So I haven't made a blog post in quite some time now and just figured I write a little something here on LP. It's been so long I feel like I have to reintroduce myself.
So whenever I visit LP, I spend most of my time lurking in the ROFL thread. If you haven't checked the thread out before, you should take a look. it's usually on the first page of the General section here on LP. I've made a pretty decent amount of contributions to it and have been referred to as the ROFL Thread guy from members here on LP.
I'm roommates with acckerman and edzwoo. I'm president of the poker club at University of Illinois at UC although I do mostly the administrative work, edzwoo is the one who deals with most of the poker related issues.
I started playing FR on fulltilt about two years ago, made it up to nl100 before I quit six months ago.
I realize this might not be the best time to post something like this since Black Friday is still on everyone's mind but the majority of this post will be related to the business I run with edzwoo. If you guys have any questions regarding e-commerce or online retail in general, I can try my best to answer whatever you want to know.
--------------------------
edzwoo and I have been doing e-commerce since freshman year of college. We started off selling SD cards and flash drives on eBay. By sophomore year edzwoo was playing poker pretty frequently and was talking about playing poker professionally. I played poker from time to time but was a lot more focused on eBay.
After the SD cards and flash drives, I began selling Kohl's coupons (a clothing department store). When you sign up for the Kohl's newsletter, Kohl's emails you a $5 off $5 coupon 7-10 days after you sign up (you can read more about it here). I first found out about this promotion after stumbling across some sellers who sold these coupons on eBay. I naturally wanted to sell these coupons myself as well. So after an hour or two of research, I set up a very basic system where I would sign up for the newsletter, harvest the coupons a week later, and then sell them in batches of five for $4 per batch. It took approximately 10 minutes from start to finish to obtain the five coupons and email them out. Soon after, I knew there was some serious money involved with this with very little work and almost zero investment involved.
As time passed, I started buying gmail accounts off blackhatworld 100k at a time. I then hired a programmer from Spain who created programs for me that would automatically sign up for the coupons using the gmail accounts I purchased, harvest the coupons and format them, then send them out to eBay buyers through a business gmail account. I eventually became the largest Kohl's coupon seller on eBay, at my peak I was making $300 a day. This did not go unnoticed though, a large number of new sellers entered the market driving prices down a considerable amount. My biggest competitor was a woman named Michelle. She never replied to any of my correspondences and the only time I ever had any form of communication with her was when Kohl's stopped sending out coupons for three weeks or so. I got an email from her asking if I was having the same problems she had, this is how I found out her name was Michelle.
Michelle eventually stopped selling the coupons, I didn't know why. But in her vacancy a bunch of new sellers arose who formed a sort of "coupon cartel". They wanted to limit the number of coupons supplied onto the eBay market in hopes of keeping prices high. Some of the members in this group were from the old days who were selling coupons long before I even knew about its existence. They were talking about how a batch of five coupons sold for $10-$15 back when the promotion first began.
I never ended up joining the group mainly because for a cartel to function, they must control resources that were not readily available. Since Kohl's coupons could be obtained by anyone with an email account and an internet connection, it was extremely easy to enter the market. I also ran some regressions with the numbers the group members proposed and I didn't think there was any point in reducing the supply when I was by far the largest supplier.
Naturally, the other sellers were displeased with my decision. I got several emails that were less than pleasant to read, some were threats from the group stating that they would sell their coupons at a loss just to undercut me and force me into joining. One seller actually started purchasing coupons from me just to leave me negative feedback. I would block his accounts but he would just make new ones. Eventually, the negatives stopped coming. I never found out why.
Towards the end of my coupon run prices had dropped to $0.99 for a batch of 20 coupons. I was also contacted by Kohl's department of claims and loss twice to stop what I was doing, although neither time was done officially through Kohls.com itself, always through eBay. Gmail implemented a ton of new security features and I couldn't buy any more of them. The ones I did manage to buy were deleted by Google in a few days. I ended up using a catchall email address for a while but that just didn't work as well.
Eventually, eBay suspended my account, although not just for the Kohl's coupons. I had a lot of policy violations that were very vague and not even shown on the eBay website (eBay is actually a terrible place for sellers, if you ever go on the eBay forums it's just always full of people complaining about their policies). eBay said if I sent in my driver's license along with some other information there was a chance I could get my account reinstated. After I sent the required documents in, I became permanently suspended.
In addition to the Kohl's coupons, I was also selling Proactiv coupons, JCPenney coupons, Lowe's coupons and Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons. I always wanted to sell Staples coupons but I could never figure out how to get my hands on them. I was also selling a lot of random goods I purchased off Slickdeals at low costs and then would resell at a little below retail price. I was selling everything from Oakley sunglasses to designer purses to DVDs to PS3s. The money I got from that, in addition to the money I made from the Kohl's coupons was how I was able to fund the business venture I started with edzwoo in April 2010.
Wow, sorry guys, I didn't know this post would be so long, I was actually planning on talking about the business I'm running right now but I ended up writing a lot about the history of how I started off. To keep it short, I'll cut if off here and write more about the current business next time.
The Contribution I Wanted to do after Black Fridayby HeroPoker-CEO, April 26
"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." Robert F. Kennedy
So as of now, I've stopped posting at P5s. Not because they weren't such a great site/community, its just that they are very US facing and I really didn't know what I should be doing with them as they have a lot of partner sites. But of course, I think I'm more comfortable here at LP. It took me a long time to come over here from LP but it gets friendlier every day keke.
Being an Executive or CEO of a start-up
What really defines an executive, is one that make decisive decisions...the hard decisions that no one wants to make or are too scared to make. The real executive seems to the guy who steps in and is contrarian, when everyone is just trying to save their jobs. I thought really highly of myself as a world class executive cause I was aggressive, ballsy and usually was the only one to make a clear statement.
But being a CEO and running a start-up is so much freaking harder- just because, as an executive, what major decisions you make either make more or less profit or revenue. As the CEO of a start-up it seems that every decision you make forces the company to move one entire way or another. It doesn't matter about how much money you have to spend, its a matter of where and when do you commit your capital to get what you want; and that main objective is to simply establish your company.
Establishing the Company
What does that mean, establish your company? For me in this uber competitive environment, it means make it clear what the company offers, stands for, essentially the brand. And while a lot of marketing guys think they know what a brand is or for a lot of people it sounds superficial; I'll say this, making a true brand is all about sincerity.
There isn't a brand in the world that has a clear life of its own that isn't authentic or sincere. The brand may represent something you like or don't like, but whatever it represents, it is authentic and sincere-otherwise, its just a fake ass brand which requires a lot of marketing dollars and spin to continue to live. Its kind of like a guy who really has great friendships by being just himself or a guy who tries to always impress the people around him by being charming etc. Same difference. So for me, I put this in front of the revenue, etc, cause until I can say, hey, our company really does stand for...abc...then I will know we'll be alright.
For the Ideals of a Company
So, today I made one of those decisions, I committed a bit of funds, not towards marketing, but just to define our brand. I allocated the funds with a zero return on spend, meaning, I don't expect to make anything from the 'event'. But I feel good about it because I feel that it really is a defining moment for our company. Basically I set up tournament for players who have been at a disadvantage of late due to the events regarding 'black Friday'. If you're interested in participating cause you are a US citizen and you're really bummed out, then PM me and I'll get you under LP etc. I don't know if it will really make you feel better, but its my hope for some players it will.
I kinda feel as though this is the decision that will truly define our company, and it seems like such a small thing, but I think in the future if I am to look back at this time, it will be the most critical time where Hero Poker became a real poker company and not just another skin.
Sorry for the vagueness, just PM if you want details if you are US player and just really bummed out.
Cheers,
Dave
Summary
-executives make hard decisions
-CEO of start-ups make life or death decisions
-brand or company identity is probably the most important thing
-I think I've made one of those critical decisions for the company's identity but it doesn't help revenues
-But to me, this worth much more than revenue now, I think its a defining moment for the company
-If you are a US player and just really bummed out because your bankroll is still pending,
PM me, I don't know if what I can tell you really will help, but its something sincere from Hero.
So being that black friday hit and all my money is still frozen on stars, I have sit around long enough. I want to work out something with someone so I can go play some live poker. I have a place about 1hr away from where I live where I can play some 2/5. I feel very comfortable playing, and being that the place I would be playing is a cruise ship that goes into inter-coastal waters (so its legal to gamble) most of the players will be rich fish looking to have a good time. The cruise runs every night and I would be able to go a couple times a week if possible.
History- Im mainly a sng/mtt player online and can play up to 40 tables no probs. I have had past cash play (which is where i started before online hit the world and it was just more convenient to stay at home) and have played much 1/2 - 2/5. Im willing to work out a reasonable deal with anyone that would like to stake me live. The split would go in your favor of 60/40 as long as I was able to get the stake starting asap.
Hope to hear from someone soon. Im sure theres ppl that will back me as a good person, honest, and all if anyone needs anyone to vouch for me please let me know. Also feel free to PM me any questions or anything else you would like to know
I'm a reg on 52.is (the icelandic liquid poker).
And I'm trying to sell $ on full tilt, and since the black friday thingy there haven't been too many people trying to buy.. so I figured I'd just try this site too
I have 4k on full tilt that I wanna get rid of basicly..
thanks for reading and pm me if you're interested..
any pointers and tips would be cool too
So I've been grinding pretty much recently, started out with the regrind for about 12 days ago and been putting in 20k hands since then of which 10k are in the last 3 days.
looking for diamond/masters T/P/Z practice partners. i'm currently a masters level zerg but want to find practice partners to help me grind games as the other two races without worrying about dropping games on ladder. pm or post here thx~
Just picked it up at the store! Since I can't play poker anymore I need something to fill in my available free time. I've been playing Call of Duty and Halo Reach a lot but Call of Duty is just way too easy and has a terrible matchmaking system, while Halo pretty much requires an arranged team of 4 to play at higher levels and I don't have 3 friends to consistently play with. I'm a big Warcraft III player and have never touched Starcraft but after hearing about it for awhile and seeing some friends play it I decided I would give it a shot.
Since I have never played Starcraft in my life I will probably be a complete and utter noob at this game for awhile. I got better at WC3 watching some replays to learn builds and strats and stuff. Anyone got some good links to SC2 replay sites that might help me get a good starting idea? Obviously can't learn without practicing either, I'm just looking for some additional resources.
wife starting to have contractions....by HeroPoker-CEO, April 25
We haven't even packed the hospital bag cause it is our second child, so we've been taking things pretty easy,
but now she is starting to have some very minor contractions and so now we're packing the hospital bag.
We live about 40 mins outside of Seoul, but our hospital is in Seoul because I wanted my second son to be born at the same hospital cause it was very good,
but I was expecting to move in with my brother-in-laws family this week and stay there which is about 5 mins from the hospital. The actual expected due date is May 3rd, but since last week the baby is already grown enough to be born at a healthy weight. Our first child was actually 1 week late, so we both figured that the second was going to be the same...apparently not! lol.
Mmm...well its 2:23am now in Korea, I guess I'll find out if they get stronger in the next hour, but even if they are like 1 hour apart,
we're headed off to Seoul to at least stay with my brother-in-law, as the labour for the second birth is quite quick.
I'll update if we actually leave the house tonight. I'd hate to leave during rush hour traffic in Seoul, if that is the case we're like to have the baby in Ilsan where we are now (much cleaner and spacious here than Seoul).
* The Dilemma (Comedy/Light Drama) - Kevin James, Vince Vaughn, Winona Ryder, Jennifer Connelly
- About telling your best friend how his wife is cheating on him and the problems that come with it
The movie was just Ok - could be on the don't watch list tbh
* Bulletproof Gangster"kill the irishman" (Bio/Action) - Ray Stevenson, Vinnie Jones, Vincent d'Onofrio, Christopher Walken
- Based on Danny Greene's life, Irish guy who gets fed up with Cleaveland crime families and starts fighting back. Highly recommended, very similar to "Rise of the Footsoldier"
* Insidious (Horror) - Very scary, people should definitely watch it. Had to watch with one eye open lol. fucking scary shit
* Waiting for Tomorrow(Love story/Drama) - Very slow drama/love story, if you want to feel sorry for a guy who's got absolutely no shot with a girl but hits a one outer in the end then i suggest you watch this. I dunno how I endured watching this movie but I did, and I actually found the whole thing decent. Proceed with caution on this one lol.(gf will prob love it)
* Lincoln Lawyer -(Mystery/thriller) Mat Maconaughey, Marissa Tomei, Ryan Philippe
- Courtroom Thriller about a rich boy accussed of attempted rape, assault on a hooker and his defense lawyer's methods of getting him off
* Hanna - Child raised to be an assassin by the CIA with the help of some manipulation of some engineering, looked really good even if i watched it on a terrible copy. Id recommend watching it in theatres, nice action sequences and the humor inserted are even surprisingly funny. awesome background music too
*Rise of the footsoldier - one of those good unknown gems ive watched 2 years ago, hooligans and gangsters
highly recommended
Newly released torrents which are crap:
Buried - ryan reynolds in a coffin for 2 hours, no chance to see his abs - fuck that lol
The Plague - just because its from a Clive Barker novel means you should watch it
Walking the Dead - horror mystery set in China
Tracker - Ray Winstone's piece of shit movie
Street Kings 2 - Busto sequel without the lead (No keanu here, just move along now)
Scream 4 - only watch if you have to
1st Q: If you could somehow choose what sex you wanted your first child to be, would you prefer a son or a daughter?
Some people claim that daughters are generally closer to their fathers as they get older, and sons are closer with their mother. So that's something to consider.
Also im trying to get back into playing SC2, is it even possible to play that game casually? I lost like 10 games before even winning one (playing terran for the 1st time). Seems like i'd have to play alot of it to fully enjoy it, not sure if it's worth it
ALSO to everyone thinking about moving to PS because they think the games are so soft, STAY AWAY games are unbeatable.
Calling all micro players!by ShaperofDreams, April 23
(or anyone who is willing to help)
I agree with what Tasteless/Artosis/Idra say about Starcraft, that it's not only practice but the ability to communicate with like-minded people that helps players improve.
I want to put together a group of people to talk to about poker with, my poker email is mrkprkvc@gmail.com, and I can make a skype if people prefer that.
Also I will post all hands I find confusing on the hands section of LP, which should be a lot.
I'd really appreciate any help, and later the ability to help others (hopefully)!
Also if we find that one of us is spamming questions too much we can be men and say we are busy, or just straight up tell each other to slow down and be more picky with questions.
hey guys!! :D
after more than a year way from poker, I'm back! I decided to quit to take care of some issues in my life, things that I couldnt handle well at the time. I cashed out all my roll but I'm gonna put some back on PS to get back to action.
Contact Users: 871 Active, 1 Logged in - Time: 00:58
,
,
,
,