Yesterday I went to go take a look at the original content section of College Humor videos, as they produce some pretty good high quality stuff like the popular internet comments in a boardroom series. When I went to the video, I noticed that the page had done an ad takeover for AirTranU.com, which is a flight standby program specifically for people between the ages of 18-22 aka college kids.

By doing an ad takeover, there were quite a few elements that took place (That I noticed):

• The background was changed to match the AirTran U branding (blue)
• The AirTran U logo was placed next to the College Humor logo
• The AirTran U logo is provided along the right and left rails of the page
• The video is surrounded by the actual “ad”, promoting a contest to offer free flights until you’re 23 from AirTran U.
• Prior to the video playing (pre-roll), there was a quick few second branding spot with the AirTran U logo stating that the video was brought to you by them.
• After the video was finished (post-roll), it automatically went to a 15 second commercial for AirTran U.
• Everything, including the background, was clickable.
• The only thing that didn’t seem to work was the 300×250 ad spot just said “Loading Advertisement”. I’m assuming either the 300×250 ad from AirTran U was not working, or they didn’t have one, so did not load an ad for competitive separation/exclusivity reasons.

Here’s a screenshot of the page, feel free to click it to see the full version:

I have to say that this ad takeover was really done right. It was very effective to me as a consumer from a performance, targeting, and branding perspective. On top of that, it also looks good. I definitely noticed the ad/brand (enough for me to write this article!), and ended up clicking through just to see what it was all about. I wonder what the cost of a takeover like this is, and what the CPM works out to be. Anybody in the industry care to chime in?? It would be interesting to see more of this in the blogosphere, as long as it’s done right.

What are your thoughts?? Is it too much?

I was extremely lucky when I found my new Dodge Viper, in that the car was located about 20 minutes from where a good friend of mine is attending law school. She was able to check out the car for me, and ensure that everything was legitimate. While I was out picking up the car, I stayed at Lisa’s place for a few days since I never get to see her. In return for helping me out, I wanted to take her out to a nice dinner, so we decided to go to The Chophouse in downtown Ann Arbor.

The restaurant was interesting, it actually had a separate section to it called “La Dolce Vita“, which was a lounge type area for desserts and coffee. Before I get into that, lets get into the dinner itself.

All week Lisa was saying that The Chophouse had the best filet mignon. I’ve had a good amount of filet before, from some really nice places…so I definitely wanted to give it a comparison shot. So of course I ordered the 12oz filet for my entree, and Lisa had some sort of filet special which had crab cakes and something else on it. We also split a side of the cheddar au gratin potatoes with a nice bottle of wine.

I have to say, Lisa was right. This was probably one of the best filet’s I have ever had. I have never seen such a tender piece of cooked meat this size. It was also a huge piece of steak, I could only finish about half of it…and I hadn’t even eaten anything else all day.

We boxed up what we couldn’t finish, and headed over to La Dolce Vita for some dessert. Since we were both already full, we decided to split the chocolate melt cake…unfortunately I didn’t remember to take a picture until we were halfway done with it. Trust me, it was good though

The dinner was great overall, it was about $200 all said and done with a bottle of wine. If you’re ever in the Ann Arbor, MI area…make sure to stop by The Chop House.

The weather on Saturday cleared up to become a perfect day in the afternoon, so Jason and I decided to take the Vipers out for a little drive around the town. I took some video so you can see how the new Viper looks. Interestingly enough I found the video got an honors on YouTube, as it was the #7 most popular video the day I posted it in the autos section. Somebody even noticed I was wearing my SmashMyViper.com t-shirt (that I haven’t worn in about a year).

Another part of the reason I wanted to make it was because John Chow was raving about his little Flip camera…and I just didn’t get it. While I realize it takes 2 gigs of video, basically everything digital camera takes good quality video as well. Why carry around two things, when you can do it in one? So just to prove it, I created this video using my Canon Powershot SD900 digital camera, and quickly editing it using Windows Movie Maker.

Do you think that Google may have read my “How Google Analytics Can Be Dramatically Improved” post from back in October? Even if they didn’t Google released an update to Analytics that included this, and possibly other features (anybody else notice anything??)! There is a beta label next to it, but you can now view your graph by day, week, and month…instead of just day:

A simple improvement, that makes a drastic difference. Thank you Google…it’s about time.

Update: Apparently you can see hourly charts too…as seen here and here.

Wow. That’s all I can say as I hang up the phone with AutopartsWarehouse.com (I don’t want to send them a link). Don’t ever buy anything from them…please. So here’s my story of what happened:

I decided to buy a Corsa exhaust system for my Dodge Viper. The MSRP for the system is about $2,200, and it can be found online for about $1,700 shipped from PartsRack, which specializes in Viper parts. I went on Google Product Search, and found a price from AutopartsWarehouse for $1,593, but when you clicked through, the website showed $1. I gave them a call, and the guy told me he could honor the $1,593 price…I told him that I’d consider it and call back, he gave me his extension number.

Later that day I had found a lower price for $1498 (which turned out to be wrong), but I went to live help from AutopartsWarehouse to ask about that. Without me even asking, the sales representative said he could do the exhaust system for $1,300 shipped. This was an unbeatable price, so I said, $1,300 shipped…definitely order me one. I gave my card info, and later on in the day the price on the website was adjusted from $1 to $1,964. I noticed that when pulling up the order on the website, my order says $1. Later on in the day this changed to $1,300.

Then at about 8pm, I get an e-mail saying this:

We regret to inform you that at the present time we do not stock the part(s) you are looking for. Your order has been canceled. Please check your local dealer or auto parts store for availability. If you have any questions please feel free to call us at 1-888-628-3247, press 1. Please accept our sincerest apologies for this occurrence and do not hesitate to contact us if we may further assist you.

Ummm…ok. I was assured it was in stock earlier. I give the number a call, and the rep (who now for the 2nd time barely speaks English) pulls up my order # and then goes on to tell me there is none in stock…even though I was told they were in stock, and guess what the website says:

This gets me thinking that instead of being upfront and saying that the price was too low that they gave, they made a mistake, and this is the best price they could give…they are deceiving and cancel the order saying that the part is not in stock. To verify my theory, I head over to their live chat again:

7:53:26 PM Chris: Welcome to Live Help! How can I assist you today?
7:53:37 PM Customer: Hey Chris, could you tell me if you have this part in stock?
7:53:38 PM Customer: COR14122
7:53:51 PM Chris: let me check
7:53:56 PM Customer: thanks
7:54:32 PM Chris: looking to order?
7:54:35 PM Chris: it is in stock
7:54:45 PM Customer: so you are sure you have that part available?
7:54:59 PM Chris: yes, im very sure. it is available

Then I start to tell him about my situation, in which he pulls up my order and tells me this:

7:59:12 PM Chris: it is in stock. your payment mode must be money order
7:59:20 PM Customer: it was via american express
7:59:40 PM Chris: yes, your order is high. it should be money order
7:59:40 PM Customer: this is the e-mail I just got
7:59:46 PM Customer: We regret to inform you that at the present time we do not stock the part(s) you are looking for. Your order has been canceled. Please check your local dealer or auto parts store for availability. If you have any questions please feel free to call us
8:00:12 PM Customer: what? I can’t pay with a credit card?
8:00:57 PM Chris: our policy is $1,200 only for the items, if that exceeds, you need to pay it in money order
8:01:50 PM Chris: you really want to have this? ill help you with it
8:02:02 PM Customer: Where does it say that? I can go online and pay with a credit card just fine…or paypal even
8:02:14 PM Customer: I do want to order the part at the price I was quoted
8:02:31 PM Customer: but with a credit card
8:03:00 PM Customer: I’d be more than willing to pay the transaction fee if that is the concern with using a card over $1,200, but that policy seems ridiculous to me
8:03:53 PM Chris: okay, your order is out of stock, i checked it with our inventory, I suggest you choose another exhaust system for your car.
8:04:15 PM Customer: you told me “yes, im very sure. it is available”
8:04:36 PM Chris: ive double check it in our inventory and it is not available.

Ok…so he’s telling me this eCommerce site can’t accept orders over $1,200 through a credit card and must be sent via money order in order to get it. Then…all the sudden he’s double checked and it’s not in stock any more. He tries to sell me a different brand, but I am set on a Corsa exhaust. He finds a different part # for another Viper Corsa exhaust (same part, but there is one difference that makes it so it doesn’t work with the stock cats, only with high flow cats). I told him that version was fine, and I’d like to get the original price that they sold the exhaust to me for but then canceled because it was out of stock. This one was in stock, so they could sell it to me. The rest you just need to read to see how ridiculous this is:

8:17:10 PM Chris: it is not available, COR14119 this is available
8:17:31 PM Customer: and you could do the 14119 at the $1,300 price I was quoted via credit card?
8:18:15 PM Chris: so you want it for 1,300?
8:18:32 PM Customer: that’s the price I was supposed to get charged for the 14122
8:18:38 PM Customer: you can pull up the order and see
8:19:50 PM Chris: let me check
8:20:20 PM Chris: Order Total: $1,964.27
8:20:53 PM Customer: No…it was $1,300 I have the conversation printed out from when I ordered it, and when I looked it up before you guys cancelled it, it was $1,30
8:20:55 PM Customer: $1,300
8:21:40 PM Chris: yeah, i see it. but when im checking it out the COR14119 it is 1,964.27
8:21:54 PM Customer: Yeah…the guy gave me a better price on it
8:23:50 PM Chris: he gave a price of 1,300?
8:23:56 PM Customer: yes
8:24:16 PM Customer: that’s why the order WAS at $1,300 and again, I have the conversation with the sales rep
8:24:39 PM Chris: yeah. i see his name in your order
8:25:01 PM Customer: yeah…
8:26:05 PM Chris: im confused about the price discount
8:26:15 PM Chris: i dont know what to say
8:26:26 PM Customer: the price on the website was a mistake, and it was only listed as $1
8:26:33 PM Customer: so I went on the chat, and I told him about it
8:26:45 PM Customer: and he said that was a mistake and he could do it for $1,300 shipped
8:26:49 PM Customer: so I placed my order
8:27:30 PM Chris: so, the original is 1,964.57 and then when you ordered it it became 1,300?
8:28:17 PM Customer: no….on the website it was $1…which was obviously a mistake (which they have since fixed and changed to $1,964.57)…..I asked the guy what it would cost and he told me $1,300, so I placed the order
8:28:54 PM Chris: so he gave you a discount of 600?
8:29:02 PM Customer: I guess so
8:29:12 PM Customer: I didn’t know the $1,964 price at the time
8:29:30 PM Customer: I see them online for like $1,400 something, it didn’t seem unreasonable to me
8:29:55 PM Customer: I got in touch with you guys and you guys gave me a price, and I provided my payment info…I don’t see what the problem is
8:30:16 PM Chris: the original price is 1,964.57. how come it became 1,300 and the discount doesnt appear in your order? im really confused, im sorry.
8:30:39 PM Customer: I don’t know, what do you want me to say…ask the rep I talked to
8:30:42 PM Customer: he told me $1,300
8:30:46 PM Customer: that’s all I know
8:31:00 PM Customer: You guys should be able to pull up the conversation
8:31:04 PM Customer: look and you’ll see
8:31:16 PM Chris: nothing. im just confused out here, im trying to figure it out
8:32:01 PM Customer: well sounds to me like the part you’re confused about can be resolved by either talking to that sales rep or pulling up the chat conversation I had. I am just the customer that is trying to order the exhaust and was given a price
8:33:56 PM Chris: yeah. i dont mean everything to you. your my customer. well i stick on the prices here in my system.
8:35:03 PM Customer: ok…
8:35:51 PM Chris: is there anything that you need?
8:36:06 PM Customer: are you kidding me?
8:36:14 PM Customer: I’m trying to order the exhaust
8:36:36 PM Chris: oh, i sorry. its $1,964.27
8:36:50 PM Customer: What’s up with the $1,300 I was given before?
8:38:17 PM Chris: I would suggest that you call us at 1-800 541-2521 at your earliest convenience. from 9am ?? 4 pm PST .. during business days ..for further information
8:38:35 PM Customer: so you want me to spend another 30 minutes of my time going in a ciricle?
8:39:13 PM Chris: you know the discount is very high, all right.
8:39:37 PM Chris: the final order total is $1,964,57
8:39:39 PM Customer: I see that now, but it’s the price that YOUR COMPANIES REP gave me

From here, we start discussing some price matching stuff so I can understand what the price is that I could actually get. Keep in mind that I was originally quoted on the phone for $1,593…Chris keeps telling me $1,964. There is more retarded back and forth, which at this point I tell him he has wasted an hour of my time, just give me the best price. At this time, I am also on the phone with the company talking to another rep without giving my previous order #. This rep has verified multiple times that the original part is IN STOCK! He was able to give me the part for $1,600 shipped. Here’s what happened with Chris:

8:53:43 PM Customer: or lets just make this easier…what’s the best price you can give
8:53:54 PM Chris: one moment
8:56:29 PM Chris: my supervisor says $25 discount
8:57:50 PM Customer: thats funny because I’m on the phone with your company right now and this rep can do $1,600 shipped
8:58:09 PM Chris: okay. thank you.
8:58:24 PM Chris: Thank you for visiting our website. Please take the time now to add us to your favorites.Its been pleasure assisting you.
8:58:25 PM Customer: I should send you an invoice for $125 for wasting my time for an hour
8:58:29 PM System: Chris has left this session!

Good times. At this point I’m now on the phone with the rep (who barely speaks English again), and after I had him verify that the part is in stock a bunch of times, I bring up my situation and ask him what’s up with all of the different answers. By the way, he had no idea of the $1,200 credit card limit. On top of that, when I originally called, I asked to be connected to the extension of the original guy I spoke with at first…he said he could not transfer me, but could not really explain why…but that he could help me out. I’m assuming they may be on some sort of commission or performance quota. At the end of the conversation after he verified the $1,600 shipped price and the part was in stock, I told him I’d think about it and asked for some sort of reference number so I could get the same price tomorrow. He said I could call him at his extension…Which I then said “You mean so I could call, and a rep could tell me they can’t transfer me to an extension..yet you just gave me an extension to reach you”. I just told him to forget it, there was definitely no way I was going to order with them…I would never give my money to a business like this…even if it was to save me money.

I immediately called PartsRack, and spoke to the owner John…at 8:30pm. Even though they were closed, he still answered some questions and ensured me enough that I’ll be placing an order with him…even though the price was a little over $100 higher. Something I was more than willing to pay for the honesty and knowledge John was providing. Although there have been times when John is a little bit rough to deal with…he seems to cater to the Viper owners that don’t question cost, and turn down/get frustrated with those that do. While I wouldn’t personally run a business like this, John is essentially weeding out the 95% of his business that wastes his time, and spending his time on the 5% that makes him 80% of his money. It’s something that you will read about in Four Hour Workweek. So again, while it’s not necessarily the way I would run his business, I can understand his way of doing it.

Either way, PartsRack will be getting my money, and if this article stops one person from buying from AutopartsWarehouse.com or any of their identical affiliate sites…I will consider it a success.

For another customer service nightmare, check out my past experience with Dell.

I left one of my Viper keys at my friend Lisa’s place when I went to go pick up the car. She immediately mailed it to me, only to find this in my mailbox:

The way that the envelope is ripped, makes it look like it was on purpose. So now somebody has a key to my Viper, and my address. That’s always reassuring

The eBay Partner Network site is now live and accepting registrations. If you’re currently an affiliate with Commission Junction, make sure to sign up and start migrating your links. I know I’ll be spending this week doing it. I’ll be posting a follow up to let you know my thoughts on the new setup.

There are a couple of new downloads you should be made aware of:

Wordpress 2.5

You can read all about the ton of updates that were made here. You can also download the new version here.

I haven’t upgraded any of my blogs, but I played around with a local version…it seems nice. I should be upgrading to 2.5 when this sites new redesign launches.

Magento 1.0

After a long wait, Magento has released their first stable 1.0 version of their eCommerce software. You can download that here.

I’m playing around with this locally, and there is a fairly steep learning curve. I’m still going through all of the features and trying to learn how to make it do what I want. I’m hoping Magento releases an official startup guide that goes through each feature and provide tutorials to do certain things. I think it would be nice if they essentially made a guide that teaches you how to go from a blank store, to one with all the demo data. There’s so much I want to do with Magento, so I’m hoping to learn quick.

The Viper I just bought had literally NO paint chips or anything on the front bumper…I wanted to keep it like that. I learned a little trick when I was putting my 350Z in car shows. Cover the areas you want to protect with blue painters tape. The product works great because it doesn’t damage the paint, leaves no residue behind, and doesn’t cost much.

One thing to keep in mind is to try and put the end of the tape so they aren’t on the front end. This will help it go with the wind and not peel off at all when you’re driving.

I’m now sitting here in Michigan, and the 97 Viper GTS I came here for is mine now. I can officially add it to my progression of vehicles post. The 97 Viper GTS in blue with white stripes is actually a personal dream car of mine. Even though I’ve had two other Vipers previously, they were earlier model convertibles in red. While nice because it was a Viper, this specific one is something I can actually cross of my things to get in life list. It feels good to be able to accomplish something that I can consider a big milestone.

The car looked better in person, compared to the pictures my friend took. The car is literally immaculate, the interior smells brand new. With only 6,300 miles on it, and completely stock, it’s really a collector car…I’ll still drive it though, and I am already getting the itch to start doing a few modifications. As soon as I get it back to Virginia later this week, I’ll do a complete detail of the car, and take some good pictures. In the meantime you can take a look at these: