So, one of the topics I said I would write about was Ebay sales and our Ebay store. Well the store itself doesn't exist anymore, but I do still list plenty of items on Ebay on a regular basis. I actually think that Ebay has done some good things over the past year or so, making a lot of categories have options of posting items for free, while paying the selling costs only when the item actually sells. For our business of selling Mummers suits, this works out perfectly.
First, lets setup how this happened. A few years ago the idea came about that rather than throwing the previous years Mummers suits in the trash, maybe something could be done with them to bring some money back to the club. It is unclear exactly where this idea originated. Some say my brother, other folks say possibly Franny or his Mom or something like that... or maybe they were all just talking together. It doesn't really matter, the idea was born, and suits would be sold.
Last season was the first bunch of suits we went in to sell. The theme from that season's suits was birds, and we had several species to choose from. Black Toucans, Blue Macaws, Pink Macaws, Some kind of Gold bird, a Green Bird, a Giant Pink Bird, and a few others. We also had a suit that was leftover from an older show, a Robot. This suit my brother had worn for Halloween, and one of the sources of what may have sparked this whole idea.
That first selling season started slowly. We got on it a little late for Halloween, so that didn't help. We also had to find the best way to sell these suits. What do you call them? How long should the listing be for? Is it an auction, or a fixed price? All good questions, all needed to be answered. As the New Year passed, I think we had sold 0 suits. The plan was on the verge of being scrapped, and I decided to try posting the suits as a fixed price, 30 day listing, rather than an auction. In the middle of January, we had a bite, and the "Ah Ha" moment. A guy wanted to buy the robot, and use it at a Mardi Gras party... Why didn't we think of that before?? These suits are perfect for that!! All the listing titles were altered to include the words Mardi Gras to make sure that they would appear in a search. We gave this guy a good deal, and shipped him two suits.
Sales started to take off. Leading up to Mardi Gras, we sold 11 items, including a few heads that did not have matching suits. We cleared about $1290. Not bad for a first effort, and much better than $0 for throwing them in the trash.
About a month after Mardi Gras, I got one of the more interesting emails. A woman in Canada wanted to buy some suits for a children's play. And buy some suits, I mean basically all the suits we had left. In all, she wanted 12 suits or hats, and negotiated a price of $1500 plus she paid shipping. Huge. What a break. Our sales for the season shot up, and we ended up clearing $2831.23 during the season. Only 3 bird suits remained in my basement. Season 1 is a success!
Now we move to the current season. The theme was circus animals, so we had polar bears, monkeys, tigers, zebras, horses, a lion, hippos, black cats, etc. Very good Halloween costumes, and we did sell a few in October. Mardi Gras sales have started to pick up, and with about a month still remaining, we are sitting at $2500 in cleared money. A great place to be in, with the hopes of some more sales to follow.
So, if you are in the market, take a look at what Bowler275 has for sale on Ebay. Special thanks for the Golden Crown Mummers club for helping to arrange these sales, and thanks to the wifey for allowing me to store all kinds of bizarre costumes in our basement, with minimal disagreement.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Samsung Follow Up
Apparently, Samsung Corporate doesn't care if their products are crappy. I got an email from the USPS on Monday telling me my package had been delivered. Got another email on Tuesday telling me that the package was on its way back... refused by Samsung.
Why would I ever buy their stuff again? They won't even read mail that is bad about them. Samsung... thanks for making my decisions on electronics buying a little easier. I can always remove one name from my decision pool.
Why would I ever buy their stuff again? They won't even read mail that is bad about them. Samsung... thanks for making my decisions on electronics buying a little easier. I can always remove one name from my decision pool.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Samsung has made the Naughty List
First, let me fill in the back story. In September 2007, I purchased a Samsung LCD TV. It was my first purchase with my first job, and I kind of thought it was a big deal. The TV cost $2400, and with the Samsung name, I expected good things. (For those interested it is a LNT4661F model TV)
Fast-forward to six months ago. I started to notice a problem when I would turn the TV on. The TV would make the noises it usually makes when it turns on (If you have a Samsung TV, you know the noise it makes)… however nothing would happen. The TV would stay dark, and then click again as if it were turning off. A couple seconds later, the turn on noise would happen
again, and then the TV would actually turn on. This was annoying, but not a big deal. It just meant that rather than turning on in a second or two it would take about 6 or 7 seconds.
Another issue that appeared was occasional times when the TV would turn on, there would be blue lines all over the screen (or maybe they were purple, I am colorblind after all). Anyway, this problem could be solved by turning the TV Off and then On again. Again, not a huge annoyance, but definitely not how it should work.
I decided to Google this and see what was online. What I found was not good. Many people had this issue with Samsung TVs, and it sounded like they all started out like mine, and would progressively get worse. Instead of turning on and off once, it would be twice, then three times, and more. Blue lines showing up 50% of the time or more. Generally, not good. The source of
the problem? Bad capacitors. Apparently, Samsung skimped on a few capacitors, and as a result, they were blowing left and right.
You can read my interaction with Samsung below, as well as the letter I wrote (and sent them the bad capacitors). In the end, my TV turned on and off 4 times until I ripped it open and replaced the capacitors. Turned out there were three dead ones in there. Total cost was $6 for 50 replacement capacitors (if you are reading this and need some, email me and I can send you
some for a few bucks shipping).
Enjoy!
Samsung Corporate Office January 4, 2012
Attn: Consumer Complaints
105 Challenger Road
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to you in regards to an extremely disappointing experience that I have had with
your company, and specifically with an HD TV.
In September 2007, I purchased a LNT4661F television. This was the first item that I purchased upon starting my new job out of college. With the great name Samsung has, I saw this model, and decided that the $2400 was worth it.
Beginning roughly 6 months ago, I started having issues with the TV not turning on
correctly. Often times I would hit the power button, the TV would make noises as if it were trying to turn on, and then turn back off again. It would repeat this process, but usually the second time the TV would finally turn on.
Occasionally the TV would turn on and have blue lines all over the screen. After doing a google search, I found out that many others had experienced similar issues, and that the problem was related to bad capacitors. I contacted Samsung customer service, Chat ID LTK5640154575X. I have enclosed the chat log here. As you can see, I expressed my disappointment; however the only solution offered was to have someone come fix the TV at my expense.
This was not what I expected from a company with such a respectable name. Just this week, I
opened up the TV myself, and identified the blown out capacitors. I replaced them myself, and now the TV works just fine. These replacement parts cost all of $6 for 50 parts.
I have enclosed the broken capacitors for you to inspect, and to illustrate that my model of TV suffers the same issue as other models. I hope that you seriously reconsider your approach to TVs and cost cutting, as this type of behavior can have an effect on your customer base. I will never purchase another Samsung product, not only because of the poor TV quality, but also due to how you handled it.
I can be contacted at the below address if you have any additional comments or responses.
Sincerely,
Robin Czyzewicz
Please wait for a Samsung Agent to respond.
All Samsung Agents are currently assisting others.
Thanks for your patience.
A Samsung Agent will be with you shortly.
All Samsung Agents are currently assisting others.
Thanks for your patience.
A Samsung Agent will be with you shortly.
You are now chatting with 'Oscar V'. There will be a brief survey at the end of our chat to share feedback on my performance today. Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK5640154575X
Visitor: I have been having an issue with my flat screen TV. Sometimes when I try to turn it on, it clicks a few times and shuts back off. Other times, when it turns on, there are lines on the screen. Turning it off and back on seems to get rid of the lines, but it has happened more often lately. The model is LNT4661F. SN AHBB3CPP800159M.
Oscar V: Hi, thanks for reaching out to Samsung tech support. How can I help you today?
Oscar V: I am sorry to hear that you are not able to turn ON the TV.
Oscar V: Are you using any surge protector?
Visitor: it is in a protector
Visitor: the tv will turn on
Visitor: but at times it turns itself on and off several times
Visitor: until it finally turns on
Oscar V: Try to connect the TV directly to the power outlet and check if the issue still persists.
Oscar V: Make sure that there are no damages on the power cable.
Visitor: i have tried it in a few outlets around the house with the same issue
Oscar V: Try to remove the power cable from the TV and the power outlet wait for a minute and reconnect the power cable to the TV and the power outlet and check if you are experiencing the same issue.
Visitor: i did some google searching on the issue and it seems like several others have had similar problems
Visitor: the finding always seems to be bad capcitors
Oscar V: I have checked and I see that your model TV is not effected with this issue.
Visitor: eventhough it matches the symptoms perfectly?
Oscar V: Yes, eventhough it matches same symptoms your model TV is not effected with this issue.
Oscar V: This seems to be some other internal issue with the TV.
Visitor: hmmm
Visitor: so what can we do about it?
Oscar V: As we performed all the troubleshooting steps and issue still persists, the device needs to be serviced. Let me provide you with a link where you can file an online service request. You can get back to Live Chat with the ticket id LTK5640154575X anytime if you run into issues filing the service request. We are available 24 X 7.
Oscar V: You can visit the following link to file an online service request:
Oscar V: http://www.samsung.com/us/support/service/request
Visitor: that will be at my own expense, is that correct?
Oscar V: As the TV is out of warranty, you will be charged for the service.
Visitor: well, i can tell you this
Visitor: if i am spending money
Visitor: it is going to be on a new tv
Oscar V: You will get 1 year warranty with the TV and if you have any issues within the warranty then you will get free service.
Visitor: and it won't be a samsung
Oscar V: I’m sorry, I do not have information about service and cost details. Once you file a service request, you can get the information from the service center as the cost can only be determined after checking what part is defective. This can be determined only after a physical examination of the TV by a service technician.
Visitor: nor will anything else i buy
Visitor: there are many cases online with the same issue i have
Visitor: i am looking right now
Visitor: same model
Visitor: same symptoms
Visitor: to tell me that it does not effect my TV seems fishy
Oscar V: I am really sorry about this.
Visitor: me too, as a young person with many electronics to buy, i guess samsung is not interested in my business
Oscar V: There might be some other issue in the TV which needs to be physically diagnosed by the service technician.
Visitor: is that what i understand?
Visitor: your company will not stand by a $3000 TV for more than 1 year?
Oscar V: I am sorry sorry for any inconvenience.
Oscar V: I do understand the situation from your stand point.
Visitor: OK, I would like to submit a formal complaint, how do i do that?
Visitor: what address can i send a certified letter to
Visitor: to get a written response declining my future business
Oscar V: I will forward your complaint to our concerned department.
Visitor: And when would I hear something from them?
Visitor: a quick google search yields 464 results with my model and "problem"
Visitor: including some videos
Visitor: of bad capacitors
Visitor: I would like someone to formally tell me that this issue does not affect my TV
Oscar V: In order to confirm if the issue is with capacitors or any other issue, service technician needs to physically diagnose the issue.
Visitor: at my expense?
Oscar V: Yes, you will be charged for the service as the TV is out of warranty.
Visitor: and if it is the capacitors, will Samsung reimburse the charge?
Oscar V: I do understand the situation and I see that your TV in not affected model with bad capacitors.
Visitor: Can i get that address for a written complaint?
Oscar V: I will escalate the issue to our concerned department on your behalf.
Visitor: how will they contact me, there is no information on me
Visitor: if i write to them, they will have a way to contact me
Oscar V: I can escalate the issue to my supervisor.
Visitor: and how will he contact me?
Oscar V: If you wish I would transfer the chat to my supervisor now.
Visitor: yes please, that would be nice
Visitor: i know that it is not your fault
Oscar V: Would you mind holding while I transfer the chat to my supervisor.?
Visitor: sure
Oscar V: Thank you. Please wait while I transfer the chat to 'Joshua G'.
You are now chatting with 'Joshua G'. There will be a brief survey at the end of our chat to share feedback on my performance today. Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK5640154575X
Visitor: hello
Joshua G: Hi.
Joshua G: Would you mind holding a couple of minutes while I check your chat?
Visitor: thanks
Joshua G: Thank you.
Joshua G: Thanks for holding on.
Joshua G: Could I know the purchase date of the unit?
Visitor: sure
Visitor: September 2007
Joshua G: Thank you.
Joshua G: I see that there are no reported issues with this model, and it needs to be serviced out of warranty.
Visitor: OK
Joshua G: I fully understand your concern as a customer.
Visitor: i just feel like for that much money, it should have made it more than 4 years
Visitor: and right now, they way i feel, i would never spend the money on this brand of TV in the future
Joshua G: I really apologize for the inconvinience.
Visitor: OK, so I guess that is it?
Joshua G: Yes, is there any thing else I can assist you with?
Visitor: No, I guess not. Gonna open up my TV and start pricing some other TV Brands
Visitor: best of luck to you guys and your capacitors
Joshua G: Thank you for chatting with us. If you have a minute, please click on the blue “X close” button to receive a transcript of your chat and fill out a brief survey to help us serve you better. Have a wonderful day! Follow Samsung Service on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Chat session has been terminated by the Samsung Agent.
Fast-forward to six months ago. I started to notice a problem when I would turn the TV on. The TV would make the noises it usually makes when it turns on (If you have a Samsung TV, you know the noise it makes)… however nothing would happen. The TV would stay dark, and then click again as if it were turning off. A couple seconds later, the turn on noise would happen
again, and then the TV would actually turn on. This was annoying, but not a big deal. It just meant that rather than turning on in a second or two it would take about 6 or 7 seconds.
Another issue that appeared was occasional times when the TV would turn on, there would be blue lines all over the screen (or maybe they were purple, I am colorblind after all). Anyway, this problem could be solved by turning the TV Off and then On again. Again, not a huge annoyance, but definitely not how it should work.
I decided to Google this and see what was online. What I found was not good. Many people had this issue with Samsung TVs, and it sounded like they all started out like mine, and would progressively get worse. Instead of turning on and off once, it would be twice, then three times, and more. Blue lines showing up 50% of the time or more. Generally, not good. The source of
the problem? Bad capacitors. Apparently, Samsung skimped on a few capacitors, and as a result, they were blowing left and right.
You can read my interaction with Samsung below, as well as the letter I wrote (and sent them the bad capacitors). In the end, my TV turned on and off 4 times until I ripped it open and replaced the capacitors. Turned out there were three dead ones in there. Total cost was $6 for 50 replacement capacitors (if you are reading this and need some, email me and I can send you
some for a few bucks shipping).
Enjoy!
Samsung Corporate Office January 4, 2012
Attn: Consumer Complaints
105 Challenger Road
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to you in regards to an extremely disappointing experience that I have had with
your company, and specifically with an HD TV.
In September 2007, I purchased a LNT4661F television. This was the first item that I purchased upon starting my new job out of college. With the great name Samsung has, I saw this model, and decided that the $2400 was worth it.
Beginning roughly 6 months ago, I started having issues with the TV not turning on
correctly. Often times I would hit the power button, the TV would make noises as if it were trying to turn on, and then turn back off again. It would repeat this process, but usually the second time the TV would finally turn on.
Occasionally the TV would turn on and have blue lines all over the screen. After doing a google search, I found out that many others had experienced similar issues, and that the problem was related to bad capacitors. I contacted Samsung customer service, Chat ID LTK5640154575X. I have enclosed the chat log here. As you can see, I expressed my disappointment; however the only solution offered was to have someone come fix the TV at my expense.
This was not what I expected from a company with such a respectable name. Just this week, I
opened up the TV myself, and identified the blown out capacitors. I replaced them myself, and now the TV works just fine. These replacement parts cost all of $6 for 50 parts.
I have enclosed the broken capacitors for you to inspect, and to illustrate that my model of TV suffers the same issue as other models. I hope that you seriously reconsider your approach to TVs and cost cutting, as this type of behavior can have an effect on your customer base. I will never purchase another Samsung product, not only because of the poor TV quality, but also due to how you handled it.
I can be contacted at the below address if you have any additional comments or responses.
Sincerely,
Robin Czyzewicz
Please wait for a Samsung Agent to respond.
All Samsung Agents are currently assisting others.
Thanks for your patience.
A Samsung Agent will be with you shortly.
All Samsung Agents are currently assisting others.
Thanks for your patience.
A Samsung Agent will be with you shortly.
You are now chatting with 'Oscar V'. There will be a brief survey at the end of our chat to share feedback on my performance today. Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK5640154575X
Visitor: I have been having an issue with my flat screen TV. Sometimes when I try to turn it on, it clicks a few times and shuts back off. Other times, when it turns on, there are lines on the screen. Turning it off and back on seems to get rid of the lines, but it has happened more often lately. The model is LNT4661F. SN AHBB3CPP800159M.
Oscar V: Hi, thanks for reaching out to Samsung tech support. How can I help you today?
Oscar V: I am sorry to hear that you are not able to turn ON the TV.
Oscar V: Are you using any surge protector?
Visitor: it is in a protector
Visitor: the tv will turn on
Visitor: but at times it turns itself on and off several times
Visitor: until it finally turns on
Oscar V: Try to connect the TV directly to the power outlet and check if the issue still persists.
Oscar V: Make sure that there are no damages on the power cable.
Visitor: i have tried it in a few outlets around the house with the same issue
Oscar V: Try to remove the power cable from the TV and the power outlet wait for a minute and reconnect the power cable to the TV and the power outlet and check if you are experiencing the same issue.
Visitor: i did some google searching on the issue and it seems like several others have had similar problems
Visitor: the finding always seems to be bad capcitors
Oscar V: I have checked and I see that your model TV is not effected with this issue.
Visitor: eventhough it matches the symptoms perfectly?
Oscar V: Yes, eventhough it matches same symptoms your model TV is not effected with this issue.
Oscar V: This seems to be some other internal issue with the TV.
Visitor: hmmm
Visitor: so what can we do about it?
Oscar V: As we performed all the troubleshooting steps and issue still persists, the device needs to be serviced. Let me provide you with a link where you can file an online service request. You can get back to Live Chat with the ticket id LTK5640154575X anytime if you run into issues filing the service request. We are available 24 X 7.
Oscar V: You can visit the following link to file an online service request:
Oscar V: http://www.samsung.com/us/support/service/request
Visitor: that will be at my own expense, is that correct?
Oscar V: As the TV is out of warranty, you will be charged for the service.
Visitor: well, i can tell you this
Visitor: if i am spending money
Visitor: it is going to be on a new tv
Oscar V: You will get 1 year warranty with the TV and if you have any issues within the warranty then you will get free service.
Visitor: and it won't be a samsung
Oscar V: I’m sorry, I do not have information about service and cost details. Once you file a service request, you can get the information from the service center as the cost can only be determined after checking what part is defective. This can be determined only after a physical examination of the TV by a service technician.
Visitor: nor will anything else i buy
Visitor: there are many cases online with the same issue i have
Visitor: i am looking right now
Visitor: same model
Visitor: same symptoms
Visitor: to tell me that it does not effect my TV seems fishy
Oscar V: I am really sorry about this.
Visitor: me too, as a young person with many electronics to buy, i guess samsung is not interested in my business
Oscar V: There might be some other issue in the TV which needs to be physically diagnosed by the service technician.
Visitor: is that what i understand?
Visitor: your company will not stand by a $3000 TV for more than 1 year?
Oscar V: I am sorry sorry for any inconvenience.
Oscar V: I do understand the situation from your stand point.
Visitor: OK, I would like to submit a formal complaint, how do i do that?
Visitor: what address can i send a certified letter to
Visitor: to get a written response declining my future business
Oscar V: I will forward your complaint to our concerned department.
Visitor: And when would I hear something from them?
Visitor: a quick google search yields 464 results with my model and "problem"
Visitor: including some videos
Visitor: of bad capacitors
Visitor: I would like someone to formally tell me that this issue does not affect my TV
Oscar V: In order to confirm if the issue is with capacitors or any other issue, service technician needs to physically diagnose the issue.
Visitor: at my expense?
Oscar V: Yes, you will be charged for the service as the TV is out of warranty.
Visitor: and if it is the capacitors, will Samsung reimburse the charge?
Oscar V: I do understand the situation and I see that your TV in not affected model with bad capacitors.
Visitor: Can i get that address for a written complaint?
Oscar V: I will escalate the issue to our concerned department on your behalf.
Visitor: how will they contact me, there is no information on me
Visitor: if i write to them, they will have a way to contact me
Oscar V: I can escalate the issue to my supervisor.
Visitor: and how will he contact me?
Oscar V: If you wish I would transfer the chat to my supervisor now.
Visitor: yes please, that would be nice
Visitor: i know that it is not your fault
Oscar V: Would you mind holding while I transfer the chat to my supervisor.?
Visitor: sure
Oscar V: Thank you. Please wait while I transfer the chat to 'Joshua G'.
You are now chatting with 'Joshua G'. There will be a brief survey at the end of our chat to share feedback on my performance today. Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK5640154575X
Visitor: hello
Joshua G: Hi.
Joshua G: Would you mind holding a couple of minutes while I check your chat?
Visitor: thanks
Joshua G: Thank you.
Joshua G: Thanks for holding on.
Joshua G: Could I know the purchase date of the unit?
Visitor: sure
Visitor: September 2007
Joshua G: Thank you.
Joshua G: I see that there are no reported issues with this model, and it needs to be serviced out of warranty.
Visitor: OK
Joshua G: I fully understand your concern as a customer.
Visitor: i just feel like for that much money, it should have made it more than 4 years
Visitor: and right now, they way i feel, i would never spend the money on this brand of TV in the future
Joshua G: I really apologize for the inconvinience.
Visitor: OK, so I guess that is it?
Joshua G: Yes, is there any thing else I can assist you with?
Visitor: No, I guess not. Gonna open up my TV and start pricing some other TV Brands
Visitor: best of luck to you guys and your capacitors
Joshua G: Thank you for chatting with us. If you have a minute, please click on the blue “X close” button to receive a transcript of your chat and fill out a brief survey to help us serve you better. Have a wonderful day! Follow Samsung Service on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Chat session has been terminated by the Samsung Agent.
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