Feb 29 Sales: Leap for Joy!
Loobalee as Shopping Tips
Feb|29|2008
I should have guessed a event like Leap Day wouldn’t go unnoticed by the Retailers! Afterall, it’s an extra day in the year to promote retail sales that only happens once every 4 years. My mailbox is full of deals today! Some promotions are only for today, and others are good through Sunday. The most clever one I’ve seen is Garnet Hill - 29 items at 29% off. A few of the items are even kids clothes. The items are all from the new Spring catalog, so 29% off with Garnet Hill is a good deal at this point in the season. Try to combine with a Coupon Code and/or Free Shipping to potentially double your savings. Visit your favorite sites or search on-line for “Leap Day Sale” and “Leap Year Sale”. Happy shopping! If you find a deal - leap for it!
— Suzanne Rielle, Co-Founder, Loobalee.com�
Baby Sales: The “White Sales” of Children’s Clothing
Loobalee as Shopping Tips
Feb|26|2008
The recent of announcement of Gymboree’s Spring Baby Sale (”for a limited time only”) reminded me that most children’s clothing stores offer at least two “Baby Sales” per year. Just like you can expect to see the competing White Sales roll around about twice a year, so can you expect to see the Baby Sales. The Baby Sales range from clothing to all kinds of baby and toddler gear, strollers, bedding, toys, and other basic supplies.
Sometimes these sales are another gimmick to attract shoppers. But, if you know your prices well, they may also be an opportunity to buy items that rarely go on sale - especially gear like strollers, car seats, front/back carriers, bike trailers, etc. They are a worthwhile time to plan ahead, especially new Moms and upcoming baby shower opportunities.
The sales are generally on in early September and early February for baby gear and basics. The clothing specialists often follow suit simultaneously or toward the end of February and March. Per my historical anouncements of such sales, there isn’t a specific week or trend but sales are likely to be strategically placed between Valentines Day / Presidents Day and Easter.
If you are currently in need of baby clothing or have an upcoming gift-giving opportunity, check out the Gymboree sale or watch your e-mail and paper for potential upcoming announcements from retailers such as Janie and Jack, Hanna Andersson, Old Navy, Baby Gap, and The Children’s Place.
– Suzanne Rielle, Co-Founder, Loobalee.com
Next Generation On-line Marketplaces Must Target the Audience
Loobalee as Growing Loobalee
Feb|25|2008
It is difficult to imagine any other single, on-line marketplace becoming a serious contender for eBay. At Powersellersunite.com, the listings for 20 active auction sites are tracked hourly. Earlier today, eBay had 13,406,204 active listings. The collective total across the 19 other sites together was only 7,689,423 listings. However, not included in the list are niche market sites, and other sites with different listing models, such as Amazon.com and Craigslist.com — all taking additional significant marketshare and making it a complex task to assess the overall situation.
Even with the variety of options available, many Sellers are unable to leave eBay due to the sheer volume of Buyers (millions) who visit eBay every day. But, who are these Buyers? What are a million Buyers worth if only a very small percentage is a match for the Sellers? Growing volumes of “general” Buyers does not necessarily mean increase sales.
For the new marketplaces, the trick will be uniting the common interests of the Buyers and the Sellers, thereby increasing sell-thru rates. Niche market sites (such as PenBid.com, WineBid.com, JustBeads.com, and GolfClubExchange.com) and Yahoo Group memberships are indicative of this trend.
The winners won’t try to emulate eBay and attract millions of general Buyers. The winners will attract the right Buyers.
At Loobalee.com, we are offering an on-line marketplace to serve the niche designer children’s apparel and merchandise market. For example, our Sellers will sell children’s clothing and our Buyers will be looking for children’s clothing. It’s a perfect match. No other Sellers will be served, and therefore non-target Buyers will not care to visit.
Loobalee’ target market is primarily Mom’s — who enjoy sharing with and helping each other. The significance of a large volume store, or of attracting extreme volumes of visitors is not applicable here. We are about Community, about shared passions and interests, and about fair merchandise exchange within our target market.
We are taking the best of the auction sites, the best of the classified ad sites, the best of brick and mortar consignment shops, and the best of group membership sites and bundling them into a service that is uniquely suited to fit the designer children’s clothing and merchandise re-sale market.
If you have growing children, and you want to dress them in quality designer clothing at a fraction of retail costs, then Loobalee is a perfect fit for you. YOU are our target market.
– Suzanne Rielle, Co-Founder, Loobalee.com
eBay Boycott … “Outrage” or Just Plain “Out”?
Loobalee as News & Trends
Feb|20|2008
Who would have ever imagined today’s unrest in the eBay Seller community? After all, without the eBay frontier where would these Sellers be now? Years ago, many heard of “gold in them thar hills” and invested the time and commitment to find it. In the modern-day eBay gold rush, many made it, and many others chose to stay behind — happy with a nugget now and then. And in general, all were individually pleased – and not thinking too much about how the eBay rush was actually changing the world nor when it would end.
But, the reality is that history repeats itself and no rush lasts forever. Once the major impacts have occurred and attracted the critical masses, it’s inevitable that the time will come when the world’s demand will exceed the capabilities of a single supplier. This time is here and now for eBay and for the world’s on-line auction and exchange market.
Understanding the Boycott
While eBay boycotts have been attempted in the past, none have gained the attention and support of this week’s current Boycott, expected to run from Feb 18 – Feb 25. Currently, eBay listings are down about 4-5% and are expected to decline through the week; eBay’s stock price hit a 52 week low when the changes were announced on Jan 28; and practically every eBay Discussion Board is rife with furious Sellers. One board, posted by mrskillion had over 17,500 posts as of this writing. While there are lots of unhappy people, the immediate impact of the Boycott has not yet been enough for eBay to reconsider the changes being implemented today, February 20, 2008.
For details on the boycott see these links. There is a lot of ranting out there, but these links do provide relatively respectful and objective information.
- eBay Announcement - announcement from Bill Cobb, President eBay North America
- CNN Money Video - good, brief overview video and objective articles
- You Tube Video - from a Seller’s heart
- Boycott Victoriously - good source of links for details and statistics
- PowerSellersUnite - eBay Sellers news, resources, and forums
- Squidoo - multiple lenses discussing the Boycott
How are You and I Impacted?
- For the 1.3 million people who make a full-time living on eBay, I can appreciate the impact of wading through the complexities of eBay to establish a viable business only to be held hostage to eBay’s ongoing, management-by-surprise change approach — one that appears to show a lack of appreciation towards the community and business model it is responsible for creating. They are no longer trusted, which may eventually be their biggest problem of all.
For me, with my FB 152/100%, it’s a different problem. I loved eBay before the concept of Stores, Powersellers, automation, etc. I loved it when it was abound with pop culture and collectibles, vs. today’s high volume, repeat listings. I’m the original target customer, that seems to now be completely forgotten and perhaps never to be found again (literally, the eBay Search engines might not even take notice of me). Today’s eBay is very different from yesterday. It’s no longer fun for me. It’s stressful and fiercely competitive. For those of you buying and selling in the category of children’s clothing on eBay, the real impact of the current changes is ultimately minimal to the cost of selling. However, the policies and complexities in eBay that prevent an easy, fun experience still exist, and seem to be heading in the wrong direction – towards more complexity instead of towards more simplicity.
So, is it an “Outrage”?
Yes. But “Outageous”? No. The time has come. The forces toward expanding the options availabe in on-line auction marketplaces are unstoppable. The ability for eBay to meet everyone’s expectations is impossible — so it must choose a strategy. We all hope it’s a successful one.
Or, Just Plain “Out”?
Yes. This too. The time has definitely come for new options to serve the vastness of the on-line marketplace. I believe the successful new marketplaces will focus on specialty niches, on simplicity, and on their customers — ultimately providing value for their customers and for the markets they serve. This is the inspiration for Loobalee — Coming soon.
— Suzanne Rielle, Co-founder, Loobalee.com
President’s Day Sales…are they worth it?
Loobalee as Shopping Tips
Feb|15|2008
I’m not sure if President’s Day is a holiday honoring all the U.S. Presidents, just George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, or some other combination. There seems to be a lack of clarity…which I find incredibly interesting given this election year. One thing is for certain, however, and that is the annual capitalization on the holiday by most all merchants. Open your local paper, check your e-mail, or visit your favorite default home page, and you know won’t be available to avoid a Presidents Day Sale interruption.
With children’s clothing, the merchants use President’s Day to further push and/or mark down Winter Clearance and as an opportunity to promote new Spring lines with 15-30% discounts. The sales generally start during the week before the Holiday and are often permanent mark downs that will continue after the Holiday.
Unless you have an urgent need for spring clothing, I recommend resisting the President’s Day campaigns and waiting for deeper discounts. The prices on the spring introduction lines will continue to come down.
On-line shoppers may be tempted with free shipping, store-wide discounts, and 20% coupon codes. Use these opportunities to buy already discounted winter merchandise or additional discounts on Spring merchandise (so you realize a good 50% savings or more).
By now, you’ll see all the department stores and most boutiques offering 60-75% discounts on winter lines and styles, sometimes even higher. It’s not unheard of to get 80-90% discounts between now and the end of March before it completely leaves the floor.
Here’s a sampling of current deals:
Gymboree - Extra 20% off Sale Items, plus earn Gymbucks
Crazy 8 - Extra 20% off Sale Items
Janie and Jack - Free personalization
Gap Kids & Baby Gap - Coupon code for 20% off $100 purchase (use “SPRING20″)
Mini Boden - Buy 3 Items, Get 4th for $1 (just make sure all your items are of equal value or close for greatest benefit)
Watch your local paper and peruse the Search Engines for “Presidents Day Sales”; “Presidents Day Coupon”; “Presidents Day Code”; and “Presidents Day Free Shipping” to scout out more deals.
– Suzanne Rielle, Co-founder, Loobalee.com
Tips: Valentine Clothes for Kids
Loobalee as Shopping Tips
Feb|13|2008
I happen to love Valentine’s Day, and have always managed to sparingly slip a couple of items into my children’s wardrobes, yet stay within my philosophy of trying to dress my kids for almost free.
In general, the smaller the size, the better your resale value. Valentine clothing is more popular for babies, toddlers, and little kids than for older kids. And, it is far more popular for girls than it is for boys.
For valuable items on the resale market, look to Gymboree, Hanna Andersson, Baby Gap, and Gap Kids. Wait until a week to 10 days before Valentines Day and get 30-50% off. The boutique brands may also be an option and be on sale, but I prefer to wait for the deep discounts after the holiday. Look for MIS-TEE-V-US, Young Colors, or Michael Simon.
I’ve also been known to fall for the occasional pop-culture Valentine Tee from Target, Old Navy, Children’s Place. If you go this route, spend only about $5-$6 and plan to donate, give away, or sell at your next garage sale.
Here’s some ideas to leverage your current wardrobe at no additional cost and/or extend your the wear of your Valentine purchase into Spring.
If buying new:
- ** Avoid any Valentine clothing with words. Rather, choose solids or items that have fun prints or designs that can continue to be worn after the holiday.
For boys, stick with the basics:
- ** A great red shirt, sweater, or vest from existing wardrobe** Layer red with white, black, or gray. And if you have a boy who likes pink….go for it ☺
For girls, surely you already have some pink! Try these ideas for a fun holiday look:
- ** Layer pink, red, white, purple or lavender tops together for a cute, trendy look. Two words of advice: 1) avoid all red and purple (too “Red Hat Lady”) and 2) use (at most) only one layer of prints.** Accessorize with home-made Valentine jewelry, such as pins, bracelets, rings, necklaces, earrings, or hair accessories. Use pipe cleaners, beads, heart-shaped foamies, gems, and glitter. Have some fun!
My final piece of advice - watch those post-Valentines Day Sales and plan ahead! You may be able to pick up valuable designer items at deep discounts for next year. Pick up that Red or pink shirt you’ll want next year at this year’s sales. You can even grab some fun valentine socks and accessories for practically pennies at 75 – 80% off!
— Suzanne Rielle, Co-Founder, Loobalee.com
Talbots Kids…Closing doors after nearly 20 years
Loobalee as News & Trends
Feb|7|2008
I was surprised to hear the announcement from Talbots last month that it will be closing its 66 Talbots Kids stores and discontinuing its Talbots Kids line of clothing (Bloomberg). After all, they were one of the originals in today’s enormous market of children’s clothing brands. The Talbots Kids brand was established in 1989, at the same time other well-known brands such as Gap Kids and Gymboree were getting going.
Is this indicative of a trend? I hope not. But standing out in today’s children’s clothing market is no small feat, given the 1000’s of existing brands and 100’s of new brands introduced internationally each year. Consider that Talbots Kids is only 5% of Talbots overall business. With such a small percent of the overall focus, it seems it would be difficult for any company to continue to be successful in this highly competitive, ever-changing market long term.
I think a challenge for Talbots Kids is the brand image itself: conservative, high quality, and classic with a few splashes of bright, bold color — much like their Women’s retail concept aimed at the 35-65 age group. Before the huge surge of interest in kids style, I suspect they did quite well. But with the movement toward chic, trend-setting kids clothes, and with a majority of Mom’s being of a younger age and/or mindset than that of Talbots Women’s target market, they would most certainly be challenged sustaining their brand without significant, ongoing marketing investments.
So, I have poured over the current Talbots Kids catalog, knowing it is quite possibly my last one. And, I think there are some good picks for sustained resale value that will sell well in our up and coming Loobalee.com marketplace. After the brand retires it will quickly be considered vintage, and items that classically depict the enduring Talbots Kids brand should sell quite well. One caution, for future resale of this brand is that Baby clothes may not attain the same level of premium price points as the little and big kids sizes.
Get these items from the Fall/Winter ‘07 line while you can, at great sale prices.
Girls - Fall/Winter ‘07 Sale
Red Basketweave Coat for Baby Girls
Velveteen Dress for Girls
Velveteen Bow Print pants for Girls
Plaid Skirt for Girls
Wool Dress Cape for Girls
Floral Border Taffeta Skirt and Matching Velvet Cardigan Set for Girls
Boys - Fall/Winter ‘07 Sale
Appliqued Overalls for Baby BoysCardigan Striped Sweater for Baby Boys
Classic Corduroy Pants for Boys (Elastic Waisted)
And, try these from the new Spring ‘08 line – but better to wait for them to go on sale (they won’t likely sell re-sell for these prices — even if they are NWT and even after the brand is retired):
Girls - Spring ‘08
Pleated Christening Gown
White, Floral-embroidered, Special Occasion dress for girls
White Eyelet Dress for Little Girls
Pink Eyelet Sheath Dress for Big Girls
Dot Print Chiffon Dress for Little Girls
Corduroy Trench Coat for Girls (I Love this!)
Boys - ‘07
Wrinkle-Resistant Wool Blazer for Boys (Classic!)
Wrinkle-Resistant Dress Pants for Boys
Traditional Silk Ties for Boys
Zipper Ties for Little Boys (practical, yet nice-looking)
Wrinkle-Resistant Dress Shirts for Boys
Stain-Resistant Cotton Pants for Boys (perfect for School or Casual Dress)
Let me know what you think of the picks!
– Posted by: Suzanne Rielle, Co-Founder Loobalee.com
Hello World! For starters….I Want to Have Coffee with Howard Schultz
Loobalee as Growing Loobalee
Feb|5|2008
Hello! This is my first post. So what do Loobalee and Howard Schultz, chairman and CEO of Starbucks, have in common? Not much, except that my passion for Loobalee is similar to my passion for Starbucks coffee. That and the fact that my vision of the Loobalee marketplace for gently used, designer children’s clothing came to be over something like 7,500+ cups of Starbucks coffee (approximated since 1992).
Today I heard at my local Starbucks that there is a company-wide contest among its stores to sell the most coffee this week. The winning store gets a visit from and taste-testing with Howard Schultz. Since I was the first customer at “my” Starbucks when they opened, I have been invited by the friendly manager there to participate as an honored guest (of course they have to win first). While the employees are each incented with the prospects of winning an Apple iPod Touch. I hope they succeed because I personally would love to just chat and sip coffee with Howard.
Not only do I love Starbucks coffee, but I love their stores. They provide me a comfortable and uplifting place to do my work and socialize, and serve as a source of daily delight and ongoing inspiration. I would absolutely revel in the opportunity to join Howard Schultz with a tall, bold, black coffee (my usual drink), and obtain his advice on how to build a successful, fresh, creative company - one that has the power to move the soul of the world!
So, off to buy some pounds of Starbucks coffee (to help “my” store win!). I’m on my way! And, with the close of this post, so is Loobalee! Stay tuned. We have lots in store - an exciting new approach to buying and re-selling gently used children’s merchandise.
Join me for a cup of coffee now and then while you check out our Daily Jubilee, other fun stuff, and our ongoing construction updates.
– Posted by: Suzanne Rielle, Co-Founder Loobalee.com
