM ]
posted on February 4, 2006 11:44:17 PM new
Oh, I'm not talking about for buyers but for sellers. It's a difficult market when items sell for below your wholesale price in a really short amount of time.
As a buyer, ebay is a pretty good place - Some good deals actually, just have to watch the shipping charges.
posted on February 5, 2006 12:34:09 AM newhmmm? The Seller is currently away? I wonder if this was the reason for the 'relaxed' (as I read it) suspensions posted on another thread. Perhaps eBay will reinstate them if they take a 15 minute tutorial.
I think they might possibly be away on a 5- to 8-year Federally sponsored sabbatical. They might get time off, sorry they might graduate in less time with good behaviour, sorry good grades... yeah right!
Drop shipping is standard in the DVD supply business. Trouble is, you have to pay up front for stock (no 30 days net), so when your drop shipper goes belly up, you're left holding the can. Happened last year with a Canadian retailer DVDSoon. Sad case - customers lost a bundle of $$$ while the owner declared bankruptcy and sold DVDSoon (minus it's debts). Still trading as far as I know but has been blacklisted by most DVD buyers.
posted on February 5, 2006 03:05:14 AM new
It is the biggest story in the news if you are here in Massachusetts - and I think already discussed elsewhere here - you can just Google for Entwistle murder. Short version, Mother and young child murdered, hubby left for UK and isn't very anxious to return. Apparently their income was derived from various internet scams (including eBay).
posted on February 5, 2006 03:12:37 AM new
Yes, had heard about the Mom/child death. Had missed the ebay connection. Such a terrible story!
I can't believe the UK will allow the father to stay there long. If he does not leave England, I'm willing to bet the UK will allow extradition, but that is probably a thread for the RT.
posted on February 5, 2006 04:58:38 AM new
As I look at my DVDs, I see around 300 of them, but very few of them purchased within the past three years (and 2 of those were gifts to me).
First I used Netflix.
More recently, when High Definition DVRs became available and relatively capacious, I started recording reasonably current films to watch (from HBO, Starz, etc.) in high definition. Before I started with eBay, back in the days of disposable income, I treated myself to a home theater with a nice front projector and 110" screen (that's 8' x 4.5'). DVDs look good on that screen, but HD looks materially better.
Some people like to watch extras on DVDs, I don't, I seldom watch films more than once (Run Lola Run & Memento being two exceptions) and I HATE those menus that take 20 seconds to resolve to the point where you can make a selection. Even my kids are finally past the point where they'll watch a movie over and over.
Maybe HD DVDs will re-spark my interest in purchasing, but I'll believe it when I see it.
I can't imagine that I'm alone in this, so it's no surprise that DVD sales are off.
posted on February 5, 2006 05:03:03 AM new
I went to the PESA board (I joined to see if I could - and I could) to see if I could find anything about Glacier Bay - there were a couple of interesting discussions there.
One thread (and not in the context of Glacier Bay) cited the practice of VOLUNTARILY becoming NARU to preserve the feedback. With the advent of ebay express this spring (and the FB requirement) could this be a motive?
GB's problems may be related to catalogue selling. Seems that is common in the DVD biz..
EDITED: I guess I'd better paraphrase and not quote PESA board
***"the catalogue distributor might have several sellers selling a limited quantity of stock on several venues. If suddenly the product becomes high demand (maybe Oprah mentions it etc) then the distributor could not fill the orders and the sellers look bad
****Four sellers from the top 20 feedacl list have gone NARU in last six months(glacierbay, onando, buyessex, and abebooks).
****after multiple and inactive accounts are removed from the list, the top 12 look like this:
1 everydaysource, accstation, itrimming, eforcity - USA
2 jayandmarie - USA
3 mancon2 - GERMANY
4 moviemarz - USA
5 justdeals.com - USA
6 mr.mobile, fitformobile-de, w.o.m. - GERMANY
7 skshop - GERMANY
8 grapevinehill - USA
9 www.memoryworld.de - GERMANY
10 casacaiman - USA
11 daniks-world, weisse-villa, digital-media-world - GERMANY
12 foto-walser - GERMANY
posted on February 5, 2006 05:07:06 AM new
ltray - I am sorry about how callous I sounded when talking about the Entwhistle story - I would think ebay perhaps could make their FB disappear too since it's no longer an issue.
-------------------------------------
posted on February 5, 2006 07:13:08 AM new
I don't think a few brief excerpts are a problem at all, but the PESA folks can get a bit testy about their board discussions being posted elsewhere.
I guess that's reasonable since you have to qualify to participate.
But I'm intrigued that you got in, Neglus. Good for you.
posted on February 5, 2006 07:15:04 AM newOne thread (and not in the context of Glacier Bay) cited the practice of VOLUNTARILY becoming NARU to preserve the feedback.
Or voluntarily becoming NARU during a hiatus to keep your account from being hijacked. That occurred to me.
posted on February 5, 2006 07:43:32 AM new
Thanks for the heads up about direct quotes from PESA - I didn't know it was a "no-no". Actually I joined quite awhile ago but rarely go there unless I want to see what they have to say about a specific concern.
The membership criteria is not as stringent as it used to be:
Seller Membership Guidelines
Membership as a Seller is open to anyone who maintains eBay seller accounts in good standing who also meet any TWO of the following criteria:
1) $25,000 per month in Gross Merchandise Value.
2) $1,500 per month in eBay fees (including both Listing and Final Value Fees).
3) 500 positive feedbacks in the 30 days prior to Membership Committee review.
4) 500 active eBay listings in the 30 days prior to Membership Committee review.
I don't know how they would know items 1 & 2 - pretty sure ebay isn't going to tell them the amount of your ebay bill (but maybe?) I would guess that 3&4 are the only verifiable criteria.
-------------------------------------
