Fare-thee-well...

It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye, as I have just accepted the affiliate manager post over at Orbitz. I really wanted to get into the online travel industry, and am looking forward to a much shorter commute!

You all have supported me, motivated me and certainly inspired me. I have learned from you, laughed with you and fought with you. :) So while I know there is a lot of work to be done, I'm hoping you will all join me at Orbitz once I get a handle on everything.

That said, my last day at Collectibles Today will be September 23rd, my first day at Orbitz, September 27. Oleg will be able to help out, you can reach him at okrylov@collectiblestoday.com. I'll still be bopping around ABW, so you can always catch me around. I'll also post new contact info when I get it.

"Promise me you'll never forget me because if I thought you would I'd never leave." - Winnie the Pooh

More from the Munsters

Just stole this from our P.R. department, hehehe. Feel free to take and adapt for your own use.

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The Munsters TV Show Celebrates 40 Years

TV’s The Munsters celebrate 40 years at 1313 Mockingbird Lane this September with the introduction of the first-everHalloween village with The Munsters theme and a model of Grandpa Munster’s "Dragula" dragster.

Niles, Illinois August 31, 2004— The Munsters, America’s most frighteningly funny family, have continued to attract some of the most loyal television program fans over the past 40 years, a pretty impressive feat considering the show only ran for 38 episodes. Similar to the characters on The Munsters, these fans aren’t your normal fans who are satisfied merely watching the syndicated programs on television. Oleg Krylov who grew up with The Munsters says, "We Munsters fans are nearly as wacky as the characters themselves". The term enthusiastic is an understatement for The Munsters fans, some of whom have even gone to the great lengths of building homes that are exact replicas of the Munsters house as well as cars that look exactly like the Grandpa’s coffin shaped "Dragula" dragster.Fans celebrate The Munsters 40th year at 1313 Mockingbird Lane this September, with the introduction of the first ever, The Munsters Halloween collectible village. Authorized by Universal Studios and available only from Hawthorne Village, this new Munsters collectible is one of the most anticipated items for avid Munster fans everywhere. Friends will be as green as Herman when they catch a glimpse of The Munsters Halloween Village that features character figurines, spooky sound effects, and eerie glowing lights. Free highly collectible character figurines of Herman, Lily, Grandpa and Eddie, are included along with a 6- piece jack-o’-lantern lamplight set, a $65.00 value.Not all of The Munsters fans have room for a life-size version of Grandpa’s "Dragula" dragster, the ghoulish car designed by George Barris. However they can still show their loyalty with an Ertl die-cast collectible version by Hamilton Authenticated. The 1:18 scale model features a "coffin" body on a tube chassis, radiator, tombstone grille, bat-shaped forced air scoops, and metal organ exhaust pipes just like those on Grandpa’s original "Dragula" dragster.Exclusivity only increases the desirability and potential value of The Munsters collectibles. The first-ever, limited edition The Munsters Halloween Village mentioned here is a exclusive acquisition of collectiblestoday.com and its affiliates, the leading international provider for limited-edition collectibles, through an exclusive arrangement and officially authorized by Universal Studios. The Munsters collectible village,Grandpa’s "Dragula" dragster and more movie and TV -themed collectibles are available at Collectibles Today, The Bradford Exchange’s online marketing arm.Collectibles Today is the premier Internet shopping site for unique, quality collectibles and giftware from the finest companies worldwide, offering collecting expertise, excellence and excitement for collectors as they pursue their passion for collecting. Collectibles Today is the online marketing arm of The Bradford Exchange and its affiliates, the leading international provider of fine limited-edition collectibles. This founding relationship endows Collectibles Today with a heritage of almost three decades of experience in the collectibles market, with a sterling reputation for superior quality and exceptional customer service unparalleled in the industry. No other online collectibles company sells to more collectors with more fine products than Collectibles Today; and no other online collectibles company has the resources and industry knowledge to consistently identify, encourage and spearhead new trends in collecting. Just as The Bradford Exchange laid the first cornerstone for the present day collectibles market, so now Collectibles Today is leading the collectibles industry and collectors into an exciting new future.

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Be a Halloweenie

So call me cynical. I really didn't think the Munsters Halloween Village was going to do very well, because really. Who decorates the inside of their house? Do people really invite trick-or-treaters into their house? Well, I suppose people do throw halloween costume parties...

The point of that whole bit just sets me up to say, "I was wrong." The Munsters Village is the third bestseller on our site.

It's done so well that Bradford is already humming with new ideas for next Halloween. :)

In other news, I was perusing the public library yesterday (when was the last time you went to a library? Until yesterday, it was two years for me!), and I came across the book: "The Urge to Splurge: A Social History of Shopping." If you've been with our program for a long time, you may know that I'm fascinated by consumerism. Check it out if you get a chance, it's a good read. Author is Laura Byrne Paquet. Here's a library of congress link because I'm not linking you to Amazon, sheesh. :)

XML Feed

Whoops. Forgot to note, since I am personally a Feedreader addict, I set up an XML feed for you guys also. Here it is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/CollectiblesToday

It's September?!?

Woke up this morning with the sun streaming in and thought, what a nice day! Then as I rolled over to smack the snooze button, I had an alarming thought. It's September now. That means there are only four months left in the year! And in those four months, we have Halloween, Thanksgiving, and ohmygoodness, Christmas.

In this industry, this last stretch of the year is the most critical. For example, this year, we didn't do as well as hoped with Mother's Day. Our standard offering of what we call the "Mother's Day Plate" had steady sales, but with its lower pricepoint, many affilates didn't really pick it up. You'd have to sell about 4 plates to get the same commission you'd get from selling a single Emily. As a result, I'm relying on these last two quarters to really, really pick up.

And actually, we're right on track. For August, we hit the sales mark (a teensy bit below, but we'll round up). Going forward, we have some really strong products that have healthy conversions. When you think about it, what use is good targeted traffic if the products are yuck?

Our product developers have shifted away from sub-plans (a good thing for affiliates, since we were unable to link sales after the inital purchase to specific affiliates) toward higher ticket solo items (a great thing for affilates, since it means higher commissions). You can see this with our Thomas Kinkade Christmas Tree, which is our current bestseller, and in all our jewelry offerings. This kind of product development also illustrates the company's shift in focus away from form toward affinities. Instead of creating a series of Thomas Kinkade plates, we are creating products centered around Thomas Kinkade.

So that's my bit for today. Not too bad, especially considering I've only had a half a cup of coffee thus far!

Merchandise Shift

Alright, a Collectibles Today affiliate blog. This should be amusing. Hopefully, I don't botch up the technology!

Up until last week, all I've seen on my top 10 product list were dolls, dolls, dolls. Baby Emily, Jasmine, and of course, the Dreamboats. All bestsellers. And of course, can't forget Emma with the beating heart. (Who sold out in a month, confirming that limited quantity really does drive demand.)

No offense to our doll niche affiliates...you guys are the ones that kept me on management's good side! Without all the sales you pushed, this program would have been up a creek.

Anyway, last week I finally saw a shift in the top 10 products being sold through the affiliate channel. Finally we are more in line with corporate-wide trends. Our number one product was the Thomas Kinkade tabletop Christmas tree. Its $135 price tag translates into at least $16 for each affiliate sale.

I look at that, and I look at our 1.5% conversion rate and I can see we're already ramping up to Christmas!