Cheaper Toys than Large Retailers? eBay UK? I’m Not Buying It

Have just been reading an interesting article by AuctionBytes called ‘eBay UK Says It Has Cheaper Toys than Large Retailer‘, but I’m not buying it. Not Toys, I have two kids, but the indication that redundant staff maybe behind the trend.

Quote:
eBay cited unnamed retail analysts who believe that redundancy (layoffs) may be behind the trend, “with former employees unable to find jobs setting up their own businesses instead.

Now the reason why I am not buying it, is because generally the Toy distribution network is based upon distribution rights management, in short you normally have one company distributing in one country and another in another.

I know this because trying to sell toys across multiple countries is a minefield and the toy manufacturers are exceptionally anally-retentive when it comes the Internet. Its only in the past year that some MD’s have opened up to the ‘Internet’ being a viable sales channel.

The other reason why I am not buying this, is because the greatest danger (to price) is not ToysRus or similar going ‘eBay’, its their suppliers, the ones that run the distribution networks you need to be looking at.

As the old blood dies out, new, more open minded figures will move in, when this happens (and it will, given enough time), that’s when the whole toys selling-floor-plan will change.