iMark Interactive

Here is the video from CNBC with the interview of Ebay’s CEO John Donahue.  He is talking about this year’s online shopping season and what to expect.  Good interview.

UPDATE:

The video doesn’t seem to be working so here is the link:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1346214857&play=1

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• Black Friday Deals – Are they really that good?

As Black Friday approaches, many people are getting excited about the awesome deals that retailers are putting out and leaking around the internet.  These deals may seem really good, but make sure to read the fine print because it can spoil your day easily.

Most retailers offer the best deals around Black Friday, but their quantities are limited, very limited.  Most circulars and ads say something like “Minimum 5 per store” or “Ticket required for purchase”.  You might want to ask yourself why a large retail store would put a very limited amount in stores since they are serving millions of people.  Well, this has been going on for a long time and it doesn’t look like it will stop.  Most people will have to be first in lines in order to receive these great deals.

There is also a practice out there where retailers will be selling a “hot” seller, but in actuality, they are selling a stripped down version of the product that is only created for these “deals”.  An example is some of the sony and samsung televisions that have a better contrast ratio in the regular version has less in the “door buster” model.  Most of you will not notice a difference, but check out the model numbers that the retailer gives you compared to the regular version.  You might see a difference in letters at the end or numbers.  This happens often, so make sure that you are getting the real model and not the stripped down “door buster” that doesn’t have all the regular features.

Most companies that sell online as well do not show which items are on their black friday circular and do not honor the best prices while online because they cannot control the inventory online as well, so make sure you are getting what you asked for at the price that it was advertised.  It is common for a lot of online shoppers to non receive the items on time or at all because of inventory discrepancies or misinformation.  You need to keep track of your purchase to  make sure you receive it, but you still can get the dreaded out of stock email that a lot of shoppers will get this weekend.

So all-in-all, make sure that you are getting what you paid for and do not get yourself in a situation where you can get injured trying to shop for deals that will most likely not be around for long or you have to have special tickets in order to purchase.  To get tickets for a lot of these items requires you to be in line at 4am in the morning and that doesn’t guarantee you the ability to purchase the item unless you get the ticket.  We say, save yourself the time and spend it with your family because most people on Black Friday actually do not score any deals, but just a great deal of headaches.  Happy Holiday Shopping!

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• Insight into this year’s shopping season with Ebay