photo credit: powerbooktrance

It must be all those trees we have. They’re so full of customers that businesses just don’t need any more.

As you know, I strongly encourage folks to buy local.

The flip side of that is that locals have to EARN the business. Not just because you’re here, but because you kick butt at what you do.

Jeepers

I called a couple of stores about getting a sound bar for my son’s Jeep as a gift to acknowledge a major accomplishment he recently completed.

One said: “We don’t have them but we have the speakers for them.”

The Department of Obviousness requires that I inform you that the holes in these sound bars are designed to fit common speaker sizes so that retailers don’t have to stock custom speakers.

After checking the store, another said: “I don’t think we can get anything like that.”

No one said “We don’t carry that, but I can get it here tomorrow and install it for you. When would you like to bring the Jeep in?”

The last answer is what keeps people from buying car audio gear on the internet.

The point

While I’m only talking about a $200 purchase plus installation, the big picture was missed.

The size of this purchase isn’t the point.

What you *must* get across to your staff (no matter what you do) is that the real long-term reason to make a sale is to *get a new customer*. 
After that, it’s their challenge to keep us as customers.

I suspect car audio industry research tallies the average annual spending of customers. If that figure is only $100, at one new customer per week, you’d add an average of $5200 to your gross sales per year.

Your market is no different.

Has dealing with your store become so unremarkable that customers would rather pay for shipping and wait a few days?

Walking to Missoula

I was in a cloth store recently, buying some material so a local business owner could make some custom neckerchiefs for my Scouts.

They had less material than I needed. They offered to order more, advising me that it could take 3 to 6 weeks.

They didn’t mention their corporate-run online store. I checked it myself, finding an in-stock quantity of only three yards. That wasn’t how much the local store had, it indicated (incorrectly, I suspect) the corporate’s in-stock quantity.

Meanwhile, the Missoula store had plenty. I know this because the local store is advanced enough to be able to check this from their handheld terminals (nice!). When I asked them about getting it from Missoula, they said it would take “about 3 weeks”.

I can *walk* to and from Missoula in three weeks.

Trucking in the wrong direction

Recently I was outside of Missoula at a truck stop and bought a small toolkit for a task that had me sidelined on the road. As the cashier finished ringing it up, I realized I’d bought the wrong thing. Yes, my fault.

While standing at the counter, before the salesperson walked away, before picking the item up from the counter, while putting my wallet back in my pocket, I asked to return it, unopened.

Without a second’s delay, they said “We have a strict corporate return policy. No returns.” 
Even if the unopened item has never left the store, much less the cash register.

It’s early on Saturday evening and there is no weekend on-premises manager. She won’t be back until Monday and no one else is allowed to take responsibility.

Stunningly “customer-friendly”.

Earl Nightingale once said something like “To be successful, observe what the majority in your market are doing, then do the opposite”.

These are good examples of his advice.

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photo credit: wildxplorer

Yesterday we talked about a retail experience that could have been better – mostly by doing something to encourage a customer to call you next time.

Did you notice the cost of yesterday’s suggestion? ZERO.

Today, we’ll talk about an experience related to yesterday’s story: Stock levels.

When you go to the websites of most retail stores these days, you can see stock level information. In some cases, you’ll see it for each store location.

In most of the big chain stores, this information is as close to real time as you can expect – in other words, if you check the website from your car and it says that 52″ Sony you have your eye on is the last one in stock, the chances that it’s still in the store are very good.

It might be in someone’s cart, but it should still be in the store.

In stock…maybe

When you start working with local and regional retailers, the information quality tends to go downhill a bit.

What I see is a combination of these things:

• “Call for stock info” (or a similar message)
• “Item in stock”
• “23 in stock”

The unfortunate reality of this is that none of this info is accurate.

If you’re going to have this stuff on your site – make it accurate, even if it has to say “Item in stock as of month, day, year” or “stock status updated every Friday”.

The alternative is having in-stock inventory info on your site, which your customer believes. In some cases, they make plans based on that info.

And then they find out that the info really means across your entire retail system as of a week ago, not of their local store. And even that might not be accurate.

If you don’t have the systems in place to keep this info accurate, ask them to contact you instead of relaying poor quality (inaccurate, outdated) information.

If you can get the info on your site up to date (and many of you probably can), then make it accurate to within an hour, or 5 minutes or real time – but state the accuracy for your customer’s convenience.

Remember, if people can’t trust your site…they’ll stop coming to it.

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photo credit: Robert S. Donovan

Ever hear the term BSOD?

It’s an acronym for “Blue Screen of Death”, which is what you get when Windows barfs all over itself.

In my experience, you get that rare (for me) “I’m a PC” explosion when hardware is failing (and sometimes when you seriously, royally messed up).

Last week after a litany of BSODs on a 30 month old laptop (6 months longer than the typical lifespan in my use – thanks HP), I decided I needed to deal with this issue sooner rather than later.

Because I like The 3/50 Project, I called a local authorized retailer of the brand of laptop I had my eye on. I asked if they had any one of the standard models (a very common one) in stock.

“No, but we can order it for you.”

I replied “Sorry, I was looking to buy from a local company.”

Remembering why you have a storefront

You have a retail storefront. You’ve paid the manufacturer to become an authorized retailer (and continue to pay for co-op advertising, ongoing training, and so on). Yet…you don’t stock the product and you suggest that the service you can provide after all that investment in time and money will be to order one for me?

I can find Amazon.com (or whatever) on my own, thanks.

Retailers have complained incessantly about unfair competition from e-commerce stores, but not enough have done something about it. Many retail store failures have been blamed on online buying, while few get blamed on the owner / management / employees.

E-commerce succeeds because goods and services can be shopped for 24 hours a day, from any location,  in “any” store from anywhere.

Why do some retailers still try to make shopping right here in town *harder* than shopping online? I just don’t get it.

Instant gratification goes both ways

People say e-commerce is all about instant gratification. That people can buy online and immediately feel the rush of a successful purchase.

Horse hockey. Instant gratification (or close enough) happens when I can drive 18 minutes, walk into the store, plop down my Bert and Ernie-branded Mastercard and walk out with a product under my arm after being helped by a salesperson or clerk who acts like it matters that I walked into their store.

Ecommerce makes me wait at least until tomorrow. Where’s the instant gratification in that?

Retail stores often fail because they don’t exist to serve the customer, or they don’t recognize that the reason for getting a sale is to get a new customer.

This local store lost a $2000 sale in a two minute phone call – and may also have lost a long-term customer, which is even worse from my perspective.

I called a Montana-based chain store who deals in the same product and they had them in stock. But they’re “just” a retailer. They don’t do consulting or offer anything of that nature like the other business does – so it doesn’t matter all that much to them whether I’m a long-time customer or not, at least from the perspective of that purchase.

What should have happened?

What should the first guy should have done when I told him I wanted to make a local purchase? He should referred me to the other local dealer and offered to help if I needed it (since it’s obvious to *anyone* that the other store doesn’t do that sort of thing).

You want more customers. Do what’s in *their* best interest and it’ll come back to you. Remember, I came to you to ask for help. Instead of solving my problem, you offered to do what I can do from my La-Z-Boy.

Call it karma if you wish. Call it good business. Regardless, think of what the customer is trying to accomplish and help them do so. Next time, they might think of you again – and you might actually have the item they need in stock.

Tomorrow, we’ll address that stock issue.

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photo credit: Blyzz

A number of vendors that I used to do business with waste my time and theirs with their lame, cookie cutter attempts to get me to renew a subscription, update my software or renew some other sort of thing I use to have.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the fact that they made the effort, but the effort made is usually so weak that it makes whatever is left of the relationship even weaker.

Sometimes I’m not interested anymore and I unsubscribe. Other times I just hit delete because for whatever reason, I’m just not ready to unsubscribe. I may be planning to buy sometime in the future, but not just yet…

One of the vendors who emails me like clockwork does so once a month to remind me that my subscription to their data, software and newsletter has lapsed. Sure, those emails are automated, but I don’t mind because 1) I’ve done business with them and 2) they don’t nag the crap out of me. I can depend on a single monthly email.

Keep in mind that these emails don’t LOOK automated, but I know they are. They look and are written like someone actually cared about what the email says – and that makes all the difference.

A Surprise

But today was different. Better.

I received this email from SearchEngineNews.com:

Hi Mark,

It can sometimes be challenging to find a graceful way to give a gift. These days many people are suspicious or cynical. They’ve been jaded by so many nefarious schemes with hidden agendas. But in spite of all that, I am going to try to give you something anyway …something that is truly valuable and doesn’t have any strings attached.

Here goes.

You, as a past subscriber of Planet Ocean’s SearchEngineNews.com, raised your hand as someone with interest in ranking at the top of the Search Engines. I can only guess that you may still be interested. And assuming that you are, I am giving you a full and free membership to SearchEngineNews.com for the rest of the year — complete access through December 31st, 2009.

This gift is without strings or restrictions. It is simply a gift. You may download the most recent UnFair Advantage Book, gain access to all of the SearchEngineNews.com articles and expert reports, peruse the archives, use each and every one of the resources and test your site against your competitor’s by running it through our amazing tool, the Site Strength Indicator.

Now I hear you asking “why.”

We’ll it isn’t because we are desperate for members. On the contrary, ever since 1996, Planet Ocean has had a better year than the previous one — And this year is no exception. Our membership revenues have never been higher. 2009 has blessed us with our best year…in spite of all the so-called economic doom and gloom in the news lately.

I’m not bragging–exactly the opposite. I am humbled by our success and proud of our Planet Ocean people who have worked together to succeed in the face of challenge and adversity.

But most of all, I am thankful for having had you as a subscriber. And, this is a chance for me to give *you* something that is affordable for us and *could easily be more valuable than money* to you during what many are predicting to be a continuation of the challenges being faced all over the economic landscape.

Personally, I feel energized by the opportunities upon us. My 57 years of life experience have taught me that, in good times, anybody can succeed. But when the industry turns challenging, those of us with the best attitude, resources and information become the eagles who literally soar above the turmoil.

Hopefully you are already soaring like an eagle. And if not yet, then please allow me to put a little wind under your wings by gifting you with our researched information for ranking your business at the top. No strings attached, here is your login information for the October 09 issue of SearchEngineNews.com.

(login and link left out)

Again – Thank you,

Stephen Mahaney – CEO/Founder
Planet Ocean
75-1027 Henry St. 111A #301 · Kailua-Kona HI 96740-3154
800-334-5662, 808-329-5700

Yeah, it’s kinda long (and it was formatted narrower since it was an email – just in case you were wondering), but it is a really smart email. Why?

First – His product doesn’t have an incremental cost, so it doesn’t matter if he gives it away to the *right people*. Giving it away to just anyone would be a waste of time and server resources. Giving it away for a short time to lapsed customers who already are familiar with the product and saw enough value to subscribe in the past is absolutely the right thing to do. No selling needed. Just lay the fly on the water, right out there in front of his nose and let Mr. Rainbow take a look at it. If there’s no trout there, what’s the point?

Second – He isn’t getting my subscription $ right now anyhow, so (thanks to the lack of incremental cost) he isn’t losing anything by giving me 70 days of his product. That presumably will give me a chance to check it out again and remember how much I got out of it before my subscription lapsed, was forgotten or whatever the situation was.

Third – Rather than just saying “Hey, we want you back cuz we *really* miss your money, here’s a bribe”, he provides the “Reason Why”. He tells a story about what provoked him to do this, weaves in the state of the economy, and it all makes sense.

Your turn

What are you doing to get your lapsed customers back into the fold?

If you’re a retailer, did you lose them after a return? I know darned well you have the point of sale data there to figure that out. Get it out and crunch it. Find out which customers haven’t been back since they asked for a refund, exchange, return or what not. Did they fail to return intentionally because their last experience was about as pleasant as a spoonful of cold bacon grease?

If you run a restaurant, did you lose them after a party booking? Or a regular visit? Your loyalty program data should be able to tell you when they last visited and your point of sale data will tell you what they last bought. Don’t have a loyalty program? All your point of sale data is on little order pads? Do I really have to go there?

If you sell a service, you should be able to figure out from your point of sale data what they last had serviced (or what service they bought). Same question re: loyalty program and point of sale data.

No matter what you do, you should be able to identify the lapsed customers.

With that in hand, how will you get their attention and show them the value they’re missing out on?

Either Stephen figured it out, or had someone help him do it. Doesn’t matter which way as long as it got done.

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photo credit: FreeWine

In four minutes. On a Sunday morning.

Something like that can be hard to find these days, but that’s exactly what Chris Matyszczy found when he contacted Amazon recently.

Sunday morning aside, is your staff providing 9am Monday morning service all week long?

Even at 4:45pm on a Friday?

Think about this – where will he buy his next book, or perhaps, the majority of books in the future?

Now you have a reason to provide service like this, if you didn’t already. If you need motivation for providing this kind of service (you shouldn’t, if you think about it): ask yourself this question…

Why should they buy from you instead of everyone else who sells what you do?

If you own the local bookstore in Chris’ town, what do you have to do to keep him from going to Amazon, Books a Million, Borders, Barnes and Noble, Powells and any of their online counterparts?

That’s a question on the minds of customers who haven’t been given a reason to want to spend their $ in only one place.

At least not yet.

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photo credit: seanmcgrath

Today’s guest post from Jeff over at BrickandClick.com has great timing, as I’ve discussed this very topic with two different clients in the last two days.

I love it when I can find someone else to do the nagging for me (as he laughs maniacally).

Seriously, Jeff’s talking about making sure that there’s an opportunity to tell your clients that they can connect with you via Twitter, Facebook etc by making it obvious to them that you even *exist* there to begin with.

Simple, obvious, yet easy to overlook. I just thought of one prominent place where I’m not doing exactly that.

See, it isn’t just you.

Go see Jeff’s take on the subject.

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photo credit: ssh

How do you allow your customers to show their appreciation for friends, clients, family members or someone in the community who did something helpful?

For example, there’s this cool retired lady in my town who runs the Chamber of Commerce. Everyone calls her “the Chamber Mom”. I think you can visualize the nurturing role she plays for our Chamber just from that description.

You could show appreciation for her hard work or (for someone like her) by giving her lunch for two at a local restaurant, or even coffee for 2 at a local coffee shop.

So…exactly how easy is it for your customers to do just that?

Do you have a lunch for two gift card ready to sell, with no frustrating wait for swiping the card, adding value to it and so on? IE: an impulse buy when someone is thinking of someone they’d like to show appreciation for.

You’ve seen these before. Big retail uses them. Even phone cards come in “sizes”.

And why exactly haven’t you taken the gift (ie: the idea) these businesses have given you and turned it into your own?

I don’t know either.

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photo credit: Silvio Tanaka

Today’s guest post comes from Joel Spolsky by way of Inc. Magazine.

Joel’s closing comment about the death of Circuit City:

For a business owner, there’s nothing more satisfying than watching honest dealers expand their operations while the schmucks, with their going-out-of-business markups, go down the drain.

Man, that’s just perfect. Let ‘em shrivel up and die, they definitely EARNED it.

Check out the rest of Joel’s post here.

I’ll admit it. I spent $20 at Circuit City about 15 years ago. But just once. Really.

My only excuse: I wouldn’t have to drive across town to Radio Shack (yes, I am ashamed).

Circuit City wasn’t even a fun place to browse if you’re a gear head (or a wannabe gear head). What’s THAT about?

As for B&H, it’s enough to say that all my camera gear comes from there. Ouch:)

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Download audio file (WarmChocolateChipCookies.mp3)

photo credit: scubadive67

Almost every day, I stumble upon someone looking for a way to differentiate their business from their competitors’.

Far too often, they try to compete almost solely on price.

Since I’ve beat the dont-compete-solely-on-price drum in the past (eg: all those WalMart posts), so today we’re going to take a different tack.

Is it the steak or the sizzle? Or maybe something else?

Ever been to Sizzler, Western Sizzlin’ or Ryan’s Steak House?

Likewise, have you been to Morton’s, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Charley’s, Shula’s or Chicago Chop House?

Which would you prefer if you had a coupon for a free meal, or if someone else was buying?

My money is on Charley’s (followed very closely by Ruth’s) – though I have to admit I haven’t made it to Shula’s as yet.

Why? Because everything about the place is simply amazing. The steak, the experience, the service, and so on.

One of the best moments I’ve had with my dad was after a photography trade show (yeah, back in the software company days), where we found ourselves sitting at the bar in Charley’s near the Tampa airport.

If you eat at the bar (almost no one seems to), you get to watch the chefs fire the steak – away from the quiet luxury of the dining room – and you still get incredible service, quite possibly more attentive than the service in the dining room if that’s possible.

What about retail?

Over the last several months, I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the CPSIA situation.

Despite widespread knowledge of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act by some store owners, I see very few of them using it as a competitive advantage.

Maybe they’ve been too busy spending time trying to get their Congressional reps/Senators to change the bill. OK, maybe that’s a reason, but it isn’t an excuse. You know the difference, right?

Here’s an example: If you have a newborn and you walk into an upscale handmade baby clothing store and see a sign that says “All of our fashions for babies are tested and certified safe according to the CPSIA”, isn’t it obvious that it plants a seed in the mind of the persnickety shopper?

IE: “Shouldn’t everyone’s stuff be tested and certified safe?” Hmmm. Remember, in a store like that – the persnickety shopper is absolutely the one you *want* in your store.

If you wanted to get really aggressive about it, add “…Do the other stores you frequent care as much about your baby’s safety as we do? Ask them about the CPSIA and their testing and safety certification of the fashions they offer for your child.”

Fresh from the oven

If you have a choice, do you want warm, soft chocolate chip cookies made from scratch that are fresh out of Grandma’s oven, or do you want generic store-brand “chocolate” chip cookies that you know might have been baked a month ago?

I’d bet that you’d prefer the warm cookies from Grandma’s oven.

What about your business, product and service can create a chasm that wide, making it *that* easy to make a decision between your product/service and theirs?

Make a point of focusing on it. Educate your clientele to call attention to it so that they expect exactly what you do/sell if they find themselves elsewhere. You want to be the standard that everyone else has to meet.

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photo credit: Claudia Snell

In a recent email, Apple Corp positions the iPod Touch as just the right personal, possibly romantic touch on Valentine’s Day. 

While they apparently never heard of “never buy a lady something that plugs in” as a holiday gift, they’re trying to span the chasm between romance and something that plugs into a computer. 

On the other hand, an iPod Touch that just happens to have your special someone’s favorite romantic music, videos and a movie or 2 on it…very easily fills the bill.

What are you doing to inject a little romance into your product line?

Is a clean car romantic?

Maybe not, but taking care of your spouse’s car by buying them something as seemingly boring as a car wash gift card is one way to take better care of them (work with me here, will ya?<g>).

If you run a retail store, restaurant, cafe or what not – how can what you do be positioned as a way to care for a spouse or special someone? 

You have 9 days.

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This morning I got a note from Keith Lee at American Retail Supply in Seattle regarding our contact page discussion about Scouting.org from earlier this week. He mentioned that his site’s contact page includes directions to his retail locations.

That’s a simple idea that can save you and your clients a lot of time.

Let me put the cherry on top: Add a Google map showing where your business is located. Give them a page that can be printed that includes both – without all the other baggage your site has.

If you have a calendar of events on your site, speaking engagements, or what not – add clickable iCal links for them.

Those links will allow your customers to click them and automatically add them to your phone’s calendar, your Outlook or whatever calendar tool you use.

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photo credit: Peter Van Lancker

Tonight I wrote a press release for use with my local media, so please feel free to use it as is or with your own contact/business information so that your local media can get a feel for the local impact of the CPSIA in your area.

You can get the CPSIA press release here (pdf).

Constructive criticism is welcome, as is posting your version as a comment.

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Download audio file (ThinkOutsideTheBoxStore.mp3)

photo credit: Derek Farr ( DetroitDerek )

Several of my friends are in the artist community, both here in Montana and elsewhere.

Many of them are photographers like you’d suspect, but some paint.

I don’t really look at myself as an artist even though I’ve been a photographer in one form or another since I was a kid.

Recently, one of them told me that she was able to rent mall space for her photography studio due to an innovative program in the St. Louis area.

The economy has put a lot of pressure on malls across the nation. Vacancies are way up, and the situation is no different at this mall.

One mall thought differently

The mall’s management could have sat back and whined about their situation. They could have let the mall traffic dwindle and left those spaces vacant. That might have impacted them legally, depending on their contracts with anchor stores.

But they didn’t. Instead, they came up with an innovative program that helps their cash flow, helps the local art community (and the small business owners – the artists) as well as keeping traffic up in the mall.

You can review a TV station news video about the project here.

Think outside the box store.

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Ian over at Aquinas and More Catholic Goods sent me some reaction he’s gotten from his wholesale sources regarding CPSIA.

As you might expect, they’re all over the board.

We have found that several of our vendors are in denial about the law and have flat out said they won’t get things tested because they already know that their components are safe. They have said they will send us a letter saying that everything is safe but aren’t actually going to get things tested.

Several have said that there is no way this can be enforced so they aren’t going to bother getting certified because everything is made here in the US.

Several others have said that testing will bankrupt them.

Retailers, what are you hearing from your wholesale vendors? Or have you bothered to ask?

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photo credit: carboila

The Wall Street Journal opinion page finally sounded off on the CPSIA yesterday. Pretty good discussion, though they didn’t really get into the ripple effect of the CPSIA. 

That’s the part that concerns me long-term.

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Learn more here: http://dappersnappers.blogspot.com/2009/01/plan-and-sale.html 

How many small businesses have to fail or see their revenue fall before it impacts your business? I’ve only listed 2 so far, but there are many more.

Pick up the phone and call your Senators, House rep and the CPSC.

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photo credit: hans s

This week, a series of #CPSIA posts about what to do next and how to get the word out to other manufacturers, retailers, the media in your area and perhaps most importantly – to your elected officials. If you want to forge ahead with your homemade products business despite CPSIA, then read on.

If you don’t have any direct reason to care about dealing with the CPSIA (you should have an indirect reason to care), don’t worry – there are other posts this week that will help you with your business. I haven’t forgotten about the rest of you, it’s simply that this CPSIA issue is very time-bound and it’s important to deal with a number of issues relating to it before Feb 10 arrives.

If you’ve given up, read on anyway. You might develop enough hope to get back in the game. 

Surviving the February 10th deadline

I’m assuming that you got this far because you haven’t given up and you’re wondering what to do in the next few weeks before the CPSIA kicks in.

Before Feb 10th gets here, you’ll need a few things in your quiver.

If you’re a retailer, you’ll need a CPSIA General Compliance Certificate (GCC) for every item (or every lot of items) that you sell. The manufacturer of the items should provide these, it is not your responsibility as a retailer to test and create the certificates (sort of).

Why “sort of”? Because it IS your responsibility after Feb 10 to sell only those things for which you have GCC coverage. A nice catch-22. If you buy items from the same lot, each item is covered by the GCC for that lot. Still, each lot must have a GCC.

Yes, you’re right – there is a significant paperwork tracking issue here: You get to keep track of a form for every lot of every item you sell or have sold. We’ll get to that later in the week.

As for the items that won’t comply as of Feb 10, big retail (Wal-Mart, etc) is handling this by demanding that manufacturers accept returns on unsold merchandise that doesn’t comply. You may not have that option with your suppliers, but it is worth checking into. 

CRITICAL: You should be sure that all future contracts to purchase from your distributors and wholesale suppliers include a clause that allows you to return the items at the manufacturer’s cost (and for a full refund) if they are not CPSIA compliant.

What if my manufacturers say that providing the GCC isn’t their responsibility? Or what if they say they haven’t tested. Obviously, your actions here will depend on how bad you want their merchandise, but the bottom line is that while they do have to provide you with a GCC, finger pointing will do you no good if a CPSC inspector walks in your door.

You either need to get the manufacturer’s GCC, have the items tested yourself, or simply don’t buy from that manufacturer. If you sell those items, you’ve got the ultimate responsibility to have a GCC for each item or lot of items. 

What about my existing inventory?

For retailers, the choices here are slim: Either discard the items, return them to the manufacturer (if you can) or have them tested.

You can’t legally sell them if you don’t have a GCC. It might be tempting to simply sell them and try to run the non-compliant items out of stock after Feb 10. I wouldn’t advise that. Fines are $100,000 for violating the CPSIA.

Sure, it’s a roll of the dice whether you see an inspector or not, but if you do see one, it’ll probably be when you least expect it. Most small retailers I work with are not in a position to handle a rand0m $100,000 fine. Even if you are, you probably have better things to do with that money:)

If you are a manufacturer, you must test items and provide GCCs to your retailers on a lot by lot basis. If possible, provide an online area of your website where retailers can look them up by SKU and by lot number. Easy for you, easy for them. By the way, if you import items from outside the U.S. – you’re the manufacturer, so don’t assume you can skirt the issue that way. 

As for those GCCs, I’d also consider including a copy in every shipment’s paperwork, since one must be provided for each lot. Be sure that lot numbers appear on invoices, bills of lading and packing slips.

If you have an online system to look up your GCCs, I’d suggest that you print the URL of the GCC for that lot on all that paperwork as well. It gives the retailer no excuses when it comes to recognizing that you’ve provided a GCC. In fact, doing this offers your clients some options that your competition may not offer.

Always look for an edge – and making CPSIA compliance easier for your retailers is certainly a plus at a time when they are all pretty worried about how they are going to deal with this unfunded mandate on their time and record keeping resources. 

If you are a manufacturer who sells retail (ie: most people who make things in their own home, shop etc), then you still need to have your items tested. There are some exceptions, but they are pretty slim pickings, like natural fabrics that haven’t been dyed, inked or coated with any other material. If you are unsure, I suggest talking with an attorney who is familiar with the CPSIA. 

So…whether you are a retailer, manufacturer or both, that’ll get you working till August.

What about August?

August is “tomorrow” in the real world. You know that you’ll blink and it’ll be here. 

So what do you do to get ready for August? Well, it really depends on your products.

XRF testing is – so far – off the table as of August, when your merchandise must be tested by a certified third party testing lab. Problem is, the CPSC doesn’t have to issue the rules for a post-August CPSIA world until May. Until then, choose your merchandise wisely. As the rules flesh out over the next few months, we’ll come back to this topics from a post-August retail worldview.

That means you have that 100% inventory turn challenge twice this year. Don’t wait till the last minute – and again, if you are a retailer, be sure your purchase agreements with suppliers are iron-clad. I’d suggest that you try to stock your store with merchandise that is already compliant with August’s rules if at all possible.

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photo credit: abstract splotcHes

One of these days, my granddaughter would love it if I bought her a little homemade bear like the one in the photo.

Trouble is that after February 9th 2008, it’ll be a violation of Federal law to sell it to me.

Doesn’t matter if it’s sold at a small retailer, a craft fair, a resale shop or in your expensive, high-end, fancy pants, mostly-imported toy store. Bottom line: If you sell or handcraft toys or clothing for kids, it’s entirely possible that you will be out of business as of February 10th 2009.

Read that again. It’s 56 days from today (Dec 15, 2008).

While it would be easy to dismiss this as me overdosing on too much caffeine, I’m sorry to say that isn’t the problem.

CPSIA – A Slam Dunk

Remember Christmas 2007?

Not only were retailers flush with good retail sales, but the news was full of recalls of defective toys from China and elsewhere – in some cases, toys made in the Chinese plants of American toy “manufacturers”. Lead was a prevalent issue.

These problems angered the nation at large and embarrassed Congress. In those circumstances, its just a matter of time before legislation results.

In this case, the result was the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). If you’re a craftsperson who makes toys and kids clothing or a retailer who sells these items, the CPSIA is your Patriot Act and you aren’t the good guy.

This law was so well-favored that when you combine the results of the House and Senate votes on the final legislation, it received only THREE “No” votes.

More presidential candidates MISSED the vote than did those who voted against it. 

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), passed on July 31 2008 and signed into law by President Bush on August 14 2008. The Act makes it illegal to manufacture or sell toys, clothing and other items for children that do not meet the act’s testing and labeling requirements. The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s budget has been increased by $620 million so they can enforce this law, whose details were largely left up to the commission.

All it would have taken to help small business owners exemption-wise was to include some common sense testing and labeling exemptions for all natural toys and clothing. That would have left a good piece of legislation in place, without threatening a ton of home-based businesses.

Unfortunately the CPSIA contains nothing like that. Work at home folks don’t have a big lobby in Washington. The handcrafted wooden toy crowd has only the newly founded Handmade Toy Alliance, which at last count had fewer than 100 members. As you might suspect, they aren’t a power player in Beltway circles.

The big boys like Mattel, Wal-Mart and Toys-R-Us are substantially impacted by CPSIA, but quite frankly – if they had been better corporate citizens from the outset, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

Mostly, this is great news for parents trying to find better products for their kids.

There’s always a “but”

Again, there is nothing in the Act that eliminates or alters the testing and labeling requirements for those that use 100% all natural materials during manufacturing. Perhaps that was considered a loophole that was just too big.

Is petroleum a natural substance? If so, then all plastics must be too, right? And why isn’t lead?

Before you go off the deep end about your cousin who chewed on too much lead paint when he was a kid, I have to say that in general, I am a fan of this legislation. It’s the only way to get large importers and offshore manufacturers to get their act together.

Obviously this law was sorely needed to deal with repeated instances of imported items containing lead, small parts on infant toys, much less the weaknesses in our existing regulations.

Objects in your mirror are larger than they appear

If you think a little harder, the target is much bigger than a bunch of craftspeople selling their wares on Etsy.com (link goes to their open letter to the CPSC re: CPSIA), eBay, craft fairs and small local retail shops.

Anyone who sells this stuff has a new cost of doing business to add to their expense list. Anyone who has these items in inventory has to get rid of that inventory by February 10, 2009 (some can wait till August), or pay to have it tested and labeled per CPSIA requirements.

While the large manufacturer suddenly has a substantial new COGS item, it’s the little guy is the one who is going to suffer the most because they simply can’t afford the testing that is required.

For example, there’s a retired lady here in the Flathead Valley who makes little wooden trains in her garage woodshop. She carefully scans paint manufacturer websites and questions their representatives by phone to be sure there’s no lead or other nasties in the paint she uses on her carefully made toys. Her business is history if the CPSIA stands as written.

I just don’t care…or do I?

You might be thinking that you really don’t care. Maybe you don’t have kids or you only buy toys and clothing from major American manufacturers (er, I mean importers). Or maybe you don’t own a store that caters to kids, so why would you care?

It’s time you started caring, but let me help you decide. Here are a few examples of businesses that will be impacted by the CPSIA, otherwise known as “reasons to care”:

• If you make wooden trains in your garage and sell them *anywhere*, you get to pay $4000 per toy to a 3rd party testing lab to assure compliance with the CPSIA.
• If you make sock monkeys at home and sell them at your local craft fairs and tourist shops, you have three choices: sell them in violation of the law, close up shop or pay the fee to have your items tested. Each SKU = $4000, most likely.
• If you own a small toy store, sell items that cater to kids, or you sell antique toys or anything else that comes to you without CPSIA-compliant labeling, you have to pay to test every item, or make sure that it has been tested. Presumably, testing a small sample of the same lot is acceptable, but “presumably” is not a way to stay legal. I suggest contacting a testing lab and/or attorney for more info.
• If you import all your toys from Europe, you have to have them all tested, despite the fact that Europe has for years had stricter toy safety standards than the U.S. Again, the same advice as above regarding testing of items in the same lot.
• If you create or sell science kits for homeschoolers, the CPSIA appears to apply.
• If you’re a school who buys such kits, your vendors may also be subject to it.
• Every U.S. toy manufacturer who actually manufactures items here at home – and likely had nothing to do with the toy recalls from 2007 – still has to pay to test their toys. That part makes sense, unless the items in question are made from 100% natural materials.
• If you enjoy shopping for your kids at craft fairs, online at Etsy.com or eBay, or you like buying used toys and clothing – sales of items that do not conform to CPSIA regulations and that have not been tested will be illegal to sell to you.
• If you sell items for kids on eBay, all your existing untested or non-compliant inventory has to be sold before February 10 or it cannot be sold without being tested. The phase-in starts with larger concerns, but it’ll get to you before you know it.
• Retailers can be held liable for selling any handmade toys or children’s items that are not tested by a CPSIA-compliant lab and labeled per the CPSIA.

If you don’t own a business that has anything to do with kids, don’t think it doesn’t impact you. Think about the owners, employees and family members of the businesses described above. They might not be spending money in your store by the time the CPSIA gets done with them.

Do these artisans buy computer paper, coffee, towels, hamburger, gasoline, haircuts, dog grooming, fine wines, appliances, landscaping, envelopes or tires from you?

What will they buy from you if they are put out of business by this law? Are you in line for a bailout?

Suddenly, it’s time to care, eh?

What do I do next?

First, call your Senators and your Congressional Rep. DO NOT email them. DO NOT fax them. Those things are far too easy to ignore.

Call them and hold their feet to the fire.

Next…Research and legwork.

Remember that your existing inventory falls under this law, whether you are a retailer or a manufacturer, regardless of size. Some of the regulations kick in later in the year, so I suggest you read this coverage at Fashion Incubator for additional details. Here’s additional info on what must be tested per the CPSIA.

You have 56 days as of Monday December 15.

The full text of the law is here: HR 4040 or if you prefer a PDF, here. Check out the CPSIA frequently asked questions (FAQ) list at http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/105faq.html.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s website does a nice job of summarizing this well-intentioned, but incomplete bill.

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photo credit: strochka

Anyone who has listed items on eBay on a regular basis won’t find today’s guest post from Henry Blodget the least bit surprising. 

For years, eBay Power Sellers have been complaining about the company’s sales-unfriendly tactics and persistence in ignoring their feedback. 

The stories in the comments section of today’s guest post are not unusual.

This is what happens when you forget who the customer is, why they matter, ignore their feedback and treat them like an easily replaceable commodity.

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photo credit: Eneko Alonso

It’s hard to imagine why big national retailers continue to play the fools game, thinking that by discounting their prices 40-50% or more they’ll increase their profit. 

Perhaps they think they’ll make it up on volume.

When you cut prices, the first thing that you give up is a piece (or all) of your profit.

Retailers who spent the weekend falling all over themselves catering to an upscale clientele don’t have this problem, especially if they’ve cultivated and groomed the relationship with that clientele all year long. 

They didn’t have to go to the home of an employee and explain how a young employee was trampled to death, simply by having the misfortune of being the guy who unlocked the front door to his employer’s store.

When price is the only way you have to differentiate yourself from your competition, you deserve any pain you feel on your financial statement at the end of the quarter. 

Is that the only competitive edge that you can find? If so, you aren’t looking hard enough.

Is there a Wal-Mart in Pamplona?

Another “competitive edge” – one that contributed directly to last weekend’s trampling death and injuries at a Long Island WalMart – is the special sale that starts at 0-dark-thirty in the morning and offers limited items at the special pricing.

Our store is better because we can get our people to the store before yours. Woooo, impressive. 

If your competitors’ move their start time to an hour before yours, when does it end? Do you start a Cold War over who can open their doors first? In an ultra-competitive environment, is that really how you want your clientele to choose who their vendor is? 

Do you really have to stir up a frenzy over one (or 10, whatever) $299 plasma screen TV to get people into your store? Is that the only edge you have?

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve told you to read Cialdini and will again. We’ve discussed scarcity and will again. However, we’ve also discussed common sense. Hopefully, we don’t have to discuss making sure your staff and clients leave the store alive.

Is it really worth having 300-400 people stampede over your staff and each other as if their survival depends on it? This isn’t the first time it has happened. Human behavior is not a surprise in these circumstances. 

Yeah, sure. You can blame a small percentage of morons for this ridiculous behavior, but it isn’t just the customers in that store who were in the wrong. But… big retail, in their typical lazy way – they continue to confuse the customer with the sale as the most valuable part of their business.

All this focus on creating temporary insanity among your prospects for one transaction on one day illustrates the lousy, if not non-existent, relationship that most large US retailers have with the buying public.

That’s where the problems really lie. When you commoditize your marketplace by competing solely on price, you’re one of two things: Wal-Mart or crazy.

Wal-Mart can afford to do these things. Their entire business – and the systems that drive it – is built around that premise. They have the logistics, automation, buying power and mammoth size to make it happen.

If you aren’t Wal-Mart or crazy, you have to do something different and better. I don’t mean to suggest that you can just double your prices, do nothing else and expect all to go right with the world. 

You can’t.

Remember, Business is Personal. Build the relationship. Deliver the value. When nothing else matters, they’ll shop on price. 

Make other things matter.

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