Daily Obsessive Google Rank Check:
Pool Cues: #1
Pool Cue: #2

I have really mixed feelings about this one.  As employee #4 of Thunderbeam.com which later became Brainplay.com which was then turned into KBKids.com and finally KBToys.com, I was around to see the business grow from a few orders per day to one of the leading online toystores.  Even so, there was always a complete lack of focus on any business metrics while I was there.  I was continually told that my concerns about basic ecommerce metrics like conversion and customer acquisition costs were a waste of time since we were in the middle of “a land grab” as the former CEO and VP of Marketing continued to remind me.

While I do feel for the 103 remaining employees who are likely going to be looking for work soon, a company that never made any money and had a history of poor management should not be surprised by its failures.  Even on the eToys side, there was never a focus on profitibility.  It was always a cash flow/market share game.  There’s a great article about it at The Denver Post.

On to happier news.  I’m still treading water with my bowl picks, now at 6-6 for the season.  Today I’m going with Maryland +2.5, Oregon +2.5 and Rice -3.

Daily Obsessive Google Rank Check:
Pool Cues: #1
Pool Cue: #2

Don’t feel much like blogging about anything today, so I’m just going with the bowl picks.  Last night’s win pushed my record to 6-6 against the spread, but I’m not too high on either of the games today.  The early game has NC State who’s won their last four games a 6.5 point dog to Rutgers who have won their last six games.  The night game has Missouri as a 12 point favorite against Northwestern.

As for the picks, I’m going with Rutgers -6.5 and Northwestern +12.  I’ll probably lose the Northwestern game, but I can’t bet against the old man’s alma mater.

Daily Obsessive Google Rank Check:
Pool Cues: #1
Pool Cue: #2

Like many online retailers, PoolDawg sells on Amazon.  The way that Amazon seems to work creates an interesting dilemma.  In order to sell more on Amazon, you have to get your listing in the so called “buy box”.  If there are 10 stores selling the same product, the store who’s listed in the buy box with their one click checkout will get the lion’s share of the sales.  The problem though is that the buy box seems to be controlled by the store who offers the lowest price.  So, in order to get the buy box, you need to continually lower your price and stay ahead of the competition.

The question though is whether or not its worth it.  In the billiards business, margins are already thin.  When you get into a price war and then work in Amazon’s commission, you have to wonder at what point you should just give up the sale to your competitor.

On the 2009 Bowl front, I ran my record to 5-6 with two of my three picks from yesterday covering the spread.  In today’s coin flip game, I’ll go with Louisiana Tech -2 over Northern Illinois and see if I can get back to .500.