Last week I wrote on this blog regarding a situation were Amazon.com and McAfee.com were both bidding on Top Ten Wholesale’s domain name and trademarks. We were appalled both by the fact that huge companies, such as those two, can drive up the costs of doing business for a smaller company, such as, well us and how little in the way of cooperation we received from them in correcting this violation of Google Adwords terms of service.

As I said before we contacted Google and got seeming encouraging activity from them but were also told to attempt to fix the problem with McAfee and Amazon ourself. Not surprisingly, they were of little help. They returned neither phone calls or emails.

However, in all fairness, we wish to report that Google has taken action and made tremendous steps towards rectifying the situation. We received an email from them saying that they agreed that McAfee’s “ad text was unclear” and that McAfee’s ad would no longer contain our trademarks and domain name. We greatly appreciate their speedy action.

Although Google didn’t mention it in their email we they seem to have removed Amazon’s ad from our trademark as well. They also promised that we would here from their trademark department as well once they had fully reviewed the situation.

We inquired if there were further punishments other than simply removing the offending ad and they said that “I can assure you that repeat violators are suspended from our advertising program. We do not tolerate repeat malicious violations of our policies.”

We do not expect much to come from this but I must say I fail to understand how a trademark violation can be anything but malicious. It simply isn’t possible for this to have been a mistake. Putting a bid on some ones domain name is a conscious act and requires planning and forethought. It doesn’t happen by accident, it happens because a company wants to crowd a competitor and harm their business.

In one sense I suppose we should be proud, having some of the biggest names on the Internet begin tramping on our domain name may be a sign that our little company has arrived. About a week ago while performing a regular check of the Adwords PPC advertising that we pay a goodly amount for each month we discovered that both Amazon.com and McAfee.com were appearing as sponsored links on searches for www.toptenwholesale.com.

This is a violation of Google’s policy of on purchasing key word advertising on registered trade marks or domain names. Obviously these two big hitters have placed deposits on our trademark. The flattery of this gesture however doesn’t match up with the downside that comes with it; namely that we have to pay more to get the same result positions on our own domain names then we would if Amazon and McAfee were not bidding on it.

After Google’s recent legal dust up with Gieco you’d think they would be anxious to avoid these sort of problems. We followed the procedure to rectify this situation as outlined in Google’s term of use. We called them and found Google reasonably helpful. A friendly and seemingly dedicated customer service rep walked us through the grievance filing but then encouraged us to reach out to the violators ourself to get their assistance in fixing the problem.

Here things got a little trickier. All attempts to contact McAfee have met with an ear splitting silence. They responded to neither our emails or phone calls. Amazon at least answered their phone but beyond that were of no help what so ever. The customer service rep, know to us only as Representative #8, offered no assistance and refuse to allow us to speak with someone further up the ladder at the Internet giant.

We will continue to pursue this violation of our intellectual property rights and sincerely hope for a speedy resolution but at this point it is unclear what exactly can to be done. If Google insists that some kind of friendly talk with Amazon and McAfee will straighten everything out and the two companies continue to refuse to discuss the matter it leaves us in a untenable situation.

This is not a wholesale blog. Nor does this have anything to do with , seo, sales tips or advertising. This is a blog about how I decided to change our company culture yesterday morning while having having breakfast in Chicago awaiting to hear a seminar at the Search Engine Strategies Show.

During my breakfast, I was reading the USA Today. I’m sure you all know this is very big national newspaper that focuses on mainly national and international news. I was sipping my coffee, and a headline struck my eyes “Pop Warner player tackles bone cancer” . This was a stroy about 13 year old Trey Jordan, from Kansas City, MO , who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma back in May. Since May, Trey has been going through chemotherapy and had to under go surgery to have a prosthetic knee and titanium rod inserted in his right leg.

As I was reading this story, I felt as if Trey were starring me in the face. I had an overwhelming feeling of sadness overcome me and a numbing sensation that will forever change the way I, and JP Communications gets involved and utilize our resources and values for others.

We had planned on giving all of our customers holiday gifts and recognition. As a standard corporate practice, this is an act widely accepted as customers expect to be appreciated and thought of. Well, with in seconds of reading about Trey Jordan, I knew what had to be done. Gifts and cards for customers were instantly cancelled. A decision to allocate the resources for customer gifts was going to be used to help Trey and his family. JPC, and on behalf of all of our customers who make it possible to give, needed to go a different direction.

I contacted the editor of the story , Christopher Lawlor. He was kind of enough to spend some time with me and give a back ground of Trey’s story. After speaking with Chris, I placed a call to Bob Collins and Trey’s mother, Chanda. Chanda, a single mother of two, told me an amazing story of Trey’s passion, courage, and will to fight. Chanda was recently a contractor for Sprint, working 40 + hours a week, almost 75% finished with her initial contracting period to become a full time employee. Chanda made a decision to spend time with her son while he underwent chemo, and Sprint made a decision to end their contract with her. I wont say anymore on that; I’ll let you be judge of that. Bob is Trey’s coach, and father of seven. Bob is with Trey’s team right now in FL at he Pop Warner Super bowl and those young have been playing their hearts out for Trey, who is undergoing chemo as I write this. Below is the text from the USA today story that Chris wrote:
“Trey Jordan exudes inspiration. He has become a touchstone for his Park Hill Panthers junior midget football teammates.

Jordan, 13, wishes he could suit up at the Pop Warner Bowl this week. Instead, he continues chemotherapy after being diagnosed May 1 with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer.

Jordan, who played the previous four seasons as a defensive tackle and tight end, attended three games this fall, donning his No. 73 jersey as the honorary captain.

“He never gives up,” Panthers coach Bob Collins says. “That’s what Trey is about on and off the field.”

According to medical website kidshealth.org, osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer. In most cases, it affects male teens during growth spurts.

Jordan, from Kansas City, Mo., first felt pain in his right knee last spring, and within weeks of the diagnosis he began chemotherapy. In August, he had limb salvage surgery, when a prosthetic knee and titanium rod were inserted in his right leg.

Jordan’s inner strength is fueled by an indomitable spirit: “My goal is to play next season.” He currently walks with crutches.

The Pop Warner Super Bowl is an annual week-long event held in December at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The event consists of 64 teams from eight regions playing in four age-weight classifications — Junior Peewee, Peewee, Junior Midget and Midget.

Park Hill (13-2) lost Tuesday afternoon in the Division II junior midget national semifinals against the Waterbury (Conn.) Patriots 35-8. Friday’s third-place game will conclude the postseason run. ”

I realize that it is up to us, and corporate America, to lead and show others how to be involved and make a difference. It is my believe that making a difference starts individually. Being involved, locally, nationally, and globally and helping individuals will shape the way they in turn act towards others. This holiday season, instead of being so concerned about the gift you are getting, or the amount of gifts that you must buy for others, or the new upgrades in your kitchen…..Think about giving back, and letting someone know you care. That’s a gift that truly will keep giving.

Happy Holidays,

Jason

Chanda, Trey and Jayda: I hope to see you all in San Diego soon. Trey, your an inspiration. You and your family will always be in our prayers. Merry Christmas.

Chris and USA Today: Thank you. Thank you for providing me and JP Communications the information that will forever make a difference in our culture.

“Cyber Monday” sales jumped over 25% from 2005. coM Score networks estimates that close to $680 million dollars were spent shopping on sites like Amazon and Ebay. What does this tell us ( aside from the fact that our employees love to use internet connections on company time) ? Well, we know a few things from this:
1) Shoppers hate lines.
2) Shoppers hate waiting.
3) Shoppers LOVE choice.
4) Shoppers love a clean, robust UI.
5) THE INTERNET IS REAL.

$680 million dollars in 1 day of shopping. That is absolutely amazing. Consumers are under the impression that they can get a better deal online. They know that by visiting the small e-tail outlets, significant advantages can be realized when purchasing from a small wholesaler or dropshipper selling merchandise to the average “joe” in little quantities. As I scour our customer base on Toptenwholesale , Offpricenetwork , WholesaleU and Wholezilla.com , I can easily see that most wholesalers, manufacturers, importers and distributors have adjusted thier minimum orders so low to the point that the average consumer can afford to now buy direct. Where has the supply chain gone? I’ll save the answer to that question in time to come, but all of Wholesalers out there still requiring large minimum orders and believing that volume discounts only exist with quantity….You’d better think again.

Jason Prescott