November 2007


Table of Contents

Featured Article: The Value of Time

By Jake Sabey and Clark Winegar, Retention Department

Time Flies
In most of life’s situations, time is an element that we have little control over. Life's clock continues to tick, even without batteries. Man has long dreamed of controlling time or traveling through it, but unless you are Doctor Emmett Brown or Marty McFly and drive a DeLorean with a flux capacitor, the dream is unlikely to come true for you.

Why do we obsess over controlling time? I believe the Spanish writer Baltasar Gracian summed up the answer best when he wrote, “All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing has that.” When we spend our money, we can always earn more, but time spent can never be regained.

Time is Money
No one holds time more precious than a small business owner or entrepreneur. When running a business, there are so many things that require your time—whether it be finding products to sell, building an ecommerce website, writing marketing copy, fulfilling orders, or perhaps even working a full-time job to pay the bills until your business takes off—there are endless tasks that need to be done and never enough time to do them all.

So how do you know where to spend your time? One way to prioritize is to look at the opportunity cost of your time. In other words what are the trade offs of using your time for a given task. For example, if I spend 4 hours doing product research, what are the activities I had to give up to do so and what are those activities worth to me? One possible alternative might be to spend those four hours at a second job as a pizza delivery person where I could probably make $10/hour or $40. Is my product research likely to help me make $40 or more? This might not be the most likely trade off, but it illustrates the point that your time can translate directly into dollars. Sometimes it’s hard to put an exact dollar amount to our time or the activities we perform, but successful business owners learn to analyze the trade offs and prioritize their time and focus on activities that yield the best return on their time.

Buying Time
Shortly after uttering the words, “All my possessions for a moment of time,” Queen Elizabeth the first died, thus proving that money can’t buy time…or can it? If time equals money as the cliché suggests, shouldn’t money also equal time? The answer is an unequivocal “Yes…well sort of.” Although money can’t reverse or slow the passage of time, people can and often do pay for things that save them time. For example:

  • People buy microwaves to save time spent heating food
  • People pay more for high-speed internet connections so time is not wasted waiting for pages to load.
  • Fast food restaurants thrive not because their food is superior to what people could cook on their own, but because hitting the drive through and eating on the run takes less of people’s precious time than shopping for ingredients and preparing the meal themselves.

Whenever consumers pay for convenience or ease of use, they are really paying for time, either because someone else’s time has been used to do a task they need done or because someone offers a product or service to do that task more efficiently.

Your Time
Perhaps this all seems obvious, but the implications to you as a business owner can be very valuable:

  1. Because time is precious to everyone, anything you can do to increase convenience and save time for your customers will likely make your business more money.
  2. Because your own time is precious, it may be worth it to pay for products or services that make your business more efficient, or that save you time.

Though the first is just as important, I would like to address the second point. I often see new business owners fall into the trap of thinking they have to do everything for their business, and while it is good to be frugal in a startup, it’s foolish to think you can do everything all by yourself. I’m not saying you need to hire a bunch of employees right away. I’m talking about knowing what kind of time-saving services are available to new business owners and evaluating the trade offs involved with each.

Time Vendors
One example of a “Time Vendor” is Doba. At Doba our business model is designed to save retailers time in their product sourcing efforts—that’s why our slogan is “Product Sourcing. Simplified.” As part of that mission, we recently launched a new level of membership called Doba Pro. The price for Doba Pro is $150 per month versus $50 per month for the Doba Start Up package. Many customers have asked “Is it worth an extra $100 per month?” The answer we give is that it depends entirely on where you’re at with your business.

If you’re just learning to sell online and you want to start out by listing some products on eBay than you probably won’t need any of the advanced features included with Doba Pro. Instead, you’ll need to learn how to do good product research, make a compelling eBay Listing, and provide good service to your customers. However, let’s say you’re making 50 sales a day. With a Doba Start Up account, it might take you 2-3 hours a day to manually process 50 orders. That’s 60-90 hours per month. But if you upgrade to Doba Pro, you could use the Order Upload Tool to process your orders in 5 minutes instead of 2-3 hours. Would you pay $100 to save 60-90 hours of work? Notice the difference in the trade offs required for the business owners in each situation. For one it makes sense, but for the other it doesn’t.

This same type of analysis can benefit you when looking at the many services designed to save small business owners time. Is it worth the cost of paying Terapeak for eBay research information? Does it make sense to purchase a web builder? Will an auction management solution free up time that you can spend to expand you business to other channels? Your business won’t likely be able to afford to pay for all the different business solutions out there, but for the few that fit your specific needs, you can’t afford not to pay for them.

As two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Sandburg so aptly put it, “Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.”

About the Authors:

Jake Sabey is an eBay Certified Consultant and an Education Specialist for Doba. Jake's educational strategies and methodologies help online retailers meet and exceed their business-related goals. Prior to working for Doba, Jake was a team leader, supervisor, and trainer for Toys R Us, Sinclair Oil, SBC, and AT&T.

Clark Winegar, Director of Rentention at Doba, holds the distinction of being Doba's very first full-time employee. Clark holds a bachelor's degree in marketing from Brigham Young University and has played a key role in Doba's success.

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Marketplace Spotlight: Trade Show Tactics

By Jeff Knight, Vice President of Marketplace

At various times throughout the year, my colleagues and I have the pleasure of traveling to trade events. This month, I’d like to talk about the pros and cons of attending trades shows. I’ll also highlight the trade organizations and events that are available for you to attend—specifically which shows I think are worth your while. Understand that there are literally hundreds of local, regional and international events that I won’t highlight but very well may be worthy of your attention.

Good, Bad and Ugly of Trade Events

Good
Starting with the positive, trade shows give you an opportunity to interact directly with manufacturers, distributors, and service providers in your category emphasis. For most retailers, a trade show is their only practical way of interacting with suppliers in a timely, cost-effective way. When you consider the size and number of exhibitors at some of the largest shows, like CES or MAGIC, it would take an entire team of merchandisers working full-time, traveling non-stop to visit even a fraction of the exhibitors in their own showrooms.

Bad
Although a supplier may have a presence at a trade show, that doesn’t necessarily mean the company executives will be at their tradeshow booth. While it depends on the event and the company, sometimes booth workers are lower level employees or even non-employees who are contracted out specifically to work the booth at the event. It doesn’t mean that important company representatives aren’t at the show, but it does mean that for some shows, such as CES, many of the important meetings and conversations occur in hotel suites, lounges, and restaurants. Tip: If you arrange meetings in advance, this can actually work to your advantage. The cost of a business lunch can often win you the opportunity for a dedicated one-on-one conversation.

Also, be realistic. The goal shouldn’t necessarily be to sit down with the CEO; it should be to create a working relationship with the company. The sales personnel who attend the events are there to meet with you and will often be able to answer all you questions and meet all your needs. The executives, on the other hand, may be at the show to network, establish strategic partners and keep abreast of competitors’ products—generally they will not be your best first contact.

Ugly
Remember when I said ‘cost-effective’? Cost-effective is relative to what you are comparing the action to. For larger trade events, the cost of airfare, lodging, taxis, and food can cost thousands of dollars. When you compare it against flying around the country meeting with suppliers individually, it is a great deal but realistically would you ever consider such a series of trips? Secondly, the internet has made getting product information much easier, allowing retailers to be introduced to new lines without travel.

That said, there is an old saying that people do business with people. Don’t under estimate the value of becoming a person in the supplier’s eyes and moving past being just an email address or an application. If you decide to attend a trade event, get a contact before the show and if possible, make arrangements to be shown through their booth or showroom.

Doba and Trade shows
While I actively encourage you to attend trade events and be involved in the organizations; always consider your return on investment (ROI). The primary benefit of attending is to establish relationships. When it comes time to start carrying the suppliers’ product, let Doba know the supplier needs to be integrated into our platform. If for some reason you are unable to attend, check with us and if we will be attending—we would be happy to go and speak with the supplier. Following that train of thought, ask your current suppliers (or ask us to contact them) and get them integrated onto to Doba. When you attend the shows and meet with new suppliers, ask them if they work with Doba and if not, ask them to get signed up.

Trade Events and Markets (Chronological)
As mentioned above, this is a very limited trade event calendar but these are events that Doba is attending and supporting.

Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
When: January 7th – 10th
Where: Las Vegas Convention Center, Sands/Venetian Expo and Convention Halls
URL: http://www.cesweb.org

CES is one of the largest trade events in the world. The 2008 convention will feature 2,700 exhibitors and showcase products in 30+ categories. Since the demise of COMDEX, CES has become the primary US trade event for both consumer electronics and computer related categories.

Outdoor Retailer
When: January 23rd - 26th (winter) and August 7th – 10th (summer)
Where: Salt Lake City’s Salt Palace
URL: http://www.outdoorretailer.com

Outdoor Retailer is a premier event for retailers in the outdoor sports retail industry. The Outdoor retailers, generally, are very specialized and more focused on specific niches. If your specialty includes outdoor gear or apparel, the OR show is a must. While visiting the OR show, take an afternoon and visit Doba’s headquarters located 30 miles south in Orem, Utah.

Las Vegas Market
When: January 28th – February 1st (winter) and July 28th – August 1st (summer)
Where World Market Center and Pavilions – Las Vegas
URL: http://www.lasvegasmarket.com/index.shtml

The first building of the World Market Center opened in July, 2005 and the entire project is scheduled for completion by 2012. When completed the entire center will be 8 buildings and boast 12 million square feet of permanent exhibit showroom space. The Las Vegas Market, although relatively young, is by far the leading West Coast market in the home furnishings and decorative accessories categories. Exhibitors at the World Market Center have permanent showrooms which retailers can visit, by appointment, outside of market. Most major furniture and accessories will have a presence at the LV Market.

New York International Gift Fair
When: February 1st – 6th (winter) and August 16th 21st (summer)
Where: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York City
URL: http://www.nyigf.com/

NYIGF is one the US’s primary gift market markets. Located in NYC, the gift market coincides with the New York Home Textiles week.

MAGIC
When: February 12th – 15th (winter) and August 27th -30th (summer)
Where: Las Vegas Convention Center and Las Vegas Hilton
URL: http://show.magiconline.com

For those involved in the apparel and fashion retail trade, there are very few trade events more important than the semi-annual MAGIC market. While there are very nice markets in New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta (among others); the MAGIC show allows you the best all around entry point into the apparel and fashion industries.

American International Toy Fair
When: February 17th – 20th
Where: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York City
URL: http://www.toyfairny.com

The Toy Fair is the largest toy trade show in the US. The show has over 1,500 manufacturers, distributors, importers displaying toy and entertainment products. The Toy Fair is a great show to attend if you are interested in understanding the toy, entertainment and child niches.

ASD/AMD Las Vegas Shows
When: March 2nd – 5th
Where: Mandalay Bay, Sands Expo Center and Mirage Expo Center
URL: http://www.asdamdshows.com/asdamd/index.jsp

The ASD/AMD Las Vegas Shows are part of the Merchandise Group’s trade events. In Las Vegas, ASD/AMD has three shows simultaneously: Variety Merchandise, Jewelry, and Gift. The ASD/AMD shows cater to value and price oriented merchandise. ASD/AMD exhibitors are very popular among eBay sellers.

International Home and Housewares
When: March 16th – 18th
Where: McCormick Place – Chicago
URL: http://www.housewares.org

The Home and Housewares show has over 200 exhibitors in three convention halls. The show covers everything from flatware to electric appliances. The show is well attended and Chicago is always a great place to visit.

Highpoint Market Authority
When: April 7th – 13th (spring) and October 20th – 26th (fall)
Where: Highpoint, North Carolina
URL: http://www.highpointmarket.org/

Highpoint Market is truly unique in that twice a year, for all practical purposes, the entire town of Highpoint, North Carolina becomes a trade market. The old post office, office buildings, the courthouse—you name the historic building and it will house a permanent showroom. Highpoint market is the grandfather of all the furniture market and still the primary permanent showroom location for most furniture manufacturers. Although not as convenient or as accommodating as Las Vegas or Atlanta, Highpoint market is worth attending for furniture and home décor professionals.

ABC Kids Expo
When: September 7th – 11th
Where: Las Vegas Convention Center
URL: http://www.abckidsexpo.com

The ABC Kids Expo is the primary trade event for juvenile products. For all retailers actively involved in the categories, attending this show should be on your calendar. The show is only available to small independent, brick and mortar retailers for the first two-days and opens up to internet and big-box stores for the last two. Any trade organization that recognizes the importance of the small retailer is worthy of our support and attention.

SEMA Show
When: October 30th – November 2nd
Where: Las Vegas Convention Center
URL: http://www.semashow.com

Admittedly, I have not attended SEMA show. For the past few years, my plans to attend get changed at the last minute. This year was no exception. By the end of the year, for most retailers and retailer support organizations, such as Doba, the end of October is a difficult time for a show. That said, SEMA is a premier event for the automotive aftermarket trade, and the industry is growing exponentially. If you are involved in the resale of automotive parts and accessories, SEMA is definitely a show to put on your calendar.

About the Author:

As the Vice President of Marketplace, Jeff Knight is responsible for all aspects of the merchandising strategy, supplier acquisition, and vertical category management and fulfillment operations of Doba's marketplace. Jeff's background includes merchandising and technology leadership roles at DealDeal.com and BCI International. He earned Bachelor and Masters of Arts degrees in Communication from the University of Wyoming.

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Doba Update: What's New?

Doba Receives More Awards!

MountainWest Capital Utah 100

Doba holds the number 1 spot on the MountainWest Capital Utah 100 list, leading in the fastest growing companies category. Click here for more information about the MountainWest Capital Utah 100 list.

Deloittes 2007 Technology Fast 500

Recognized for it's rapid growth in five years, Doba is ranked number 6 on the Deloittes 2007 Technology Fast 500 list. This list is compiled of the fastest-growing technology, media telecommunications and life sciences companies of North America. Rankings are based on percentage of fiscal year revenue growth over five years. To read more about the selection and qualifying criteria for the Deloittes 2007 Technology Fast 500, click here.

New Doba Feature: Multiple Watch Lists

Doba has improved the watch list feature by adding multiple watch lists. With the ability to name each watch list, you can better organize the products you are listing, researching, and products that you have sold. Learn more about multiple watch lists to make the best of your Doba membership.

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Member Q&A: Do I Need to be Charging Sales Tax Online?

As an online retailer it is important for you to understand sales tax and what is required to protect your business and your customers. Since sales tax is goverened at a state level, it's hard to provide a universally applicable answer; however, for more information and answers to more frequently asked questions, you can check out, "Educating Businesses About Sales Tax" by the Sales Tax Institue.

Although your retail business is online, there are tax laws and regulations to be followed, that are put in place by the IRS and state taxing authorities. As always, Doba suggests you consult your accountant or attorney, check your state's website, or visit The American Institute of Certified Public Accontants' State Information page for specific information.

For more options to consider when dealing with taxes, see Doba articles:

We Want to Hear from You!

Want to see your question featured in the eNewsletter Member Q&A? Well we want to hear from you! Please email education@doba.com if you have any non-account related questions or topics you would like us to write about. If you have questions concerning your Doba account, such as billing, product or order questions, please search our knowledgebase site content or contact our Customer Support.

Supplier News: New Suppliers Added to the Doba Product Catalog

Starting an online business is relatively easy. Making it a success takes hard work and the right mix of products. To help you achieve your business-related goals, we recently added 5 new wholesale suppliers and manufacturers to the Doba Catalog (bringing the total number of Doba suppliers to 97), including:

  • Acanthite - Distributor of Apparel, Accessories, Lighting, Branded products, General Merchandise.
  • Actinolite - Distributor General Merchandising, handbags and Hot Buys.
  • Agni - Manufacture of tankless water heaters.
  • Arctic - Manufacture of air conditioning units.
  • Cheetah - Liquidator of brand name athletic shoes.