The Unannounced ebaY Fee Increases
2 Mar 2006
Revised 5 Mar 2006 to add information about the unannounced store fee increase
[Editors Note: We decided to leave both these articles posted so the changes we made would be clearly available for comparison. We found out about the store price increase when a reader emailed us after reading the original 2 March article posted on this blog]
On 18 January 2006, Bill Cobb, president of ebaY North America, announced a price increase for ebaY US. Of course, in the normal ebaY way, it was announced as fee adjustments, made to appear as if it was a minor increase, and that some fee decreases would mitigate the fact that ebaY has increased their fees every year, despite year over year record breaking profitability. As always, the business community looks at this and says that ebaY is justified in charging whatever the market will bear, but it once again puts the lie to ebaY's propaganda about being community based.
The fee increase went into effect on 22 Feb 06. The way the new fees were structured, ebaY reduced the fee on items listed at 99 cents or less from 25 cents to 20 cents, and increased the final value fee on the most common ending price level, an additional one quarter percent (.25%). They made some features free, including picture show and sales reports plus, and reduced fees for the second and third tiers of picture manager (all pretty worthless features, much less expensive and more reliably found from third party service providers). In addition, Bill Cobb said, "There are no changes for eBay Stores fees.", which you will see further along in this article, was a blatant lie on Mr Cobb's part. Despite the unannounced fee increases made to the store listing fees, TAG also expects an increase in store subscription fees, probably in the May/June time frame.
You can see the fee increase announcement at -http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200601181327302.html
What ebaY failed to mention, was that there were fee increases they did not tell their sellers about. TAG wonders if these fee increases, which probably border on the illegal, and violated ebaY's own user agreement, were even too sleazy for ebaY to mention in public, or if ebaY felt they could slip them in without anyone noticing. Once word got out and they were questioned about it, they would have probably used their old, "it has always been that way, we just didn't enforce it" line, or some other excuses, complete lies all, that seller's have the invoices to prove. Fortunately erudite TAG subscribers did notice the fee increases, and let us know about them.
There are two sets of ebaY increases, that ebaY failed to mention, or blatantly lied about. The first increase ebaY forget to mention, comes into play when a seller revises a listing to decrease the price of the item in that listing. In the past if the seller decreased the price of a listing, so that it took the listing into a lower fee category, ebaY would refund the difference. Just as, if the seller increased the price of a listing, ebaY would add the extra fee to the seller's bill. Now what ebaY is doing, is not refunding the difference in fees, in the case of a decreased price, but is still adding the increased fee when an item is revised to increase the price. This also probably applies to the reserve fee, when the change to the fee is based on a lowered reserve price. ebaY explicitly mentions, " Reduce the start price of your item. (You will not receive credit for the difference in your insertion fees.)" but does not address other fees, such as listing duration fees, or other items you might revise. See the revise your listing info at -
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/edit_listing.html
For example, if you look at the fee schedule at -
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html
If you start a listing at $59.99, the insertion fee would be $2.40. You then later revise it to $49.99. ebaY will not refund the $1.20 difference, they will keep it. But if you start an item at $49.99, you will be charged $1.20, and then later revise that to $59.99, ebaY will charge you the extra $1.20 to bring the listing fee up to $2.40.
The only place you can see this fee change is on the revise your listing page. But since that page is included in the user agreement by default (as are all ebaY's little back doors hiding information), ebaY will claim you agreed to this change by using their site. TAG argues that this is an illegal rule, keeping fees they are not entitled to, but until someone successfully sues them over this issue, or media attention shames them into a change, it will be the ebaY law.
The second fee increases were made in the stores, by removing the 60, 90 and 120 day listing durations. The only option now open to store users is 30 day and Good till Cancelled (GTC). All the listing upgrade fees are now charged every 30 days, and that change causes increases that range up to 300% (depending on duration) for those who previously used 60/90/120 day durations. The fee increases are shown as follows:
Gallery was 1 cent for 120 days and now costs 1 cent each 30 day period
Listing Designer (see note) was 10 cents for 120 days, and now cost 10 cents for each 30 day period.
(Note) No charge for listing designer for Blackthorne Basic, Blackthorne Pro, or Selling Manager Pro subscribers.
Highlight was $11 for 120 days, and now costs $5 each 30 day period.
Featured in Search was $34.95 for 120 days, and now costs $19.95 each 30 day period
Additional pictures were 45 cents for 120 days, and now costs 15 cents each 30 day period
Supersize pictures were $1.50 for 120 days, and now costs 75 cents each 30 day period
Picture Pack was $3.01 for 120 days, and now costs 76 cents each 30 day period
There is one price reduction, and that is for the Picture Show which was 55 cents for 120 days, and is now free
You can see the old stores fee schedule at - http://snipurl.com/n723
And the current store fees at - http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/storefees.html
Once again ebaY shows how willingly and blatantly it lies. When the President of North America, can post that there are no fee increases in stores, when there were increases, it shows how deeply corrupt ebaY and its management is.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Thursday, March 02, 2006
The Unannounced ebaY Fee Increase
The Unannounced ebaY Fee Increase
2 Mar 2006
On 18 January 2006, Bill Cobb, president of ebaY North America, announced a price increase for ebaY US. Of course, in the normal ebaY way, it was announced as fee adjustments, made to appear as if it was a minor increase, and that some fee decreases would mitigate the fact that ebaY has increased their fees every year, despite year over year record breaking profitability. As always, the business community looks at this and says that ebaY is justified in charging whatever the market will bear, but it once again puts the lie to ebaY's propaganda about being community based.
The fee increase went into effect on 22 Feb 06. The way the new fees were structured, ebaY reduced the fee on items listed at 99 cents or less from 25 cents to 20 cents, and increased the final value fee on the most common ending price level, an additional one quarter percent (.25%). They made some features free, including picture show and sales reports plus, and reduced fees for the second and third tiers of picture manager (all pretty worthless features, much less expensive and more reliably found from third party service providers). And though they did not increase the store fees, TAG does expect an increase in store fees, probably in the May/June time frame.
What ebaY failed to mention, was that there was a fee increase they did not tell their sellers about. TAG wonders if this fee increase, which probably borders on the illegal, was even too sleazy for ebaY to mention in public, or if ebaY felt they could slip it in without anyone noticing. Once word got out and they were questioned about it, they would have probably used their old, "it has always been that way, we just didn't enforce it" line, a complete lie that seller's have the invoices to prove. Fortunately an erudite TAG subscriber did notice, and let us know about it.
The increase ebaY forget to mention, comes into play when a seller revises a listing to decrease the price of the item in that listing. In the past if the seller decreased the price of a listing, so that it took the listing into a lower fee category, ebaY would refund the difference. Just as, if the seller increased the price of a listing, ebaY would add the extra fee to the seller's bill. Now what ebaY is doing, is not refunding the difference in fees, in the case of a decreased price, but is still adding the increased fee when an item is revised to increase the price. This also probably applies to the reserve fee, when the change to the fee is based on a lowered reserve price. ebaY explicitly mentions, " Reduce the start price of your item. (You will not receive credit for the difference in your insertion fees.)" but does not address other fees, such as listing duration fees, or other items you might revise. See the revise your listing info at -
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/edit_listing.html
For example, if you look at the fee schedule at -
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html
If you start a listing at $59.99, the insertion fee would be $2.40. You then later revise it to $49.99. ebaY will not refund the $1.20 difference, they will keep it. But if you start an item at $49.99, you will be charged $1.20, and then later revise that to $59.99, ebaY will charge you the extra $1.20 to bring the listing fee up to $2.40.
The only place you can see this fee change is on the revise your listing page. But since that page is included in the user agreement by default (as are all ebaY's little back door hidden information), ebaY will claim you agreed to this change by using their site. TAG argues that this is an illegal rule, keeping fees they are not entitled to, but until someone successfully sues them over this issue, or media attention shames them into a change, it will be the ebaY law.
Want more information on the Online Auction and Trading Industry? Go to -
http://www.auctionguild.com
2 Mar 2006
On 18 January 2006, Bill Cobb, president of ebaY North America, announced a price increase for ebaY US. Of course, in the normal ebaY way, it was announced as fee adjustments, made to appear as if it was a minor increase, and that some fee decreases would mitigate the fact that ebaY has increased their fees every year, despite year over year record breaking profitability. As always, the business community looks at this and says that ebaY is justified in charging whatever the market will bear, but it once again puts the lie to ebaY's propaganda about being community based.
The fee increase went into effect on 22 Feb 06. The way the new fees were structured, ebaY reduced the fee on items listed at 99 cents or less from 25 cents to 20 cents, and increased the final value fee on the most common ending price level, an additional one quarter percent (.25%). They made some features free, including picture show and sales reports plus, and reduced fees for the second and third tiers of picture manager (all pretty worthless features, much less expensive and more reliably found from third party service providers). And though they did not increase the store fees, TAG does expect an increase in store fees, probably in the May/June time frame.
What ebaY failed to mention, was that there was a fee increase they did not tell their sellers about. TAG wonders if this fee increase, which probably borders on the illegal, was even too sleazy for ebaY to mention in public, or if ebaY felt they could slip it in without anyone noticing. Once word got out and they were questioned about it, they would have probably used their old, "it has always been that way, we just didn't enforce it" line, a complete lie that seller's have the invoices to prove. Fortunately an erudite TAG subscriber did notice, and let us know about it.
The increase ebaY forget to mention, comes into play when a seller revises a listing to decrease the price of the item in that listing. In the past if the seller decreased the price of a listing, so that it took the listing into a lower fee category, ebaY would refund the difference. Just as, if the seller increased the price of a listing, ebaY would add the extra fee to the seller's bill. Now what ebaY is doing, is not refunding the difference in fees, in the case of a decreased price, but is still adding the increased fee when an item is revised to increase the price. This also probably applies to the reserve fee, when the change to the fee is based on a lowered reserve price. ebaY explicitly mentions, " Reduce the start price of your item. (You will not receive credit for the difference in your insertion fees.)" but does not address other fees, such as listing duration fees, or other items you might revise. See the revise your listing info at -
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/edit_listing.html
For example, if you look at the fee schedule at -
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html
If you start a listing at $59.99, the insertion fee would be $2.40. You then later revise it to $49.99. ebaY will not refund the $1.20 difference, they will keep it. But if you start an item at $49.99, you will be charged $1.20, and then later revise that to $59.99, ebaY will charge you the extra $1.20 to bring the listing fee up to $2.40.
The only place you can see this fee change is on the revise your listing page. But since that page is included in the user agreement by default (as are all ebaY's little back door hidden information), ebaY will claim you agreed to this change by using their site. TAG argues that this is an illegal rule, keeping fees they are not entitled to, but until someone successfully sues them over this issue, or media attention shames them into a change, it will be the ebaY law.
Want more information on the Online Auction and Trading Industry? Go to -
http://www.auctionguild.com
Saturday, January 28, 2006
ebaY = Convicted Thief
ebaY = Convicted Thief
28 Jan 2006
ebaY has been convicted by a court of law for theft. In the polite parlance of white collar business crime, instead of stealing, it is called patent infringement. But theft is when one person knowingly and illegally takes something that does not belong to them, and that is what ebaY did, and for which they have been convicted, guilty as charged.
When Pierre Omyidar first opened AuctionWeb's site on 5 Sep 1995, he allegedly had spent a weekend thinking up the programming code that allowed the auctioning of items on his site. If we give him the benefit of the doubt, we can assume that he failed to do what any inventor of a commercial product should do, and that is check to see if anyone had invented, and patented, the idea first. If Pierre had checked, he would have seen an auction process patent filed in April 1995 by someone named Thomas Woolston, and his company MercExchange. In 1995, it was not as easy as it is today to do such a search, so we give Pierre the benefit of the doubt that he did not know (or care - he was working for General Magic at the time, and probably subject to an invention agreement with them for anything patentable) of the patents existence, but the success of AuctionWeb, which changed to the name ebaY in 1997, would make knowledge of such patents important to the company.
With the growth of ebaY, and the company going public, auction and trading sites started to sprout like mung beans at a vegetarian restaurant. Moves made by ebaY in 1999, adding advertising banners tied to search, interfering with the auction ads already paid for by sellers, along with fee increases, caused seller rebellions and gave birth to a movement called the Million Auction March. This movement moved 2 million listings to Yahoo Auctions, making it a possible contender of note (action on Yahoo's part soon destroyed this advantage). This along with other's wanting to cash in on what appeared to be a goldmine, might have been the impetus for ebaY to get serious about researching the status of patents and see what kind of control they could get on the industry. It was early in 2000 that ebaY contacted Mr Woolston to see if they could buy the several auction and instant buy patents he had invented and registered, some before AuctionWeb/ebaY's launch, and some since.
Negotiations quickly broke down, very unsurprising given ebaY's arrogant attitude, and ebaY dared Mr. Woolston to sue them. Made of stern material, forged in the fire of service in the military and with the CIA, Mr Woolston, an inventor, electrical engineer and patent attorney, did just that. So far Mr Woolston and his company MercExchange, has won against ebaY in federal district court in 2003 for patent numbers 5,845,265 and 6,085,176, the instant buy patent (what ebaY calls buy it now) and a search patent that directly affects Half.Com. The district court would not let Mr Woolston sue for the auction process patent, and would not let him file an injunction against ebaY, shutting down the functions used by ebaY in the violated patents. The case then went to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (case 03-1600,-1616). This court ruled in 2005 and upheld ebaY's conviction on the instant buy patent, (5,845,265), said Mr Woolston could sue on the auction process patent (6,202,051), and allowed an injunction against ebaY to stop their willful infringement of Mr Woolston's patents,. This conviction is final as only the Supreme Court of the United States could overturn it, but ebaY chose not to seek such a losing appeal. Instead ebaY filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, (docket 05-130) to try to stop the injunction ordered by the US Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in March of 2006.
In the interim, ebaY has tried to insult, discredit and isolate Mr Woolston. ebaY has successfully demanded that the Patents and Trademark Office (PTO) review all Mr Woolston's patents ( a common acquiescence on the apart of the PTO in such disputes). So far the PTO has confirmed the validity of Mr Woolston's auction process patent (number 6,202,051), but TAG has no confirmation on the status of 5,845,265 or 6,085,176. ebaY has represented Mr Woolston as a liar, denying that ebaY ever negotiated with him for his patents, and claiming that Mr Woolston changed his patents to cover what ebaY was doing after the fact. As recently as the fall of 2005, when Mr Woolston and some other personnel from MercExchange were invited to attend a non-ebaY run conference of online sellers, ebaY President, Bill Cobb, threatened the folks running the conference that if the folks from MercExchange remained at the conference, he and the ebaY team would leave. The sellers running the conference did what they felt they had to, given ebaY's immature spoiled brat that thinks it is god attitude, and asked the MercExchange folks to leave. The MercExchange folks, being grown ups, left the conference without a fuss, leaving conference attendees to shake their heads at ebaY's adolescent behavior.
Information Sources
USPTO Patent Number Search -
http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/srchnum.htm
Supreme Court MercEx vs ebaY Docket
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/docket/05-130.htm
US Court of Appeals decision PDF download
http://www.auctionguild.com/03-1600.pdf
Various people at MercExchange
ebaY SEC filings
28 Jan 2006
ebaY has been convicted by a court of law for theft. In the polite parlance of white collar business crime, instead of stealing, it is called patent infringement. But theft is when one person knowingly and illegally takes something that does not belong to them, and that is what ebaY did, and for which they have been convicted, guilty as charged.
When Pierre Omyidar first opened AuctionWeb's site on 5 Sep 1995, he allegedly had spent a weekend thinking up the programming code that allowed the auctioning of items on his site. If we give him the benefit of the doubt, we can assume that he failed to do what any inventor of a commercial product should do, and that is check to see if anyone had invented, and patented, the idea first. If Pierre had checked, he would have seen an auction process patent filed in April 1995 by someone named Thomas Woolston, and his company MercExchange. In 1995, it was not as easy as it is today to do such a search, so we give Pierre the benefit of the doubt that he did not know (or care - he was working for General Magic at the time, and probably subject to an invention agreement with them for anything patentable) of the patents existence, but the success of AuctionWeb, which changed to the name ebaY in 1997, would make knowledge of such patents important to the company.
With the growth of ebaY, and the company going public, auction and trading sites started to sprout like mung beans at a vegetarian restaurant. Moves made by ebaY in 1999, adding advertising banners tied to search, interfering with the auction ads already paid for by sellers, along with fee increases, caused seller rebellions and gave birth to a movement called the Million Auction March. This movement moved 2 million listings to Yahoo Auctions, making it a possible contender of note (action on Yahoo's part soon destroyed this advantage). This along with other's wanting to cash in on what appeared to be a goldmine, might have been the impetus for ebaY to get serious about researching the status of patents and see what kind of control they could get on the industry. It was early in 2000 that ebaY contacted Mr Woolston to see if they could buy the several auction and instant buy patents he had invented and registered, some before AuctionWeb/ebaY's launch, and some since.
Negotiations quickly broke down, very unsurprising given ebaY's arrogant attitude, and ebaY dared Mr. Woolston to sue them. Made of stern material, forged in the fire of service in the military and with the CIA, Mr Woolston, an inventor, electrical engineer and patent attorney, did just that. So far Mr Woolston and his company MercExchange, has won against ebaY in federal district court in 2003 for patent numbers 5,845,265 and 6,085,176, the instant buy patent (what ebaY calls buy it now) and a search patent that directly affects Half.Com. The district court would not let Mr Woolston sue for the auction process patent, and would not let him file an injunction against ebaY, shutting down the functions used by ebaY in the violated patents. The case then went to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (case 03-1600,-1616). This court ruled in 2005 and upheld ebaY's conviction on the instant buy patent, (5,845,265), said Mr Woolston could sue on the auction process patent (6,202,051), and allowed an injunction against ebaY to stop their willful infringement of Mr Woolston's patents,. This conviction is final as only the Supreme Court of the United States could overturn it, but ebaY chose not to seek such a losing appeal. Instead ebaY filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, (docket 05-130) to try to stop the injunction ordered by the US Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in March of 2006.
In the interim, ebaY has tried to insult, discredit and isolate Mr Woolston. ebaY has successfully demanded that the Patents and Trademark Office (PTO) review all Mr Woolston's patents ( a common acquiescence on the apart of the PTO in such disputes). So far the PTO has confirmed the validity of Mr Woolston's auction process patent (number 6,202,051), but TAG has no confirmation on the status of 5,845,265 or 6,085,176. ebaY has represented Mr Woolston as a liar, denying that ebaY ever negotiated with him for his patents, and claiming that Mr Woolston changed his patents to cover what ebaY was doing after the fact. As recently as the fall of 2005, when Mr Woolston and some other personnel from MercExchange were invited to attend a non-ebaY run conference of online sellers, ebaY President, Bill Cobb, threatened the folks running the conference that if the folks from MercExchange remained at the conference, he and the ebaY team would leave. The sellers running the conference did what they felt they had to, given ebaY's immature spoiled brat that thinks it is god attitude, and asked the MercExchange folks to leave. The MercExchange folks, being grown ups, left the conference without a fuss, leaving conference attendees to shake their heads at ebaY's adolescent behavior.
Information Sources
USPTO Patent Number Search -
http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/srchnum.htm
Supreme Court MercEx vs ebaY Docket
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/docket/05-130.htm
US Court of Appeals decision PDF download
http://www.auctionguild.com/03-1600.pdf
Various people at MercExchange
ebaY SEC filings
Monday, December 12, 2005
ebaY Coupons Good Through 18 Dec 05
Looks as if ebaY has a few more buyer coupon codes out there, for those purchasing something on the ebaY site using PayPal.
Be sure to check the box "I will enter coupon code" just after you click Pay Now but before you sign in to your PP account, or the coupon won't work.
Coupon Code - C11-GIFTGUIDE
10% off next ebay purchase up to $25.00
Coupon Code - C22-GIFTGUIDE
$5 OFF your next purchase of $50 or more
Coupon Code - C23-GIFTGUIDE
$15 OFF your next purchase of $100 or more.
These are valid until 18 Dec 05. The discount does NOT apply to shipping and handling or taxes, only
to the price of the item.
Be sure to check the box "I will enter coupon code" just after you click Pay Now but before you sign in to your PP account, or the coupon won't work.
Coupon Code - C11-GIFTGUIDE
10% off next ebay purchase up to $25.00
Coupon Code - C22-GIFTGUIDE
$5 OFF your next purchase of $50 or more
Coupon Code - C23-GIFTGUIDE
$15 OFF your next purchase of $100 or more.
These are valid until 18 Dec 05. The discount does NOT apply to shipping and handling or taxes, only
to the price of the item.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
ebaY $25.00 Coupon Good Through 28 Sep 05
From the last Special Edition of TAGnotes
************************************************************
EBAY US 10 PERCENT OFF BUYER PROMOTION
************************************************************
Starting Sunday 18 Sep 2005 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second on
Sunday 18 Sep 2005) and ending at 00:00:00 PT(12:00 AM) on Wednesday 28
Sep 2005, ebaY will give any buyer of any ONE item selling on ebaY US
(www.ebay.com), 10% off with a maximum discount of $25. on any ONE item
bought from a seller using PayPal.
The 10% discount does NOT apply to shipping and handling or taxes, only
to the price of the item.
Coupon Code is: CELEBRATE
http://pages.ebay.com/celebrate/
http://www.ebay.com/?ssPageName=MOPS5:Celebrate:ebay
If the item you've bought or won says PayPal is accepted in the item
description, but you do not see a PayPal option in checkout, you can go
directly to PayPal to pay for the item. If you have further questions
about how to pay for such an item, contact the seller.
If the item you've bought or own does not accept PayPal, please note
that you are still obligated to pay the seller for the item even though
you cannot use your ebaY coupon or gift certificate. You should always
check first to make sure a seller accepts PayPal if you are planning to
use an ebaY coupon or gift certificate.
More info on using coupons at -
http://pages.ebay.com/coupons/?ssPageName=MOPS5:Celebrate:Coupons
************************************************************
EBAY US 10 PERCENT OFF BUYER PROMOTION
************************************************************
Starting Sunday 18 Sep 2005 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second on
Sunday 18 Sep 2005) and ending at 00:00:00 PT(12:00 AM) on Wednesday 28
Sep 2005, ebaY will give any buyer of any ONE item selling on ebaY US
(www.ebay.com), 10% off with a maximum discount of $25. on any ONE item
bought from a seller using PayPal.
The 10% discount does NOT apply to shipping and handling or taxes, only
to the price of the item.
Coupon Code is: CELEBRATE
http://pages.ebay.com/celebrate/
http://www.ebay.com/?ssPageName=MOPS5:Celebrate:ebay
If the item you've bought or won says PayPal is accepted in the item
description, but you do not see a PayPal option in checkout, you can go
directly to PayPal to pay for the item. If you have further questions
about how to pay for such an item, contact the seller.
If the item you've bought or own does not accept PayPal, please note
that you are still obligated to pay the seller for the item even though
you cannot use your ebaY coupon or gift certificate. You should always
check first to make sure a seller accepts PayPal if you are planning to
use an ebaY coupon or gift certificate.
More info on using coupons at -
http://pages.ebay.com/coupons/?ssPageName=MOPS5:Celebrate:Coupons
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
TAGnotes Pink Quote of the Day II
Pink Quote of the Day II- Courteous and Respectful Posting is Expected of All Participants posted by claire@ebay.com on 11 Jul 05 at 17:36 PT
" Hello everyone,
We've been hearing from folks who use the boards that the expectation of "courteous and respectful posting from all participants" needs more attention. We've been troubled for some time that this essential element seems to fall by the wayside too often.
We should all be able to have a discussion without attack. Debate can be conducted without insult. Frustration can be expressed without personalization. Interpersonal issues need to be worked out privately between the people involved, not on the boards. And feuds have no place on eBay.
All of us who use the boards - members, staff, newcomers, and regulars - need to know we can come to a board - any board - and find welcome. We don't necessarily expect to always find agreement or comfort, but, as Louise used to say "there's always time for courtesy", and everyone - everyone - deserves that.
As you know, you are the first line of moderation of the forums. You use the Report Link to alert the moderation team to possible violations, so that posts can be reviewed. From time to time, trends begin in these violations, and we step up our action in accordance with your reports.
Posts that are not "courteous and respectful" will be removed when reported, and further action taken as appropriate.
This is nothing new - that expectation has been in place for many years. We had truly hoped the Community could work this part out without need for our intervention. But you've let us know the "expectation" alone is not enough for this time, and thus, we'll be backing it up with firmer enforcement. So, we'll be raising the bar and setting a higher expectation for polite behavior in reviewing the posts you report.
In addition, we'd like to remind everyone that eBay may remove any post or thread at any time, without notice. Sometimes a thread which starts out as a great discussion of differing viewpoints may fall into a battle between a few people, or may go so far off topic that the original purpose is lost. In these cases, threads which have become the focus of interpersonal disputes, or which have been taken far off topic, may be removed entirely, without warning, notice or explanation. ....Claire"
TAG finds this diatribe an intresting piece of hypocrisy. To start with, ebaY has chosen to use a fascist style snitch system to police their boards, rather than a more democratic community based consensus type model. A system of this type does little to create unity and trust between participants and instead breeds contempt, paranoia and dissention. This is an atmosphere that ebaY has put in place to control and manipulate what they call, the community. Additionally, ebaY's employees have a hands off policy on certain users who are colluders, favored members who have been taken into the ebaY fold (often through the Voices program, though some are probably just ebaY employees using aliased IDs, an ebaY practice that goes back to Jim Griffiths, ebaY's first customer service employee) and allowed liberties and impunity even when they are in direct violation of ebaY's rules, other users are not granted. ebaY uses these people to break up serious discussions about ebaY problems and divert these discussions, provoking those participating in the discussions with personal attacks, and totally derailing the conversation. They also use these colluders as snitches and provocateurs, to harass users ebaY wants to silence and ban from their boards. To prevent furor over a popular dissenting voice being silenced, ebaY uses the excuse of the expectations in Claire's PQOD above, to ban those dissenting vocal posters, even though ebaY used their colluders to create the hostile situation. Needless to say the ebaY colluder does not get banned, only the intended victim. A recent case exemplifies this, where ebaY was publicly embarrassed during the CNBC broadcast of The ebaY Effect, when a post on an ebaY chat board, showing a monkey and the motto "ebaY sucks" was shown on national television. ebaY has since permanently banned from their boards the person who made and posted the graphic, though he violated no ebaY posting rules.
Many of you reading this might say that they are ebaY's boards, they have no legal obligation under the US Constitution to allow free speech, and they can run their boards however they please. This is absolutely true, but it makes Meg Whitman and Bill Cobb a liar, every time they open their mouths and talk about community, a level playing field and the ebaY Community Values. Where censorship and snitching rule the day, there is only manipulation, deceit and ulterior motives, none of which fit the rhetoric those at ebaY spout, and which amounts to little more than lies and hypocrisy.
" Hello everyone,
We've been hearing from folks who use the boards that the expectation of "courteous and respectful posting from all participants" needs more attention. We've been troubled for some time that this essential element seems to fall by the wayside too often.
We should all be able to have a discussion without attack. Debate can be conducted without insult. Frustration can be expressed without personalization. Interpersonal issues need to be worked out privately between the people involved, not on the boards. And feuds have no place on eBay.
All of us who use the boards - members, staff, newcomers, and regulars - need to know we can come to a board - any board - and find welcome. We don't necessarily expect to always find agreement or comfort, but, as Louise used to say "there's always time for courtesy", and everyone - everyone - deserves that.
As you know, you are the first line of moderation of the forums. You use the Report Link to alert the moderation team to possible violations, so that posts can be reviewed. From time to time, trends begin in these violations, and we step up our action in accordance with your reports.
Posts that are not "courteous and respectful" will be removed when reported, and further action taken as appropriate.
This is nothing new - that expectation has been in place for many years. We had truly hoped the Community could work this part out without need for our intervention. But you've let us know the "expectation" alone is not enough for this time, and thus, we'll be backing it up with firmer enforcement. So, we'll be raising the bar and setting a higher expectation for polite behavior in reviewing the posts you report.
In addition, we'd like to remind everyone that eBay may remove any post or thread at any time, without notice. Sometimes a thread which starts out as a great discussion of differing viewpoints may fall into a battle between a few people, or may go so far off topic that the original purpose is lost. In these cases, threads which have become the focus of interpersonal disputes, or which have been taken far off topic, may be removed entirely, without warning, notice or explanation. ....Claire"
TAG finds this diatribe an intresting piece of hypocrisy. To start with, ebaY has chosen to use a fascist style snitch system to police their boards, rather than a more democratic community based consensus type model. A system of this type does little to create unity and trust between participants and instead breeds contempt, paranoia and dissention. This is an atmosphere that ebaY has put in place to control and manipulate what they call, the community. Additionally, ebaY's employees have a hands off policy on certain users who are colluders, favored members who have been taken into the ebaY fold (often through the Voices program, though some are probably just ebaY employees using aliased IDs, an ebaY practice that goes back to Jim Griffiths, ebaY's first customer service employee) and allowed liberties and impunity even when they are in direct violation of ebaY's rules, other users are not granted. ebaY uses these people to break up serious discussions about ebaY problems and divert these discussions, provoking those participating in the discussions with personal attacks, and totally derailing the conversation. They also use these colluders as snitches and provocateurs, to harass users ebaY wants to silence and ban from their boards. To prevent furor over a popular dissenting voice being silenced, ebaY uses the excuse of the expectations in Claire's PQOD above, to ban those dissenting vocal posters, even though ebaY used their colluders to create the hostile situation. Needless to say the ebaY colluder does not get banned, only the intended victim. A recent case exemplifies this, where ebaY was publicly embarrassed during the CNBC broadcast of The ebaY Effect, when a post on an ebaY chat board, showing a monkey and the motto "ebaY sucks" was shown on national television. ebaY has since permanently banned from their boards the person who made and posted the graphic, though he violated no ebaY posting rules.
Many of you reading this might say that they are ebaY's boards, they have no legal obligation under the US Constitution to allow free speech, and they can run their boards however they please. This is absolutely true, but it makes Meg Whitman and Bill Cobb a liar, every time they open their mouths and talk about community, a level playing field and the ebaY Community Values. Where censorship and snitching rule the day, there is only manipulation, deceit and ulterior motives, none of which fit the rhetoric those at ebaY spout, and which amounts to little more than lies and hypocrisy.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Free Listing Day on ebaY?
************************************************************
TAG PREDICTIONS FOR UPCOMING EBAY PROMOTIONS
************************************************************
On 5 September 2005 ebaY will celebrate it’s 10 anniversary for its US site (and incidentally it is the 6th anniversary of TAGnotes). TAG predicts ebaY will conduct several promotions during the month of September with a free or 10 cent listing day, starting as early as the end of August. We think ebaY will do a promotion of some sort or another, every week of September.
TAG PREDICTIONS FOR UPCOMING EBAY PROMOTIONS
************************************************************
On 5 September 2005 ebaY will celebrate it’s 10 anniversary for its US site (and incidentally it is the 6th anniversary of TAGnotes). TAG predicts ebaY will conduct several promotions during the month of September with a free or 10 cent listing day, starting as early as the end of August. We think ebaY will do a promotion of some sort or another, every week of September.
Sunday, February 13, 2005
TAGnotes Special Edition ebaY US&CA 5 cent promo on 14Feb05
Excerpted from -
The Auction Guild Notes Special Edition ebaY US & CA
5 cent promo 13 Feb 04
************************************************************
THIS ISSUE -
************************************************************
EBAY US 5 CENT LISTING DAY 14 FEB 2005
************************************************************
EBAY CA 5 CENT LISTING DAY 14 FEB 2005
************************************************************
OVERSTOCK REDUCED FEE PROMOTION AND $10 CREDIT
************************************************************
WorldManna.Org working to help hungry people. You can help
influence corporations to donate a percentage of their profits to
alleviate and prevent world hunger.
Sign the pledge and use your purchasing power.
http://www.worldmanna.org/common/js/jspscripts/consumers.jsp
************************************************************
For professional, affordable web site design, development,
& low cost web hosting: http://www.tjbailey.com/
************************************************************
In search for auction management tools? Go to
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic.html?pid=0
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Looking for reliable image hosting? Check TAG's image hosting
directory at - http://www.auctionguild.com/generic80.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This issue brought to you by the preceding ads, supporting TAG
through their advertising dollars. Please support them, by
clicking on or copy/pasting their links and buying their products.
TAG's advertising rates are at -
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic99.html
TAG does not endorse the companies or products advertised
9200 subscribers
************************************************************
EBAY US 5 CENT LISTING DAY 14 FEB 2005
************************************************************
ebaY US is holding a one day 5 cent listing fee cap promotion on Mon
14 Feb 05 from 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second on Mon
14 Feb 05) until 23:59:59 PT(11:59 PM plus 59 seconds Mon
14 Feb 05).
ebaY will charge 5 cents for the insertion fees for auction style and
fixed price listings on ebaY US and ebaY Motors (non-vehicle
listings only). This includes listings created prior to the
promotion and scheduled to start during the promotional period
on 14 Feb 05. Listings must start during the promotional period
to qualify for the discount.
ebaY will charge all optional listing upgrade fees: bold, border, buy
it now, featured plus, highlight, gallery, gallery featured, gift
services, home page featured, listing designer, picture services,
picture show, reserve listing fee , subtitle, supersize picture
and extended duration surcharges.
Excluded from the promotion are, ebaY Motors vehicles, international,
live auction, professional services, real estate, ad format and
store inventory listings.
http://pages.ebay.com/promo/promo13579/
(This info was not posted to the US announcement board when
this mailing was sent, check the ebaY US announcement board
to confirm)
This appears to be an effort on ebaY’s part to break the Boycott
scheduled to start on 18 Feb 05 before it gets going.
************************************************************
EBAY CA 5 CENT LISTING DAY 14 FEB 2005
************************************************************
ebaY Canada is holding a one day C 5 cent listing fee cap promotion
on Mon 14 Feb 05 from 00:00:01 EST (12:00 AM plus one second on
Mon 14 Feb 05) and runs through 23:59:59 EST (11:59 PM plus 59
seconds Mon 14 Feb 05).
Rules and restriction will apply as per those in the US, as posted
above. http://pages.ebay.ca/promo/promo13579/
(This info was not posted to the CA announcement board when
this mailing was sent, check the ebaY CA announcement board
to confirm)
************************************************************
OVERSTOCK REDUCED FEE PROMOTION AND $10 CREDIT
************************************************************
Overstock.com Auctions will cut its listing fees by 52 percent from
18 Feb through 18 Mar, to appeal to sellers affected by ebaY’s
fee increase.
Each person who visits or registers with Overstock.com Auctions on 18
Feb will receive a $10 credit toward their future listing fees.
Overstock will put a link on the home page allowing users to claim
the credit by logging into an existing account or registering
as a new user.
http://auctions.overstock.com
************************************************************
IOFFER.COM
************************************************************
This is a site TAG has written about many times in the past. We
mention it here because we have had more email from our
subscribers asking us to mention this site as an alternative,
than all the other email put together that we have received
about other sites.
This is not an auction site, but a fixed price/best offer type of
negotiation site with approx 377,000 listing and an extensive
wanted item section. This site has a good search engine.
It also has a feedback and auction import tool called Mr Grabber to
import your listings from sites such as ebaY with little difficulty.
There is no completed item information so no way to determine
sell through rate, and sellers have not talked about this, so TAG
has no indication of what the sell through rate might be. Listing
is free, stores are free, and the final value fees are reasonable -
http://www.ioffer.com/help/feesNCreditPolicy.jsp?showTopBottom=false
Customer service is believed to be responsive, and has the site has
good community boards. It also is searched by Froogle, so listings
appear on Froogle and Google.
http://www.ioffer.com
The Auction Guild Notes Special Edition ebaY US & CA
5 cent promo 13 Feb 04
************************************************************
THIS ISSUE -
************************************************************
EBAY US 5 CENT LISTING DAY 14 FEB 2005
************************************************************
EBAY CA 5 CENT LISTING DAY 14 FEB 2005
************************************************************
OVERSTOCK REDUCED FEE PROMOTION AND $10 CREDIT
************************************************************
WorldManna.Org working to help hungry people. You can help
influence corporations to donate a percentage of their profits to
alleviate and prevent world hunger.
Sign the pledge and use your purchasing power.
http://www.worldmanna.org/common/js/jspscripts/consumers.jsp
************************************************************
For professional, affordable web site design, development,
& low cost web hosting: http://www.tjbailey.com/
************************************************************
In search for auction management tools? Go to
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic.html?pid=0
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Looking for reliable image hosting? Check TAG's image hosting
directory at - http://www.auctionguild.com/generic80.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This issue brought to you by the preceding ads, supporting TAG
through their advertising dollars. Please support them, by
clicking on or copy/pasting their links and buying their products.
TAG's advertising rates are at -
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic99.html
TAG does not endorse the companies or products advertised
9200 subscribers
************************************************************
EBAY US 5 CENT LISTING DAY 14 FEB 2005
************************************************************
ebaY US is holding a one day 5 cent listing fee cap promotion on Mon
14 Feb 05 from 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second on Mon
14 Feb 05) until 23:59:59 PT(11:59 PM plus 59 seconds Mon
14 Feb 05).
ebaY will charge 5 cents for the insertion fees for auction style and
fixed price listings on ebaY US and ebaY Motors (non-vehicle
listings only). This includes listings created prior to the
promotion and scheduled to start during the promotional period
on 14 Feb 05. Listings must start during the promotional period
to qualify for the discount.
ebaY will charge all optional listing upgrade fees: bold, border, buy
it now, featured plus, highlight, gallery, gallery featured, gift
services, home page featured, listing designer, picture services,
picture show, reserve listing fee , subtitle, supersize picture
and extended duration surcharges.
Excluded from the promotion are, ebaY Motors vehicles, international,
live auction, professional services, real estate, ad format and
store inventory listings.
http://pages.ebay.com/promo/promo13579/
(This info was not posted to the US announcement board when
this mailing was sent, check the ebaY US announcement board
to confirm)
This appears to be an effort on ebaY’s part to break the Boycott
scheduled to start on 18 Feb 05 before it gets going.
************************************************************
EBAY CA 5 CENT LISTING DAY 14 FEB 2005
************************************************************
ebaY Canada is holding a one day C 5 cent listing fee cap promotion
on Mon 14 Feb 05 from 00:00:01 EST (12:00 AM plus one second on
Mon 14 Feb 05) and runs through 23:59:59 EST (11:59 PM plus 59
seconds Mon 14 Feb 05).
Rules and restriction will apply as per those in the US, as posted
above. http://pages.ebay.ca/promo/promo13579/
(This info was not posted to the CA announcement board when
this mailing was sent, check the ebaY CA announcement board
to confirm)
************************************************************
OVERSTOCK REDUCED FEE PROMOTION AND $10 CREDIT
************************************************************
Overstock.com Auctions will cut its listing fees by 52 percent from
18 Feb through 18 Mar, to appeal to sellers affected by ebaY’s
fee increase.
Each person who visits or registers with Overstock.com Auctions on 18
Feb will receive a $10 credit toward their future listing fees.
Overstock will put a link on the home page allowing users to claim
the credit by logging into an existing account or registering
as a new user.
http://auctions.overstock.com
************************************************************
IOFFER.COM
************************************************************
This is a site TAG has written about many times in the past. We
mention it here because we have had more email from our
subscribers asking us to mention this site as an alternative,
than all the other email put together that we have received
about other sites.
This is not an auction site, but a fixed price/best offer type of
negotiation site with approx 377,000 listing and an extensive
wanted item section. This site has a good search engine.
It also has a feedback and auction import tool called Mr Grabber to
import your listings from sites such as ebaY with little difficulty.
There is no completed item information so no way to determine
sell through rate, and sellers have not talked about this, so TAG
has no indication of what the sell through rate might be. Listing
is free, stores are free, and the final value fees are reasonable -
http://www.ioffer.com/help/feesNCreditPolicy.jsp?showTopBottom=false
Customer service is believed to be responsive, and has the site has
good community boards. It also is searched by Froogle, so listings
appear on Froogle and Google.
http://www.ioffer.com
Saturday, February 12, 2005
The ebaY Boycott and Other More Direct Acts of Aggression
Ethical Consumerism Meets Economic Civil Disobedience
Since ebaY announced the fee increase that goes into effect 18 Feb 05, TAG has observed an ongoing outpouring of anger and frustration against ebaY. This was further fueled by ebaY North American President Bill Cobb posting on the Marketing Announcement Board, and sending an email to ebaY users, trying to calm the furor, and tossing a few crumbs to the multitude, while he (figuratively) feasted on cake. (Cake being that he cashed out approx 9.5 Million in ebaY stock in 2003 and 22.5 Million in 2004 and as of Oct 04 owned 17,000 more shares he received from ebaY, not counting stock options which he tends to execute and immediately sell)
ebaY’s stance is that the users would not be making such a fuss if they really understood the price increase. Sellers don’t appreciate ebaY assuming that sellers are too stupid to understand what a fee increase is or what it entails. ebaY also appears to be shrugging off the furor, as shown by a recent quote by CEO Meg Whitman, “This is not the most upset the community has been,'' Whitman said. “They have a lot of issues they'd like us to change, and Bill has done a good job of reopening the dialogue. So, we'll see. But this isn't the first time they've been this mad.” And from Bill Cobb, “It's not the loudest [outcry]. But it was loud. Some of it is fair. I'm not going to comment [on the planned strike].” In fact implying, the sellers have been mad in the past and done nothing about it, they are not going to do anything now either.
From all that TAG has observed, read on the online auction and trading industry (OAI/OTI) boards, and hears from subscribers, the price increase comes on top of endless problems, months of double billing, sellers closed down by “mistake”, items not indexing, slow page loads, ebaY sponsored mediaplex double click and ebaY toolbar spyware infecting computers, and other problems ad infinitum. The site does not work and ebaY wants to increase fees, despite their record breaking profits every quarter the company has been in business. ebaY claims their users are part of the great ebaY community, but the only ones who get rich and fat are ebaY insiders, and sellers say they are going to act.
So what are ebaY users saying they are planning on doing to show ebaY they are serious about their objection to this latest slap in the face, on top of all the other breaks, bangs and bruises dealt out by ebaY? To start, they have a petition objecting to the increase at - http://www.petitiononline.com/ebayfee/
ebaY sellers say they have closed stores, and there are currently 124850 stores on ebaY, down from 132,050 on 12 Jan. More sellers say they will close their store once the old fees are replaced by new ones, which can be up to 180 days after 18 Feb, if the seller lists all their inventory prior to 18 Feb (though the higher monthly rent will be in effect).
They are also calling for a Boycott of ebaY from 18 to 25 Feb 2005 - http://www.nolistingday.com/
In the past, Boycotts have been less than useless, but with ebaY investors on edge, and the press panting for any movement they think they can pounce on, a good showing might gain some real attention and possibly even help move ebaY stock to the downside, something to which ebaY WILL react. Sellers have also put up several protest auctions on the site, some of which ebaY has ended. In the past, users have also suggested more aggressive acts, such as flooding ebaY with complaint emails, though with autoresponders, this has no real effect. This time around a few even more active and pugnacious ideas are floating around on the OAI/OTI chat boards.
There is an idea that sellers put information in their current auctions that would normally cause ebaY to close down the auction, with the hope that ebaY will have to end a few hundred thousand, or even millions of listings. Suggestions for information to add are links to the sellers website, links to other auction and trading sites, messages telling buyers where else the seller has merchandise listed, information about the Boycott, and information about the fee increase and how it will cost the buyer more as a result. Unless a significant number of sellers do this, ebaY will target the sellers that do, and punish them.
Another idea is to have everyone add their phone number to the feedback they leave. This is also something ebaY does not allow users to do.
One other idea was actually suggested by coments made by Bill Cobb, when he talked about all the ebaY sponsor link advertising ebaY does on search sites such as Google and Yahoo. Mr Cobb said that ebaY is the largest consumer of such advertising, and Mr Dutta (the ebaY CFO) said that 33% of ebaY ad money goes into this type of advertising. The idea is that in an aggressive movement of protest, hit ebaY in their pocket book. Go to Google or Yahoo search engine, search for a term such as ebaY, auction, or any item, and click on ebaY’s paid sponsor links at the top or side of the page. Every time someone clicks, it costs ebaY money. If thousands and thousands of links are clicked again and again, it will use up ebaY’s advertising budget and remove their ads from these search engines until the funds are replenished. An act of aggressive economic civil disobedience, but one that has the advantage of an inability on ebaY’s part to target perpetrators. There would be no way to distinguish a legitimate click from a civil disobedience click, and if, let’s say, all 26,000 of the folks that signed the petition clicked on 1000 links each over the course of the Boycott week, it would be a very significant action for little effort.
The action that we condone and that TAG still holds is the most effective and permanent action sellers can take, is for seller to take back control of the OAI/OTI. To move listings in 3 million item chunks to other sites, build their own websites to act as a hub for all the seller’s marketing, and merely USE ebaY as one tool to build a seller’s customer base, rather than letting ebaY use the seller as a cow that ebaY milks until it is dry and then sends to slaughter. This is really the action ebaY fears most.
Quotes -
http://snipurl.com/cqlt
http://snipurl.com/cqlu
Info on insider trades -
http://biz.yahoo.com/t/06/4535.html
13 Feb - After writing this, we heard from some TAGnotes subscribers who suggested the following -
Contact all the Businesses who buy banner advertising on ebaY, and tell them you will no longer buy their products because they are supporting (quote from the email) "a greedy, lying, outfit" and if the business continues to advertise on ebaY, "then they are no better than the corp they are advertising with". Follow through and let your friends and associates know so they will do the same.
Close your ebaY account - as another subscriber put it, "After being a registered eBay user and auction assistant since December of 1998, I have closed my ebay account. I have paid the increases often enough!" This is the ultimate act of ethical consumerism.
Since ebaY announced the fee increase that goes into effect 18 Feb 05, TAG has observed an ongoing outpouring of anger and frustration against ebaY. This was further fueled by ebaY North American President Bill Cobb posting on the Marketing Announcement Board, and sending an email to ebaY users, trying to calm the furor, and tossing a few crumbs to the multitude, while he (figuratively) feasted on cake. (Cake being that he cashed out approx 9.5 Million in ebaY stock in 2003 and 22.5 Million in 2004 and as of Oct 04 owned 17,000 more shares he received from ebaY, not counting stock options which he tends to execute and immediately sell)
ebaY’s stance is that the users would not be making such a fuss if they really understood the price increase. Sellers don’t appreciate ebaY assuming that sellers are too stupid to understand what a fee increase is or what it entails. ebaY also appears to be shrugging off the furor, as shown by a recent quote by CEO Meg Whitman, “This is not the most upset the community has been,'' Whitman said. “They have a lot of issues they'd like us to change, and Bill has done a good job of reopening the dialogue. So, we'll see. But this isn't the first time they've been this mad.” And from Bill Cobb, “It's not the loudest [outcry]. But it was loud. Some of it is fair. I'm not going to comment [on the planned strike].” In fact implying, the sellers have been mad in the past and done nothing about it, they are not going to do anything now either.
From all that TAG has observed, read on the online auction and trading industry (OAI/OTI) boards, and hears from subscribers, the price increase comes on top of endless problems, months of double billing, sellers closed down by “mistake”, items not indexing, slow page loads, ebaY sponsored mediaplex double click and ebaY toolbar spyware infecting computers, and other problems ad infinitum. The site does not work and ebaY wants to increase fees, despite their record breaking profits every quarter the company has been in business. ebaY claims their users are part of the great ebaY community, but the only ones who get rich and fat are ebaY insiders, and sellers say they are going to act.
So what are ebaY users saying they are planning on doing to show ebaY they are serious about their objection to this latest slap in the face, on top of all the other breaks, bangs and bruises dealt out by ebaY? To start, they have a petition objecting to the increase at - http://www.petitiononline.com/ebayfee/
ebaY sellers say they have closed stores, and there are currently 124850 stores on ebaY, down from 132,050 on 12 Jan. More sellers say they will close their store once the old fees are replaced by new ones, which can be up to 180 days after 18 Feb, if the seller lists all their inventory prior to 18 Feb (though the higher monthly rent will be in effect).
They are also calling for a Boycott of ebaY from 18 to 25 Feb 2005 - http://www.nolistingday.com/
In the past, Boycotts have been less than useless, but with ebaY investors on edge, and the press panting for any movement they think they can pounce on, a good showing might gain some real attention and possibly even help move ebaY stock to the downside, something to which ebaY WILL react. Sellers have also put up several protest auctions on the site, some of which ebaY has ended. In the past, users have also suggested more aggressive acts, such as flooding ebaY with complaint emails, though with autoresponders, this has no real effect. This time around a few even more active and pugnacious ideas are floating around on the OAI/OTI chat boards.
There is an idea that sellers put information in their current auctions that would normally cause ebaY to close down the auction, with the hope that ebaY will have to end a few hundred thousand, or even millions of listings. Suggestions for information to add are links to the sellers website, links to other auction and trading sites, messages telling buyers where else the seller has merchandise listed, information about the Boycott, and information about the fee increase and how it will cost the buyer more as a result. Unless a significant number of sellers do this, ebaY will target the sellers that do, and punish them.
Another idea is to have everyone add their phone number to the feedback they leave. This is also something ebaY does not allow users to do.
One other idea was actually suggested by coments made by Bill Cobb, when he talked about all the ebaY sponsor link advertising ebaY does on search sites such as Google and Yahoo. Mr Cobb said that ebaY is the largest consumer of such advertising, and Mr Dutta (the ebaY CFO) said that 33% of ebaY ad money goes into this type of advertising. The idea is that in an aggressive movement of protest, hit ebaY in their pocket book. Go to Google or Yahoo search engine, search for a term such as ebaY, auction, or any item, and click on ebaY’s paid sponsor links at the top or side of the page. Every time someone clicks, it costs ebaY money. If thousands and thousands of links are clicked again and again, it will use up ebaY’s advertising budget and remove their ads from these search engines until the funds are replenished. An act of aggressive economic civil disobedience, but one that has the advantage of an inability on ebaY’s part to target perpetrators. There would be no way to distinguish a legitimate click from a civil disobedience click, and if, let’s say, all 26,000 of the folks that signed the petition clicked on 1000 links each over the course of the Boycott week, it would be a very significant action for little effort.
The action that we condone and that TAG still holds is the most effective and permanent action sellers can take, is for seller to take back control of the OAI/OTI. To move listings in 3 million item chunks to other sites, build their own websites to act as a hub for all the seller’s marketing, and merely USE ebaY as one tool to build a seller’s customer base, rather than letting ebaY use the seller as a cow that ebaY milks until it is dry and then sends to slaughter. This is really the action ebaY fears most.
Quotes -
http://snipurl.com/cqlt
http://snipurl.com/cqlu
Info on insider trades -
http://biz.yahoo.com/t/06/4535.html
13 Feb - After writing this, we heard from some TAGnotes subscribers who suggested the following -
Contact all the Businesses who buy banner advertising on ebaY, and tell them you will no longer buy their products because they are supporting (quote from the email) "a greedy, lying, outfit" and if the business continues to advertise on ebaY, "then they are no better than the corp they are advertising with". Follow through and let your friends and associates know so they will do the same.
Close your ebaY account - as another subscriber put it, "After being a registered eBay user and auction assistant since December of 1998, I have closed my ebay account. I have paid the increases often enough!" This is the ultimate act of ethical consumerism.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
TAGnotes Special Edition ebaY UK 5 Pence Promo on 6 Jan 05
The Auction Guild Notes Special Edition ebaY UK 5 pence
promo and other promotions 4 Jan 2005
************************************************************
THIS ISSUE -
************************************************************
EBAY UK 5 PENCE LISTING DAY 6 JAN 2005
************************************************************
EBAY US FIRST TIME SELLER PROMO 5-9 JAN 2005
************************************************************
EBAY CA FIRST TIME SELLER PROMO 5-9 JAN 2005
************************************************************
OTHER INFORMATION OF NOTE
************************************************************
MINSTHINS AUCTIONS End of Year CLEARANCE Sale. Everything
must go! Prices as low as 49 cents. Go where those in the
know go for great prices. http://www.minsthinsauction.com
************************************************************
PAYPAL'S ORIGINS EXPOSED IN "THE PAYPAL WARS"
An insider's account of PayPal's beginnings, and its clashes
with the Mafia, lawyers, and eBay! http://snipurl.com/bs0q
************************************************************
Wide variety of items in excellent condition, from a Patagonia
surfboard to digital equipment. Shop http://blujay.com/dustyseller
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Looking for reliable image hosting? Check TAG's image hosting
directory at - http://www.auctionguild.com/generic80.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This issue brought to you by the preceding ads, supporting TAG
through their advertising dollars. Please support them, by
clicking on or copy/pasting their links and buying their products.
TAG's advertising rates are at -
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic99.html
The complete TAGnotes archive can be found at -
http://www.escribe.com/business/TAGnotes/
Visit The Auction Guild Web Log at -
http://auctionguild.blogspot.com/
TAG does not endorse the companies or products advertised
9000 subscribers
************************************************************
EBAY UK 5 PENCE LISTING DAY 6 JAN 2005
************************************************************
On ebaY UK on Thursday 6 Jan 2005 between 00:00:01 GMT until
23:59:59 GMT, sellers listing in auction style, auction with buy it
now (BIN) or BIN only (fixed price) formats in an eligible category,
will pay 5 pence (£0.05 GBP) insertion fee.
Only listings in British Pounds Sterling on ebaY.co.uk will qualify
for the5p listing fee. Any item previously scheduled to go live on
Thursday 6 Jan 2005, will qualify for the 5 pence insertion fee
promotion.
If you relist an item on Thu 6 Jan 2005 that had previously closed
without a successful sale, the re-list will qualify for the 5 pence
fee. Excluded from this promotion are items listed in the automotive
(Cars, Classic Cars, Motorcycles or Other Vehicles) and real estate
categories, multiple item auction format listings (also known as
Dutch Auctions), identical listings that do not comply with
ebaY's duplicate listings policy, shops inventory format
listings, and listings scheduled to start after the promotion
has finished.
ebaY will only credit the basic listing fee. ebaY will charge all
other selling fees including final value fees, optional reserve price
fees and all listing enhancement fees such as "Bold" or "Highlight".
If the listing is listed in 2 categories, the insertion fee will be
5p times 2 i.e. 10 pence. PLEASE NOTE - If you revise a qualifying
listing created on 6 Jan at a later date, ebaY will charge the FULL
normal insertion fee, NOT the 5 pence promotional fee.
US sellers can participate if they list on the UK site and are
willing to ship to the UK and accept British Pounds Sterling, those
most or all buyers will probably come from the US.
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/sell/SWFLD06012005/
************************************************************
EBAY US FIRST TIME SELLER PROMO 5-9 JAN 2005
************************************************************
ebaY US is running a promotion for new sellers. ebaY will credit the
insertion and gallery free for the first three (3) listings. This
promotion starts on Wed 5 Jan 2005 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus
one second) and runs through Sun 9 Jan 2005 until 23:59:59 (11:59 PM
plus 59 seconds). Listings created prior to Wed 5 Jan 2005 and
scheduled to start during the promotional period (January 5-9, 2005)
are eligible for the special offer. ebaY will not apply the credits
immediately and they will not be posted to the sellers account until
late February 2005. This applies to ebaY US and ebaY Motors
non-vehicle listings.
ebaY will still charge all other fees (including final value fees and
all other optional listing upgrade fees, such as bold, border, buy
it now, gallery featured, highlight, featured plus, listing designer,
gift services, subtitle, reserve, extended duration insertion
fees, etc.).
ebaY will not include motors vehicles, stores inventory listings,
live auctions, professional services, international and real estate
ad format listings in this promotion. The promotional rate does
not apply to listings revised during the promotional period. The
promotional rate also does not apply to listings created during
the promotion January 5-9, 2005, but scheduled to start after
the promotion ends.
http://pages.ebay.com/promo/firstlist05/?ssPageName=CMDV:AB
************************************************************
EBAY CA FIRST TIME SELLER PROMO 5-9 JAN 2005
************************************************************
ebaY Canada is running a promotion for new sellers. ebaY will credit
the insertion and gallery upgrades for the first three (3) listings
starting Wed 5 Jan 2005 at 00:00:01 EST (12:00 AM plus one second
on Wed 5 Jan 2005) and runs through Sun 9 Jan 2005 23:59:59 EST (11:
59 PM plus 59 seconds).
ebaY will not include motors vehicles, stores inventory listings,
multiple listings, dutch auctions and real estate ad format listings
in this promotion. The promotional rate does not apply to listings
revised during the promotional period. The promotional rate also
does not apply to listings created during the promotion January
5-9, 2005, but scheduled to start after the promotion ends.
http://pages.ebay.ca/promo/firstlist05/?ssPageName=CMDV:AB
************************************************************
OTHER INFORMATION OF NOTE
************************************************************
EBAY STOPS REVISIONS OF PROMO LISTINGS
************************************************************
In a ebaY move that TAG has long anticipated, ebaY is now preventing
sellers from doing revisions to auctions that are listed during a
promotion. For the first time, ebaY has stated that for the 5 Pence
promotion on ebaY UK, ebaY will charge the full fee for any item
revised once the promotional period is over. ebaY has had the
capability to do this for many years, but this is the first time they
have implemented it. To quote ebaY on this, "If you revise a
qualifying listing created on 6th January at a later date, you will
be charged the normal insertion fee, NOT the 5 pence
promotional fee." Is a similar move to be expected on ebaY US?
************************************************************
PAYPAL ALLOWING AUSTRALIA DOLLAR PAYMENTS
************************************************************
ebaY's PayPal is now accepting payments in Australian dollars on
PayPal.com. Australian users can now send and receive payments in
the local currency, eliminating the need to convert currency and pay
costly exchange fees for purchases or sales.
************************************************************
EBAY TSUNAMI RELIEF? OR MORE EBAY PROFITS?
************************************************************
Though ebaY is advertising ways for buyers and sellers to help
contribute to the Tsunami relief effort, these charitable
contributions appear to apply to everyone BUT ebaY. As far as we can
tell, ebaY collects all normal listing and final value fees, so make
their normal profits on all charitable listings. If you use PayPal,
ebaY gets the cut of that transaction also. Charitable listings
can be funneled through Mission Fish, who deducts an additional
processing fee.
For more info about Mission Fish and their ebaY giving programs go to
http://www.missionfish.org/Help/helpAboutMoney.jsp#fees
ebaY collects all normal listing and final value fees, so make their
normal profits on all charitable listings. If you use PayPal, ebaY
gets the cut of that transaction also.
For more info ˆ http://pages.ebay.com/tsunamirelief/index.html
TAG checked with PayPal to see if sending money to UNICEF through
PayPal was going to incur payment fees for UNICEF, and further
profits for ebaY and PayPal, or if ALL the money would go to UNICEF.
The customer service rep did not have an answer, but promised to
escalate this and get back with an answer in 48 hours.
************************************************************
OVERSTOCK AUCTIONS TSUNAMI RELIEF
************************************************************
Overstock Auctions is supporting a Tsunami Relief program. Sellers
can donate a portion of the proceeds from their auctions by listing
an auction as usual. When creating the auction, check the "Make This
a Charity Auction" box. Then select a percentage of the closing price
that you would like to donate to a tsunami relief fund, and choose to
donate to the American Red Cross, UNICEF, or Oxfam. Invoicing and
billing will occur as usual. ALL fees collected in association with a
charity auction will also be donated to the charity you selected.
http://snipurl.com/bs7u
***********************************************************
THE AUCTION GUILD
and eTRADERS GUILD
www.auctionguild.com
Not just a venue
877-SAFETAG
http://www.auctionguild.com
email us - tag@theauctionguild.com
***********************************************************
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners
Copyright 1999 - 2005 The Auction Guild Inc All rights reserved
promo and other promotions 4 Jan 2005
************************************************************
THIS ISSUE -
************************************************************
EBAY UK 5 PENCE LISTING DAY 6 JAN 2005
************************************************************
EBAY US FIRST TIME SELLER PROMO 5-9 JAN 2005
************************************************************
EBAY CA FIRST TIME SELLER PROMO 5-9 JAN 2005
************************************************************
OTHER INFORMATION OF NOTE
************************************************************
MINSTHINS AUCTIONS End of Year CLEARANCE Sale. Everything
must go! Prices as low as 49 cents. Go where those in the
know go for great prices. http://www.minsthinsauction.com
************************************************************
PAYPAL'S ORIGINS EXPOSED IN "THE PAYPAL WARS"
An insider's account of PayPal's beginnings, and its clashes
with the Mafia, lawyers, and eBay! http://snipurl.com/bs0q
************************************************************
Wide variety of items in excellent condition, from a Patagonia
surfboard to digital equipment. Shop http://blujay.com/dustyseller
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Looking for reliable image hosting? Check TAG's image hosting
directory at - http://www.auctionguild.com/generic80.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This issue brought to you by the preceding ads, supporting TAG
through their advertising dollars. Please support them, by
clicking on or copy/pasting their links and buying their products.
TAG's advertising rates are at -
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic99.html
The complete TAGnotes archive can be found at -
http://www.escribe.com/business/TAGnotes/
Visit The Auction Guild Web Log at -
http://auctionguild.blogspot.com/
TAG does not endorse the companies or products advertised
9000 subscribers
************************************************************
EBAY UK 5 PENCE LISTING DAY 6 JAN 2005
************************************************************
On ebaY UK on Thursday 6 Jan 2005 between 00:00:01 GMT until
23:59:59 GMT, sellers listing in auction style, auction with buy it
now (BIN) or BIN only (fixed price) formats in an eligible category,
will pay 5 pence (£0.05 GBP) insertion fee.
Only listings in British Pounds Sterling on ebaY.co.uk will qualify
for the5p listing fee. Any item previously scheduled to go live on
Thursday 6 Jan 2005, will qualify for the 5 pence insertion fee
promotion.
If you relist an item on Thu 6 Jan 2005 that had previously closed
without a successful sale, the re-list will qualify for the 5 pence
fee. Excluded from this promotion are items listed in the automotive
(Cars, Classic Cars, Motorcycles or Other Vehicles) and real estate
categories, multiple item auction format listings (also known as
Dutch Auctions), identical listings that do not comply with
ebaY's duplicate listings policy, shops inventory format
listings, and listings scheduled to start after the promotion
has finished.
ebaY will only credit the basic listing fee. ebaY will charge all
other selling fees including final value fees, optional reserve price
fees and all listing enhancement fees such as "Bold" or "Highlight".
If the listing is listed in 2 categories, the insertion fee will be
5p times 2 i.e. 10 pence. PLEASE NOTE - If you revise a qualifying
listing created on 6 Jan at a later date, ebaY will charge the FULL
normal insertion fee, NOT the 5 pence promotional fee.
US sellers can participate if they list on the UK site and are
willing to ship to the UK and accept British Pounds Sterling, those
most or all buyers will probably come from the US.
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/sell/SWFLD06012005/
************************************************************
EBAY US FIRST TIME SELLER PROMO 5-9 JAN 2005
************************************************************
ebaY US is running a promotion for new sellers. ebaY will credit the
insertion and gallery free for the first three (3) listings. This
promotion starts on Wed 5 Jan 2005 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus
one second) and runs through Sun 9 Jan 2005 until 23:59:59 (11:59 PM
plus 59 seconds). Listings created prior to Wed 5 Jan 2005 and
scheduled to start during the promotional period (January 5-9, 2005)
are eligible for the special offer. ebaY will not apply the credits
immediately and they will not be posted to the sellers account until
late February 2005. This applies to ebaY US and ebaY Motors
non-vehicle listings.
ebaY will still charge all other fees (including final value fees and
all other optional listing upgrade fees, such as bold, border, buy
it now, gallery featured, highlight, featured plus, listing designer,
gift services, subtitle, reserve, extended duration insertion
fees, etc.).
ebaY will not include motors vehicles, stores inventory listings,
live auctions, professional services, international and real estate
ad format listings in this promotion. The promotional rate does
not apply to listings revised during the promotional period. The
promotional rate also does not apply to listings created during
the promotion January 5-9, 2005, but scheduled to start after
the promotion ends.
http://pages.ebay.com/promo/firstlist05/?ssPageName=CMDV:AB
************************************************************
EBAY CA FIRST TIME SELLER PROMO 5-9 JAN 2005
************************************************************
ebaY Canada is running a promotion for new sellers. ebaY will credit
the insertion and gallery upgrades for the first three (3) listings
starting Wed 5 Jan 2005 at 00:00:01 EST (12:00 AM plus one second
on Wed 5 Jan 2005) and runs through Sun 9 Jan 2005 23:59:59 EST (11:
59 PM plus 59 seconds).
ebaY will not include motors vehicles, stores inventory listings,
multiple listings, dutch auctions and real estate ad format listings
in this promotion. The promotional rate does not apply to listings
revised during the promotional period. The promotional rate also
does not apply to listings created during the promotion January
5-9, 2005, but scheduled to start after the promotion ends.
http://pages.ebay.ca/promo/firstlist05/?ssPageName=CMDV:AB
************************************************************
OTHER INFORMATION OF NOTE
************************************************************
EBAY STOPS REVISIONS OF PROMO LISTINGS
************************************************************
In a ebaY move that TAG has long anticipated, ebaY is now preventing
sellers from doing revisions to auctions that are listed during a
promotion. For the first time, ebaY has stated that for the 5 Pence
promotion on ebaY UK, ebaY will charge the full fee for any item
revised once the promotional period is over. ebaY has had the
capability to do this for many years, but this is the first time they
have implemented it. To quote ebaY on this, "If you revise a
qualifying listing created on 6th January at a later date, you will
be charged the normal insertion fee, NOT the 5 pence
promotional fee." Is a similar move to be expected on ebaY US?
************************************************************
PAYPAL ALLOWING AUSTRALIA DOLLAR PAYMENTS
************************************************************
ebaY's PayPal is now accepting payments in Australian dollars on
PayPal.com. Australian users can now send and receive payments in
the local currency, eliminating the need to convert currency and pay
costly exchange fees for purchases or sales.
************************************************************
EBAY TSUNAMI RELIEF? OR MORE EBAY PROFITS?
************************************************************
Though ebaY is advertising ways for buyers and sellers to help
contribute to the Tsunami relief effort, these charitable
contributions appear to apply to everyone BUT ebaY. As far as we can
tell, ebaY collects all normal listing and final value fees, so make
their normal profits on all charitable listings. If you use PayPal,
ebaY gets the cut of that transaction also. Charitable listings
can be funneled through Mission Fish, who deducts an additional
processing fee.
For more info about Mission Fish and their ebaY giving programs go to
http://www.missionfish.org/Help/helpAboutMoney.jsp#fees
ebaY collects all normal listing and final value fees, so make their
normal profits on all charitable listings. If you use PayPal, ebaY
gets the cut of that transaction also.
For more info ˆ http://pages.ebay.com/tsunamirelief/index.html
TAG checked with PayPal to see if sending money to UNICEF through
PayPal was going to incur payment fees for UNICEF, and further
profits for ebaY and PayPal, or if ALL the money would go to UNICEF.
The customer service rep did not have an answer, but promised to
escalate this and get back with an answer in 48 hours.
************************************************************
OVERSTOCK AUCTIONS TSUNAMI RELIEF
************************************************************
Overstock Auctions is supporting a Tsunami Relief program. Sellers
can donate a portion of the proceeds from their auctions by listing
an auction as usual. When creating the auction, check the "Make This
a Charity Auction" box. Then select a percentage of the closing price
that you would like to donate to a tsunami relief fund, and choose to
donate to the American Red Cross, UNICEF, or Oxfam. Invoicing and
billing will occur as usual. ALL fees collected in association with a
charity auction will also be donated to the charity you selected.
http://snipurl.com/bs7u
***********************************************************
THE AUCTION GUILD
and eTRADERS GUILD
www.auctionguild.com
Not just a venue
877-SAFETAG
http://www.auctionguild.com
email us - tag@theauctionguild.com
***********************************************************
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners
Copyright 1999 - 2005 The Auction Guild Inc All rights reserved
Sunday, December 26, 2004
ebaY - No Holiday Free Listing Day, just a 10 Cent Promo
The Auction Guild Notes SPECIAL EDITION 26 Dec 2004
*****************************************************
THIS ISSUE -
************************************************************
10 CENT LISTING DAY EBAY US ON MON 27 DEC 2004
************************************************************
10 CENT LISTING DAY EBAY CA ON MON 27 DEC 2004
************************************************************
24 hour toll-free support, automated point and click auction
gallery features, fast reliable servers, tons of storage.
5 day free trial! http://www.myeasypics.com
************************************************************
Looking for reliable image hosting? Check TAG's image hosting
directory at - http://www.auctionguild.com/generic80.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This issue brought to you by the preceding ads, supporting TAG
through their advertising dollars. Please support them, by
clicking on or copy/pasting their links and buying their products.
TAG's advertising rates are at -
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic99.html
The complete TAGnotes archive can be found at -
http://www.escribe.com/business/TAGnotes/
Visit The Auction Guild Web Log at -
http://auctionguild.blogspot.com/
TAG does not endorse the companies or products advertised
9000 subscribers
************************************************************
10 CENT LISTING DAY EBAY US ON MON 27 DEC 2004
************************************************************
ebaY is obviously not doing as well as it tries to appear, since for
the first time ever, ebaY is NOT giving their users their annual
holiday gift of a free listing day, but are making it a 10 cent
listing promotion instead. Though this is better than nothing, it is
not what it should be.
ebaY US is holding a 10 cent listing day on Monday 27 Dec 2004
between 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second on Mon 27 Dec 2004 and
ending that same day, 27 Dec 2004 at 23:59:59 PT(11:59 PM plus 59
seconds).
The listing fee for all regular auction-style, Fixed Price, and Store
Inventory listings is10 cents on the U.S. site (www.ebay.com) and on
ebaY Motors for Non-Vehicles listings. This includes listings
created before 27 Dec 2004 but that are scheduled to start on 27 Dec
2004.
ebaY will still charge all other fees including final value
fees, listing upgrade fees, such as Buy It Now, featured plus,
subtitle, highlight, bold, gallery, gift services, scheduled
listings, gallery featured, homepage featured, reserve fees,
ebaY Picture Services, duration fees, etc.
ebaY is excluding ebaY Motors vehicle listings, international, live
auction, professional services, real estate, ad format and store
inventory listings. The promotional rate does not apply to listings
with a start date prior to 27 Dec 2004- including those listings
revised during the promotional period. The promotional rate also
does not apply to listings created on 27 Dec 2004 and scheduled to
start after the promotion ends.
List auction style and fixed price items through the Sell Your Item
Form, ebaY Seller Tools, and most third-party tools.
For more info go to -
http://pages.ebay.com/promo/10centevent/
************************************************************
10 CENT LISTING DAY EBAY CA ON MON 27 DEC 2004
************************************************************
Starting Monday 27 Dec 2004 at 00:00:01 EST (12:00 AM plus one second
on 27 Dec 2004) and ending that same day Mon 27 Dec 2004 23:59:59
EST (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).
The rules, exclusions etc are the same as those for ebaY US (see
above)
http://pages.ebay.ca/promo/10cEvent/
***********************************************************
THE AUCTION GUILD
and eTRADERS GUILD
www.auctionguild.com
Not just a venue
877-SAFETAG
http://www.auctionguild.com
email us - tag@theauctionguild.com
***********************************************************
TAG WISHES HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND A PROSPEROUS AND
HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR SUBSCRIBERS. THANK
YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!!!
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners
Copyright 1999 - 2004 The Auction Guild Inc All rights reserved
*****************************************************
THIS ISSUE -
************************************************************
10 CENT LISTING DAY EBAY US ON MON 27 DEC 2004
************************************************************
10 CENT LISTING DAY EBAY CA ON MON 27 DEC 2004
************************************************************
24 hour toll-free support, automated point and click auction
gallery features, fast reliable servers, tons of storage.
5 day free trial! http://www.myeasypics.com
************************************************************
Looking for reliable image hosting? Check TAG's image hosting
directory at - http://www.auctionguild.com/generic80.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This issue brought to you by the preceding ads, supporting TAG
through their advertising dollars. Please support them, by
clicking on or copy/pasting their links and buying their products.
TAG's advertising rates are at -
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic99.html
The complete TAGnotes archive can be found at -
http://www.escribe.com/business/TAGnotes/
Visit The Auction Guild Web Log at -
http://auctionguild.blogspot.com/
TAG does not endorse the companies or products advertised
9000 subscribers
************************************************************
10 CENT LISTING DAY EBAY US ON MON 27 DEC 2004
************************************************************
ebaY is obviously not doing as well as it tries to appear, since for
the first time ever, ebaY is NOT giving their users their annual
holiday gift of a free listing day, but are making it a 10 cent
listing promotion instead. Though this is better than nothing, it is
not what it should be.
ebaY US is holding a 10 cent listing day on Monday 27 Dec 2004
between 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second on Mon 27 Dec 2004 and
ending that same day, 27 Dec 2004 at 23:59:59 PT(11:59 PM plus 59
seconds).
The listing fee for all regular auction-style, Fixed Price, and Store
Inventory listings is10 cents on the U.S. site (www.ebay.com) and on
ebaY Motors for Non-Vehicles listings. This includes listings
created before 27 Dec 2004 but that are scheduled to start on 27 Dec
2004.
ebaY will still charge all other fees including final value
fees, listing upgrade fees, such as Buy It Now, featured plus,
subtitle, highlight, bold, gallery, gift services, scheduled
listings, gallery featured, homepage featured, reserve fees,
ebaY Picture Services, duration fees, etc.
ebaY is excluding ebaY Motors vehicle listings, international, live
auction, professional services, real estate, ad format and store
inventory listings. The promotional rate does not apply to listings
with a start date prior to 27 Dec 2004- including those listings
revised during the promotional period. The promotional rate also
does not apply to listings created on 27 Dec 2004 and scheduled to
start after the promotion ends.
List auction style and fixed price items through the Sell Your Item
Form, ebaY Seller Tools, and most third-party tools.
For more info go to -
http://pages.ebay.com/promo/10centevent/
************************************************************
10 CENT LISTING DAY EBAY CA ON MON 27 DEC 2004
************************************************************
Starting Monday 27 Dec 2004 at 00:00:01 EST (12:00 AM plus one second
on 27 Dec 2004) and ending that same day Mon 27 Dec 2004 23:59:59
EST (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).
The rules, exclusions etc are the same as those for ebaY US (see
above)
http://pages.ebay.ca/promo/10cEvent/
***********************************************************
THE AUCTION GUILD
and eTRADERS GUILD
www.auctionguild.com
Not just a venue
877-SAFETAG
http://www.auctionguild.com
email us - tag@theauctionguild.com
***********************************************************
TAG WISHES HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND A PROSPEROUS AND
HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR SUBSCRIBERS. THANK
YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!!!
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners
Copyright 1999 - 2004 The Auction Guild Inc All rights reserved
Friday, December 24, 2004
Will ebaY have a 2004 Free Listing Day?
If ebaY is going to have a free listing day after Christmas, they will not announce it until late on the night before the FLD. We are watching, and will send a notice as soon as we hear about it.
In 2003 ebaY had this promotion on Fri 26 Dec.
2002 - Thurs 26 DEC 2002
2001 - Thurs 20 DEC 2001
This year the 26th IS a problematical date, as ebaY has never held an FLD or other promotion on a Sunday. Usually it is on a Tue or Thurs with the rare different week day thrown in. They have had a FLD as a “christmas” present for their sellers every year since they started the site, so it is hard to believe they would break with their tradition. When they had it has varied, sometimes before, sometimes after Christmas, so all we can do is watch and wait, and let you all know as soon as we can. Our best guess is Tues 28 Dec.
Our advice is to prepare your listings for an FLD, so you will be ready when and if it comes.
In 2003 ebaY had this promotion on Fri 26 Dec.
2002 - Thurs 26 DEC 2002
2001 - Thurs 20 DEC 2001
This year the 26th IS a problematical date, as ebaY has never held an FLD or other promotion on a Sunday. Usually it is on a Tue or Thurs with the rare different week day thrown in. They have had a FLD as a “christmas” present for their sellers every year since they started the site, so it is hard to believe they would break with their tradition. When they had it has varied, sometimes before, sometimes after Christmas, so all we can do is watch and wait, and let you all know as soon as we can. Our best guess is Tues 28 Dec.
Our advice is to prepare your listings for an FLD, so you will be ready when and if it comes.
TAGnotes Special Edition Overstock Auctions FLD on 26 Dec 04
The Auction Guild Notes Special Edition Overstock Auctions
Free Listing Day 23 Dec 04
************************************************************
THIS ISSUE -
************************************************************
OVERSTOCK AUCTIONS FREE LISTING DAY SUN 26 DEC 2004
************************************************************
OTHER INFORMATION OF NOTE
************************************************************
24 hour toll-free support, automated point and click auction
gallery features, fast reliable servers, tons of storage.
5 day free trial! http://www.myeasypics.com
************************************************************
What items $ell on eBay? Don't Guess! Get 100+pages of
eBay info Only $8.95 +FREE Bonus! http://snurl.com/146y
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Looking for reliable image hosting? Check TAG's image hosting
directory at - http://www.auctionguild.com/generic80.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This issue brought to you by the preceding ads, supporting TAG
through their advertising dollars. Please support them, by
clicking on or copy/pasting their links and buying their products.
TAG's advertising rates are at -
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic99.html
The complete TAGnotes archive can be found at -
http://www.escribe.com/business/TAGnotes/
Visit The Auction Guild Web Log at -
http://auctionguild.blogspot.com/
TAG does not endorse the companies or products advertised
9000 subscribers
************************************************************
OVERSTOCK AUCTIONS FREE LISTING DAY SUN 26 DEC 2004
************************************************************
Overstock Auctions is having a Free Listing Day on Sun 26 Dec 2004
from 12:01 am EST to 11:59 pm PST Sun 26 Dec. Please note they are
starting at Eastern Standard Time and ending at Pacific Standard
Time. Overstock says this unusual move is to give all listers in the
US a full day on which to list no matter where in the country they
live.
This FLD is for insertion fees only. Overstock will still charge
reserve fees, any upgrade fees and final value fees associated with
all auctions listed during the free listing period. The insertion fee
for listing an item in a second category is free, but all other fees
are doubled when listing in a second category. The Free Listing Day
does not apply to Real Estate Auctions.
During the first Overstock FLD, there were lots of outages and
breakdowns, so many sellers were not able to list. It remains to be
seen if Overstock has made any improvements to prevent these
problems. Overstock currently has approx 89,000 auction listings.
If you have any questions you can call Overstock Auctions at
1-800-843-2446 and choose option 3
If you use the link on this page to register on Overstock, TAG will
get an affiliate fee.
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic127.html
************************************************************
OTHER INFORMATION OF NOTE
************************************************************
The head of the ebaY India site Baazee.com, was arrested and jailed
in mid December, when someone used the site to sell illegal porn in
India. ebaY US has managed to get their employee out on bail, and
obviously money talks and influence may be purchased, as even Condi
Rice (otherwise known as the US Secretary of State) was involved. It
looks as if the Indian government has not yet bought into the
"venue only" argument ebaY has used so successfully in the
US, to shirk all responsibility for what goes wrong on their site.
What is interesting is that the Indian government did not shut
the ebaY India site down altogether.
http://snipurl.com/bkg1
******
In January, ebaY is going to stop sending the PayPal winning bidder
notifications.
************************************************************
THE AUCTION GUILD and eTRADERS GUILD
www.auctionguild.com
Not just a venue
877-SAFETAG
email us - tag@theauctionguild.com
***********************************************************
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners
Copyright 1999 - 2004 The Auction Guild Inc All rights reserved
Free Listing Day 23 Dec 04
************************************************************
THIS ISSUE -
************************************************************
OVERSTOCK AUCTIONS FREE LISTING DAY SUN 26 DEC 2004
************************************************************
OTHER INFORMATION OF NOTE
************************************************************
24 hour toll-free support, automated point and click auction
gallery features, fast reliable servers, tons of storage.
5 day free trial! http://www.myeasypics.com
************************************************************
What items $ell on eBay? Don't Guess! Get 100+pages of
eBay info Only $8.95 +FREE Bonus! http://snurl.com/146y
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Looking for reliable image hosting? Check TAG's image hosting
directory at - http://www.auctionguild.com/generic80.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This issue brought to you by the preceding ads, supporting TAG
through their advertising dollars. Please support them, by
clicking on or copy/pasting their links and buying their products.
TAG's advertising rates are at -
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic99.html
The complete TAGnotes archive can be found at -
http://www.escribe.com/business/TAGnotes/
Visit The Auction Guild Web Log at -
http://auctionguild.blogspot.com/
TAG does not endorse the companies or products advertised
9000 subscribers
************************************************************
OVERSTOCK AUCTIONS FREE LISTING DAY SUN 26 DEC 2004
************************************************************
Overstock Auctions is having a Free Listing Day on Sun 26 Dec 2004
from 12:01 am EST to 11:59 pm PST Sun 26 Dec. Please note they are
starting at Eastern Standard Time and ending at Pacific Standard
Time. Overstock says this unusual move is to give all listers in the
US a full day on which to list no matter where in the country they
live.
This FLD is for insertion fees only. Overstock will still charge
reserve fees, any upgrade fees and final value fees associated with
all auctions listed during the free listing period. The insertion fee
for listing an item in a second category is free, but all other fees
are doubled when listing in a second category. The Free Listing Day
does not apply to Real Estate Auctions.
During the first Overstock FLD, there were lots of outages and
breakdowns, so many sellers were not able to list. It remains to be
seen if Overstock has made any improvements to prevent these
problems. Overstock currently has approx 89,000 auction listings.
If you have any questions you can call Overstock Auctions at
1-800-843-2446 and choose option 3
If you use the link on this page to register on Overstock, TAG will
get an affiliate fee.
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic127.html
************************************************************
OTHER INFORMATION OF NOTE
************************************************************
The head of the ebaY India site Baazee.com, was arrested and jailed
in mid December, when someone used the site to sell illegal porn in
India. ebaY US has managed to get their employee out on bail, and
obviously money talks and influence may be purchased, as even Condi
Rice (otherwise known as the US Secretary of State) was involved. It
looks as if the Indian government has not yet bought into the
"venue only" argument ebaY has used so successfully in the
US, to shirk all responsibility for what goes wrong on their site.
What is interesting is that the Indian government did not shut
the ebaY India site down altogether.
http://snipurl.com/bkg1
******
In January, ebaY is going to stop sending the PayPal winning bidder
notifications.
************************************************************
THE AUCTION GUILD and eTRADERS GUILD
www.auctionguild.com
Not just a venue
877-SAFETAG
email us - tag@theauctionguild.com
***********************************************************
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners
Copyright 1999 - 2004 The Auction Guild Inc All rights reserved
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
ebaY 50 Cents off Fixed Price Promotion - not worth a Special Edition
ebaY is giving 50% off fixed price listings on ebaY US, CA and ebaY Motors (non-vehicle listings) on Wed 15 Dec 04. They are also allowing sellers to add but it now to auction listings for free (5 cent refund). promotion runs from 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and to 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds on Wed 15 Dec.
http://pages.ebay.com/promo/fpandbin/?ssPageName=CMDV:AB1000
http://pages.ebay.com/promo/fpandbin/?ssPageName=CMDV:AB1000
Sunday, December 05, 2004
The Scots go after ebaY for Ticket Sales, Free Listing on ebaY Malasia
The Glasgow City Council is trying to get ebaY stop the sale of Hogmanay party tickets on their site. ebaY said they will not do anything unless the Council can show them a law making this resale of ticketes illegal. The Council claims that by selling them on-line, ticket holders are breaking the terms of agreement which apply to them. Normally tickets cost £2.50, but are selling on ebaY for £70 to £300.
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=137772200 to disallow sales of tickets to 4
ebaY Malaysian Website is completely free to list on, and very simple. It is like pre IPO ebaY in it’s basic simplicity. Unfortunately the listings only show up on ebaY Malaysia in MYR currency, though the would show up in a sellers list of items in the US.
http://www.ebay.com.my/
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=137772200 to disallow sales of tickets to 4
ebaY Malaysian Website is completely free to list on, and very simple. It is like pre IPO ebaY in it’s basic simplicity. Unfortunately the listings only show up on ebaY Malaysia in MYR currency, though the would show up in a sellers list of items in the US.
http://www.ebay.com.my/
International Strike against ebaY
International ebaY users in the UK, France Spain and other countries are grumbling about ebaY’s lack of service and responsiveness to their users. This is nothing new to US users, who have long sought a viable alternative to ebaY. There is a plan afoot to boycott ebaY through 31 Dec. US users have long since learned the futility of such an action, when the simple act of listing on other sites to move a significant amount of business off ebaY, would be the final solution. Once another site gets a sufficient number of listings (in the range of 3 million listings) the buyers will follow. Only when there is true competition in the online auction and trading industry, will ebaY be forced to provide customer service, and actually listen to their customers.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/23/ebay_spain_strike/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/23/ebay_spain_strike/
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Misc ebaY related
ebaY, the largest stockholder in South Korea’s Internet Auction Co, has requested that the company delist from the KOSDAQ stock exchange. This despite what has reportedly been a profitable enterprise with $939 million dollars gross value of goods sold through the site.
http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20041116/300700000020041116143715E2.html
http://au.news.yahoo.com/041122/3/ru7j.html
ebaY continues to censor terminology on their site, now prohibiting any descriptions that might be considered a slur or offensive term. This will be true even if the description is appropriate for the time/era of the item.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041118/wr_nm/tech_racism_dc_2
http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20041116/300700000020041116143715E2.html
http://au.news.yahoo.com/041122/3/ru7j.html
ebaY continues to censor terminology on their site, now prohibiting any descriptions that might be considered a slur or offensive term. This will be true even if the description is appropriate for the time/era of the item.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041118/wr_nm/tech_racism_dc_2
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
TAGnotes Special Edition ebaY US, CA, FR Promos
The Auction Guild Notes Special Edition ebaY US, CA, FR Promos
on 30 Nov 04, and 1-31 Dec 2004 , 29 Nov 2004
************************************************************
THIS ISSUE
************************************************************
EBAY US HALF PRICE FIXED PRICE LISTINGS AND FREE BUY IT
NOW UPGRADE ON AUCTION LISTING ON 30 NOV 2004
************************************************************
EBAY US MOTORS PARTS AND ACCESSORIES 1 DAY 50 CENT
INSERTION FEE CAP ON 30 NOV 2004
************************************************************
EBAY US RESERVE FEE CAPPED AT $25
************************************************************
EBAY CANADA HALF PRICE FIXED PRICE LISTINGS AND FREE
BUY IT NOW UPGRADE ON AUCTION LISTING ON 30 NOV 2004
************************************************************
EBAY CANADA RESERVE FEE CAPPED AT $25
************************************************************
EBAY FR 5 EURO CENT FIXED PRICE LISTINGS 30 NOVEMBER 2004
************************************************************
OTHER INFORMATION OF NOTE
************************************************************
What items $ell on eBay? Don't Guess! Get 100+pages of
eBay info Only $8.95 +FREE Bonus! http://snurl.com/146y
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Looking for reliable image hosting? Check TAG's image hosting
directory at - http://www.auctionguild.com/generic80.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This issue brought to you by the preceding ads, supporting TAG through their
advertising dollars. Please support them, by clicking on or copy/pasting
their links and buying their products.
TAG's advertising rates are at -
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic99.html
The complete TAGnotes archive can be found at -
http://www.escribe.com/business/TAGnotes/
View the TAGnotes WebLog at -
http://auctionguild.blogspot.com/
TAG does not endorse the companies or products advertised
9000 subscribers
************************************************************
EBAY US HALF PRICE FIXED PRICE LISTINGS AND FREE BUY IT
NOW UPGRADE ON AUCTION LISTING ON 30 NOV 2004
************************************************************
ebaY US will take 50% off fixed price listings and give a free buy it now
listing upgrade (5 cent) refund for auction style listings. This promotion
runs Tuesday 30 Nov 2004 between 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second on
November 30, 2004) and ending that same day Tuesday 30 Nov 2004 at 23:59:59
PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).
Excluded from the 50% off fixed price listings promotion, are auction
listings, auction listings with buy it now listing upgrade, international,
live auction, professional services, real estate, ad format, motor vehicles
and non-vehicles and store inventory listings.
Excluded from the buy it now listing upgrade for auction style listings are
fixed price, international, live auction, professional services, real
estate, ad format, motor vehicles and non-vehicles and store inventory
listings.
http://pages.ebay.com/promo/fpandbin/?ssPageName=CMDV:AB1000
************************************************************
EBAY MOTORS PARTS AND ACCESSORIES 50 CENT INSERTION
FEE CAP ON 30 NOV 2004
************************************************************
ebaY Motors parts and accessories will have a 50¢ insertion fee cap for all
items with a starting price above $9.99 on Tuesday 30 Nov 2004 between
00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second on November 30, 2004) and ending that
same day Tuesday 30 Nov 2004 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).
This promotion includes all regular auction style and fixed price ebaY
Motors parts and accessories listings on the U.S. ebaY Motors site
(www.ebaymotors.com). The promotional rate does not apply for ebaY Motors
vehicle listings.
ebaY will still charge all other fees (such as transaction services fees and
all other optional listing upgrade fees). For more info go to -
http://pages.motors.ebay.com/promo/50cInsertion/113004/?ssPageName=CMDV:AB
************************************************************
EBAY US RESERVE FEE CAP AT $25 THROUGH 31 DEC 04
(Not yet announced on ebay US as of this special edition)
************************************************************
Starting on or around (not yet announced) Wednesday 1 Dec 2004 at 00:00:01
PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and ending at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59
seconds) on 31 Dec 2004, ebaY will cap the reserve fee at $25.00. Listings
created prior to December 1, 2004 that are scheduled to start during the
promotional period December 1-31, 2004 will be eligible to receive the
promotional rate.
ebaY is excluding ebaY Motors (vehicles and non-vehicles) listings, real
estate, ad format, and store inventory listings from this promotion.
************************************************************
************************************************************
EBAY CANADA HALF PRICE FIXED PRICE LISTINGS AND FREE
BUY IT NOW UPGRADE ON AUCTION LISTING ON 30 NOV 2004
************************************************************
ebaY CA will take 50% off fixed price listings and give a free buy it now
listing upgrade (5 cent) refund for auction style listings. This promotion
runs from on 30 Nov 2004 00:00:01 EST (12:00 AM plus one second) and ending
that same day Tuesday, 30 Nov 2004 23:59:59 EST (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).
Excluded from the 50% off fixed price listings promotion, are auction
listings, auction listings with buy it now listing upgrade, international,
live auction, professional services, real estate, ad format, motor vehicles
and non-vehicles and store inventory listings.
Excluded from the buy it now listing upgrade for auction style listings are
fixed price, international, live auction, professional services, real
estate, ad format, motor vehicles and non-vehicles and store inventory
listings.
http://pages.ebay.ca/promo/fpandbin/
************************************************************
EBAY CANADA RESERVE FEE CAP AT $25 THROUGH 31 DEC 04
************************************************************
Starting on Wednesday 1 Dec 2004 at 00:00:01 EST, and ending at 23:59:59 EST
on 31 Dec 2004, ebaY will cap the reserve fee at $25.00. Listings created
prior to December 1, 2004 that are scheduled to start during the promotional
period December 1-31, 2004 will be eligible to receive the promotional rate.
ebaY is excluding ebaY Motors (vehicles and non-vehicles) listings, real
estate, ad format, and store inventory listings from this promotion.
EbaY posted that, "A similar promotion is being run on eBay.com (note that
start time, end time, and conditions may vary)."
For more info go to -
http://pages.ebay.ca/promo/reserve25/
************************************************************
************************************************************
EBAY FR 5 EURO CENT FIXED PRICE LISTINGS 30 NOVEMBER 2004
************************************************************
ebaY France users can list fixed price items at 5 euro cents until 23:59:59
on 30 Nov.
http://pages.ebay.fr/offres-speciales/fixedprice.html
************************************************************
OTHER INFORMATION OF NOTE
************************************************************
For opinion, news and information about the online auction and
trading industry, view the TAG weblog at -
http://auctionguild.blogspot.com/
*********
TAG assumes that ebaY will hold a free listing day sometime right before or
after Christmas. (Last year it was on 26 Dec) We will put out a Special
Edition and post to the TAGlog as soon as we find out when.
***********************************************************
THE AUCTION GUILD and eTRADERS GUILD
www.auctionguild.com
Not just a venue
877-SAFETAG
email us - tag@theauctionguild.com
***********************************************************
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners
Copyright 1999 - 2004 The Auction Guild Inc All rights reserved
on 30 Nov 04, and 1-31 Dec 2004 , 29 Nov 2004
************************************************************
THIS ISSUE
************************************************************
EBAY US HALF PRICE FIXED PRICE LISTINGS AND FREE BUY IT
NOW UPGRADE ON AUCTION LISTING ON 30 NOV 2004
************************************************************
EBAY US MOTORS PARTS AND ACCESSORIES 1 DAY 50 CENT
INSERTION FEE CAP ON 30 NOV 2004
************************************************************
EBAY US RESERVE FEE CAPPED AT $25
************************************************************
EBAY CANADA HALF PRICE FIXED PRICE LISTINGS AND FREE
BUY IT NOW UPGRADE ON AUCTION LISTING ON 30 NOV 2004
************************************************************
EBAY CANADA RESERVE FEE CAPPED AT $25
************************************************************
EBAY FR 5 EURO CENT FIXED PRICE LISTINGS 30 NOVEMBER 2004
************************************************************
OTHER INFORMATION OF NOTE
************************************************************
What items $ell on eBay? Don't Guess! Get 100+pages of
eBay info Only $8.95 +FREE Bonus! http://snurl.com/146y
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Looking for reliable image hosting? Check TAG's image hosting
directory at - http://www.auctionguild.com/generic80.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This issue brought to you by the preceding ads, supporting TAG through their
advertising dollars. Please support them, by clicking on or copy/pasting
their links and buying their products.
TAG's advertising rates are at -
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic99.html
The complete TAGnotes archive can be found at -
http://www.escribe.com/business/TAGnotes/
View the TAGnotes WebLog at -
http://auctionguild.blogspot.com/
TAG does not endorse the companies or products advertised
9000 subscribers
************************************************************
EBAY US HALF PRICE FIXED PRICE LISTINGS AND FREE BUY IT
NOW UPGRADE ON AUCTION LISTING ON 30 NOV 2004
************************************************************
ebaY US will take 50% off fixed price listings and give a free buy it now
listing upgrade (5 cent) refund for auction style listings. This promotion
runs Tuesday 30 Nov 2004 between 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second on
November 30, 2004) and ending that same day Tuesday 30 Nov 2004 at 23:59:59
PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).
Excluded from the 50% off fixed price listings promotion, are auction
listings, auction listings with buy it now listing upgrade, international,
live auction, professional services, real estate, ad format, motor vehicles
and non-vehicles and store inventory listings.
Excluded from the buy it now listing upgrade for auction style listings are
fixed price, international, live auction, professional services, real
estate, ad format, motor vehicles and non-vehicles and store inventory
listings.
http://pages.ebay.com/promo/fpandbin/?ssPageName=CMDV:AB1000
************************************************************
EBAY MOTORS PARTS AND ACCESSORIES 50 CENT INSERTION
FEE CAP ON 30 NOV 2004
************************************************************
ebaY Motors parts and accessories will have a 50¢ insertion fee cap for all
items with a starting price above $9.99 on Tuesday 30 Nov 2004 between
00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second on November 30, 2004) and ending that
same day Tuesday 30 Nov 2004 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).
This promotion includes all regular auction style and fixed price ebaY
Motors parts and accessories listings on the U.S. ebaY Motors site
(www.ebaymotors.com). The promotional rate does not apply for ebaY Motors
vehicle listings.
ebaY will still charge all other fees (such as transaction services fees and
all other optional listing upgrade fees). For more info go to -
http://pages.motors.ebay.com/promo/50cInsertion/113004/?ssPageName=CMDV:AB
************************************************************
EBAY US RESERVE FEE CAP AT $25 THROUGH 31 DEC 04
(Not yet announced on ebay US as of this special edition)
************************************************************
Starting on or around (not yet announced) Wednesday 1 Dec 2004 at 00:00:01
PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and ending at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59
seconds) on 31 Dec 2004, ebaY will cap the reserve fee at $25.00. Listings
created prior to December 1, 2004 that are scheduled to start during the
promotional period December 1-31, 2004 will be eligible to receive the
promotional rate.
ebaY is excluding ebaY Motors (vehicles and non-vehicles) listings, real
estate, ad format, and store inventory listings from this promotion.
************************************************************
************************************************************
EBAY CANADA HALF PRICE FIXED PRICE LISTINGS AND FREE
BUY IT NOW UPGRADE ON AUCTION LISTING ON 30 NOV 2004
************************************************************
ebaY CA will take 50% off fixed price listings and give a free buy it now
listing upgrade (5 cent) refund for auction style listings. This promotion
runs from on 30 Nov 2004 00:00:01 EST (12:00 AM plus one second) and ending
that same day Tuesday, 30 Nov 2004 23:59:59 EST (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).
Excluded from the 50% off fixed price listings promotion, are auction
listings, auction listings with buy it now listing upgrade, international,
live auction, professional services, real estate, ad format, motor vehicles
and non-vehicles and store inventory listings.
Excluded from the buy it now listing upgrade for auction style listings are
fixed price, international, live auction, professional services, real
estate, ad format, motor vehicles and non-vehicles and store inventory
listings.
http://pages.ebay.ca/promo/fpandbin/
************************************************************
EBAY CANADA RESERVE FEE CAP AT $25 THROUGH 31 DEC 04
************************************************************
Starting on Wednesday 1 Dec 2004 at 00:00:01 EST, and ending at 23:59:59 EST
on 31 Dec 2004, ebaY will cap the reserve fee at $25.00. Listings created
prior to December 1, 2004 that are scheduled to start during the promotional
period December 1-31, 2004 will be eligible to receive the promotional rate.
ebaY is excluding ebaY Motors (vehicles and non-vehicles) listings, real
estate, ad format, and store inventory listings from this promotion.
EbaY posted that, "A similar promotion is being run on eBay.com (note that
start time, end time, and conditions may vary)."
For more info go to -
http://pages.ebay.ca/promo/reserve25/
************************************************************
************************************************************
EBAY FR 5 EURO CENT FIXED PRICE LISTINGS 30 NOVEMBER 2004
************************************************************
ebaY France users can list fixed price items at 5 euro cents until 23:59:59
on 30 Nov.
http://pages.ebay.fr/offres-speciales/fixedprice.html
************************************************************
OTHER INFORMATION OF NOTE
************************************************************
For opinion, news and information about the online auction and
trading industry, view the TAG weblog at -
http://auctionguild.blogspot.com/
*********
TAG assumes that ebaY will hold a free listing day sometime right before or
after Christmas. (Last year it was on 26 Dec) We will put out a Special
Edition and post to the TAGlog as soon as we find out when.
***********************************************************
THE AUCTION GUILD and eTRADERS GUILD
www.auctionguild.com
Not just a venue
877-SAFETAG
email us - tag@theauctionguild.com
***********************************************************
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners
Copyright 1999 - 2004 The Auction Guild Inc All rights reserved
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
TAGnotes Special Edition ebaY UK, Overstock FLDs etc on 23-27 Nov 04
The Auction Guild Notes Special Edition ebaY UK Motors, Overstock
Auctions Free Listing Day, Other ebaY Promotions Mon 22 Nov 04
************************************************************
THIS ISSUE
************************************************************
OVERSTOCK AUCTIONS FREE LISTING DAY 24 NOV 2004
************************************************************
EBAY MOTORS UK FREE LISTING DAY 25 NOV 2004
************************************************************
EBAY DE 10 EURO CENT LISTINGS WHEN YOU OFFER PAYPAL
23-25 NOVEMBER 2004
************************************************************
EBAY AU FREE GALLERY WITH AUCTION AND BIN, AND FREE
BIN WITH AUCTION LISTINGS 25-27 NOVEMBER 2004
************************************************************
EBAY US FREE BIN ADDITION TO AUCTION WHEN SELLER LISTS
AUCTION FOR INTERNATIONAL SALES 23 NOVEMBER 2004
************************************************************
OTHER INFORMATION OF NOTE
************************************************************
What items $ell on eBay? Don't Guess! Get 100+pages of
eBay info Only $8.95 +FREE Bonus! http://snurl.com/146y
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Looking for reliable image hosting? Check TAG's image hosting
directory at - http://www.auctionguild.com/generic80.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This issue brought to you by the preceding ads, supporting TAG through their advertising dollars. Please support them, by clicking on or copy/pasting their links and buying their products.
TAG's advertising rates are at -
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic99.html
The complete TAGnotes archive can be found at -
http://www.escribe.com/business/TAGnotes/
View the new TAGnotes WebLog at -
http://auctionguild.blogspot.com/
TAG does not endorse the companies or products advertised
9000 subscribers
************************************************************
OVERSTOCK AUCTIONS FREE LISTING DAY WED 24 NOV 2004
************************************************************
Overstock Auctions is having a free listing day on Wednesday 24Nov2004. All items listed between 12:01 AM MT and 11:59 PM MT (Mountain Time) on Wednesday 24 Nov 2004, will incur no listing fee. Overstock Auctions will still charge transaction fees on successful auctions and special promotional fees for bold, highlight, featured and other listing upgrades.
http://auction.overstock.com/
Signing up for Overstock? Want to help support The Auction Guild? Go to this page and use the link when registering and we will get anaffiliate credit.
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic127.html
If you have any questions you can call Overstock Auctions at
1-800-843-2446 and choose option 3
************************************************************
EBAY MOTORS UK FREE LISTING DAY 25 NOV 2004
************************************************************
ebaY Motors UK is holding a free listing day on 25 Nov 04. Save the £6 (GBP) listing fee when you list in the automotive category on ebaY Motors UK. FLD runs from Thursday 25 Nov 2004 from 0:00:01 GMT until 23:59:59 GMT on Thursday 25 Nov. FLD includes auction style, auction with buy it now (BIN) or BIN-only (fixed price) in the any of following categories:
Automotive > Cars
Automotive > Classic Cars
Automotive > Motorcycles
Automotive > Other Vehicles
ebaY will charge all other selling fees, including but not limited to final value fees, optional reserve price fees and all listing enhancement fees such as "Bold" or "Highlight". Shops inventory is excluded.
For more info go to -
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/sell/MFLD251104.html
************************************************************
EBAY DE 10 EURO CENT LISTINGS WHEN YOU OFFER PAYPAL
23-25 NOVEMBER 2004
************************************************************
ebaY Germany is having a promotion starting on 23 Nov 00:01 UHR until 25 Nov at 23:59 UHR. To qualify the seller must offer PayPal as a payment option.
For more info go to -
http://pages.ebay.de/paypal/IFP.html
************************************************************
EBAY AU FREE GALLERY WITH AUCTION AND BIN AND FREE
BIN WITH AUCTION LISTINGS 25-27 NOVEMBER 2004
************************************************************
ebaY Australia is having a promotion offering free gallery (50 cent refund) when a seller uses the buy it now feature. Also any buy it now only (fixed price) or auction with buy it now listing will get a 10 cent credit for using the buy it now
option. Promotion applies to listings on ebay.com.au between Thursday 25 Nov and Saturday 27 Nov. Promotion runs from 12:00:01 am AEDST on Thursday 25t Nov and 11:59:59 pm AEDST on Sat 27 Nov 2004.
For more info go to -
http://pages.ebay.com.au/promotion/buy_it_now.html
************************************************************
EBAY US FREE BIN ADDITION TO AUCTION WHEN SELLER LISTS
AUCTION FOR INTERNATIONAL SALES 23 NOVEMBER 2004
************************************************************
For auction style listings ebaY will refund the 5 cent fee for the buy it now listing feature on any US auction listing, when the listing specifies international worldwide ship to locations or designates one of the following: Americas, Canada, Mexico, Europe, United Kingdom, Germany, Asia, Australia and Japan. This includes ebaY US, www.ebay.com and ebaY Motors, www.ebaymotors.com - non vehicles only. The refund will not show up in the seller's account until late December 2004.
Items excluded from the promotion include, fixed price, multi item, real estate, ad format, international, Canada, live auction, professional services, ebaY Motors vehicles and store inventory listings.
For more info go to -
http://pages.ebay.com/promo/goglobal1204/?ssPageName=CMDV:AB1000
************************************************************
OTHER INFORMATION OF NOTE
************************************************************
For opinion, news and information about the online auction and trading industry, view the TAG weblog at -
http://auctionguild.blogspot.com/
*********
ebaY's PayPal was down or intermittent for about 3 hours on 22 Nov starting at around 0800 PT, and continued to work only intermittently with some features not working at all as of 15:00 PT. Users trying to access PayPal received a "We are unable to complete your request at this time. Please click Retry or try again later. We apologize for the inconvenience. Message 3004", message. At 13:55, users received "The Search and Browse system is temporarily unavailable. Please try one of the following options: Return in a few minutes and try again. If you know the specific item you're looking for, try searching by item number." Messages, whilst trying to search ebaY. Sellers also reported that they were receiving double emails from ebay on sold items. At 02:27:44 PM PT ebaY posted that the PayPal payment notification emails were missing the buyer's shipping address. To access the buyer's shipping address, sellers need to click the link in the email to "View transaction details."
*********
TAG assumes that ebaY will hold a free listing day sometime right before or after Christmas. (Last year it was on 26 Dec) We will put out a Special Edition and post to the TAGlog as soon as we find out when.
***********************************************************
THE AUCTION GUILD and eTRADERS GUILD
www.auctionguild.com
Not just a venue
877-SAFETAG
email us - tag@theauctionguild.com
***********************************************************
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners
Copyright 1999 - 2004 The Auction Guild Inc All rights reserved
Auctions Free Listing Day, Other ebaY Promotions Mon 22 Nov 04
************************************************************
THIS ISSUE
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OVERSTOCK AUCTIONS FREE LISTING DAY 24 NOV 2004
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EBAY MOTORS UK FREE LISTING DAY 25 NOV 2004
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EBAY DE 10 EURO CENT LISTINGS WHEN YOU OFFER PAYPAL
23-25 NOVEMBER 2004
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EBAY AU FREE GALLERY WITH AUCTION AND BIN, AND FREE
BIN WITH AUCTION LISTINGS 25-27 NOVEMBER 2004
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EBAY US FREE BIN ADDITION TO AUCTION WHEN SELLER LISTS
AUCTION FOR INTERNATIONAL SALES 23 NOVEMBER 2004
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OTHER INFORMATION OF NOTE
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OVERSTOCK AUCTIONS FREE LISTING DAY WED 24 NOV 2004
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Overstock Auctions is having a free listing day on Wednesday 24Nov2004. All items listed between 12:01 AM MT and 11:59 PM MT (Mountain Time) on Wednesday 24 Nov 2004, will incur no listing fee. Overstock Auctions will still charge transaction fees on successful auctions and special promotional fees for bold, highlight, featured and other listing upgrades.
http://auction.overstock.com/
Signing up for Overstock? Want to help support The Auction Guild? Go to this page and use the link when registering and we will get anaffiliate credit.
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic127.html
If you have any questions you can call Overstock Auctions at
1-800-843-2446 and choose option 3
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EBAY MOTORS UK FREE LISTING DAY 25 NOV 2004
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ebaY Motors UK is holding a free listing day on 25 Nov 04. Save the £6 (GBP) listing fee when you list in the automotive category on ebaY Motors UK. FLD runs from Thursday 25 Nov 2004 from 0:00:01 GMT until 23:59:59 GMT on Thursday 25 Nov. FLD includes auction style, auction with buy it now (BIN) or BIN-only (fixed price) in the any of following categories:
Automotive > Cars
Automotive > Classic Cars
Automotive > Motorcycles
Automotive > Other Vehicles
ebaY will charge all other selling fees, including but not limited to final value fees, optional reserve price fees and all listing enhancement fees such as "Bold" or "Highlight". Shops inventory is excluded.
For more info go to -
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/sell/MFLD251104.html
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EBAY DE 10 EURO CENT LISTINGS WHEN YOU OFFER PAYPAL
23-25 NOVEMBER 2004
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ebaY Germany is having a promotion starting on 23 Nov 00:01 UHR until 25 Nov at 23:59 UHR. To qualify the seller must offer PayPal as a payment option.
For more info go to -
http://pages.ebay.de/paypal/IFP.html
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EBAY AU FREE GALLERY WITH AUCTION AND BIN AND FREE
BIN WITH AUCTION LISTINGS 25-27 NOVEMBER 2004
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ebaY Australia is having a promotion offering free gallery (50 cent refund) when a seller uses the buy it now feature. Also any buy it now only (fixed price) or auction with buy it now listing will get a 10 cent credit for using the buy it now
option. Promotion applies to listings on ebay.com.au between Thursday 25 Nov and Saturday 27 Nov. Promotion runs from 12:00:01 am AEDST on Thursday 25t Nov and 11:59:59 pm AEDST on Sat 27 Nov 2004.
For more info go to -
http://pages.ebay.com.au/promotion/buy_it_now.html
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EBAY US FREE BIN ADDITION TO AUCTION WHEN SELLER LISTS
AUCTION FOR INTERNATIONAL SALES 23 NOVEMBER 2004
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For auction style listings ebaY will refund the 5 cent fee for the buy it now listing feature on any US auction listing, when the listing specifies international worldwide ship to locations or designates one of the following: Americas, Canada, Mexico, Europe, United Kingdom, Germany, Asia, Australia and Japan. This includes ebaY US, www.ebay.com and ebaY Motors, www.ebaymotors.com - non vehicles only. The refund will not show up in the seller's account until late December 2004.
Items excluded from the promotion include, fixed price, multi item, real estate, ad format, international, Canada, live auction, professional services, ebaY Motors vehicles and store inventory listings.
For more info go to -
http://pages.ebay.com/promo/goglobal1204/?ssPageName=CMDV:AB1000
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OTHER INFORMATION OF NOTE
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For opinion, news and information about the online auction and trading industry, view the TAG weblog at -
http://auctionguild.blogspot.com/
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ebaY's PayPal was down or intermittent for about 3 hours on 22 Nov starting at around 0800 PT, and continued to work only intermittently with some features not working at all as of 15:00 PT. Users trying to access PayPal received a "We are unable to complete your request at this time. Please click Retry or try again later. We apologize for the inconvenience. Message 3004", message. At 13:55, users received "The Search and Browse system is temporarily unavailable. Please try one of the following options: Return in a few minutes and try again. If you know the specific item you're looking for, try searching by item number." Messages, whilst trying to search ebaY. Sellers also reported that they were receiving double emails from ebay on sold items. At 02:27:44 PM PT ebaY posted that the PayPal payment notification emails were missing the buyer's shipping address. To access the buyer's shipping address, sellers need to click the link in the email to "View transaction details."
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TAG assumes that ebaY will hold a free listing day sometime right before or after Christmas. (Last year it was on 26 Dec) We will put out a Special Edition and post to the TAGlog as soon as we find out when.
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www.auctionguild.com
Not just a venue
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email us - tag@theauctionguild.com
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