eBay Customer Service

14 February 2011

A Tale of Four eBay Sellers

A Tale of Four eBay Sellers
14 February 2011
Valentine's Day Edition
EventHorizon1984

While scanning the various blog sites, one of us came across this interesting note.

Where CohibaStore.com, a PowerSellersUnite regular member, states:

"Due to some moron at PayPal, or better, the morons at PayPal, I am unable to withdraw funds or use the PP debit card for a few weeks."
"I hung up the phone and promptly shut down my ebay stores, closed all the listings and took the rest of the day off."

A week later one of his eBay Stores remains empty.

You might be asking, "why the interest in this seller?". He happens to be one of the sellers in our eNA (eBay Noise Aggregate) study. Where we quantified the eBay 'store to core' impact on sellers.

Since we mentioned "Four eBay Sellers", "submitted for your approval" are four sellers of the hundred and nineteen sellers studied.

clact (5209), member since Feb-25-02
cleggandco (24352), member since Aug-20-02
oldspartantrader (7696), member since Feb-28-05
z50com (10482), member since Jun-25-00

These sellers are well known successful eBay PowerSellers with hundreds of listings. And with hundreds/thousands of posts on various venues.

Or at least that's the way it was in 2008/2009.

1. "Are you trying to cheer me up?"
Captain John Sheridan, Babylon 5

Clact, better known as Marty on the eBay Stores Discussion Board, and eBay Voices participant, currently has these two listings on eBay.

A set of two listings that has been essentially unchanged since 2010. Although it's been presumed that he is off doing other eBay related things.

2. "I'll be back."
Terminator, The Terminator (1968)

Cleggandco, also known at CohibaStore on the PowerSellersUnite forums, had this to say in 2007.

"My sales are currently 90% ebay, 5% my web store and 5% blujay."
"Most importantly you need to build a reputation. You cannot do this overnight. You need that reputation to help spread your reputation via word of mouth. It's still the best form of advertising."

Today he has an Amazon outlet, higher total sales compared to 2010, and for the moment no products on eBay. BUT that's temporary.

"Of the 300+ ebay listings we used to run, we have perhaps 50 that will get re-listed when they fix it. I will continue to suck money out of their system and ride out the decline until it's completely unproductive - as everyone should be doing."
"Customer service continues to be dreadful. Even as Gold Top Rated Power seller, getting an answer, or even making contact requires herculean effort. I'll bet cash money it will be this continued failing that finally drives me off from selling on ebay, rather than fees, idiot buyers or moronic rules."

Will this $10K a month (on eBay) seller remain on eBay? Shrug.

3. "That wizard is just a crazy old man."
Uncle Owen, Star Wars (1977)

Oldspartantrader or Carl, has been a fixture on the eBay Stores Discussion Board for years.

Currently he is NARU, having left eBay on his terms in 2010, opting for retirement.

4. "You can count on my steel."
Unknown warrior, Army of Darkness (1992).

z50com also known as John, is a noted aerospace tool seller. He's a regular poster on the Yahoo! EBAY Message Board and AuctionBytes. In 2007 he had this to say:

"Ebay works great for me. Most weeks I sell 90-100% of my listings. Prices for my products have never been higher."
"I hate hearing all the whining from unsuccessful sellers, adapt or go out of business. The strongest will survive, I have."

Depending on the source, his "90-100%" sell through was coupled with anywhere from $2K to $10K a week in gross sales. Making him at the time the largest, or one of the largest, in this small group of four sellers.

His current selling status has changed dramatically from those prior years.

z50com still sells on eBay in a smaller capacity, but appears to supplement his income through a part or full time job.

"What is the moral? Must be a moral."
Comedy Tonight, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1966)

If there is any moral to this "Tale of Four eBay Sellers," it might be the comment about eBay's treatment of Calvin Klein, where we rhetorically asked:

"if eBay is willing to show such tepid support for a $6 billion dollars in sales a year corporation, how do you think eBay treats the much smaller sellers?"

Now we know.

"He's dead. I'm crippled. You're lost."
Flight Officer David Campbell, The Longest Day (1962)

eBay Noise Aggregate (eNA)

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Log

Posted on 14 February 2011 at 17:01 in Amazon, Blujay, Business, Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service, eBay Stores, EventHorizon1984, PayPal, Yahoo! | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Amazon, Amazon, AuctionBytes, Calvin Klein, carl, clact, cleggandco, cohibastore, eBay, eBay Noise Aggregate, eBay Voices, eNA, marty, oldspartantrader, PayPal, PowerSellersUnite, Valentine's Day, Yahoo, z50com

28 April 2010

eBay Communications Nicole Birdsall Comments on Anonymous eMail Addresses

eBay Communications Nicole Birdsall Comments on Anonymous eMail Addresses
28 April 2010
EventHorizon1984

With another upcoming change to eBay's email system, we thought it would be prudent to post the official public writings of eBay Principle Product Manager Communications, Nicole Birdsall ( nbirdsall@ebay.com ), regarding this matter. As well as her past official public posts.

A short Nicole Birdsall biography follows these posts.

One might wonder how important is email to ebay? How about important enough to "generate $250 million of direct revenue"?

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/41409-Announcements-Discussion/Faqs-Item-Specifics/510089633&#msg522319068

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(2 of 13)

Re: FAQs, Item Specifics and tracking information

Apr 14, 2009 10:27 AM

Hello Powerwheelchris,

I can assist with your Smart FAQ questions.

Smart FAQ is the next generation of the existing eBay FAQ. We have identified the top 20 questions that buyers ask sellers and with the information already available in sellers’ listings eBay is able to pull that "live" information to answer those frequently asked questions.

A seller only has to opt-in to the Smart FAQ feature while eBay will handle the rest. Of course if a seller would like to add additional questions and answers to their FAQ page, they can do this as well.

Should a seller already have questions and answers posted to the existing FAQ…not to worry we will be merging those over to the new Smart FAQ page, so a seller will not lose any current information.

As per the announcement, the new Smart FAQs will be available as part of the June 15th Seller Release.

-Nbirdsall

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/41409-Announcements-Discussion/Faqs-Item-Specifics/510089633&#msg512043726

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(10 of 13)

Re: FAQs, Item Specifics and tracking information

Apr 15, 2009 9:37 AM

Larry,

Just wanted to clarify, eBay has identified the 15 top buyer questions (payment method is one of those questions) and built an FAQ page that will populate the answers for these questions by pulling information from your listings in order to answer the buyer's question. So all you have to do is opted in to the Smart FAQ feature.

-Nbirdsall

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(12 of 13)

Re: FAQs, Item Specifics and tracking information

Apr 15, 2009 10:20 AM

Buriedbybooks,

The Smart FAQ is a feature to help sellers manage their high volume of questions from buyers and is completely optional to sellers. As a seller you will have 3 options:

Option 1) Ask Seller A Question Email Only
This is how the "ask seller a question" link works today. From the View Item Page, the buyer will be taken straight to the Ask Seller A Question form in order to communicate with the seller directly.

Option 2) FAQ and Ask Seller A Question
From the View Item Page, the buyer will be taken to an FAQ page in order to get their answers to their questions immediately. Should they not find an answer to their question, they can click "email the seller" from the FAQ page and go to the Ask Seller A Question form.

Option 3) FAQ Only for Users Before They Buy
Users browsing your item pages who have not purchased from you yet will be taken to the FAQ page without the option to email the seller directly. If the user browsing is a customer, they will have the ability to email the seller from the FAQ page.

Should you opt-in to either Option #2 or Option #3, you will also have the ability to add your own FAQ questions and answers, so if you have additional information that may not be available in the listing you can add that additional information.

-Nbirdsall

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(13 of 13)

Re: FAQs, Item Specifics and tracking information

Apr 15, 2009 10:54 AM

Powerwheelerchris,

Regarding your Smart FAQ question, this feature will be available in the June Seller Release. Should you already have questions and answers in the existing FAQ feature, those questions and answers will be available in the new Smart FAQ feature.

-Nbirdsall

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/41409-Announcements-Discussion/Several-Questions-For/510089905&#msg512044644

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(2 of 2)

Re: Several Questions for Titanium Power Seller - brace yourself, it's lenghty

Apr 15, 2009 1:01 PM

Monstercellular,

Regarding your point #5, we understand that high volume of ask seller a question emails is a significant issue for sellers and will be addressing this issue with a few features this year designed to help sellers manage these emails.

The first feature is the Smart FAQ which will be launched in the June Seller Release. This is a seller optional feature that is designed to automatically answer buyers' questions without sending an email to the seller or requiring a response from the seller.

Here's how it works:

We have identified the top 20 questions that buyers ask sellers (which under many circumstances accounts for a significant volume of questions) and with the information already available in sellers’ listings eBay is able to pull that "live" information to answer those frequently asked questions.

A seller only has to opt-in to the Smart FAQ feature while eBay will handle the rest. Of course if a seller would like to add additional questions and answers to their FAQ page, they can do this as well.

Should a seller already have questions and answers posted to the existing FAQ…not to worry we will be merging those over to the new Smart FAQ page, so a seller will not lose any current information.

For more details about this feature, please review the information about the Smart FAQ on the 4/14/09 Announcement pages.

Also, please stay tuned for additional features to assist sellers with these buyer questions in the near future.

-Nbirdsall

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/topic/72709-Announcements-Discussion/Clarification-Needed-Regarding/510119994&#msg512586917

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(6 of 36)

Re: Clarification Needed regarding anonymous buyer identify

Jul 27, 2009 10:14 AM

Reliques,

Good morning!

Actually, email addresses will be kept anonymous until a transaction takes place. However, the buyer id will be present in the Ask Seller a Question (ASQ) and Reply To a Question (RTQ) emails, so you know who you are communicating with. This provides two benefits for users:

1) Safely respond to ASQs by clicking the "reply" button in your email client: By using an anonymous email address, users can communicate back and forth through their regular email clients instead of clicking on the yellow button to log back into eBay while still posting their emails to their My Messages account.

2) Keep your personal email address safe: In order to protect user email addresses from being harvested for unsecure commerce off the eBay platform, personal email addresses will be kept private until you transact with another user.

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(17 of 36)

Re: Clarification Needed regarding anonymous buyer identify

Jul 27, 2009 11:32 AM

Kingst,

Hello and good morning!

Yes, you will be able to send attachments (.gif, .jpeg, .tif, and .bmp formats are all accepted).

Regarding the ability to send more than one response...just as if you were to click on the yellow button, you can respond to an ASQ more than once.

Thanks for your post.

-Nicole

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(18 of 36)

Re: Clarification Needed regarding anonymous buyer identify

Jul 27, 2009 11:34 AM

Bidventure,

Hello.

Yes, you will be able to send attachments (.gif, .jpeg, .tif, and .bmp formats are all accepted).

Thanks for your posting.

-Nicole

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(27 of 36)

Re: Clarification Needed regarding anonymous buyer identify

Jul 27, 2009 11:53 AM

Aviation,

Hello.

We understand that some users (like yourself) prefer to response to ASQs through eBay by clicking the yellow button while others prefer to manage their emails in their personal Inboxes. Therefore, users will be able to respond to member to member emails by either:
• Clicking “reply” directly from their personal Inbox
• Clicking the “respond” yellow button in the email from their personal Inbox
• Clicking the “reply” button in their eBay My Messages Inbox

Regarding the My Messages system, we understand that the My Messages system has been slow in the past and we have just recently launched performance enhancements to increase the speed of the feature. In addition, we are looking into other enhancements to assist sellers with response speed for the near future.

And last but not least, photos. This is definitely a question that buyers could ask and this release will provide a couple of options to help you respond:

1) If the item is fixed price, you will be able to edit your live listing with additional photos.
2) If you respond to the ASQ by clicking the "reply" button in your personal inbox, you will be able to include an attachment (.gif, .jpeg, .tif, and .bmp formats are all accepted)

We are also looking into other features to assist with this question in the future.

Thanks for your feedback and posting. We greatly appreciate it!

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(29 of 36)

Re: Clarification Needed regarding anonymous buyer identify

Jul 27, 2009 12:13 PM

cchakurda,

Countries are already included in the ASQ from buyers. However, zip codes are not currently in the email...this is a great suggestion and we will look into adding this in the future.

Thank you so very much.

-nbirdsall

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(31 of 36)

Re: Clarification Needed regarding anonymous buyer identify

Jul 27, 2009 1:24 PM

Regarding only being able to respond once to a buyer's questions...yes, you are correct the current limit is 1 response per ASQ. However, you will not be restricted by this limit of 1 in the next seller release.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/topic/72709-Announcements-Discussion/Bidders-On-Auctions/520139285&#msg512588613

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(9 of 9)

Re: Bidders on auctions post September

Jul 27, 2009 3:20 PM

Just to clarify, from the thread of postings, I believe you are asking if Buyer Ids will be removed from Ask Seller a Question emails.

If so, the answer is no. The buyer id will be present in the Ask Seller a Question (ASQ) and Reply To a Question (RTQ) emails, so you know who you are communicating with. However, the email addresses will be kept anonymous until a transaction takes place. This provides two benefits for users:

1) Safely respond to ASQs by clicking the "reply" button in your email client: By using an anonymous email address, users can communicate back and forth through their regular email clients instead of clicking on the yellow button to log back into eBay while still posting their emails to their My Messages account.

2) Keep your personal email address safe: In order to protect user email addresses from being harvested for unsecure commerce off the eBay platform, personal email addresses will be kept private until you transact with another user.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/topic/72709-Announcements-Discussion/Clarification-Needed-Regarding/510119994?start=30&#msg512588814

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(36 of 36)

Re: Clarification Needed regarding anonymous buyer identify

Jul 27, 2009 3:59 PM

SanDiegoJoe,

Good afternoon!

As you most likely know, all member to member emails are posted in My Messages today. In order to provide this functionality, messages are stored in My Messages so they can be displayed. The new functionality does not change this behavior, but does provide the added benefit to allow users to quickly and easily respond to a question without logging back in to eBay through the ‘reply’ button in their personal email inbox. Regarding the usage of this information, we do and will continue to adhere to the eBay privacy policy rules. Regarding your question on if we violate FCC rules, the answer is no, FCC rules do not extend to email.

Thanks for your posting.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/topic/72709-Announcements-Discussion/Unclear-On-The/520139655&#msg522769348

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(4 of 6)

Re: Unclear on the new: Ask Seller Question messaging system

Jul 28, 2009 2:40 PM

indiebiz,

Thank you so much for your post. Hopefully I can clarify your questions:

1) Yes, your email will be routed through eBay to be posted to recipient's My Messages and then sent on to the recipient's personal inbox.

2) Yes, the email you sent will anonymize your email address and therefore be hidden from the recipient.

3) Email body content will not be stripped out and will be sent as you typed it. Please note though that you will not be allowed to send any javascript or code that may contain a virus.

4) Just like any other email in your personal inbox, you will simply click "reply" in your inbox, type in your response, and click "send". You do not go back to eBay and therefore no login is required.

Hope this clears things up.

-nbirdsall@ebay.com

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/42710-Announcements-Discussion/Limit-On-Number/520198992&#msg523689490

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(1 of 2)

Re: Limit on number of responses to emails?

Apr 27, 2010 9:39 AM

lindaspostcardsandmore,

Thank you for your post!

We made this modification a while ago and you should be able to respond a maximum of 5 times to the same email. I have forwarded the details of your situation to our product team just to verify that there is not an issue.

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/42710-Announcements-Discussion/Will-Ebay-Be/510218965&#msg523689698

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(1 of 2)

Re: Will eBay be policing anonymous email for off eBay offers?

Apr 27, 2010 10:24 AM

Off-eBay communications is a violation of eBay policy as stated in the Member to Member Contact Policy (Link).

The Anonymous Email Alias feature was built to ease the ability of responding to messages from other users by providing the ability to leverage the "reply" button in your own personal email client. This eliminates the need to click on the yellow button, login to eBay, and then fill out a response. All of these messages will be sent to the recipient's real email address and to their My Messages Inbox to avoid potential spoof concerns. In addition, sellers who have difficulties with getting emails into various email client inboxes due to ISP filters, whitelists, or blacklists can benefit from eBay's high inbox delivery rate.

This feature does not "anonymize" the buyer from the seller...sellers can still get buyer contact information (including email address) post transaction in the body of the email, through various locations on the eBay site and PayPal, and through several post-transaction APIs.

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/42710-Announcements-Discussion/Anonymous-Buyer-Email/510218989&#msg523689806

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(1 of 3)

Re: Anonymous buyer email

Apr 27, 2010 10:46 AM

dtmedin,

Thank you for your post!

The Anonymous Email Alias feature is not eliminating the ability for sellers to retrieve buyer contact information post transaction...sellers can still get buyer contact information (including email address) post transaction in the body of the email, through various locations on the eBay site and PayPal, and through several post-transaction APIs.

This feature is providing the benefit to all users to respond to messages from other users through their own personal email clients without being required to click on the yellow button, login to eBay, and then fill out a response. All of these messages will be sent to the recipient's real email address and to their My Messages Inbox to avoid potential spoof concerns. In addition, sellers who have difficulties with getting emails into various email client inboxes due to ISP filters, whitelists, or blacklists can benefit from eBay's high inbox delivery rate.

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/42710-Announcements-Discussion/Anonymous-Email-Address/510219004&#msg523690037

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(2 of 2)

Re: Anonymous Email Address Is Wrong Headed

Apr 27, 2010 11:37 AM

ricnok,

Thank you for your post!

The Email Intermediation feature is not removing the buyer's email address from the site and you will still be able to retrieve the buyer email address should you need it post transaction. This feature is only modifying the "reply to" field in member to member emails. The "reply to" field will be populated with an alias email address in order to provide the ability for users to easily respond to member to member emails by clicking "reply" in their email client. By replying through this new feature, your email responses will not only go to the recipient's real email address, but will also be posted to their My Messages Inbox. This eliminates the need to click on the yellow button to respond while maintaining compliance with the eBay Member to Member Contact Policy.

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/42710-Announcements-Discussion/Ebay-Messaging-Attachments/510219061&#msg523690275

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(1 of 1)

Re: eBay messaging - attachments

Apr 27, 2010 12:29 PM

jimstrns,

Thank you for your posting!

The feature allows image attachments such as .gif, .jpeg, or .bmp, but due to the significant virus risk and popularity of using .pdf files as a means to spread viruses a .pdf file attachment is not currently allowed.

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/42710-Announcements-Discussion/What-Form-Of/510219068&#msg523690375

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(1 of 1)

Re: WHAT FORM of Buyer Contact WILL BE accepted?

Apr 27, 2010 12:50 PM

dorymoments4me,

I'm not entirely sure what you mean in your first sentence. My understanding is that you would like clarity around how you can contact another eBay member, how you can respond to another eBay member, where will that response go, and will this help when issues arise between buyers and sellers.

Starting with how you can contact another eBay member...nothing is changing from the way you initiate conversations with other eBay members. Today, you have the ability to go to a listing, My eBay, My World, or other areas of the site to click on the "contact seller" or "contact buyer" link to send the user a message.

Once the message is sent, how can you respond to another eBay member? You have a couple of ways to respond. The first, which is available today, is through the yellow button in the email. You can click on the yellow button, login to eBay, write your response and reply. With Email Intermediation, you will have the second option to click "reply" in your email client, write your response (just as you would when responding to any other email), and click send in your email client.

So, where will that response go? Regardless of if you choose to respond through your email client or the yellow button, your response will go to the recipient's email address and their My Messages Inbox.

And will this help when issues arise between buyers and sellers? Absolutely. Even though it is against eBay Member to Member Contact Policy (Link), some users take their email conversations off eBay and when there is an issue (such as inappropriate content) the complaining user has to provide proof of this behavior. With email communications in My Messages, eBay will be able to assist without the need for the complaining user to provide proof.

http://forums.ebay.com/click.jspa?searchID=-1&messageID=523690489

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bZ3ECSIXwH0J:forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/42710-Announcements-Discussion/Email-Addresses-Surveillance

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 18

(3 of 5)

Re: email addresses surveillance federal wire tap laws

Apr 27, 2010 10:11 AM

Thank you for your post!

The Anonymous Email Alias feature provides the benefit to all users to respond to messages from other users through their own personal email clients without being required to click on the yellow button, login to eBay, and then fill out a response. All of these messages will be sent to the recipient's real email address and to their My Messages Inbox to avoid potential spoof concerns. In addition, sellers who have difficulties with getting emails into various email client inboxes due to ISP filters, whitelists, or blacklists can benefit from eBay's high inbox delivery rate.

This feature does not "anonymize" the buyer from the seller...sellers can still get buyer contact information (including email address) post transaction in the body of the email, through various locations on the eBay site and PayPal, and through several post-transaction APIs.

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/42710-Announcements-Discussion/Can-Members-Still/510219112&#msg523690617

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(1 of 2)

Re: Can members still UNCHECK "Hide my email address" when sending a msg?

Apr 27, 2010 1:46 PM

buyalot!,

There is no need to have this feature after Email Intermediation is wired-on.

The Hide Your Email Address feature replaced your real email address in the "reply to" field of the email to the seller with "UseTheYellowButton@ebay.com". When Email Intermediation is turned on the "reply to" field will always have your alias email address and will never have your real email address.

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/42710-Announcements-Discussion/Is-The-Messaging/510219125&#msg523690784

nbirdsall@ebay.com

Posts: 26

(1 of 1)

Re: Is the Messaging system going to be revised?

Apr 27, 2010 2:31 PM

kingst,

The Email Intermediation System will allow for image attachments. When this feature is available, you will be able to click "reply" from your email client, attach an image file (.jpeg, .gif, etc.), and click send.

Nicole Bartholomew Birdsall

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=nbirdsall@ebay.com

Member since: Mar-31-09 in United States

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200904141007452.html

Nicole Birdsall, Group Product Manager of Communications with End to End Experience

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/topic/Ebay-Radio/Ebay-Radio-384/520198969

Nicole Birdsall, Principal Product Manager, Communications at eBay discusses anonymous email.

http://www.spoke.com/info/pYGC4LN/NicoleBirdsall

Nicole Birdsall

Principle Product Manager, Communications at eBay Inc

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/nicole-birdsall/1/863/537

http://alumni.ggu.edu/Document.Doc?id=23

"MBA 03"
"She started with eBay in San Jose in 2006, where she now has the massive undertaking of managing the 18 billion e-mails sent to consumers every year, which generate $250 million of direct revenue. This is all no small feat, considering eBay is the world's largest e-mail sender."

http://www.dmnews.com/ebay-wins-e-mail-bid/article/156273/

eBay wins e-mail bid
by Dianna Dilworth
October 27, 2009

"“We're very focused on e-mail deliverability primarily because, why send a message if it doesn't get into the inbox,” says Nicole Birdsall, group product manager, communications at eBay. “We want to make sure that we are a good citizen and sending relevant e-mails and getting important messages through to our customers who are expecting them.”"
"eBay sends about 25 billion e-mails per year and has a 98 to 99% deliverability rate. “We make sure that all of the expected information is put into the header and our SPF records are good,” says Birdsall. “We also make sure that our IP addresses are certified with white lists.”"
" Today, eBay works directly with the ISPs, as well as with e-mail deliverability firm Return Path, to monitor its sending. One of eBay's approaches is to separate transactional e-mails and marketing e-mails and then send them from different IP pools. “ISPs hold marketing e-mails under different rules and regulations than transactional e-mails, so we separate them,” says Birdsall."
"“Part of our strategy is to look at it before we actually put it into a production mode, by sending it to several different inboxes before sending it to the user,” says Birdsall. “We look at making sure that it got into the inbox versus the spam folder, how it renders and what it looks like to the user.”"
“We realize that users might not know how to unsubscribe because maybe they are not opening the e-mails. And we'd like to make it easier for them,” says Birdsall. Since the program launched Birdsall says complaint rates have dropped."
"“We realize that users might not know how to unsubscribe because maybe they are not opening the e-mails. And we'd like to make it easier for them,” says Birdsall. Since the program launched Birdsall says complaint rates have dropped."

//*

"Another way to make things here less human. I will give my email address to my customers as soon as they win.

Why would you remove the address but still give the access to their phone number? I see a big increase in contact info requests in the future."
oldklutz, Apr 27, 2010 3:22 PM

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Log

Posted on 28 April 2010 at 19:01 in Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service, eBay Spotlight | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Communications, nbirdsall@ebay.com, Nicole Bartholomew Birdsall, Nicole Birdsall, Principle Product Manager

26 August 2009

Silencing the Lambs - eBay Cuts Voices Roster

Silencing the Lambs - eBay Cuts Voices Roster
26 August 2009
EventHorizon1984

It's that time of year when rosters get cut in professional Football. In that same vein eBay has taken to slashing it's eBay Voices lineup from 130 to 100.

According to an AuctionBytes article "Is eBay Phasing out 'Voices' Focus-Group Program?", the person "responsible for Voices, eBay Senior Manager of Seller Development "responsible for Voices" Garnor Morantes said:

"This change is something we've been thinking about for a while and is meant to give others the chance to participate in the program. We're looking to bring in some new perspectives, some new buyers and sellers - all levels of selling."

Incidentally, detouring a bit. If you're thinking "focus group??", here's something we pulled (sort of) at random:

Using Focus Groups For Evaluation
Mary Marczak & Meg Sewell

"The technique was developed after World War II"
"A focus group could be defined as a group of interacting individuals having some common interest or characteristics, brought together by a moderator, who uses the group and its interaction as a way to gain information about a specific or focused issue."
"A focus group is typically 7-10 people who are unfamiliar with each other. These participants are selected because they have certain characteristics in common that relate to the topic of the focus group. The moderator or interviewer creates a permissive and nurturing environment that encourages different perceptions and points of view, without pressuring participants to vote, plan or reach consensus"

Unfortunately eBay doesn't quite get how not to use focus groups:

"because focus groups are usually made up of a very small number of people who voluntarily participate, you cannot assume that their views and perceptions represent those of other groups that might have slightly different characteristics. They are not "random samples".

And someone is ignoring the disadvantages:

"Small numbers and convenience sampling severely limit ability to generalize to larger populations"
"Moderator may knowingly or unknowingly bias results by providing cues about what types of responses are desirable"
"Results may be biased by presence of a very dominant or opinionated member"

"I do not think it means what you think it means."
Indigo Montoya, The Princess Bride (1987)

This roster cut has produced some consternation from eBay Voices members.

For example eBay perennial favorite PowerSeller Marty (clact (5147)) made his usual flurry of correct and incorrect statements. Or as he described other people doing the same thing, "all the BULL$&*@ in these comments". Such as:

"No other major company has a program like Voices in place to keep them on track and there is no doubt in my mind that at some point this company will be moving in the right direction."

This individual should consider that they're wrong on two counts. According to eBay CEO John Donahoe eBay is moving in the right direction. And about that focus groups myth? Check out this old interesting article.

Business Week
Shoot The Focus Group
14 November 2005

"Exasperation with focus groups, while not universal, is growing as companies look for better ways to get inside consumers' heads"
"Perhaps the most common complaint about focus groups is that consumers are not honest in front of other people."
""Consumers aren't dishonest, it's that most people don't listen the right way." On the other hand, maybe consumers can be heard more clearly when nobody is watching."

As you might expect, the reaction of eBay Voices members posting comments to the AuctionBytes article "eBay Silences Founding 'Voices' Members" varied. Some of the posts read:

by: Randy
Thu Aug 20 02:29:54 2009

Looks I was smart to leave when I did last year .... Randy (Former) Voices 3 Member.

by: What Me Worry
Thu Aug 20 13:44:57 2009

Heck this was coming...I saw it when I was in the program.
When Voices was founded, it's members were actually helpful to the employees in forming programs.

The past several years, many members felt that they were nothing more than "lab rats" as ebay measured reactions to already made decisions.

When the administrator of the program, Garnor Morantes, has to remind members to be positive about their comments and admit that he's hesitant about opening up the comments for all employees to view...they do not want to hear what they need to know...they want to hear what they want to hear...

Signed...former Voices member

by: Nancy Leckron
Thu Aug 20 14:30:18 2009

I am one of the effected Voices member's that was retired. I value the time I spent giving my opinion on a varity of topics. Remember people, we are real live human beings. I gave my time for the greater good of the entire eBay Community. Yes, I am a Proud Former Voices Member!

by: Still a Voice
Thu Aug 20 15:38:06 2009

I am saddened by this decision, but feel the need to reply to a couple comments made here. I remain in the program, but have always been a small buyer/seller, and in fact, am currently at my lowest level ever, having only listed less than 10 items in the last six months. Also, I am definitely not an eBay cheerleader. I am disappointed in the direction eBay seems to be going. As long as I am Still a Voice, I will remain an advocate for the small seller! I don't think the program has the influence it once did, but I DO think it continues to have merit.

Those who are being removed this week will be sorely missed. Those who were involuntarily removed in the past (or resigned under obvious pressure to do so), not so much.

by: former_Voice
Thu Aug 20 15:45:59 2009

I enjoyed my time in Voices. There was true give-and-take, and eBay really was interested in what we had to say. That doesn't mean that everyone got what they wanted, and any Voices member who thought the group had any real power is just kidding themselves. However, I can say that there were several instances of ''done deals'' not happening or being altered, due, in part, to the responses of Voices members.

eBay is a business. It is not evil. I don't believe that JD is evil. Somehow someone got the idea that eBay would care more about the community than its own financial health. That will never happen.

Grow up. If it works for you, fine; if not, then shut up and move on. Be responsible for your own situation and stop blaming someone else.

by: brecklundin
Fri Aug 21 03:18:41 2009

For those who feel voices members were sycophants and yes men sorts you are the exact reason some of us left eBay. I was an active member of the user boards helping 1000s of members at the drop of a hat in order to make smaller sellers find their way through eBay. I was a member of what might have been the most influential and effective Voices group. I know that is saying a lot but we were note even close to "yes men/women" and at that time eBay truly listened to us.

We each gave up years of our time and advice I personally would have charged clients tens of thousands of dollars for...all to HELP my fellow sellers. But we were met with petty jealously from the more unbalanced eBay'ers who always knew better yet accomplished nothing.

I finally left when there was too much of a difference of opinion between myself and one individual who was running the program.

I will tell you I gave them the Health Insurance thing for Power Sellers and argued that they were asking sellers to commit themselves full time to selling and eBay had the resources to help organize a group insurance program. eBay LOVED the idea...unfortunately the INSURANCE INDUSTRY refused to come up with a real health insurance program. Still the options which came the ashes of a well intentioned program, which eBay genuinely put a LOT of man hours into trying to develop, but what rose was at least a very decent Rx discount program that saves me over $400/mo on medications and even more if I was willing to take some of the more dangerous meds to help slow down the progression of my primary health issue...Meg overstated the scope of the program at eBay Live 1 but at the time she was unaware of the final denial from the insurance carriers...still there is value in the program. I take pride in knowing I was a motivating voice behind something to potentially help millions of people save even more millions on many aspects of their health care needs.

Another personal feature of the site that was exclusively mine and I gave it to the lead programmer free because I was never going to be able to develop feature on a site as my serious programming days were behind me and I had a parent who needed me as her caregiver. And that feature is the Best Offer, I designed it, talked to Mark about it and eBay made a few changes but developed one of the most used features on the site...and no I never was paid or asked for compensation. But eBay added it after my disagreement with the then coordinator of Voices...and it was over something very stupid on my part but I am a stubborn bastard when I am in the mood...and boy was I in the mood...hehehe...

We came up with the idea of annual convention type events moved around the country...this because eBay Live. It would have worked had eBay held the community together with real mods rather than farming it all out...big error on their part...

You also have no idea who many ideas we stopped cold in their tracks during conference calls. You should have been a fly one the wall when we gave a top to bottom dressing-down to UPS VP's when they were trying to gain exclusive access to eBay sellers of all other carriers. Sellers in antiques and collectibles can tell you that UPS might be the single worst carrier in terms of delivery, obtaining signatures as paid for (drives can just drop boxes even if a sig is required when the area is designated as a drop and go area...this would destroy the needed signature for PP Seller Protection.) We pointed out that there was no such thing as a one size fits all.

We were strongly influential in getting sellers to be required in revealing all fees in their listings. Shipping, handling and insurance. Our compromise was in lieu of limits which are impractical because a seller in NY has higher staff overhead than one on small town USA. So, our suggestion was a compromise (eBay was against revealing or limiting...) but we pushed and argued very cogently for simple declaration of any fees. before us there was no rule and sellers often raised fees if items sold under value.

We fought with PayPal when they tried to take away the 1.5% cash back for using the PP Debit card...they wanted to eliminate ALL cashback programs...I for one told PayPal directly that should they remove that program I would not use their service...I am no large seller, but I had an ace in the hole as did every member of our group, we had the ear of the community on the eBay Boards, each of us in a different board. While we alone might not have saved the program, we planted the seed of doubt that cutting the program would potentially wreck eBay's recently acquired PayPal. Again earning millions of funds for millions of sellers...but we were "yes men/women".

I am sure there will be those who know exactly who I am from my comments...and those people will also know I honest to a fault...and I take crap from nobody, and every member of our group was the same way, each in their own way. Two of us were more vocal but the others were just as resolute unwilling to compromise beyond a certain point where sellers and/or buyers would be harmed.

I have the utmost respect for my fellow members in our Voices group...we worked hard for everyone of us, we did nothing in a self serving fashion...but there were those out there who felt because we were legally bound to not disclose these things we were 'assimilated'. I personally put my eBay account at risk in standing up for what I though was right...yet I say cowards with posting ID's bitching like 8yr old school girls about us, eBay and the lack of decent tinfoil for their hats.

I guess you can say I stopped caring. I stopped caring about eBay as a company as well as my fellow eBay'ers...now a decade later, I care only for my buyers and give them the best of the best in service and respect. Something the whiners have not clue about...

I have a personal list of eBay execs who I have the utmost respect for...the believed in the small community the level playing field and all the things which eBay was...but unfortunately, they lost the battle.

I will point out two....Maynard Webb and Bill Cobb. Yeah, many of the whiners thing those two were just horrible people...having actually looked them in the eye, spent hours in person with them and one the phones, they are honest and decent people. There are easily 50-100 people at eBay I still remember that had the best intentions. Sadly, the decisions from the very top, did some serious damage. I also know the people who believed in the community, they either gave up hope to feed their families or left eBay.

After our eBay group basically the program was changed and significantly watered down. Still that does not mean the members were in it just for themselves and to say they were part of eBay...those sorts were actually weeded out pretty early.

No matter what the antagonists say, I know what I did personally and what my group did as a whole...and we did GOOD.

The single regret I had was we were unable to convince eBay to move eBay Live Listings out of the core or at least into their own sub area in each category. but eventually we were proven right because many remained vocal and kept pointing out the ethically questionable aspects of Live Auction format and their mixing in with regular listings.

I know this was not well written but I needed to express that in our early groups there were a couple special teams (we really became a team and ours was as cohesive a team as I have ever worked with, and we never knew each other before Voices, well I knew one member of my group and she was one of the stellar members who was in it for us ALL not herself...

I also have bent, but likely not broken my NDA but after a decade since I signed it, I feel things have changed enough to live with someone "peeing in the cheerios" a bit in order to set a few things straight.

I know the anger will come back..it always does, but if you examine the eBay ID's of those people you will find proof of their lack of stability revealed in how they deal with customers.

Ina knows me and knows who I am...and I know w/o her watching eBay for us, we would be caught even more off guard...

Mostly anonymous posts are not truly satisfying, and at this juncture all three of you* may be wondering who are these eBay Voices. While it's possible to piece together a list (as we choose to understand it), that's never happening here. Other than the basic privacy issues involved, that would be just plain rude.

* We jest. It's really four.

For brevity we will stick to speaking of a few members made openly public by eBay. In April 2003.

eBay's "Voices" program...
by Daphne, eBay Staff Member
April 2003

According to The Chatter article since 1999, "Several times a year, eight to ten members are flown to eBay's corporate office in San Jose, California. They are chosen from all levels of eBay's buying and selling community -- from Shooting Stars and PowerSellers, to mom-and-pop sellers, and all levels of buyers." Followed by, " regular conference calls and email discussions".

The writer goes on to say, "Participants sign non-disclosure agreements" and "This confidentiality makes Voices groups a powerful tool". Then Daphne discloses three names.

It's definitely interesting about what became of these three eBay Voices members.

eBay's "Voices" program...
"drexelantiques, who attended Voices said this about his experience: "eBay had set up a wonderful program. Very informative. I hadn't expected eBay to really listen to the Voices participants, but they did. eBay staff was very concerned with users' opinions. Participants' questions were answered fully. The eBay staff were very frank in discussing issues. The staff at eBay that we had a chance to talk to were among the nicest group of folks I have met in a long time. We were treated very well. ….eBay staff also alleviated some of my concerns over the direction eBay was taking.""

Today seller DrexelAntiques (2175) (member since Nov-12-98) remains an active buyer on eBay, but their last eBay sale feedback was August 29 2003. They have a brick and mortar store.

eBay's "Voices" program...
"gatorpack wrote: "The most important thing I took away from the experience was the realization that everyone I met at eBay was genuinely sincere in their efforts to carry on as much of Pierre's founding philosophies as possible, yet pragmatically deal with all the twists, turns and complexities the beast was spinning off. In 1995, '96, '97 or '98, who could have possibly imagined what was to come. If anything, it reinforced, rather than changed, our perceptions and opinions of eBay. I know exactly what it's like to work in an environment where you are constantly making up things as you go along.""

Today seller Gatorpack (32761) (member since Jan-22-99) neither buys nor sells on this account. The account remains active with an impressive positive feedback of 32,761. Their last eBay sale feedback is dated October 12 2007. They're currently selling online at Gatorpack.com.

eBay's "Voices" program...
"giraffer had this to say: "Really I expected to hear a sales pitch, or as we often give our customers where I work...the mission statement pitch. And never expected anyone would listen to us and really show that they cared about the community and our problems. I was impressed to have vice presidents sitting down and talking with us in such an informal manner. I was impressed with how friendly everyone was and how they made me feel important and glad to have me there. What did I take away? That everyone at eBay cares and will continue to do their best to make the site work for the community. That they are real people, not just this unknown entity. I'm so proud of this program and eBay for having it that I proudly display the Voices logo on my ME page and my business card.""

Today Giraffer (3020) (member since Jan-19-99) is a "Retired Member eBay's Voice of the Community 10". By eBay Corporate standards they are a small seller. The account remains active in sales and purchases. Giraffer is an active poster on the eBay Discussion Boards. Giraffer is as exuberant about eBay now as she was in 2003.

"any Voices member who thought the group had any real power is just kidding themselves"
former_voice

With this small sample showing two out of three eBay Voices sellers gone from eBay, we have to wonder how relevant is eBay Voices to the participants? And do 100 eBay Voices have any relevance to the millions of eBay buyers and the 50+ million active sellers on eBay?

Or is eBay Voices all 'baaaaa' humbug.

"You will let me know when those lambs stop screaming, won't you?"
Hannibal Lecter MD, Silence of the Lambs (1991)

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 WeBlog Log

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
Amazon EventHorizon1984

Posted on 26 August 2009 at 23:35 in Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: AuctionBytes, brecklundin, Business Week, clact, drexelantiques, eBay, eBay Senior Manager, eBay Senior Manager of Seller Development, focus group, former_Voice, Garnor Morantes, gatorpack, giraffer, Is eBay Phasing out Voices Focus-Group Program, Marty, Mary Marczak, Meg Sewell, Morantes, Nancy Leckron, Randy, responsible for Voices, Shoot The Focus Group, Still a Voice, Using Focus Groups For Evaluation, What Me Worry

11 August 2009

eBay Developer Important Security Update - Oh Please!

eBay Developer Important Security Update - Oh Please!
10 August 2009
EventHorizon1984

In the article "Passwords compromised for eBay developers," Chris Dawson of TameBay wrote:

"eBay have identified a possible security flaw and are requiring all developers update their passwords."
"The developer blog reports that eBay have recently identified a means by which someone could have" "gained access to eBay Developers Program account information."

We're not surprised this happened. The surprise is eBay in public admitting a "security flaw".

The equivalent of code monkey felgercarb can be found in this security announcement from the eBay Developers Program blog, regarding the "possible security flaw":

Important Security Update: developer.ebay.com
Posted by Laurel Kline in Critical Notes from Tech Support, Business News & Developer Website
Monday, Aug.10.2009, 3:06 PM PT

This is Kumar Kandaswamy, and I manage the eBay Developers Program. I'd like you to read this important message about account safety.

The safety and security of the eBay Developers Program is a top priority. While we believe that people are basically good, we also must live with the reality that there are fraudsters out there who have made it their illicit "profession" to find ways to exploit others on the Internet.

Occasionally, fraudsters attempt to gain unauthorized access to the eBay Developers Program. eBay has recently identified a means by which someone could gain access to eBay Developers Program account information. This type of access DOES NOT allow the capture of financial or other sensitive information, such as credit card or bank account information or Social Security numbers. Fortunately, we have not detected any unusual activity with any Developer account.

Out of an abundance of caution and to help ensure the security of the eBay Developers Program, we are requiring that all developers take the following steps:

Take advantage of our new, stricter password standards and change your eBay Developers Program (developer.ebay.com) passwords. It is not necessary to change eBay (www.ebay.com) passwords.

If you believe you or your customers have been the victim of fraudulent activity, contact us immediately at developer-relations@ebay.com.

Sincerely,
Kumar Kandaswamy

There's much unintentional eBay humor with the statement from Kumar Kandaswamy that "safety and security of the eBay Developers Program is a top priority." Because historically that has not been the case.

Once upon a time Sergiu Daniel Popa was brought to the attention of the public by Dan Browning of the Star Tribune. As reported in his article "Suspect in 'phishing' scheme indicted":

"A Romanian immigrant was indicted Tuesday in federal court in Minneapolis on charges that he operated a computerized "phishing" scheme for several years that raked in financial records and personal identification from thousands of individuals"
"Sergiu Daniel Popa, 20, of Shelby Township, Mich., was indicted on three counts"

Days later there would be a post about the article on the eBay Stores Forum. This was followed quickly by eBay user ID spopa2006 stating, "Listen guys. I am Sergiu D. Popa. I am that horrible guy!" and "I will make your life a hell." And much much more.

When this activity and background was reported to eBay, their reponse was to delete the spopa2006 posts. He was able to keep his eBay account active. If you look quickly, you can view his Feedback Profile as of 11 August 2009 01:07 GMT.

This all would be rather uninteresting save for the fact that spopa2006 was a poster on the eBay Developer forums:

"Hey there. I wrote a similar project in C++ by using pointers. However, the implemented network interface i used in C++ is no longer supported and I am not a C# guru as I am in c++. Tell me whether or not you got your solution. You can email me at gam30v3r2007@yahoo.com"

The activities of a registered eBay Developer. You know the ones who work on the software that eBay buyers and sellers use.

Feeling that "safety and security" yet?

Oh, and did we forget to mention that this took place in 2007? For those interested we kept the details in a June 2007 article, Sergiu D. Popa Response To Dan Browning Star Tribune Article.

Well there is innocent unless proven guilty.

BAMM!! But wait, there's more.

In October 2008 Dan Goodin followed up with "Romanian national cops to $700,000 phishing trip":

"Who's your underworld Popa?"
"22-year-old Romanian national has admitted he participated in a US-based phishing operation that raked in some $700,000 over a three-year period."
"Sergiu Daniel Popa, who for the past seven years has lived in New York and Michigan, pleaded guilty in federal court in Minneapolis to two felonies related to the scheme. He faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison and a fine of $500,000."
"FBI agents began their investigation of Popa in early 2005."

Kumar Kandaswamy is crowing about protection from "fraudsters attempt to gain unauthorized access to the eBay Developers Program", but described here is a convicted hacker who eBay gave Developer Program access?

With spopa2006's regular eBay account active, you have to wonder if his Developer Program access remains active. And if he gave others access to his account, during his extended absence.

Kumar Kandaswamy said, "we have not detected any unusual activity with any Developer account".

Oh, Please!

How many times does a warning have to be given to eBay before someone listens?

And given the lax vetting process, one really has to wonder if there are other "Popa's" signed up to the Developer Program?

"So, people hire you to break into their places... to make sure no one can break into their places?"
"It's a living." Martin Bishop, Sneakers (1992)

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 WeBlog Log

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
Amazon EventHorizon1984

Posted on 11 August 2009 at 19:14 in Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service, eBay Spotlight, Fraud, Legal | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Chris Dawson, Dan Browning, developer-relations@ebay.com, developer.ebay.com, developer.ebay.com, eBay, eBay Developer, eBay Developers Program, fraudsters, Kandaswamy, Kumar Kandaswamy, Laurel Kline, Passwords compromised for eBay developers, Popa, popa dan sergiu, security, Sergiu D Popa, Sergiu Daniel Popa, spopa2006, TameBay

02 July 2009

Richard Ambrose Is Leaving eBay. Does It Matter?

Richard Ambrose Is Leaving eBay. Does It Matter?
1 July 2009
EventHorizon1984

During the irregular perusal of Tamebay we came across the article Richard Ambrose leaves eBay for new challenges.

Not being in the eBay European theatre of operations we (including me) went, "Who??"

For those unfamiliar with Tamebay, it an excellent blog covering eBay from the European point of view. Or for some posters over there, the British interpretation of how best to use eBay.

Getting back to "Who??", in the article, Chris Dawson of Tamebay wrote:

"With over 1000 feedback (and no negs!) Richard knows eBay inside out. He was a valued and valuable member of the community, spending his own time on boards and forums talking to buyers and sellers and taking their concerns back to eBay’s internal teams."

The impressive description was followed by multiple posts, including one that stated:

Since he took the reins – incidences of serious fraud
affecting multiple users have become the exception rather than rule

"We" being the curious type decided to ask:

Citation with actual numbers please?

And promptly received multiple responses, none with numbers.

Still leaving the issue of "Who??". Not to mention the new issue of a rise in hits from eBay related IP addresses, after we made the tiny post.

This interest in Richard Ambrose got our collective interest up. And like the keepers of The Prisoner, "we want information."

"Trust me. I know what I'm doing."
Sledge Hammer!

Richard Ambrose's eBay.co.uk ID is medievalist (918).

Richard Ambrose

From article dated, 14 November 2007.

Feedback Profile

	medievalist ( 918)
	Positive Feedback (last 12 months): 100%

	Member since: 12-Jan-99 in United Kingdom

Recent Feedback Ratings (last 12 months)

1 month

6 months

12 months

Positive	39	115	205
Neutral	0	0	0
Negative	0	0	0

Detailed Seller Ratings (last 12 months)

Criteria

Average rating

Number of ratings

Item as described		57
Communication		57
Dispatch time		57
Postage and packaging charges		56

Feedback is excellent, but as wryly noted by many he is an eBay employee.

Speaking of which if you check his complete listings you will find something missing.

eBay Employee Trading and Community Content Policy

The following are the rules that all eBay Inc. company employees must follow to use an eBay company Web site:

When eBay company employees list an item for sale on eBay, the eBay company employees must identify themselves as eBay employees and include the link to this Web page in their listing.

The above required disclosure remains oddly missing from Richard Ambrose's listings.

Not to worry though as Richard Ambrose, before leaving eBay, was "UK's Head of Customer Support and Trust & Safety."

"So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish"
Douglas Adams (1984)

Here's his goodbye post on an eBay forum. European style date of "01-07-09" is equivalent to U.S. format "07-01-09".

Mr Ambrose, if you're lurking

medievalist (915 ) View Listings \| Report Afternoon everyone, Thanks for the (mostly!) good wishes. It's been a great privilege to spend six years at eBay supporting the buyers and sellers on the site. I've particularly enjoyed posting on the boards during that time (though I haven't done it much this year) - it's the best place there is to take the pulse of the community and understand how the changes we make are really affecting people. I'm pleased to say that James is doing a great job of making sure that all the staff who don't come here so much see the posts that are made and read the opinions that are aired here. They are more widely read, and have more impact on the decisions that eBay makes, than you might imagine. It's also been a pleasure getting to know some of you personally. Sorry for those of you who have ever found me direct in the past - I prefer not to mince my words, and I apologise for any times when that may have caused offence. I'll still lurk from time to time, and wish you all many happy and profitable years to come on eBay. Cheers Richard PS trufflington, many thanks for your post. James now owes me a fiver		01-07-09 16:31 BST	39 of 303

Since this was an informal goodbye, we'll overlook the violations involved.

When eBay company employees submit Community content as members, not as employees, they must identify themselves as eBay employees and state that the content reflects their personal views and is not written on behalf of eBay Inc.
Content posted by eBay employees acting in an official eBay capacity will normally be identified by a different treatment from content published by members; for example, a pink bar highlighting the User name.

"I hired you because you look good. It's like having a nice piece of art in the lobby."
Dr. Gregory House, House

According to Linkedin, like the mythical 'Elephant Graveyard' a company where ex-eBay employees end up:

Linkedin Profile:

Richard Ambrose
Director, Trust & Safety at eBay Europe
London, United Kingdom

Director, Trust & Safety

eBay Europe
(Internet industry) 
November 2008 — Present (9 months)

Head of Trust & Safety

 eBay
(Public Company; ebay; Internet industry) 
October 2007 — October 2008 (1 year 1 month)

Head of Finding

 eBay
 (Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; ebay; Internet industry)
 September 2004 — September 2007 (3 years 1 month)

Senior Manager, Collectables & Entertainment

eBay 
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; ebay; Internet industry)
 September 2003 — September 2004 (1 year 1 month)

Head of Business Development

Music Choice Europe
 (Public Company; 51-200 employees; Media Production industry)
 January 2002 — June 2003 (1 year 6 months)

Commercial Manager

Talkcast 
(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Internet industry) 
January 2000 — September 2000 (9 months)

Consultant

Decipher
 (Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Management Consulting industry) 
June 1999 — January 2000 (8 months)

Analyst  Mercer Management Consulting

 (Public Company; Internet industry) 
1996 — 1999 (3 years)

"The trouble with being infallible is that you have to deal with everyone else making mistakes."
Emperor Cartagia, Babylon 5

Anyone who's gone through stacks of resumes might be thinking 'what's behind the titles?'.

Glad you asked that. Here's a small sampler of Richard Ambrose projects.

eBay to make free P&P compulsory for DVDs
Saturday, October 11th, 2008 at 1:08 pm

"Richard Ambrose from eBay stated that some of the maximum rates will be below actual cost and for DVDs they will insist sellers offer free post, although upgrade to priority services and overseas postage can still be charged."

Ebay Spokesman Richard Ambrose on Feedback Strike Boycott
February 22 2008

eBay Hopes to Boost Membership by Removing Seller Feedback
3:22 PM Feb 7, 2008

Starting Feb. 20, the online auction site will block sellers from leaving negative feedback about buyers.
"The feedback system has been around for more than ten years, and it remains right at the heart of what makes eBay work," said Richard Ambrose, of eBay UK.
"But it needs to evolve a little bit."
But eBay says sellers shouldn't worry.
"As buyers are more honest about their feedback, good sellers are going to stand out more and more," stated Ambrose.
"We're also going to increase the help we give to sellers when they occasionally encounter a buyer who doesn't pay. And we're going to make it much easier for them to report that and get their money back."

eBay 'sorry' over policy change
Friday, 20 April 2007, 17:01 GMT 18:01 UK

"eBay's Richard Ambrose says the changes make the site 'fairer'"
"Until recently, items put up for sale by eBay customers on the UK site automatically appeared in the search results on the bigger American ebay.com site.
But since February, the most common 'simple search' on ebay.com only brings up items for sale by US sellers."

eBay's 10-year rise to world fame
Friday, 2 September 2005, 17:11 GMT 18:11 UK

EBay spokesman Richard Ambrose confirms that the company intends to make the site more user-friendly for businesses trading in bulk.
"If you want to sell, say, 50,000 Jiffy bags or 25,000 bricks, you can do it, but it's not a great experience," he told the BBC News website. "In the next few years, we will be making it easier to wholesale items on the site."
Mr Ambrose says that despite eBay's dominant market position in many countries, the company is not complacent about the future.
"We're in a strong, but not impregnable position," he says. "We're under severe pressure from Yahoo! in Asia - we're in a fierce battle with them in China."
EBay stirred up controversy among users by increasing some of its fees earlier this year. Mr Ambrose says this was to ensure that certain popular ways of making sellers' listings stand out were not devalued through overuse.
"From the outside, it's easy for it to seem that we're trying to flex our muscles. But in the long term, we want people to grow on eBay and maximise their profits. When they grow, so do we."

The inspector calls on eBay
12:01AM BST 26 Sep 2004

However, the Government is increasingly concerned that the sheer size of eBay means the Revenue is losing millions of pounds in tax.
"What has really made the growth explode is the shift which we have seen from being a site that is associated with collectable, quirky, hard-to-find, used, vintage items to one where people buy what we call practicles," says Richard Ambrose, eBay's UK category manager.
"By practicles we're talking clothes, cars, golf clubs, watches. We're seeing more professional traders and we're also seeing more private individuals who are just thinking of eBay as a place to sell things that they wouldn't have in the past."
But just how easy is it for tax authorities to investigate traders? After all, this is cyberspace. How can investigators be sure tax dodgers can be tracked back to the real world?
"When people register with us we do check that their personal details are accurate and that their phone number is accurate," Ambrose says. "Any seller is obliged to register a credit card with us."
And what about the taxman? "Anybody buying or selling on eBay needs to be aware of what their tax responsibilities are," Ambrose maintains. "But we are not in a position to enforce it . . . although we can and do co-operate with outside bodies."

"Even though your wording was within the letter of the policy, it could easily have been interpreted as violating the spirit of it."
Richard Ambrose, eBay

Coming back to the original question, 'does it matter that Richard Ambrose is leaving eBay?'.

Based on what we've learned over the intervening hours:

Even though Richard Ambrose was working within the letter of the law, his actions could easily have been interpreted as violating the eBay Community spirit.

We find Richard Ambrose leaving eBay to be a non-event.

END RUN

"Gentlemen, I'm simply an honest businessman."
Harcourt Fenton Mudd, Star Trek

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
Amazon EventHorizon1984

Posted on 02 July 2009 at 03:06 in Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Chris Dawson, Collectables & Entertainment, Confuddled, Decipher, eBay, Head of Finding, Music Choice Europe, Richard Ambrose, Richard Ambrose leaves eBay for new challenges, Talkcast, Trust & Safety

25 June 2009

The eBay PayPal 10% Hold Solution

The eBay PayPal 10% Hold Solution
25 June 2009
EventHorizon1984

15 May 2009

DESTROY ALL COUNTERFEITS! - eBay's New June 2009 User Agreement

DESTROY ALL COUNTERFEITS! - eBay's New June 2009 User Agreement
14 May 2009
EventHorizon1984
Commentary

We made a condensed comment on the AuctionByte blog "eBay Revises Fakes Policy: Return, not Destroy". What follows is a full article.

The material in this article is provided to you free of charge, "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

Basically talk to a attorney figuratively face-to-face when seeking legal advice. Not that we're dispensing any.

The May 13th AuctionBytes articles "eBay's New Policy Instructs Buyers to Destroy Fakes" and "Questions over eBay's New Fakes Policy" brought to light a section in eBay's User Agreement, that would be implemented 14 June 2009.

For covered claims that meet the conditions and are not excluded, buyers are required to destroy an item if they claim it is not authentic. Once a buyer confirms destruction of the item, eBay will reimburse the buyer.

For covered claims that meet the conditions and are not excluded, sellers agree to not hold buyers or eBay responsible for the destruction of an item if it is not believed to be authentic

Looking at the California statutes, eBay INC being located in the State of California, this type of action is covered under "California Criminal Law", "Crimes Against Property", "Larceny", "Grand Theft", etal.

All 50 U.S. States and U.S. Territories have similar laws. Then there's the matter of Interstate Commerce, and it's coverage by the U.S. Attorney General and the F.B.I.

And yes, there's more.

A day later someone at eBay with a legal background must have read the MBA produced User Agreement.

***Updated: Changes to the eBay User Agreement***

May 14, 2009 | 04:46PM PST/PT

Scott Shipman

On May 15, eBay will be releasing a revised user agreement. This revision will address the obligations of buyers and sellers in transactions where a buyer has alleged receipt of a counterfeit item.

Under the revised agreement:

Buyers and sellers shall work in good faith during the resolution process to determine that the item is not counterfeit.
If buyer and seller cannot determine that the item is not counterfeit, buyers are required to send the item back to the seller. Cost of return shipping will be paid by the buyer or eBay, unless both buyer and seller have agreed otherwise.
Covered claims that meet the conditions and are not excluded will count as a violation by the seller of our prohibited and infringing items policy.
If eBay determines the buyer is not acting in good faith, eBay may restrict or eliminate their ability to return items or make future claims.
Sellers shall not list, advertise, or cause that item to appear for sale, barter or trade, on any eBay Inc. web site or service.

These revisions to the user agreement are being made to:

Provide sellers protections against inaccurate counterfeit claims.
Provide buyers assurances about the authenticity of the item received.
Maintain integrity of the eBay marketplace.

The new User Agreement is effective immediately for new members registering on or after today, and on June 14, 2009, for current members. You don't need to do anything to accept the new User Agreement. If you don't wish to accept it, you can follow these instructions to close your account.

Sincerely,
Scott Shipman
Senior Counsel
eBay Inc.

For the casual reader, these are eBay User Agreement sections being referenced:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/user-agreement.html

Buyer Obligations:

Buyers agree to file claims in accordance with the conditions, exclusions and coverage limitations as further explained in the eBay Purchase Protection policy.
For covered claims that meet the conditions and are not excluded, eBay will reimburse eligible buyers by PayPal or by coupon redeemable on eBay, in eBay’s discretion, based upon a number of factors, such as whether the buyer has a PayPal account, the type of payment made to the seller and the payment amount.
Buyers who eBay believes are not acting in good faith, abusing the program or a seller, attempting to commit or committing fraud, or trying to unjustly benefit from the program may become ineligible for eBay Purchase Protection. Buyers who become ineligible will be notified by eBay prior to ineligibility. eBay reserves the right to temporarily, indefinitely or permanently suspend the eBay Purchase Protection program immediately if we suspect abuse, excessive claims, tampering, or interference with the proper working of the program.
eBay Purchase Protection doesn’t cover certain types and categories of goods or services, false, abusive or illegitimate claims, or transactions where you have been or may be compensated from another third party. Please read the eBay Purchase Protection policy for more details.

Seller Obligations:

Sellers agree to follow the program requirements as explained in the eBay Purchase Protection policy.
All sellers with an open claim must work in good faith to resolve the claim, refund money and/or provide a replacement item, and accept a return of the item as explained by the eBay Purchase Protection Policy.
If a seller doesn't resolve a claim, the seller agrees to pay eBay the amount paid by eBay to the buyer in accordance with the eBay Purchase Protection policy. eBay will invoice the seller for these amounts and seller agrees to pay eBay in accordance with the invoice terms.

Obligations when a buyer opens a claim alleging an item is counterfeit:

Sellers shall work with the buyer in good faith during the resolution process to provide buyer with appropriate documentation or other assurances to satisfy the buyer that the item is not counterfeit, if such information is available.
If buyer and seller cannot agree that the item is not counterfeit, for covered claims that meet the conditions and are not excluded, buyers are required to send the item back to the seller. Cost of return shipping will be paid by the buyer or eBay in our sole discretion, unless otherwise agreed upon by the buyer and seller.
Covered claims that meet the conditions and are not excluded will count as a violation by the seller of our prohibited and infringing items policy.
Sellers shall not list, advertise, or cause that item to appear for sale, barter or trade, on any eBay Inc. (including our subsidiaries, joint ventures, and other members of the group) web site or service located around the world.
While buyers are not obligated to provide third party confirmation that an item is counterfeit in order to open a claim, in cases where there is written confirmation from the manufacturer that the item is counterfeit, or in additional circumstances where eBay elects to exercise its discretion, eBay may request the destruction of the item by an authorized third party and at eBay’s expense.

Let us briefly go through the new legalize. Keep in mind that legal documents are written to minimize, or eliminate, vague, and subject to multiple interpretation, language. At least that is the goal.

Condensing the above counterfeit section down to a more understandable form:

"If buyer and seller cannot agree that the item is not counterfeit" this "will count as a violation by the seller of our prohibited and infringing items policy", and "buyers are not obligated to provide third party confirmation that an item is counterfeit".

Same as Scott Shipman's announcement, got it?

This part is solid:

"in cases where there is written confirmation from the manufacturer that the item is counterfeit"

However there remains more language that eBay's legal team must clean up. Which is not necessarily Scott Shipman's pervue. See http://news.ebay.com/team.cfm Michael Jacobson, eBay Senior Vice President and General Counsel.

Take a look at this:

"or in additional circumstances where eBay elects to exercise its discretion, eBay may request the destruction of the item by an authorized third party and at eBay’s expense."

Read it very carefully. eBay can destroy seller property when "eBay elects to exercise its discretion". This part does not clearly explain "discretion". In less legalize, "discretion" could be very very very very loosely replaced with 'whim'.

This has a bit more clarity:

"eBay may request the destruction of the item by an authorized third party".

But lacks the explanation of what happens should eBay NOT request destruction. Because of the word "may", the statement can be interpreted as:

"or in additional circumstances where eBay elects to exercise its discretion, eBay may or may not request the destruction of the item by an authorized third party and at eBay’s expense."

Consider what happens in the event that eBay does NOT request destruction of the item? Do you know what happens to the seller's item? There are multiple possibilities, indicating that this part is vague, and NOT clearly written.

Eventually eBay's legal team needs to put in a list of authorized third parties that will be used for destruction. That is fairly minor though.

This part is not minor:

"at eBay’s expense."

This CAN be interpreted as, 'eBay will pay for the cost of destruction'. Fine, but incomplete. Remember IN CONTEXT "at eBay’s expense" refers to the cost of destruction PERIOD.

Lets revisit the original issue in the original User Agreement. eBay makes the buyer whole and pays for destruction of a seller's item, but THEN who ultimately pays for the money given back to the buyer? The rewritten user agreement remains ambiguous or missing in this matter.

Consider what happens when a seller resolves the claim in good faith, informs the buyer to return the item for a refund, the buyer maintains the item is counterfeit, and eBay chooses to "exercise its discretion"?

"If a seller doesn't resolve a claim, the seller agrees to pay eBay the amount paid by eBay to the buyer"

Is it likely that this provision, under Seller Obligations, would be applied whereby eBay unilaterally chooses to "exercise its discretion", declares the claim is not resolved, and eBay has the now seller's item destroyed?

"eBay will invoice the seller for these amounts and seller agrees to pay eBay in accordance with the invoice terms."

Anyone notice there is more 'whim' in the new rewritten user agreement? Is this deliberate or an oversight?

And as William Cobb would put it, soooo Is there more? Yes.

Think it's time to hit to personally hit the word processor Michael Jacobson ESQ, and clean up this mess?

"It's sort of an obsession with me to do the best I can for a client. My clients aren't blameless. Many of them are crooks. Probably a lot of them are guilty. That's not for me to determine. That's for a jury to determine."
Perry Mason

"The character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done."
Oliver Wendell Holmes JR, U.S. Supreme Court

//
//
//

The "DESTROY ALL COUNTERFEITS!" is homage to the Toho Company movie "Kaiju soshingeki" or "Destroy All Monsters!" (1968).

//
//
//

eBay Media Center - Senior Management
http://news.ebay.com/team.cfm

Michael Jacobson Senior Vice President and General Counsel, eBay Inc.

Download image

As senior vice president and general counsel at eBay, Mike Jacobson's responsibilities include overseeing eBay's legal department, its risk management program, and its policy group. He is responsible for interactions with content regulators, law enforcement, contracts, SEC compliance, and other legal matters.

Prior to eBay, Mike was a partner with Cooley Godward LLP where he was recognized as an expert in securities law. His responsibilities included corporate and securities transactions, including mergers and acquisition transactions, public offerings, and venture capital financing.

Mike earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Magna Cum Laude, in 1975 from Harvard College, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He subsequently received his law degree from Stanford University in 1981, where he was a Nathan Abbot Scholar and a member of Order of the Coif. He also received the Hilmer Oehlmann Jr. award as well as first and second year honors.

//
//
//

Notable Comments

Questions over eBay's New Fakes Policy
by: Grab your torches

Wed May 13 14:28:53 2009
Just calm down, you silly people
When the smoke that you yourselves are generating clears, you'll see that a third party verification is needed. This system is already in place and has been used for a long time.

4343martino ( 1851

)

View seller's items | View Blog

Well fer sure...every buyer is a honest upstanding citizen of what ever third world country they happen to be in..You should know that by now world-secure....there never has been or ever will be a dishonest e-bay buyer...they dont exist..not in this world or the next..just ask e-bay they will tell ya...LOL>>>What a crock of sh*t e-bay has created with this one..chalk up another one for the lawyers...LOL>>>
Mark

May-13-09 15:27:25 PDT

Questions over eBay's New Fakes Policy
by: Grab your torches
Thu May 14 13:45:31 2009

So much hype here.
Where does this false info about mailing counterfeits come from? It is illegal to sell them, yes. Illegal to use USPS to sell them, yes. NOT illegal to use USPS to send them to be authenticated/destroyed.
The eBay UA only states that a buyer must "confirm" that a counterfeit has been destroyed. It says nothing about the manner of that confirmation. The current process for a destroying a counterfeit is not spelled out either. Do you assume this means the buyer just has to say they did? No, they ship it to Texas, where it is supposedly destroyed if counterfeit, or resold if authentic. Is there any reason to believe that this won't be pretty much the same thing?

Any idiot knows that if all eBay will require is a buyer saying they destroyed it, then this cannot possibly be legal. Why then, do you all believe this is what eBay is going to do?

It seems much more likely that the user agreement is being left deliberately vague, for any number of reasons.

I swear, Ina could tell you that eBay Singapore was adding a category for human trafficking and you would all eat it up and repeat it everywhere.
Clowns, all of you.

Questions over eBay's New Fakes Policy
by: Grab your torches
Thu May 14 14:18:52 2009

Why doesn't somebody here just go ahead and buy a fake purse? Do it. You'll be making the world a better place removing a counterfeit. Much better than reporting it, getting the listing removed so the seller can peddle it somewhere else. Actually buy it and the fake seller is out the money and the counterfeit.
Now, tell eBay it's a fake and see what they ask you to do.

Questions over eBay's New Fakes Policy
by: Grab your torches
Thu May 14 15:04:12 2009

"If ebay doesn't want incorrect information floating around about ANY of its policies, then the policy should be completely transparent and 100% of it posted."

Seriously? This is a defense?
I would like a little more clarity over this policy as well, but that DOES NOT JUSTIFY MAKING THINGS UP!

Questions over eBay's New Fakes Policy
by: Grab your torches
Thu May 14 15:11:55 2009

Some secret policies are good.
The list of words in a title that restrict how many of a certain thing you can sell, for example. Make that known and people selling counterfeits know exactly what to avoid.
Exactly how best match works also. Remember when some unscrupulous sellers figured out to put NEW NEW NEW in the title to push their items to the top?

While I do not see the logic behind their vagueness in this case, I wont deign to say that it does not exist. I can't say with any certainty that 100% transparency wouldn't create an opening for the counterfeit sellers to abuse.

//
//
//

EventHorizon1984.com

EventHorizon1984.biz EventHorizon1984.info EventHorizon1984.me EventHorizon1984.mobi EventHorizon1984.name EventHorizon1984.net EventHorizon1984.org EventHorizon1984.US EventHorizon.name WorldSecurities2001.com

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
Amazon EventHorizon1984

Posted on 15 May 2009 at 10:20 in Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service, eBay Spotlight, Fraud, Legal | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: AuctionBytes, counterfeit, eBay, eBay Purchase Protection Policy, eBay Revises Fakes Policy Return not Destroy, eBay User Agreement, eBay's New Policy Instructs Buyers to Destroy Fakes, EventHorizon1984, General Counsel, Grab your torches, Grab your torches, Michael Jacobson, Obligations when a buyer opens a claim alleging an item is counterfeit, Puchase Protection Policy, Questions over eBay's New Fakes Policy, revised user agreement, Scott Shipman, User Agreement

13 May 2009

A "Pay with PayPal" Requirement On eBay End Of Auction Message

A "Pay with PayPal" Requirement on eBay End of Auction Message
13 May 2009
EventHorizon1984
Commentary

Nothing like watching eBay push for an investigation of PayPal due to Sherman Antitrust violations.

For a good part of the this year and up until the second weekend in May, after a buyer made a purchase on eBay.com, that buyer received a standard End Of Auction email. And that email started like this:

Dear **customer**,

Congratulations! You committed to buy the following item:Check out and send your payment now to get your item within 4-5 days.

But beginning the second weekend in May 2009, eBay altered the message text. The brand new payment message looks like this:

Hi **customer**,

We hope you enjoy your latest purchase. The next step is pay the seller.
Don't wait. Pay now to get your item within 4-5 days.

Pay with PayPal, the safe and easy way to pay for your eBay purchases.

It does not matter whether a sellers uses direct credit card processing through a merchant account, or one of eBay's straw dog alternatives like ProPay, Moneybookers, Paymate, the buyer will see "Pay with PayPal".

This is what eBay defines as "convenient payment options". That is "convenient" to eBay equals "Pay with PayPal". Or maybe 'Any eBay seller can have a any payment method they want so long as it is PayPal.'

"Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he want so long as it is black."
Attributed to Henry Ford 1909

//
//
//

Comments

tryork5ifp ( 262

)

View seller's items | View Blog

first there was paypal.......then toothbrushpal.....Now there's vegetablepal and genetaliapal!!!!

when will eBAy STOP!!!

May-14-09 12:22:52 PDT

mylegacy-treasures ( 800

)

View seller's items | View Blog

eBay will stop when they have become the 'we-own-the-world-pal' and Mr. "D" can go to his country club without being embarrassed to admit that he manages a multibillion dollar corporation named eBay. (psssst - don't look at the share price)

May-14-09 12:39:46 PDT

//
//
//

EventHorizon1984.com

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
Amazon EventHorizon1984

Posted on 13 May 2009 at 23:30 in Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service, Fraud, PayPal | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Accepted Payments Policy, antitrust, eBay, End of Auction, End of Auction Message, EventHorizon1984, Moneybookers, Pay with PayPal, Paymate, PayPal, ProPay, Sherman

30 April 2009

Play IT Again Usher "eBay" Lieberman

Play IT Again Usher "eBay" Lieberman*
30 April 2009
EventHorizon1984
Commentary

Usher Lieberman did IT again. Let's summarize shall we?

"as of June 15, will no longer be providing third party checkout service on eBay.", Dinesh Lathi Vice President Seller Experience, 13 April 2009
eBay Eliminates Third-Party Checkout, Impacts ProStores, Vendors, Ina Steiner, 15 April 2009
"No sooner do I give her props for solid sourcing that she publishes something wholly misinformed and just plain wrong", Usher Lieberman, 15 April 2009
"Some blogs have incorrectly reported that eBay is doing away with third party checkout.", Dinesh Lathi Vice President Seller Experience, 15 April 2009
"No one else here will work with you, Ina.", Usher Lieberman, 15-28 April 2009
“At a time when eBay’s business and image are suffering, shutting down communication with their sellers hardly seems to be a constructive move for the company. EBay’s current PR team appear to have chosen stonewalling instead of taking advantage of a valuable conduit to their community.”, David Steiner, 28 April 2009

eBay VP Dinesh Lathi did his usual, make a statement with technical holes in it and correct the big gaffe the next day. Evidence that Dinesh Lathi needs to listen to his fact checking team, or that he needs a better fact checking team.

Now the previous seasoned and battle tested PR hack Hani Durzy might have said, 'VP Dinesh Lathi filled in perceived gaps in the third party checkout announcement. eBay's third party checkout is not going away.' and let the matter drop and be forgotten.

But eBay PR flack Usher Lieberman went above and beyond, stating "publishes something wholly misinformed and just plain wrong" and "No one else here will work with you". Language not from a professional corporate Public Relations person like Hani Durzy, but language one might hear from a hormonal teenage boy with anger management problems.

As can be seen by the chronology above and below, Dinesh Lathi made the error, not AuctionBytes. And in a very professional manner Vice President Dinesh Lathi corrected himself.

From a corporate stand point, something this minor should not have The Wall Street Journal taking an interest.

Maybe it's time for eBay Inc to announce that Mr. Lieberman will take extended time off for family matters.

"Smooth move Ex-Lax."
Donna Baumer

* As tempting as it was to use "Spin It Again", the term is overused and we love Casablanca. And yes we're aware Rick Blaine never said Play it again Sam.

//
// 13 April 2009, 1:50 PM HST
//

The April 13th email from eBay regarding 3rd party checkout. Other than the removal of personal data, no changes were made to the original email.

Update your checkout service by June 15

Dear *:

Our records indicate that you?ve recently completed selling transactions through . We?re writing to let you know that as of June 15, will no longer be providing third party checkout service on eBay.

A big step toward reducing unpaid items for sellers is ensuring a secure and consistent checkout experience for buyers. That?s why, in the months ahead, we?ll be working to integrate key functions offered by current third party providers into eBay checkout.

The ultimate goal is to have all checkout and payments take place right on eBay--and to help you make a seamless transition to on-eBay checkout that fully supports your business as usual.

In the interim, as of June 15, sellers will only be allowed to use eBay checkout or third party checkout services offered by one of a select group of approved Certified Providers.

This would be a great time to take a close look at your business needs, and if you haven?t already done so, switch to eBay checkout before June 15.

If you need specific functionality that is not yet integrated into eBay checkout, you can choose a solution offered by a Certified Provider approved for off-eBay checkout.

We?ll keep you updated as new functionality becomes available in eBay checkout. We?ll also make sure you have the time and support you need to make a smooth transition down the road.

Thanks for helping us keep eBay a great place to buy and sell.

Sincerely,

Dinesh Lathi
Vice President, Seller Experience

//
// 15 April 2009
//

Excerpts from "eBay Eliminates Third-Party Checkout, Impacts ProStores, Vendors" article.

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y09/m04/i15/s01

Auctionbytes-NewsFlash, Number 2020 - April 15, 2009 - ISSN 1539-5065

eBay Eliminates Third-Party Checkout, Impacts ProStores, Vendors
By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes.com
April 15, 2009

"eBay will eliminate its Third Party Checkout Redirect on eBay as of June 15, 2009. Sellers who use third-party checkout solutions will no longer have the opportunity to display branding, cross-sell, up-sell and other merchandising opportunities at point-of-sale. This means a loss of sales for sellers and lost revenue for vendors who collect commissions on merchant sales. eBay will do away with third-party checkout completely next year."
"The elimination of off-eBay checkout is clearly part of the company's move to try and become a marketplace that can guarantee all transactions by collecting information about when buyers pay and when sellers ship. On Tuesday, eBay Director of Seller Development Todd Lutwak told AuctionBytes that, over time, eBay would roll out additional tools and incentives for sellers to provide eBay with shipping information. eBay is also moving toward capturing data from payment services, including the ability to accept merchant credit cards in eBay Checkout. "

//
// 15 April 2009, 9:25 AM PST
//

http://twitter.com/usherml/status/1526364771

No sooner do I give her props for solid sourcing that she publishes something wholly misinformed and just plain wrong: http://bit.ly/2iD3Pg

9:25 AM Apr 15th from web

usherml

//
// 15 April 2009
//

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y09/m04/i15/s01

Update 4/15/09: I received an email from eBay spokesperson Usher Lieberman today stating: eBay is narrowing access to third-party checkout to approved providers and has asked these third-party checkout partners to update their user interface or UI to conform with a set of guidelines provided by eBay. This DOES NOT involve any changes to the third-party checkout functionality consistent with eBay listing policies and existing legal agreements, just to the user interface. Some of the approved third-party checkout partners may opt out of these user interface changes, in which case they will need to begin using eBay Checkout.

//
// 15 April 2009, 1:00 PM PST
//

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200904151259582.html

***Third Party Checkout: Clarification***
April 15, 2009 | 01:00PM PST/PT

Dinesh Lathi

Some blogs have incorrectly reported that eBay is doing away with third party checkout. We want to clarify that this is not the case.

The facts: Beginning June 15, eBay will only allow third-party checkout services from approved providers who have updated their user interface according to a set of eBay guidelines. Our goal is to give buyers a more consistent checkout experience. These guidelines do not involve any changes to functionality that is consistent with eBay listing policies and existing legal agreements.

Some of the current third-party checkout providers may decide to begin using eBay Checkout instead of making user interface changes to their own checkout system. In this case, sellers can continue to use their services.

If you are a seller using a third-party checkout provider, we strongly encourage you to contact your provider about their plans. Most of our approved partners are planning to make the necessary changes to their solution, including:

4Sellers
Afterbuy
Auctiva Corporation
ChannelAdvisor
Cultuzz Digital Media
Digital River
Kyozou
Sandbourne Systems
Vendio

To reiterate, we are not eliminating third party checkout on June 15, we are only asking third-party checkout providers to update the user interface.

Please keep in mind that the definitive source of information about eBay is eBay. You can find accurate information about any planned changes through this Announcement Board and through emails, calls and other official communications from eBay.

Sincerely,
Dinesh Lathi
VP Seller Experience

//
// 28 April 2009
//

Excerpts from "Spin City: eBay Struggles to Control the Message" article.

http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2009/4/1240930825.html

Spin City: eBay Struggles to Control the Message
By: David Steiner
Tue Apr 28 2009 11:00:25

"There was a palpable shift when John Donahoe transitioned into the role of CEO and Jose Mallabo took over as Director of Corporate Communications early last year. In one of his first responses to an inquiry from Ina, Mallabo responded via email, "I will use this as an opportunity to set some expectations moving forward. While we appreciate that these glitches are of great importance to your readers - and we certainly appreciate you drawing our attention to them, we just can't guarantee you a response on absolutely everything. If they are of a size that impacts a critical mass of the community, then we'll put it on the systems board. If not, we will do our very best to track down the answers for you in a reasonable time frame but often times these glitches are so obscure and impossible to replicate that getting answers can take a considerable amount of our team's time." "
"Interestingly, Mallabo posted a comment from a non-eBay IP address in March of 2008. Shortly thereafter, another post appeared from the same DSL IP address as Mallabo's, but using the name John Rathert (the name of someone listed as a cofounder of his previous business), criticizing another commenter and stating, "You and David are about as big a joke as there is. Go write about the fuzz in your navels." "
"In an incident at last year's eBay Live, Ina was pulled aside by Usher Lieberman, a member of eBay's PR team, and was told not to ask about specific user's issues or else she would no longer be granted access to eBay executives. "
"Ina told Lieberman that if he had a problem working with her, she would happily work with someone else in the PR Department. His response was, "No one else here will work with you, Ina." "

//
// 29 April 2009
//

Excerpts from "AuctionByte Bites Back at eBay" Wall Street Journal article.

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/04/29/auctionbytes-bites-back-at-ebay

April 29, 2009, 2:26 PM ET

AuctionBytes Bites Back at eBay
By Geoffrey A. Fowler

"eBay is facing a spat with AuctionBytes, a trade publication about eBay and e-commerce that attracts about half a million visitors to its Web site each month. "
"In a post titled “Spin City: eBay Struggles to Control the Message” on Tuesday, AuctionBytes president David Steiner wrote that after 10 years covering the company, he has felt a “palpable shift” in eBay’s approach to communications since John Donahoe took office as eBay chief executive last year. "
"The spat appears to have been most recently instigated by a report that AuctionBytes posted last week about changes to eBay’s third-party checkout system. Ina Steiner felt eBay’s public relations department was unresponsive to her requests for clarification, resulting in a post in which she reported that eBay had “nothing more to say.” "
"EBay spokesman Alan Marks said his company could have done a better job communicating with its sellers, especially in the first half of last year. But he insisted “nothing has changed” about eBay’s commitment to communicating with sellers since Donahoe became CEO. “If anything, we have become more transparent,” Marks said "

//
// 30 April 2009
//

Excerpt from "TameBay Morsels 30/04/09" article.

http://www.tamebay.com/2009/04/tamebay-morsels-300409.html#comments

TameBay Morsels 30/04/09
by Chris Dawson

"Finally those lovely people at eBay seem to have a few differences with the time served Ina Steiner of Auctionbytes. If eBay UK PR are reading this we promise to be nice (even when we disagree with you) in exchange for free listing fees for life (ok I’m joking, fees are so low these days it wouldn’t make much difference anyway, we’ll just carry on saying what we think ) "

//
//
//

EventHorizon1984.com

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
Amazon EventHorizon1984

Posted on 30 April 2009 at 14:34 in Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service, eBay Spotlight | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: 3rd Party Checkout, Alan Marks, AuctionBytes, AuctionBytes Bites Back at eBay, Chris Dayson, David Steiner, Dinesh Lath, eBay, eBay Eliminates Third-Party Checkout Impacts ProStores Vendors, Ina Steiner, John Donahoe, John Rathert, Jose Mallabo, No one else will work with you Ina, Spin City eBay Struggles to Control the Message, TameBay, TameBay Morsels, Third Party Checkout Clarification, Update your chekcout service by June 15

16 April 2009

From eBay - Update your checkout service by June 15

From eBay - Update your checkout service by June 15
14 April 2009
EventHorizon1984

Probably unnoticed by most was the stealth checkout announcement made by eBay on April 13th. See copy of announcement emailed to us. eBay's punctuation and typos not corrected.

If you checkout eBay's Checkout Discussion Board, you'll note that eBay's vaunted PayFlow checkout remains not ready for prime time.

We're already expressed our reservations about the security of the new checkout.

What we're found interesting is maybe Google (and some Google sponsers) thinks the same. Perform a Google search using "eBay PayFlow" and watch what pops up.

"Oh boy."
Samuel Beckett, Quantum Leap

eBay Certified Provider Program
http://certifiedprovider.ebay.com/ns/checkout.html

If you need additional checkout features not available through eBay, some of our listing solution Certified Providers can help:

Benefits:

Offer payment by credit card
Perform tax calculation
Offer additional shipping carrier options
Show only the specific countries you want to ship to
Support redemption of your own coupon codes
Offer insurance
Collect important information like color selection, customization requests
Up-sell your other eBay items with a customizable merchandising module
Custom seller branding on purchase summary

Certified Providers:
Auctiva
ChannelAdvisor
Kyozou
Vendio

//
//
//

EventHorizon1984.com

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
Amazon EventHorizon1984

Posted on 16 April 2009 at 12:08 in eBay, eBay Customer Service, Fraud, PayPal | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: 3rd party checkout, Auctiva, Certified Provider Program, Certified Providers, ChannelAdvisor, checkout, Denesh Lathi, eBay, eBay checkout, Kyozou, PayFlow, third party checkout, Vendio

07 April 2009

From eBay Seller Central Forum - An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

Contrary to the advice eBay CEO John Donahoe dispensed in another PR interview article, There's No Need to Bat .900,

"I realized feedback’s a gift and I wasn’t afraid of the feedback."
John Donahoe, eBay CEO, 5 April 2009

eBay deleted the thread below.

eBay Seller Central
An interesting new interview of John Donahoe
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/topic/Seller-Central/An-Interesting-New/520110180

An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

[Replies: 26]

Last Post Apr 6, 2009 11:58 AM by: citygirlhardware

shardsofhistory (3641

)

View Listings

Posts: 348

An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

Apr 5, 2009 5:24 PM

An interesting new interview of John Donahoe:

There’s No Need to Bat .900
April 5, 2009 / HeraldTribune.com
Link

clemsmom (2132

)

View Listings

Posts: 1,988

(1 of 26)

Re: An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

Apr 5, 2009 5:29 PM

huh?

citygirlhardware (379

)

View Listings

Posts: 1,729

(2 of 26)

Re: An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

Apr 5, 2009 5:41 PM

Illuminating, but not in a good way...

Every indicator on God's green earth has shown this guy to be a major-league goofup, yet Ebay still can't scrape him off.

According to this interview, he's not performance-oriented, he listens to almost nobody, and he's unaware of internecine issues until a senior-level manager quits out of frustration.

He doesn't worry about mistakes, as Ebay stockholders, sellers and buyers continue to finance his "evolution" rather than hiring someone who's a proven performer.

I think we can wave goodbye now to this thread.

uncseniorsportsfan (7)

View Listings

Posts: 298

(3 of 26)

Re: An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

Apr 5, 2009 5:44 PM

Thanks for the Link! That interview provided my chuckle for the day.

dazednconfuse72 (24

)

View Listings

Posts: 11

(4 of 26)

Re: An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

Apr 5, 2009 6:06 PM

I loved this quote

"I realized feedback’s a gift and I wasn’t afraid of the feedback. "

Then stop deleting post

tev_022908 (51

)

View Listings

Posts: 586

(5 of 26)

Re: An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

Apr 5, 2009 6:43 PM

D. Here's a quarter - go buy a clue.

I can't accept the quarter, It'll cost me 32 cents to do so.

:^O

*****************

bonuskid40 (4788

)

View Listings

Posts: 4,205

(6 of 26)

Re: An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

Apr 5, 2009 6:59 PM

This quote from the article is so wrong. "Be more direct in communication. "

We have never had a message from John Donahoe since he took over a little over a year ago. In the announcements, we have had message from Lorrie Norrington, message from Dinesh, and so forth, but never once has JD addressed the users of the site on the site. I have posted about this on the Griff threads, but they were deleted. One was actually answered, and it was a coming soon sort of response.

I don't understand how a CEO of a company can continue in that position and never once address his customers. I am floored and appalled. He has some gall saying he needs to be more direct in communication. Darn Tootin'. He needs to communicate, period.

Can you tell this really irks me? Didn't mean to ramble.

___________________________________
From the Motley Fool: A comment Warren Buffett made to a group of student investors in 2008. Specifically, that "The 19th century belonged to England, the 20th century belonged to the U.S., and the 21st century belongs to China. Invest accordingly."

tev_022908 (51

)

View Listings

Posts: 586

(7 of 26)

Re: An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

Apr 5, 2009 7:08 PM

This one really tells a lot also,

I’d look at it — and a third of it, I said: “You know, that’s exactly right. This is going to be a long-term area I’m going to have to get better and better at, and I want to make progress next year, and it will still be an issue that year.”

It will still be an issue? A year after an indepth 20 page peer review and the issues are still going on? What organization would keep employees, and that is exactly John's position, he is an employee, sitting at the discretion of the board, That don't show improvement after a year.
*****************

rich_knob_pots (12

)

View Listings

Posts: 960

(8 of 26)

Re: An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

Apr 5, 2009 7:16 PM

One of the things I’ve also found really useful over time is any time a senior person leaves, or sometimes a midlevel person, I’ll often reach out and say, “Hey, would you either send me an e-mail, or I’d love to get together and I’d love to hear what are the three things that you think I should know about what’s going on in the organization that you think I might not be aware of.” And then, secondly, “If you were me, what would you do differently from what we’re doing?”

I like this one. He should apply it to his customers.
Carpe Crappie - SEIZE the FISH!

jennalee275 (80

)

View Listings

Posts: 3,801

(9 of 26)

Re: An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

Apr 5, 2009 7:52 PM

"It’s kind of a lifelong journey. About a third of it was: “Oh, wow, I didn’t realize I was doing that and need to stop doing it, or someone wanted me to be doing something else that I agreed with.” And then a third of it, I said: “You know what? Thanks for the feedback. I’m going to ignore it. I’m going to keep doing what I want to do.”

Yup, that bolded sentence right there sums the boy right up.

zboo2 (2009

)

View Listings

Posts: 273

(10 of 26)

Re: An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

Apr 5, 2009 8:38 PM

"Interestingly, when I became C.E.O. of Bain, I used to get a performance review where my assessment committee would interview 40 partners in half-hour interviews, and I’d get a performance review that was 20 pages thick. Everything I could possibly do better was included in that".

If this had been done at anytime since he has been at ebay, you could build a dam with the amount of paper necessary to include "everything I could possibly do better".

elecgreg (848

)

View Listings

Posts: 19,582

(11 of 26)

Re: An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

Apr 5, 2009 9:23 PM

Well, that was 10 minutes of drivle that will serve to keep me awake all night.

If I did my job that way I'd have never lasted long.

flamesensor (Private)

View Listings

Posts: 868

(12 of 26)

Re: An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

Apr 5, 2009 9:44 PM

This guy should be on television. I'm told a big head is a plus on the small screen.

Notice: The foregoing may contain opinions and is not recommended for making life altering decisions.

toyhawks (2438

)

View Listings

Posts: 230

(13 of 26)

Re: An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

Apr 5, 2009 11:40 PM

Flamesensor that was pretty darn funny. lol.

Remarkable JD doesn't have a clue. And this interview was JUST published.

Hey JD, WE "are leaving eBay" after 9 years....give US your email address....we challenge you to.

: (

vintage-vineyard (457

)

View Listings

Posts: 8,308

(14 of 26)

Re: An interesting new interview of John Donahoe

Apr 6, 2009 4:42 AM

In many ways it was liberating, because I realized feedback’s a gift and I wasn’t afraid of the feedback.

Urm...so why take away a seller's ability to leave honest feedback for transactions?

I try to do the same for the people around me, and give them open, objective feedback offered in a constructive way.

Uhhh...NO you don't!!! And again, see my question above...

I try to reach into the company and talk to different people at different levels.

Again...you do NOT! You've never asked me, or any other small seller, for our opinion.

---------------------------------------
Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too.
Misty

//
//
//

EventHorizon1984.com

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
Amazon EventHorizon1984

Posted on 07 April 2009 at 02:22 in eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Bain, CEO, eBay, John Donahoe, There's No Need to Bat .900

27 March 2009

eBay PayFlow Checkout, Hacker Approved??

eBay PayFlow Checkout, Hacker Approved??
26 March 2009
EventHorizon1984

eBay plans to deactivate 3rd party checkout around June 2009. Meaning eBay Sellers with Merchant Accounts (using 3rd party checkout), allowing non-PayPal credit card payments, are required to sign up for a mandatory PayFlow account beginning March 1st 2009.

Well an event that appears interestingly timed with eBay's new PayFlow checkout occurred. It appears that someone may have conducted the first large scale test of the vulnerability of eBay's new eBay/PayFlow checkout.

Cyber Attack: Unsolicited, Unstoppable PayPal Payments
By: Ina Steiner
Wed Mar 18 2009 22:42:14

"There were several disturbing characteristics of this attack. It appears that scammers could use bogus information (including email address, physical address, and phone number) to send payments with credit cards that were, one would conclude, compromised or stolen. In some of those cases, it seems PayPal failed to identify them as suspicious to the merchant in a timely fashion."
"But we know that when one incident surfaces, they are bound to be followed by more, so keep an eye out for strange activity in your PayPal account, and keep a close eye on your credit cards!"

Not that we find this surprising.

Look up active registered eBay Developer spopa2006 ( 3 ) sometime, as we blog back in time.

"According to the affidavit, Popa was sentenced to 71 days in jail in Michigan in 2006 after being charged for using a hijacked eBay account to defraud someone into paying $1,448 for an item that didn't exist."

Remember, eBay code monkeys and Developers are working on and implementing software to allow buyers to input their credit card information directly on the eBay site and through eBay owned PayPal/PayFlow.

So your credit card can be safe.

"What's in Your wallet?"*

* What can we say, we like the Capital One commercials.

spopa2006
Re: Mail address of an ebay User ?
Posted: Jun 7, 2007 12:41 AM

Hey there. I wrote a similar project in C++ by using pointers. However, the implemented network interface i used in C++ is no longer supported and I am not a C# guru as I am in c++. Tell me whether or not you got your solution. You can email me at gam30v3r2007@yahoo.com

Suspect in 'phishing' scheme indicted
A Romanian immigrant is accused of using e-mails to dupe thousands of people into sharing financial records.

By Dan Browning, Star Tribune

Last update: June 20, 2007 – 9:55 PM

"A Romanian immigrant was indicted Tuesday in federal court in Minneapolis on charges that he operated a computerized "phishing" scheme for several years that raked in financial records and personal identification from thousands of individuals, including many from Minnesota."
"Sergiu Daniel Popa, 20, of Shelby Township, Mich., was indicted on three counts of possessing 15 or more devices designed to collect data on the Internet without authorization, and three counts of aggravated identity theft."
"According to {FBI Special Agent Theodore} Theisen's affidavit and the indictment:"

"Popa had more than 7,000 identities of victims of various phishing schemes, together with bank account, credit card and Social Security numbers, and passwords for some eBay, online banking and e-mail accounts. He offered to sell the stolen information to others."

"Popa was convicted of larceny by conversion on June 12, 2006, stemming from a case in Saline, Mich. He was accused of using a hijacked eBay account to trick an individual into sending him $1,448 to buy a product that didn't exist. He served 71 days, Theisen said."

From eBay Stores Forum
Phisher Indicted - check out this article

spopa2006 (2 ) View Listings | Report Jun-26-07 13:34 PDT 3 of 3
Listen guys. I am Sergiu D. Popa. I am that horrible guy!

Now let me make things a bit clear for you. First and foremost, I think that the Feds are a bit mentally challenged to put me behind bars because I have access to a lot of databases and I can predict every single move one tries to make against me.

And by the way, employing the described techniques by the newspaper article I successfully obtained about 1.1 Million dollars. I never run a Western Union Scheme as the newspaper says. I run an insurance scheme and therefore there shouldn't be any complaints. Insurances have plenty of money.

They also fail to mention in the newspapers reports who I really am in terms of my education and my real story. If you would really know my background and my level of education, you would probably realize that I can listen to your phone conversation, or maybe take a refinance loan on your house without you knowing. I am really appalled by the fact that you guys are making such comments on my behalf. Who are you to judge me? You guys make me laugh.

They also failed to say that I used to work as a mortgage broker and I regret the mistakes I made by scamming insurance companies but I was only 16 at the time I was doing it. I also offered to pay restitution to the Government. However, they always have to win, and they will never accept restitution because they want to prosecute me.

I have also seen a newspaper article where I was described as speaking a broken English. Let's analyze that for a second. At 14 I was teaching Differential Equations and Mechanics at a 4 yr college in New Hampshire, and by the time I was 15 I graduated high school. I am not a wannabe. As a matter of fact, I think I read more books in my life than the whole FBI Minnesota office. If the newspapers are going to write an article about me, I ask them to tell the whole truth. Call my college professors and ask them who I really am.

I know FBI, NASA, BOP and all those other government bonehead agencies are not happy when a kid who immigrated from another country penetrates their systems, but such is life. Get used to it. If in this life, we would all have an equal level of intelligence the world would come to an end. But how would you guys know that? I bet you guys never actually read a sociology, philosophy or psychology book and actually made something out of it.

But here is a warning to everybody who will post bogus information about me:

I will make your life a hell. Do not test me. Do not post information that is not accurate. I already have enough bad publicity and I do not want more. I want to be left alone.

This also applies to the Feds. I have been a nice guy with you, but once again, you are not smart enough to catch me for one, and I would really hate to see you guys back to stone age. How much would the Feds loose if one of their databases were to be completely deleted?

I am not an evil person, but I could be if I wanted to. Let's all live in peace and harmony. Mind your own business and I will mind my own.

Very Truly Yours,
Sergiu D. Popa

spopa2006 (2 ) View Listings | Report Jun-26-07 23:56 PDT 5 of 5
Why would you think it is a joke? Better yet, what are the reasons for which you think this is a joke?

//

Romanian national cops to $700,000 phishing trip

Who's your underworld Popa?

By Dan Goodin in San Francisco

Posted in Crime, 9th October 2008 18:47 GMT

"Sergiu Daniel Popa, who for the past seven years has lived in New York and Michigan, pleaded guilty in federal court in Minneapolis to two felonies related to the scheme. He faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison and a fine of $500,000. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled."
"According to Popa's plea agreement, the scheme snagged the identities of 7,000 individuals who suffered a net loss of about $700,000. When his house was searched earlier this year, authorities found a machine for imprinting graphics on blank plastic cards, foil ribbons for making holographic images that appear on finished cards, blank cards, and partially created fraudulent drivers' licenses."
Popa also possessed pre-built websites spoofing the online destinations of multiple financial institutions, such as PayPal, SunTrust Bank, and CitiBank, according to an affidavit filed in the case. He offered to sell phishing kits with step-by-step instructions for $1,500 and software and hardware capable of counterfeiting credit cards.
According to the affidavit, Popa was sentenced to 71 days in jail in Michigan in 2006 after being charged for using a hijacked eBay account to defraud someone into paying $1,448 for an item that didn't exist.

//
//
//

EventHorizon1984.com

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
Amazon EventHorizon1984

Posted on 27 March 2009 at 12:45 in Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service, Fraud, Legal, PayPal | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Capital One, checkout, credit card, credit card, Dan Goodlin, eBay, gam30v3r2007@yahoo.com, gateway, hacker, merchant account, Michigan, PayFlow, PayFlow Pro, payment, payment gateway, PayPal, Popa, Romania, scammer, Sergiu Daniel Popa, Sergiu Popa, spopa2006, Star Tribune, What's In Your Wallet

30 January 2009

Dinah Balk - Special Alert – New Paypal Amendment Lowers eBay Sellers’ Credit Scores!

Once more, with Feeling.
30 January 2009
EventHorizon1984

Below is an excerpt from the latest article from Seeking Alpha writer Dinah Balk.

http://dinahbalk.com/

Dinah Balk
Friday, January 30, 2009 10:33 AM

Special Alert - New PayPal Amendment Lowers eBay Sellers' Credit Scores!

Over the next few weeks eBay sellers who have a Paypal Premier or Business account to processes buyers’ credit card payments will have a big decision to make. They will have to decide whether to 1) close their eBay & Paypal accounts and then move to another venue like Bonanzle, Go Daddy, or Etsy or 2) cross their fingers and hope for the best.

Why? The following Paypal amendment goes into effect on February 11, 2009.

2.4 Credit Report Authorization for Premier and Business Accounts. If you open a Premier or Business Account, you are providing PayPal with your written instructions to obtain your personal and/or business credit report from a credit bureau. PayPal may obtain your credit report: (a) when you open (or upgrade to) a Premier or Business Account, or (b) any time thereafter if PayPal reasonably believes there may be an increased level of risk associated with your Account. An increased level of risk includes, but is not limited to, a high number of chargeback’s or reversals, or suspicious activity associated with your Account."

Unfortunately for Dinah Balk's audience, you may never see this article on Seeking Alpha.

There is the appearance that self-important individuals from eBay and PayPal have been pressing Seeking Alpha to censor articles and authors considered "insensitive" to their needs. And Seeking Alpha appears to be dutifully performing this task.

While Seeking Alpha does state:

Seeking Alpha does not allow its editors to accept or reject an article due to the stock covered or the editor's agreement or disagreement with the contributor's viewpoint on the stock. (other than the $1.00 rule above)

They did publish and then willfully censored Dinah Balk's 2008 article "PayPal Ruins Christmas for eBay Customers".

Whether this is the mere appearance of censorship or the work of outside corporate influences attempting to manipulate stockholder perception, remains to be seen.

//
//
//

EventHorizon1984.com

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
Amazon EventHorizon1984

Posted on 30 January 2009 at 12:26 in Commentary, Dinah Balk, eBay, eBay Customer Service, PayPal | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Credit Report, Dinah Balk, DinahBalk, eBay, February 11 2009, PayPal, Seeking Alpha

26 January 2009

From eBay Stores Forum - What Business Week thinks of eBay's future

eBay censored the thread below. We present page one in its entirety.

And we would appreciate a full copy of page two.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=520080464&tstart=0&mod=1232966787980

What Business Week thinks of eBay's future
moondancefarm (7666 ) View Listings \| Report		Jan-24-09 14:08 PST
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2009/tc20090121_143541.htm

Previous 1 | 2 Next

See last post

45 replies	Date posted	Reply #
rockinghorsegirl4now (2764 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 14:25 PST	1 of 45
Ebay just doesn't get it. Ebay wants to copy Amazon but the world already has an Amazon. Why Ebay wants to be a second Amazon is beyond me. Ebay needs to get back to being Ebay---the best site of its kind instead of being a second-rate Amazon wannabe.
designforyou (1682 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 14:27 PST	2 of 45
Interesting article. Exec's did not take seller need's into consideration when making all the changes with feedback, DSR's, and higher fees. It would seem sellers have spoken by taking their merchandise elsewhere. E-Bay simply did not want to recognize sellers needs in order to sell here. A failure to understand their customer/seller market, higher fees and poor customer service all contributed to the downfall. Focusing exclusively on buyer's wants at the expense of sellers was and is one of the biggest mistakes e-Bay made in 2008, along with making paypal mandatory with no other payment options to be listed. Why Donahoe would not understand the downfall in profits says quite a bit about where his head is at. If Amazon showed a profit in a poor economy, there is absolutely no reason for E-Bay to blame the economy. E-bay pushed sellers out, some bad deserved to go but many good decent sellers left along with them.
too_toot (1450 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 14:28 PST	3 of 45
Interesting article - especially the stats, but it doesn't shed any new light on what us long time sellers and buyers didn't know already about eBay's demise. I think eBay has to reverse the changes of the last 2 to 3 years by going back to the basics. Essentially what made it special when Pierre Omidyar invented it. It needs to court sellers of one-off, unique, collectible, crafters, antiques, etc. It will never be successful as a large box fixed price venue as the current retail market has moved on. The current economic climate only reinforces this. For me at least, eBay's fate is sealed with the current business model in place.
slackergirl23 (0 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 14:37 PST	4 of 45
It needs to court sellers of one-off, unique, collectible, crafters, antiques, etc. Why? those people have etsy. The internet is not what it was 10 years ago, ebay can never be ebay 1999 again. there are billions of websites now & many that are better than ebay. No one can undo the internet & how people shop to fix ebay. It just cannot happen. Just use what you can of ebay until it ceases to work as a tool for your business.
jake-deals-4u (968 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 14:40 PST	5 of 45
It needs to court sellers of one-off, unique, collectible, crafters, antiques, etc Interesting, as i sell mostly in 3 of the 4 cats you mentioned & have a lifetime STR of 95%+ on the 1st listing on eBay. Doesnt eBay repeatedly tell sellers to list hard to finds & DEALS here for their best chance for sucess? Fascinating that those articles never ever mention what it takes to Suceed, or even mention what eBay repeatedly tells sellers what to do for best results. Why is that?
maxequations (3914 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 15:05 PST	6 of 45
I agree that the internet has changed and there are many more venues to sell versus Ebay's hay day. But you also have to admit that in the past decade ebay has done nothing but change in ways that hastened what seems to be their own self destruction. Since the introduction of Buy It Now until today Ebay has been running in circles trying to figure out what it wants to be when it grows up. In the meantime many sellers who years ago only sold here started selling in multiple locations and then went into their own web sites. And with them went THEIR customers. What will happen going foward? I really dont know. We have the lowest amount of listings here is the 8 plus years we have been selling online. We have new Spring foward listings in all locations except here. We are in a wait and see mode and when ebay gets around to saying what changes are in store for 2009 we shall stop and see what they mean to our plans and decide how we wish to proceed. Gary
that..one (Private ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 15:13 PST	7 of 45
Doesn't everyone think its neat how day after day after day, a group of for the most part totally unsuccessful sellers, rehash all the things ebay is doing wrong and what they should do to make everything work great ??? That is when they can't even make a decent living off trying to sell a few hundred or less items themselves? I know I do.
maxequations (3914 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 15:16 PST	8 of 45
No but I do find in interesting how the "bravest" succesful sellers hide behing posting ID's so nobody can challenge their "success" here Gary
too_toot (1450 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 15:19 PST	9 of 45
Bargainhunting never goes out of style. In fact, today it may be the only style. I'm a manufacturer, b&m retailer and have several business websites for selling and sell with many different sites (etsy, too by the way). My business that comes from eBay has declined steadily while other sites have picked up the slack. EBay sadly has made it too expensive to sell here and I won't use eBay as a loss leader (occasionally I do if I can drive them elsewhere). The truth is, eBay has the volume in users and listing numbers. It is and still is the tops for the areas I mentioned in my previous post that big box sites just can't do.
rockinghorsegirl4now (2764 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 15:24 PST	10 of 45
I'm mainly a buyer now so I can have my say. Maybe buyers are just fed up with the glut of products from China and millions of listings by Diamond sellers. It's hard to cut through all that to find what you really want. I also think when the sellers leave, they take their buying someplace else, plus we lose those buyers who bought from those sellers.
turtlegaby (8889 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 15:26 PST	11 of 45
Max you might find this interesting. http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?messageID=521686382&forumID=21&x#521686382 Look for post #19 >>Visit my Tortie blog<< Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.
turtlegaby (8889 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 15:29 PST	12 of 45
It's our lovely tanjastore, the one that joggles between NARU'd and private ID's. I'm very impressed that..one >>Visit my Tortie blog<< Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.
maxequations (3914 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 15:44 PST	13 of 45
Thanks Turtle, it happens all the time. It is like the Secret Society of Successful Sellers. Too-Toot, we produce all we sell and the only difference is we have no B/M Store. In 2008 we had double didgit increase in total sales and ebay dropped 2 times that in the falling over 30%. I also think when the sellers leave, they take their buying someplace else, plus we lose those buyers who bought from those sellers. Rockinghorsegirl- there is the big issue and ebay will never understand. My wifes hairdresser left to go to another shop. My wife followed. So did her $$ for nails, products and some clothes and accessories as she just does not go to shop A anymore, she goes to shop B. During our 2 years on the Moon we have had more then a few customers email and tell us they found this and they found that there and before we told them we were moving they had no idea the moon existed Gary
mygift2u (9489 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 15:57 PST	14 of 45
There was and still is a simple solution to Donohue's woes. ... he just needs to listen to the customer. He will figure out what to do once he figures out who the true customer is!!!!!!!!!! It seems all Sellers are aware of who the customer is. I pay ebay much more per month than they get from any one of MY customers.
dazzlecity (7924 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 16:13 PST	15 of 45
There are several issues with that thread Donahoe has redoubled efforts to cut eBay's dependence on auctions I find that one hard to swallow - if "redoubling" means raising fees from 3 cents to 35 cents In short, management has tried to make eBay more like online retailing stalwart Amazon.com If this was true - ebay would not be hiding millions of fixed price listings in stores At eBay, the core online shopping business suffered a double-digit drop in revenue, down 16%, So you want to be like Amazon? Bring stores out of the closet - give the buyers an opportunity to find the product. He has addressed making the site easier to navigate and making transactions more secure. Don't even know what to say here - making the site easier to navigate - not sure too many would say that was true Those people who are "cleaning out their closet and selling what they find online" are migrating to Craigslist, he says, because "you don't have to deal with the complexity of fees." not sure how much ebay is actually effected by this - I think somewhat but not overall - I think more of the problem is as many have stated - ebay under-estimated just exactly how much buying power "Seller's" really had here - while they were so busy alienating a large majority of sellers with their silly game playing they were also killing of much of the Golden Goose.
rickskatie (2793 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 17:08 PST	16 of 45
Great read. Thanks for posting.
appliancecoverqueen (221 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 17:31 PST	17 of 45
If eBay insists on becoming eBamazon then perhaps they can start a sideline site called "eBay Classic" and go back to the old eBay back when it was fun and profitable. . Judy@ApplianceCoverQueen
rickskatie (2793 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 17:46 PST	18 of 45
I'm afraid they are looking to make eBay into a tax write-off for the rest of their investments such as Pay Pal...whch means they will continue to implement changes that are assured of losing money. Kind of like the oil companies that were allegedly caught in the early 80s purposefully drilling "off strike," meaning they were apparently drilling for oil but purposefully missing the deposits to drive prices up. I think eBay is playng the same game.
tokyodays (5877 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 19:30 PST	19 of 45
Ah, ebay...I hardly knew ya... Well, despite it all, my own eBay biz is still doing quite adequately for my needs...though it doesn't in any way allow me to continue to trust that I'll be able to rely on eBay in the months to come. Sales for me are good--primarily because (I think) of my pricing and my diversity of items...all comics-related collectibles. I wouldn't hitch my future to selling in one single category of comics (say...only silver age vintage comics) than I would rely just on eBay to be a solitary income source. People buy comics from me that date from the 40s through to just last week. Having a variety of items is extremely important--there are dealers who are strict superhero fans who would never buy a Little Lulu or a western comic, whereas I've come to (duh) realize that while I may not like certain kids comics or western comics, it doesn't really matter what I like--it's what the customer wants. So...if I cater to customer needs and give good customer service, I'll continue to do OK here on eBay despite their insidious idiocy and pulmonary-inducing policies. It may not last forever here, but while folks bail from eBay, it only leaves me a stronger seller here on eBay in my category...unless of course, fewer and fewer people come to ebay. But that's why I have begun diversifying to other selling venues. http://www.chrisjuricich.com/eBay_pics/apic.JPG
dazzlecity (7924 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-24-09 23:50 PST	20 of 45
Tokyo - great point - even in my catagory - when searching before listing now I'm constantly amazed at the lack of inventory in specific themes - as the gene pool decreases the size of the pie increases
chopsueysisters (2865 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 03:14 PST	21 of 45
well if there was ever a time to riot and start bringing up areas that they failed which could of added revenue, now's the time to start blogging and calling! The one time they ever show a decline where you might get the ears of people. it's the only chance you'll get, so if you plan to go for the jugular, now's the time to finish him. but it has to be out there, not here under the anticache clouds lol Ain't no mountain high enough Ain't no valley low enough Ain't no river wide enough
mygift2u (9489 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 04:13 PST	22 of 45
Totally agree with Chop, Dazzle, ApplianceQueen, and others. Chop has a great point. The Board may force him to listen to us where he wants to or not. p.s. The feedback/DSR system has not helped with this either. Bring back Seller's ability to leave APPROPRIATE feedback to Buyers. That would include giving them a negative when warranted. I also think eBay is toying with our DSR scores again. For the past week (and I check my Dashboard several times a day, my 30/30 day and my 30day/12mo scores have been EXACTLY the same. There is no way this would be correct.
cjbeez (9773 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 04:31 PST	23 of 45
Those people who are "cleaning out their closet and selling what they find online" are migrating to Craigslist, he says, because "you don't have to deal with the complexity of fees." Sure would be nice if ebay lowered fees for a change in 2009.
honeville1 (4130 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 04:32 PST	24 of 45
Chop... The only chance we'll get??? Naw.. unfortunately I think we'll have at least 4 chances this year alone! 1st qrtr results, 2nd qrtr results, 3rd qrtr results AND 4th Qrtr results. I'd be happy to be proved wrong on this one though!
cjbeez (9773 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 05:17 PST	25 of 45
just keep watching ebay stock... Current Price: $12.00 Last Trade Time: 1/23/2009 4:00 PM Open: $11.43 Previous Close: $11.67 Daily Range: $11.33 - $12.15 52-Week Range: $10.91 - $33.47 Volume: 19,910,763 Market Cap: $16.96B P/E Ratio: 9.69
chopsueysisters (2865 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 11:42 PST	26 of 45
yes Honie, its the only chance we get because not just ebays results but meg wants to be governor, she wont want us bringback up what she put in place before she bailed the economy is melting, everyone is talking about small businesses, the workin class etc. there are grass roots efforts all over the place getting press and we also have this, the numbers of sellers "supposedly" is most of 1.3 million sellers and supposedly "most of those" are AMERICANS making all or most of the income on ebay. Now I dont necessarily believe those numbers, but if politicians, presidential candidates and Meg Whitman want to use it, then lets use their own words against them. Half of that number is 650,000 US sellers all you really need to start it is to tie it into an economic issue and a political one. For some reason Republicans and Democrats are basically fighting right now on the working class and the working poor. Congressmen are actually calling people back. So what I'm getting at Honie, is that right now it's a perfect storm, that won't have the same amount of bite if you wait a quarter. Besides the scrutiny of JDs performance, 52% of small biz are home based businesses. Ebay sellers make up all minorities and all ages. You have women, seniors supplementing their incomes, veterans, disbled, parents who can't afford day care, caregivers who are taking care of parents. THe makeup of ebay sellers represents everything that right now all those politicians are afraid to shut out. No one wants to hear from corporations, no one wants to hear from those corporations pushing for more H-1B visas and in regards to paypl, no one wants to hear about an unregulated financial service or bank that could tie up over half a million small businesses money! Even a slice of 650,000 people represent votes that Republicans need to get back their position. Just about every single republican right now has updated their websites and started being web 2.0! they're looking for a in, with the working class, because they know they've disconnected w/people and are going to have a miserable 4 years Ain't no mountain high enough Ain't no valley low enough Ain't no river wide enough
the-woodland-girl (Private ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 15:43 PST	27 of 45
I dont think fees have anything to do with it. Amazon is more expensive than ebay and you dont even get paid weekly. They dont pay you but 2 times a month, that isnt that great. The reason ebay is failing is because it gave its sellers a slap in the face with horrid match and get yourself blasted DSR's. The sellers in return slapped back and left. That is the whole problem right there. Those sellers flocked to Amazon and helped build up Amazons empire. Sellers are the number one most important thing, not the buyer. With out sellers, unless ebay is going to start stocking its own merch, it will fall out of favor.
dr_hair_products (1707 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 16:36 PST	28 of 45
The reason ebay is failing is because it gave its sellers a slap in the face with horrid match and get yourself blasted DSR's. The sellers in return slapped back and left. There you go... Corporate executives don't know squat. The Woodland Girl sums it up in 1 paragraph and 1 sentance.
slackergirl23 (0 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 16:46 PST	29 of 45
I dont think fees have anything to do with it. Amazon is more expensive than ebay and you dont even get paid weekly. They dont pay you but 2 times a month, that isnt that great. From a buyers point of view is much faster to shop there too. You can see all the sellers on one page & it's a 2 click order process. I'm just not going to spend 10 minutes picking out the seller/product for a $15 book. I can go there & do the same thing in 30 seconds. Ebay is the most cumbersome shopping site on the net.
oregon-grown (538 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 16:50 PST	30 of 45
E-bay can go back to what it was in 97 if they will go back. It has to many big wigs grabbing the million dollar fringes. Like the banks etc that stole the first 350 million no one really knows how that was spent. Just look at all the big wigs walking off with the millions up there ya think donahue diserves a bonus he gets a big fat one. Guess if the stock holders care less then nothing will ever be done. Always thought a bonus was supose to be deterened by how you did his he should be fired.
moondancefarm (7666 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 16:57 PST	31 of 45
To me the dumbest thing eBay management has ever done (and they have done some real doozies) is hiding store listings. Can you see Walmart keeping product in the back of the store that you can only have access to if you know the secret handshake?
oregon-grown (538 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 16:57 PST	32 of 45
You know rocking horse I collect stamps I was buying around $500.00 amonth here. All my great sellers are gone so I folled them no money here on stamps. All on their web sites I sell under 4 names here well 1 now. I spend very little here now.
slackergirl23 (0 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 18:18 PST	33 of 45
E-bay can go back to what it was in 97 if they will go back. In 1997 there were not that many sites to find odd items, websites were expensive & complicated to start & the web was newer. Even if ebay went back to "ebay 1997" the customers, sellers & internet would Not. I don't have hours to spend cruising ebay like I did then, nor do I want to. I don't even search ebay, I use google to find everything now.
dazzlecity (7924 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 18:43 PST	34 of 45
To me the dumbest thing eBay management has ever done (and they have done some real doozies) is hiding store listings. Can you see Walmart keeping product in the back of the store that you can only have access to if you know the secret handshake? Badabing! absolutely correct Even if ebay went back to "ebay 1997" the customers, sellers & internet would Not. I don't have hours to spend cruising ebay like I did then, nor do I want to. I don't even search ebay, I use google to find everything now. Absolutely correct as well and ebay just can't figure out how to get it together now
diesel_parts (1818 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 18:57 PST	35 of 45
I have reestablished myself on my websites and plan to stay there. No reason to return to ebay and endure the abuse from management. The turning point for me was when they made us take cash out of out listngs. I took all of mine out then some turned up again with cash in the description. Guy from ebay phoned me and told me if they found another cash reference in one of my listings they would wipe out my store and bar me from ebay. I immediately set up an oscommerece website and started my move. My move is now complete. I have 2 oscommerce sites and don't have plans for anything else as they are doing fine and I have control of them. I have never in my life witnessed so many bone head business decisions as ebay has made. I don't think they have a clue as to how to fix all the mess that they have caused. billphil.
itspostingtime (2 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 19:08 PST	36 of 45
ebay's future? Well, there's no way to predict it, of course. Just this past year we watched once invulnerable companies collapse, so guessing the future is just that...a guess. Here's my guess: This guess assumes---just for the sake of argument--- that ebay makes it through the transition and the recession and remains a major ecommerce site (as opposed to becoming , say, a niche auction site of some sort) I think ebay's business model will resemble the original core/ebay store model. As I've explained many times before, ebay stores were designed as upselling vehicles. Sellers were expected to put fast moving merchandise in core, which would drive buyers to the slower moving merchandise in the store. That merchandise was not supposed to show up in core...core was reserved for faster moving merchandise. What I see is a variation of that, except that sellers will be encouraged to list fast moving merchandise on ebay and upsell to their own sites. This, of course, is what some sellers are already doing. This would utilize what has always been eBay's greatest benefit for most businesses: quick turnover and cash flow generation. Turnover on ebay has been mostly a function of the auction format, but now, with Best Match and 30FPs, it is also being applied to more and more fixed price merchandise as well. As hone has shown with his very smart ad/Best Match strategy, gaining---and keeping--- a top spot in search (impossible back when default search was ending soonest) can drive sales in much the same way the Buy Box drives them on Amazon. Some things wouldn't change very much. I think ebay would probably continue to enter into contracts with certain sellers , primarily to ensure a steady supply of certain types of merchandise. In fact, I could see these contractual arrangements being expanded to include smaller specialty sellers as well...an antiques dealer with a strong niche---say, sterling silver---might enter into a contract which would obligate him to maintain a certain level of inventory on ebay (and a certain level of quality etc). ebay would still generate revenue from sponsored ads, but there wouldn't be objections as there are today, because most sellers using ebay would not see themselves as "ebay sellers"....they'd see themselves as ecommerce sellers whose primary location is off-ebay, and who use ebay to gain customers (ads) and upsell (using listings). Of course, there would still be feedback, at least for sellers, and there would still be rules. But there would be fewer objections.....since most sellers would be set up off ebay, let's face it, they'd already have return policies, they'd already have stated shipping and so forth. (Only on eBay as it exists today are you going to find sellers objecting to the very things that almost every off-ebay seller considers a basic part of their business , such as a clearly stated return policy) This would also reduce a major objection of some PESA type sellers (and former sellers): that selling on ebay generates cash flow, but not enough actual profit. The new business model assumes the seller's primary location if off ebay. ebay as a COMPONENT of a business, one designed primarily to generate cash flow, is very different from ebay as a the sole element of the business. Just as many retailers use certain merchandise primarily as cash flow generators and other merchandise to increase margins, sellers would be able to use ebay to generate cash flow as part of an overall business strategy. Ad revenue would grow as a proportion of ebay's site revenue, thus reducing reliance on listing fees, which could be reduced. At the same time, both the structure of the model and Best Match would ultimately reduce the likelihood of sellers listing items with little chance of selling....as more sellers understand the site dynamics, they would begin listing faster moving merchandise , increasing successful turnover, and ebay would then be positioned to reduce FVFs. What about the small antiques and collectibles seller in all this? Well, instead of complaining that their slow moving merchandise isn't selling because it is hidden, they would understand that their slow moving merchandise isn't hidden, it's on their own site off-ebay (perhaps ebay would also make a hybrid of ebay store/ProStores available for sellers who don't want to set up their own site....but it would be understood that the merchandise is not searchable on eBay) Once sellers understand that ebay is not hiding their merchandise, they can select the stuff to list here to generate cash flow and to upsell to their off-ebay store. Since auctions are basically ending soonest, they'd get good exposure, and---this would be a big advantage---with antique sellers being more selective about what they list, supply will no longer exceed demand as often as it does now....thus generating better sell-through and higher prices. By actively encouraging sellers to upsell to their own sites, ebay would also be encouraging sellers to link to, say, their off-ebay blogs as well....so buyers would not only find neat stuff here, but they would find links to informative sites as well. At the same time, ebay would continue to manage the site and add new tools....finally actually pushing great buyer tools such as ebay Desktop, for example, to generate more sales. And of course, sellers would have more access to third party tools to help them more easily manage the ebay component of their businesses. ebay was a pioneer in really opening its business to third party developers, and I think ebay has seen the benefit of that. In a sense, what I'm suggesting is just an extension of that philosophy.... Of course, in order to make this happen, ebay has to make changes to the site, some of which are apparently scheduled for 2009 (at long last, a shopping cart, an immediate payment system to do away with NPB claims, and so forth.) The site has to function---from a buyer perspective---like the large majority of online shopping sites....easy checkout for multiple purchases, no hidden fees, plainly stated return policies, etc. It also has to be easier for sellers to manage as a part of an overall business (thus the modularity of My ebay, which is designed for customization by third party developers) How would this help ebay compete with other sites? Well, first, let's be clear....in one sense, ebay competes with, say, Wal-Mart, but in another sense, ebay doesn't compete with Wal-Mart....some ebay sellers do, but ebay doesn't. If those ebay sellers can compete more effectively by using ebay to generate cash flow, then both ebay and the seller win. Amazon is usually described by the media as eBay's chief competitor, perhaps because Amazon, unlike Wal-Mart, also competes for sellers. This strategy would dramatically alter the dynamic. Currently, Amazon does offer sellers the opportunity to generate cash flow and profit from the site. But Amazon keeps very tight rein on the seller's ability to market his business to Amazon buyers...as a number of commentators have stated, Amazon owns the buyer, the seller merely supplies the merchandise. eBay shares the buyer with ebay sellers, and, if my suggestion is followed, this would increase the seller's ability to use ebay to build his own business, as opposed to on Amazon, where he may make money but he primarily is building Amazon's business. In short, sellers would have a huge new incentive to sell here. How would this effect the so-called alternative sites, sites like ecrater? Those sites would have to improve as they work to provide homebases for sellers. As it is, many , maybe most, of the sellers on those sites already depend heavily on some combination of Google and ebay to drive traffic to their shop....if ebay actually makes it easier to use ebay to upsell, many sellers are going to ask themselves: Yes, the site is free and it sands my stuff to GoogleBase, but is it really a full fledged ecommerce solution? Wouldn't I be better off with a store that can be fully customized, has automated newsletters, etc. Of course, some smaller sellers will be perfectly happy with sites like ecrater.....but others will look to sites that better integrate with ebay and that provide more functionality. There would probably be some winners and losers as among the alternative sites , but the real winner would be sellers, because the sites would really have to start playing their A game as they become much more competitive with each other. What about the casual seller? Scott Wingo suggests that ebay is losing casual sellers to sites like Craigslist. Probably true. I think Wingo says this is (in part) because ebay is too complex. But the simple listing form isn't complex at all. And look where ebay is headed: easier checkout, immediate payment, so no NPBs for a casual seller to deal with, buyers MyeBay will automatically notify them when an item is sent, one less step for the casual seller....in short, right now ebay seems complex because we are in a period of change. But once all the changes are in place, ebay will actually be easier for buyers and sellers.
itspostingtime (2 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 19:21 PST	37 of 45
moondance, Can you see Walmart keeping product in the back of the store that you can only have access to if you know the secret handshake? Your comparison misses the point. Wal-Mart is a retailer. As such, Wal-Mart ONLY puts stuff on display that Wal-Mart CHOOSES to buy from the wholesaler in the first place. Plenty of stuff is NEVER shown on Wal-Mart's shelves because Wal-Mart turns it down BEFORE it can get near the shelves. And every big retailer will pull stuff from the shelves if it isn't meeting earn/turn standards. That stuff gets put on sale or gets dumped onto Overstock or somewhere like that. Retailers are ruthless about that sort of thing. There's even a shelf heirarchy. At places like Wal-Mart, choosing which item is put on the eye-level shelf and which is put on the bottom shelf, or which item is put up front by the register....it's a science, and it's based on sales and profitability, not on some notion that every item should be given equal visibility.
itspostingtime (2 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 20:18 PST	38 of 45
I also want to say that I think there is a big misconception about "ending soonest" as the original default on eBay. Some sellers think it was to ensure a "level playing field"....ie, every item had a chance to get to the top of the list. Sorry, but that's pure hokum. "ending soonest" was the default for one reason: because ebay was originally an all auction site, and "ending soonest" was designed to DRIVE SALES VELOCITY. The assumption being that a buyer who is searching for an item sees that an auction is ending within minutes and the buyer feels pressure to bid right now or lose his chance at the item. As a Sales velocity driver for auctions, it worked very well indeed. But it had nothing to do with providing "equal exposure" It's purpose on an all-auction site was the same as the purpose of Best Match on a site with fixed price merchandise: to increase sales velocity. Neither default is about "equal exposure" they are BOTH about sales velocity. What we have now is a search that is designed to increase fixed price sales velocity through Best Match, and within Best Match, ending soonest is given greatest weight for auction listings, with sales velocity again the goal.
dazzlecity (7924 ) View Listings \| Report	Jan-25-09 20:28 PST	39 of 45
Wal-Mart is a retailer. As such, Wal-Mart ONLY puts stuff on display that Wal-Mart CHOOSES to buy from the wholesaler in the first place. And what exactly do you feel most of us are trying to do anyway? And I've been in retail for 32 years - I know my craft - I know my customer - just make my product available for viewing at least and let me take my chances ok?

//
//
//

EventHorizon1984.com

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
Amazon EventHorizon1984

Posted on 26 January 2009 at 11:50 in Amazon, eBay, eBay Customer Service, PayPal | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: amazon, business week, ebay, itspostingtime

19 January 2009

According to eBay Customer Service, Alaska Is NOT In The United States

According to eBay Customer Service, Alaska Is NOT In The United States
EventHorizon1984
20 January 2009

If you've dealt with any form of eBay Customer Service, you'll find between the Eliza canned responses that they have little or no understanding of United States geography.

For example take this piece of pure ignorance from eBay Customer Service.

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to your question.
I have reviewed the listing and show that they ship to the united states
only at the price of $49. In the listing they do not state that they
offer shipping to Alaska.
Therefore they do not have to honor that shipping price.
If you have further questions I suggest you contact the seller.
Thank you for your time

Sincerely,
******
eBay Customer Support

Over the years eBay Customer Service, and for that matter some eBay California based moderators, have made similar gaffs relating to three States of the United States; Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico. That is eBay representatives believe that NONE of the States mentioned are part of the United States.

As a service to a multi-billion dollar corporation That Should Know Better, here are the facts about these three States. Read IT and learn.

Alaska
49th State of the United States

Territory of the United States, 24 August 1912
State of the United States, 3 January 1959

Hawaii
50th State of the United States

Territory of the United States, 7 July 1898
State of the United States, 21 August 1959

New Mexico
47th State of the United States

Territory of the United States, 9 September 1850
State of the United States, 6 January 1912

And a final reminder to eBay Customer Service and IT's representatives, a Territory of the United States IS part of the United States. Like an equally misplaced in the United States locations, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

Disclaimer: Some of us resided in the Territory of Hawaii.

...

"The person you are trying to reach is out of the area or has turned off their phone."
Dr. Eric Foreman, House

//
//
//

EventHorizon1984.com

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
Amazon EventHorizon1984

Posted on 19 January 2009 at 15:11 in Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Alaska, Customer Service, eBay, eBay Customer Service, ELIZA, geography, Hawaii, New Mexico, Puerto Rico

05 December 2008

eBay Diamond PowerSeller SmartBargains.com Part Deux

Updated 06 December 2008 09:32 HST

05 December 2008 09:13 HST

See the previous article, eBay Diamond PowerSeller SmartBargains.com, for more.

And the votes are in.

We thought this drama was concluded, but we were wrong.

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=smartbargains&

Feedback Profile

smartbargains ( 9 )

Positive Feedback (last 12 months): 80%

Member since: Sep-09-08 in United States

Recent Feedback Ratings (last 12 months)

1 month

6 months

12 months

Positive	12	12	12
Neutral	0	0	0
Negative	3	3	3

Detailed Seller Ratings (last 12 months)

Criteria

Average rating

Number of ratings

Item as described		13
Communication		13
Shipping time		11
Shipping and handling charges		11

The Detailed Seller Ratings have been tallied, and they're usually indicative of a company's customer service.

4.2 Item as described
3.9 Communication
4.6 Shipping time
4.5 Shipping and handling charges

smartbargains appears to be somewhat lacking in communications skills.

And what is the official eBay position about a DSR rating like this?

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200808200704212.html
August 20, 2008 | 07:04AM PST/PT

“As of November 1, 2008, sellers will need at least a 4.3 across all four DSR categories, over the prior 30 day or 12 month period depending on volume, in order to list on the site.”
Lorrie Norrington, eBay President of Marketplace Operations

smartbargains first official sale took place on 17 November 2008 at 14:19:31 PST, http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280286604318

Now we wait and see what eBay's response will be on December 18th, day 31.

Or perhaps sooner.

For commentary from Power Seller Unite, view this public thread.

http://www.powersellersunite.com/post-222257.html#222257
eBay Diamonds Not Quite Sparkling

"What we got here is... failure to communicate."
Captain (Struther Martin), Cool Hand Luke (1967)

//
//
//

06 December 2008 09:32 HST

You say 'Tomato', I say 'Tomato' ...

The writer DiamondHaus brings up a good point.

"Actually the rule for selling standards was lowered to 4.1 some time back in October just before the original rule was to go into effect. But that doesn't seem to matter since they were still listing for at least 20 minutes after falling to a 4.0 communication DSR."

We pulled 4.3 DSR from eBay's public General Announcements page. This is the location where most people and reporters will get their information about eBay policies. This is also one of the few places where one can see an actual name attached to a Policy, versus an anonymous drone.

Appropriately eBay tags this page as "Marketing", www2.ebay.com/aw/marketing.shtml. Or better known to everyone else as Public Relations (PR).

To find the actual eBay Policies, versus PR felgercarb, you have to dig around. DiamondHaus refers to eBay's actual Policy, as stated in the Seller Non-performance Policy.

To ensure a minimum performance standard from all sellers, eBay requires sellers to maintain at least a 4.3 average for each DSR (Item as described, Communication, Shipping time, and Shipping and handling charges).

Sellers with one or more DSR below 4.3 may be subject to lowered standing in search results.
Sellers with one or more DSRs below 4.1 will be restricted from listing until their DSRs improve.

This average is based on ratings from the past 30 days unless a seller has less than 10 DSRs for that period. In this case, eBay will evaluate DSRs over the past 12 months instead.

As we noted earlier, any restrictions will not be applied until there is a "past 30 days" to make a determination. That would be December 18th.

With this deadline in mind, here is a seller qualification that Diamond PowerSeller smartbargains currently fails at.

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=smartbargains&
Positive Feedback (last 12 months): 86.4%

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200805221603452.html
***Feedback Changes – Common Questions Answered***
Brian Burke, eBay Director Global Feedback Policy
May 22, 2008 | 04:03PM PST/PT

"ending on July 20), any PowerSeller who no longer meets the 98% threshold will no longer be eligible for PowerSeller status and benefits."

And here's the 90 day deadline qualification, which after less than 30 days Diamond PowerSeller smartbargains currently fails at.

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200708131050072.html
Philipp Justus, eBay Senior Vice President, Auctions
August 13, 2007 | 10:51AM PST/PT

"Sellers who have demonstrated buyer dissatisfaction rates greater than 5% within a 90-day window are now subject to temporary 14-day restrictions in the form of selling sanctions or reduced listing volume. Sellers with dissatisfaction rates that are 10% or greater are now subject to indefinite restrictions until they improve their buyer dissatisfaction rates to less than 5%."

http://www.ebaychatter.com/the_chatter/2007/08/lynda-talgo-of-.html
Lynda Talgo, Senior Director of Global Policy Management in Trust and Safety
August 29, 2007 at 05:06 PM

Greater than 5% buyer dissatisfaction rate: A seller must have more than 5% negative and neutral feedback, as a seller, over the last 90 days to qualify, and must also receive a minimum of two negatives from unique buyers in the past 90 days.

Greater than 10% buyer dissatisfaction rate: A seller must have more than 10% negative and neutral feedback, as a seller, over the last 90 days to qualify, and must also receive a minimum of three negatives from unique buyers in the past 90 days.

According to Terapeak, as of December 1st, Diamond PowerSeller smartbargains has made their monthly sales quota.

Total Sales $5,243
Sell-Through 3.07%

We are of the opinion that eBay will do everything IT can to make Diamond PowerSeller smartbargains meet seller qualifications. Independent of whether smartbargains actually makes the qualifications.

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200803141139352.html
"In addition, for a small number of transactions that have a higher risk of buyer dissatisfaction, we may delay the release of funds paid through PayPal. This hold will be placed on only a small percentage of transactions for up to 21 days."
John McDonald, eBay Trust & Safety, 14 March 2008

//
//
//

EventHorizon1984.com

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
Amazon EventHorizon1984

Posted on 05 December 2008 at 10:47 in Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: 280289968764, 300TC Colorful Down Alternative Comforter Full/Queen, Detailed Seller Rating, Diamond PowerSeller, DSR, eBay, jimackey2, Mercent, smartbargains, smartbargains.com

01 December 2008

eBay Diamond PowerSeller SmartBargains.com

Updated 03 December 2008 00:02 HST

See our follow up article, eBay Diamond PowerSeller SmartBargains.com, for more.

01 December 2008

From AuctionBytes:
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y08/m12/i01/s01
Mercent to Launch More Large Retailers onto eBay
1 December 2008

"Mercent helped launch SmartBargains.com onto the eBay marketplace, the first service provider to launch a client under eBay's new "Large Merchant Services API" technology announced last week. Mercent CEO Eric Best told AuctionBytes it was in the process of integrating a number of other merchants onto eBay, but could not disclose their identities. "It's still a small percentage of our overall portfolio of clients," he said.

Best also said that the SmartBargains rollout on eBay was being done incrementally. "I would expect you'd see more products very soon," he said on Thursday."

Curious about how well eBay Diamond PowerSeller SmartBargains.com is doing?

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/smartbargains_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ

3,117 results found

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=smartbargains&ftab=AllFeedback&myworld=true

Feedback Profile

smartbargains ( -1 )

Positive Feedback (last 12 months): 0%

Member since: Sep-09-08 in United States

Recent Feedback Ratings (last 12 months)

1 month

6 months

12 months

Positive	0	0	0
Neutral	0	0	0
Negative	1	1	1

1 Feedback received

Feedback	From / Price	Date / Time
The seller canceled the transaction without notification. Paid and did not have.	Buyer: oboeman820 ( 7 )	Nov-29-08 14:54
Puma Mens Future Cat Low Black Sneaker (#280289674016)	US $41.98	View Item

eBay Diamond PowerSeller smartbargains is off to a rousing start EH?

Note that the NEG would be sufficient for eBay to induce seller restrictions on the average small business seller. But expect eBay to remove this Diamond PowerSeller's NEG, to improve the buyer experience.

And you may well ask, "Diamond PowerSeller"? This seller class is the creation of eBay CEO John Donahoe.

http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/rip-offs/ebay-allure-going-going-gone/
EBay's Allure Is Going, Going, Gone
17 November 2008

"Diamond PowerSellers (merchants who sell $500,000 worth of merchandise a month and have a detailed seller feedback rating of at least 4.8 stars -- out of 5 -- across all categories)"

//
//
//

01 December 2008 09:13 HST

eBay Customer Service to the rescue.

A Positive feedback was added, to change the -1 rating to 0.

Feedback	From / Price	Date / Time
	Very accurate and fast. I would definitely buy from this seller again.	Buyer: jlmackey2 ( 15)	Dec-01-08 09:35
	300TC Colorful Down Alternative Comforter Full/Queen (#280289968764)	US $39.98	View Item

But let's look at this closely, shall we?

Positive feedback was left by eBay "buyer" jlmackey2 ( 15) from Texas.

http://shop.ebay.com/member/?_frompage=itemsbyseller&_userid=jlmackey2&_fcm=1&_tokentext=449488&_tokenstring=975FHQMAAAA%253D&_sop=12&_ipg=50

jlmackey2 ( 15

)

5 years 2 months

TX,United States

And they bought a Comforter on Dec-01-08 at 09:11:32 PST.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280289968764

300TC Colorful Down Alternative Comforter Full/Queen	Item number: 280289968764

You are signed in

Watch this item in My eBay

View larger picture



price:	US $39.98	Buy It Now >

	Immediate payment required


End time:	Dec-28-08 21:04:44 PST (27 days 9 hours)
Shipping:	FREE shipping UPS Ground Service to United States (more services)
Ships to:	United States
Item location:	Boston, Massachusetts, United States

This is the feedback left by eBay "buyer" jlmackey2 ( 15) from Texas on Dec-01-08 at 09:35 PST for Diamond PowerSeller smartbargains from Boston, Massachusetts.

Very accurate and fast. I would definitely buy from this seller again.

For a Comforter purchased on Dec-01-08 at 09:11:32 PST.

WOW. UPS Ground Service from Boston, Massachusetts to Texas in just under 24 minutes!

That is fast.

Okay, not the impossible 24 minute shipment, but the speed of the wool being pulled.

For commentary on this feedback from eBay posters, view this public thread.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=520056478&tstart=0&mod=1228158161190
Lets Play "Who listed 3000+ items had a -1 feedback now 0

"Do I look like I have stupid written all over my face?"
Ernest P. Worrell (Jim Varney)

//
//
//

02 December 2008 13:02 HST

The Customer Strikes Back.

Thank you Diamond Haus ( www.diamondhaus.com/blog ) for mentioning our article. And the news on feedback number 3.

A Negative feedback was added, changing the 0 rating to -1.

smartbargains ( -1 )

Positive Feedback (last 12 months): 33.3%

Member since: Sep-09-08 in United States

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=smartbargains&ftab=AllFeedback&_trksid=p3911.c0.m198

Feedback	From / Price	Date / Time
Scammer!Charged additional $ then cancelled transaction whenIcomplained!!AVOID!	Buyer: laboutiqueunique ( 1111)	Dec-01-08 19:45
Cole Haan Genevieve Small Box Tote (#280289968398)	US $149.98	View Item

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280289968398

Cole Haan Genevieve Small Box Tote	Item number: 280289968398

You are signed in

Watch this item in My eBay



price:	US $199.99	Buy It Now >

	Immediate payment required


End time:	Dec-28-08 21:02:53 PST (26 days 5 hours)
Shipping:	FREE shipping UPS Ground Service to United States (more services)
Ships to:	United States
Item location:	Boston, Massachusetts, United States

To be fair, here's the time line for this latest feedback.

http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBidsLogin&item=280289968398
Purchased - Nov-29-08 19:15:50 PST
Feedback Left - Dec-01-08 19:45 PST

Total Transaction Time, 2 days 29 minutes.

For a weekend purchase that's fast. From order to ship ... oh right smartbargains didn't complete this order.

At this point you're probably asking, why is this an issue?

Two reasons. First there's the perception that Diamond PowerSellers can have bad feedback (and DSRs) completely removed at will. We decided to watch this Diamond PowerSeller out of curiosity, and see if the perception is reality.

Second, eBay states that Diamond PowerSellers to the smallest seller are held to the same standards. We want to see if that is really the case, or just lip service.

For more commentary on this feedback from eBay posters, view this public thread.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=520056954&tstart=0&mod=1228258019095
Welcome to Our Newest DIAMOND Power Seller Feedback: 33.3 Positive

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
George Orwell, Animal Farm (1945)

//
//
//

03 December 2008 00:02 HST

As Time Goes By.

I'd expect more feedback as the weeks go on....
itspostingtime (2)

The anonymous poster itspostingtime (alleged to be cohibastore or a close associate) does make a good point.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=520056954&start=40

itspostingtime (2 ) Dec-02-08 20:59 PST 43 of 49
Just a couple of things:

1. It looks like the seller provides buyers with feedback upon being paid....so some of the buyers probably haven't even received their items at this point. I'd expect more feedback as the weeks go on....

There are two questions that would (or should) come up.

One is when was smartbargains first sale?

I don't have that documented. What I do have is the date and time of the first on the record feedback that smartbargains left. Which is 17 November 2008 at 14:31 PST.

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&ftab=FeedbackLeftForOthers&userid=smartbargains&iid=-1&de=off&items=25&page=7

	Thank you for an easy, pleasant transaction. Excellent buyer. A++++++.	Buyer: veekee22 ( 35)	Nov-17-08 14:31
	Ed Hardy Life.Love.Luck French Terry Pant (#280286604318)	--	View Item

Including that first feedback and up to 1 December 2008 at 12:24 PST, smartbargains has left 159 Positive feedback for buyers. And of course has received only 3 feedback during that 14 day span. That would be bad except the caveat is there is a string of 155 buyers (excluding the 1st and the 3 who left feedback) with purchases beginning on November 26th.

With a commercial UPS account, "we" (as opposed to "I") can get a package sent via UPS Ground from Hawaii to the U.S. East Coast in 5 business days. As smartbargains advertises shipping via UPS Ground and as they are located in Massachusetts, delivery time to locations in the contiguous 48 States should be less than 5 days.

Realistically people should start looking for the flood of Positive feedback (or Negatives) to start next week.

As a practical matter, unless "something wonderful" happens, "I" (as opposed to "we") will have moved on to other things. But with eBay you never know.

For the uniquely British take and commentary on smartbargains,

"Goofbay also gives us Smartbargains’ sales figures for the last 90 days:

Total Value Sold: £7,501.24
Total Value Not Sold: £5,785,877.94"

(1 British Pound = 1.49 U.S. Dollars) view this public article and thread.

http://www.tamebay.com/2008/12/ebay-diamonds-not-quite-sparkling.html
eBay Diamonds not quite sparkling
by Sue Bailey

Oh, I did say there were two questions. Have fun with this one.

Are the three feedback left for smartbargains their very first feedback, or was there earlier feedback that was posted and removed?

Toodles.

.
"What is going to happen?"
"Something wonderful." David 'Dave' Bowman
"I'm afraid." HAL 9000
2010 (1984)

//
//
//

See our follow up article, eBay Diamond PowerSeller SmartBargains.com, for more.

//
//
//

EventHorizon1984.com

EventHorizon1984.info EventHorizon1984.me EventHorizon1984.name EventHorizon1984.net EventHorizon1984.org EventHorizon1984.US EventHorizon.name WorldSecurities2001.com

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984

Posted on 01 December 2008 at 07:42 in Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service, Fraud | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: 280289968764, 300TC Colorful Down Alternative Comforter Full/Queen, Diamond PowerSeller, eBay, jimackey2, Mercent, smartbargains, smartbargains.com

29 September 2008

eBay San Dimas Desktop Application Unwanted And On Life Support?

eBay San Dimas Desktop Application Unwanted And On Life Support?
29 September 2008
Event Horizon 1984

eBay's great experiment, the San Dimas Desktop application announced on 16 April 2007, gives the appearance of being unwanted, brain dead, and on life support.

Perhaps eBay's San Dimas Desktop Customer Service attitude from the start had much to do with that. And yes while the question had nothing to do with San Dimas, read the response.

The poster "half-pink@ebay.com" is an eBay employee in charge of the eBay San Dimas Desktop, Alan Lewis, eBay Desktop Product Manager.

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/forum.jspa?forumID=1000000044
eBay (San Dimas) Desktop Forum

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?threadID=2000455218&tstart=0&mod=1222651398921
New page layout sucks

jbem58 (140 ) Oct-21-07 16:24 PDT
Hello,
I'm absolutely sick of Ebay changing the page setup. My bookmarks do not take me to where I want to go within ebay. Overall this new setup TOTALLY SUCKS!!!

half-pink@ebay.com Oct-22-07 19:37 PDT 2 of 82
jbem58 - Are you talking about the layout of eBay Desktop? I assume that because you posted in this forum that you are. If so, you can go back to using the website if you don't like it.

-Alan

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?messageID=1011965763&forumID=1000000044&x#1011965763

half-pink@ebay.com Feb-16-08 12:23 PST 6 of 12
> So do you really think that I would trust you with something as sacred as my desktop??????

Hi redroad31 - One of the reasons that we are working on a desktop eBay application is so that those with slower internet connections can still have a fast eBay experience. The basic idea is that if you download a client application once, there is less back and forth between the client and the server (more efficient data transfer) and so the eBay experience should work better. We will continue to optimize performance past the 1.0 release, paying attention to both the dial-up and lower-powered PC scenarios.

Alan Lewis
eBay Desktop Product Manager

You would think that eBay San Dimas Desktop personnel would have had this question answered BEFORE development.

This also appears to be Alan Lewis's final post on the eBay Desktop Forum.

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?messageID=1012567237&forumID=1000000044&x#1012567237

half-pink@ebay.com Apr-03-08 11:44 PDT 2 of 2
What sort of features would you want in eBay Desktop for sellers? Have you tried the existing desktop-based selling tools that eBay and 3rd parties offer?

-Alan

Must be difficult to tell Live World, the company eBay hired to run the eBay's Forums, to delete the off topic posts?

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?messageID=2009898204&forumID=1000000044&x#2009898204

half-pink@ebay.com Apr-02-08 17:07 PDT
Unfortunately this forum has become overwhelmed with off-topic discussions. Not to diminish the concerns or issues that are being brought up, but they have drowned out any discussion of the intended topic: eBay Desktop.

So I haven't been participating much in this forum... instead I've been discussing issues with users on the eBay Desktop blog: http://desktop.ebay.com/blog

I encourage you to ask questions, suggest blog topics, challenge me, berate me, whatever you want... but it WILL be moderated in order to keep the discussion on topic. I also have been using the blog to identify issues that are being reported since we aren't staffed with a full customer service group for eBay Desktop yet (still just me doing it).

Thanks for your understanding,

About Alan Lewis's San Dimas blog.

For a self-described dynamic software application, the latest post on San Dimas is dated 16 July 2008.

http://desktop.ebay.com/blog/
1 Million eBay Desktop Downloads and Counting!
July 16th, 2008

eBay Desktop surpassed a significant milestone earlier this week with the 1,000,000th download since the launch in late February. eBay Desktop has surpassed even the most optimist projections (mine), more than doubling the number of projected downloads at this point post-launch. Just think… there are now more downloads of eBay Desktop than there are residents of San Jose!

I wish I could send thanks to whoever number 1,000,000 was, but I will instead extend my virtual thanks to that anonymous downloader (as well as extending my thanks to the other 999,999 as well). We have lots of great enhancements to eBay Desktop in the works, so stay tuned…

One million eBay San Dimas Desktop Beta downloads would be impressive, except in the context of what eBay reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on 24 July 2008.

http://biz.yahoo.com/e/080724/ebay10-q.html
30 June 2008
Registered eBay users - 338.2 Million
Active eBay users - 84.5 million

If this were a must have application the adoption rate would be much higher.

So stay tuned...

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

Event Horizon 1984

Posted on 29 September 2008 at 16:32 in Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service, eBay San Dimas | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Alan Lewis, eBay, eBay Desktop, Event Horizon 1984, Event Horizon Hawaii, EventHorizon1984, half-pink@ebay.com, San Dimas

25 September 2008

Gilligan's Island - An eBay Tune - The Ballad of MiniMeg's Island

Gilligan's Island first aired
26 September 1964. Shocked

Happy Birthday!

And now with apologies to Gilligan's Island, and ode to eBay.

The Ballad of MiniMeg's* Island

Just sit right back and we'll blog a tale,
A tale of a fateful COM
That started from this sunny bay
This side of San Jose

The mate was a ole Meg protege
The skipper Bain Exec.
Five eBayer's set sail that day
For a three year tour, a three year tour.

The stock market was getting rough,
The tiny COM was tossed,
If not for the courage of the peerless crew
The eBay would be lost, the eBay would be lost.

The COM set ground on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
With MiniMeg,
The Don.A.Hoe,
The Buy dot COM, and their shills,
The Uncle Griff,
The cheerleaders and eBay Pinks,
Here on MiniMegs Isle.

* Lorrie Norrington

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

EventHorizon1984 WeBlog Log
EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984

Auctiva Store EventHorizon1984

Posted on 25 September 2008 at 17:02 in Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service, Television | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: eBay, Event Horizon 1984, Event Horizon Hawaii, EventHorizon1984

09 September 2008

From eBay PR and Uncle_Griff - Some Needed Clarification

In regards to the AuctionBytes.com article “eBay’s Operation Catalog Flies under the Radar”, eBay personality Uncle Griff has posted two responses on eBay's PR blog.

Uncle Griff signed off with:

"I sell (and have bought and sold) on eBay since November 1996 under my civilian user id uncle_griff. I always have merchandise up for sale"

...

"Rest assured I have earned honestly my PS status, my ratings, my feedback and the loyalty of my regular customers."

Being curious we decided to check out Griff's bonafides.

According to TeraPeak these are Griff's selling statistics from 7 June 2008 to 4 September 2008:

Item Title	Sold	Format	Start Price	End Price	Bids	End Date
	Antique Heriz Serapi Goravan Oriental Rug Carpet 13 x 9	Yes	Bid	$49.99	$4,550.00	36	2008-06-15
	Jacques Fath Yang Gift Set EDT AS Shampoo Body Wash	Yes		$40.00	$40.00	1	2008-06-16
	NEW Synrgy Oyster White Blazer Sport Coat 52L Long Tall	No		$75.00	$0.00		2008-06-15

.
General Stats

Total Sales	$4,590
Total Listings	3
Successful Listings	2
Total Bids	37
Items Offered	3
Items Sold	2
Bids per Listing	12.33
Sell-Through	66.67%

Keep in mind that a Bronze Powerseller needs to have an average sale or $1,000 per month. Therefore the 2 items sold are sufficient for Uncle Griff to maintain his Powerseller status.

We do notice sizable gaps in the Terapeak selling record. Well, Terapeak is supplied data from eBay, and eBay does recommend Terapeak to sellers.

Okay, let's try getting a better picture through eBay itself.

Feedback for uncle_griff.
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=uncle_griff

eBay user uncle_griff has 1984 positive feedback. An oddly familiar sounding number. And since 26 May 1996, eBay user uncle_griff has received 2,223 feedback. As a buyer and seller.

As a seller uncle_griff has received ... 119 feedback, beginning 11 November 2001.

hmmm?

In the last two weeks uncle_griff has sold one item.
.

Mens Hathaway Cotton Indigo Dyed LS Shirt NWT XXL

Free Shipping to North America

$18.89

Sep-08 14:41

Seller uncle_griff currently has 16 items up for sale

Price

Time Left

Some Needed Clarification

Over the weekend, AuctionBytes.com ran a story under the headline: “eBay’s Operation Catalog Flies under the Radar”. It generated a number of responses (at last count 89 comments) and I received a few emails from folks asking about the validity of the post.

Even though I knew the meat of the post was primarily speculative and, as a result, inaccurate in some places, I thought it best to go internally to better address the post directly. Having met with a couple of folks today about it, I came to the conclusion that it was best coming straight from someone who knew more about the topic at hand than I (otherwise, you just get regurgitation from me). So, without further ado, I welcome Jim “Griff” Griffith to eBay Ink.

Cheers,
RBH

Thanks, Richard. I would be more than happy to offer some responses. I think its best if I just break down Ina’s post point-by-point to make sure we don’t lose anything in translation.

“eBay announced a Diamond-level PowerSeller tier in June, and as I blogged in mid-August, more companies will be joining Buy.com and be allowed to list on the site for free.”

The new Diamond-level of the PowerSeller program is no secret. Any business who qualifies for this level – whether currently on or off eBay - is welcome to list on eBay . However, this is pure speculation with regard to the listing fees. I think it has been covered on Ink before (that fees charged to Diamond-tier PowerSellers are negotiated on a case-by-case basis).

“Now I’m hearing that eBay is introducing a pilot program next month in which a number of manufacturer and big-box retailer catalogs will be launched to eBay.”

Cataloged data is nothing new on eBay and has in fact, been available for certain categories for several years. These include all media and most electronic consumer goods. Potentially expanding the breadth and depth of catalog data on eBay would in fact, be a benefit to all sellers and to buyers as well. For one, as is true today, all catalogs currently used on eBay are available to all sellers. In addition, having access to more cataloged item information would speed the listing process since all sellers will be able to use this new catalog data to describe their items, much as they can now do in the media category. For buyers, it would mean a more consistent experience.

“Third-party vendors will work with these sellers to get them onto the eBay platform - no small feat given the quantity of product SKUs in their catalogs… These Diamond PowerSellers will be given special privileges. Commission (FVF) fees will be negotiated individually, and it’s my understanding that participants in this pilot will not be charged listing fees, nor will they have to meet eBay’s seller standards during the 90-day pilot program, which I’ve dubbed Operation Catalog.”

Again, the statements regarding fees are uninformed speculation. It is no secret that since earlier this year, we have opened up the concept of fee discounts to all qualifying sellers, something that, in my opinion, we should have done a lot sooner. However, the statement about seller standards not applying to Diamond Level PowerSellers is absolutely false. In fact, the standards are actually higher for all Diamond Level PowerSellers who must maintain 4.8 across all DSRs or risk voiding any arrangement they have made with eBay.

There are no shortcuts. There are no special dispensations for existing policy compliance given to any eBay seller. All eBay sellers, no matter the size of their business on or off eBay, are held to the same seller standards and for Diamond PowerSeller, the privilege of selling on eBay is tied to even higher standards then the rest of the eBay seller community.

“The potential Gross Merchandise Volume of these sellers is enormous, and it fills out eBay’s product line and helps it move toward providing a more uniform buying experience on the site, or so it hopes… The flood of inventory onto the site in October could have a major impact on certain sellers in categories affected. As I write in tomorrow’s editorial in AuctionBytes-Update, not only will some sellers find themselves competing with the manufacturer of the product they sell, but that competitor is getting free listings and better exposure.”

The statements regarding free listings are, again, pure speculation on the part of the author. The statement regarding “better exposure” for certain sellers is absolutely incorrect. A seller with a large inventory is not necessarily going to get better exposure than a seller with less inventory. As any eBay-interested party knows from reading Jeff King’s July 31st Announcement Board post, the changes to Finding that limit duplicate listings and the number of listings for one seller that appear on a page of results cover all sellers, including Diamond PowerSellers. Again, it is about the quality of the seller – specifically, the quality of their merchandise and of their customer service – not the size of the seller’s inventory.

“If Operation Catalog does roll out in October as expected, sellers will find themselves going up against competition they never knew existed, with no time to adjust their selling strategy during the all-important holiday shopping season.”

The idea of bringing on Diamond PowerSeller level business (which include bigger sellers or retail stores) as competition is, with all due respect, absurd. eBay sellers are already competing with these businesses both online and in search engines. By bringing Diamond PowerSeller qualified businesses into the eBay marketplace, these businesses will bring along their sizeable buyer traffic. This is a huge benefit for the enterprising smaller eBay seller of similar merchandise since they get to compete right alongside of the retailer and offer the retailer’s customers a better deal.

The view among some that eBay is somehow a protected marketplace (”don’t let in my competition!”) or that said competition will be detrimental to the business of seller’s with less inventory is unfortunately, misinformed and has no basis in reality. In fact, big sellers have been a part of eBay since nearly the beginning; Sears, Disney, IBM, Dell, HP, etc to name a few. Some remain. But some found they couldn’t compete with existing sellers on eBay who by dint of their smaller size of operations, tend to operate much more efficiently than a bigger business. So, despite the uniformed predictions of some, selling on eBay is not and has never been, an “Either/ Or” proposition with regards to big and small businesses. Any attempt to portray online commerce, and commerce on eBay in particular, as Big vs Small, is lacking in any real understanding of business .

On eBay, all sellers, regardless of the size of their operations or inventory, succeed or fail on eBay working under the same rules, standards and listing policies.

- Griff

//
//
//

Griff On 09.09.2008 at 10:39 pm Said:

Hi all,

Thanks for your comments. I do appreciate your passion for eBay.

The sole purpose of my post was to correct some alarmingly incorrect statements made on another site. Allow me clear up a few points made here since I posted.

1. The post is mine. My words written by me. No one asked me or told me to write it. Anyone who thinks otherwise does not know me or my history with eBay. I approached Richard yesterday and asked him if he wouldn’t mind my posting to the Ink blog. He agreed. I posted.

2. The statements I pointed out (regarding standards, treatment, and exposure for certain sellers) were wrong. Period. I corrected them and I stand by the corrections.

3. Although I cannot fault anyone for engaging in speculation, let’s be clear: speculation is speculation. Nothing more. Comments made by anyone about the undisclosed details of any relationship between eBay and any eBay member are pure speculation.

4. About those details: We cannot and will not publicly discuss the details of any member’s eBay account, regardless of who the buyer or seller might be (and that includes every seller of any size, who has ever sold on eBay).

5. I sell (and have bought and sold) on eBay since November 1996 under my civilian user id uncle_griff. I always have merchandise up for sale.

Employees get no special dispensation, deals or treatment when selling on eBay. We have to meet the same PowerSeller eligibility requirements that other sellers must. We have to follow the same rules and we have to maintain the same performance standards.

Rest assured I have earned honestly my PS status, my ratings, my feedback and the loyalty of my regular customers.

Feel free to email me at any time: griff@ebay.com My IN Box is always open (and I answer my own email).

regards,

Griff

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

EventHorizon1984 WeBlog Log
EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984

Auctiva Store EventHorizon1984

Posted on 09 September 2008 at 23:42 in Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Event Horizon 1984, Event Horizon Hawaii, EventHorizon1984

04 September 2008

From eBay Stores Forum - Has anyone went through this Credit Card Processing Verification?

Sellers with merchant accounts may want to keep this fax number for future reference:

To list items on eBay using merchant credit card, please provide the
following:
- a valid copy of your most recent merchant processing statement from a
bank/financial institution or is from an ISO/MSP.

Fax this information to (408) 904-7387.

Wally
eBay Fraud Prevention

From eBay Stores Forum
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=520008242&tstart=0&mod=1220451520715

Has anyone went through this Credit Card Processing Verification?
ddh_**** (1307 ) Sep-01-08 20:49 PDT
Please forgive me if this has been discussed, but I couldn't locate a thread anywhere. I was in the process of updating all of my listings through TL, to remove money orders and checks, and add credit cards as an option, and when I went to upload them, I received this error message:

Attention!
We noticed that you chose to offer credit card as a payment option. To confirm that you can support this process, please fax a copy of your most recent merchant processing statement to (408) 904-7387. Please ensure the statement is complete and includes all pages.

Please include your eBay user ID, phone number and email address in the fax so that we can contact you.

While we confirm your merchant credit card account, you can continue listing items on eBay with PayPal as the payment method. PayPal is convenient to use and offers buyers and sellers protection against fraud, chargebacks, and theft of financial data.

Has anyone been through this process? I'm just wondering how long it will take, and if it's even worth it. It's really starting to look like they're trying to do everything they can to force us all to accept Paypal only, without coming right out and saying it.

mrbu**** (1101 ) Sep-02-08 06:36 PDT 1
It seems by your ebay listing choices you have indicated to them that you have your own merchant account outside of the paypal and ebay stream.

If this is fact I would go through with the ebay verification. I am not experienced with it but I would think it should not be a big deal. But as is with anything and ebay they could turn it into procedure.

Joe
Heres my sign

mini**** (994 ) Sep-02-08 06:48 PDT 2
I'm not sure I'd trust ebay or their representative who may be on the other end of that fax who may not even be in this country or speak english. I'm not sure I'm willing to fax info that would be so easily abused when I don't know where or to whom it is going.

sand**** (3441 ) Sep-02-08 07:20 PDT 3
I am with you on this one mini. No way would I provide Ebay with my AuthorizeNet account information. That includes my account and merchant numbers. If Ebay wants to establish a working relationship with the merchant account providers to verify it that's one thing. Faxing them MY transactions I don't think so! Not with their software security being like Swiss cheese. How would Ebay guarantee that information would not be hacked and jeopardize my own business off Ebay? I vividly recall that my business information walked out the door in a briefcase with a Paypal employee. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.

ddh_**** (1307 ) Sep-02-08 09:03 PDT 4
That was my reaction too mini. I do have an Authorize.net merchant account, and I did indicate that I can accept credit cards, because I can. I do not, however, feel safe faxing them this financial information. They are "just a venue" after all, so why is it any of their business?
I guess I could send it to them, and black out all of the account numbers and important financial information. After all, Authorize.net tells us to keep our account information safe. I wonder what they would think about Ebay asking us to send it to them?
Let's see, we can't accept cash, checks, or money orders, and now we can't accept credit card payments, unless we reveal our financial information to Ebay, where it may or may not be handled privately. I guess that leaves... Paypal. There's a shock.

mdov**** (8319 ) Sep-02-08 09:11 PDT 5
Won't you have to provide your merchant account information to eBay next year when all payments must be electronic through Payflow? How else will you be able to attach your merchant account/authorize information to Payflow?

ddh_**** (1307 ) Sep-02-08 09:26 PDT 6
If I have to enter the information myself, on a secure site, that is one thing. But sending my financial information via fax to just anyone who might be walking by at the time it comes in, is another.
There was not a department mentioned, a person's name to fax to, etc. Just a fax number.
At this point, they have not completed the secure checkout, which will link to our merchant account. Right now, customers will have to call me to pay over the phone, so there is no need for them to have my merchant account number.

sand**** (3441 ) Sep-02-08 09:39 PDT 7
mdove9 at the point that Ebay becomes a portal for those payments the process would be set up thru Authorizenet, Payflow, and Ebay at the developer level. Most likely would a software program where the information would be input by the seller and verified thru the merchant account processors. Not by some entry level or midlevel Ebay employee who has a desk piled high with unsecured faxes. Nope, that simply is not an option IMO. By having the merchant number and account number Ebay could seriously jeopardize all your transactions. If Ebay forces the issue I would heavily censor what information Ebay was able to view on those pages. They would not get clean copies of my monthly statments.

ddh_**** (1307 ) Sep-02-08 09:52 PDT 8
Each credit card now sends a separate statement out every month, and there is no way I'm sending them a copy of those. I just faxed them a copy of my auth.net gateway statement, and a copy of my auth.net merchant profile page, with the merchant ID blacked out. I told them that if they needed this number, they could feel free to call me, and explain why they needed it, and after I verified who they were, I would think about giving it to them.
The information I faxed them shows them what types of credit cards I accept, how long I've had the account, and has my business name, address, and telephone number on it. This should be all the information they need to verify that I do have an account, and I am able to accept credit card payments. My merchant ID is not necessary.

ddh_**** (1307 ) Sep-02-08 09:54 PDT 9
And Sandra, you should be right about the software program. When I integrated auth.net with my main website, I input my gateway id and password into a secure site, and set it up that way. I didn't have to fax any information to any unknown fax number, and my hosting service never asked me for it.

sand**** (3441 ) Sep-02-08 11:25 PDT 10
ddh favors when you finish the process please post your results. I will be interested in hearing what Ebay agrees to accept in this process.

ddh_**** (1307 ) Sep-02-08 15:16 PDT 11
Response from Ebay:

Thank you for submitting your merchant processing statement to eBay.

I have completed our review, but was unable to confirm the statement provided because Authorize.net is a payment gateway service and not a direct processor.

In order to list on eBay using the merchant credit card payment option, you will need to provide proof of a merchant credit card account with a
processor that is a recognized ISO or MSP associated with a bank or financial institution.

- What is an ISO/MSP (Independent Sales Organization / Member Service
Provider)?

An ISO/MSP Is a company that works on behalf of a bank to set up and
manage merchant accounts.

To list items on eBay using merchant credit card, please provide the
following:

- a valid copy of your most recent merchant processing statement from a
bank/financial institution or is from an ISO/MSP.

Fax this information to (408) 904-7387.

- If you are unable to obtain a statement in a timely manner, you can
also provide the contact details for the agent that is responsible for
your merchant credit card account through that processor. Please include
their phone number AND extension so that we may verify directly. You can
provide this information in an email instead of a fax if you like.

While we confirm your merchant credit card statement, you can continue
listing items on eBay with PayPal as the payment method. More
information about Selecting Payment Methods You'll Accept can be found
at the following link:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/payment-method-accepted.html

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Wally

eBay Fraud Prevention

It is my Wells Fargo bank information they are wanting, as Wells Fargo is the bank that funds my transactions through Auth.net. This is completely insane!!

sand**** (3441 ) Sep-02-08 15:20 PDT 12
ddh do you think they want eonlinedata's contact information?

ddh_**** (1307 ) Sep-02-08 15:27 PDT 13
To be honest, I don't think they know what they want. I don't get any kind of monthly statement from Wells Fargo because I use their online reporting. So, I generated a monthly transaction summary for the last month, and e-mailed that to them, along with my Internet Merchant Account Number, and the contact information for Wells Fargo.
I honestly don't think this will be enough. I think they will continue requesting more information so I give up and just offer Paypal as a payment method. This is their way of ensuring that happens.

sand**** (3441 ) Sep-02-08 16:04 PDT 14
ddh favors I contacted Authorizenet's Live Help and you are correct. Use the statements that AuthorizeNet sends to determine which bank. (I am off to go look at my statements. I don't even know which bank I am affiliated with. That's sad too.)

ddh_**** (1307 ) Sep-02-08 16:12 PDT 15
When I first applied for an account with auth.net, I was contacted by a Wells Fargo rep, and it was Wells Fargo who checked my credit. Back in March, they split all of the services, and I received a welcome e-mail from Wells Fargo, that contained a Wells Fargo merchant ID. I am assuming this is the information they want.
This is all so silly at this point. If they had the integration complete, it would be one thing. But they don't need the information right now.

chop**** (2780 ) Sep-02-08 16:17 PDT 16
ebay accepts faxes?
hmmmm

Woot!

micro_merchant (0 ) Sep-02-08 19:34 PDT 17
eBay is demanding more information than is required to accomplish eBay's stated goal. eBay only wants verification that the seller indeed has a merchant account.

So eBay can buy an item from this seller and pay by credit card. The charge will bear a transaction ID won't it? If not, then ebay can specify a secret shipping address (12345 Road to Hail, Box 1899546374456338). The seller reads bac the secret code and confirmation done.

But this isn't what eBay wants, is it.

micromerchant
"A Name Is a Link"SM

ddh_**** (1307 ) Sep-02-08 21:15 PDT 18
eBay is demanding more information than is required to accomplish eBay's stated goal.
You can say that again. I'm waiting for their request that I surrender my first born in order to sell here. She's a pre-teen, and full of attitude, so I'm not sure they will like what they get.
I am still waiting on a response to the latest information I faxed to them, so we'll see what happens.

micro_merchant (0 ) Sep-02-08 22:26 PDT 19
At some point the demands become coercive. Coersion to use PayPal at the exclusion of others. And it becomes unlawful.

Are we there yet?

micromerchant
"A Name Is a Link"SM

mini**** (994 ) Sep-03-08 07:18 PDT 20
Chop sees the possibilities...good call chop.

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

EventHorizon1984 WeBlog Log
EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984

Auctiva Store EventHorizon1984

Posted on 04 September 2008 at 20:24 in eBay, eBay Customer Service, Legal, PayPal | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: 408-904-7387, eBay, Event Horizon 1984, Event Horizon Hawaii, EventHorizon1984, Fax, PayPal

23 August 2008

From eBay Stores Forum - STORES TEAM: Worse Change Ever for New Page View!!

This is a post from an eBay seller, and a response from John McDonald of eBay's Trust & Safety.

Phone number and email address have been edited (**#**).

//

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000619139

STORES TEAM: Worse Change Ever for New Page View!!

mrid*** (2073 ) Aug-23-08 21:15 PDT 176 of 176
After calling eBay out on their illegal activities on the eBay Ink Blog I was contacted by John McDonald head of Trust and safety through my personal email address that he retrieved from my sign in information on the Ink blog that is ran by Richard Brewer- Hays. Clearly, I find this invasive and also intimidating. This is our dialogue scroll to the bottom to read the initial contact and read up to the top. I have yet to receive a response from my last email. I think it is interesting and worth thinking by eBay members.

I appreciate that you could deal with interruptions, however it drives me to no end when I am trying to speak with someone and get interrupted constantly.

Other than at around 8 pm last night I don't recall expressing I felt my questions were going unanswered.

I think it is clear that I feel- rather know that these new actions by eBay are intended to undermine the rights of consumers and degrade the foundation of our market system. I am not comfortable with that and frankly you shouldn't be either. What may appear to be just dandy for you now will only result in our society living within a world of corporate oppression. Our market system is driven by consumers to set price and foster innovation, which results in a healthy economy for society. eBay Inc.'s plan will result in corporate price setting, degradation of our market system, and oppression of consumers. How do you imagine that will benefit you and your children?

So far this year eBay has implemented all of these new "policies" to oppress the eBay marketplace. eBay is taking advantage of the dependence of the majority of the people who sell within the marketplace. There is no better example of how dangerous a corporate monopoly is to consumers than what we are experiencing as eBay members with all of these changes that are apparently what we need but do not realize. The reality is eBay is manipulating the marketplace in such a way as to benefit only eBay. eBay is using me and every other seller as its tool to shift eBay's revenue dependence from the marketplace to PayPal and ppc ads.

The theme for these changes has been that eBay is losing ground due to lower conversion and a decline in active users, because users are dissatisfied with feedback, shipping fees, and a growing preference for buyers to buy an item rather than wait for an auction to close. I don't entirely disagree that these factors affect a users perspective of eBay, however I don't think these are the biggest factor affecting users. When I read complaints from both selling and buying members it is clear that members are disappointed with the lack of action and customer service they get from eBay and PayPal regarding the feedback abuse, insane shipping, and fraudulent sellers.

I know eBay is claiming to be making these decisions to address the issues concerning members, but I don't see that at all. What I see is eBay:
1) creating a facade of concern for buyers
2) slapping their own customers in the face
3) rigging the search to benefit eBay by pushing products that have historically had a higher frequency of conversion to increase revenue for eBay
4) an insane focus on shipping fees to extort sellers into building the shipping fee into the cost of the item so eBay can gain more revenue from the conversion
5) a disregard for the increase in NPBs by removing earned strikes for non-payment to keep a steady stream of revenue from listing fees & FVFs (because sellers fear reporting the NPB because of there vulnerability to negative feedback and more significantly 1s on their DSRs) and to keep the active user count up
6) allowing sellers to be extorted- for the same reason as eBay fostering the behavior of NPBs
7) Now this new listing format, which will force store sellers to list at a higher fee to get exposure to generate more revenue for eBay
8) the changes on the new listing page for store sellers that is designed so sellers have to list fixed price all their items, because all of the components to persuade buyers to look in our stores have been removed.
9) The hiding of identical listings after limits have been removed no less- how deceptive is that- no need to answer
10) the 10 items per page for any one seller

I think all of the functions for the above actions are solely to generate more revenue from ppc ads. How?

As stated in the Q2 ads monetize better on null searches, which of course explains why actual text product ads are at the bottom of search return pages rather than the banner at the top and left. with the decrease in identical items and the manipulation of best match null returns increase (I have observed this) of course creating more opportunities for the buyer to encounter the ads increasing the probability of clicks leading to higher revenue for eBay. I know there is more money for eBay from a click than from 1 sell of a 10 dollar item probably even a hundred dollar sold item it is eBay after all there is a lot of traffic. Of course the new application of aligning ad impressions with product keyword searches is to increase the likelihood of clicks.

The new listing page for stores are clearly meant to increase the length of time of buyers to be exposed to ppc ads- after all if they can't get inside of a store they'll remain clicking back and forth through listings in core (no left navigation bar, no cross promotions, the red door in non-clickable, eBay store- also not clickable- then the name of the store- which could easily be interpreted as not being clickable rather then visit my eBay store with the red door all clickable).

The encouragement of free shipping functions to produce more revenue for eBay, but also eliminates the draw for buyers to want to find products from the same seller to benefit from multiple purchase discounts, which is also why the multiple discount message is no longer noted at the top of the listing and the same for seller's name and feedback. Of course sellers are fully aware of the benefit of offering shipping discounts and given this is no longer immediately observable will increase the number of sellers who offer free shipping because they'll get the new free shipping icon on their listing immediately observable, and higher placement in search of course.

I'm sure the eBay checkout will be wearing ppc ads as well, which is why eBay is willing to integrate other payment options (that of course are not likely to be used)- to keep buyers inside eBay for as long as possible to encounter more ads.

The banning of checks and money orders and offering of our being able to use payment options other than PayPal such as a more expensive service such as propay, or merchant services that must be pre-approved by eBay- which I am sure only those more expensive then PayPal will be allowed- is clearly to increase PayPal's user base to proliferate the entire e-commerce shopping experience with the offer and ultimate increase in use of PayPal. The added fees from us are just a bonus.

It is clear that eBay sees its customers as nothing but content to drive traffic for ad revenue and a funnel to feed PayPal.

Maybe I'm just paranoid, because I feel so abused I can't actually see how any of these changes benefit me.

So those are my concerns in summary

Feel free to reply if you think I am misinterpreting the situation

Mechelle

----- Original Message -----
From: McDonald, John
To: Eye Catching Beauty
Sent: Friday, August 22, 2008 10:23 AM
Subject: RE: Interested in speaking with you about the eBay announcement

Mechelle,

I was responding to several posts by @Dakota and you where you stated you didn't feel your questions were being answered. I'm available at any time this morning to talk if you still do have unanswered questions. I feel I can answer your questions much more efficiently for you by phone - and don't worry about any interruptions (I have children too). 650 **#**-1384

I'll be tied up at lunch (family lunch) and in a Town Hall from 1-3pm.

Thanks,
John

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Eye Catching Beauty [mailto:mxlr**#**]
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2008 9:49 PM
To: McDonald, John
Subject: Re: Interested in speaking with you about the eBay announcement

What do you want from me? What concerns of mine do you want to discuss?

We can communicate through email- I have a 7 year old that likes to interrupt any phone conversation so communication will be more effective through email. If that is alright with you of course

oh yes I am pacific time too- I live in Felton. I got lost over the hill last summer and was surprised to find myself in front of eBay. I thought that was pretty neat back then. Just a hop skip and as jump to Santa Clara from here- oh it is actually San Jose right??

Look forward to reading your reply - after I sleep delirium is setting in after 52 hours of no sleep- it is a rough job selling on eBay
Mechelle

From: McDonald, John
To: mxlr**#**
Cc: Labouisse, Monroe
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2008 5:56 PM
Subject: Interested in speaking with you about the eBay announcement

Mechelle,

My name is John McDonald and I manage Trust & Safety for eBay.com. You may have read a couple of replies I posted on eBay Ink over the last couple of days. I've also read your posts and would appreciate a chance to talk to you about your questions and concerns with the upcoming changes.

Are you available to talk tomorrow morning (Pacific time)? I'm available at 9, 10:30 and 11am. Please let me know if any of these times work for you and what number I should use to call you. A colleague of mine who manages PayPal's business on eBay.com, Monroe Labouisse, would also like to join the call, if that is OK with you.

Thanks,
John McDonald

Posted on 23 August 2008 at 00:17 in eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Event Horizon 1984, Event Horizon Hawaii, EventHorizon1984

21 August 2008

From eBay Welcome to the 8/20 Announcements Discussion Forum - Hey PINKS!!! What about small volume sellers???

http://workshops.ebay.com/thread.jspa?threadID=13000000289&tstart=0&mod=1219360825664
Hey *PINKS*!!! What about small volume sellers???

gras*** (355 ) Aug-21-08 09:06 PDT
This 4.3 DSR business can wipe out a small volume seller from being able to sell VERY EASILY. Small volume sellers are extremely vulnerable under this policy.

12 replies Date posted Reply #

lynda_t@ebay.com Aug-21-08 09:11 PDT 1 of 12
Hi grasshopper,

Can you please provide a scenario that would lead you to be concerned about this?

Thanks much,
Lynda Talgo
eBay Trust and Safety

gras*** (355 ) Aug-21-08 09:12 PDT 2 of 12
I sell on Half.Com occassionally and rather small volume relatively speaking. How will the 4.3 DSR limit across all 4 categories affect Half.Com sellers (who are graded on 3 of the DSRs)? I also sell on eBay extremely rarely - last sold on eBay back in December 2007.

It seems that someone like me could get tossed out of selling very easily. Just one or two '4' star in the shipping charges(the one category that doesn't apply to Half.Com) could get me tossed out of selling due to rather low volume of eBay sales.

This really bites! Just look at my feedback - I'd say it's as highly exemplary as it gets. 100% positive going back 9 1/2 years, and I communicate effectively, and ship out items if not the same day I receive payment then very next day. What more could I do?

eBay policies look to me like they are designed to rid eBay of small time sellers. Also, don't forget that eBay sellers ALSO tend to be eBay buyers(as I am, for example).

gras*** (355 ) Aug-21-08 09:17 PDT 3 of 12
For example...

I can check my DSRs via m.ebay.com.

Detailed Seller Ratings:
Item as described:
(6) 5-stars
Communication:
(6) 5-stars
Shipping Time:
(6) 5-stars
Shipping Charges:
(1) 4-stars

Let's say I sell nothing on eBay for a while, only on Half.Com. My shipping charges dsr will remain '4 star'. That'll get me tossed out of selling.

dree*** (410 ) Aug-21-08 09:17 PDT 4 of 12
This 4.3 DSR business can wipe out a small volume seller from being able to sell VERY EASILY

Exactly:
All it will take is 1 or 2 buyers that don't like the transaction so a small seller that has less FB would drop very quickly.

lynda_t@ebay.com Aug-21-08 09:22 PDT 5 of 12
Hi grasshopper,

Thanks for the additional information. Here's how the 4.3 limit will work for Half.com sellers: We will compare the DSRs the seller receives on any DSRs against the 4.3 requirement. If the seller does not receive a rating for a DSR (either because they are selling on Half, or on Motors, or because a buyer simply didn't rate all of the DSRs), then there is nothing for us to evaluate -- and the seller would continue to sell.

To be specific, if you have DSRs of 4.5, 4.4, 4.4, nothing; then you would continue selling. If you have DSRs of 4.5, 4.2, 4.2, nothing; then you would not be allowed to sell.

To address you specific scenario - if you have 2 transactions in the last 30 days and the scores are all 4, you would be able to continue selling.

I agree your feedback is exemplary, and we definitely want you to keep selling on eBay!

Best regards,
Lynda Talgo
eBay Trust and Safety

elec*** (608 ) Aug-21-08 09:26 PDT 6 of 12
We will compare the DSRs the seller receives on any DSRs against the 4.3 requirement.

Lynda, is this "We" you speak of an actual person or is this software making these decisions?

gras*** (355 ) Aug-21-08 09:34 PDT 7 of 12
Lynda - you're still not getting my point. I'll try again...

I have one DSR rating in the 'shipping charges' category, presumably from the last eBay sale I made. This rating is a '4'. Having that one DSR rating of 4 will knock me out of being able to sell on eBay.

stev*** (160 ) Aug-21-08 10:11 PDT 8 of 12
You are exactly right. I saw an interview with the new head of ebay a couple of weeks ago. Said he didn't want ebay to be a flea market anymore.

gott*** (206 ) Aug-21-08 10:41 PDT 9 of 12
I'd like a straight answer as to why eBay tells buyers a 4 is a good rating but then penalizes the seller, and now threatens to kick them out.

Highly Unethical.

See if you can spin That one to everyone's satisfaction.

A Straight Answer as to Why, please!!!

lynda_t@ebay.com Aug-21-08 11:59 PDT 10 of 12
Hi grasshopper,

One DSR rating of 4 will not place you under the 4.3 DSR requirement. You would need 10 DSR ratings before we will evaluate your DSRs. So, if you have 10 scores for Item as Described, Communication, and Shipping time, and they are all at least 4.3, and 1 score for Shipping cost (or even 9 scores for Shipping cost...), we would not evaluate that one score for Shipping cost. We would ignore it.

Hope this helps,
Lynda
eBay Trust and Safety

clem*** (1876 ) Aug-21-08 12:02 PDT 11 of 12
Lynda, please don't avoid or ignore important questions like this one...

I'd like a straight answer as to why eBay tells buyers a 4 is a good rating but then penalizes the seller, and now threatens to kick them out.

Or, have you not figured out a good way to spin it?

rr21*** (36 ) Aug-21-08 16:20 PDT 12 of 12
I posted some real numbers on my thread where it comes out to 4.0 with 10 feedback for a powerseller that took a month off .. 4-5's 4-4's 1-3 & 1-1 for a lost package to italy comes out 4.0 even though the seller (me) has a 10 run of great history & no dissasified customers ????

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log
EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984

Posted on 21 August 2008 at 15:35 in eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Event Horizon 1984, Event Horizon Hawaii, EventHorizon1984

13 August 2008

From eBay Stores Forums - eBay Employee Posts 12-13 August 2008

A list of posts made by eBay employees, who rarely appear. And a response by an eBay user.

//

The eBay Pink (employee) is doing what previous eBay employees have done in the past. Solicit email responses and do absolutely nothing.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000617621&tstart=0&mod=1218648803533
Ebay Glitch Watch , Find all the glitches

terry@ebay.com View Listings \| Report		Aug-12-08 17:15 PDT	14 of 33
Hello everyone, Believe it or not I'm glad this thread was started. Feel free to gather any and all 'glitches' you'd like for the brown bag. One thing you will need to add when you do report them, though, is examples. I need to be able to recreate these problems on my own account, or at the very least find them easily on your accounts. Also, you don't have to wait for a brown bag to send these to me. I'm glad to help 'diagnose' anytime. Thanks again! Terry

terry@ebay.com View Listings \| Report		Aug-13-08 10:06 PDT	31 of 33
Good Morning! I say we start with the first post in this thread that actually talks about a glitch. That was from caroline*k and the issue was Item Specifics being added, then removed. I believe I saw a few posts about it. Can those of you who are experiencing this issue please email me some item numbers that are currently being affected (again if I can't see it I can't really get it fixed). I will likely need to update those items myself in order to see them disappear again so please include the information you are changing just in case. Thanks again! Terry

clact )		Aug-13-08 10:25 PDT	32 of 33
- Items not able to be sent from Store to fixed price or auction due to ...(choose one or all) A- item specifics changed, even if you just listed this 7 year old audiobook a month ago somehow some specific has changed that is worth noting apparently. B-In some cases the items specifics were changed to random ones Ebay generated. The error was corrected but couldnt be reversed in the store items affected, so you might be sending to core with Sterling Silver listing as an item specific for a kids goofy necklace. C- Due to the recent category update , many items were affected and will not send to core. During the last few sales these listing errors prevented me from sending approx 50% or more of the listings I wanted to list to CORE and took way too much time for the ones I did manage to get through. 2- Related to #1 above, sellers have no idea which listing are in need of "item specific updating" or have other problems. These listings should be notated with a red asterisk and we should be able to checkbox them all and send to an editor. This would cover lots of generic problems that also surface like when shipping changes come or policy changes come etc. 3- SM PRO view periodically defaults to Myebay view all on its own. 4- Search - You can change to add "more buying options" choose "store inventory" time after time and it never sticks as a preference. 5- Ebay's search "expansions" evaporate into thin air when a customer, excited about seeing a lot of results tries to weed them out... I reported an example of a search of playing card decks the return has 1700 plus matches . Wanting to exclude NEW decks I search for playing card decks -new Unfortunately it turns off search expansion and drops my search down to 60 items when only 339 of the 1700 have new in the title. The search thus has vaporized matches. If the buy did not see the expansion they might have tried to expand the search using less words but now thinks this is all that is left. This problem occurs with ALL exclusion words in a search epansion in every category on eBay. HUGE PROBLEM. 6- Searching by radius/zip code the old "MAPIT" has a fatal flaw in that it just tosses around listings by zip code without regard to whether or not those people might be interested in a local pickup. I saw a test screen for advanced search where that option to check x for local pickup might show up and it cant come soon enough. 7-Ebay Local - Announced at Ebay Live Boston in 2007, then in the announcements section in Oct/Nov of 2007 was just buried with no update. 8- Paypal sign in page has been hanging for weeks now requiring you to click on the "click here" button. 9- General Flaws with Best Match "thinking" a- Old system presented buyer with a bunch of items to bid or buy on that were ending soon. New system scatters ending time making psychological factor of needing to make a quick decision less powerful. b- Best Match algorithm as described in the patent application seeks to look at supply /demand , popularity of keywords etc. While this works great for some items, it has the latent affect of making more popular items sell more and the long tail wide selection of Ebay (what its known for) gradually sink to the bottom. It stops the serendipity of search results matching the buyer with a general interest. Example - While 95% of the people putting Harry Potter in search might want to buy a book, people , presented with Harry Potter Valentines or Harry Potter Coffee Mugs while less popular would have seen them more often in the past than with a system that assumes it knows what people want. What about when they dont know what they want but just see something? 10- Level/Fair Playing Field Needs a Bulldozer! Recently I had a book pulled for being against Ebay's violence policy. Its done by a detective and recommended reading in criminology classes. It has an ISBN number and was done in the last 7-8 years. That same book is listed in quantity by the sites largest bookseller and others and I think the unfair application of rules is something that really hurts the site. You can report such items forever and they never get taken down. I dont care so much about my book. I do feel if the policy is to NOT have such materials on the site then it shouldnt be sold by others in quantity. This is easily done by setting up listing blocks by ISBN numbers. 11- The "Seven Up of Unglitches" . Basically while it doesnt qualify as a glitch its something that we endure which we shouldnt. Whenever the site has a listing sale various means of listing items generate incorrect fee results but then people have to "check their invoices" for the correct fees. This includes.. a- sending items from your store to core. This prevents many new sellers from doing more of this as they are unsure. Heck people still come here and ask. b- It allows for mistakes when sales are in fact over. There is another way these incorrect fees show up as well , just cannot recall it right now. 12 - "Markdown Manager Taffy" - This feature gets stuck quite often, its like melted candy. I use the store vacation mode to unstick it but it really has been a pain to work with at times. I do like the feature and think if it didnt stick as much there would be more utilization , lower prices and more selling. 13- "Ill take your nickle but give up $1.00" -Bad Fee change... I think one of the fee changes that seemed small but was problematic for a few reasons is the inability to reduce the price of an item and get a fee credit for doing so to encourage sales. Looking back on our selling we did this quite a bit over the years with some success as sometimes people bought at higher prices than expected but we can then reduce the price to get attention if needed. I truly believe that less sellers lowering prices to grab the nickles and quarters is costing Ebay FVFs. On average since supposedly 40% of items sell on Ebay core this has to be costing more in final value fees than it is saving in nickles. More soon, its nice out and its time to get some sun for a bit, I actually have a rare part day off LOL Marty

The eBay Pink (employee) is advertising an eBay service.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000614837&tstart=0&mod=1218649288297
Had a Webstore customer CALL ME..... and it was FINE! (good actually)

lourdes@ebay.com View Listings \| Report		Aug-13-08 10:30 PDT	34 of 35
Hi all - Here's an article http://ecommerce.prostores.com/e_article001125420.cfm?x=b11,0,w that may be of interest to you. RingCentral is another option to research for those looking into providers of this kind of service. Hope this is helpful. Regards, Lourdes

sandrarn83 (3441 )		Aug-13-08 10:41 PDT	35 of 35
Lourdes is RingCentral an approved third party provider for Ebay?

The eBay Pink (employee) is wrong.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000618213&tstart=0&mod=1218646442719
Can a store item be in two ebay categories?

christianscouture )		Aug-13-08 09:39 PDT	1 of 4
Hello, Yes, you can list in two EBay categories. It is considered a listing upgrade and is an additional fee. See the link: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/l2c.html

terry@ebay.com View Listings \| Report		Aug-13-08 09:54 PDT	3 of 4
Hello trinketsandtreasures, It is actually not possible to put a store inventory item in two eBay categories. You can however, put it in two of your custom store categories as was suggested. Thanks for your post. Terry

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log
EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984

Posted on 13 August 2008 at 10:35 in eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Event Horizon 1984, EventHorizon1984

19 June 2008

From eBay Seller Central Forum - From aka Avery, Hello Community, You are Missed

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000721107&tstart=0&mod=1213944467557

From aka Avery, Hello Community, You are Missed
such_a_very_new_castle (0 )		Jun-18-08 23:12 PDT
Disclaimer: I am posting on this board because the topic is very much related to selling on eBay. Hello, Until the end of 2007, I worked for eBay. Many people knew me as Avery@ebay.com. It is with considerable sadness that what prompts me to post and say hello is primarily a deep sense of concern. I've watched the changes that have been made during the first half of 2008; I've watched the decline of eBay.com; and I've watched the erosion of respect by eBay for its Community. In 2008, it would be inaccurate to say that eBay cherishes its Community. Actions always speak louder than words. On the eve of eBay Live! 2008, I feel compelled to offer a few words to this Community that I served for 5 years with passion. I stayed for 5 years because I loved the eBay Community. I left for many reasons, but I still love this site and Community. And while I debated about saying "hello" to many of you that I miss and to many that I don't know personally, it is my love of the eBay Community that compels me to offer a few words. There are many labels flying around about people being negative, or being "anti-eBay", or being an "eBay cheerleader". Some wish to draw lines between buyers and sellers. Please don't. eBay Inc. is the one who has unwisely drawn a heavily line between buyers and sellers. This is not productive. The eBay Community needs to rise above this and make itself known again. eBay is now a very large company. And as is the case with many companies that grow into a large corporate structure, it is dangerously easy to forget the basic foundation that put a company "on the map" in the first place. I deeply lament what eBay has chosen to do in 2008, but this isn't the time or place for me to dwell on this. At the heart of my concern is the conclusion that the Community that made eBay great is not respected in the way that it once was. For many sellers, this has been a year of hard decisions. For those who are not happy with the changes made by eBay; who see it as far more than an issue of change itself; who recognize that some very destructive things are taking place, there are a number of possible directions. Some choose to boycott. Some choose to post on discussion boards. Some have stopped selling. Some have moved on to other sites. For those who feel torn between their love of eBay and disgust with the changes, many thoughts and emotions might be involved. In conclusion, the thought that I want to offer is this: when you are driven by passion, integrity, and conviction, it is your right to dissent, to push for change, to hope for a better place. One should never have to feel that "speaking out" in and of itself is a negative characteristic. My hope is that those who truly care about the future of this site will find ways to collectively organize, strategize, and work on a plan to help eBay realize that it is and never can be anything of significance without its Community. It's not too late for this Community to become truly relevant again. Sincerely, aka Avery This is just a one-time post on this thread.

softersilk (4207 ) View Listings \| Report		Jun-19-08 06:20 PDT	32 of 130
Hello! The poster is SAYING that he is Avery. However, it can be anybody. I'm sure that when "Pinks" leave, they sign some sort of contract agreeing not to come back to boards like this.

such_a_very_new_castle (0 )		Jun-19-08 10:25 PDT	67 of 130
Hi Everyone, It is nice to see so many of you. I'm not here to cause a stir, so I don't plan to post much. I can't respond to anything sent to avery@ebay.com because I don't work for eBay. Posting to the boards after employment does not violate any contract. I worked in policy - I read agreements I do miss it here, but I am also not trying to focus on "being Avery" again. I've struggled with my own attitude, so my post was as much a reminder to myself of what is important. Finally, as a general principle I think it is good to "give changes a chance". However, change that is based on a foundation of disrespect doesn't merit tolerance. Such is not a question of flexibility and ability to adapt - it is an issue of cherished Community Values.

windorphin (40 ) View Listings \| Report		Jun-19-08 11:16 PDT	75 of 130
Heh, found this from a while back... such_a_very_new_castle (0 ) View Listings \| Report May-24-08 16:58 PDT 99 of 106 I'm sure he does miss being here. in response to... I miss Avery He was nice. I bet Avery misses the nice people here too. The crappy job; not so much. Point Dog!

shabbychicandpink (Private ) View Listings \| Report		Jun-19-08 11:37 PDT	78 of 130
I doubted the authenticity of the OP when I first read the post. I'm not sure now. Regardless, his post is poignant and the sadness contained therein is a strong commentary. Even more so given that Avery has always been, well - Avery. I've never felt that the respect for the community that he speaks of, but maybe it was palpable before I got here about 8 years ago.

such_a_very_new_castle (0 )		Jun-19-08 12:20 PDT	84 of 130
I added a ME page with a link and will try to answer some questions. I don't know if it will be feasible here. A few people mentioned that it doesn't matter if this is Avery or not. I think you're right on target. This isn't about me - it's about the future of something that was once great - and that I think can be great again with some collective effort. Thanks again for the thoughts. I do miss this.

windorphin (40 )		Jun-19-08 12:47 PDT	87 of 130
No Tides, I don't think it means anything like that. Just that he has previously read about himself, and let us know without knowing who he was, that he missed this place. I wasn't trying to imply that this isn't Avery. Point Dog!

jaysales (2918 )		Jun-19-08 13:30 PDT	90 of 130
Avery and I have corresponded on our private email addresses. It IS him. I wish he'd come back to ebay, though. He's needed. The preceding post was approved by Mr. Winky.

poison-2.0 (Private ) View Listings \| Report		Jun-19-08 15:16 PDT	102 of 130
I wish he'd come back to ebay, though. He's needed. Jay,you're entitled to your opinion but Avery was as a part of what was wrong with eBay. What's needed are unbiased, equally accessible individuals at eBay interested in fostering an environment of cooperation and understanding between eBay and eBay's customers that respects individuals equally while balancing the needs and purpose of a business. In his OP, Avery comes off as being more of a disgruntled employee interested in the popular vote than an individual concerned with any real issue facing eBay. His myopic OP is pedestrian at best and offers little more value than suggesting eBay users should "endeavor to persevere"....somewhere if not on eBay.

About Me: such_a_very_new_castle( 0 )

As of about 5 minutes ago, I decided to set up a website for "aka Avery".

So Averybay.com - coming soon.

//
//
//

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000721107&start=120

rendezveous (61 )		Jun-20-08 15:42 PDT	150 of 321
How can this be Avery if he said something in a different tense about himself here?: http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?messageID=1013172319&forumID=107&x#1013172319

kelley*green (18 ) View Listings \| Report		Jun-19-08 23:25 PDT	130 of 321
ke6hts, all I'm saying is that the warm-and-fuzzy eBay never existed! We, and I include myself in this, created it. We were warm-and-fuzzy about eBay, we loved it, we believed in it. But it was always a business, it was the users who created the Community and all the feelings that came with it. There's no doubt that upper management don't get this at all. They weren't around then, they have no history, no experience with eBay. They are looking at this as a commercial site, which is accurate. I am not apologizing for them, there are a number of things they could have done better. But I think it may help to understand what is happening. Truthfully, I think we users need to do what we've always done: figure out how to use eBay to our own advantage. If that isn't possible, then we need to move on, perhaps look elsewhere. But historically, it has been possible and perhaps is now. Additionally, we may remember that change is constant - because the system works this way today is no indication that it's going to be the same in three, six, nine or twelve months from today.

kelley*green (18 ) View Listings \| Report		Jun-21-08 00:11 PDT	167 of 321
kittytiamaria, I do not work for eBay now, as you can see by the lack of a pink stripe on my post. However, I did work for eBay for over nine years before I retired a year ago April. I was at eBay as a member in 1996, then as an employee and member in 1998, and now just a member since 2007. I am sorry that you think I was condescending. I certainly didn't intend to be. But I do have opinions and they aren't exactly the same as Avery's -- who really is Avery, BTW. I guess what bothers me a bit is the outrage at eBay for behaving like a business. I don't know about you, but I came to eBay originally to sell things and make money! I found a community of other members here for the same purpose and I have really enjoyed and benefited tremendously from this community. But I don't think it was ever eBay's intention to start or maintain a Community -- it's something that just happened. For the record, I don't agree with all the recent changes. I think they have some really serious problems. But after all these years, with all the changes that have taken place, I still have faith that members will continue to make eBay work for us - as sellers and as buyers -- and that nothing done by management is carved in stone. It's rare, true, but they have backed off on some things in the past -- though usually by introducing a "new" program, feature, or other bit that just leaves the mistake behind.

kelley*green (18 ) View Listings \| Report		Jun-21-08 01:38 PDT	175 of 321
Several of you have been around since 1999, at least, or your current User ID has been. You remember when they started with User IDs, then blocked email addresses as IDs. Then they set up email through eBay. They made all feedback transaction related, unlike the way it was before when you could give someone feedback for just being helpful on boards. They stopped people from registering a web address as a User ID -- but grandfathered a few of those in. When the fee for Reserve prices was instituted, people were up in arms. How about Checkout? There have been other changes as well. With each of these, it was the end of eBay. There were boycotts, there were complaints, there were predictions of doom. But we've survived. We've even survived the constant tinkering with the SYI page, expanded from one page to .. how many now? We loved MisterLister - it's gone. We loved the Live Support Boards - they imploded. We loved having Pinks on the boards - there were fewer Pinks all the time, as there were more boards, so that now a Pink sighting is a phenomenon. I am more concerned about the end of the level playing field. I think feedback should be two ways, and I don't agree that volume sellers should get a discount. If anything, it's the small seller who needs one. But buyers are ecstatic about the feedback change. Buyers who don't sell, that is.

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log
Event Horizon 1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984

Posted on 19 June 2008 at 00:03 in eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

05 June 2008

eBay Workshop: Using the New Seller Dashboard to Maximize your eBay Benefit

Because they can, eBay did delete posts from their Workshop thread.

Based on content of the posts that were deleted, eBay demonstrated their inability to take criticism. And that their talk about "transparency" is mere Public Relations with no substance.

Because we can, to the best of our knowledge here is the uncensored thread. Apologies if we didn't catch all the deletions.

//
//
//

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000704692

eBay Workshop: Using the New Seller Dashboard to Maximize your eBay Benefit
deirdre@ebay.com View Listings \| Report		May-22-08 14:08 PDT
Topic: eBay Workshop: Just released! Using the New Seller Dashboard to Maximize your eBay Benefits Host: eBay staff Date: Thursday 06/05 Time: 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time Location: Workshop Board Description: eBay sellers who have received at least 10 Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) within the last 12 months now have access to their own, free personalized Seller Dashboard. This valuable resource allows each seller to actively monitor how selling performance translates to status with numerous eBay programs, incentives, and penalties. Sellers can see where they stand with the PowerSeller program, PowerSeller fee discounts, search standing (visibility in Best Match sorting), DSRs, policy compliance, buyer satisfaction rating, and account status (billing). Join this workshop to understand the new Seller Dashboard, and how it can help you maximize your benefits and selling effectiveness on eBay. Cheers, Deirdre eBay Community Development

Previous 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Next

See last post

135 replies	Date posted	Reply #
deirdre@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:00 PDT	1 of 135
Welcome and thanks for joining us today! We love workshops to be interactive, so please feel free to ask your questions that directly relate to this topic. Added note: If you click on the "Watch this discussion" link, you will receive an email each time someone posts to the workshop. Stop Watching: If at any time you no longer want to receive updates on a thread you are watching, just click on the link titled "Stop Watching Thread" found in the specific thread being watched. Also you can remove any watched thread by clicking on the "Watched Discussions" link located in the log in bar and deleting the watched thread. If you're new to the discussion boards, please be sure to check out the board tutorial: http://forums.ebay.com/thread.jspa?threadID=200066500&tstart=0&ssPageName=CMDV:BD0003 Please refresh the page to see the newest posts. Cheers, Deirdre eBay Community Development
chopsueysisters (2689 )	Jun-05-08 15:01 PDT	2 of 135
I want you to explain to me what this section means. And if there are circumstances where a seller may sell items that are not eligible for Powerseller FVF discounts For PowerSellers, using this feature also ensures that these UK sales are counted towards their Final Value Fee discounts. http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200803310800522.html We go together Like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga donk Remembered forever As shoo-bop sha wadda wadda yippity boom de boom
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:01 PDT	3 of 135
Good afternoon! Thank you for joining us. Welcome to the workshop! Here at eBay, we are excited to have recently launched the new Seller Dashboard. This is a brand new tool to empower sellers to more effectively manage their eBay businesses. Today we will provide an introduction to the tool and show how it can be used to gain greater visibility into qualifying for incentives and programs, as well as avoid penalties on eBay. Your participation and questions are encouraged. The Seller Dashboard is available only to eBay sellers who have received 10 detailed seller ratings or more within the last 12 months. Thanks for joining us today!
timecatchers (697 )	Jun-05-08 15:02 PDT	4 of 135
I love the Sellers Dash Board! I think it is an excellent tool for evaluating our selling performance it the key areas. Hooray for the Feedback Team. Can you tell me how much one buyer can damage a Seller's, say 4.8, rating by leaving just one dsr star on a 30 day and one year average algorithm? What is eBay focused on, the 30 day or 12 month averages? What kind of dsr rating would a buyer have to leave to reduce a seller's overall DSR of 4.9 to 4.7 (4.8 to 4.3 in the 30 day average) in one fell swoop? I have been told on Live Chat that you can appeal an unfair DSR rating. When I wrote to CS the response was that you could not appeal a DSR rating. Is there a DSR resolution process in place? If not, will there be one forthcoming? IT'S ALL WRITE ~ Quality Pens & Refills ~ eBay Store TIMECATCHERS ~ Antiques & Collectibles ~ eBay Auctions
woadieland (5438 )	Jun-05-08 15:04 PDT	5 of 135
Is there a difference in who can see what? I can see my 30 day and 12 mo DSR's but I have 3 friends who can't see their 30 day. (and they swear they are looking at the dashboard and not the 12 mo recap)
independencejewelry (575 )	Jun-05-08 15:04 PDT	6 of 135
My compliance shows failing. I called a couple of weeks ago and was told it would clear up in a few days. This is very discouraging to have to see a failing score for something not my fault that happened 4 months ago. How is this negativity and lack of support help a seller?
wildhorses304 (0 )	Jun-05-08 15:05 PDT	7 of 135
Hello. This is a posting ID but on my selling ID, I have a problem that I can't get a response to. It is concerning my Seller Dashboard. I have 100% feedback, received one neutral in April, which was mutually withdrawn after working it out with the buyer. Now I find that the corresponding low DSR's this buyer left for me were not removed. Now that a neutral counts negatively toward Best Match, why were these stars not removed also? I find it ironic that I am at 100% and I am lowered in Search Status and my Customer Service "needs work". Why will no one fix this for me so that I can begin to sell?
rdarwa (1802 )	Jun-05-08 15:06 PDT	8 of 135
The seller dashboard is fine, but 1 person can change your life very fast.
glass_addiction_etc (1228 )	Jun-05-08 15:07 PDT	9 of 135
woadieland, RE: see 30-30 day and 12 mo DSR. I had to install the latest version of Flash to see my 30 day DSRs using FireFox. I had no problem with IE. Mary
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:07 PDT	10 of 135
What is the Seller Dashboard? eBay’s goal in the providing sellers with this new Dashboard is simply to increase the transparency into how things work on eBay. The Dashboard is set of new pages within My eBay that gives you an at-a-glance look at your selling account status, so you can track what’s going well in your eBay business and identify areas for improvement. The dashboard is personalized for each seller to communicate “where you stand” with respect to the various eBay programs, benefits, and penalties. Note: Other sellers cannot access your Seller Dashboard.
tooolboxx (1546 )	Jun-05-08 15:07 PDT	11 of 135
I have a very basic question. At what point does the DSR change on your profile? Specifically, what is the rounding procedure for the number to rise, and at what point will a number drop? ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS NO MATCH FOR NATURAL STUPIDITY.
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:08 PDT	12 of 135
How can sellers access the Seller Dashboard? The Seller Dashboard is located within the My Account section of My eBay. You can find a “Seller Dashboard” link will be in the left navigation of the classic My eBay. Or, if you have opted into the My eBay Beta, the link can be found within the “My Account” tab located at toward the top of the page. Also, if you have subscribed to Selling Manager or Selling Manager Pro, a Seller Dashboard Summary will be included on the initial Selling Manager Summary page. This provides access point to the dashboard and a also lists your status for each Dashboard module. (If you've customized the display of your Selling Manager Summary page, you'll simply need to add the Dashboard to see it). Remember, the Seller Dashboard will only appear if you have at least 10 DSRs within the last 12 months You can check out your Seller Dashboard directly here www.ebay.com/sellerdashboard
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:08 PDT	13 of 135
The Seller Dashboard The Seller Dashboard includes the following modules: o Detailed seller ratings o Search standing (Best Match) o PowerSeller discount o PowerSeller status o Policy compliance (risk of restriction) o Buyer satisfaction rating o Account status (Billing) Here is an example of a seller’s personalized dashboard. We will drill into each module later, however for now, familiarize yourself with the general dashboard. You can click into each module display a page of more detailed information about how your status is calculated and where you should focus to improve or maintain your status.
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:09 PDT	14 of 135
Detailed seller ratings As most of you know, buyers rate their shopping experience with use by giving Detailed Seller Ratings (or DSRs). eBay places heavy importance on these ratings and is now using them as criteria for various incentives. In some case, bad DSR ratings can result in penalties. In short, DSRs are important to doing business on eBay. The Seller Dashboard provides information about your ratings in addition to what is available on the Feedback Profile page. This info includes: • Your 12-month DSR rating – These are the same as ratings displayed on your Feedback Profile page • Your 30-day average – This is an additional rating based only on the ratings received within the last 30 days. This ratings represents your recent sales activity. • eBay site averages (30-day & 12-month) – These numbers serve as a benchmark, telling you what rating the average seller on eBay has • DSR displayed to 2 decimal points (to the hundredths, i.e. 4.56) – This provides more granularity which can indicate which way your DSRs are moving. The DSR component typically compares two 2 sets of metrics. The first set (the wider blue bars) represents YOUR scores(either 30-day or 12 month DSR). The thin gold/yellowish bar is the second set to which your ratins are compared. Depending on which view you have selected, this set can be the eBay average, or minimum ratings required for a discount, etc. More on this later. You can switch between the following different views of your DSRs by selecting from the drop down menu within the DSR component. The views available are: • Your 30-day average vs. eBay 30-day average • Your 12-month average vs. eBay 12-month average • Your 30-day average vs. eBay 12-month average
wildhorses304 (0 )	Jun-05-08 15:09 PDT	15 of 135
Hello, I think we all understand what the Dashboard is. What about please responding to the questions we are having concerning problems with our Dashboard?
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:09 PDT	16 of 135
Detailed seller ratings (cont’d) Notice that the any rating you have that is less than the comparison set of ratings (e.g. the thin gold bar) is highlighted in red. This does not necessarily mean your score is bad, but just highlights that the score is lower than the second set of ratings, and that your rating may require some attention. For more detailed info about your DSRs, simply mouse-over the rating. This will display you the exact metrics of both bars more prominently.
lettinggo444 (868 )	Jun-05-08 15:09 PDT	17 of 135
1. Should buyers be leaving feedback for all items purchased in a single sale? 2. Also I have a repeat buyer who receives his purchase the next day and buys frequently so he is leaving feedback within the 7 day window.So his feedback is not counting. Is there a reason for the 7 day wait before the next? 3. I just had a buyer leave feedback before their purchase arrived and I noticed the DSR's go down. Is there anything that we can do about buyers who are taking this lightly? 4. I also seem to have a lot of buyers not leaving feedback even if reminded. They don't seem to think it matters. Thanks
rdarwa (1802 )	Jun-05-08 15:09 PDT	18 of 135
The problem I have is people do not undestand SHIPPING & HANDLING FEES!
chopsueysisters (2689 )	Jun-05-08 15:09 PDT	19 of 135
I believe that the dashboard is providing false information. I am a very low volume seller, which a huge amount of repeat customers and referred customers. The dashboard what is tied to my discount is based on a 30 day window. I can't see how I would drop from 5.0s 4.9s and a 4.8 down to 4.7, enough to prevent me from getting my 15%, now at this rate I doubt I will get any discount. Since I'm a low volume seller, during the months of feedbacks its only about 11-20 feedbacks that are left. I've contacted my customers. None of them are leaving me poor feedback stars, and I'm subscribed to DSRwatch list, so anything that is recorded goes by + or - and nothing is showing up there. Who manages the Dashboard program, is it Nick? We go together Like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga donk Remembered forever As shoo-bop sha wadda wadda yippity boom de boom
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:09 PDT	20 of 135
Search standing (Best Match) Your "Search standing" module lets you see your earned visibility level in "Best Match" search results. The better your Search standing, the higher your item may appear in the list of search result when a buyer does a search that it sorted by "Best Match." This is important to sellers because the higher items appear, the more buyers see them, and the more sales will likely result. The status gauge (image) shows whether you have earned a "Raised," "Standard," or "Lowered" search standing. By clicking the gauge, you can see what influences your search standing. Search standing (cont’d) A Raised search standing means your ratings meet or exceed the required minimum levels in Buyer satisfaction and detailed seller ratings, and therefore your listing will be “promoted” or more visible to buyers. -- Note -- If you already have a Raised search standing, you can still boost your ratings and increase the visibility of your items by maintaining or improving your customer service (i.e. higher DSRs). A Standard search standing means that the visibility of your listings will not be affected, neither made more visible or less visible by our Best Match sorting algorithm. A Lowered standing indicates that you have not been successful in providing eBay buyers with excellent customer service. If you get this standing, your listings may receive lower placement in search results sorted by Best Match. Note: The Search standing is just one metric used by Best Match in the determining visibility. Best Match looks at other characteristics of each listing as well.
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:10 PDT	21 of 135
PowerSeller discount Your "PowerSeller discount" module shows whether you have qualified for a seller discount on your monthly invoice Final Value Fees. Click the image or the “See how ebay calculates your discount” to see the details At the top of the page, all of the information is related to the discount that was most recently calculated. You can see the invoice to which the discount was applied and the date that the discount was determined. Mousing-over the “See details” link will reveal a pop-up with all the details of the discount eligibility calculation. The lower part of the screen will show you your metrics as of today, so that you can see if you are on track to receive a discount on your NEXT invoice. Your next discount will be calculated a few days prior to your invoice date. Sorry, we can’t provide a more exact date/time than that. The discount calculation process for all eBay sellers can take days to complete and sometimes has to be re-run, so we can’t predict the date and time for each seller.
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:10 PDT	22 of 135
PowerSeller Status The PowerSeller status module simply displays your PowerSeller level ranging from Bronze to Titanium, and warns you as to possible risks to your current status. By clicking the PowerSeller image that displays your current level, you can link to detailed requirements for each level and whether you are currently meeting those requirements. I think this page is self explanatory, however if you have any questions, please post away!
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:11 PDT	23 of 135
Policy compliance (risk of restriction) This module alerts you to and provides information about any violations of eBay policy that you might have. It also includes details of the policy, and indicates your general risk level that one more violation will result in eBay action against your account (i.e. listings cancelled, restriction, etc.) This page is simply organizes policy and violation related info to communicate the following: 1) which policies have recent violations 2) the details of those policies 3) the details of the violations (by linking directly to the violation-related My Messages which include the relevant listings in violation, details of action taken by ebay, etc.) 4) the general level of risk that one more violation will result in eBay action against the seller and what those possible actions are 5) whether the account is under a selling restriction.
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:11 PDT	24 of 135
Buyer satisfaction rating Your buyer satisfaction rating measures your customer service and rates the shopping experience that you provide buyers. eBay uses this rating to determine rewards for sellers who are providing positive buying experiences, and penalties for those who don’t. By clicking the "Buyer satisfaction" gauge, you can see your current rating and information about some of the criteria eBay uses to calculate this rating. To determine your Buyer satisfaction rating, eBay considers: - The total number of 1s and 2s detailed seller ratings received (last 30 days) - The total number of neutral and negative feedback ratings received (last 30 days) - Any buyer protection claims that may exist on your account 85% of all buyers have a Buyer satisfaction rating of "Good." Good means that your buyers are generally satisfied with your customer service. If you don’t’ have a Good rating, this is something you should work to improve in order to avoid penalties or ineligibility for benefits.
wildhorses304 (0 )	Jun-05-08 15:12 PDT	25 of 135
My DSR ratings are 4.8, 4.9, 4.8, and 4.7. Feedback, 100% but, I am lowered in search and my customer service "needs work"???????????????????
glass_addiction_etc (1228 )	Jun-05-08 15:12 PDT	26 of 135
I have questioned by buyers when my Shipping & Handling Star has dropped. AND they are rating the overall shipping price charged by the carrier NOT my shipping & handling (I charge no handling on many items and a small handling on others). THAT is not the purpose of the shipping handling star! eBay need to educate buyers! Mary
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:12 PDT	27 of 135
Account status (Billing) The Account status module simply provides a quick reminder of your billing status as of your latest invoice. Click the summary button to view or pay your current invoice and check for any alerts and links to manage any issues with your account. The “View your account” link leads to your Seller Account page outside of the dashboard.
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:12 PDT	28 of 135
Q & A: Please post any questions or comments you may have My colleagues and I will do our best to answer them in the order they are posted.
rdarwa (1802 )	Jun-05-08 15:13 PDT	29 of 135
I don't think we should be punished with how our ads come up. If you aren't getting good ratings for what ever reason you don't get a raised rating...that isn't right. 1 person can wreck that just because they don't understand or read your ads.
deirdre@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:13 PDT	30 of 135
Hi wildhorses304 (post 16): The workshop is for everyone and is to be used as a point of reference for those that may need the background information. Please be patient and once the workshop material is posted, your questions will be answered. Thank you for your patience and cooperation, Deirdre eBay Community Development
independencejewelry (575 ) View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:13 PDT	31 of 135
Does everyone have the same required minimums and do they change?
golfingaddict (14137 )	Jun-05-08 15:13 PDT	32 of 135
As a seller that would like to maintain good standing with eBay, I have to say that the seller dashboard is disappointing and does not offer the information I need to improve my business. 1. I have no idea why I am being rated down on certain areas. 2. I ship everything within 24 hours, sometimes less and yet my dsrs continue to go down. 3. I sell in 4 very different categories with different shipping types/issues. I can't tell if it is one type of item that I'm being rated down on or another. How can I improve if I have no idea how or where my buyers are complaining? 4. It seems blatently unfair to "restrict or disadvantage" a seller because they get a single anonymous rating of "1" I could get that simply because a buyer has a bad hair day. 5. The dsrs seem unbalanced. A high volume seller can absorb a "rare" low number and yet it will be very detrimental to a low volume seller. Since the ratings are subjective at best, this seems a little unbalanced to smaller sellers. 6. Why are you showing RED WARNING bars simply because my ratings for 30 days are .01 different (lower) than my 12 month rating. Is 4.92 not high enough for you? Heaven help us all if you need to warn me for having a 4.91 in my DSR
chopsueysisters (2689 )	Jun-05-08 15:15 PDT	33 of 135
This dashboard is made to benefit megasellers. A small seller cannot improve anything if they get one ding. And by ding I dont mean a 1, anything a 4 or a 3 can impact their scores and to correct that to improve themselves is next to impossible. I had 100% feedback. This tool is tied to our exposure on this site and you have implemented a tool that ensures that volume sellers can mitigate the destruction that this tool calculates for. We go together Like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga donk Remembered forever As shoo-bop sha wadda wadda yippity boom de boom
wildhorses304 (0 )	Jun-05-08 15:15 PDT	34 of 135
Under my seller ID, My account is lowered in Best Match and it says my customer service needs work. I have 100% feedback, DSR's of 4.8, 4.9, 4.8, & 4.7. Received one neutral in April, mutually withdrawn, but that buyer probably left low DSR's. Why were the corresponding DSR's not removed also. That is the only thing against me yet you say 85% of sellers will be in good standing?
powerwheelerchris (1862 )	Jun-05-08 15:16 PDT	35 of 135
Somone mentioned tht they were signed up for something I think was called DSR watch, wht is that? Is it a part of eBay?
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:17 PDT	36 of 135
Hi timecatchers, The effect that one DSR rating can have on your 30-day and 12-months averages completely depends on your volume of sales. If you have a lower volume of sales then each rating has a greater impact on your scores. I don't have the answer to your DSR rating appeal process. Thanks, Lomax
nadtzmaru10 (19893 )	Jun-05-08 15:18 PDT	37 of 135
With "all due" respect what kind of special sweetheart deal did buy.com get relating to the dashboard on this level playing field?
golfingaddict (14137 )	Jun-05-08 15:18 PDT	38 of 135
Why is your wording in the Buyer satisfaction so negative? It feels condescending to me. I find it insulting to have a "good" rating and be told to continue focusing on exceeding my customers expectations. I think that I am capable of dealing with my customers satisfaction and I don't need eBay to remind me about customer service. Do I look like I need this help? Couldn't you drop the comments of warning and simply say "you are doing a good job of selling"? I don't need to be told to be sure to follow the rules.
woadieland (5438 )	Jun-05-08 15:18 PDT	39 of 135
RE #24 - what is the time frame for this - that is How long does it take for a resolved policy violation to disappear off of this metric? And back on the SEarch status - how often does that change. If I'm "raised" today can I be "lowered" tomorrow? or is it done over a specific period of time?

//
//
//

135 replies	Date posted	Reply #
primsaw (506 )	Jun-05-08 15:18 PDT	40 of 135
Ok let's just all stop asking questions until lomax has finished explaining this very simple dashboard to us. Kat
humano (1216 )	Jun-05-08 15:18 PDT	41 of 135
Can you please post the requirements for a Raised search standing? I have 100% rating and my lowest subscore is 4.75 yet I am rated Standard.
chopsueysisters (2689 )	Jun-05-08 15:18 PDT	42 of 135
The lastest calculation on the dashboard, the billing page used to show the grey box at the very top and would show % AND the amount of discount. This month when mine was calculated just the other day, the invoice DOES NOT SHOW IT AT THE TOP, the amount. And now my invoice is 11 pages long I have to hunt for page 11 to see the amount. You need to provide some detailed information in our billing so we can see for ourselves which items qualified for the discount. You provide us information overload on this dashboard, you can provide some basic pertinent information on our billing very easily. Nick knows this. I've already talked with him on the phone yesterday. I'm the one who was crying while he was working his calculator We go together Like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga donk Remembered forever As shoo-bop sha wadda wadda yippity boom de boom
minnymalse (1004 )	Jun-05-08 15:18 PDT	43 of 135
My problem is that I worked very, very hard since February when Ebay announced that they were going to make these changes. I improved the quality of items I was selling, and the packing materials. I put procedures in place to improve customer service, and changed all my shipping to priority mail only just so customers would get their items very quickly. Then, I revised all of my store items so that if a buyer purchases more than one item they would automatically get free shipping on the 2nd item and so forth. My feedback percentage and DSR's improved a great deal over the last 6-9 months. Then, when the Seller Bashboard came out. Boom! I lost .5% on my overall percentage because Ebay decided to count past neutrals the same as negs. Therefore, all of my "improvements" were turned into wasted effort. As it is now, it will only take one "wacko" buyer to destroy my good feedback completely. This is why I call it a seller Bashboard instead of a Seller Dashboard. I don't see how this monster thing can be used to help me at all. It's a curse. .
glass_addiction_etc (1228 )	Jun-05-08 15:19 PDT	44 of 135
I am also noticing that many of my buyers are leaving positive feedback, BUT not using the stars. So that means if and when a buyer dings me, it is more likely to hurt me. How is that fair? Mary
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:19 PDT	45 of 135
hello woadieland, The reason your friends can't see their 30-day DSR metrics is likely due to the fact that they may have received less than 10 DSRs in the last 30 days. In this case eBay's policy is not to show the DSR ratings in order to protect buyer anonymity. Once they receive 10 within 30 days, the Dashboard will show the ratings. Thanks for your question, Lomax
woadieland (5438 )	Jun-05-08 15:20 PDT	46 of 135
How is the 15% discount (or any discount actually) determined if there are NOT 30 days between the evaluation dates? How can 1 day out of 30 represent the whole 30? I'd like to be emailed a "snapshot" of my DSR's on the evaluation day to justify why you keep denying me the 15% discount when I had DSR's of 4.9 4.9 4.8 and 4.8 for 29 days of the month. BUT the one you picked to look at me? That's the day my DSR for Shipping and handling dropped to 4.7 - then went back up the next day. How convenient for ebay - saved them a whole $60
standardsheetmetalandtrim (541 )	Jun-05-08 15:20 PDT	47 of 135
Why are we as sellers being punished with reduced search visability based on a buyers OPINION that S&H might be too high when a seller only charges actual cost. I have no control ov the S&H cost, why penalize us for something beyond control?
primsaw (506 )	Jun-05-08 15:21 PDT	48 of 135
Why is buyer anonymity protected now that we can't neg them anyway? Kat
golfingaddict (14137 )	Jun-05-08 15:22 PDT	49 of 135
It would be helpful for me to know exactly how many detailed seller ratings are used for my percentage each month. Could it be possible to include the total number of ratings with the 30 day average? I'd also like to be able to keep track of feedback this way. Now that we are on a 12 month and 30 day rating system, the overall total means nothing. I want to know exactly how my 30 day total is made up, including how many ratings you use and how many drop off or are added each day. Please give us some information we can use.
woadieland (5438 )	Jun-05-08 15:23 PDT	50 of 135
Lomax, actually that's not true because both of them sell enough - one is a bronze powerseller for stuff like used clothing and ashtrays so she is moving volume the other sells a lot (don't ahve the $$ amount handy but both should be way above 10 DSR's a month). Nah I just checked - the one geto 53 feedback the last 30 days. SO THAT is not the answer.
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:23 PDT	51 of 135
Hi independencejewelry, This is a common reaction. Some vilations of policy (such as Vero (i.e. Trademark/Copyright) or schill bidding, etc.) can flip your status right to red with just one offense. This means that one more violation of the same type may result in eBay action against your account. We may consider revising the content within the dashboard to make this more clear. Regards, Lomax
powerwheelerchris (1862 )	Jun-05-08 15:24 PDT	52 of 135
If a person has a violation say on a disscussion board, the about me page, or a blog entry/comment, does that affect thier dashboard?
chopsueysisters (2689 )	Jun-05-08 15:25 PDT	53 of 135
I thought we were going in order. Why is post #2 not being address. There's a team of you here We go together Like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga donk Remembered forever As shoo-bop sha wadda wadda yippity boom de boom
rdarwa (1802 )	Jun-05-08 15:25 PDT	54 of 135
I think alot needs to be revised! Not being able to leave negative feedback to a buyer that gives you negative feedback and claims your shipping is too high better check the rates!
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:27 PDT	55 of 135
Hi wildhorses304, I don't have that answer, Let me see if we can get someone from the feedback team to join. Lomax
standardsheetmetalandtrim (541 )	Jun-05-08 15:27 PDT	56 of 135
Since mathmatically we sellers will recieve more 4's than 5's, once we lose the Powerseller status do we also lose the dash board?
wildhorses304 (0 )	Jun-05-08 15:27 PDT	57 of 135
Sorry, Couldn't tell when you were finished. Post #25. Here it is again: Hello. This is a posting ID but on my selling ID, I have a problem that I can't get a response to. It is concerning my Seller Dashboard. I have 100% feedback, received one neutral in April, which was mutually withdrawn after working it out with the buyer. Now I find that the corresponding low DSR's this buyer left for me were not removed. Now that a neutral counts negatively toward Best Match, why were these stars not removed also? I find it ironic that I am at 100% and I am lowered in Search Status and my Customer Service "needs work". Why will no one fix this for me so that I can begin to sell?
nadtzmaru10 (19893 )	Jun-05-08 15:28 PDT	58 of 135
Lomax How bout someone from the mega seller team?
timecatchers (697 )	Jun-05-08 15:28 PDT	59 of 135
Lomax, is the 30 average based on the LAST 30 or on a first to last day of the previous month? Thanks, Del IT'S ALL WRITE ~ Quality Pens & Refills ~ eBay Store TIMECATCHERS ~ Antiques & Collectibles ~ eBay Auctions
powerwheelerchris (1862 )	Jun-05-08 15:28 PDT	60 of 135
standardsheetmetalandtrim Dashboard is for everyone, I am not a powerseller and I have a dashboard.
udderlygoodstuff (4057 )	Jun-05-08 15:29 PDT	61 of 135
If Ebay is so concerned about sellers improving their customer service then we need to know which buyer was not happy! This anonymous stuff is not productive for anything and it's offensive to have ebay keep blowing that smoke up our chimney... let us see which customer did not get 5 star service otherwise it is futile there is no way to improve something if you don't know what the problem is.
rdarwa (1802 )	Jun-05-08 15:29 PDT	62 of 135
You wont loose the dashboard as far as i know. Ebay wants you to use it to follow your scores and show you what you need to improve on...sort of.
wildhorses304 (0 )	Jun-05-08 15:29 PDT	63 of 135
Just wondering how one person rating me low count adversely affect me that much. I have no violations, no negative or neutrals. I thought if neutrals were now counted negatively, the corresponding stars would come off also. Of course, now we can't do mutual withdrawal but this was back when we could.
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:31 PDT	64 of 135
Hi tooolboxx, All eBay programs (i.e. PS, Discounts, Search Standing, etc.) use DSR rating requirements rounded to 1 decimal (i.e. tenths). The logic is simply, 4.55's round up to 4.6 and 4.54's round down to 4.5. The DSRs on the Dashboard are updated many times daily. Lomax
standardsheetmetalandtrim (541 )	Jun-05-08 15:31 PDT	65 of 135
I too would like to know which buyer left which star.
lettinggo444 (868 )	Jun-05-08 15:32 PDT	66 of 135
I wondered that too-how does one sign up for the DSR watch list. I think the DSR's are giving the buyers to much power over whether we will survive on eBay or not even if we are doing the best we can. I too ship within 24 hours and usually less. There was a week when the emails bounced that had the tracking and I noticed everyone I shipped to took a lot longer than usual. Priority took 5 days on the same coast. I really think eBay should put out a notice to all about shipping times and volume and inform buyers of the seriosness of their feedback they are leaving.
timecatchers (697 )	Jun-05-08 15:32 PDT	67 of 135
Lomax, Re Post 45... so if we go 30 days or more with no DSR's (easily done if store is on vacation for extended period of time) does that mean that all of a sudden I will not be able to see any DSR's?? Kathryn IT'S ALL WRITE ~ Quality Pens & Refills ~ eBay Store TIMECATCHERS ~ Antiques & Collectibles ~ eBay Auctions
primsaw (506 )	Jun-05-08 15:33 PDT	68 of 135
Back when we could neg buyers, I could understand eBay's thinking about anonymity (not agree but understand), but now there is NO reason why we shouldn't be able to see exactly how each buyer rated us. Then we can pinpoint the so-called problem. Which 99.9% of the time is only a buyer being told by eBay that 4 is good when eBay knows too many 4's can put a small seller out of business. Kat (primsaw)
udderlygoodstuff (4057 )	Jun-05-08 15:33 PDT	69 of 135
Also - how about a buyer DSR, how in the world are sellers supposed to protect their business now that we don't get to see which buyers are problems? How about buyer stars: Payment 1 star= didn't pay 2 stars= paid slowly 3 stars= paid neither slow or fast 4 stars= paid on time 5 stars= paid very quickly Communication 1 stars = didn't communicate at all 2 stars = unclear communication 3 stars = neither good or bad communication 4 stars = asked questions before auction end 5 stars = very good communication Get the idea? As sellers we also need to know who is safe to do business with, we are taking all the risk in sending out product with a buyer who can turn around on a whim and say it was defective, or not as described etc...
standardsheetmetalandtrim (541 )	Jun-05-08 15:34 PDT	70 of 135
Is it true that eBay wants to replace hundreds of sellers with mega sellers like BUY.COM?
powerwheelerchris (1862 )	Jun-05-08 15:34 PDT	71 of 135
I would hazzard a guess that buyers identiy is kept private as there are probably or have been some sellers who have harassed their buyers.
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 15:34 PDT	72 of 135
Hi standardsheetmetalandtrim, Thanks for your question. Detailed seller ratings are anonymous so that buyers can leave their ratings in confidence. We're looking into ways to provide more information to sellers (for example, find all your DSRs from cross-border buyers) but we don't expect to provide a direct link to individual buyers. Lomax
rdarwa (1802 )	Jun-05-08 15:35 PDT	73 of 135
This new system put the little guys out of business...guess what, Ebay is going to loose in the long run when business drops off.
timecatchers (697 )	Jun-05-08 15:35 PDT	74 of 135
Low volume sellers like myself can pretty easily determine which buyers are affecting their DSR's I still think the Dashboard is a great tool! It's the policies surrounding DSR's that I think are wacko Del IT'S ALL WRITE ~ Quality Pens & Refills ~ eBay Store TIMECATCHERS ~ Antiques & Collectibles ~ eBay Auctions
wildhorses304 (0 )	Jun-05-08 15:35 PDT	75 of 135
Whew, typed too fast. If a buyer rates me with 1's or 2's, what is the ratio in how that affects me in Best Match. How much do neutrals, negatives count, how much does a violation count. Why not state that policy upfront rather than keeping it a secret?
glass_addiction_etc (1228 )	Jun-05-08 15:35 PDT	76 of 135
Can you PLEASE explain how a small volume seller can succeed on eBay with the current DSR system and being disadvantaged in Best Match? Mary
standardsheetmetalandtrim (541 )	Jun-05-08 15:36 PDT	77 of 135
Thanks, but now that we can't leave negs what difference does it make? How can we improve when we don't know which customer had a problem we can improve on?
woadieland (5438 )	Jun-05-08 15:36 PDT	78 of 135
I'd rather have a DSR system to rate ebay 1. Customer Service - the phone was answered by a human within 10 rings - not 30 2. the person who answered the phone knew what they were talking about 3. Live HELP? They really helped (instead of being live helpless) 4. Ebay Billing - got it right the first time - Discounts/Credits/Store listing fees 5. eBay didn't relist sold or delisted items for a whole month there by saving me agony over things that sold that I no longer have cause I sold them a long time ago.
golfingaddict (14137 )	Jun-05-08 15:36 PDT	79 of 135
I don't even need to know exactly which buyers. I need the following from the DSRs. 1. What are the specific scores? Are there lots of 5's with an occasional 1? or is there a pattern of 3's or 2's and/or 1's. 2. What is the breakdown by category or product type? For sellers like me, that sell 4-5 very unique and different products, that information is necessary to help identify problems. 3. Is there a pattern of low scores based on a shipping service that I am using? Or products purchased on the weekend? Or products that are oversize/or particularly heavy? Maybe I could do a better job of explaining this in a listing or email if I knew it was an issue?

//
//
//

135 replies

Date posted

Reply #

primsaw (506

)

Jun-05-08 15:37 PDT

80 of 135

Seller harrassment about star ratings could be reported and end up harming the seller's dashboard rating that way. I repeat: there is NO good reason for buyer anonymity now that sellers can't neg them.

Kat

timecatchers (697

)

Jun-05-08 15:37 PDT

81 of 135

RE: Post 69,

Great idea!

Del

IT'S ALL WRITE ~ Quality Pens & Refills ~ eBay Store
TIMECATCHERS ~ Antiques & Collectibles ~ eBay Auctions

woadieland (5438

)

Jun-05-08 15:38 PDT

82 of 135

UH Chris - that harrassment stuff goes both ways. I have shipping vigilantes giving me grief last night cause they thought my shipping was too high. And mine was lower than hers for a bigger/heavier item.

I think ebay keeps it anonymous because they know good and well, we will ALL block the ones leaving bad stars and they will lose their "customers" that we had to deal with.

skminus (1554

)

Jun-05-08 15:39 PDT

83 of 135

I would like to know exactly what each of my DSR's are made up of within the 30 days. No need to tell me who gave what - just show me how many 5's or 4's I have. My 30 day rating is at 5,5,5, 4.66 over 14 feedbacks.

On May 31 it was 4.93, 5, 5. 4.66 over 18 feedbacks. I don't see how mathematically, I can get an odd number like 4.66 over 18 FB's.

Until you show us exact detail of DSR's given, we may suspect the numbers aren't true.

SKM

'One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats.'

- Iris Murdoch

lomax@ebay.com View Listings | Report

Jun-05-08 15:40 PDT

84 of 135

Hello lettinggo444,

1. Should buyers be leaving feedback for all items purchased in a single sale?

One feedback left per transaction.

2. Also I have a repeat buyer who receives his purchase the next day and buys frequently so he is leaving feedback within the 7 day window.So his feedback is not counting. Is there a reason for the 7 day wait before the next?

To combat feedback padding by unethical sellers.

3. I just had a buyer leave feedback before their purchase arrived and I noticed the DSR's go down. Is there anything that we can do about buyers who are taking this lightly?

I am not aware of any DSR appeal process.

4. I also seem to have a lot of buyers not leaving feedback even if reminded. They don't seem to think it matters.

eBay is messaging to buyers that DSRs are important to sellers.

Thanks

standardsheetmetalandtrim (541

)

Jun-05-08 15:41 PDT

85 of 135

Is it true that eBay wants to replace hundreds of sellers with mega sellers like BUY.COM?

And that the lowered DSR/lowered search expose is a quite way of showing us the door?

woadieland (5438

)

Jun-05-08 15:41 PDT

86 of 135

I agree with post 80. We need to know more detail so WE can evaluate what we are doing. After all, although ebay denies this, they are OUR customers too. (I'll let you ahve the miserable cantankerous ones and I'll keep the nice ones)

timecatchers (697

)

Jun-05-08 15:42 PDT

87 of 135

FYI, for DSR Watch, google Channel Master.

Kathryn

IT'S ALL WRITE ~ Quality Pens & Refills ~ eBay Store
TIMECATCHERS ~ Antiques & Collectibles ~ eBay Auctions

powerwheelerchris (1862

)

Jun-05-08 15:42 PDT

88 of 135

woadieland

"I think ebay keeps it anonymous because they know good and well, we will ALL block the ones leaving bad stars and they will lose their "customers" that we had to deal with. "

Then we are back to the old problem, buyers being araid to leave honest feedback. Which then makes the fedback system flawed,

Tghere will never be a perfect feeback system, in some ways I am convienced that only when a feedback systme comes out that tells every seller they have a 5.0 on all the stars and 100% all the time - theon and only then a seller would think it was a pefect system.

Buyers are not perfect, neither are we sellers.

IMHO if you are afraid of a little honest opinion from your buyers then maybe you need to look at how you are doing things.

udderlygoodstuff (4057

)

Jun-05-08 15:42 PDT

89 of 135

eBay is messaging to buyers that DSRs are important to sellers.

Really? How is this being done? Because as a frequent buyer myself I have seen nothing but - leave honest feedback even if it means negs and neutrals as the message being sent to buyers! File that dispute - ding that seller is the message I see over and over!
What is ebay doing to help good sellers remain in business?

lomax@ebay.com View Listings | Report

Jun-05-08 15:43 PDT

90 of 135

Hi timecatchers,

The Dashboard is available for sellers with at least 10 DSRs over the last 12 months so if your store was on vacation for a month then it would still be accessible in the Dashboard. You wouldn't see your 30-day DSR metric if you have less than 10 DSRs over the last 30 days though...but it'll come back as soon as you do.

Also, the 30-day average is the LAST 30 days, updated daily. (Not last month or last four weeks or whatever).

Lomax

standardsheetmetalandtrim (541

)

Jun-05-08 15:44 PDT

91 of 135

Thanks for the answer pink, but now that we can't leave negs what difference does it make? How can we improve when we don't know which customer had a problem we can improve on?

primsaw (506

)

Jun-05-08 15:45 PDT

92 of 135

I had a suggestion for making the DSR's a bit more equitable for small/low volume sellers the other day. I would appreciate it if you pinks here at the workshop would pass it along to the product development team.

Since low volume sellers are rated on the same 30 day time frame as mega sellers, it puts us at a severe disadvantage. My suggestion would be as follows.

Have the system compute the average number of ratings a seller receives in a 12 month period, and then:

Sellers who average over 100 or more DSR's a month are rated on the last 30 days.

Sellers who average 50-99 DSR's a month are rated on the last 60 days.

Sellers who average 1 - 49 DSR's a month are rated on the last 90 days.

That would be a bit more equitable system. As it works now, the cards are stacked agains low volume sellers, and it does look like eBay would like us to take a hike.

Please don't think because I am making suggestions that I think would improve the system that I like the DSR system. I absolutley despise it.

Kat (primsaw)

timecatchers (697

)

Jun-05-08 15:45 PDT

93 of 135

I second that motion by SKM in Post 84. Just the facts ma'am!
Kathryn
Signature Logo2

IT'S ALL WRITE ~ Quality Pens & Refills ~ eBay Store
TIMECATCHERS ~ Antiques & Collectibles ~ eBay Auctions

lomax@ebay.com View Listings | Report

Jun-05-08 15:46 PDT

94 of 135

golfingaddict,

We will consider changing this language.

Lomax

udderlygoodstuff (4057

)

Jun-05-08 15:46 PDT

95 of 135

Another thing ebay could do to protect sellers is this:

Make the buyer go through a process such as the NPB process sellers must file against buyers - make them file and have to wait for seller response before they can leave neg or neutral feedback - also make it so if a seller can provide proof of resolving any problems they can avoid the bad feedback.

Good sellers should not be punished for all the bad sellers out there, there needs to be something in place to protect good sellers from unfair feedback.

woadieland (5438

)

Jun-05-08 15:47 PDT

96 of 135

Sorry but Hubby is a POWERBUYER. He's never gotten anything to say DSR's are important. And the guidelines he did get specifically mentioned leaving "honest feedback" and negatives if warranted (don't remember the wording but he was gonna neg a seller and I had to slap him back to his senses. His excuse was, "well they said to do it. "

We since got 3 negs from one very disagreeable human and he now sees that the system is flawed.

Chris that's why I'm thnking eBay will never make the feedback stars attributable to particular people. It will ALWAYS be anonymous. I don't care. I just want to know more specifically what I got rated. Not some stupid average I can't even prove is true.

paperprovisions (21

) View Listings | Report

Jun-05-08 15:48 PDT

97 of 135

Are circumstances where a seller may sell items that are not eligible for Powerseller FVF discounts? Please clarify this policy.

"For PowerSellers, using this feature also ensures that these UK sales are counted towards their Final Value Fee discounts."

As quoted in this Announcement:
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200803310800522.html

skminus (1554

)

Jun-05-08 15:48 PDT

98 of 135

Do the math: 14 DSR's = 4.66. Perfect 5's = 70

66/70 x 5 = 4.71
65/70 x 5 = 4.64
65/70 x 5 = 4.57

There is no 4.66!! Impossible! Does not compute! This is why I'm sceptical.

SKM

'One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats.'

- Iris Murdoch

chopsueysisters (2689

)

Jun-05-08 15:48 PDT

99 of 135

48 minutes into this and you haven't responded to post #2

Stephanie Tilenius said in that announcement that paying the site visibility surcharge, that using this feature also ensures that these UK sales are counted towards their Final Value Fee discounts.

WHY IS IT you can't respond to whether UK transactions may not be counted unless you pay an additional charge?

We go together
Like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga donk
Remembered forever
As shoo-bop sha wadda wadda yippity boom de boom

lomax@ebay.com View Listings | Report

Jun-05-08 15:48 PDT

100 of 135

Hi wildhorses304,

If you look at my post regarding the Buyer Satisfaction module you will see the details about how this Rating is calculated. Its based on buyer protection claims, and also the total of 1s and 2s DSR ratings received. That is why your rating may not be in the "Good" range.

Regards,
Lomax

monkey*see*monkey*do (49

)

Jun-05-08 15:49 PDT

101 of 135

can you clarify this statement about the new exposure to ebay.uk and specify what this means exactly?

For PowerSellers, using this feature also ensures that these UK sales are counted towards their Final Value Fee discounts.

does this mean that if a buyer from the UK buys on the .com the sale won't count? Does this mean if they buy on the UK site but the seller didn't pay for the upgrade it won't?

Thanks

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

monkey*see*monkey*do (49

)

Jun-05-08 15:50 PDT

102 of 135

^ sorry didn't see someone asked that.

I would still like this to be addressed though.

wildhorses304 (0 )

Jun-05-08 15:50 PDT

103 of 135

Can you at least ask someone to take a look at my situation?

When mutual feedback withdrawal was still allowed, neutral stars were not removed but now that I am impacted by neutral rating, although withdrawn, the stars remained and are counting against me unfairly.

skminus (1554

)

Jun-05-08 15:52 PDT

104 of 135

Excuse me - the last one should have been 64/70 x5 = 4.57.

SKM

'One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats.'

- Iris Murdoch

timecatchers (697

)

Jun-05-08 15:52 PDT

105 of 135

I second that motion by Primsaw in Post 93. It is an excellent idea. We are small, low volume sellers who are growing our business a little slower because we want to do it right. We hope to be power sellers someday but it will be awhile. But with these 30-day DSR lookbacks it is not helping. Also, I have to say it is extremely disheartening to be hit with the language from eBay that we are not doing a good job when we click on one of those red boxes. EXTREMELY disheartening!
Kathryn
Signature Logo2

IT'S ALL WRITE ~ Quality Pens & Refills ~ eBay Store
TIMECATCHERS ~ Antiques & Collectibles ~ eBay Auctions

udderlygoodstuff (4057

)

Jun-05-08 15:53 PDT

106 of 135

I hope everyone goes to ebay live and makes a big stink over these DSRs affecting our ability to do the business we have always been able to do on ebay.
Searchability should be equal by time ending soonest, not some unfair anonymous stars one person with a bad attitude can affect.

lettinggo444 (868

)

Jun-05-08 15:53 PDT

107 of 135

How would a seller pad feedback?
We are supposed to be rewarded for repeat buyers but then they can't leave feedback when they receive the purhcase or leave it too soon or forget.
So how is that helping to have a repeat buyer?

monkey*see*monkey*do (49

)

Jun-05-08 15:53 PDT

108 of 135

I have no clue Woadie.

I wish I did.

skminus (1554

)

Jun-05-08 15:54 PDT

109 of 135

If I fluctuate between Raised and Standard search on a daily basis, does that mean my search visibility adjusts daily?

SKM

'One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats.'

- Iris Murdoch

primsaw (506

)

Jun-05-08 15:54 PDT

110 of 135

The dashboard is not so complicated that we needed a workshop to explain its basic self explanatory nature to us. What we needed was a question and answer session. Hopefully, you will answer some of these people's questions, even after the thread is locked.

Kat (primsaw)

udderlygoodstuff (4057

)

Jun-05-08 15:55 PDT

111 of 135

I think we lost Lomax!!!!

1 Star for Communication!

powerwheelerchris (1862

)

Jun-05-08 15:55 PDT

112 of 135

IMHO a lot of us came here with "issues" about the dashboard, the feedback changes, etc. and some of us are frustrated and venting anger. We did not let the team finish their presentations before we launched into our questions. We have really been talking amongst ourselves instead of with the pinks.

maybe the pinks are a bit overwhelmed. Maybe they did not expect this much response.

But I think some of the blame goes on eBay not realizing how much of a hot button topic this is and some goes on us for slamming them with our anger.

timecatchers (697

)

Jun-05-08 15:55 PDT

113 of 135

Udderlygoodstuff, I second the motion in Post 96!!!! (FYI, I can do other things besides 2nd motions, but you guys are saying it so WELL!)

Kathryn

IT'S ALL WRITE ~ Quality Pens & Refills ~ eBay Store
TIMECATCHERS ~ Antiques & Collectibles ~ eBay Auctions

primsaw (506 )		Jun-05-08 15:55 PDT	114 of 135
Sign zeee petition on the stores board to remove the star rating system. If nothing else, we need to let eBay know how many of us disapprove of the entire DSR system. Kat (primsaw)

fleur.de.lis.rising (726

)

Jun-05-08 15:55 PDT

115 of 135

I'd be interested in the answer to the following, as well:

can you clarify this statement about the new exposure to ebay.uk and specify what this means exactly?

For PowerSellers, using this feature also ensures that these UK sales are counted towards their Final Value Fee discounts.

Sigmund F. Spot, FHC

"If I clear my cache anymore, my computer's gonna disappear!"

lomax@ebay.com View Listings | Report

Jun-05-08 15:56 PDT

116 of 135

Humano,
If your DSRs are all above a 4.7 and your Buyer Satisfaction rating is "good," your should have a Raised status.

If not, please let me know. Thanks,
Lomax

udderlygoodstuff (4057

)

Jun-05-08 15:56 PDT

117 of 135

timecatchers - I was told for powersellers a buyer has to wait 7 days to leave any kind of feedback - but that doesn't make much sense, it should be 7 days after receipt of item if they want to protect sellers even a little.

fleur.de.lis.rising (726 ) View Listings \| Report		Jun-05-08 15:58 PDT	118 of 135
we need to let eBay know how many of us disapprove of the entire DSR system. To say the system is condescending and grossly lobsided is putting it mildly! Small volume sellers are scr#wed! Sigmund F. Spot, FHC "If I clear my cache anymore, my computer's gonna disappear!"

wildhorses304 (0 ) View Listings \| Report		Jun-05-08 15:59 PDT	119 of 135
thanks so much for the non-answers to my questions.

//
//
//

132 replies	Date posted	Reply #
skminus (1554 )	Jun-05-08 15:59 PDT	120 of 135
From the first post: it can help you maximize your benefits and selling effectiveness on eBay. Hah! SKM 'One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats.' - Iris Murdoch
udderlygoodstuff (4057 )	Jun-05-08 15:59 PDT	121 of 135
So glad I came to this workshop
udderlygoodstuff (4057 )	Jun-05-08 16:00 PDT	122 of 135
oops my dripping with sarcasm part didn't come through
monkeyseemonkey*do (49 )	Jun-05-08 16:00 PDT	123 of 135
tap tap tap
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 16:00 PDT	124 of 135
Hi golfingaddict (re post 80), We have heard interest from many sellers in DSR breakdowns by category, product line, etc. It's understandably valuable information and we're looking at how we might provide it, but we don't have anything to announce yet. Best, Lomax
powerwheelerchris (1862 )	Jun-05-08 16:01 PDT	125 of 135
Pinks: Thank you for trying to have this workshop. It was a bit unruly and with some people here with anger, frustration and issues. I hope that you will have another workshop on this topic and we can get some answers to the questions. I feel you were slammed by us unfairly.
deirdre@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 16:02 PDT	126 of 135
Hi Woadieland, Once resolved some policy violations may remain on your account for up to a year and is dependent on the type of policy violated. Some policies will expire sooner. Thanks, Dierdre
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 16:02 PDT	127 of 135
woadieland, Your discount uses your 30-day DSR which is based on a the rolling last 30-days. That snapshot of your DSR average for the last 30 days is available in your dashboard at the top under "see details" Thanks Lomax
deirdre@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 16:03 PDT	128 of 135
Hi there: At this time, we are not taking any additional questions. We will continue to respond to the questions posted during the workshop. Feel free to stick around or check back for responses to your questions and/or comments. Thanks, Deirdre eBay Community Development
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 16:09 PDT	129 of 135
primsaw, That is a question currently posed to the Feedback team. Since eBay is now utilizing DSRs so heavily to determine everything from listing visibility (best match) to incentives and penalites for sellers, it is vital that the integrity of the DSR rating system be maintained. If buyers perceive that their ratings are not anonymous, they may leave only 5s, or may not leave ratings at all merely to avoid conflict. Also, without anonymity, even well intentioned sellers wanting to improve his DSRs may pose questions to buyers "Can you please tell me why you left me a DSR of 1 for communication?" We want to avoid the situation where buyers are regularly asked by sellers to defend their ratings given. And of course, there is always the small percentage of sellers that will find other ways to retaliate. I believe the DSR threshold of 10 will be lowered, but not completely removed. Lomax
deirdre@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 16:11 PDT	130 of 135
Hi independencejewelry, Everyone has the same required minimums. Thanks, Deirdre
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 16:13 PDT	131 of 135
Hi standardsheetmetalandtrim, RE: #56 You will continue to have access to the Dashbaord as long as you have received 10 DSR ratings within the last 12 months. Regards, Lomax
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 16:16 PDT	132 of 135
Hi wildhorses304, I am working on getting an answer for you. Thanks for your patience, Lomax

deirdre@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 16:21 PDT	133 of 135
Hi timecatchers, RE: #59 DSR's are based on rolling 30 days. Thanks, Deirdre
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 16:21 PDT	134 of 135
Hi fleur.de.lis.rising (post 120--and others who asked the question) The PowerSeller discounts only apply to sales on your home site. So if you're a US PowerSeller, you'll only qualify for discounts for items listed on the US eBay site. You won't however qualify for items listed on international sites. It gets complicated though () because we now have an optional program where US listings are picked up for display on eBay's UK site. THOSE particular listings still qualify for the discount. See for details: http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200803310800522.html Also, it's different if you have a US listing and a buyer from another site buys it; the discount still applies in that case. Lomax
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 16:24 PDT	135 of 135
standardsheetmetalandtrim, We understand the need for this information and are working on providing it. In fact, we have a current active project that is designed to provide more transparency into which listings resulted in which DSRs. I am not sure of what the end result will be, however that it the project's main objective. Regrds, Lomax

//
// eBay deleted several of the posts above. But to give the illusion that nothing was censored,
// eBay added just enough Pink posts to bring the post count back up to 135.

lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 16:30 PDT	129 of 135
Hi udderlygoodstuff and timecatchers (posts 69, 81), We don't expect to create buyer DSRs but we do have other steps you can take. By using Buyer Requirements you can block bids from members with unpaid item strikes, recent policy violations, and a number of other criteria. If you're not familiar with Buyer Requirements already, check out: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/manage_bidders_ov.html Lomax
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 16:39 PDT	130 of 135
wildhorses304 (post 57) and Timcatchers (post 4), Regarding mutally withdrawn feedback and DSRs: The DSR ratings that are associated with a Feedback that was mutually withdrawn are also removed. Your DSR score should not include DSR ratings for the Feedback that was withdrawn. Regarding the DSR appeal process: There isn't one. DSRs reflect the buyer's opinion of the transaction. Lomax
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 16:41 PDT	131 of 135
Hi skminus, You are correct that your search placement can vary if your DSRs and Buyer Satisfaction rate flucuate. Your Search Standing in the Dashboard reflects your placement at that time. Lomax
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 16:53 PDT	132 of 135
Hi timecatchers, First, great DSRs! 30-day and 12-month DSRs are both important reflections of how pleased your buyers have been. We continue to evaluate ways to provide program benefits to smaller sellers, rewarding both recent activity and longer-term track record. Thanks, Lomax
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 17:01 PDT	133 of 135
Hi lettinggo444, When you have a return buyer who leaves you multiple feedback, your feedback rating will increase for each comment left 7+ days apart. A buyer who buys 5 items from at once can leave 5 feedback, but your rating will only increase once. Thanks, Lomax
lomax@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 17:04 PDT	134 of 135
Thanks for joining us today! That concludes today’s workshop. We hope you found it helpful. Please know that we will continue to work to provide more information through the dashboard and greater transparency to help you most effectively run your eBay business. Please go try out your new Seller Dashboard. If you have any additional questions about eBay Marketplace Research please stop by our discussion board. Hope to see you later this month at eBay Live in Chicago! Lomax
deirdre@ebay.com View Listings \| Report	Jun-05-08 17:06 PDT	135 of 135
Thanks everyone for participating in today's workshop. This concludes the "Just released! Using the New Seller Dashboard to Maximize your eBay Benefits" workshop. Be sure to check the Workshop Calendar for upcoming workshops. See you there!!!! Deirdre eBay Community Development

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log
Event Horizon 1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984

Posted on 05 June 2008 at 02:34 in eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

11 April 2008

From eBay Stores Forum - Ebay punished me because my buyer didn't read the description.

For our new readers, these are not our forum posts. This thread comes from one of eBay's many PUBLIC forums. eBay as a matter of policy, makes these posts public by feeding them to Google. Google in turn creates permanent archives of these posts.

Any comments to the posters below should be made on the applicable thread, marked in bold below.

FYI apologist itspostingtime posts spin and damage control for eBay ...

//
//
//

From eBay Stores Forum
Ebay punished me because my buyer didn't read the description.
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000682027&tstart=0&mod=1208123708286

millcovetreasures (193 ) Apr-12-08 18:43 PDT
I have 100% positive feedback. DSR's are 4.9, 4.9, 4.9 and 4.7. A buyer left me a neutral because "item was smaller than expected". My description said "Mini Perfume Bottle" and in the body it said "This tiny bottle measures 1 inch by 1 1/2 by 1/2"". If the buyer had bothered to READ the description, she would have known it was small! How is it my fault that the buyer chose not to read the description and was disappointed. To top it off, she received a note inside her purchase that stated if there were any problems contact me. She never contacted me and never gave me the opportunity to offer a full refund.

Now ebay has sent me 2 emails and called by phone to tell me that my customer satisfaction rating is below standards and my listings have been dropped in Best Match Search. I received an alert that my power seller status is jeopardy because of the sub standard rating.

They did lower my listings. I'm listing several items in a board TAGSALE. If you search TAGSALE and stay in the default Best Match, all of my items are on the last page.

Of course I can't get anyone at ebay to talk to me. So I contacted live help. They gave me a page telling me how to be a good seller and improve my DSR's. I kept asking "How am I responsible for the buyer not reading the description"? How is this my fault? How do I jam a buyers head into the monitor and say READ? How is it my responsibility for her failure to read? I am a good seller, READ my feedback. It seems ebay has the same problem as my buyer, they won't read. I ship fast, I describe my items well, I take a lot of photos, I communicate, I pack great, I'm honest, I'm patient. These are all the things my buyers have said in my feedback.

I'm sorry, a policy that is this black and white over the color of a dot with no room for exceptions is insane. How on earth do I deserve to be punished and be listed in the bottom pages because the buyer CHOSE not to read the description? I'm being lumped with all the bad sellers on ebay for the actions of my buyer which are totally out of my control.

I've already canceled about 10 listings and I've opened a shop on Ruby Lane. I hope to have under 100 listings by the middle of next week and less than 30 within two. I am not going to pay listing fees and store fees to be at the bottom of the pile because I had the rotten luck of getting a dim wit for a buyer who chose not to read a description.

j...t (Private )    Apr-12-08 19:05 PDT    1
How on earth do I deserve to be punished and be listed in the bottom pages because the buyer CHOSE not to read the description?

You do not deserve that at all. This company has not yet gotten it that the sellers are their customers and the buyers are the seller's customers. Yet they insist on allowing the ability for bad buyers or bad competitors etc. to do bad things to good sellers.
- JT

656georgep (1276 )       Apr-12-08 19:13 PDT    2
Ebay just showing they can push the sellers around. One of these days they will push just too much and they will not have any sellers.

alt5603 (282 )       Apr-12-08 20:42 PDT    3
Your best bet right now is to leave the buyer a neg and then suggest a mutual feedback removal. Do this while you still can.
http://stores.ebay.com/Extreme-Sports-Collectibles

http://www.squidoo.com/extremesportscollectibles

designforyou (998 )    Apr-12-08 21:17 PDT    4
Are you sure someone wasn't spamming you. Your overall ratings do not warrant an email or a call. This sounds just way too suspicious to me to be from E-Bay. Unless of course your 30 day DSRSs are saying something way different, then the 12 month rolling DSR's.

If ebay is doing this, well what can I say? Sellers gotta do what a sellers gotta do.

Good Luck to you!

thewoodlandgirl (Private )    Apr-12-08 21:18 PDT    5
What? There must be a mistake you only have one neutral. That cant possibly put you below standard?

Makes no sense at all.

Well I agree, leave a neg. Wait about 3 days and then do a mutual withdrawl.

This is the new ebay. Best get used to it. I have had more bad feedack this year than all my 8 years total.

I believe its cuz ebay pushes the concept of disputes and paypal claims to its buyers now. Makes them more pissy.

I never got an eamil from ebay or a call, however I have fallen off the face of the earth in sales this past couple weeks anyway.

So you know, with BM you just cant win.

haldagobay (188 )       Apr-12-08 21:18 PDT    6
So sorry you had that experience. I am working on my st elsewhere as we speak.

Cathie

millcovetreasures (193 )    Apr-12-08 21:41 PDT    7
I have already given her a negative and when I emailed her she told me never to contact her again.

The ebay emails are in my ebay email box and yes, it was ebay that called. It is crazy that this happened. But the search results prove it. Ebay has put me in the same position as all the lousy sellers and I did absolutely nothing to deserve it.

Designforyou, my 20 day DSR's are still the same. It's insane.

Cathie, I'm working on my new Ruby Lane Shop right now. I just took a break. I'm using the same name as here.

thewoodlandgirl (Private )    Apr-12-08 21:58 PDT    8
Typically you should not contact them. You just wait a few days after they are sick of looking at their neg and then try to get them to remove it.

Another tactic is dont contact them at , then send a mutual withdrawl and offer to refund half their money, that usually works too.

I am really sorry this happend to you.

It has happend to me as well, I am not doing well in best match at all. Mainly Im sure to the cost of my items and my ship star. I live way out in the country and cant improve my shipping times much cuz mail her is pitiful slow.

designforyou (998 )    Apr-12-08 22:00 PDT    9
Wow, ebay doing this to you is just plain wrong. So sorry that happened.

Be careful about mentioning competitors. Your post may get pulled!

thewoodlandgirl (Private )    Apr-12-08 22:00 PDT    10
I was just looking at your feedback, that is baffling you have 100%, Im sorry ebay must be insane.

sweetsweetsadie (359 )    Apr-12-08 22:28 PDT    11
This is not your fault-- there is nothing fair or logical about it. ebay is killing people's dreams-- it's sadistic.

In my last batch of FB one buyer left me FOUR neutrals! Four items, four neutrals. I also offered full refunds for any reason-- never heard a word from her. She was either not happy or just didn't want to play the FB game so left neutrals-- some buyers think that a neutral doesn't count one way or the other.

Well, I tried to leave a neg and couldn't. Than tried to leave a neutral and couldn't-- no way to do a mutual (I don't know if it were a glitch or not-- I tried several times to leave FB just to see!)

Tonight I'm working on my new x-cart site-- hard work for me! But, I will get it done!

Sorry that you were injured by this new reality-- it's beyond your control and is like walking through an endless minefield.

bonniesplants (5564 )       Apr-12-08 22:37 PDT    12
Don't bother emailing Trust and Safety. See my thread. I got a canned response back and when I replied to it, I got a 2nd canned response back

I seriously think they do not even read the emails or they would have seen where the buyer scammed 2 other sellers in my first email. All the details, listing numbers, seller's ID and their negative feedback message.

The buyer learned from the experience that you can scam sellers and get away with it

And even if the DSR's are put removed power seller support told me the DSR's stay

Power seller support is the one who told me to plead my case with Trust and Safety.

Can anyone say "Pass the buck"

What is cool, I emailed Pay Pal's competitor and I received a personalized, friendly email back. Nice friendly email stating my problem as they interrupted in MY email to them.

And an offer of a couple of solutions.

I suspected the buyer to be a fraud using a stolen credit card.

Bonnie

eclectic_salvage (3729 )       Apr-13-08 06:27 PDT    13
From Ebay's pages:

What factors will be used to determine a seller's percentage of dissatisfied buyers?
When stricter enforcement of Seller Non-Performance (SNP) rolled out in 2007, seller performance was determined by using negative and neutral Feedback, overall Feedback and Item Not Received (INR) complaints over a 90-day period. Sellers with greater than 5% of transactions resulting in negatives, neutrals, or INR complaints were restricted according to that SNP Policy.

Beginning in March 2008, performance evaluation will be based on a 30-day period. It will also include Item Significantly Not As Described (SNAD), and Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) of 1 or 2. eBay added these factors because buyers leave 1 or 2 DSR ratings nine times more often than negative Feedback, which suggests Feedback and INRs alone did not reflect customer dissatisfaction.

So your buyer left a 1 or a 2 rating and that set off the calls etc even though total score is not bad? Pretty nutso!

good is better than evil because it's nicer - Mammy Yokum

itspostingtime (2) View Listings | Report                      Apr-13-08 06:40 PDT    14
At what point did eBay advise you of this? Before you left the buyer a retaliatory neg, or after?

Your feedback number was not harmed by the neutral, and it appears your DSRs remain fine.

So I wonder if the buyer complained to eBay after receiving the retaliatory neg (which, of course, is in itself a rule violation).

So perhaps your lowered search results rank is not a result of the buyer giving you a neutral, but a result of you retaliating with a neg?

I'm really not sure why else eBay would lower your search position, since your DSRs and regular feedback remain good.

designforyou (998 )    Apr-13-08 06:51 PDT    15
Sellers can still leave feedback. In May is when sellers will no longer be able to leave neg feedback for buyers.

I doubt if EBAY would repond to a complaint from a buyer in this fashion. But then again who knows? Ebay can be so clandestine lately about sharing any information with sellers!

Ebay is being ridiculous in the OP's case.

itspostingtime (2) View Listings | Report                      Apr-13-08 07:05 PDT    16
design,

eBay is taking away the ability to leave ANY negative feedback for buyers in May.

Until then. Sellers can still leave negative feedback, but it is a VIOLATION to leave RETALIATORY feedback. Has been for a long time. Not all negative feedback is retaliatory feedback.

It appears the seller gave the buyer a neg in retaliation for the neutral.

If the seller had simply posted a response to the neutral the buyer gave her (which, of course, is permitted by the rules, and which the seller did), maybe the seller would not be in this position now?

I don't know, nor does anyone but eBay. But it wouldn't surprise me too much to find that eBay is penalizing sellers for leaving retaliatory feedback.

In other words, if the seller had just left the response...the neutral really didn't harm her rating...., and then , say, left no feedback for the buyer....maybe this situation would have been avoided?

mrcrabz (44 )    Apr-13-08 07:49 PDT    17
For those who don't understand why this seller was flagged...

That neutral put this low volume seller into the 5% dissatisfaction rating. Neutrals carry negative weight now.

If you're getting 20 or so feedback per month, one bad transaction can affect your status. It doesn't have to be negative feedback either, low dsrs, neutral, reports, or a combination of these things.

Clearly, a seller doesn't have to actually do anything wrong to be negatively impacted by these new policies.

Before a seller could just rub some dirt in it, let it roll off the first page and move on. Now there are real negative consequences for running into a numpty, or even well intentioned ignorant customer, let alone a malicious one.

itspostingtime (2) View Listings | Report                      Apr-13-08 07:55 PDT    18
mrcrabz,

Neutrals are NOT treated the same as negatives. eBay has stated that seller non-performance is NOT triggered by neutrals alone....there would have to be at least one or two negs as well....I forget the details, but eBay looks at the neutrals only if there are negs, too.

One neutral should NOT trigger seller-non-performance.

That is why I suspect either something is simply in error here, or this might be tied to a complaint from the buyer about the retaliatory neg.

sandrarn83 (2921 )    Apr-13-08 08:15 PDT    19
IPT if you go back and reread that post by Ebay it says that DSRS of 1 and 2 will also trigger the same thing. So a buyer who leaves a neg and also leaves 1's for DSR can trigger the same thing as the OP is reporting.

sandrarn83 (2921 )    Apr-13-08 08:16 PDT    20
Sorry a buyer who leaves a neutral and also leaves 1's for DSRs can trigger the same thing.

spotted-lab (29 )    Apr-13-08 08:17 PDT    21
so essentially after May 1st buyers are no longer required to read anything.

itspostingtime (2) View Listings | Report                      Apr-13-08 08:25 PDT    22
OK, I stand corrected. Here's some info from the FAQ:

19. How are dissatisfied buyers measured?
At eBay we consider a buyer dissatisfied if any of these occurs:

* The buyer leaves a seller a Detailed Seller Rating (DSR) of 1 or 2 on any of the attributes
* The buyer files a dispute, claim, or chargeback related to "Item Not Received" (INR) or "Significantly Not as Described" (SNAD)
* Buyer leaves negative or neutral feedback

20. How will I know if my percentage of dissatisfied buyers is greater than 5%?
Sellers restricted based on their percentage of dissatisfied buyers will be notified. Also, a Seller Dashboard will be launched in May to provide all sellers with detailed information about their performance.

It would seem that the seller could maybe resolve her standing by increasing her total sales, so that one buyer in a one month period would no longer constitute more than five per cent of her buyers?

millcovetreasures (193 )    Apr-13-08 08:38 PDT    23
DSR's are counted as 2/3 of a negative according to the new rules.

I don't consider my feedback retaliation. This buyer had two opportunities to not be "disappointed". First, she could have read my well written and, researched description. Second, she ignored the note that I include with all of my items that clearly asks them to "contact me if they are unhappy for any reason. If we communicate, we can solve anything." Even ebay states in it's policies that buyers should contact sellers to see if any problems could be resolved before leaving feedback. This woman never gave me the opportunity. So she failed in her responsibilities in this process, not once, but twice and then turned around and punished me for her own failures. Somewhere along the line, a buyer has to accept a certain amount of responsibility in the process. She was totally unfair to me and, in my opinion, other sellers needed to know that she could be unfair. I have positive feedback from three buyers who never even completed the transaction. I'm not quick to leave a negative for anyone, especially those that take the time to communicate and explain.

itspostingtime (2) View Listings | Report                      Apr-13-08 08:42 PDT    24
I think the source of my confusion is this article in the chatter Blog, which explains how Seller Non-Performance was being determined in 2007:

http://www.ebaychatter.com/the_chatter/2007/08/lynda-talgo-of-.html#more

Note that before SNP is triggered, there have to be some negs, not just neutrals.

So, either that has changed, or we aren't actually talking a SNP warning here, but rather a warning that the seller's search placement will drop, based on criteria used in the Best Match algorithm.....criteria which do not seem to be the same as SNP criteria.

So, presumably one neutral , standing alone, could effect search placement if it represents more than five percent of buyers within the time period.

But this could be rectified by an increase in sales and positive feedback.

So, mrcrabz, I apologize. I think I was confusing SNP with Best Match criteria.

And I'll just add that, since it is a common complaint on this Board that "buyers don't read", it might be a good practice for sellers to use rulers, or a dime or something, in at least one photo to SHOW size for items such as the one the seller sold here.

itspostingtime (2) View Listings | Report                      Apr-13-08 08:55 PDT    25
millcove,

I think this is one reason ebay has decided to eliminate neg feedback completely...because too many sellers don't understand the definition of retaliatory feedback.

What you left was retaliatory feedback.

Should the buyer have read the size information you provided? Sure. And you pointed that out in your response to the buyer's feedback. So that issue was taken care of with the response.

That's why ebay provides the ability to respond. The "response" is how one responds to feedback. But you didn't stop there. You ALSO responded by leaving a neg. Feedback is NOT supposed to be used as a response to feedback, but that's exactly what you used it for.

The buyer is not under any obligation to contact you before leaving feedback, even if you do invite such communication.

So that failure to contact you first is NOT a valid reason to leave a neg.

The bottom line is , you left the neg because the buyer left you what you consider an unfair neutral , and did so without contacting you first, and you punished her for it.

If a seller leaves a buyer a neutral, let's say, because the buyer was slow in paying, and the buyer...although perfectly happy with the item and the transaction, left the seller a neg in response, I'll bet you'd have no trouble seeing that for what it is: retaliatory feedback.

Well, that's what you did here.

classy_crafter (395 )    Apr-13-08 09:56 PDT    26
I received an alert that my power seller status is jeopardy because of the sub standard rating.

Its funny you should be in any kind of jeopardy of losing your PS status considering some of the PSers I see with HORRIBLE feedback and DSRs. One particular PS that sells organza "favor" bags has such horrible feedback and DSRs, its a wonder they havent lost their PS status with eBays new rules.

eBay to their customers: "let them eat cake!"

classy_crafter (395 ) Apr-13-08 10:05 PDT 27
What you left was retaliatory feedback.

I disagree.

Did the OP have a positive transaction with this customer? No.

Did OP do what she could to satisfy this customer? Yes

Did this customer communicate any problems to the seller? No

Did customer actually read the description? No

Does customer know how to use a ruler? Obviously not.

So, why should the OP be punished for the customers numptiness and why should the seller leave anything but neg feedback since the transaction as a whole was negative?

eBay to their customers: "let them eat cake!"

millcovetreasures (193 )    Apr-13-08 13:42 PDT    28
Thank you Class_crafter, that is exactly as I see it. The buyer paid at 9 p.m. her package was shipped at 8 a.m. It was beautifully wrapped and she received a free velvet pouch that was not even mentioned in the ad. So if it was not a good experience for her, it's because she failed to read. I don't assume any responsibility for her disappointment in anyway shape or form. For her to turn around and give me less than a positive because she failed to read, not one but twice and, failed to ask for a refund made this a negative experience for me.

I also disagree that the buyer isn't required to contact the seller. Ebay's policy states, contact the seller and try to resolve any problems before leaving feedback.

jake-deals-4u (709 )    Apr-13-08 14:08 PDT    29
Op..Congrats on your great FB & DSR, however in the case you are referring to i agree that most likely the real problem is the retaliation neg you gave.

Ide say, your customer found a sympathetic ear at Ebay--The words been out for awhile now that eBay really REALLY doesnt like sellers giving out retalitory negs
--IMO this is very understandable, as if a massive portion of buyers leave the site because of them being retaliated against, eventually it will have a snow-ball effect on sellers who dont retailiate.

Consider that leaving a retalitory neg serves no real practical purpose--sure its an emotional release for those that need to leave one, but just one buyer that has a bad exp. with one seller, doesnt automatically equate to that buyer having a problem with every seller down the line.

However im sure eBay research shows that many many a buyer has never purchased again from ANY eBayer ever, after only one retailtory neg from only one seller, so hence the No retalitory neg policy & eBay taking action to prevent this, as they should

homedecorstudios (20 )    Apr-13-08 14:22 PDT    30
Ide say, your customer found a sympathetic ear at Ebay-

Doubtful. Ebay doesn't respond or read emails from buyers & sellers equally. More than likely no human ever read any email from either party.
_____________________________________

In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your Count that votes.

oldspartantrader (4045 )       Apr-13-08 14:24 PDT    31
It would seem that the seller could maybe resolve her standing by increasing her total sales, so that one buyer in a one month period would no longer constitute more than five per cent of her buyers?

Of course that is a solution --

It however presupposes that

1 -- The seller wishes to increase the work load and not be a part time for fun seller --

2 -- That eBAY will then give the seller a reasonable opportunity to make a sale by not burying product at the back end of search as punishment for one or two misques that could easily be buyer sources

At least 75% of the eBAY sellers I come into direct contact with list under 20 items a week -- eBAY selling is a hobby that brings pin money -- They will soon say goodbye in droves -- Yepper as individuals they are a miniscule percentage of listings -- as a whole ??? -- I believe they are a huge mass of what made the traditional eBAY successful.

I do not interpret the seller left FB in question as retaliatory -- The buyer failed to read -- The buyer failed to communicate -- The buyer in this case was a lunkhead who apparently single handedly cost the seller in question a goodly portion of their selling opportunity by causing search burial

The bottom line is that the buyer deserved the neg.

Our nearly 6000 item store was shuttered today --- Eighteen months ago the total items listed across our multiple ID's was nearly 12000 in store and between 900 and 1000 in auction at any given time

eBAY is a hostile selling enviroment -- PERIOD -- It can be prettied up with talk of scams -- talk of injustice -- talk of changing underfooting -- All of that is legitamate reason for change -- All of that is deeply rooted within the eBAY CORPORATE CULTURE far more than the vast majority of the seller culture -- eBAY by its very design and laise faire attitude has made their own bed -- they now throw the baby out with the bath water.

Add to that competing ads from companies that pay pennies on a dollar compared to the customer base -- A failure to understand the difference between brokerage and agency in the three way relationship -- and buyer dissatisfaction that runs so much deeper than than eBAY's seller whipping gals and guys -- and you have

A company flailing at its market in an effort to understand the deeply rooted issues it faces -- Looking to new markets to ensure its cash flow rather than stemming the holes in its base markets --

Add PAYPAL with its total lack of basic financial protections for any customer account whether it be seller or buyer -- Its new mandate to withold funds without genuine recourse -- and its growing mandate to be the only payment avenue acceptable in an eBAY transactio --

Sprinkle in the total lack of meaningful communication -- A parcity of trained customer service response people --

Stir well with a search engine that is purposely designed not to "find" the non traditional eBAY widget -- and to minimize the best part of the FUN BUYERS shopping experiance (browsing the goodies) -- While at the same time bringing the run of the mill average high volume mass merchandised product to the fore --

AND YOU HAVE

A company without meaningful identity experiancing the early symptoms of meltdown.

Pretty it up -- but a great face on it -- BUT -- If it walks like a duck -- squawks like a duck -- swims like a duck -- In this case it is because it is becoming a turkey.

Carl

jake-deals-4u (709 )    Apr-13-08 14:30 PDT    32
Ebay doesn't respond or read emails from buyers & sellers equally. More than likely no human ever read any email from either party.

...???

So where did eBay get the No retalitory policy from? Out of thin air?

From a dartboard?

Not likely...

Keep in mind if 1000 sellers leave eBay because they are upset they cant neg a buyer anymore---is that a NET loss, when surely eBay research shows that leaving retalitory negs is one of the very worst things a seller can do, because many buyers will never buy again ever, after getting a retalitory neg?

sandrarn83 (2921 )    Apr-13-08 14:35 PDT    33
Carl you did a very nice job. Pretty much sums up my opinion of Ebay today. Jake both Ebay and you forget that sellers are also buyers. When those 1000 sellers leave they also take 1000 buyers with them. This site is in desperate need of buyers and Ebay needs to be looking for ways to make both sides happy. I am with Carl and I would have neged that buyer as well. My response to the feedback profile would have been "NEG Failed to communicate w/seller. Full refund available."

jake-deals-4u (709 )    Apr-13-08 14:45 PDT    34
both Ebay and you forget that sellers are also buyers

Sandra, im curious if you ever got a retalitory neg from a seller?

If you havent, ide bet my last dollar that many good buyers have & it really really pisses them off.

If 1000 sellers leave because they are upset they lose an option that im sure research shows is extremely detrimental to overall site & other subsequent in-involved seller sucess, then obviously eBay doesnt see those 1000 sellers leaving as any great loss.

OTOH maybe you could enlightem me as to ( other than an emotional release ) what purpose does leaving a neg for a buyer do?

On your WWW, ide guess its impossible for you to check every customer & see if they ever got a neg as a buyer on eBay, but even if you could & found they had a couple negs as an eBay buyer, would you refuse service to them?

Would you refuse service to any buyer just because they got a neg on eBay maybe 1x or 2x??

j...t (Private )    Apr-13-08 14:47 PDT    35
Carl, great job putting into words how many sellers feel.

If it walks like a duck -- squawks like a duck -- swims like a duck -- In this case it is because it is becoming a turkey.

Course in this case, more and more sellers can become the turkey as well during hunting.

Another seller who had a similar experience where the buyer accuses the seller, did not like the reply, gives a neg and all 1's for stars.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000549603&tstart=40&mod=1208075170226
- JT

oldspartantrader (4045 )       Apr-13-08 14:55 PDT    36
The one very important -- and actually very crucial input -- that I have learned about eBAY these past couple years is that

A very large part of eBAY is actually a closed economy --

I am relatively old compared many --- I remember the beginnings of the building of the interstate system -- NOT the very beginnings mind ya -- BUT -- The beginning of it really taking root and fracturing many small communities --

Prior to the maturing of the interstate system small communities were relatively closed economies -- Of course they "imported" many things -- but the job base -- business base -- and money base was largely in or very near the town center -- or commercial district --

Interstaes basically detoured all but the most central areas -- Money flowed out -- workers and buyers flowed out -- In my area there are entire areas that thrived as few as 30 years ago that are now economic wastelands ---

The same situation is evolving here -- As sellers leave they contact -- smooze -- and entice an already dissatisfied buyer group to follow -- As buyers leave to other parts of the net they entice the commercial base to follow to those sometimes greener pastures --

eBAY thinks buyers are unhappy with sellers --- I think we are pretty typical -- 25% of our off shore purchases are made by buyers who first purchased from us on eBAY -- (that is a 1st quarter 08 tally) -- We fully expect to double that by 3d quarter end as we place a greater emphasis on moving these people to our hub --

IF these are typical buyers -- and I believe them to be -- It shows --

That the root of disatisfaction is not primarily directed at sellers -- and that eBAY is making a grave error in not recognizing that their greatest strength is the very person who they choose to use as the whipping whelp.

The tipping point is very close -- possibly already past -- BUT --

The disease I call Ivorytowerblindentitus will most likely cause a failure to recognize the cause and only see the symptoms of a growing malaise.

eBAY will likely survive the coming crunch -- BUT -- Not in its present form --

Carl

sandrarn83 (2921 )    Apr-13-08 15:00 PDT    37
Carl that's okay because I continue to blindside Ebay and take their buyers. It works for me.
Jake half of my negs on this ID were retaliatory from sellers. It's something you hitch up your panties and move on. It's not like a seller is going to refuse to sell to you based on your feedback numbers. Buyers don't even need feedback. So there is little reason for Ebay to remove the ability of sellers to leave it. As a seller I will work with any buyer to make sure they are satisfied with their purchase. The day I find a neg in my feedback without a communication attempt from the buyer first I consider that transaction closed. I never worked with any buyer who pulled that stunt. I had no incentive to do so as a seller. As I stated I would have neged the buyer for failure to communicate with me. As a seller I can't fix a problem if I don't know it exists until after the transaction has been completed.

jake-deals-4u (709 ) Apr-13-08 15:11 PDT 38
Buyers don't even need feedback....Ide say getting +FB from a seller, builds their self-asteem & encoureges them to purchase again

So there is little reason for Ebay to remove the ability of sellers to leave it..

Ide agree that removing the ability to leave a buyer a neg is obvious--hence why eBay is taking that action, combined with more attention to complaints by sellers about problem buyers into the ebay message system.

Sandra, have you ever gotten a retalitory neg as a Buyer?

apache*belle (1117 ) Apr-13-08 15:12 PDT 39 that is why some sellers are going to AUDIO descriptions........

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
eBay World_Securities

Posted on 11 April 2008 at 02:26 in eBay, eBay Customer Service, eBay Search, eBay Stores | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

15 March 2008

The eBay Shopping.com Affair

The eBay Shopping.com Affair
aka "The eBay Leap Day Auction Count Affair"
aka "The eBay SDC_PROD Affair"

By Event Horizon
Ides of March Edition, 15 March 2008
Revision: 2 April 2008 00:01 HST

"It's always difficult to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this. And wherever you run into it, prejudice always obscures the truth. I don't really know what the truth is. I don't suppose anybody will ever really know."
Juror #8, Twelve Angry Men (1957)

The Leap Day weekend brought with it an extra day of buy and selling on eBay. It also ushered in an interesting event. A number of listings from Shopping.com, an eBay company, ended up on eBay.com. Counted in the hundreds of thousands these product listings were viewable on eBay.com, but not buyable.

In short an event that AuctionBytes would characterize as eBay Mystery Listings.

This was an event that had ample room for opinions. Aside from the fact that the average eBay buyer could not buy these products, there was the question of did these listings affect the auction counts? An important question as eBay provides those listing counts in their many reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Opinions ranged from an eBay Forum poster describing the event as "Ebay is padding their listings", to Randy Smythe of My Blog Utopia! stating "this padding of listings is a non-starter."

All this would definitely pique the curiosity of anyone interested in eBay. For about 5 seconds. Because all the relevant data is spread across Google, or deleted, archived, horded, and just plain not in one place for quick perusal. End 5 seconds.

We're going to attempt to put a smidgen of all that happened in this article. And over time expand the article slightly to accommodate new found pieces.

Before we begin, changing the subject slightly, you're wondering why the style of the title sounds oddly familiar? We were inspired by eBay, with their one mini-smidgen contribution.

"Agent Sent Message", ebay Customer Service, 1 March 2008

Cue theme. Run introduction. Roll article.

Prologue. Internet transations are perishable and human memories short.

"people simply remember a version of events which makes as much sense as they require it to make"
Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987)

This article should not be considered a complete rendering of the Leap Day (2/29/2008) weekend events or a tome with all the available data. It is meant to give a relatively quick overview of the situation, and provide leads for those who wish to pursue more in depth study.

I. How many listings were involved?

"It was an accident" Captain James Kirk
"You seem to have a lot of them." Captain John Christopher
Star Trek, Tomorrow Is Yesterday (26 January 1967)

Do Listing Counts Matter?

Let's start with the simple matter of, does it matter at all? The answer is, Yes.

Listing counts are important to eBay, as the figures are reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Reference the "23-Jan-2008" "Form 8-K for EBAY INC" "Results of Operations and Financial Condition, Financial Statements and Exhibits" report.

In the "Unaudited eBay Marketplaces Supplemental Operating Data" section is "Number of New Listings (2)" with the definition "(2) Listings on eBay Marketplaces trading platforms during the quarter, regardless of whether the listing subsequently closed successfully."

Listing counts are important to eBay, as they are mentioned in the report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Reference the "29-Feb-2008" "Form 10-K for EBAY INC" "Annual Report".

In the "Key Operating Metrics and Financial Information" section (emphasis ours) eBay states , "Members of our senior management team regularly review key operating metrics such as active users, listings".
Further, "These financial measures allow us to monitor the profitability of our business and to evaluate the effectiveness of investments that we have made (and continue to make) in the areas of marketing, product development, international expansion, customer support and site operations. We believe that an understanding of these key operating and financial measures and how they change over time is important to investors, analysts and other parties analyzing our business results and future market opportunities."
In the "Financial Summary" section (emphasis ours) eBay states, "we face challenges in the U.S., U.K. and Germany, which are our three largest markets, as growth of listings, active users and GMV on the eBay.com platform in those countries has slowed."
In the "Results of Operations" section eBay has the metric "Number of listings (3)" with the definition of the metric being "(3) Listings on eBay Marketplaces trading platforms during the period, regardless of whether the listing subsequently closed successfully."

The fact that eBay has the subject of "listings" in their official reports, belies pundits claims that the listing counts are of no concern.

Those who proffer the specious argument that the amounts involved are small and therefore inconsequential, must not deal often in large real world real time computer systems. Let's propose the scenario that someone or some group accidentally dumps a quarter million to a half million database TEST records into a PRODUCTION system. This same person or group then tells people in authority nonsense such as 'it's 35 thousand Usher'.

This is what those people would hear in the real world:

"You're Fired!", Donald Trump

eBay's official position on the number of listings.

eBay - Listings erroneously placed on eBay.com: 35,000

"An eBay spokesman told PC Magazine at the time that 5,000 shopping.com listings were erroneously placed on ebay.com. After sellers expressed doubt about that number in the comments section, eBay was asked to again confirm that it was indeed 5,000. The same spokesman responded Friday that he had originally told PC Magazine that eBay pulled 35,000 listings, but a review of the interview confirmed that he said 5,000."
PC Magazine, 10 March 2008

4 March 2008 - "5,000 shopping.com listings were erroneously placed on ebay.com"
7 March 2008 - "eBay pulled 35,000 listings"
10 March 200 - "a review of the interview confirmed that he said 5,000"

{eBay, Usher} "Lieberman said fewer than 35,000 listings were affected by the glitch".
AuctionBytes, 5 March 2008

Usher Lieberman is eBay's Spokesman, and is not an integral part of eBay's programming departments. He reports to the press what he's told. In the matter of contradictory statements or "false and misleading statements to the press" [SEC], the original source of the "5,000" and "35,000" counts should be investigated.

Our research regarding the listing counts during the February 29th Leap Day weekend.

Total Listings, Hard Count:
- 161,358 to 192,966 (161,358 + 31,608) to 241,368 (161,358 + 80,000)
Total Listings, Soft Count:
- 271,280 to 302,888 (271,280 + 31,608) to 351,280 (271,280 + 80,000)
Estimated Listings Count: 500,000 (rounded)

Total Listings Hard Count Methodology.

The "Hard Count" represents the total number of auction listings confirmed by screen shots, archives, and reported by AuctionBytes. In theory the Hard Count should equal or be close to the Soft Count. But in practice it is not an easy task to collect hard evidence, from multiple witnesses, after the fact.

The 31,608 figure derives from the AuctionBytes observation that "indicated the seller had over 80,000 listings on eBay.com."

AuctionBytes does not reveal the identity of that seller. Making it possible that the seller with "80,000" items is part of the list of observed sellers. The 31,608 figure is derived from taking "80,000" and subtracting the largest listing count reported, which is 48,392. In this way listing counts are not added in twice.

In other words, if the seller with item count of "48,392" (part of the observed list of sellers) actually has "80,000" items, the total should be 161,358 + 31,608. The 31,608 being the uncounted part of the "80,000" (80,000 - 48,392). The 31,608 can increase to a maximum of 80,000, depending on who the seller is or is not.

For instance in the case of this seller not being on the reported list of 14 sellers, the soft count would be 161,358 plus 80,000 or 241,368.

There is also the case of the count from AuctionBytes being completely wrong; 0 items.

The Hard Count ranges from a minimum of 161,358 items, to a maximum of 241,368 items.

Total Listings Soft Count Methodology.

The "Soft Count" represents the total number of auction listings reported, but not necessarily verified by screen captures, etc.. The figure of 271,280 is the lower limit of those reported observations. As in the Hard Count, the 31,608 figure derives from the AuctionBytes observation that "indicated the seller had over 80,000 listings on eBay.com."

The observed Soft Count ranges from a minimum of 271,280 items, to a maximum of 351,280 items.

Estimated Listing Count Methodology.

Using the Medved "EBay Auction Counts: February 24, 2008 to March 1, 2008" chart, an estimate can be made as to the number of listings removed.

eBay stipulated two things:

That the problem started "Friday night".
That by March 2nd the "system issue has been resolved", i.e. the "accidental" listings were completely removed.

Logically we're looking for an increase and subsequent rapid decrease of at least 161,358 (Hard Count) listings and up to 351,280 (Soft Count), during the weekend time frame.

As it turns out there is just such an occurrence. There is an auction count spike in the auction count beginning at about the "2/29" (09:00 PM PST, Midnight EST) line and ending at about the "3/2" (09:00 PM PST, Midnight EST) line. From a graphing standpoint this increase conveniently begins after a relatively flat period of auction listings.

That would be approximately 13,900,000 (peak) - 13,400,000 (base) = 500,000 listings

13,393,000 28-FEB-2008 04:30 AM PST, 07:30 AM EST. Initial low point; base.
13,910,000 29-FEB-2008 10:00 AM PST, 01:00 PM EST. Peak
13,454,000 01-MAR-2008 07:00 PM PST, 10:00 PM EST. Lowest point of the day.
13,410,000 02-MAR-2008 02:32 PM PST, 05:32 PM EST. eBay announces "system issue has been resolved".
13,333,000 02-MAR-2008 08:00 PM PST, 11:00 PM EST. Lowest point of the day and weekend.

http://www.medved.net/cgi-bin/cal.exe?EIND Chart times are Eastern Standard Time (EST).

Using Randy Smythe's 13.5 million average daily auction listings as a measure, the half-a-million auction listings represents 3.7% of the daily total. A significant amount as far as the report by eBay's Accountants to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is concerned.

Is There More?

The question arises, were there more "test" listings. Our answer is, you are free to ponder this question.

But think about this. eBay held a listing special beginning on March 1st. Historically auction counts rise during a listing special. Typically a million or more. How many listings would have to be removed to not only negate the expected listing count increase, but cause the count to fall?

And ponder this too. As a matter of good business, eBay does put back listings removed in error. Such an increase due to putting back deleted listings would show up much later on Medved ("EBay Auction Counts: March 2, 2008 to March 8, 2008"). Abet buried in subsequent listing specials and promotions.

http://www.medved.net/cgi-bin/cal.exe?EIND Chart times are Eastern Standard Time (EST).

eBay's 2008 Q1 (1st Quarter, January 01 to March 31) report to the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission should be interesting.

II. SDC_PROD Seller List and Counts

"The world isn't run by weapons anymore, or energy, or money. It's run by little ones and zeroes, little bits of data. It's all just electrons." Cosmo, Sneakers (1992)

We believe that none of the Shopping.com sellers were aware their items were being transferred to eBay.com. As stipulated by eBay, "Shopping.com listings appeared accidentally on eBay.com". It would be an interesting exercise to find out if the involved Shopping.com sellers were billed eBay.com listing fees at the time, and then credited afterwards.

SDC_PROD Seller List

This is a list of the fourteen (14) "sdc_prod" (shopping dot com) seller accounts that were located and reported, 29 February to 1 March 2008. Plus additional sdc_prod sellers that were located post event.

This list contains:

A brief description of the seller.
A link to the seller's eBay.com Feedback page.
A link to the current number of items by the sdc_prod seller.
A link to search Google for the specific sellers.
- That link can help you perform a search of the Google archives for sdc_prod related material. Use the "repeat the search with the omitted results included" option to maximize the available data.
- On Google links to eBay.com or ebay.auction.co.kr use the "Cached" link to obtain the archived data.
- Because this issue involves eBay.com, ignore eBay Express references.
- And be quick because the Google archive cache data is dynamic; changing from day to day.
The "reported listing count" of items by sdc_prod name seller on eBay.com. As reported 29 February to 1 March 2008. And where available.
Links to screen captures of these auction counts. Where available.

The total count from the screen captures, 161,358, is evidence that eBay Spokesman Usher Lieberman made a number of "false and misleading statements to the press" when he said on multiple occasions that "5,000 listings" or "35,000 listings" were involved.

Time permitting, this section will be updated.

* sdc_prod_301013_74
Shopping.com seller The Twister Group
Member since Oct-18-06 in Illinois, United States

eBay.com reported listing count, 27,291

"27076 items found" ( LINK Google archive screen capture )
"27076 items found" ( LINK screen capture from www.suspendedfromebay.com )
"27076 items found" ( LINK screen capture from www.companyexposed.com )
"27076 items found" ( LINK screen capture from pages.suddenlink.net/docswife )

* sdc_prod_305839_99
Shopping.com seller BargainBasementBatteries
Member since Oct-30-07 in California, United States

eBay.com reported listing count, 56

"56 items found" ( LINK screen capture from www.giovanni666.info )

* sdc_prod_310426
Shopping.com seller ANTOnline
Member since Feb-15-08 in Georgia, United States

eBay.com reported listing count, 21,798

"21798 items found" ( LINK screen capture from www.youtube.com/watch?v=mePI-UWDGOE )
"21798 items found" ( LINK screen capture from forums.ebay.com, www.suspendedfromebay.com, Google archive )

* sdc_prod_409455_97
Shopping.com seller Sababa Shopping
Member since Jul-16-07 in New York, United States

eBay.com listing reported count unavailable

* sdc_prod_434012
Shopping.com seller SpectrumSuperStore
Member since Apr-11-07 in California, United States

eBay.com reported listing count, 35,002

"35011 items found" ( LINK screen capture from www.giovanni666.info )
"34998 items found" ( LINK screen capture from thevirginmarypretzel )
"Up to 10,000 listings can be displayed in this view" ( LINK screen capture from www.companyexposed.com )

* sdc_prod_442675_57
Shopping.com seller Boyne & Kelly L.L.C.
Member since Oct-25-07 in New Jersey, United States

eBay.com reported listing count, 4,702

* sdc_prod_9021_2
Shopping.com seller Buy.com
Member since Feb-22-08 in California, United States

eBay.com reported listing count, 12,233

"12233 items found" ( LINK screen capture from www.youtube.com/watch?v=mePI-UWDGOE )
"12233 items found" ( LINK screen capture from img255.imageshack.us )

* sdc_prod_9055
Shopping.com seller Focus Camera
Member since Oct-30-07 in New York, United States

eBay.com reported listing count, 1,925

* sdc_prod_9074_35
Shopping.com seller pcRUSH.com
Member since Feb-28-08 in California, United States

eBay.com reported listing count, 21,401

"21481 items found" ( LINK Google archive screen capture )
860 pages, 25 items per page. 859 x 25 = 21,475 items ( LINK Google archive screen capture )
"Up to 10,000 listings can be displayed in this view" ( LINK screen capture from www.suspendedfromebay.com )

* sdc_prod_9090
Shopping.com seller CompSource Inc.
Member since Mar-26-07 in Ohio, United States

eBay.com reported listing count, 32,601

"32601 items found" ( LINK Google archive screen capture )
1301 pages, 25 items per page. 1300 x 25 = 32,500 items ( LINK Google archive screen capture )

* sdc_prod_9124_14
Shopping.com seller TheNerds, Inc.
Member since Dec-12-07 in Florida, United States

eBay.com reported listing count, 48,392

* sdc_prod_9352_67
Shopping.com seller Digital Foto Club
Member since May-28-07 in New York, United States

eBay.com reported listing count, 30,278

* sdc_prod_9391_43
Shopping.com seller Adorama
Member since Feb-22-08 in New York, United States

eBay.com reported listing count, 11,102

"11102 items found" ( LINK Google archive screen capture )

* sdc_prod_9452
Shopping.com seller eTronics, Inc.
Member since Jul-25-07 in New York, United States

eBay.com reported listing count, 24,499

* sdc_prod_90076
Shopping.com seller OnlineSports, Inc.
Member since Nov-13-06 in California, United States

eBay.com reported listing count, UNKNOWN

III. What Happened?

"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity."
Robert Heinlein, Time Enough For Love (1973)

There are two basic explanations.

eBay deliberately elevated auction counts, in effect producing "materially false and misleading statements" to improve their stock price. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission violation. A simple plan based on the simple but stupid premise that 'no one will find this.' Orange jumpsuits all around.
Human (Computer) Error. A cadre of programmers are allowed to run large scale tests on a live system. And goofed.

We had planned to explore and write about each possibility, but we'll leave that for another time.

IV. "THIS IS NOT AN EBAY LISTING"

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
George Santayana, The Life of Reason (1905)

Event Timeframe

Like many incidents, there are events that lead up to it, follow it, are associated with it, or simply happen in the same time frame.

Here is a short chronology of those occurrences.

== 2007 ==

February 2007

http://www.medved.net/cgi-bin/cal.exe?EIND Chart times are Eastern Standard Time.

9 March 2007

Are Ebay's Listing Numbers Inflated by Fraud?
03/09/2007 08:31 PM ID: 60834

Ebay Inc's (NASDAQ:EBAY) listing numbers have demonstrated dramatic volatility during the 'Vladuz' security scare. Some Ebay users have suggested that the millions of fraudulent listings are significantly inflating Ebay's listing numbers.

In response, an Ebay spokesperson claims: "there just isn't enough information there to tie the swings in listings that they show to any one cause". They declined to comment as to the number of accounts that may have been compromised.

It is also suggested that Medved's calculations for Ebay's total of listing numbers are overestimated too. As the Ebay spokesperson confirms, the Medved statistics used to quantify Ebay's listing numbers "far exceed our real activity in this area".

Source: www.theregister.co.uk

http://www.medved.net/cgi-bin/cal.exe?EIND Chart times are Eastern Standard Time.

== 2008 ==

13 February 2008

"February 13th, insertion fees for all auction-style and fixed price listings will be only 20 cents!"
Stephanie Tilenius, General Manager for eBay North America

"20¢ Auction-style and Fixed Price listing fees" (eBay)

http://www.medved.net/cgi-bin/cal.exe?EIND Chart times are Eastern Standard Time.

20 February 2008

Start of eBay Policy changes and media fee cut.

*** A Message from Bill Cobb - New Pricing and Other News ***
General Announcements
January 29, 2008 | 05:59 AM PST/PT

***A Message from Lorrie Norrington – New Media Category Pricing Effective February 20***
"I am pleased to announce we are accelerating our plan to phase-in category-specific pricing for media. This fee cut will coincide with the site-wide pricing changes previously announced to take effect on February 20."
Lorrie Norrington, President of eBay Global Marketplace Operations, February 11, 2008 | 10:01AM PST/PT

20 February 2008

Regarding the events of February 20th.

"The bug was related to the gallery feature that allows users to place a small photo of their item on the initial search returns page, a spokesman said. EBay traditionally charged 35 cents to include a gallery photo, but as part of the policy changes that went into effect February 20, they are now free of charge.
However, "the code actually rolled out three hours late, so there were a certain number of listings ... that didn't get gallery free"
Usher Lieberman eBay Spokesman to PC Magazine, 4 March 2008

It is unclear from the PC Magazine article, if the "bug" was implemented on February 20th, the day of the "policy changes", or on February 29th.

20 February 2008

"the bug first emerged on Friday"
"But it wasn't a test. It ended up being a bug," Usher Lieberman
Usher Lieberman eBay Spokesman to PC Magazine, 4 March 2008

Despite Usher Lieberman's assertion that the "bug" happened on February 29th, there is evidence showing sdc_prod products appearing before the 29th.

While there are reports of sdc_prod listings appearing as early as December 2007, the earliest evidence of a "bug" is 20 February 2008.

Samples of a Shopping.com listings inserted onto eBay.com.

"Items for sale by sdc_prod_310426"
"Time listed" "Feb-20 15:49"

22 February 2008

Samples of a Shopping.com listings inserted onto eBay.com.

"Items for sale by sdc_prod_409455_97"
"Time listed" "Feb-22 10:22"

Google archive - February 29, 2008 16:37:41 GMT
Seller sdc_prod_434012, item number 320199419130, 30 day auction listing. Seller has no 30 day store. Start date February 22nd
"eBay (item 320199419130 end time March-22-08 06:45:06 PDT)" screen shot.

23 February 2008

Sample of a Shopping.com listing inserted onto eBay.com.

Listings on eBay.com are accessible on eBay International sites, such as eBay South Korea (ebay.auction.co.kr).

Google archive - Feb 29, 2008 22:42:51 GMT
Seller sdc_prod_310426, item number 120225811907. Start date February 23rd.
Time remaining on 30 day listing, 23 days 3 hours 35 minutes 46 seconds, screen shot

23 February 2008
05:49 AM PST

redsbe (Private ) Feb-23-08 05:49 PST 1 of 33

When I search ebay or via google for test listings I only find a few hundred yet total ebay listings are now running at or above Feb 12th numbers of 12.4 m (before 20 cent listings and boycott) so I fail to see the importance of test listings in inflating numbers.

27 February 2008
06:04:36 PM PST

PayPal and eBay Pay Shoppers to Shop
AuctionBytes
By: Ina Steiner
Wed Feb 27 2008 18:04:36

28 February 2008
04:30 PM PST, 7:30 PM EST (Eastern Standard Time)

eBay Auction count at lowest point of the day; 13,393,000 items.

Coincidentally, or not, at about the time many of eBay's employees head for home, the auction count begins to rise. Did some programmer turn something on, and leave for the day, intending to check on the code's progress the following morning?

Auction count rises to 13,405,000 by 07:30 PST, 10:30 EST.

http://www.medved.net/cgi-bin/cal.exe?EIND Chart times are Eastern Standard Time.

28 February 2008
09:00:01 PM PST, 12:00:01 AM 29 February EST (Eastern Standard Time).

Medved "EBay Auction Counts" approximately 13,425,000 items. First count on the February 29th chart.

http://www.medved.net/cgi-bin/cal.exe?EIND Chart times are Eastern Standard Time (EST).

28 February 2008
11:59:59 PM PST

"eBay is running a marketing campaign to encourage buyers to shop on its site by offering them coupons. One buyer sent AuctionBytes a coupon he had received (pictured) that offered $5 toward shipping on any one item. Part of the terms and conditions follows:

This Offer is valid only when you pay with, and seller accepts, PayPal. This Offer is intended for the recipient whose eBay User ID is printed on the Offer and purchase must be made on eBay.com with that eBay User ID. This Offer is not transferable.

This Offer is for one-time use. It may only be redeemed on the total shipping cost of an item or items on one purchase from a single seller, using a single method of shipping and single currency, in a single transaction. This Offer expires February 28, 2008 at 11:59:59 PM (PST)."
AuctionBytes, Wed Feb 27 2008 18:04:36

.
29 February 2008
04:23 AM PST

eBay Developer's Program
eBay Developer Forums > Technical Questions: eBay Shopping Web Services
Exclude Sellers Issue

Re: ExcludeSellers Issue
Posted: Feb 29, 2008 4:23 AM
"Because of the wide variety of searches that we do, we could easily use 200 to 400 ID's. 500 would be a good number for us."
stsi.com

The above statement is in response to the earlier part of the thread:

ExcludeSellers Issue
Posted: Jan 10, 2008 11:40 AM
Is there a limit on the number of Excluded Sellers that can be specified in a GetSearchResults call? I have several excluded sellers that keep returning search results. I have checked the XML for the call, and it looks correct.

Also, is it a problem if entries are duplicated? (I will be correcting this in any event.)

Thanks.
stsi.com

Re: ExcludeSellers Issue
Posted: Jan 10, 2008 12:12 PM
After further research, it looks like there is a limit of 100 excluded sellers. Can this limit be raised?
stsi.com

Re: ExcludeSellers Issue
Posted: Jan 14, 2008 3:42 PM
"Yes the limit is 100, which most users have found sufficient for their use case. How many IDs do you have?"
Rekha Patel, rekha.developersupport@ebay.com, eBay Developer Support, 11 January 2008

Re: ExcludeSellers Issue
Feb 29, 2008 4:27 AM
"Also, is it possible to use wildcards for excluded sellers? For example, I'd like to exclude the various iterations of sdc_prod_*, instead of having to type in all the numbers that this seller uses...."
stsi.com

.
29 February 2008
10:00 AM PST, 01:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

Medved "EBay Auction Counts" reaches maximum for the day of approximately 13,900,000 items. The
previous low count was 13,393,000 items on February 28th at 04:30 PM PST, 7:30 EST. An increase of about half-a-million listings in 16.5 hours.

Coincidentally, or not, during the time many of eBay's employees show up at work, the auction count abruptly stops rising.

One scenario:

07:00AM (10:00AM EST) - Programmers apply brakes to sdc_prod application.
08:30AM (11:30AM EST) - Or so they thought, sdc_prod application continues to add listings.
10:00AM (13:00AM EST) - Management puts brakes to sdc_prod. Programmer grunts delete sdc_prod listings.

A case could be made that by 10AM eBay applied working corrective action on the sdc_prod listing problem. Because at this point the auction count drops.

http://www.medved.net/cgi-bin/cal.exe?EIND Chart times are Eastern Standard Time (EST).

.
29 February 2008
01:00 PM PST, 04:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

Medved "EBay Auction Counts" drops slightly approximately 13,875,000 items, from 13,900,000 items. Last count of the February 29th chart.

29 February 2008

Regarding the events of "Friday night" 29 February 2008.

eBay's statements:

1) "a "bug" in its system had accidentally placed listings from eBay-owned shopping.com onto eBay.com late Friday night."
However, "the code actually rolled out three hours late, so there were a certain number of listings ... that didn't get gallery free, so we were going back and fixing that" on Friday, the spokesman said. "What happened was, when we wrote the code to implement that fix in the database table, there was a string that was left on there that populated and sent shopping.com listings onto ebay.com that it shouldn't have."
Approximately 5,000 listings were pulled from shopping.com, but they have since been removed, according to eBay."
PC Magazine, 4 March 2008

2) "eBay spokesperson Usher Lieberman initially told AuctionBytes they appeared due to a test, but on Monday, said he was incorrect and that the listings were the result of a glitch.
On Tuesday, Lieberman explained the nature of the glitch. Programmers rolled out code on Friday evening that was meant to credit certain listings that were eligible for free Gallery. The credit was due to them because eBay had promised sellers Gallery would be free for listings started at a certain time of day, and the code had been rolled out 3 hours past the deadline.
Lieberman said the programmers inadvertently caused the Shopping.com listings to appear on eBay.com when it created and launched the script to credit the sellers' accounts for Gallery fees.
Lieberman said fewer than 35,000 listings were affected by the glitch."
AuctionBytes, 5 March 2008

3) "An eBay spokesman told PC Magazine at the time that 5,000 shopping.com listings were erroneously placed on ebay.com. After sellers expressed doubt about that number in the comments section, eBay was asked to again confirm that it was indeed 5,000. The same spokesman responded Friday that he had originally told PC Magazine that eBay pulled 35,000 listings, but a review of the interview confirmed that he said 5,000."
PC Magazine, 10 March 2008

4) "Editor's Note: The eBay spokesman confirmed Monday that the number of postings pulled from shopping.com was indeed 35,000."
PC Magazine, 10 March 2008

.
29 February 2008
06:41 PM PST

First responders to Shopping.com listing anomaly.

By this time, the Medved "EBay Auction Counts" are somewhere between 13,875,000 listings (29 February 2008 01:00 PM PST) and 13,502,000 listings (1 March 2008 08:30 AM PST). "Between" as the Medved chart is blank between those times.

A possible scenario would be that eBay has been deleting listings since 10:00 AM; at least 8 hours. Or we should say an eBay application has been deleting sdc_prod listings.

eBay's March 1st Listing Special begins in 5 hours 19 minutes.

eBay user comments, edited.

mm*mc (154) Feb-29-08 18:41 PST

Look at this 35000 listings never sold anything these look funny to me. Let me know what you think check this out. 320199384960

neverstopsworking (127) Feb-29-08 18:49 PST

WOW!!

Did you Notice You CAN'T Bid on Any Of Them, You can Only Watch Them and They're listed for at least 21 more days??

29 February 2008
07:25 PM PST

Referenced by PC Magazine article.

mydiscountstation (921 ) Feb-29-08 19:25 PST

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZsdc_prod_434012

is e-bay padding their "listings" numbers?

This guy has over 35000 items. And there is no button for a buy it now and no button for making a bid.

interesting

29 February 2008
08:56 PM PST

eBay user comments, edited.

cmiprch (1732 ) Feb-29-08 20:56 PST 44 of 418

That sounds more like a hack, to me.

Sounds more like a conspiracy to me. 30 of these kinds of ID's with 35K listings is 1M items. Imagine the kind of volume drop you can hide with 30, 60 or 90 or whatever number of these IDs.

cmiprch (1732 ) Feb-29-08 21:19 PST 48 of 418

So "sdc" = shopping dot com?

Nice listings boost if eBay injected everything on shopping.com

29 February 2008
09:29 PM PST

Referenced by PC Magazine article.

monkey_business304 (0 ) Feb-29-08 21:29 PST

I have been collecting all ebay's padded listings and forwarding them to the FTC so they will investigate them.
Everything you can do will help.They should not get away with the crap they are doing.Im going to do my best to make sure they dont.

windorphin (31 ) Feb-29-08 21:40 PST 4 of 273

Don't waste your time. They aren't fake listings. They are your replacements. They're bringing in the big guns now. Huge retailers to compete with.

29 February 2008
10:25 PM PST

eBay user comments, edited.

moopy_inc (5562 ) Feb-29-08 22:25 PST 240 of 516

you would think they would at least use different user names. SDC_prod....I guess that is easier to keep up with. SDC = shopping dot com.....brilliant. haaaaa

orange_cape_hides_me (Private ) Feb-29-08 22:30 PST 25 of 51

I think the API developer angle is probably where the answer lies. Someone is clearly testing auction formats and listings, and these are not meant to be bid on.

29 February 2008
10:31:50 PM PST, 12:31:50 CST &1:31:50 AM 1 March EST

12:31:50 AM CST
"I see. Actually, this is not an eBay listing, the problem is it's a Shopping.com listing that is showing on our site by mistake."
Evan M. A., eBay Live Help Customer Service

12:32:25 AM CST
It is a current issue, yes, we have a bug on it. These are meant to be on shopping.com only but due to some reason are showing on eBay as well and can't be bought through the site."
Evan M. A., eBay Live Help Customer Service

29 February 2008
10:35 PM PST

eBay user comments, edited.

badmomster (Private) Feb-29-08 20:35 PST 68 of 521

It seems to me that if Ebay is boosting their numbers with bogus auctions, that's an issue for the SEC.

niruss (1979) Feb-29-08 20:36 PSST 70 of 521

Also for the stockholders and the FTC.

bosshossman1 (1 ) Feb-29-08 22:33 PST 255 of 516

We are now up to 7 Ids, Keep up the good work.
I will keep the totals coming.

sdc_prod_434012 # of listings 35002
sdc_prod_9124_14 # of listings 48395
sdc_prod_9074_35 # of listings 21401
sdc_prod_9452 # of listings 24501
sdc_prod_301013_74 # of listings 27291
sdc_prod_9352_67 # of listings 30278
sdc_ prod_ 9055 # of listings 1925

justinal (391 ) Feb-29-08 22:45 PST 31 of 273

Just curious, exactly what FTC code violation are you reporting them for?

And the SEC? It's an auction listing, not stock manipulation.

Going crazy will not help your cause.

aenthal (2243 ) Feb-29-08 23:04 PST 34 of 273

These bogus auctions are not a violation of anything.
EBay has a right to put anything they wish on their web servers, and they apparently wish to use space up with displays of auctions that don't exist.

krs6670 (107 ) Feb-29-08 23:12 PST 35 of 273

a trust and safety poster kind of figured it out...
sdc= shopping dot com

Feb-29-08 23:36 PST 385 of 700

O.K. looks like ebay is pulling all the listings. All the Ids we posted have had all the auctions pulled.

vsbeauty53 (15 ) Feb-29-08 23:59 PST 17 of 421

if they had nothing to hide, they didn't need to remove those (fake) listings. they are all gone now!

.
1 March 2008

Regarding the events of Saturday 1 March 2008.

"This was a limited test that has run its course" Usher Lieberman, eBay Spokesperson
AuctionBytes, 1 March 2008 01:56:54 AM PST

"He said he had made a mistake when he called the Shopping.com listings a test on Saturday morning. He was trying to track it down and after talking to a few people, felt comfortable saying it was a test, and subsequently found out the listings had appeared accidentally. Usher said it was his fault for initially getting it wrong."
Ina Steiner, AuctionBytes, 4 March 2008 04:02:46 AM PST

"AuctionBytes looked at one Shopping.com selling account on Saturday morning, it indicated the seller had over 80,000 listings on eBay.com"
Ina Steiner, AuctionBytes, 5 March 2008

AuctionBytes does not report this fact, "80,000 listings," for 4 days.

1 March 2008
12:00:01 AM PST, 3:00:01 AM Easter Standard Time

eBay listing upgrade special, "2 days only March 1-2", begins. eBay sellers can list products at reduced prices. Historically the auction counts rise significantly during these eBay specials.

***Get Gallery Plus, Value Pack, Featured Plus!, and Picture Pack at a Discount This Weekend***
"The promotion will start on Saturday, March 1, 2008 at 00:00:01 Pacific time (12:00 a.m. plus one second) and end on Sunday, March 2, 2008 at 23:59:59 Pacific time (11:59 p.m. plus 59 seconds)."

There is no 12:00:01 AM count per sec, as there is a gap in the record from 01:00 PM PST (04:00 PM EST) February 29th to 08:30 AM PST (11:30 AM EST) March 1st.

13,875,000 listings, 29 February 2008 01:00 PM PST (04:00 PM EST)

http://www.medved.net/cgi-bin/cal.exe?EIND Chart times are Eastern Standard Time (EST).

.
1 March 2008
00:02 AM PST

eBay user comments, edited.

vsbeauty53 (15 ) Mar-01-08 00:02 PST 20 of 426

look, I found this:

Here is a copy of the list again for those that missed it.
sdc_prod_434012 # of listings 35002
sdc_prod_9124_14 # of listings 48395
sdc_prod_9074_35 # of listings 21401
sdc_prod_9452 # of listings 24501
sdc_prod_301013_74 # of listings 27291
sdc_prod_9352_67 # of listings 30278
sdc_ prod_ 9055 # of listings 1925
sdc_prod_9021_2 # of listings 12233
sdc_prod_9391_43 #oflistings 11100

moopy_inc (5562 ) Mar-01-08 00:17 PST 459 of 786

well, we all saw it, others on powersellersunite.com has seen it. I just wish these were found during the day. So many more people could have seen them.

atticcleanin (35 ) Mar-01-08 00:25 PST 477 of 786

well should anyone need pics of id, then fb page then lisitng i think i grabbed like 4 or 5 of the 9

I got screenshots of a dozen different feedback names associated with SDC.

sdc_prod_434012 = SpectrumSuperStore
sdc_prod_9021_2 = Buy.com (who is NARU!)
sdc_prod_9124_14 = TheNerds, Inc.
sdc_prod_9452 = eTronics, Inc.
sdc_prod_409455_97 = Sababa Shopping
sdc_prod_9090 = CompSource Inc.
sdc_prod_310426 = ANTOnline (who is NARU!)
sdc_prod_9074_35 = pcRUSH.com (who is NARU!)
sdc_prod_9352_67 = Digital Foto Club
sdc_prod_301013_74 = The Twister Group
sdc_prod_305839_99 = BargainBasementBatteries
sdc_prod_9391_43 = Adorama (who is NARU!)

Since those are all unique (HA!) user IDs, we have at least 12 bogus sellers running around.

buyingcarsforfun (80 ) Mar-01-08 01:36 PST 574 of 669

O.K. they are right back at it. I was double checking the Ids and these 4 have auctions listed again. Take a look.
sdc_prod_301013_74
sdc_prod_310426
sdc_prod_9352_67
sdc_prod_9452

.
1 March 2008
01:56:54 AM PST

Mystery Shopping.com Listings on eBay?
By: Ina Steiner, AuctionBytes
Sat Mar 1 2008 01:56:54

Excerpt:

"Mystery listings are appearing on eBay that don't allow shoppers to bid or buy. The listings appear to be feeds from Shopping.com sellers. A look at the User ID sdc_prod_301013_74, for example, shows the seller has 27,076 listings - but the ones we clicked on did not have bid or buy buttons."

.
1 March 2008
05:20 AM PST

eBay user comment, edited.

molerfamily (1 ) Mar-01-08 05:20 PST 69 of 273

Considering eBay does not report figures, it seems kinda like the conspiracies are rampant again. Because 3rd parties out there attempt to circumvent and create programs to provide folks this, it is just not logical for eBay to gain anything from this.

I agree with thizzwear completely on this. And Thizz, does not matter what date they were doing this testing, all the chicken littles will make that date fit into the agenda which they have. There is no winning for eBay for anything they do, the Chicken Littles of the world will use their twisted logic to make it appear they did this for some adverse reasoning.

The more these chicken littles talk, the less eductated they look. It has really become a joke to read all these things that are being said now.

.
1 March 2008
time unknown

eBay Numbers Inflated By Shopping.com Product Listings?
Pheebay.com
Date: 03/01/2008

Excerpts:

"I'm betting Murphys Law is driving this event rather than any evil empire."
"For me this isn't a significant issue in isolation but there is a potentially more worrying aspect to this story. Many readers will share the belief of many that eBay has never been good at introducing new or changed code leading many users to feel like Beta testers all too often. With the amount of changes planned for the coming months I have a hunch today is just one of a string of "cock ups" we will be reading and reporting in the near future."

.
1 March 2008
06:18 AM PST

eBay user comments, edited.

flaura22 (333 ) Mar-01-08 06:18 PST 79 of 418

I don't believe ebay has done anything with the intent to manipulate or deceive. The point is that IF whatever sort of glitch this is has mistakenly over inflated the numbers, then eBay is responsible for making the shareholders aware of the accounting errors IF the mistake has an impact on the stock values and/or IF the errors impact the financial reports to the shareholders.
I don't know about the whole casino scenario you've got going, I was thinking more along the lines of Enron and such.

eBay cannot be held accountable for any errors if they can say that they didn't know, which is why someone must have proof that an officer of eBay or PREFERABLY THE GENERAL COUNSEL FOR EBAY has been made aware of the possibility of a considerable accounting error in the financial reports to the shareholders.

shwp1 (1919 ) Mar-01-08 07:03 PST 681 of 878

I asked this earlier and it's still nagging at me.

Someone...[forgive me but I have forgotten who],
posted a link to another forum where one of the
sdc###### was inquiring how many id's they could have...
The were told 100....how many did they need?
sdc###### responded 400 or 500

soooooooooo

If sdc= shoppingdotcom
and shoppingdotcom is owned by Ebay

Isn't that like asking yourself a question...and doing it where everyone can hear [read] you ask?

the*katy*workshop (1468 ) Mar-01-08 07:11 PST 683 of 878

27076 items found (Save this search)
Show only: Items from seller sdc_prod_301013_74

type2mtg (51 ) Mar-01-08 07:10 PST 43 of 426

The absolute ONLY way for these items to show "by accident" is if the eBay techs included them in the database. If this was done "on accident" then those tech should absolutely be fired, because they are mixing two different databases and that is potentially a MAJOR screwup.

It seems that they probably have done this on purpose, because it's highly unlikely that the two different databases share the same table titles and attributes. Meaning that the SDC listings would have had to have been converted to fit the eBay database before they would show up, otherwise they would just error out and potentially bring down the whole eBay database.

Something is not right with this...you cannot just have stuff appear "on accident"...not when you're dealing with databases.

the*katy*workshop (1468 ) Mar-01-08 07:13 PST 685 of 786

19808 items found (Save this search)
Show only: Items from seller sdc_prod_9452

1 March 2008
08:10 AM PST, 16:10 GMT

200k Shopping.com items appear on eBay
TameBay
Author: Chris Dawson
Posted at: Saturday, March 1st, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Tags for this post: eBay.com, shopping.com, Snafu

Excerpt:

"User names such as sdc_prod_9124_14 with some 48,000 eBay listings appeared, although currently all the listings appear to have been removed. SDC is the acronym for shopping.com, the shopping comparison site owned by eBay.

sdc_prod_9124_14 The listings had no bid/bin links, simply a link to add to watched items leading so speculation that eBay are using them to increase listing numbers. A more rational explanation is that some one made an error in launching Shopping.com listings onto eBay and the error was swiftly reversed."

.
1 March 2008
08:21 AM PST

eBay user comment, edited.

emovieposter.com (20539 ) Mar-01-08 08:21 PST 84 of 418

Just like they were nailed cold with the "shipping stars" snafu, they are nailed cold with this one. Of course they will announce it was a simple mistake, and get rid of the fake listings.

1 March 2008
08:30 AM PST, 11:30 AM EST

Medved "EBay Auction Counts" approximately 13,502,000 items. The auction count was previously
13,875,000 listings (29 February 2008 01:00 PM PST)

Eight and a half hours into eBay's listing upgrade special, "2 days only March 1-2", and the auction count is falling.

http://www.medved.net/cgi-bin/cal.exe?EIND Chart times are Eastern Standard Time (EST).

.
1 March 2008
09:27 AM PST

eBay user comment, edited.

sandrarn83 (2919 ) Mar-01-08 09:27 PST 52 of 426

I read an article recently that Ebay (who owns Shopping) was going to start having some of the Shopping feeds shown on Ebay. That was one of the reasons I signed up for Shopping but then found that all my Amazon listings were already on Shopping. So no point in competing with my self and using my own money to be seen on Shopping when Amazon pays and does it for me.

Comment, edited.

Randy Smythe Says:
March 1st, 2008 at 5:30 pm (17:30 GMT), 09:30 AM PST

Chris, it’s likely that it was a slip-up. There have been discussions about integrating SDC listings into to eBay for awhile. These listings would not have shown up on eBay.com in the form that they did if eBay hadn’t set them up this way. So I would say it was a slip-up before a test. Eventually we will see SDC listing on the main platform.

I agee with you that it wasn’t eBay trying to inflate listing numbers.

eBay user comments, edited.

djcarlos1 (3838 ) Mar-01-08 09:46 PST 93 of 418

I don't know if it's a glitch, hack or purposeful deception. However, what makes it curious is all the auctions I looked at started last Thursday the day after the listing sale ended.

Say it isn't so, Joel?
Posted: Mar-01-08 11:23 PST
boycott*victoriously (17 ) Posts: 2,108

I must have missed that one. These are the ones I found, with last night's and this morning's results shown. That list you have only shows 10,000 counts ... could have been much more than that:

ID found:...............first shot..... Now
sdc_prod_9452...........19808....still there
sdc_prod_30103_74....27076....still there
sdc_prod_9055............1925.....zero now
sdc_prod_442675_57...4702.....zero now
sdc_prod_9124_14.......42578...zero now
sdc_prod_9090............ 24501...zero now
sdc_prod_434012..........35000...zero now

.
1 March 2008
01:02 PM PST, 03:02 PM CST

eBay Customer Service Agent (Lanie R.) and an eBay customer:
15:02 Agent Sent Message: I'm sorry for the inconvenience.This is actually an issue on the site right now I'm afraid. This is actually a Shopping.com listing that's appearing incorrectly on eBay.
15:03 Agent Sent Message: Our Technical team is working on getting resolved though, and I had this reported for you so we can add your account to the list.
15:03 Customer: Do these incorrect listings show up in ebays total listings/ Wouldn't they scew the listings totals?
15:04 Agent Sent Message: Oh, no it shouldn't though.
15:05 Agent Sent Message: The team is checking on the accounts of the sellers you reported as well for further investigation.
15:05 Customer: Shoudn't or absolutely doesn't?
15:05 Agent Sent Message: Absolutely doesn't.This is only a glitch on the search pages.
15:06 Agent Sent Message: You can check it from time to time to see it not on the eBay pages, only on Shopping.com
15:06 Customer: can you explain that a little further?
15:08 Customer: I'm not familiar with shopping.com. Why would their listings show up on ebay. Anf the one I mentionaed has ebay seller feedback.
15:08 Agent Sent Message: Sure! In the eBay account of the seller for items sold at eBay, it shouldn't get reflected, but if you were referring to the "items from seller" link for all items he is selling, I'm afraid the Shopping.com items will also appear and is confirmed as a tec
15:08 Agent Sent Message: hnical glitch.
15:09 Customer: can you respond to my last question also?
15:09 Agent Sent Message: Sorry for the confusion, Shopping.com is a specialty site owned by eBay but we handle separate accounts. It's similar to Express or Half.com
3/1/2008 15:10 Agent Sent Message: Ah, okay, Here's what happens, this particular seller has an account with SHopping.com to sell items, which is a different one as an eBay seller.

.
1 March 2008
01:12 PM PST

eBay user comments, edited.

suzisstuff (3233 ) Mar-01-08 13:12 PST 8 of 33

Cyoung 67-
Another poster and I caught that auction in the act last night. OP did a “snapshot” when it was at 35,000 listings and sent it to ABC NEWS. I was watching it around the same time and the listings went from 37,000 at the first point. I checked in on it 4 more times, 2nd time I think it was 17,000 auctions, then 7,000 and then 5,000 and finally in went to 536. Now it is at zero. OP and I both posted our findings but cannot find it this morning. Surprise, Surprise!

EBAY CAUGHT IN THE ACT!

molerfamily (1 ) Mar-01-08 14:08 PST 195 of 273

Would it not stand to reason, that if some deal was worked out, with say Shopping.com and premier members that pay to Shopping.com get free exposure listings with eBay, that in fact it is not costing them anything to have these listed in an eBay store account? That would make sense.
.
I do not profess to know what arrangement that Shopping.com merchants have, but it seems I read something to that effect somewhere.

rjrkea (3275 ) View Listings | Report Mar-01-08 13:56 PST 112 of 418

Well on Monday the Expanded Seller Protection enrollment link showed up for a period of time before getting removed.

Maybe this was some sort of a test like that where it went "live" and then was taken down.

On one hand I would think if it were a test, they would have used a much smaller amount of listings so it wasn't so visible and on the other hand maybe they wanted to see how large a volume they could handle for sellers as a means of luring users back from amazon or not lose them to amazon.

And then also maybe they wanted to see what current, knowledgeable users would say about the listings to quickly find out what "goofs" there were.

1 March 2008
2:55 PM, time zone unknown

eBay padding listing numbers on Auction site?
www.companyexposed.com
March 1, 2008
Published by admin @ 2:55 pm

Excerpt:

"Today the Blogs and eBay Finance forums and eBay Seller forums are buzzing with examples of mysterious listings of items on which you cannot bid or which you cannot buy. These number in tens of thousands on seller accounts that were located today."

.
1 March 2008
2:56 PM PST

eBay user comment, edited.

The Number of Auctions
Posted: Mar-01-08 14:56 PST
lacemaker3 (300 ) Posts: 3,874

sdc_prod_301013_74 has been a member since Oct-18-06.

If you view the Text-format only page for their listings, it's very interesting. I am viewing it with 200 items per page.
- there are 27076 items found (but only 10000 can be viewed in the Text-format list)
- The first page of listings were started Jun-04-07 and ended on Nov-01-07 (why are they still listed in Text-format only? The item #s are invalid.)
- On the 15th page of listings, approx. half were started Apr-19-07 and ended Nov-15-07 16:19:44 PST. That's approx. 2900 listings that ended before Nov-15-07, and should no longer be on the site.
- All the rest of the listings (approx 7100) were started on Feb-25-08 and will end Mar-26-08, between 14:22:26 PDT and 14:32:16 PDT. They are 30 day listings.

1 March 2008
time unknown

Ebay Padding Counts w Fake Listings in Wake of Strike?
From: cappnonymous
Added: March 01, 2008

1 March 2008
05:24 PM PST

eBay user comment, edited

cloudberry121 (18 ) Mar-01-08 17:24 PST 18 of 20

There's been a lot of this going on this past month. Thousands of listings within weeks or even days and about 20% FB, if any. Odd times.

username: sdc_prod_301013_74 has 27291 listings.
username: sdc_prod_9090 has 32601 listings.
username: sdc_prod_9352_67 has 30278 listings.
username: sdc_prod_9074_35 has 21481 listings

1 March 2008
time unknown

Bogus Listings!!!
By dhoosierswife

Is eBay POSSIBLY padding their listings numbers???
By dhoosierswife

1 March 2008
06:06 PM PST

eBay user comments, edited

just_not_thinking (0 ) Mar-01-08 18:06 PST 68 of 426

Looks like the possee slept late today!

Sandra and possee why do you care about this?

How does it effect you in any way at all?

Why can't ebay run tests on their own site?!!

vsbeauty53 (15 ) Mar-01-08 18:14 PST 71 of 333

Gosh! ebay Number of Listings dropped! close to 500,000 items just gone!

eBay view charts 14,109,304 -472525 -3.35% March 1, 2008 9:06 pm

What an overnight change!

pepins4b8e (21 ) Mar-01-08 18:16 PST 73 of 333

You want them to let you know every time they do tests?
You think other sites let you know when they do test? You're dreaming!

sojo2004 (2698 ) Mar-01-08 18:23 PST 78 of 333

OK, this is what ebay says about test auctions:

Guidelines for Test Listings

Listings in the Test Auction category must be clearly labeled as a ’test’, both in the listing title and description.
No more than 10 test listings should run at once by a single account.
Accounts that leave or receive feedback in the Test Auction category must be used for test purposes only. This means that members must use a different account to leave or receive feedback for test purposes than is used for buy or sell on the site. Accounts found to be in violation of this guideline will be subject to immediate suspension.

Any Feedback left on test listings should be clearly labeled ‘test’.

All ’test’ feedback is subject to removal at any time, at eBay's discretion.

Normal listing fees will be charged when listing in the test category.

But I guess that just applies to members, not the management.

But in answer to pepin -- yes, if we have to clearly state a test listing is a test listing, then I DO think ebay should have to do the same.

sojo

Things are going swimmingly, thank you for asking.

.
1 March 2008
07:00 PM PST, 10:00 PM EST (Eastern Standard Time)

Medved "EBay Auction Counts" approximately 13,455,000 items. Auction count at the lowest point of the day.

.
1 March 2008

08:09 PM PST

eBay user comment, edited.

time2buy1949 (Private ) Feb-29-08 20:09 PST

Search 19140 THATCH RAKE 15" 19T EA 12912226

Comments please? Just saw this at the very tail end of a thread in the Feedback Forum. Thought it was appropriate to mention here. (They had a different item number from this seller posted, but I'm not sure I can do that.)

No price, no way to bid on it (I tried $30 just to see what would happen - it said transaction blocked, cannot bid on this kind of item) and if you click on see sellers other listings he has 35K+ others. And it's a zero account. Location - CA. Website in auction too.

How the heck would you even list something up with no way to bid on it? This is either just leading to their website and bigtime circumvention or it's eBay themselves inflating the numbers. Interesting either way.

What do the experts think?

.
1 March 2008
08:30 PM PST, 11:30 PM Eastern Standard Time

Medved "EBay Auction Counts" approximately 13,460,000 items. Last count of the March 1st chart.

Note auction count spike beginning at the "2/29" (09:00 PM PST, Midnight EST) line and ending at the "3/2" (09:00 PM PST, Midnight EST) line.

http://www.medved.net/cgi-bin/cal.exe?EIND Chart times are Eastern Standard Time (EST).

1 March 2008
08:34 PM PST

eBay user comment, edited.

erimess (10 ) Mar-01-08 20:34 PST 238 of 273

Wow. I came over here to try to catch up on the latest and I've found a conglomeration of paranoid, fact-creating, lynching mob!

1 March 2008
10:00 PM PST, 01:00 AM 2 March EST (Eastern Standard Time)

Medved "EBay Auction Counts" approximately 13,425,000 items. First count on the March 2nd chart.

2 March 2008
00:34 AM PST

eBay user comment, edited.

oldspartantrader (3913 ) Mar-02-08 00:34 PST 100 of 425

This is much more disconcerting to me as a stockholder than as a seller --

I have asked by stock guy for input and he believes that if this is in fact listing count manipulation it is an SEC matter for investigation

.
2 March 2008
07:00 AM PST, 10:00 AM EST

Medved "EBay Auction Counts" approximately 13,470,000 items. Second listing count peak of the weekend.

Previous peak count was approximately 13,900,000 items, on February 29th at 10 AM PST

http://www.medved.net/cgi-bin/cal.exe?EIND Chart times are Eastern Standard Time (EST).

2 March 2008
07:04 AM PST

eBay user comments, edited

Shopping.com, Half.com and Ebay Express
Posted: Mar-02-08 07:04 PST
dakota_exchange (2844 ) Posts: 5,856

I wonder... but then why, after all of this became obvious to many, did many of these same listings get pulled?

Shopping.com, Half.com and Ebay Express
Posted: Mar-02-08 08:01 PST
pakardbelle (272 ) Posts: 1,019

Yesterday, I tried to bid on one of the SDC listings. And, this was not an eBay Express listing. It was one of the active auction format listings. And, the page would not accept my bid.

I put the item in my watched items, and it's still there. But now, when I click the item, the auction has been pulled. And when I search those listings for that seller, they are showing no auctions- so all 27K of the auction format listings have been pulled.

2 March 2008
08:26:53 AM PST

Comment, edited.

Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2008 08:26:53 -0800 (PST)

The evidence is consistent with that conclusion, but is not yet proof of that. This could yet be hacking, or API/server malfunction. It could also be an unannounced "test" that accidentally had the "unintended" side effect of inflating traffic, right, sure.

In any event, there clearly are "fake Ebay listings", and in large numbers. Large enough to materially affect traffic count? I suspect we'll know in a few days.

The interesting thing to watch here is whether or not this phenomenon continues, and if it stops, what happens to the traffic reports.
--
Regards, Bob Niland

2 March 2008
11:13 AM PST

eBay user comments, edited

audlee-e-nuff-treasures (860 ) Mar-02-08 11:13 PST 32 of 432

Let's revamp this weekends events.
1. at 18:41 pst Friday evening a thread was started about listings that could not be bid on or bought.
2. between 12 am pst and 3 am Saturday these listings were being pulled.
3. These so called TEST listings if they were only TEST listings would have no reason to be pulled and some of the sdc_prod_### id's narued.
4. Then the thread of these findings is removed along with any that mention it.
5. why please tell me why, if this was only a TEST has it become an issue to remove them and the threads discussing them.

markd13 (84 ) Mar-02-08 11:19 PST 38 of 432

I see the Conspiracy Nut Jobs are out in full force.

And then we have the Free Speech nut jobs who have never read the Constitution or Bill of Rights and yammer on about something they have no knowledge. They don't seem to understand it doesn't cover entities like eBay.

But then again when have facts every stopped a nut job from their ranting.

2 March 2008
02:31 PM PST, 05:31 PM Easter Standard Time

Is eBay Fluffing The Numbers With Test Auctions??
Doc's Suspended From eBay Blog
March 2, 2008
Published by admin at 5:31 pm

Excerpt:

"if they were using these thousands of test listings to skewer 3rd party listing stats generators like, Medved Charts and PowerSellersUnite.com it is outright fraud!"

2 March 2008
02:32 PM PST

eBay System Status Announcement Board
***Resolved: Shopping.com listings on eBay***
"Some Shopping.com listings appeared accidentally on eBay.com over the past two days. This system issue has been resolved. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused."

2 March 2008
03:53 PM PST

eBay user comments, edited

thehairball (973 ) Mar-02-08 15:53 PST 143 of 432

That was ebays pathetic excuse for 400,000 listings that all appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared almost as quick and looked nothing like any other ebay listings and if thats the case...then ebay is a very unsafe place to shop! How in the hell do 400,000 listings "accidentally" appear? That means that your private information on this site is no longer safe if stuff from any other site can just somehow magically appear on this one!

magisterrex (6944 ) Mar-02-08 15:54 PST 170 of 418

I don't know why so many people are quick to ASSume that eBay is an evil corporate entity that wants to steal their souls and use them as currency whilst dealing with the Devil.

When I last checked, you were supposed to be INNOCENT until PROVEN guilty. From the bizarre, over-the-top posts on this thread, I have no idea why some of you even sell here.

I know that if I felt that strongly about eBay, I would do what Bruce is doing, and exit, stage left.

2 March 2008
04:01 PM PST, 00:01 GMT March 3

Comment, edited.

Chris Dawson Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:01 am

Such a prosaic explanation! Why couldn’t I have been proven wrong and it be a conspiracy?

2 March 2008
04:01 PM, time zone unknown

eBay censoring info about padded listings on it's forums
www.companyexposed.com
March 2, 2008
By admin @ 4:01 pm

Excerpt:

"If the hundreds of thousands listings you cannot Buy Now or Bid on on eBay site are just an innocent mistake / glitch or have a legitimate reason to be there, why would eBay moderators be so diligent in removing posts from their forums discussing these? Although the eBay forum thread has been removed by eBay Moderators, Google cache still has some of the posts"

2 March 2008
03:53 PM PST

eBay user comments, edited

aviation (3802 ) Mar-02-08 16:29 PST 187 of 418

By the way, at the moment, I don't believe eBay did this on purpose to inflate listings. While it's a possibility, I would hope eBay's not that stupid. I really can't see it happening as there are just too many people who would have to have been involved to do that.

in-weave (7349 ) Mar-02-08 16:56 PST 197 of 418

Some Shopping.com listings appeared accidentally on eBay.com over the past two days. This system issue has been resolved. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused.

I don't think we've seen the end of this....and, in some ways, I don't want to know what carp is coming. There's a reason they "accidentally" appeared. eBay may not have wanted anyone to notice them so that may be the accident but I'll be very surpised if we don't see something relating to shopping.com listings/eBay by the middle of the summer.

.
2 March 2008
8:30 PM PST, 11:30 PM Eastern Standard Time

Medved "EBay Auction Counts" approximately 13,330,000 items. Last count of the March 2nd chart.

2 March 2008
10:06 PM PST

eBay user comment, edited.

just_not_thinking (0 ) Mar-02-08 22:06 PST 145 of 425

POSSEE!!!

Why don't you start your own auction site posseauctions.com and make it perfect ...

I.E. the first website ever that has no glitches, and we'll all use it! Be sure to make a possee discussion board too!!

Remember it has to be perfect just like you, and never have any issues/glitches at all, even if millions of people are all using it at once.

Especially be sure to make a perfect message board! So we won't run the risk of not getting your daily/hourly/minutely/secondly words of possee wisdom!

Let us know when its ready possee!

2 March 2008
11:59 PM PST, 2:59 AM 3 March Eastern Standard Time

eBay listing upgrade special, "2 days only March 1-2" ends.

According to the Medved "EBay Auction Counts", at the time the listing special ended the count was approximately 13,355,000 items. The count at the start of the listing special was about 13,502,000 listings. An overall decrease.

http://www.medved.net/cgi-bin/cal.exe?EIND Chart shows auction counts by days of the month, Eastern Standard Time.

http://www.medved.net/cgi-bin/cal.exe?EIND Chart times are Eastern Standard Time (EST).

3 March 2008

Regarding the events and comments of Monday March 3rd.

"I spoke to eBay's Usher Lieberman during the IMA conference on Monday. He said he had made a mistake when he called the Shopping.com listings a test on Saturday morning. He was trying to track it down and after talking to a few people, felt comfortable saying it was a test, and subsequently found out the listings had appeared accidentally. Usher said it was his fault for initially getting it wrong."
Ina Steiner, AutionBytes, 4 March 2008 04:02:46

"but on Monday, said he was incorrect and that the listings were the result of a glitch."
Ina Steiner on Usher Lieberman, AuctionBytes, 5 March 2008

3 March 2008
06:21 AM PST

eBay Running A Test with Shopping.com Listings-Sorry It Was An Accident?
ebay & Beyond: Basics to Business
Posted by David White at 3/3/2008 6:21 AM

Excerpt:

"they apparently choose to take this action in an effort to reduce the visibiltiy of the test or accident, whichever it was.........eBay needs to get their stories STRAIGHT!

My Opinion
If it really was a test, eBay should have announced it before they ran it, on the system announcement board. This was no accident. eBay rarely does anything by accident, but if they do, it is corrected very quickly, not 2 or more days later."

3 March 2008
06:53 AM PST

eBay user comment, edited.

dorothysew (978 ) Mar-03-08 06:53 PST 157 of 425

lol we wanted ebay to acknowledge the glitches so we would know about them and wouldn't run around trying to find out if there was something we were doing wrong. Now people are using the notifications to complain that there are glitches?

Ebay really can't win with some of you.

3 March 2008
07:34 AM PST

Sponsored Ads a Huge Win for eBay!
My Blog Utopia!
Posted by Randy Smythe at 3/03/2008 07:34:00 AM

Excerpt:

"In fact we recently saw Shopping.com listings on the eBay.com site, which gives you an idea of their plans. eBay's response to the SDC listings was; "Some Shopping.com listings appeared accidentally on eBay.com over the past two days. This system issue has been resolved. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused." Notice it wasn't an error, it was accidental. Believe me, the accidental part was, that they showed up now, before they were supposed to. I have a hunch we will see SDC listings on the eBay platform sooner rather than later; first as a test and if that goes over well, they will roll them out site wide."

3 March 2008
10:21 AM PST

eBay user comment, edited.

oldspartantrader (3884 ) Mar-03-08 10:21 PST 184 of 333

As I suspected -- These were not just run of the mill feeds I saw -- They were quite eBAY specific listings --

They were in fact eBAY listings like every other eBAY listing -- except they did not have any purpose in the normal realm of buying and selling

Comment, edited.

PAID BASHERS Definition of PADDING the Listing on eBay!
(2008-03-03 14:38:00) by elikeebayto...

It now has been about a week that the PAID BASHERS community has been busy polluting our beloved board with sorry comments about how eBay has floated or artifically increased its listing. Maybe one day these PAID BASHERS who are PAID money to spread lies and misinformation can discuss the matter with their boss and get an answer for us all. Question: How can you accuse eBay ...

4 March 2008
04:02:46 AM PST

Update to Shopping.com Mystery Listings on eBay
By: Ina Steiner, AuctionBytes
Tue Mar 4 2008 04:02:46

I spoke to eBay's Usher Lieberman during the IMA conference on Monday. He said he had made a mistake when he called the Shopping.com listings a test on Saturday morning. He was trying to track it down and after talking to a few people, felt comfortable saying it was a test, and subsequently found out the listings had appeared accidentally. Usher said it was his fault for initially getting it wrong.

I asked Usher if he could tell me more, and he could not. I asked him if we might expect to see Shopping.com listings on eBay in the future, or eBay.com listings on Shopping. He said eBay is looking at a lot of different things and can't speculate on anything.

"Lots of things are on the table," he said.

.
4 March 2008
04:02 AM PST

Regarding events and comments taking place on Tuesday March 4th.

"On Tuesday, Lieberman explained the nature of the glitch. Programmers rolled out code on Friday evening that was meant to credit certain listings that were eligible for free Gallery. The credit was due to them because eBay had promised sellers Gallery would be free for listings started at a certain time of day, and the code had been rolled out 3 hours past the deadline."
AuctionBytes, 5 March 2008

4 March 2008
Late afternoon, early evening

Ebay Accused of Padding Listing Numbers
PC Magazine
03.04.08
by Brian Heater and Chloe Albanesius

Excerpts:

"When the bug first emerged on Friday, the spokesman told a reporter that it was actually a planned test. "But it wasn't a test. It ended up being a bug," he said. "So I ate a little bit of crow on that.""
"EBay denied that any forum deletions were intentional. If any posts were taken down "it was accidental," the spokesman said. "We're not afraid of hearing from our community and allowing them to post and discuss things and be angry on our boards.""

4 March 2008
06:52 PM PST

ebay user comments, edited

oldspartantrader (3884 ) Mar-04-08 18:52 PST 199 of 333

It is quite possible that the messy matter is approaching a large fan

Approximately 5,000 listings were pulled from shopping.com, but they have since been removed, according to eBay. (from the PCMAG article)

That is so far from reality that it is ludicrous -- Not only ludicrous but so easily shot through of holes that it borders on management malpractice -- and when it is shown to be GROSSLY understated will invite ever more scrutiny --

We may be seeing a company beginning to circle the wagons and the result will be downright ugly --

If only companies that make major goofs would read the Johnson and Johnson Tylenol Story -- It is a roadmap to not just successful damage control but also to public trust --

Although public trust is at risk -- eBAY is taking an even larger risk with shareholder trust -- A trust that if lost will lead to the dissolution of the company -- an extreme that is unlikely to be sure -- but a needless exposure non the less

Continued pressure here would be far more effective than any boycott in bending managements will -- This misstep is an opportunity that the dissenters will be foolish to waste

I would start by looking for deleted in threads on the net and follow with screen shots of them and the 5000 listings -- followed by 5000 more a day later -- and on and on --

There are now at least two main stream media giants with interest -- an opportunity that is priceless

bhearsch (302 ) Mar-04-08 21:08 PST 207 of 333

The eBay owned Korean website often mirrors ebay.com auctions. Many of these sdc_prod_ listings are still live on their website. If you want to find them, go to Goog and enter the specific sdc_prod_ number, leave a space, and then enter site:ebay.auction.co.kr

When the results are shown, click on "repeat the search with the omitted results included."

You can find the sdc numbers on various websites/blogs. The eBay Korean website only shows the listings that are currently active and not the ones that have scrolled off but there are still quite a few.

5 March 2008

Regarding the events and comments of Wednesday March 5th.

"Lieberman said fewer than 35,000 listings were affected by the glitch."
AuctionBytes, 5 March 2008

AuctionBytes releases the "80,000" figure to eBay and the public. They first observed this figure on March 1st. Four days earlier.

"However, he had no explanation for the fact that when AuctionBytes looked at one Shopping.com selling account on Saturday morning, it indicated the seller had over 80,000 listings on eBay.com." AuctionBytes, 5 March 2008

AuctionBytes becomes the first large news organization to report a count from direct observation of the situation. However AuctionBytes has not substantiated their claim with screen shots.

"Of the accusations of listing count manipulation, Lieberman said, "To think that we'd do that now is outrageous.""
AuctionBytes, 5 March 2008

5 March 2008

eBay Calls Claims of Manipulation 'Outrageous'
By: Ina Steiner, AuctionBytes
March 05, 2008

Excerpts:

"When Shopping.com listings appeared on eBay.com last week, sellers pointed to it as an example of eBay attempting to boost listing numbers."
"AuctionBytes previously reported that several discussion threads had been removed, including one linked to in the original blog post published on Saturday.
Most sellers are likely taking little notice of the dust-up. Those who are suspicious may be unlikely to be satisfied with eBay's response."

5 March 2008
06:44AM PST

eBay user comment, edited

oldspartantrader (3884 ) Mar-05-08 06:44 PST 210 of 333

The worm may be beginning to turn --

From the PCMAG article

Approximately 5,000 listings were pulled from shopping.com, but they have since been removed, according to eBay.

From the AB article

Lieberman said the programmers inadvertently caused the Shopping.com listings to appear on eBay.com when it created and launched the script to credit the sellers' accounts for Gallery fees.

Lieberman said fewer than 35,000 listings were affected by the glitch.

I am going to start a lottery methinks --

Whoever gets closest to the next eBAY estimated number of misplaced SDC listings will receive --

An all expense day trip to Leavenworth with full visitors passes and change for the vending machines -- While there they can visit the eBAY Exec of their choice

5 March 2008

Ziff Davis Media Files for Bankruptcy
By VINNEE TONG

5 March 2008
08:04 AM PST

eBay user comments, edited

oldspartantrader (3884 ) Mar-05-08 08:04 PST 212 of 333

If both "buy" the explainations will likely go no where.

Should the SEC investigate there will be no buying of stories -- IMO

They are probably one of the scariest Regulatory bodies that Wall Street deals with -- They have teeth and are not at all shy about biting -- They are also pretty straight forward and fair without leaning in any particulat direction to meet an agenda

My attorney and accountant are also preparing letters to be sent to the State Attorney General requesting a watch on the situation with some of the "facts" that have surfaced attached as an addendum -- In that the Street is located here many a firm has been put in the hot seat through that AG Office even though technically domocilled elsewhere.

I am still jumping to no conclusions -- BUT -- The more the story changes the antsier I become --

jake-deals-4u (700 ) Mar-05-08 08:16 PST 213 of 333

preparing letters to be sent to the State Attorney General requesting a watch on the situation with some of the "facts

Too bad im sure the facts are' Everybody uses eBay at their OWN RISK via a user agreemant that is NOT compulsory, its voluntary.

And im sure theres probably an 12th grade HS kid that could explain that its eBays business & they can do as they dang well please with their OWN SITE + if someone doesnt like it, they are FREE to leave!

OTOH i havent quite figured out why someone who is a stockholder ( at their own FREE WILL & PROFIT ) would bad-mouth & spread bad-will at a company that they have a personal financial stake in , far & above the average site user.

If i was so upset at a company that i held stock in, i would sell that stock ASAP reguardless of P/L

pepins4b8e (21 ) Mar-05-08 08:41 PST 217 of 426

Carl, I own stock myself (although I'm sure not to your big wig level ). I fail to get a wedgie about this because while I see the listing numbers as an indicator, it is of small importance to me compared to the quarter-end results.

I guess we'll see if shareholders tend to think like me, or like you on this. I'm not criticizing your position. I just think that the press much prefers to follow Scarlett Johansson selling an evening with her on eBay versus some nebulous conspiracy about the number of listings on eBay.

5 March 2008
09:04 AM PST

Comment, edited

El Radical
Escrito el: 05-Marzo-2008 a las 17:04

La huelga de eBay ha sido más que un éxito. No fue sólo una caída del 13% de los artículos listados. Como sospechábamos eBay ha estado inflando artificialmente el número de artículos listados por 2 razones:

1) Para que los huelguistas nos desanimáramos haciéndonos creer que nuestra huelga era una huelga que llevábamos a cabo sólo unos cuantos vendedores.

2) PAra engañar a la bolsa.

La noticia acaba de salir en la propia CNN de EE.UU. Si se confirma la estafa en bolsa por parte de eBay estaría violando una Ley Federal muy seria y la multa que les caerá será de espanto, con el añadido de la mala reputación internacional que se producirá en el mercado financiero mundial de esta empresa y efectivo negativo en sus acciones.

Como véis, compañeros, cuando planatamos cojones y ovarios unidos, incluso podemos enfrentarnos contra las multinacionales y pisarles el cuello como ellos nos lo pisan a nosotros. Mis felicitaciones a todos los currantes vendedores de eBay y la solidaridad y apoyo de muchísimos compradores. Lo estamos consiguiendo. Van a venir más huelgas. Y vamos a seguir dándoles caña hasta que nos quiten el pie del cuello. Si tratan de hundirnos se hundirán ellos con nosotros.

5 March 2008
03:18 PM PST

What's going on over at eBay?
BloggingStocks
Posted Mar 5th 2008 3:18PM by Michael Fowlkes

Excerpt:

"But could there be something a little more sinister taking place on the site? Rumors are definitely swirling that the site has actually been padding its numbers with fake item listings. eBay wouldn't dare do such a thing, would it? It has already admitted that a "bug" in the system did in fact insert some fake listings into the site's database. The question is, was this really a bug, or did the site knowingly inflate its listings?"

5 March 2008
06:18 PM PST

eBay user comments, edited

jake-deals-4u (701 ) Mar-05-08 18:18 PST 242 of 426

Im suprised that the listing #s were of a daily concern to you as an investor.

So a higher count would indicate what?

A lower count would indicate what?

I didnt know that short term listing count anomolies here would affect a long term investors strategy.

I cant find any angle to a blip in listing counts in an investment angle, unless it provides a draw-down for emotional expousements .

But then again if i was emotionally upset over a company i was financially Invested in, ide seek Divesting of that investment.

Do you check the day-day infrastructre of other investment vehicles?

badday911 (71 ) Mar-05-08 22:23 PST 46 of 70

Why don't they do it on there stupid playgroud thing they set up?

ALL companies I know of have a test bed server to try out new things. They don't want to risk problems on the servers that make them money or are mission critical.

I spent 23 1/2 years with HP working with high end servers before retiring so I'm absolutely certain that a company would not risk problems running tests on a live system.

In my opinion, eBay is padding their listings.

vik*nan (33 ) Mar-05-08 23:25 PST 48 of 70

ALL companies I know of have a test bed server to try out new things.

a "sandbox" --- system or network to try out new software and equipment before deploying them to the production network.

Tests are never made on a production network even in smaller companies

aenthal (2241 ) Mar-05-08 23:59 PST 54 of 70

I don't care if eBay pads their listings.
What will it get them? A larger count on their server?
And what will that get them?
More space used up on their server.
And what will that get them? Nothing. Fake auctions don't bring in money, even if you put up a million of them.

I tend to agree that this is technical phenomenon, not a Pinocchio problem.
But yes, they also have a Pinocchio problem, and an ostrich problem, and a robot problem (se habla Fortran because there are no humans behind that curtain, working the strings).

Let them tell all the Pinocchio versions of reality that they want.
You can't turn a delusion into reality, no matter how many times you repeat it, no matter how much fake evidence you create to support it.
Sometimes karma is sleeping.
But in eBay's case it is hungry, and it will bite them in the butt eventually.

But don't worry about how they expose that butt before karma gets them.
Just be glad that it eventually will.

windorphin (31 ) Mar-06-08 06:15 PST 61 of 70

They use the numbers to show their stockholders that listings are not decreasing. Therefore they are lying and manipulating stock prices.

The analogy drawn about a restaurant filling their seats with mannequins with stockholders driving past is a good one. It is just as meaningless, and nobody will get in trouble for it.

It would only be a violation if they somehow cooked the books to show that those mannequins had eaten and paid.

6 March 2008

PC Magazine owner files Chapter 11
From the Associated Press

6 March 2008
05:22 PM PST

eBay user comments, edited

vik*nan (33 ) Mar-06-08 17:22 PST 2 of 31

It would be like amazon listings accidentally showing up on yahoo. Just because ebay owns shopping.com does not mean they are magically connected.

ebay's backbone probvider is level3.net

SJC-DNS1.EBAYDNS.COM
SJC-DNS2.EBAYDNS.COM
SMF-DNS1.EBAYDNS.COM
SMF-DNS2.EBAYDNS.COM

Current Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.
IP Address: 66.135.194.100 (ARIN & RIPE IP search)

shopping.com's provider is pnap.net

NS2ANY.SHOPPING.COM
NS1ANY.SHOPPING.COM

Current Registrar: MARKMONITOR INC.
IP Address: 64.94.186.80 (ARIN & RIPE IP search)

uplatewhattodo (18 ) Mar-06-08 21:18 PST 11 of 31

AS a techie myself, I do have to disagree with this analysis a bit. Everything about DNS and IP's etc has to do with how eBay and shopping.com provide the informaton out to the world. It says nothing as to how that information is stored in the database or databases. If they are sharing databases distributed across their internal networks, or even storage arrays are being shared by the two systems then it's possible.

They did say they were running a script that caused it which means they were running data directly into the database system(s) and bypassing all the interfaces.

A very bad idea to mess with a database that way if you don't know what you are doing, but it does make it possible. And it would violate Sarbanes Oxley if they didn't cross their t's and dot their i's, which they apparently did not do.

6 March 2008

Despite eBay's announcement of March 2nd, that "system issue has been resolved", 'accidental' auction listings can still be found.

Seller sdc_prod_305839_99
"67 items found" ( LINK screen shot 3/6/2008 )

Seller sdc_prod_9352_67
"417 items found" ( LINK screen shot 3/6/2008 )

6 March 2008
10:23 PM PST

eBay user comment, edited

postericon (0 ) Mar-06-08 03:29 PST 263 of 426

think the whole thing was filed under rumors speculations

these links that ur bringin here they are written by a bunch of nobodies ur credibility is in the drink, u believe everything u read, u realy expect us to believe this junk
i think what's goin on here is worse than what is goin on at ebay. too bad too a shame this forum is wrecked

6 March 2008

eBay Listings on the Rise! Must be the Fee Changes
My Blog Utopia!
Posted by Randy Smythe
Thursday, March 06, 2008

Excerpt:

"I complain about eBay as much as the next guy and they certainly need to revamp their whole PR department and communicate better with sellers but this padding of listings is a non-starter."

7 March 2008

Regarding the events of Friday 7 March 2008.

PC Magazine, 10 March 2008:

"An eBay spokesman told PC Magazine at the time that 5,000 shopping.com listings were erroneously placed on ebay.com."
"eBay was asked to again confirm that it was indeed 5,000." "The same spokesman responded Friday that he had originally told PC Magazine that eBay pulled 35,000 listings"
"a review of the interview confirmed that he said 5,000."
"Editor's Note: The eBay spokesman confirmed Monday that the number of postings pulled from shopping.com was indeed 35,000."

7 March 2008
03:37 AM PST

eBay user comment, edited

schmoopie77 (109 ) Mar-07-08 03:37 PST 22 of 31

The eBay computer engineers do give us software which has glitches and bugs, so I can see someone making a colossal error. But technically, can this error even be caused?

"Lieberman said the programmers inadvertently caused the Shopping.com listings to appear on eBay.com when it created and launched the script to credit the sellers' accounts for Gallery fees."

It sounds as though they would be working with accounting software, not launching listings. Very bizarre.

7 March 2008

eBay Hires Blogger to Improve Communications
By Ina Steiner, AuctionBytes.com
March 07, 2008

7 March 2008

Klicken sie hier, um diesen Artikel nicht zu kaufen
Eingestellt am 07. März 2008 um 18:57 Uhr

Excerpt:

"Die Stellungnahmen der amerikanischen eBay-Sprecher trugen auch nicht unbedingt zur Erhellung bei. In sich widersprechenden Statements war von Tests, Versehen oder Irrtümern die Rede. Ähnlich verwirrende Auskünfte gab es auch für Kunden, die sich bei „Live-Help“ direkt informieren wollten."

8 March 2008

FIASCO AFTER FIASCO DOGS EBAY 2008 POLICY CHANGES
By Editor, March 8th, 2008 at 7:00 PM

Excerpt:

"Last weekend, first rumours, then facts, emerged regarding the mass insertion of listings with no bid or buy-now button, which many speculated were deliberately added to mask the effects of the seller boycott. Throughout the bloggosphere, bloggers dependant on eBay for their content, and ad-click revenues, gave San Jose the benefit of the doubt. Ina Steiner of AuctionBytes even interviewed a senior eBay bod, and both Randy Smythe and eBay UK’s tame bay gave reasons why it had to be a glitch or site test, rather than something from the dirty tricks department. First eBay spokesman Usher Leiberman said it was a test, then said it wasn’t, and then declined to comment further. Posts appeared on eBay announcement boards, and have been all over forums on both sides of the Atlantic."

10 March 2008

Despite eBay's announcement of March 2nd that "system issue has been resolved", 'accidental' auction listings can still be found.

Seller sdc_prod_310426
70 items found ( screen shot 3/10/2008 )

Seller sdc_prod_434012
51 items found ( screen shot 3/10/2008 )

10 March 2008

Honest Eddy’s Used Cars oder: eBay - das ehrliche, offene Umfeld
Auktionsblog
Posted in Allgemein on Mrz 10, 2008

Excerpt:

Trotz der Ankündigungen seitens vieler US-Verkäufer, während des Streiks vom 18. bis 25. Februar keine Angebote zu listen sind die Angebotszahlen bei ebay.com im fraglichen Zeitraum fast nicht gesunken.

Eine genauere Erklärung dafür findet sich natürlich nicht im ebay-Forum sondern extern.

10 March 2008

May Day Boycott Looming, EBay Revises Impact of 'Bug'
PC Magazine
03.10.08
by Chloe Albanesius

Excerpt:

"eBay admitted that shopping.com listings were accidentally placed on eBay"

10 March 2008

Later in the day PC Magazine changes the title of their article from "May Day Boycott Looming, EBay Revises Impact of 'Bug'" to, "Another eBay Boycott Planned for May Day", and disables the AppScout link containing the lower part of the article.

And later a new AppScout link is created with the article reverting to the original title, "May Day Boycott Looming, EBay Revises Impact of 'Bug'".

And the interesting times continues.

Epilogue

"INCONCEIVABLE." Vizzini
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride (1987)

Two weeks after the events of Leap Day Friday, we can draw one conclusion.

"eBay's 2008 Q1 (1st Quarter, January 01 to March 31) report to the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission should be interesting."

Thank you for reading.

...... returning to our March vacation ......
"Quashing and Creating Computer Bugs Since 1973"

//
//
//

Notes

From eBay Seller Central - Ebay is padding their listings
http://eventhorizon1984.typepad.com/event_horizon_1984_blog/2008/02/from-ebay-sel-1.html

Article title:

Q: Why does the title of article keep changing?

A: We've altered the title to avoid being labeled as SPAM. Apparently Google considers variations of "sdc_prod" and "Shopping.com" to be SPAM, and removes direct links to such articles and items. Apparently late last year eBay began flooding Google with Shopping.com and sdc_prod* "advertising". Google's standard reaction to advertising SPAM is death by link removal.

//
//
//

The right to publish this news article - U.S. Supreme Court - 1988

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=485&page=47

1988, CHIEF JUSTICE REHNQUIST:

At the heart of the First Amendment is the recognition of the fundamental importance of the free flow of ideas and opinions on matters of public interest and concern. "[T]he [485 U.S. 46, 51] freedom to speak one's mind is not only an aspect of individual liberty - and thus a good unto itself - but also is essential to the common quest for truth and the vitality of society as a whole." Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc., 466 U.S. 485, 503 -504 (1984). We have therefore been particularly vigilant to ensure that individual expressions of ideas remain free from governmentally imposed sanctions. The First Amendment recognizes no such thing as a "false" idea. Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 339 (1974). As Justice Holmes wrote, "when men have realized that time has upset many fighting faiths, they may come to believe even more than they believe the very foundations of their own conduct that the ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas - that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market . . . ." Abrams v. United States, 250 U.S. 616, 630 (1919) (dissenting opinion).

The sort of robust political debate encouraged by the First Amendment is bound to produce speech that is critical of those who hold public office or those public figures who are "intimately involved in the resolution of important public questions or, by reason of their fame, shape events in areas of concern to society at large." Associated Press v. Walker, decided with Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts, 388 U.S. 130, 164 (1967) (Warren, C. J., concurring in result). Justice Frankfurter put it succinctly in Baumgartner v. United States, 322 U.S. 665, 673 -674 (1944), when he said that "[o]ne of the prerogatives of American citizenship is the right to criticize public men and measures." Such criticism, inevitably, will not always be reasoned or moderate; public figures as well as public officials will be subject to "vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks," New York Times, supra, at 270. "[T]he candidate who vaunts his spotless record and sterling integrity cannot convincingly cry `Foul!' when an opponent or an industrious reporter attempts [485 U.S. 46, 52] to demonstrate the contrary." Monitor Patriot Co. v. Roy, 401 U.S. 265, 274 (1971).

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

Event Horizon 1984

Posted on 15 March 2008 at 02:01 in Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service, eBay Search, eBay Spotlight, Legal | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: 200K Shopping.com items appear on eBay, 23-Jan-2008, Adorama, aenthal, aenthal, Allgemein, ANTOnline, atticcleanin, auction, AuctionBytes, audlee-e-nuff-treasures, aviation, badday911, badmomster, Bargain Basement Batteries, BargainBasementBatteries, bhearsch, Bill Cobb, BloggingStocks, Bob Niland, bosshossman1, boycott*victoriously, Boyne & Kelly, Brian Heater, buyingcarsforfun, cappnonymous, Chloe Albanesius, Chris Dawson, cloudberry121, cmiprch, companyexposed.com, CompSource, dakota_exchange, David White, dhoosierswife, Digital Foto Club, djcarlos1, dorothysew, eBay, eBay censoring info about padded listings on it's forums, eBay Customer Service, eBay Live Help Customer Service, eBay Pulled 35000 listings, eBay Running A Test with Shopping.com Listings, eBay Shopping.com Affair, Eingestellt, El Radical, elike, emovieposter, emovieposter.com, erimess, eTronics, Event Horizon 1984, EventHorizon1984, ExcludeSellers, fake, fake listings, flaura22, Focus Camera, Form 8-K for EBAY INC, giovanni666, in-weave, Ina Steiner, Is eBay Fluffing The Numbers With Test Auctions, jake-deals-4u, just_not_thinking, justinal, krs6670, lacemaker3, Lieberman, listings, Lorrie Norrington, magisterrex, markd13, Medved, mm*mc, molerfamily, monkey_business304, moopy_inc, My Blog Utopia, mydiscountstation, mystery listings, Mystery Shopping.com Listings on eBay, Never underestimate the power of human stupidity, neverstopsworking, niruss, oldspartantrader, OnlineSports, orange_cape_hides_me, padded, padding, paid bashers, pakarbelle, PC Magazine, pcRUSH, pcRUSH.com, pepins4b8e, Pheebay.com, postericon, Randy Smythe, Rekha Patel, rekha.developersupport@ebay.com, rjrkea, sababa, sababa shopping, Sababa Shopping, schmoopie77, sdc, sdc_prod, sdc_prod_301013_74, sdc_prod_305839_99, sdc_prod_310426, sdc_prod_409455_97, sdc_prod_434012, sdc_prod_442675_57, sdc_prod_900076, sdc_prod_9021_2, sdc_prod_9055, sdc_prod_9074_35, sdc_prod_9090, sdc_prod_9124_14, sdc_prod_9352_67, sdc_prod_9391_43, sdc_prod_9452, shopping, Shopping.com, Shopping.com listings appeared accidentally on eBay.com, shwp1, sojo2004, Spectrum Super Store, SpectrumSuperStore, Sponsored Ads a Huge Win for eBay, Stephanie Tilenius, stsi.com, suzisstuff, the*katy*workshop, thehairball, TheNerds, thevirginmarypretzel, time2buy1949, Twister Group, type2mtg, uplatewhttodo, Usher, Usher Lieberman, vik*nan, vsbeauty53, windorphin

29 February 2008

From eBay Seller Central - Ebay is padding their listings

15 March 2008 -
Please read our followup article "The eBay Shopping.com Affair". And do share it with others.
http://eventhorizon1984.typepad.com/event_horizon_1984_blog/2008/03/internet-transa.html

Updated 05 March 2008 19:10 HST

By the time you read this, eBay will have removed 100's of thousands of auction listings from eBay.com. This took place between 29 February and 1 March 2008. Many of these listings eBay apparently inserted during the February 18-25 boycott.

Also by the time you read this, as 3 March 2008, eBay removed the larger eBay forum threads documenting these questionable activities. Use Google to obtained archived copies of the original threads.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000527568 [specified topic removed]
http://www.google.com/search?q=Is+Ebay+Creating+Listings+To+Boost+totals+Look

sdc_prod_301013_74 DBA The Twister Group (27,291 eBay.com listings 2/29/2008)
sdc_prod_305839_99 DBA BargainBasementBatteries
sdc_prod_310426 DBA ANTOnline (21,798 eBay.com listings 2/29/2008)
sdc_prod_409455_97 DBA Sababa Shopping
sdc_prod_434012 DBA SpectrumSuperStore (35,002 eBay.com listings 2/29/2008)
sdc_prod_442675_57 DBA Boyne & Kelly L.L.C. (4,702 eBay.com listings 2/29/2008)
sdc_prod_9021_2 DBA Buy.com (12,233 eBay.com listings 2/29/2008)
sdc_prod_9055 DBA Focus Camera (1,925 eBay.com listings 2/29/2008)
sdc_prod_9074_35 DBA pcRUSH.com (21,401 eBay.com listings 2/29/2008)
sdc_prod_9090 DBA CompSource Inc. (32,601 eBay.com listings 2/29/2008)
sdc_prod_9124_14 DBA TheNerds, Inc. (48,392 eBay.com listings 2/29/2008)
sdc_prod_9352_67 DBA Digital Foto Club (30,278 eBay.com listings 2/29/2008)
sdc_prod_9391_43 DBA Adorama (11,102 eBay.com listings 2/29/2008)
sdc_prod_9452 DBA eTronics, Inc. (24,499 eBay.com listings 2/29/2008)

More details regarding the above sellers are available farther down in this article.

Prior to Midnight 29 February 2008, the above list of "sellers" (the sdc_prod names) had over 200,000 lets say interesting (bogus) auction listings on eBay.com.

But don't fret. The above list may represent only "a small percentage" of the sdc (Shopping Dot Com) sellers who eBay posted auction listings on their behalf.

//
// eBay Customer Service Transcript - 29 February 2008
//

As a matter of privacy, we've edited out the email address. Otherwise the transcript that follows, a conversation between eBay Customer Service and joelycra, is unedited.

And joelycra please forward your eBay Customer Service transcript to the news service(s) of your choice.

From eBay Seller Central Forum
Ebay is padding their listings
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000527614&start=40
http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=78886&p=3&topicID=15720025

joelycra (735 ) Feb-29-08 22:44 PST 69 of 94

OK... Just got out of live chat also. They told me these are Shopping - com listings that are somehow appearing on eaby by mistake... here's the transcript:

12:17:09 AM CST
System
Initial Question/Comment: Other
12:17:14 AM CST
System
Thank you for contacting eBay Live Help!
12:17:14 AM CST
System
You are successfully connected to eBay Live Help. Please hold for the next available Live Help Agent.
12:17:35 AM CST
System
Evan M. A. has joined this session!
12:17:35 AM CST
System
Connected with Evan M. A.
12:17:40 AM CST
Evan M. A.
Hello, thank you for waiting and welcome to eBay Live Help! My name is Evan. If you're a registered member, may I please start by having you confirm your User ID and first name?
12:17:41 AM CST
zz***@bellsouth.net
hello
12:17:57 AM CST

12:18:09 AM CST
Evan M. A.
Hi, Joe. Thanks! How may I help you?
12:18:32 AM CST
zz***@bellsouth.net
I have a question about an auction listing
12:18:58 AM CST
zz***@bellsouth.net
item 310025758222
12:19:10 AM CST
Evan M. A.
Thanks again. And I'm willing to help as much as I can.
12:19:19 AM CST
Evan M. A.
And may I have your concern about this listing?
12:19:51 AM CST
zz***@bellsouth.net
look at it.... it's not a real item, you can't bid on it
12:20:15 AM CST
zz***@bellsouth.net
these listings are in every category.... on the last page of listings
12:21:40 AM CST
Evan M. A.
Oh, okay. I understand what you mean. And let me try to look up on this listing.
12:24:19 AM CST
zz****@bellsouth.net
some of these SDC sellers have 30-40 thousand listings, and who knows how many SDC sellers there are
12:24:20 AM CST
Evan M. A.
Please give me another couple of minutes to look in to this for you.
12:26:10 AM CST
Evan M. A.
Oh, I see. I'm still looking this up for you, okay?
12:26:16 AM CST
zz****@bellsouth.net
ok
12:27:40 AM CST
Evan M. A.
Thank you.
12:30:15 AM CST
Evan M. A.
Thanks for patiently waiting. I see that the listing is listed under the eBay Express. What I can do is to redirect you now to our eBay Express chat, for more assistance about this listing.
12:30:29 AM CST
Evan M. A.
What IÃUlike to do is connect you with our eBay Express chat, for help with this. There may be a wait time to speak to someone after I? transferred you, but it shouldn?be too long. In case this chat disconnects please feel free to come back into eBay Live Help by clicking on our link on the eBay homepage. May I go ahead and do that now?
12:30:51 AM CST
zz****@bellsouth.net
these are not ebay express listings
12:31:03 AM CST
zz****@bellsouth.net
these are auctions
12:31:50 AM CST
Evan M. A.
I see. Actually, this is not an eBay listing, the problem is it's a Shopping.com listing that is showing on our site by mistake.
12:32:25 AM CST
Evan M. A.
It is a current issue, yes, we have a bug on it. These are meant to be on shopping.com only but due to some reason are showing on eBay as well and can't be bought through the site.
12:33:32 AM CST
zz****@bellsouth.net
ok... that's what I needed... Thanks
12:34:25 AM CST
Evan M. A.
You're most welcome. Do you have any other concerns, Joe?
12:35:29 AM CST
zz****@bellsouth.net
no, thanks
12:35:35 AM CST
Evan M. A.
Thanks for using eBay Live Help! Once youËÃ ready to close this chat window, please feel free to click on the Âºâit?utton.
12:35:40 AM CST
Evan M. A.
It's a pleasure chatting with you. Have a good night!

There could be millions of these listings.... just go to the last page of items in any category sorted by "ending soonest" and you'll find them.

//
// eBay Customer Service Transcript - 1 March 2008
//

From the eBay Feedback Forum
Is Ebay Creating Listings To Boost totals Look
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000527568&start=1080
http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=78886&p=3&topicID=15720025
http://www.google.com/search?q=Is+Ebay+Creating+Listings+To+Boost+totals+Look

idee99555 (0 ) View Listings | Report Mar-01-08 19:03 PST 1082 of 1119

All right you guys. I went to live chat today to try and see what their story was on the inflated listings. I'm going to post the transcript. I don't see how it infracts the guidlines, but in case it gets pulled and anyone else wants it, email me. This is long and kind of disjointed, but this is the way it came to me. I had to request a transcript because the copy feature wouldn't work.

Dear eBay member,

Transcript of Session Number: 9852546
3/1/2008 14:35 Agent Sent Message: Hello, thank you for waiting and
welcome to eBay Live Help! My name is Lanie. If you're a registered
member, may I please start by having you confirm your User ID and first

name?
3/1/2008 14:35 Customer Sent Message: idee99555
3/1/2008 14:36 Agent Sent Message: Hi there!
3/1/2008 14:36 Agent Sent Message: Thanks! How can I help you?
3/1/2008 14:37 Customer Sent Message: there are some wierd listings
that have no opening bids and you can't bid on them. Thousands of
items.
What's going on?
3/1/2008 14:37 Customer Sent Message: for instance
3/1/2008 14:38 Customer Sent Message: Item number: 150217971814
3/1/2008 14:38 Agent Sent Message: I would gladly look into this for
you.
3/1/2008 14:38 Agent Sent Message: Kindly give me a moment to check .

3/1/2008 14:41 Agent Sent Message: Hi. Kindly check again the item
number. I can't seem to pull up a record on file. Thanks.
3/1/2008 14:41 Customer Sent Message: Item number: 150217971814 i'll
get you the name also
3/1/2008 14:42 Customer Sent Message: Meet the seller Seller:
sdc_prod_9452( 76)
3/1/2008 14:42 Customer Sent Message: eTronics, Inc( 76
3/1/2008 14:44 Customer Sent Message: 19808 items found
3/1/2008 14:45 Agent Sent Message: I appreciate your patience. Kindly
give me a moment more.
3/1/2008 14:48 Agent Sent Message: I saw the item and this is indeed
strange. I'm having this reported for you for investigation.Please stay

with me.
3/1/2008 14:51 Customer Sent Message: There are many others. does the
sdc_prod_#### seller designation have a particular meaning?
3/1/2008 14:54 Agent Sent Message: Hmm, for the seller's ID though, it

reads : sdc_prod_9452
3/1/2008 14:54 Agent Sent Message: I'm still coordinating with the
team
as we speak. Please give me a few minutes more.
3/1/2008 14:55 Customer Sent Message: I meant as an example. There are

others with thousands of similar listings and they have the same
sdc_prod_ and a number for seller name.
3/1/2008 14:58 Agent Sent Message: Ah okay. Thanks. The team would
reply momentarily, please continue to hold.
3/1/2008 14:58 Agent Sent Message: I appreciate your effort to let us
know about this problem.
3/1/2008 15:02 Agent Sent Message: Thanks for patiently waiting!
3/1/2008 15:02 Agent Sent Message: I'm sorry for the
inconvenience.This
is actually an issue on the site right now I'm afraid. This is actually

a Shopping.com listing that's appearing incorrectly on eBay.
3/1/2008 15:03 Agent Sent Message: Our Technical team is working on
getting resolved though, and I had this reported for you so we can add
your account to the list.
3/1/2008 15:03 Customer Sent Message: Do these incorrect listings show

up in ebays total listings/ Wouldn't they scew the listings totals?
3/1/2008 15:04 Agent Sent Message: Oh, no it shouldn't though.
3/1/2008 15:05 Agent Sent Message: The team is checking on the
accounts
of the sellers you reported as well for further investigation.
3/1/2008 15:05 Customer Sent Message: Shoudn't or absolutely doesn't?
3/1/2008 15:05 Agent Sent Message: Absolutely doesn't.This is only a
glitch on the search pages.
3/1/2008 15:06 Agent Sent Message: You can check it from time to time
to see it not on the eBay pages, only on Shopping.com
3/1/2008 15:06 Customer Sent Message: can you explain that a little
further?
3/1/2008 15:08 Customer Sent Message: I'm not familiar with
shopping.com. Why would their listings show up on ebay. Anf the one I
mentionaed has ebay seller feedback.
3/1/2008 15:08 Agent Sent Message: Sure! In the eBay account of the
seller for items sold at eBay, it shouldn't get reflected, but if you
were referring to the "items from seller" link for all items he is
selling, I'm afraid the Shopping.com items will also appear and is
confirmed as a tec
3/1/2008 15:08 Agent Sent Message: hnical glitch.
3/1/2008 15:09 Customer Sent Message: can you respond to my last
question also?
3/1/2008 15:09 Agent Sent Message: Sorry for the confusion,
Shopping.com is a specialty site owned by eBay but we handle separate
accounts. It's similar to Express or Half.com
3/1/2008 15:10 Agent Sent Message: Ah, okay, Here's what happens, this

particular seller has an account with SHopping.com to sell items, which

is a different one as an eBay seller.
3/1/2008 15:10 Customer Sent Message: Ok. Well there are numerous
"glitches" out there and they are causing major confusion and
conjecture. YOu guys need to clean 'em up.
3/1/2008 15:11 Agent Sent Message: The items listed under Shopping.com

site should only be seen in that site and not on eBay.
3/1/2008 15:12 Agent Sent Message: Yes, we truly appreciate your help
on this one and the team is on it as we speak . We do hope we can have
this resolved asap.
3/1/2008 15:12 Customer Sent Message: Should . . . there they are.
3/1/2008 15:12 Customer Sent Message: you've been a wealth of
information Lanie
3/1/2008 15:12 Customer Sent Message: Thanks
3/1/2008 15:13 Agent Sent Message: So nice to hear that from you.
Thanks for your cooperation and understanding as well.
3/1/2008 15:13 Agent Sent Message: Is there anything else I can help
you with?
3/1/2008 15:13 Customer Sent Message: bye
3/1/2008 15:13 Agent Sent Message: All right! Once youâre ready to
close this chat window, please click on the âExitâ button. Take
care! =)

3/1/2008 15:16 Customer Sent Message: I don't seem to be able to use
the copy function
3/1/2008 15:16 Agent Sent Message: You can copy or print this chat for

your reference or I would gladly send you a chat transcript,I'll just
need your email address.
3/1/2008 15:17 Customer Sent Message: I've tried copying and I get
nothing. idee99@yahoo.com
3/1/2008 15:17 Agent Sent Message: No worries. Processing it
now,you'll
have it in a few minutes.
3/1/2008 15:18 Customer Sent Message: thanks again

Sincerely,
Lanie R.

eBay Customer Support

//
// AuctionBytes - Response from Usher Lieberman, ebay - 1 March 2008
//

AuctionBytes
http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blog/blog.pl?/comments/2008/3/1204379814.html

March 01, 2008

Mystery Shopping.com Listings on eBay?

By: Ina Steiner

Sat Mar 1 2008 01:56:54

Mystery listings are appearing on eBay that don't allow shoppers to bid or buy. The listings appear to be feeds from Shopping.com sellers. A look at the User ID sdc_prod_301013_74

A discussion about the listings began Friday night on eBay's Feedback board. Some posters believe it is a sign that eBay is trying to inflate its listing numbers to mask any effects of the seller boycott. Because of the dearth of data from eBay, Wall Street analysts put a lot of credence on listing numbers to gauge the company's marketplace performance. This month, everyone studied listing numbers to try and measure the impact of the seller boycott. And sellers have been prowling the site looking for any evidence of manipulation.

Others believe the "sdc" mystery is a test eBay is running or may be a glitch.

Update 3/1/08: eBay spokesperson Usher Lieberman responded by email on Saturday, "This was a limited test that has run its course." I appreciate the update on a weekend and, if I learn more next week, will update this post.

Update: 3/2/08: eBay posted on its Systems Announcement board around 5:30 pm Eastern, "Some Shopping.com listings appeared accidentally on eBay.com over the past two days. This system issue has been resolved. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused."

Update 3/4/08: On Monday, eBay spokesperson Usher Lieberman said he had made a mistake when he called the Shopping.com listings a test on Saturday morning.

//
// Response from eBay Customer Service - 2 March 2008
//

This is an interesting announcement (below). Ignores the fact many of the "accidentally" appearing items were showing 25 days remaining out of 30 days.

http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:nGCP4ib50X4J:search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZsdc_prod_301013_74+sdc_prod_301013_74
"This page was last updated: Mar-01 19:00"

Let's see, 30 day listing - 25 days remaining = 5 days run, as of 3/1/2008
5 days before 3/1/2008 is 2/25/2008, give or take a day.

Guess 5 days in the real world is "two days" in eBay days.

From eBay System Status Announcement Board
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200803021430071.html

***Resolved: Shopping.com listings on eBay***

March 02, 2008 | 02:32PM PST/PT

Some Shopping.com listings appeared accidentally on eBay.com over the past two days. This system issue has been resolved. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused.

//
// AuctionBytes - Response from Usher Lieberman, eBay - 4 March 2008
//

http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2008/3/1204635766.html

Update to Shopping.com Mystery Listings on eBay
By: Ina Steiner
Tue Mar 4 2008 04:02:46

//
// AuctionBytes - Response from Usher Lieberman, eBay - 4 March 2008
//

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2273210,00.asp

Excerpt

EBay Accused of Padding Listing Numbers
03.04.08
by Brian Heater and Chloe Albanesius

However, "the code actually rolled out three hours late, so there were a certain number of listings ... that didn't get gallery free, so we were going back and fixing that" on Friday, the spokesman said. "What happened was, when we wrote the code to implement that fix in the database table, there was a string that was left on there that populated and sent shopping.com listings onto ebay.com that it shouldn't have."

Approximately 5,000 listings were pulled from shopping.com, but they have since been removed, according to eBay.

Sellers pointed to the listings snafu as evidence that eBay was inflating its numbers to make up for losses sustained during the boycott. When the bug first emerged on Friday, the spokesman told a reporter that it was actually a planned test.

"But it wasn't a test. It ended up being a bug," he said. "So I ate a little bit of crow on that."

//
// AuctionBytes - Response from Usher Lieberman, eBay - 5 March 2008
//

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y08/m03/i05/s03

Excerpt

eBay Calls Claims of Manipulation 'Outrageous'
By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes.com
March 05, 2008

On Tuesday, Lieberman explained the nature of the glitch. Programmers rolled out code on Friday evening that was meant to credit certain listings that were eligible for free Gallery. The credit was due to them because eBay had promised sellers Gallery would be free for listings started at a certain time of day, and the code had been rolled out 3 hours past the deadline.

Lieberman said the programmers inadvertently caused the Shopping.com listings to appear on eBay.com when it created and launched the script to credit the sellers' accounts for Gallery fees.

Lieberman said fewer than 35,000 listings were affected by the glitch.

//
// From the eBay Developer Forums regarding the "sdc_prod" name - 29 February 2008
//

eBay Developer Forums
Technical Questions: eBay Shopping Web Services
http://dev-forums.ebay.com/thread.jspa?q=sdc&forumID=1007&threadID=500004459&messageID=600012983#600012983

Replies: 4 - Pages: 1 Last Post: Feb 29, 2008 4:27 AM by: stsi.com Â»

stsi.com
Member Since: 1/10/08

Read ExcludeSellers Issue
Posted: Jan 10, 2008 11:40 AM

Is there a limit on the number of Excluded Sellers that can be specified in a GetSearchResults call? I have several excluded sellers that keep returning search results. I have checked the XML for the call, and it looks correct.

Also, is it a problem if entries are duplicated? (I will be correcting this in any event.)

Thanks.

stsi.com
Member Since: 1/10/08

Read Re: ExcludeSellers Issue
Posted: Jan 10, 2008 12:12 PM

After further research, it looks like there is a limit of 100 excluded sellers. Can this limit be raised?

rekha.developersupport@ebay.com
Posts: 2,035
Member Since: 6/30/05

Read    Re: ExcludeSellers Issue
Posted: Jan 14, 2008 3:42 PM

Hello stsi.com,

Yes the limit is 100, which most users have found sufficient for their use case. How many IDs do you have?

Best Regards
Rekha Patel
eBay Developer Support

stsi.com
Member Since: 1/10/08

Read    Re: ExcludeSellers Issue
Posted: Feb 29, 2008 4:23 AM

Because of the wide variety of searches that we do, we could easily use 200 to 400 ID's. 500 would be a good number for us.

stsi.com
Member Since: 1/10/08

Read Re: ExcludeSellers Issue
Posted: Feb 29, 2008 4:27 AM

Also, is it possible to use wildcards for excluded sellers? For example, I'd like to exclude the various iterations of sdc_prod_*, instead of having to type in all the numbers that this seller uses....

//
// Reaction snapshot excerpts from eBay PowerSellers - 1 March 2008
//

Is Ebay Creating Listings To Boost totals? Strange listings...
http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?threadID=2000527597&start=40&anticache=1204400261806

fla*** (327 ) Mar-01-08 04:46 PST 73 of 109
(sp)Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 and commonly called SOx or Sarbox; is a United States federal law enacted on July 30, 2002 in response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals including those affecting Enron, Tyco International, Adelphia, Peregrine Systems and WorldCom. These scandals, which cost investors billions of dollars when the share prices of the affected companies collapsed, shook public confidence in the nation's securities markets.
The legislation establishes new or enhanced standards for all U.S. public company boards, management, and public accounting firms. The Act contains 11 titles, or sections, ranging from additional Corporate Board responsibilities to criminal penalties, and requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to implement rulings on requirements to comply with the new law.
The Act establishes a new quasi-public agency, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB, which is charged with overseeing, regulating, inspecting, and disciplining accounting firms in their roles as auditors of public companies. The Act also covers issues such as auditor independence, corporate governance, internal control assessment, and enhanced financial disclosure.

djc*** (3827 ) Mar-01-08 09:04 PST 88 of 110
Doing a little cleaning up, maybe?

djc*** (3827 ) Mar-01-08 09:46 PST 93 of 110
I don't know if it's a glitch, hack or purposeful deception. However, what makes it curious is all the auctions I looked at started last Thursday the day after the listing sale ended.

cmi*** (1712 ) Mar-01-08 09:52 PST 94 of 110
I don't know if it's a glitch, hack or purposeful deception. However, what makes it curious is all the auctions I looked at started last Thursday the day after the listing sale ended.

I noticed that too, 9 days ago they started. Awfully peculiar timing considering the "boycott" and all.

nan*** (9616 ) Mar-02-08 07:38 PST 133 of 280
Also Most if not all keep you from purchasing the items.

From this post (many are developers)
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000527568
there are several people who asked Live Help and sent emails and one got Oh there is an error and another got it is just a test.

They are c&P all the auctions they can before they disappear.

Many are notifying all the media sources they can.

vq5*** (1072 ) Mar-02-08 09:04 PST 138 of 280
Update 3/1/08: eBay spokesperson Usher Lieberman responded by email on Saturday, "This was a limited test that has run its course." I appreciate the update on a weekend and, if I learn more next week, will update this post.

dar*** (369 ) Mar-02-08 09:06 PST 139 of 280
Why did they have to "Test" THAT MANY AUCTIONS during a boycott week?

avi*** (3794 ) Mar-02-08 09:10 PST 140 of 280
Why did they have to "Test" THAT MANY AUCTIONS during a boycott week?

Exactly.

And if it were a legitimate test, there would be no reason to pull the listings.

vail*** (9944 ) Mar-02-08 09:22 PST 141 of 280
"This was a limited test that has run its course."

Such HOGWASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

gui*** (2168 ) Mar-02-08 09:38 PST 143 of 280
"This was a limited test that has run its course."

Now that sounds like hogwash. There is a category just for test auctions, designed just for that purpose Everything Else> Test Auctions If eBay wanted to do test auctions they would have put them in there with a disclaimer not to bid. IMO that takes credibility away from this being a real test. I may buy a glitch, a hack, or a seller that has no idea what they are doing, but a test that is listed in the wrong category. And they yank it as soon as it is reported, come on, that one isn't believable.

avi*** (3794 ) Mar-02-08 10:47 PST 152 of 280
And eBay is sweeping the threads about this, the big one on the Feedie board is gone. SSDD.

Yep, the big one's gone and so is a much smaller one started after the first one disappeared. The big one at Seller Central is gone, but another with a vague title remains. A short thread at Trust and Safety is still there.

emo*** (20315 ) Mar-02-08 11:23 PST 156 of 280
"I think it might have been a test of dumping SDC items into Ebay."

Gee, what an AMAZING coincidence they picked the exact time the boycott was started, when the ENTIRE world was looking at the listing totals to see if the boycott was actually working!

Hmmmm.....

sno*** (12648 ) Mar-02-08 15:03 PST 166 of 285
Post #138 wrote that Ebay responded with: "This was a limited test that has run its course."

So, did Ebay actually ADMIT to involvement in those listings? They obviously are not test listings, we all know that.....But if they were performing some "other" form of test - perhaps - let's see...could it be inflating the number of listings test? What limited test are they talking about?

mag*** (6913 ) Mar-02-08 15:54 PST 170 of 285
I don't know why so many people are quick to ASSume that eBay is an evil corporate entity that wants to steal their souls and use them as currency whilst dealing with the Devil.

When I last checked, you were supposed to be INNOCENT until PROVEN guilty. From the bizarre, over-the-top posts on this thread, I have no idea why some of you even sell here.

I know that if I felt that strongly about eBay, I would do what Bruce is doing, and exit, stage left.

djc*** (3828 ) View Listings | Report Mar-02-08 17:24 PST 205 of 286
It's inconsistent statements like these that leads to speculation.

Update 3/1/08: eBay spokesperson Usher Lieberman responded by email on Saturday, "This was a limited test that has run its course." I appreciate the update on a weekend and, if I learn more next week, will update this post.

Update: 3/2/08: eBay posted on its Systems Announcement board around 5:30 pm Eastern, "Some Shopping.com listings appeared accidentally on eBay.com over the past two days. This system issue has been resolved. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused."

http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2008/3/1204379814.html

gir*** (305 ) Mar-02-08 18:09 PST 217 of 286
ok the difference would be this if it was a test then ebay has comtrol over its website..the only question would be what type of test and why...this is feel ok with..............now if not a test but rather an accident then this is more of a problem...an accident is an event in which you have no control over..that would mean some one some where and some how was able to get control of the ebay computers and put all those listings on..using the same technology someone could put what ever they wanted on a millon pieces of porn or a millon pages of mad magazine etc....and also if they can control they ebay computers to do that copuld they also not use them to harvest your personal finnancial info?

oke** (1560 ) Mar-02-08 18:11 PST 218 of 286
I don't think it was an accident, do you?

abr*** (5774 ) Mar-02-08 19:37 PST 272 of 287
If they choose to give 30 day auction style core listings numbering in the MILLIONS FOLKS, then that is perfectly legal for them to do. eBay has rules by which its members must operate, but these may be members of a DIFFERENT eBay club, and their rules may be much different than ours...

fre*** (6704 ) Mar-03-08 00:12 PST 323 of 367
I found something unusual. A new wrinkle. If you go to some of the big categories and show listings, select ending soonest and at the bottom you see, say, 7575 pages total for listings, if you type in assorted numbers HIGHER, say for example, 7578, 7586, etc you can find more of these 20-day listings which are still up but if you click them they say they are ended. However, they are still there! Also, the page numbers higher than the ones indicated are do not all appear. For example, say there is a 7592, 7593, but no 7594, no 7595, then there is a 7596, and so forth. It is very wierd. It looks like there are still thousands of such listings hidden or disguised. The "ended" listings still appear in search if you find them.

mis*** (1530 ) Mar-03-08 08:31 PST 341 of 367
You have to stop and think allot of people don't want to believe ebay is capable of wrong doing because they are afraid if they are that ebay will cease to exist soon.
I don't blame them, allot of them have there life dedicated to ebay and the sales.
I would be terrified as well if my bread and butter could soon evaporate and I really don't have a back up plan.

djc*** (3828 ) Mar-03-08 10:33 PST 363 of 368
Somebody made a comment on that auctionbyte blog about pages of no listings yesterday.

I didn't think much about it figuring it didn't mean anything. Today I started thinking about the actual item numbers and went to look around.

This is the sub categories in Clothing, Shoes & Accessories 2463944 items found in: Clothing, Shoes & Accessories

Costumes & Reenactment Attire (15661)
Cultural & Ethnic Clothing (1797)
Dancewear & Dance Shoes (7108)
Infants & Toddlers (230627)
Boys (58019)
Girls (143875)
Men's Accessories (110147)
Men's Clothing (362834)
Men's Shoes (97112)
Uniforms (13170)
Unisex Clothing, Shoes & Accs (15095)
Wedding Apparel (42330)
Women's Accessories, Handbags (241563)
Women's Clothing (812862)
Women's Shoes (242672)
Vintage (66834)
Wholesale, Large & Small Lots (6970)

If you add the numbers in each sub category, you get that 2.4 million total.

When you look inside Womens's Clothing (812862) you find 16,250 pages of items.
16,250 pages x 50 items per page is 812,500. So that sounds correct.

However, the pages above 14,446 are empty. So there are really only 722,300 items in that category.

That 16,250 pages is down from over 48,000 pages less than 24 hours ago.

Medved gets there numbers from the categories.

//
// Video screen captures - 1 March 2008
//

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mePI-UWDGOE
Ebay Padding Counts w Fake Listings in Wake of Strike?

From: cappnonymous

About This Video

This is a live screen recording of actual events on the ebay website, with altered vocals. The video portion is uncut with watermarks added, and otherwise unretouched.
The vocal audio portion of this video is my opinion, based upon & validated by the facts.

This curious situation has come about on ebay. here is some background and commentary. This is still very fresh. One thing clear, ebay seems to be acting to cover this up right now.
This description will be updated with more info soon.

It appears as though ebay has been caught padding the listing counts with lots and lots of fake listings from questionable accounts. Many of the se accounts are showing as "Not a registered user" or NARU. Many of the listings show as not having any detals, and the format of the listings is different Some are showing as disney listings. All sorts of strange things are going on.
And of course, the censorship. Captured live here on video.

Related threads on ebay forums:
from the Feedback board:
"Is Ebay Creating Listings To Boost totals Look"

from Seller Central:
"Im reporting ebay's padded listings to FTC for investigation"

From Seller Central:
"Ebay is padding their listings"

from the Auction Listings bd:
"E-bay is padding their listings"

From the so called "Trust & Safety" board:
"Zero FB seller has 35000 Listings with no way to bid on them - VERY ODD"

Here are a few of the alleged fake names as reported and observed so far:
sdc_prod_434012 = SpectrumSuperStore
sdc_prod_9021_2 = Buy.com (who is NARU!)
sdc_prod_9124_14 = TheNerds, Inc.
sdc_prod_9452 = eTronics, Inc.
sdc_prod_409455_97 = Sababa Shopping
sdc_prod_9090 = CompSource Inc.
sdc_prod_310426 = ANTOnline (who is NARU!)
sdc_prod_9074_35 = pcRUSH.com (who is NARU!)
sdc_prod_9352_67 = Digital Foto Club
sdc_prod_301013_74 = The Twister Group
sdc_prod_305839_99 = BargainBasementBatteries
sdc_prod_9391_43 = Adorama (who is NARU!)

Since I started it there, look for follow-up at the CAPP Forum:
http://tinyurl.com/2wzjpc

Please visit these sites before you consider using or continuing to use ebay:
suspendedfromebay.com
nekkidtruth.blogspot.com
www.firemeg.com
www.companyexposed.com
www.theauctionguild.com
www.pheebay.com
www.ebaymotorssucks.com
or you can follow the links from the cappnonymous channel page.
---------------------
Note: This audio visual digital document was created using the new & improved ZDSoft Screen Recorder 2.6.2.0 and "SUPER Â© v2007 build .25" wmm2 & audacity on 02-29-2008 approximately 11:32:33 Pacific Time.

I am using firefox 2.0012 browser with Adblock Plus NoScript Super DragandGo 0.2.6 Image Zoom 0.3 and SlimSearch 0.1.8 extensions and my "bumped" SpoofStick 1.06 among others. My skin is miniFox 0.8.2. The small magnified window is a function of microsoft wireless intellimouse explorer 2.0 model (less)

Added: March 01, 2008

//
// eBay filings to the United States Securities And Exchange Commission (SEC)
//

In regards to auction and store listing counts.

http://yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com/fetchFilingFrameset.aspx?dcn=0000950134-08-003741&Type=HTML
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/sec?s=ebay

Form 10-K for EBAY INC
29-Feb-2008
Annual Report

http://yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com/fetchFilingFrameset.aspx?dcn=0000891618-08-000046&Type=HTML
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/sec?s=ebay

Form 8-K for EBAY INC
23-Jan-2008
Results of Operations and Financial Condition, Financial Statements and Exhibits

//
// eBay stock price - 29 February 2008
//

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=eBay

EBAY INC (NasdaqGS:EBAY)

After Hours: 26.18

0.18 (0.68%) on 02/29/08

Last Trade:	26.36
Trade Time:	Feb 29
Change:	0.91 (3.34%)
Prev Close:	27.27
Open:	27.01
Bid:	N/A
Ask:	27.27 x 3000
1y Target Est:	35.22

Day's Range:	26.17 - 27.08
52wk Range:	25.64 - 40.73
Volume:	17,475,127
Avg Vol (3m):	15,744,000
Market Cap:	35.66B
P/E (ttm):	104.19
EPS (ttm):	0.25
Div & Yield:	N/A (N/A)

//
// Detail data on "sdc" sellers.
//

This data is not meant to be all inclusive. It does provide a means to verify facts, and generate leads to more information.

Listing counts are from the eBay.com site. I.E. these are not counts from eBayExpress.com nor Shopping.com nor Half.com nor any site but eBay.com.
For some Google archive data, see the date the item was archived.
Use the Google "cached" option.
To see more Google archive use the "repeat the search with the omitted results included" option.

News publication AuctionBytes stipulating on the record verification of at least 80,000 listings for one eBay.com seller.

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y08/m03/i05/s03
"the fact that when AuctionBytes looked at one Shopping.com selling account on Saturday morning, it indicated the seller had over 80,000 listings on eBay.com" Ina Steiner, 05 March 2008

sdc_prod_301013_74
aka The Twister Group (27,291 listings 2/29/2008)
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=sdc_prod_301013_74&ftab=AllFeedback
505 positive feedback, 0 listings 3/2/2008
Member since Oct-18-06 in Illinois, United States
www.google.com/search?q=sdc_prod_301013_74 [Google archive, use cache link]
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:nGCP4ib50X4J:search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZsdc_prod_301013_74+sdc_prod_301013_74
"27076 items found"
http://pages.suddenlink.net/docswife/Fake_eBay_Listings2.htm
http://www.companyexposed.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/ebay-seller-sdc-prod-301013-74-a-v-accessories-cables-desktop-laptop-accessories-items-on-ebaycom.png
http://www.companyexposed.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/olympus-260302-evolt-e-10-starter-kit-ebay-item-200203133477-end-time-mar-26-08-14-35-44-pdt.png
http://www.companyexposed.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/place-a-bid.png

sdc_prod_305839_99
aka BargainBasementBatteries
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=sdc_prod_305839_99&ftab=AllFeedback
7 positive feedback, 148 listings 3/2/2008
Member since Oct-30-07 in California, United States
www.google.com/search?q=sdc_prod_305839_99 [Google archive, use cache link]
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:QpM59pR2JdMJ:cgi.ebay.com/RBC7-for-APC-Smart-UPS-1000XL_W0QQitemZ220205254001QQihZ012QQcategoryZ44963QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_305839_99
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:DS3GG6zXiPoJ:cgi.ebay.com/GP388-Two-Way-Radio-Battery-7-2-volts-Li-Ion-1400-mAh_W0QQitemZ220206831899QQihZ012QQcategoryZ35165QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_305839_99
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:noDieNpXPuoJ:cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll%3FViewItem%26item%3D220206820744%26ih%3D012%26category%3D46706%26ssPageName%3DWDVW%26rd%3D1+sdc_prod_305839_99
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:13lDN7y4IHAJ:cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll%3FViewItem%26item%3D220206840342%26ih%3D012%26category%3D31513%26ssPageName%3DWDVW%26rd%3D1+sdc_prod_305839_99
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:MVdOb-vVDPoJ:cgi.ebay.com/Aspire-1301XV-Laptop-Battery-9-6V-Ni-MH-4000mAh_W0QQitemZ220206826809QQihZ012QQcategoryZ50390QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_305839_99
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:9hMQHjW-HvgJ:cgi.ebay.com/Aspire-1307LC-Laptop-Battery-9-6V-Ni-MH-4000mAh_W0QQitemZ220206826435QQihZ012QQcategoryZ50390QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_305839_99

sdc_prod_310426
aka ANTOnline (21,798 listings 2/29/2008)
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=sdc_prod_310426&ftab=AllFeedback
0 positive feedback, 0 listings 3/2/2008, Not a registered user
Member since Feb-15-08 in Georgia, United States
www.google.com/search?q=sdc_prod_310426 [Google archive, use cache link]
395 pages, with 25 items per page. 394 x 25 = 9,850 items
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:79FfxT1PdwsJ:ebay.auction.co.kr/List.html%3FUserId%3Dsdc_prod_310426+sdc_prod_310426&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:nPDK_hOHHnYJ:cgi.ebay.com/Revlon-MoistureStay-Fast-Heat-Paraffin-Bath-RSV1212_W0QQitemZ120227712889QQihZ002QQcategoryZ33163QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_310426
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:h1d5zecY9ugJ:ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D120225811907%26FeedBackPercent%3D0+sdc_prod_310426
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ko&u=http://ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D120225811907%26FeedBackPercent%3D0&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=6&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsdc_prod_310426%26start%3D30%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:VjhJfZtF7sAJ:ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D120225360950%26FeedBackPercent%3D0+sdc_prod_310426
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ko&u=http://ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D120224895939%26FeedBackPercent%3D0&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=9&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsdc_prod_310426%26start%3D30%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:-gm9kAaw7xoJ:ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D120224930838%26FeedBackPercent%3D0+sdc_prod_310426
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ko&u=http://ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D120224930838%26FeedBackPercent%3D0&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=2&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsdc_prod_310426%26start%3D70%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN

sdc_prod_409455_97
aka Sababa Shopping
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=sdc_prod_409455_97&ftab=AllFeedback
104 positive feedback, 0 listings 3/2/2008
Member since Jul-16-07 in New York, United States
www.google.com/search?q=sdc_prod_409455_97 [Google archive, use cache link]
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:wdbbmSkSv5YJ:cgi.ebay.com/Joe-Frazier-Signed-Everlast-Boxing-Shoe_W0QQitemZ310025760330QQihZ021QQcategoryZ27272QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_409455_97
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:RS6-QlnYA2sJ:cgi.ebay.com/Streamlight-Jr-Luxeon-LED-Light_W0QQitemZ310025774047QQihZ021QQcategoryZ106987QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_409455_97
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:oJ62cj__odoJ:cgi.ebay.com/Doh-Doh-Doh-Doh-Bushings-Red-95_W0QQitemZ310025775386QQihZ021QQcategoryZ11740QQcmdZViewItem+Sababa+Shopping

sdc_prod_434012
aka SpectrumSuperStore (35,002 listings 2/29/2008)
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=sdc_prod_434012&ftab=AllFeedback
0 positive feedback, 0 listings 3/2/2008
Member since Apr-11-07 in California, United States
www.google.com/search?q=sdc_prod_434012 [Google archive, use cache link]
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj179/thevirginmarypretzel/paddedlistings.jpg
http://www.companyexposed.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/ebaycom-seller-list-sdc_prod_434012.png
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:xMl5SZU-ESsJ:cgi.ebay.com/Hybrid-Series-76-Key-Keyboard-Case-EA-BGHB-76_W0QQitemZ320222873077QQihZ011QQcategoryZ85858QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_434012
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:XcX-QQRk69EJ:cgi.ebay.com/WB700-ALUMINUM-WORK-BENCH-1_W0QQitemZ320222203965QQihZ011QQcategoryZ67719QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_434012
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:ie1RFfPfftoJ:cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll%3FViewItem%26item%3D320199419130%26ih%3D011%26category%3D41424%26ssPageName%3DWDVW%26rd%3D1+sdc_prod_434012
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:kFB33ls7-SwJ:ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D320220845477%26FeedBackPercent%3D0+sdc_prod_434012
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ko&u=http://ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D320220845477%26FeedBackPercent%3D0&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=8&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsdc_prod_434012%26start%3D10%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN

sdc_prod_442675_57
aka Boyne & Kelly L.L.C. (4,702 listings 2/29/2008)
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=sdc_prod_442675_57&ftab=AllFeedback
0 positive feedback, 0 listings 3/2/2008
Member since Oct-25-07 in New Jersey, United States
www.google.com/search?q=sdc_prod_442675_57 [Google archive, use cache link]
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:eJS01HGdc2MJ:cgi.ebay.com/7-Wonders-of-Ancient-World-PSP_W0QQitemZ120214123226QQihZ002QQcategoryZ378QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_442675_57
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:W2o81DDL3EEJ:cgi.ebay.com/Luxury-Paraffin-Bath_W0QQitemZ120227861327QQihZ002QQcategoryZ33163QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_442675_57
http://ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html?itemNo=120227877849&FeedBackPercent=0
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ko&u=http://ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D120227877849%26FeedBackPercent%3D0&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=2&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsdc_prod_442675_57%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:RdTfjWou1rQJ:cgi.ebay.com/Widepath-Tempo-Upright_W0QQitemZ120213667347QQcmdZViewItem%3Fhash%3Ditem120213667347+sdc_prod_442675_57
Widepath Tempo Upright - eBay (item 120213667347 end time Mar-21 ...
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:RdTfjWou1rQJ:cgi.ebay.com/Widepath-Tempo-Upright_W0QQitemZ120213667347QQcmdZViewItem%3Fhash%3Ditem120213667347+sdc_prod_442675_57
1GB 1066MHZ DIMM DDR3 - eBay (item 120224872850 end time Mar-21-08 ...
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:3hWj_pz6kVQJ:cgi.ebay.com/1GB-1066MHZ-DIMM-DDR3_W0QQitemZ120224872850QQihZ002QQcategoryZ111425QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_442675_57
2GB KIT 1333MHZ DDR3 - eBay (item 120226065068 end time Mar-24-08 ...
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:k-5_eMw0X4kJ:cgi.ebay.com/2GB-KIT-1333MHZ-DDR3_W0QQitemZ120226065068QQihZ002QQcategoryZ111425QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_442675_57

sdc_prod_9021_2
aka Buy.com (12,233 listings 2/29/2008)
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=sdc_prod_9021_2&ftab=AllFeedback
0 positive feedback, 0 listings 3/2/2008, Not a registered user
Member since Feb-22-08 in California, United States
www.google.com/search?q=sdc_prod_9021_2 [Google archive, use cache link]
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:QAXuEnq4G4wJ:cgi.ebay.com/Spalding-79465-NBA-54-Inch-Basketball-Backboard-and-R_W0QQitemZ110228789630QQihZ001QQcategoryZ21196QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9021_2
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:Yd2XfmHiLA8J:cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll%3FViewItem%26item%3D110228791004%26ih%3D001%26category%3D306%26ssPageName%3DWDVW%26rd%3D1+sdc_prod_9021_2
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:5MkhNRgk0uYJ:ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D110228785954%26FeedBackPercent%3D0+sdc_prod_9021_2
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ko&u=http://ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D110228785954%26FeedBackPercent%3D0&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=10&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsdc_prod_9021_2%26start%3D20%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN
http://ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html?itemNo=110228785954&FeedBackPercent=0
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:8N4t76pH5uIJ:cgi.ebay.com/Fraudulent-and-Exaggerated-Claims-in-Pi_W0QQitemZ110228803086QQihZ001QQcategoryZ378QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9021_2

sdc_prod_9055
aka Focus Camera (1,925 listings 2/29/2008)
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=sdc_prod_9055&ftab=AllFeedback
235 positive feedback, 0 listings 3/2/2008
Member since Oct-30-07 in New York, United States
www.google.com/search?q=sdc_prod_9055 [Google archive, use cache link]
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:vL_bdzKpE-wJ:cgi.ebay.com/Canon-Printer-Ink-Canon-PGI-9-Yellow-Ink-Tank_W0QQitemZ220206475064QQihZ012QQcategoryZ51292QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9055
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:OK3sbJCL5p0J:cgi.ebay.com/Canon-Printer-Ink-Canon-PGI-9-10-Color-Pack_W0QQitemZ220206475061QQihZ012QQcategoryZ51292QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9055
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:Xkp36kduKuAJ:cgi.ebay.com/Kenwood-Alpine-in-Dah-CD-MP3-WAV-CD-IPOD-USB_W0QQitemZ220206476932QQihZ012QQcategoryZ307QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9055
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:IbN3pjB5bN0J:cgi.ebay.com/SDI-Ihome-IH9B6R-Alarm-Clock-Radio-for-Ipod-Black_W0QQitemZ220204798292QQihZ012QQcategoryZ84082QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9055

sdc_prod_9074_35
aka pcRUSH.com (21,401 listings 2/29/2008)
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=sdc_prod_9074_35&ftab=AllFeedback
0 positive feedback, 0 listings 3/2/2008, Not a registered user
Member since Feb-28-08 in California, United States
www.google.com/search?q=sdc_prod_9074_35 [Google archive, use cache link]
"21481 items found"
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:egtfB3spkuwJ:search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZsdc_prod_9074_35+sdc_prod_9074_35
860 pages, 25 items per page. 859 x 25 = 21,475 items
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:8kcIgg6TBCwJ:ebay.auction.co.kr/List.html%3FUserId%3Dsdc_prod_9074_35+sdc_prod_9074_35
http://www.suspendedfromebay.com/postings-archive/sdc_prod_9074_35-1.jpg
http://www.suspendedfromebay.com/postings-archive/sdc_prod_9074_35-5.jpg
Canon 3708A005AA - eBay (item 120227783548 end time Mar-29-08 :39:34 PDT)
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:t83ZZsaKUBoJ:cgi.ebay.com/Canon-3708A005AA_W0QQitemZ120227783548QQihZ002QQcategoryZ61673QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9074_35
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:4VE7CCkI4fMJ:ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D120227765257%26FeedBackPercent%3D0+sdc_prod_9074_35
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ko&u=http://ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D120227765257%26FeedBackPercent%3D0&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=10&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsdc_prod_9074_35%26start%3D10%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN
http://ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html?itemNo=120227765257&FeedBackPercent=0

sdc_prod_9090
aka CompSource Inc. (32,601 listings 2/29/2008)
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=sdc_prod_9090&ftab=AllFeedback
206 positive feedback, 0 listings 3/2/2008
Member since Mar-26-07 in Ohio, United States
www.google.com/search?q=sdc_prod_9090 [Google archive, use cache link]
"32601 items found"
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:fVmNW6F5irIJ:search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZsdc_prod_9090+sdc_prod_9090+-product.express.ebay.com+-ebay.auction.co.kr
1301 pages, 25 items per page. 1300 x 25 = 32,500 items
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:FxeShIuGsq4J:ebay.auction.co.kr/List.html%3FUserId%3Dsdc_prod_9090+sdc_prod_9090
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:p2cKr5hg4-cJ:cgi.ebay.com/Lenovo-3000-N200-Notebook-Intel-Core-2-Duo-T5250-1_W0QQitemZ370018138633QQihZ024QQcategoryZ140083QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9090+-product.express.ebay.com
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:SLywt4rdRRYJ:cgi.ebay.com/Luxury-Paraffin-Bath-Revlon-MoistureStay-Fast-Heat-U_W0QQitemZ370027698377QQihZ024QQcategoryZ33163QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9090+-product.express.ebay.com
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:6UblAGIUYPwJ:ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D370027703589%26FeedBackPercent%3D93.2+sdc_prod_9090
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ko&u=http://ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D370027703589%26FeedBackPercent%3D93.2&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=9&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsdc_prod_9090%26start%3D10%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN
HON Mentor Series Single Pedestal Desk - Rectangle - - eBay (item 370016020192
end time Mar-21-08 23:28:22 PDT)
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:eENzLiVfg80J:cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll%3FViewItem%26item%3D370016020192%26ih%3D024%26category%3D11832%26ssPageName%3DWDVW%26rd%3D1+sdc_prod_9090

sdc_prod_9124_14
akaTheNerds, Inc. (48,392 listings 2/29/2008)
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=sdc_prod_9124_14&ftab=AllFeedback
259 positive feedback, 0 listings 3/2/2008
Member since Dec-12-07 in Florida, United States
www.google.com/search?q=sdc_prod_9124_14 [Google archive, use cache link]
INDEX,LTR,#376-400,25,WE - eBay (item 120213499957 end time Mar-21-08 09:18:05 PDT
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:7uI-xsGbWrcJ:cgi.ebay.com/INDEX-LTR-376-400-25-WE_W0QQitemZ120213499957QQihZ002QQcategoryZ4203QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9124_14
NOTEBOOK,5SUBCLG,11X9,AST - eBay (item 120213501400 end time Mar-21-08 09:19:12 PDT)
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:L-FmypDv-oAJ:cgi.ebay.com/NOTEBOOK-5SUBCLG-11X9-AST_W0QQitemZ120213501400QQihZ002QQcategoryZ60271QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9124_14
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:ZzyC1hqSDe0J:ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D120213540500%26FeedBackPercent%3D97.7+sdc_prod_9124_14
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ko&u=http://ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D120213540500%26FeedBackPercent%3D97.7&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=8&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsdc_prod_9124_14%26start%3D60%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN
http://ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html?itemNo=120213540500&FeedBackPercent=97.7

sdc_prod_9352_67
aka Digital Foto Club (30,278 listings 2/29/2008)
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=sdc_prod_9352_67&ftab=AllFeedback
922 positive feedback, 0 listings 3/2/2008
Member since May-28-07 in New York, United States
www.google.com/search?q=sdc_prod_9352_67 [Google archive, use cache link]
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:9TJtexR6ptsJ:ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D270214141173%26FeedBackPercent%3D98.7+sdc_prod_9352_67
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ko&u=http://ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D270214141173%26FeedBackPercent%3D98.7&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=8&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsdc_prod_9352_67%2Bitems%2Bfor%26start%3D20%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:xtXD8nksrckJ:cgi.ebay.com/Crosley-ST73-CH-Richmond-Entertainment-Center-Stereo_W0QQitemZ270214141288QQihZ017QQcategoryZ20488QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9352_67
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:rs5hKtPhMu8J:cgi.ebay.com/Canon-Printer-Ink-Canon-PGI-9-Red-Ink-Tank_W0QQitemZ270214133563QQihZ017QQcategoryZ51292QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9352_67
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:9x61N_X0Qf0J:ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D270214140109%26FeedBackPercent%3D98.7+sdc_prod_9352_67
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ko&u=http://ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D270214140109%26FeedBackPercent%3D98.7&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=2&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsdc_prod_9352_67%2B%26start%3D490%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN

sdc_prod_9391_43
aka Adorama (11,102 listings 2/29/2008)
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=sdc_prod_9391_43&ftab=AllFeedback
0 positive feedback, 0 listings 3/2/2008, Not a registered user
Member since Feb-22-08 in New York, United States
www.google.com/search?q=sdc_prod_9391_43 [Google archive, use cache links]
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:4OzbhDP_92QJ:search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZsdc_prod_9391_43+sdc_prod_9391_43+%22items+for+sale
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:VU7vSCdRVFQJ:cgi.ebay.com/CTA-Digital-Grand-Scale-iPod-Home-Theater-Speaker-Sy_W0QQitemZ110227893470QQihZ001QQcategoryZ1499QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9391_43
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:WghAkj7ZI3cJ:cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll%3FViewItem%26item%3D110227905896%26ih%3D001%26category%3D111650%26rd%3D1%26ssPageName%3Dmem_guide:5+sdc_prod_9391_43
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:BgHMQo9x8vAJ:ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D110227897474%26FeedBackPercent%3D0+sdc_prod_9391_43
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ko&u=http://ebay.auction.co.kr/detail.html%3FitemNo%3D110227897474%26FeedBackPercent%3D0&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=8&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsdc_prod_9391_43%26start%3D20%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN

sdc_prod_9452
aka eTronics, Inc. (24,499 listings 2/29/2008)
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=sdc_prod_9452&ftab=AllFeedback
78 positive feedback, 0 listings 3/2/2008
Member since Jul-25-07 in New York, United States
www.google.com/search?q=sdc_prod_9452 [Google archive, use cache links]
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:PLDjjwBGjLoJ:cgi.ebay.com/Vicks-V965-Comfort-Flex-Digital-Thermometer_W0QQitemZ150220736330QQihZ005QQcategoryZ117026QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9452
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:jOwntMKvykgJ:cgi.ebay.com/WaterPik-WP-65-Dental-System-Blue-Reservoir_W0QQitemZ150220273422QQihZ005QQcategoryZ108691QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9452
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:pekb_zdKSwsJ:cgi.ebay.com/WaterPik-WP-65-Dental-System-Blue-Reservoir_W0QQitemZ150220447075QQihZ005QQcategoryZ108691QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9452
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:RBjV6gcI01EJ:cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll%3FViewItem%26item%3D150220157214%26ih%3D005%26category%3D47092%26rd%3D1%26ssPageName%3DWD3+sdc_prod_9452
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:HhCV1-Eh8yAJ:cgi.ebay.com/Bogen-3156-Folding-Autodolly_W0QQitemZ150219029808QQihZ005QQcategoryZ30080QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9452
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:0ibMKyEJt9QJ:cgi.ebay.com/Kicker-06ZX7501-750-Watt-Mono-Amplifier_W0QQitemZ150220613724QQcmdZViewItem%3Fhash%3Ditem150220613724+sdc_prod_9452
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:cuW0f2sePQAJ:cgi.ebay.com/Back-to-Basics-SE2000B-Smoothie-Elite-Smoothie-Maker_W0QQitemZ150219799501QQihZ005QQcategoryZ20668QQcmdZViewItem+sdc_prod_9452

//
// Complaint about the accuracy of the data in this article - 1 March 2008
//

http://forums.ebay.com/search.jspa?q=&objID=f21&dateRange=all&userID=sellitallonline

From eBay Seller Central Forum
SIGN THE PLEDGE _ NO SALES FEB 18-25!
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000636290&start=10040

sellitallonline (2278) View Listings | Report Mar-01-08 10:23 PST 23114 of 23164
I don't know what is going on....maybe eBay is innocent.

http://eventhorizon1984.typepad.com/event_horizon_1984_blog/2008/02/from-ebay-sel-1.html

sellitallonline (2278) View Listings | Report Mar-01-08 11:53 PST 23126 of 23164
broadview1313

I don't need permission to print a link. In regard to the information on that link. Well, it is not me and if the information is correct or incorrect that would be up to eBay to decide and for them to take action against or toward the person posting on that website. If it is incorrect then I hope eBay does go after that person. I was giving a link hopefully shed some light on eBays innocents. Merry Christmas

//
// The right to publish this type of report - U.S. Supreme Court - 1988
//

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=485&page=47

1988, CHIEF JUSTICE REHNQUIST:

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
eBay World_Securities

Posted on 29 February 2008 at 23:43 in Commentary, eBay, eBay Customer Service, eBay Search, eBay Spotlight, Legal | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (1)

Technorati Tags: auction, eBay, listings, mystery listings, padded, padding, sdc_prod, sdc_prod_301013_74, sdc_prod_305839_99, sdc_prod_310426, sdc_prod_409455_97, sdc_prod_434012, sdc_prod_442675_57, sdc_prod_9021_2, sdc_prod_9055, sdc_prod_9074_35, sdc_prod_9090, Shopping.com

24 February 2008

From eBay Technical Issues Forum - ebay - Your new Feedback page is STILL BROKEN - Needs immediate attention!

These are not our posts. The following comments were found in the eBay Technical Issues Forum. Follow the link below if you want to leave your own comments.

For the uninitiated, eBay has buyers rate sellers using a 5 star Detail Seller Rating (DSR) system. From 1 poor to 5 excellent.

eBay Policy mandates that sellers with a DSR of less than 4.5:

will not receive selling discounts
will have significantly reduced product exposure on eBay
could have buyer payments, for the seller, held by eBay/PayPal for 21 days
can be subject to expulsion by eBay

eBay's official stance is the problem has been corrected. IT is NOT.

The thread below indicates that eBay continues to make it difficult to leave any star rating that is higher than a 3. And in some cases higher than a 2.

From eBay Technical Issues Forum
ebay - Your new Feedback page is STILL BROKEN - Needs immediate attention!
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000524310&tstart=0&mod=1203891483457

fixitwizard (1847 ) Feb-24-08 14:05 PST
I posted this on the PS board, but after seeing this:

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml

I realized that this board is a more appropriate place to post about this problem, which STILL IS NOT FIXED!

I CAN'T leave proper feedback for sellers - This is OUTRAGEOUS!

I've been wondering why very few of my buyers bother to leave star ratings, but now that I've tried to leave them for a seller the answer is obvious.

First, some info about my system: (To help the programming morons troubleshoot their mistakes)

Computer = Intel Pentium 4, 3.00GHz, 512MB of RAM
Operating system = Microsoft Windows XP Professional Version 2002 Service Pack 2
Browser = Mozilla Firefox version 2.0.0.12
Screen Resolution = 1600 x 1200

I tried to leave feedback for a seller. First, I selected a positive rating. The stupid (& redundant) blue pop-up box immediately appears, covering many of the stars.

Then I tried to select stars. For the Communication rating, when I move the cursor over the first star, the stupid blue popup disappears.

As soon as I get past star two, it reappears, blocking stars 3-5. Apparently, I CANNOT leave any higher than a two star rating for Communication.

So I kept screwing around with it, and found that if I randomly move the mouse around, I can somehow get past star two, and then at star 3 the description of the rating changes causing the text of "Neither unsatisfied nor satisfied" to wrap, and the line jumps down to leave room for the wrap.

If the cursor isn't in exactly the right place (within a pixel or two) then it is no longer over a star, the line unwraps and moves back up, and the stupid blue box reappears.

If the cursor is in exactly the right place, the stupid blue box does not reappear until I try to move to star 4, and then the description of the rating changes to "Satisfied" causing the line to unwrap and jump back up, where the cursor is no longer over the star and the stupid blue box reappears.

A note to ebay programmers:

Well that's about as much time as I can afford to spend troubleshooting your problem. If this helps you to find the solution, a credit for this month's seller fees would be appropriate compensation for my effort. If you STILL can't figure it out, then perhaps you should look for another line of work, and stop torturing us poor sellers with your botched attempts at coding.

Mike
'fixitwizard'

auctionterminator5000 (17 ) Feb-24-08 14:18 PST 1 of 1
Well said!

//
//
//

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml

System Announcements

***Updated: Issues With Leaving Feedback - Resolved***

February 23, 2008 | 08:13PM PST/PT

February 23, 2008 | 08:13PM PST/PT

Some members were experiencing issues on the Leave Feedback page.

These issues have now been resolved. Thank you for your patience.

***Original: Issues With Leaving Feedback***

February 23, 2008 | 06:43PM PST/PT

We are aware of some issues on the Leave Feedback page, and are working to resolve these as quickly as possible. In the meantime, if you need to leave feedback and aren't able to select the proper Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) or you receive an error message, you may wish to wait and try again at a later date. We apologize for the inconvenience this may be causing.

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
eBay World_Securities

Posted on 24 February 2008 at 15:39 in eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

23 February 2008

From eBay Stores Forum - Leaving feedback...ebay info thing covers the stars

These are not our posts. The following comments were found in the eBay Store Forum. Follow the link below if you want to leave your own comments.

For the uninitiated, eBay has buyers rate sellers using a 5 star Detail Seller Rating (DSR) system. From 1 poor to 5 excellent.

eBay Policy mandates that sellers with a DSR of less than 4.5:

will not receive selling discounts
will have significantly reduced product exposure on eBay
could have buyer payments, for the seller, held by eBay/PayPal for 21 days
can be subject to expulsion by eBay

The thread below indicates that eBay is making difficult leaving any star rating that is higher than a 3.

Anonymous poster pepins4b8e has a history of making pro-eBay posts. No matter how "interesting" the situation.

From eBay Stores Forum
Leaving feedback...ebay info thing covers the stars
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000523382&tstart=0&mod=1203748552

lin*** (4620 )    Feb-22-08 19:46 PST
Forcing you to start with a 3 star maximum. Then, you can move on over to 5 stars but you can't start with 5 because the notice from ebay covers it and nothing happens if you try to click there.

Has it always been that way?

sam*** (1466 )    Feb-22-08 19:56 PST    1
They have been discussing that at the PS board.People are getting all kinds of different things when trying to leave star FB. Myself, I am getting NO stars, only the qusations and a box where the stars should be ,saying about the sellers not knowing who dinged the stars. I tried to move the box so I could leave a seller 5 stars and I could leave none at all.
Some are getting screens where 4 and 5 are covered and it is real difficult to leave a 4 or 5. Somesay their screens are ok. But, there is SOMETHING going on with the stars, and it is bad. Think how many buyers will leave no score, or maybe hit a 1,2, or 3, since they cannot get to the 4 or 5. GRRRRRRRRRRR! Ebay is gonna get them star ratings down, one way or the other!

sam*** (1466 )    Feb-22-08 19:57 PST    2
qusations= questions (sheesh!) Star thing has be riled up!

psyc*** (292 )    Feb-22-08 20:07 PST    3
Don't know what is up with eBay tonight. Not just the star mess, but other glitches as well. Have been getting those weird pages telling you that a page is not available and to come back later.

Another thrilling night on eBay.

moo*** (43 )    Feb-22-08 20:17 PST    4
I have had that box problem since day ONE. And if you get anywhere NEAR the ? it will pop up. Makes you wonder if they did this on purpose so we would have lower stars...

Cute & Sexy Valentine's Day Lingerie!

                  bab** (1160 )    Feb-22-08 20:18 PST    5
I just had the same issue - at first it wouldn't even let me leave 5's, the thing wouldn't go past 3. I had to keep mousing over 4 or 5 times before it would let me move the thing up to 5.

Jennifer

sam*** (1466 )    Feb-22-08 20:39 PST    6
Some over at the PS board say they have already gotten some dings since this glitch started.
Some say, Ebay is just being sure they do not have to honor any of those "discounts"
This is SO bad. They force this on us, and then they mess it up, so we can get our stars dinged,anyway. Can't win!

lin** (4620 )    Feb-22-08 20:42 PST    7
The box is there from the time I leave feedback so has nothing to do with the ? mark.

And, you cannot move the box. I finally learned to start with a 3, wait for the box tomove and then leave 5's all the way down.

But others may just leave 3's.

i hope they just don't leave any at all.

I thought maybe I was just imagining things because I couldn't believe ebay would put something right over the most important part.

sam** (1466 )    Feb-22-08 20:51 PST    8
I thought maybe I was just imagining things because I couldn't believe ebay would put something right over the most important part.

I am no longer surprised at anything Ebay does,anymore. Alot of buyers willprobably just leave 3's insead of hassling to get to the 4's or 5's.

Way to go, Ebay! What do we have to look forward to next?? Oh,I forgot. You don't tell us. We just get the joy of the surprise!!!

fae***1087 )    Feb-22-08 21:08 PST    9
I just went to leave feedback for a recent purchase. I can see all five stars but if you try to click on 4 or 5 nothing happens. You have to first click on 3 and then you can click higher.

I think the most likely result would be people just not leaving any DSR.

Either way it needs to be fixed.

Faerie
faerie's finest - enchanting your life with flavor

myg*** (7382 ) Feb-22-08 21:09 PST 10
We need to keep bumping this thread to the top.

This is insane.

fae*** (1087 ) Feb-22-08 21:09 PST 11
Amendment - that was on a single feedback. When I went to the page that lets you leave multiple feedback at once it did let me click on the 5 right away.

Has anyone else experienced this difference?

Faerie
faerie's finest - enchanting your life with flavor

bar** (136 )    Feb-22-08 21:15 PST    12
         Just when you think it couldn't get any worse.

lin*** (4620 )    Feb-22-08 22:06 PST    13
I don't do it that way Faerie so I can't test that way.

I have never used the multiple at once method. I just hate change. lol So, I always do things the way I have always done them as long as I can.

LIke the new My ebay page...I hate that. I keep switching it back and in a week I have the new one again.

But, back to the stars. I think this is a serious problem!

mis*** (586 )    Feb-22-08 22:19 PST    14
I agree it is a serious problem and one that Ebay needs to address quickly as this is going to affect ALL sellers. I think it was working properly earlier today as my DSR's went up and I don't think that could have happened if buyers were only able to leave 3's or lower.

I have not purchased anything to be able to leave feedback on to see what would happen with the stars but it was working fine on the last feedback I left a few days ago.

psyc*** (292 )    Feb-22-08 22:35 PST    15
Just think how many buyers will leave 3's because they either can't get the thing to work or think that is how it should work and that the 3's are just fine. A couple of those could kill smaller sellers like me.

Just have to hope no one leaves me feedback until this glitch gets fixed. Unfortunately I have sveral buyers out there who have not left feedback yet for recent purchases.

Now I really hope they don't leave feedback. I'd be better off than if they try and leave it with this current glitch.

Gee, thanks eBay!

j...t (11 )    Feb-23-08 02:00 PST    16
Really has to make one wonder if they are fiddling with that as they could have plans to more auto manipulate some stars? And of course they made yet another glitch so now some people found they are "playing"?
-
JT

min*** (925 )    Feb-23-08 03:16 PST    17
         Cheer up! Scott Wingo is going to host another Ebay workshop on How to Get Great DSR's next week. :^O

min*** (925 ) Feb-23-08 04:07 PST 18
OMG!! I could not find live help, so I clicked on their "contact us" link to report a technical issue. I got one of those canned responses that was completly off the mark. I don't think anyone even read it. I think it is and autoresponder.

Here is the message I sent:

Message: Their is an information message that covers up the DSR feedback
stars so that members either cannot leave DSR rating, or it is covering
the 4th and 5th star so that they can only leave 3's. This is not a good
thing. Please fix.

Here is the response:

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to your opinion on the Detailed
Seller Rating feedback.

I understand your concern and would like to inform you that eBay
welcomes comments from members of our Community, and we appreciate your
suggestions. This type of communication helps us improve our services
and meet your needs.

However, our company policy doesn't allow us to accept suggestions
unless we specifically request them. We hope that you understand that
this policy can avoid future misunderstandings if new products,
services, and features developed internally by eBay employees seem
similar or even identical to a member's idea.

***Important***
Any comments or materials (including questions, technical or creative
suggestions, and ideas) that you send to us aren't considered
confidential or proprietary. To learn more about eBay's policy on
submitting unsolicited ideas, go to:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/unsolicited-ideas.html

For more information about sending suggestions to eBay, go to:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/newtoebay/suggest.html

It is my pleasure to assist you. Thank you for choosing eBay.

Sincerely,
Andrew A.

eBay Customer Support

HUH?!!

j...t (11 )    Feb-23-08 04:10 PST    19
However, our company policy doesn't allow us to accept suggestions unless we specifically request them.
I agree. Huh? LOL
-
JT

tur*** (5708 )    Feb-23-08 06:12 PST    20
         I think this is a pretended glitch, just their way to make sure, no one gets the 15%.

j...t (11 )    Feb-23-08 06:14 PST    21
pretended or intended?
-
JT

j...t (11 )    Feb-23-08 06:17 PST    22
and
glitch or enhancement/feature?

However, our company policy doesn't allow us to accept suggestions unless we specifically request them.

And this statement tells me tough if you don't like it.
-
JT

min*** (925 ) Feb-23-08 06:49 PST 23
I think they wanna do what they wanna do..and they don't want to hear about it!

j...t (11 )    Feb-23-08 06:51 PST    24
So much for being partners with them. LOL
-
JT

tur*** (5708 )    Feb-23-08 07:10 PST    25
Pretended or intended, probably both. Why would they want to give lower final value fees?
Isn't it cool that they promised it, even though no one will qualify?

sti*** (1562 )    Feb-23-08 09:52 PST    26
Why would a company as big as ebay chew off their own foot? We made them, and if they keep pushing, we will break them.

fif*** (866 )    Feb-23-08 10:26 PST    27
They are chewing off their own foot because they will never admit they were wrong. They will let ebay go down till their stock price is valueless. Then they can put the company up for sale. We've paid for every mistake the CEO ever made. They are dumb suits, nothing more.

ete*** (1483 )    Feb-23-08 11:05 PST    28
         Why anyone would continue to jump through eBay's hoop is beyond me??

pepins4b8e (20 ) View Listings    Feb-23-08 11:20 PST    29
etexbill, it's very simple: if the benefits outweigh the efforts and costs, then it's worth it. I sell out all of my handmade items every year, with zero marketing. So for me, the hoops are no big deal.

//
//
//

From eBay Seller Forum
EBAY admits technical issues with DSR
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000523749&tstart=0&mod=1203807165171

ant*** (2226 ) Feb-23-08 14:24 PST 5 of 61

Here is the section of the dialog with PS live Help

Helen L.
Yes, I am. I apologize, I am speaking with a technician about this now

Helen L.
The technician is saying that they have had some reports of this, but it is based on the settings of the browser. If you change the firefox settings to 1024 x 768 then the box is far enough over that they can leave the feedback

Helen L.
They said they are working on getting this corrected, however, in the mean time, they can only recommend that you adjust the resolution to see if that will help

antiquem
You all don't seem to understand this issue is affecting every seller the average user/buyer will not know how to change browsers / or resolution nor will they care to. It is not their problem it is your problem and it is negatively affecting selllers

Helen L.
I understand your concerns. However, if they can't leave the feedback at all, then it doesn't affect you at all. it isn't like they are only allowed to leave negative feedback

Helen L.
We do have technicians that are working on this

Helen L.
They are researching it, trying to find a solution for it

antiquem
A casual buyer will not realize that they should or could leave 5 stars they really don't know I just got of the phone with a GF and she just bought 6 items this week and didn't have a clue as to the ramifications

Helen L.
If you would like to send in screenshots of the issue, you are more than welcome to. The technicians said that would help me

antiquem
which means that there are sellers all over the place that are getting there stars dinged because of your coding not for any other reason. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE

Helen L.
I understand, however, we are working on this

el*quattro*cacti (22 ) Feb-23-08 14:36 PST 8 of 61
If you change the firefox settings to 1024 x 768 then the box is far enough over that they can leave the feedback

That statement indicates this problem was entirely created by the developer of that page.

unk*** (930 ) Feb-23-08 15:25 PST 18 of 61
If they would code to web standards instead of web browsers, things just might work...might.

And what in heaven's name maroon would say change your Firefox 'resolution'?

To reach, the u n r e a c h a b l e starrrrrrr!

low*profile (2 ) Feb-23-08 15:32 PST 21 of 61
This isn't the only page where their balloon help won't disappear when it's supposed to. On a main feedback page, if I inadvertently mouse over one of those question marks, up pops a yellow caption I didn't want to see in the first place (if i WANTED "help", i would have CLICKED on the question mark...), obscuring information I DID want to see. It then becomes a real struggle to outwit it into going away again.

Regardless of what browser you have/what screen resolution you use/what EVER, balloon help captions are only supposed to remain until you move your mouse again. Then they are supposed to GO AWAY.

Regardless of what live help says, it IS their problem. And their programmers need to go back to programming school. Telling somebody to use the same browser and settings you used when you wrote the program is not a bug fix.

keepingmysecrets (Private ) Feb-23-08 15:45 PST 22 of 61
Great, they minimize that there is a problem with THEIR program, do not give it priority, and then we, the sellers, pay the price and lose our good ratings and then they use those poor ratings to punish us further.

And, some of you out there are telling us to stop complaining?

ann*** (47 ) Feb-23-08 16:22 PST 30 of 61
You know, I'd like to say something in defense of their programmers, but I can't think of anything.

Ebay is a top-tier company and they should have top people in there doing this work. But this mistake indicates to me that someone just isn't paying attention, or they just don't care.
Photobucket

//
//
//

AuctionBytes Blog

http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blog/blog.pl?/comments/2008/2/1203799266.html

February 23, 2008

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

By: Ina Steiner

Sat Feb 23 2008 15:41:06

Users are reporting they can only leave a maximum of 3 stars for Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) out of a possible 5 stars. Board talk started late Friday night. Link and Link.

Sellers are upset because eBay penalizes sellers with low DSRs and disadvantages their listings in search. And now, even a 4-star rating (which doesn't sound like a bad rating) leads to a Red Warning from eBay being inserted in listings that appear to some percentage of shoppers who are part of eBay's View Item testing.

Good luck getting accidental 3s removed, especially if you don't have a TSAM (Top Seller Account Manager). If there's a way for all sellers to fix any undeserved marks on their records, I hope eBay will pop in here with instructions.

Readers Comments

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: Karen

Sat Feb 23 2008 16:19:26

No surprise here. Last month, they charged me for the supposedly free gallery pictures that were part of the holiday promotion. And Paypal did not post interest to my MM account UNTIL i ASKED THEM ABOUT IT. The company is a mess. It relies on computers to rate Sellers - I don't think anyone ever bothers to review the comments for content once they are brought to a reps attention. And all you get from them is form paragraphs, slow "responses" and uninformed rudeness. I don't know why the press is fawning all over this company and protecting it, instead of investigating it. The "no negative feedback for Buyers" should have been a big hint - as to who is "actually" running the company and how desperate they are for shopping eyeballs. Meg Whitman ruined eBay. Bring back Pierre.

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: steve jay

Sat Feb 23 2008 17:53:45

the other day I was wondering if eBay
was messing with the DSR stars

my stars all dropped

on every one of our eBay accounts by .1 magically

I know why now

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: Maureen

Sat Feb 23 2008 18:50:21

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?threadID=1000653363&start=0

Above is the thread on the Auction Listings board, complete with my screenshots using Firefox and Safari. It's dismal. I'd love to leave my sellers 5 stars. I can't leave them *any* stars. Clicking does nothing.

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: mcdirector

Sat Feb 23 2008 19:01:45

How many other glitches have there been? They haven't been exactly forthcoming recently.

AND they are willing to shut sellers down over these? Or red letter a seller over them?

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: kathy

Sat Feb 23 2008 19:01:51

Here is another thread on the discussion board where a member contacted live help on the issue:

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000523749&tstart=0&mod=1203810383439

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: horsemama

Sat Feb 23 2008 19:17:26

Somehow . . . I am not at all surprised.

eBay has been "glitching" with seller store settings all during the boycott. Why shouldn't they mess around with DSR ratings? They're probably screwing up everyone's feedback too.

eBay sucks.

BOYCOTT VICTORIOUSLY!
One company's "noise" is another company's "music."

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: Je

Sat Feb 23 2008 19:49:36

Doesn't surprise me in the least. Another stupid software error, combined with stupid buyers who upon seeing they can't leave anyone above a 3, will just leave a 3, thinking "that's fine".

Meanwhile, try getting your "dinged" ratings fixed. This company is run by such assholes.

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: Kal

Sat Feb 23 2008 19:55:22

See this image folks:

http://saintelsewhere.com/imgs/ss/fbss.gif

Talk about STUPID coding. Then they blame it on Firefox and Safari, when the image plainly shows that IE suffers from this too. Who is the IDIOT that codes this stuff? Why don't they roll it back the INSTANT they know there is a PROBLEM?

Geez, this makes me MAD!

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: sickofebay

Sat Feb 23 2008 19:56:55

If Ebay popped in here with instructions, you can bet it would be some idiotic canned response and a suggestion that all sellers offer free shipping to offset the 3's the seller's received.

I second that. Ebay sucks.

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: Deb

Sat Feb 23 2008 20:24:51

That red warning you mentioned has been dubbed the "Scarlet Letter". Read about it here http://www.flickr.com/groups/greedbay/ or on Delphi.com under Boycott Ebay. There is are many sites on MySpace such as www.myspace.com/boycottebay. There are also numerous videos on YouTube.

EBay is playing very, very dirty, and the public needs to know this. I do not think there is a level to which they won't stoop - not to be trusted ever again.

Every giant redwood
was once a little nut that held its ground.

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: Lee

Sat Feb 23 2008 22:40:46

There is only one real answer to all this and that is to use ebid.net. For a small one of fee that can be as little as $1.99 you can list for free and have zero final value fee's. I think the online auction community now has an alternative and it deserves a serious look.

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: Ron

Sat Feb 23 2008 21:14:59

Could this possibly be an Anti-Trust issue? There must some government watchdog scrutinizing eBay.

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: Harley

Sat Feb 23 2008 21:24:04

I think the fine folks at eBay are doing a great job. I hope they run off every single buyer and seller from the site. More buyers for me elswhere.

JD has the best flemarket on the net!

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: czdemetz2jdj

Sat Feb 23 2008 21:45:36

I am tired of ebay complicating ebay sites for buyers summary and hearing from one of my favorite seller they feel the same. They were wondering why I left less stars and emailed and explained I left 5 stars pf 100%. My ebay summary is so screwed up I have to float between two sites, old and new beta. They can keep insist they fized my summary page.. NOT.. I is so complicated that I find myself not bidding because I am sick of the hassle finding favorites, bidding, watching, and leaving feedback. What a crock about being easier and better...NOT...It the worst I've used and if anyone starts a lawsuit against ebay I will put my name on the list and be a witness to the HORRIBLE what every they call themselves now. When I called for help, they had me in tears because of their rules, their way, and must be my computer. Well, they better make it user friendly for me and millions of others because people will quit using ebay. Fact is fact, the new version of ebay is a ZERO. If I have such a hard time getting around my ebay account I will just go away. Then the sellers will quit selling..and eventually ebay will go away. I feel ebay has gotten the idea that they are above reproach and that the public (buyer and seller) will just have to deal with it. If feedback is a tool for buyers to know how "all around good" a seller is, but on the other hand it's just information, then WHY does feedback count against or for a seller in percent. Like they say, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it a real good guess its a duck. Come on ebay decide what is best for the buyer and seller and do your job as the middleman to help BOTH to come together for the completion of the sale. DO YOUR JOB RIGHT EBAY...

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: Lee

Sat Feb 23 2008 22:41:50

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: Joe

Sat Feb 23 2008 23:16:42

Since ebay has now put so much power in the hands of the buyers to ruin a seller, it has now placed the power to ruin ebay in the hands of the sellers.

If this boycott leads nowhere, sellers CAN play very dirty by doing exactly what sellers fear. Sad, but true.

Chase away ebay's REAL customers (sellers), and ebay suffers for it. That may be the only real way to teach ebay the lesson the need to learn, hit them in their deep pockets.

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: Glitch? I doubt it.

Sun Feb 24 2008 024:09:19

Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive! --Sir Walter Scott, Marmion, Canto vi. Stanza 17.

That web WILL be eBay's undoing.

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: petelan

Sun Feb 24 2008 024:27:27

I give my eBay cistomers 5 star service 24/7.
eBay is providing 2 star support at 6 star prices.
I do NOT want to here "We apologize for any inconvience this may have caused" Failure to correct problems and repair damage done to seller's reputations due to a system bug is asking for a Class Action lawsuit.

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: Moving from ebay

Sun Feb 24 2008 024:30:07

Anyone else having a hard time with the iOffer.com site?

It's very slow and doesn't even respond in the manner requested. Shame about that. I had such great hope for it.

eBay Glitch Leads to 3-Star DSR Maximum

by: Moving from ebay

Sun Feb 24 2008 024:37:35

petelan,

I doubt there are any class actions in the works... none that I've heard of at least.

Though it would be nice to see ebay hit from all sides: Law suits, boycotts (extended), and buyers and sellers exploiting their horrible policy changes to chase off sellers, would all make ebay take note.

Ebay doesn't listen to anything that doesn't have a dollar sign in front of it.

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
eBay World_Securities

Posted on 23 February 2008 at 09:26 in eBay, eBay Customer Service, Fraud | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

07 February 2008

From eBay Sellers Forum - The Noise from the Hostile eBay Environment (an eBay OldTimer's thoughts)

The following comment was found in the eBay Sellers Forum.

//

The Noise from the Hostile eBay Environment (an eBay OldTimer's thoughts)
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000511787&tstart=0&mod=1202338599526

thebrewsnews (2 ) Feb-05-08 14:17 PST
I am one of those lily-white A2 (used to be A1) sellers on eBay who has been selling (and buying) for about 10 years.

I manage 3 eBay Powerseller accounts, with sales of $25K+.

I am college-educated (M.B.A. + a lot more) and I am an eBay education specialist.

Like most eBay sellers, I turned to eBay in hopes of living the American dream to provide my family with a good life by working hard and wanting a fair profit for my honest dealings.

Like most eBay sellers, every time eBay made changes in the past I looked around and thought about going elsewhere. I researched extensively the alternatives. Last month after the announcements, I took action and opened up an account on another site. Will I close my eBay store in February? Unfortunately I have too much invested on eBay to close the doors overnight (and I don't want to stop providing my family with 3 meals a day). But I am branching out and testing the waters elsewhere with passion and determination. I am extremely motivated to make it work elsewhere.

Having given you some background above, you fill find below my thoughts about the eBay environment in its current state.

Hostility

Why is the eBay environment full of hostility?
Below are my "Top 10" reasons.

1. In eBay's system, a seller might have to hold on to an item for weeks or months going through the process of trying to get a bidder to pay. During that time, the item is taking up space, money is tied up, and time must be spent to "manage" the order. If the bidder ultimately does not pay then the seller still has to pay eBay for the privilege of listing the item and then has to put the item back into the marketplace, at which time the value may be lower. In contrast, Amazon authorizes payments prior to the seller receiving the order.

2. In eBay's system, any competitor can create a new ID and then bid on a competitor's item for the sole purpose of removing the item from the market or to give negative feedback. Someone could purchase a competitor's item on Amazon but only if they are willing to spend money to do so (thus actually resulting in a paid sale) and only if they are willing to reveal their name and address.

3. In eBay's system, the rules are applied to sellers only ad hoc. How many sellers have had items removed (for any number of things such as keyword spamming or VERO violation) only to see their competitors continue to break the exact same rule for months or years with no apparent sanctions? The enormous number of hours sellers spend "self-reporting" could be better spent focused on selling and customer service.

4. The eBay fee structure is complicated and confusing to many sellers. In order to calculate the fees (in advance) for an item, a seller must add up the insertion fees, the final value fees (what a fun calculation that is) and then paypal fees. In addition, the insertion fees for items that do not sell have to be absorbed by the profit margin of those items that do sell, making it difficult to know in advance what kind of profit one could experience if an item sells. Now throw in to the mix the "possibility" of getting discounts for powersellers but only if certain conditions. Given so many different variables, an eBay seller can never predict with any reliability whether eBay sales will actually lead to gross profit. In contrast, Amazon's fee structure is simple and encompasses the fee for selling and payment processing.

5. eBay Help and Customer service is, for the most part, nonexistent. Live Help should more appropriately be called "No Help" or "Incorrect Help." In contrast, Amazon will actually call you (either as a buyer or a seller) .... immediately!

6. The "value" of items on eBay has dropped significantly since eBay first began. The laws of supply and demand make eBay more of a "reverse" auction where everyone just keeps lowering their price in order to "make the sale". Amazon is no different, however, in the mechanisms driving prices ever lower. Lower selling prices combined with higher selling fees means that sellers are being squeezed. When sellers are struggling day to day just to keep the lights on they have little time for providing good customer service. Most sellers know the value of good customer service but it's hard to focus on that when you are worried if you can pay the mortgage this month.

7. Because manufacturers see the devaluation of their product on eBay, they often make it difficult or impossible for sellers to procure and/or sell items on eBay (can you say abuse of the VERO program?) leaving sellers frustrated.

8. There are "bad" sellers and "bad" buyers. The sellers who sell stolen merchandise, offer "presales" 90 days out and never deliver, or who ship a disposable camera (just to show delivery confirmation) instead of $4900 item are certainly doing well on eBay and don't mind the fee increases. The buyers who know and understand the paypal system for getting partial or full refunds while getting to keep the product are certainly doing well and don't mind the occasional negative feedback since they can easily create a new buying ID and start over. The rest of us.... good buyers and good sellers.... we're angry and frustrated over eBay's unwillingness to take control of their own site.

9. eBay keeps information about sellers hidden so that a seller never fully knows what is going on with their account. Big Brother eBay then seems to issue seller sanctions on a whim ... SoupNazi says "No soup for you today!" eBay sellers live in constant fear of having their livelihood removed on a whim when eBay decides to say "No selling for you today!".

10. eBay sellers feel that management is completely out of touch. Sellers are treated with disrespect and distrust except when they are being completely ignored. The surveys conducted for eBay (I have participated in both types of eBay surveys - for buyers and sellers) are so completely biased that it borders on ridiculous. At the doctoral (Phd) level I studied survey methods and have actually helped participated in and help with behavioral studies, too. eBay's "studies" are laughable and give no reliable information. The inaccurate and faulty data are then used by management to make decisions that make them appear totally out of touch with reality. Trying to implement some of Amazon's established policies in an eBay environment is not going to offer the "easy fix" management is seeking. eBay needs to think outside the box and needs to truly survey their users (buyers and sellers) to find solutions to the difficult problems.

eBay's Solutions
Removing eBay sellers' ability to leave neutral / negative feedback is management's "solution" to providing a better buying experience. We'll just have to wait and see what comes out in the wash in the long-run. In the short-run, there is no doubt that the hostility on eBay will increase ten fold. Since the feedback change announcement, eBay sellers are scrambling to figure out how to block bidders and where to post their blocked bidder list to share with others. I'm sure we'll see TOS changed so that buyers with low feedback or who have been given any negatives will be banned from bidding on items. Even if sellers' fears are not based on reality, their fears will cause eBay sellers to take very real actions which will only serve to increase the hostilities on eBay.

In their speeches, eBay management says that they must change in order to compete in today's environment. Ten years ago buyers didn't have many other choices online like they do today (according to eBay management). To that comment by eBay's management, I would say....... ten years ago sellers didn't have many other choices online like they do today. The "good" eBay sellers are now frightened enough and angry enough to actually take action and give eBay's competitors a chance.

As an eBay education specialist, I listen to the questions asked by new potential sellers and I understand their concerns and I see their hopes and dreams. As a Powerseller I know the frustrations of selling on eBay trying to make an honest living. And as an eBay buyer I experience first-hand the transactions from another perspective and can compare my eBay buying experience to my experiences on other retail and auction websites.

From my MBA studies I learned that change is most accepted when those that are being asked (or told) to change feel that they at least had input into the decision-making process.
(I guess eBay's current management skipped class that day to go to the beach and missed out on the lesson. From college I learned a lot ... but then again I was in class every day and I paid attention.)

From my mother I learned that anything can be accomplished if you believe that it can. When I was 7 and said "I can't do these Math problems" my mother looked me straight in the eye and told me that word didn't exist in the dictionary and so I was never to use it again. So I picked up my pencil and finished my Math homework. To this day I've never looked for the word "can't" in the dictionary but since my mother never steered me wrong before, I'll just take her word for it.

From life I have learned that people are basically good. Individuals want to be treated with respect and they will respond accordingly. I have learned that good listeners are more likely to be considered good friends ..... each of us likes to hear ourselves talk and so (naturally) we like people who want to hear us talk!

In summary, the eBay environment is a hostile one for many reasons and eBay managements' changes will not create a better environment. There is so much that eBay could and should do to improve their " venue ". They could start by actually listening to the noise that is coming out from eBay's hostile environment..... or else management could find themselves with nothing but empty silence.

//
//
//

Comments

victorian_rose_inc ( 729

)

View seller's items | View Blog

Great post. I am in total agreement.

Feb-06-08 15:17:30 PST

dawntiff090785 ( 555

)

View seller's items | View Blog

WOW
interesting and
I can relate!

Feb-06-08 15:20:48 PST

crazy_mooz ( 530

)

View seller's items | View Blog

hi
you always have great words.
Thank you

Feb-06-08 15:22:04 PST

frisky_dog_too ( 18

)

View seller's items | View Blog

This bird should put his MBA to use and calculate the cost of a brick and mortar store and be grateful for the Ebay platform.For the most part it is the large sellers who create the most negative feedback given in retaliation and a great deal of it is computer generated.Like kind for like kind.Life is tough all the way around.

Feb-06-08 15:31:58 PST

sharpgram14 ( 365

)

View seller's items | View Blog

WOW OMG and TY for posting can I say WTF?

Feb-06-08 15:34:48 PST

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
eBay World_Securities

Posted on 07 February 2008 at 23:47 in eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

04 February 2008

From eBay Search Forum - More about Best Match:

From eBay Search Forum
More about Best Match:
http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?threadID=2000511099&tstart=0&mod=1202165121692

julie_lavee@ebay.com View Feb-04-08 14:45 PST
Hello everyoneâ¦This is Julie on the Finding team. As Bill mentioned, Best Match will become the new default sort in search and browse in March. Iâd like to give you more details about Best Match and the changes we are making to it.

As most buyers and sellers know, eBayâs Best Match sort option is an important Finding innovation that is intended to help buyers find relevant items quickly and easily. Best Match has been a sort option on our site for over a year, and it has been the default sort in other international markets. Since its launch, our data shows that Best Match helps buyer conversion more than any of our other sort methods. Thatâs why, starting in March, itâs going to become the default sort method site-wide.

julie_lavee@ebay.com View    Feb-04-08 14:46 PST    1 of
How Best Match works
In addition to using factors like the listing end time, Best Match sorts the listings you see based on a concept called ârelevance.â A particular listing's relevance is based on past successful buyer behavior for similar items. Essentially, buyers âvoteâ on relevance every time they search for and buy an item, because these activities provide valuable input into the relevance system.

In other words, if buyers running a particular search often end up viewing, bidding on, or buying a certain type of item more often, this will be factored into our relevance calculations. These types of items might then display higher on the page in subsequent searches.

There are particular areas of the site where relevance plays a more important role in improving the buyer experience (e.g. Nintendo Wii queries) and others where it plays a smaller role (e.g. Collectible lunch boxes queries) Weâre committed to using relevance where it drives more buyer success.

It is important to remember that Best Match will not change which listings are returned for a given search. Also, Buyers may still select alternate sort orders, including Time Ending Soonest and Newly Listed from the sort drop down menu at any time. Buyers may also customize their search options to always display their preferred sort as the default.

Adding Seller Performance to Best Match
One thing Best Match has not done is differentiate between sellers who provide consistently positive buying experiences and the small percentage who donât. In March, we will be enhancing Best Match so that it makes greater use of Detailed Seller Ratings and a sellerâs buyer dissatisfaction rate. As Bill Cobb said, this enables us to reward the great sellers on the site with increased listings exposure, and reduce negative buying experiences from sellers with high rates of buyer dissatisfaction.

For great sellers: Sellers with all DSRs of at least 4.6 within the last 30 days will get higher visibility in search results than sellers who have lower rates of customer satisfaction.

Sellers with high buyer dissatisfaction rates: Sellers with buyer dissatisfaction rates greater than 5% in the last 30 days or lower than 4.2 on the Shipping and Handling Charge DSR will experience decreased exposure for their listings in search results. This affects only a small percentage of all sellers and listings, but will make a big difference for our buyers.

In summary
We hope youâll agree that this will be a positive change for the eBay marketplace and we welcome your questions and comments. Weâre committed to helping buyers have the best experience on eBay as possible.

lin*** (4611 ) View    Feb-04-08 14:58 PST    2 of
No, we do not agree!!!!

Only an idiot will continue to list auctions here if they have no guarantee of ever being seen at the prime top spot on the search results pages.

If I am correct I can sit back and watch this site self destruct quicker than ever before!

dor*** (955 ) View    Feb-04-08 15:03 PST    3 of
Can you tell me how this is going to work with auctions? Don't you (we) want items that are ending soon to be more visible than those that are ending later? I'm obviously a non search expert, lol, but if I search auctions for pink elephants-I want to see the ones that are ending soon so I don't miss them incase one of those in the one I want. Is there some kind of default that at least gives you the ones that end in 2-3 hrs upfront?

D

fin*** (2951 ) View    Feb-04-08 15:13 PST    4 of
Hi Julie..

I am a Platinum Powerseller with over 3000 100% Positive Feed Backs. I am in the Toys and Hobbies category that has already been affected by BEST MATCH and I can tell you IT DOES NOT WORK. I have been on the phone with Ebay the past two weeks. They can not give me an answer as to why with a 5.0 DSR rating and very good listings my items appear on page 4, 7, 8. My sales have been destroyed and I am just about to close down my store is this issue is not rectified. So you can all make all the announcements you would like and tell us how BEST MATCH is SUPPOSE to work...BUT it reality unless you are a LARGE VOLUME SELLER WITH .99 cents auctions not minding selling you items for pennies.. BEST MATCH IS NOT FOR YOU. Sorry but it has been two weeks of disappointment. All the hard work I have put into my store to make it was it was and you all took that away by the flick of a switch.

the*** (2 ) View    Feb-04-08 15:22 PST    5 of
"our data shows that Best Match helps buyer conversion more than any of our other sort methods"
HOW was this data gathered? And more importantly how are you comparing data ... mine against whose?

"It is important to remember that Best Match will not change which listings are returned for a given search. Also, Buyers may still select alternate sort orders, including Time Ending Soonest and Newly Listed from the sort drop down menu at any time. Buyers may also customize their search options to always display their preferred sort as the default."
Then answer WHY I keep (and have been) being dumped into Best Match, when I have clearly changed back to the sort I want?
In addition, my preferences are NOT being honored ... and this is nothing new.

eBay has provided mixed messages for years on various issues and this whole experience has been no exception.

It's nice to welcome our questions and comments, but of late I've not seen a PINK answering any questions, especially when the issues seem to be contrary to what has been stated by eBay.

Thanks for listening ...
the_ospreys_nest

lin*** (4611 ) View    Feb-04-08 15:26 PST    6 of
osprey...sure it does. People load up on those 99 cent items. lol

But, let's see how long they shop here when that is all the site has left for sale.

egn*** (1222 ) View    Feb-04-08 15:32 PST    7 of
As a collectible seller best match is by far the worst thing Ebay has ever done . If you want everyone to sell new chinese junk then just say it and we will go elsewhere.

As a default for auctions it makes no sense. The most important thing about an auction is its ending time.

You might as well just do away with the collectible categories now. Oh how I wish Google would buy Ebay and show everyone at Ebay what a pink really is as in pink slip.

All the collectible sellers have been telling you for a year that this won't work and we don't want it . But you know what, you know more than my years of collecting and the hundreds of combined years of sellers experience in the collectible categories.

When the collectible categories fall flat and all your good sellers leave you will ask yourself why didn't we listen.

das*** (719 ) View    Feb-04-08 16:25 PST    8 of
Julie,

I have to ask, How long do you search EVERY DAY. I do the same searches every day. How will this help. I will now have to go through every page of every search every day.

I used BM last week on one of my searches (VW Key). On the first page half way down was a good seller with a store and his item ended in 2 hours. Above that (top 10) was a stock photo of a "switch blade" blank at more than the going price for a seller I have not seen before. Oh yea that item ended in a few days too.

Now yes you say we can "switch" to the search preference we want but, 1) who will tell this to the new user that will come here and then leave 2) how long will this last till it is the only search (we were told that BM would never be a default search).

eBay really needs to use the site they are running. The more these changes happen the more we see that you don't use this site. Oh and before you look at this ID and say that I have not been around here long, This is my business ID (this is my full time job). My personal ID is WM971252, Yea I have been around for a bit.

lil** (4335 ) View    Feb-04-08 17:12 PST    9 of
Best Match is a Major Disaster. Leave that trash on ebay express.

julie_lavee@ebay.com Feb-05-08 14:48 PST 23 of
Good Afternoon Everyone

dorothysew, egnatz1, fflustred: As I mentioned in the posts above, we do understand that relevance plays a more important in certain categories than others (like collectibles). End time will continue to be an important factor in the overall relevance score in these areas.

dasbullihaus: There are no plans to remove the other sort options (Time Ending Soonest, Newly Listed, etc) from the site, and users can continue to set their preferred sort option as their customized default.

all*about*horses: Only sellers with an unacceptable DSR score will be demoted â we will not be demoting sellers with no DSR score.

Ussearch: Best Match is currently the site default for our UK and France sites.

julie_lavee@ebay.com Feb-05-08 16:24 PST 33 of
Hi spombo: Best Match is just a sort. Playground is an environment where we can show the community new features and solicit feedback. You're getting different results there because the search actually is different. The best place for comments on the Playground results are on the Feedback on Finding 2.0 (New Search & Browse) thread tacked to the top of the Search Board.

julie_lavee@ebay.com Feb-06-08 16:31 PST 48 of
egnatz, beachgal707 –We’re committed to driving buyer success for auctions and collectibles, and end time is a critical component for success in both of those areas. We know this from our own research, and you’ve told us loud and clear on the boards. Best Match is not a site-wide one-size-fits-all solution, but will be tailored to suit the unique needs on each area of the site.

julie_lavee@ebay.com Feb-07-08 08:57 PST 65 of
themagicoftime- (post 55) Yes, 30 day DSR rankings were chosen because it does give sellers the ability to rapidly improve their scores. Your example is correct – the seller would only be demoted for that month, and would receive higher ranking in the sort as soon as their 30 day scores improved. (post 57) You are correct - sellers with no 30 day DSR score will not be advantaged or disadvantaged by the seller performance factors in the sort.

julie_lavee@ebay.com View Feb-07-08 10:48 PST 67 of
all*about*horses - Sellers with a Shipping & Handling Charge DSR of 4.2 and lower will decrease in exposure. We are not evaluating the actual shipping charge on the listing.

julie_lavee@ebay.com Feb-07-08 11:15 PST 69 of
the_ospreys_nest - Multiple factors including relevance, end time and seller performance factors will play a role in the placement of listings. The length of an auction only plays a role in placement to the extent it affects end time. There is no time of day Best Match starts – it is always on.

Occasional sellers with good 30 day DSRs will be advantaged by the seller performance factors. Occasional sellers without 30 day DSRs will not be advantaged or disdvantaged by these factors.

Regarding sort preferences, I’ll have the developers look into that. I know of an issue on the BIN tab, but I’m not aware of anything else that would prevent your preferences from sticking.

Regarding buyers who do not leave DSRs – I don’t know the answer with any certainty. I’ll look into it and get back to you.

julie_lavee@ebay.com Feb-07-08 17:11 PST 83 of
lindaspostcardsandmore - The order of the keywords in your title does not have to match the order of the keywords in the user query.

I'm sorry I don't have any more time to post this afternoon. I'll try to pick up again tomorrow and catch the questions I missed.

julie_lavee@ebay.com Feb-13-08 13:32 PST 107 of

Hi Everyone - sorry to be away for so long.

the_ospreys_nest: Best Match should not be overriding your customized sort option, and I have raised this issue to our developers. Thanks for reporting the issue.

themagicoftime: Best Match is not currently customized per user. You may be seeing different performance due to customized sort options for different user ids since you won’t see your customized options if you aren’t signed in. I would expect any user without customized sort options to see the same version of Best Match for the same query on the same site. Each site will be tuning Best Match to suit the needs of their own market, so you will see different performance for the same query across different sites.

//
//
//

Comments

pretty_blue_eyes0 ( 2345

)

View seller's items | View Blog

ohhh no more changes??

Feb-04-08 18:40:05 PST

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
eBay World_Securities

Posted on 04 February 2008 at 17:32 in eBay, eBay Customer Service, eBay Search | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

02 February 2008

From eBay - Rewards & Standards FAQ

01 February 2008

http://pages.ebay.com/sell/update08/rewardsfaq/#12

Frequently Asked Questions: Rewards & Standards

Search exposure through Best Match

1.	What is "Best Match"?
2.	How does "Best Match" work?
3.	You mention Best Match scores are based on a number of factors. What other factors are used besides the Community's buying activity?
4.	Can users change the sort back to "Time: Ending Soonest"?
5.	What is changing with "Best Match"?
6.	How will eBay determine which sellers will rank higher in Best Match?
7.	How will eBay determine which sellers to rank lower in Best Match?
8.	What does it mean to have a decreased visibility in Best Match?
9.	What happens to visibility in Best Match for sellers that have less than 4.6 DSR scores or do not have any DSR scores?
10.	Will Sellers who are being demoted in Best Match pay the same amount in insertion fees as sellers who are not being demoted?
11.	Will Sellers know if they are being promoted or demoted?
12.	What factors will be used to determine a seller's percentage of dissatisfied buyers?
PowerSeller Program
13.	Where can I get details about the new PowerSeller DSR requirement, PowerSeller fee discounts and other new PowerSeller benefits?
Feedback changes
14.	Where can I get details about what evolved in Feedback and how it affects me?
New seller standards
15.	What are Detailed Seller Ratings (DSR's)?
16.	Where can I learn how to improve my DSRs?
Safer payment options
17.	How will "safer payments" affect sellers? Which sellers? When will changes take effect?
18.	What are the payment policy changes? Which sellers do they affect?
19.	How are dissatisfied buyers measured?
20.	How will I know if my percentage of dissatisfied buyers is greater than 5%?
21.	If I sell in both higher risk and non-higher risk categories, will I be required to offer a safer payment option in all my listings?
22.	If I don't sell in higher risk categories will eBay require me to offer a safer payment option?
23.	If I have to offer a safer payment option, do I have to offer PayPal?
24.	What is the benefit to sellers of offering PayPal?
25.	How do I create a PayPal account?
26.	Do I have to relist items in my Store that are Good Till Cancelled?
Occasional holds on payment
27.	Which sellers will have their payments held?
28.	How will I know that my payment is being held?
29.	When will PayPal release the eBay item hold?
30.	What can I do to avoid having eBay item holds?
31.	How can I minimize the chances of having my payments held?
32.	Why is the payment being held for up to 21 days?
33.	Will my payments be held if I have excellent buyer satisfaction, but sell in risky categories?
34.	What should I do if a payment is subject to an eBay item hold?
35.	How will cross border items be impacted?
36.	What if I sell on other eBay sites (internationally)?

Search exposure through Best Match
1.	What is "Best Match"?
1.	"Best Match" is a sort feature that gives buyers another way to organize their search results, helping them find what they are looking for more quickly.
2.	How does "Best Match" work?
2.	When "Best Match" is selected, each listing's Best Match score is calculated using a number of factors and is tailored to each buying situation. Along with the listing keywords and other information, one of most important calculation elements is the historical buyer behavior on eBay for similar searches. Recent improvements to Best Match include seller performance factors that will give an advantage to sellers with DSRs 4.6 and above. Today more than half of all sellers have this high level of customer satisfaction.
3.	You mention Best Match scores are based on a number of factors. What other factors are used besides the Community's buying activity?
3.	For listings that have similar relevance-ranking, Best Match scores may also incorporate other data to break ties, such as: time left, price and seller's level of customer satisfaction
4.	Can users change the sort back to "Time: Ending Soonest"?
4.	Yes, users can simply change the sort by selecting a preferred-sort option from the "Sort by" dropdown menu, in the upper right corner of search results. Users can also customize the sort options from "Customize Display" to save their preferred-sort option.
5.	What is changing with "Best Match"?
5.	There are two changes with Best Match. First, although it is already available as a sort option, Best Match will become the default-sort in search and browse throughout eBay, beginning March 2008. This switch to Best Match as the default for search and browse, has already occurred in five categories, which launched on Jan. 17th. These initial five categories include Computers & Networking, Consumer Electronics, Cell Phones & PDA's, Cameras & Photo, and Toys & Hobbies. Second, Best Match will include seller performance factors that increase the odds of a good buying experience. eBay will give an advantage to sellers with high levels of customer satisfaction (4.6 DSRs and above) based on buyer input. Today more than half of all sellers have this high level of customer satisfaction. On the other hand, sellers will get decreased exposure if they have more than 5% dissatisfied buyers or very low Shipping & Handling Charge Detailed Seller Ratings over the last 30 days.
6.	How will eBay determine which sellers will rank higher in Best Match?
6.	eBay will give an advantage to sellers with high levels of customer satisfaction. Sellers with Detailed Seller Ratings 4.6 and above in the last 30 days will receive more exposure. Today more than half of all sellers have this high level of customer satisfaction.
7.	How will eBay determine which sellers to rank lower in Best Match?
7.	eBay will use these two factors: Sellers with more than 5% dissatisfied buyers in the last 30 days, will decrease in exposure. Sellers with a Shipping & Handling Charge Detailed Seller Ratings of 4.2 and lower will also decrease in exposure.
8.	What does it mean to have a decreased visibility in Best Match?
8.	If all other factors of two listings are identical, including relevance, price, and time ending soonest, the seller with poor a Shipping & Handling Charge DSR or high rates of dissatisfied buyers will be sorted below that of the other seller.
9.	What happens to visibility in Best Match for sellers that have less than 4.6 DSR scores or do not have any DSR scores?
9.	eBay will not give an advantage or a disadvantage to sellers with low or no DSR scores, as long as they have less than 5% dissatisfied buyers. Keep in mind, buyer satisfaction is not the only Best Match ranking factor. Listing keywords and historical buyer behavior on eBay for similar searches also influence rank.
10.	Will Sellers who are being demoted in Best Match pay the same amount in insertion fees as sellers who are not being demoted?
10.	A number of factors may influence where your listing appears in search, including: listing format, end time, keywords, price and shipping cost, feedback, and detailed seller ratings. A seller’s listings will always be searchable on eBay regardless of the sort-order, so all sellers will pay the same insertion fees--even when demoted in Best Match.
11.	Will Sellers know if they are being promoted or demoted?
11.	Sellers who will be demoted in Best Match for having more than 5% dissatisfied buyers will be notified. A Seller Dashboard will also be launched in May to provide sellers with detailed information about how their recent performance affects their search standing.
12.	What factors will be used to determine a seller's percentage of dissatisfied buyers?
12.	When stricter enforcement of Seller Non-Performance (SNP) rolled out in 2007, seller performance was determined by using negative and neutral feedback, overall feedback, and Item Not Received (INR) complaints over a 90-day period. Beginning in March 2008, performance evaluation will be based on a 30-day period. It will also include Item "Significantly Not As Described" (SNAD), and Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) of 1 or 2. eBay added these factors because buyers leave 1 or 2 DSR ratings nine times more often than negative feedback, which suggests feedback and INRs alone did not reflect customer dissatisfaction.

PowerSeller Program
13.	Where can I get details about the new PowerSeller DSR requirement, PowerSeller fee discounts and other new PowerSeller benefits?
13.	Several new benefits will recognize and reward PowerSeller contributions to the success of the eBay marketplace including PowerSeller fee discounts, unpaid item protection and expanded seller protection from PayPal. You can get complete details on these benefits and the new DSR requirement on the PowerSeller Portal.

Feedback changes
14.	Where can I get details about what evolved in Feedback and how it affects me?
14.	Get your questions answered in the Feedback FAQ.

New seller standards
15.	What are Detailed Seller Ratings (DSR's)?
15.	Buyers can leave a Feedback rating for sellers (positive, neutral or negative). Likewise, sellers can leave Feedback for a buyer (positive only). Recently we added detailed seller ratings (DSRs) represented by stars in four aspects of a transaction: item as described, communication, shipping time, and shipping and handling charges. These ratings are anonymous-sellers don't see which buyers rated them. DSRs allow buyers to provide additional information about their purchase experience and sellers can get a more complete picture of their performance. The detailed seller rating system is based on a one to five star scale. Five stars is the highest rating, and one star is the lowest rating. Detailed seller ratings do not impact the overall Feedback Score.
16.	Where can I learn how to improve my DSRs?
16.	Get tips for making customers happy and keeping your detailed seller ratings (DSRs) high to qualify for eBay's good seller rewards.

Safer payment options
17.	How will "safer payments" affect sellers? When will changes take effect?
17.	eBay and PayPal are working together to make buying safer on eBay. Giving buyers safer payment options on eBay will help increase buyer satisfaction and improve the marketplace overall. That's why we're making the two following changes to the Accepted Payments Policy beginning March 2008.
18.	What are the payment policy changes? Which sellers do they affect?
18.	eBay will require some sellers offer a safer payment option, either PayPal or a merchant credit card. These payment options offer additional protections to buyers. Sellers will be required to offer safer payment if they meet any of these conditions: have more than 5% dissatisfied buyers in the last 30 days have a feedback score of less than 100 are listing items in the following higher risk categories (and sub categories): gift certificates, video games, cell phones, computers and consumer electronics If you are required to offer a safer payment option, you might also be subject to holds on payment. PayPal may hold payments for the sale of an eBay item until the earliest of the following occurs: the buyer leaves positive feedback, 3 days after confirmed item delivery* or 21 days without a dispute, claim, chargeback, or reversal filed on that transaction. *This applies to US domestic transactions that are shipped by USPS or FedEx and either (i) use PayPal shipping labels to ship items or (ii) upload tracking information to PayPal via the transaction details page. eBay Motors vehicle categories (Cars & Trucks, Motorcycles, Powersports, Boats, and Other Vehicles categories and subcategories) will not be included in these payment policy changes.
19.	How are dissatisfied buyers measured?
19.	At eBay we consider a buyer dissatisfied if any of these occurs: The buyer leaves a seller a Detailed Seller Rating (DSR) of 1 or 2 on any of the attributes The buyer files a dispute, claim, or chargeback related to "Item Not Received" (INR) or "Significantly Not as Described" (SNAD) Buyer leaves negative or neutral feedback
20.	How will I know if my percentage of dissatisfied buyers is greater than 5%?
20.	Sellers who will be restricted based percentage of dissatisfied buyers will be notified. Also, a Seller Dashboard will be launched in May to provide all sellers with detailed information about their performance.
21.	If I sell in both higher risk and non-higher risk categories, will I be required to offer a safer payment option in all my listings?
21.	Not necessarily. Higher risk categories are: gift certificates, video games, cell phones, computers and consumer electronics. You'll be required to offer a safer payment option for higher risk categories. You will also be required to offer a safer payment option in other categories if you have than 5% dissatisfied buyers in the last 30 days and/or a feedback score under 100.
22.	If I don't sell in higher risk categories will eBay require me to offer a safer payment option?
22.	eBay is not requiring sellers in non-higher risk categories to offer Paypal or a merchant credit card. However, you will be required to offer safer payment options if you have than 5% dissatisfied buyers in the last 30 days and/or a feedback score under 100. We will also continue to require new sellers who registered after January 17, 2007 to offer PayPal or a merchant credit card.
23.	If I have to offer a safer payment option, do I have to offer PayPal?
23.	No. If you are required to offer a safer payment option you may offer either PayPal or a merchant credit card as a payment method for your eBay listings.
24.	What is the benefit to sellers of offering PayPal?
24.	eBay sellers listing with PayPal have an Unpaid Item rate more than half of sellers who don't. It's free for buyers and seller fees are low. With PayPal, your customers can shop and pay quickly using their credit cards, bank accounts, and PayPal balance. They can speed through checkout without stopping to enter their card number or address. PayPal has advanced anti-fraud technology, which literally gets smarter with every transaction that goes through our system and is often able to stop fraudulent transactions before they ever reach our customers. PayPal offers the Seller Protection Policy which covers most sellers in the US, UK and CA for up to $5,000.00 USD on any eligible transaction.
25.	How do I create a PayPal account?
25.	Go to PayPal.com and select the "Sign Up" link.
26.	Do I have to relist items in my Store that are Good Till Cancelled?
26.	Items that are listed in your Store prior to February 26th will remain as is. However, if you fall under the new payment restrictions for safer payments, you must offer either PayPal or credit card as an accepted form of payment when you re-list the item.

Occasional holds on payment
27.	Which sellers will have their payments held?
27.	In a small percentage of cases where it has been determined the risk of dissatisfied buyers is higher, PayPal may delay release of the payment funds to the seller until the buyer has left a positive feedback or 21 days have passed without a dispute, claim, chargeback or reversal filed on that transaction. To determine if a transaction may have a higher risk of dissatisfied buyers, eBay reports to PayPal a number of factors, including but not limited to: Seller's % Positive Feedback in the last 30 days Seller's Detailed Seller Ratings in the last 30 days Final price for the item Shipping & handling fee Seller's eBay tenure as an eBay member Seller's total number of Feedback
28.	How will I know that my payment is being held?
28.	Payments that are held will be shown as "pending" in your PayPal balance. PayPal will send an email notifying you when the hold is released. PayPal Money Market Fund customers will continue to receive income for amounts that are being held in your account.
29.	When will PayPal release the eBay item hold?
29.	PayPal will release the hold when the earliest of the following occurs: the buyer leaves positive feedback, 3 days after confirmed item delivery* or 21 days without a dispute, claim, chargeback, or reversal filed on that transaction. * This applies to US domestic transactions that are shipped by USPS or FedEx and either (i) use PayPal shipping labels to ship items or (ii) upload tracking information to PayPal via the transaction details page.
30.	What can I do to avoid having eBay item holds?
30.	Your payments WILL BE NOT HELD if you meet all the following requirements: eBay Tenure: Greater than 6-months Total Feedback score: More than 100 Dissatisfied Buyers %: Less than 5% Or if you meet all the following requirements: Detailed Seller Rating: Greater than 4.5 Total Detailed Seller Ratings Recieved: More than 20 in the last 12-months
31.	How can I minimize the chances of having my payments held?
31.	Improve your DSR feedback ratings, and Implement best practices to reduce buyer disputes, claims and chargebacks and if they do occur-resolve them quickly and to your buyer's satisfaction.
32.	Why is the payment being held for up to 21 days?
32.	eBay and PayPal are working together to help increase buyer satisfaction which, in turn, can mean more sales for you. We have found that after 21 days the chance of a buyer dispute or claim significantly decreases.
33.	Will my payments be held if I have excellent buyer satisfaction, but sell in risky categories?
33.	If you sell in the categories of gift certificates, video games, cell phones, computers or consumer electronics, your listings for those items must offer either PayPal or merchant credit card as an accepted form of payment. However, your payments WILL BE NOT HELD if you meet all the following measures: eBay Tenure: Greater than 6-months Total Feedback score: More than 100 Dissatisfied Buyers %: Less than 5% Detailed Seller Rating: Greater than 4.5 Total Detailed Seller Ratings Recieved: More than 20 in the last 12-months
34.	What should I do if a payment is subject to an eBay item hold?
34.	PayPal will release the hold when the earliest of the following occurs: the buyer leaves positive feedback 3 days after confirmed item delivery* 21 days without a dispute, claim, chargeback or reversal filed on that transaction. Once the buyer has paid for the item, ship it. Funds are released as soon as a buyer leaves positive feedback. The faster you get their purchase to the buyer, the faster they can leave you feedback. *Funds are also released within 3 days of confirmed item delivery. This applies to US domestic transactions that are shipped by USPS or FedEx and either (i) use PayPal shipping labels to ship items or (ii) upload tracking information to PayPal via the transaction details page. So fast shipping helps you here too.
35.	How will cross border items be impacted?
35.	The changes to the Accepted Payments policy for safer payments and occasional holds on payment apply to both domestic and cross border transactions.
36.	What if I sell on other eBay sites (internationally)?
36.	eBay sites outside of the US may have a similar program with their own polices which you must follow. Please check individual country web sites for that country

//
//
//

Comments

315carolg ( 174

)

View seller's items | View Blog

yes,I read that,good morning

Feb-08-08 02:20:27 PST

kbfox ( 46

)

View seller's items | View Blog

Do they really think we're that stupid and we can't do the math?!''

YES.

You sellers are stupid. And lazy too. That's why we can stick it to you a little at a time, and you'll stick around for more.

You chumps will be paying 50% FVFs before I get to the governor's office, baby!

Also, in May we are introducing eBay's brand new product exclusively for sellers, eLube.
It will be mandatory for sellers to keep their eLube at their work stations. However, sellers without their eLube will get screwed anyway.

Feb-08-08 04:14:50 PST

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
eBay World_Securities

Posted on 02 February 2008 at 14:13 in eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

From eBay - A letter from Matt Halrpin on Feedback - policy_matt@ebay.com

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?threadID=1000638812

A letter from Matt Halrpin on Feedback
daphne@ebay.com View Listings \| Report		Feb-01-08 12:31 PST
Hi folks - Matt Halprin, who normally posts as policy_matt@ebay.com, had some technical issues posting, so I agreed to share his letter with you all. He's been reading your comments here and around the forums, and wanted to share these thoughts. Also, the webinar Matt references has just ended, but we will share the archive link shortly. --- Daphne "This is Matt Halprin, Vice President of Global Trust & Safety. I’d like to provide more of the rationale behind our decision to change the Feedback system the way we have. It’s a huge decision and a big change – one that we deliberated and debated extensively within the company at all levels. I understand and empathize with all the emotion everyone’s feeling about it – our internal debates were filled with emotion too. We landed where we did by relying on some key principles outlined below. Here we go: Purpose of the Feedback System – and how it was supposed to work The original intent of eBay’s public feedback system was to provide an honest, accurate record of member experiences. This accurate record of member experience depended on two key principles: 1. Accountability. Members hold each other accountable by leaving feedback appropriate to the experience they had with another member. 2. Transparency. Feedback is transparent – visible – for all to see. Over the years, we’ve adjusted the system to improve its accuracy, including making Feedback tie to transactions back in 1999 and last year’s addition of anonymous Detailed Seller Ratings. And we’ve also made changes that sacrifice transparency to maintain accuracy and accountability – like when we asked sellers for Non-Paying Bidder reports back in 1999. We use non-transparent feedback extensively to this day – and suspend thousands of buyers a month for Unpaid Item violations – all based on private seller reports to hold buyers accountable. Unfortunately, the current Feedback system isn’t working for the marketplace the way it should be. The system’s transparency is preventing buyers from holding sellers accountable. Simply put - buyers are more afraid than ever to leave honest, accurate feedback because of the threat of retaliatory Feedback by sellers marking their public reputation. Sellers used to retaliate with negative feedback after receiving negative feedback twice as often as buyers. Now sellers do this 8 times as often as buyers. As a result, most sellers look alike to buyers. 80% of sellers have 99.3% positive or higher. 50% have 100% positive. So buyers don’t trust the Feedback system so they don’t have confidence when they hit that bid or BIN button. And this actually hurts sellers who provide great buying experiences because they can’t differentiate themselves from sellers who don’t provide as good buying experiences. Doesn’t this take away a seller’s power? I just got back from our annual eCommerce Forum with 200 of eBay’s largest sellers. Several of them said “I wait to leave feedback because the threat of leaving a (public) neg is what keeps the buyer from doing bad things – you can’t take that away.” I get it. There are bad buyers out there. And the implicit threat of receiving a neg helps keep these buyers in line. Ironically, that’s the problem. This power – and the way many sellers have begun using it – is exactly why buyers don’t hold sellers accountable and why we’ve lost trust in the system – and why we need to change it. So how are you going to prevent bad buyers from taking advantage of this? Our job is to hold all members accountable. Buyers are going to hold sellers accountable now that they’ll be more comfortable leaving honest feedback. Trust & Safety has an obligation – which we take very seriously – to hold buyers accountable based on sellers’ non-public reports of buyer policy violations. And we need sellers to report these violations to us. For example - if a buyer doesn’t pay – the Unpaid Item system is in place. While only 2% of transactions result in an Unpaid Item – UPIs do happen. Still, 85% of the time a buyer gets an Unpaid Item strike – they don’t respond to the Unpaid Item system. If they don’t respond to the system, we’ll remove any negative or neutral feedback they leave (we only de-score it today). If the buyer does this to 2-3 sellers (depending on how new the buyer is) – we’ll suspend the buyer and remove any negative or neutral feedback they’ve left – something we don’t do today. If a buyer attempts to extort a discount by threatening to leave negative feedback unless the seller changes the terms of their listing, we need the seller to report the buyer to us. And we’ll have policy and process in place to hold small minority of bad buyers accountable and, if we have to suspend the buyer, we’ll remove any negative or neutral feedback they leave. What other protections are you putting in place? We’re putting in additional safeguards in place to help sellers avoid negative feedback: - To promote communication, buyers will be prevented from leaving a public negative or neutral Feedback within 3 days of a listing’s end for sellers with an established track record (new sellers can still pose a fraud risk); - We are reducing the number of days a member can leave Feedback from 90 to 60 days; - We are increasing a seller’s Block Bidder List capacity from 1,000 to 5,000 User IDs. This is something sellers have been requesting for years and we’re finally going to deliver; - We will be taking more action based on seller reports of buyers violating our policies, including generating referrals of repeat policy violators. What if the buyer leaves a neg and eBay doesn’t suspend the buyer – I’m stuck with the neg Only for 12 months in your percent score. The Feedback percentage which calculates a member’s percentage of positive Feedback will be based on just the last 12 months (not all a member’s lifetime transactions as it is today), although the total count remains lifetime. We’re doing this because a member’s recent feedback is the most relevant to their transaction partners. Over the years, many members have questioned why a single negative can affect their score for years. You’ve asked for this change, and I’m pleased we’re able to deliver. Now any negative Feedback left for you more than 12 months ago will no longer affect your positive percentage. Repeat Feedback Credit – coming in February And finally, we’re going to give members credit for multiple Feedback from the same buyer or seller when the listings close in different calendar weeks (Monday though Sunday). This transaction window limit will help prevent “Feedback padding,” or the use of transactions to artificially inflate Feedback scores. We think this is a great change for our sellers (and buyers). If you are delivering great customer service – and it shows through repeat buyers – your Feedback score will reflect this. Town Hall on Monday, February 4th – Call us LIVE during the event.. this is a great way to ask questions and learn more I’d like to reiterate that we realize these are major changes, and we will be watching carefully for any unintended consequences. I also realize that reading a post on the discussion board isn’t the best way to learn about this. Frankly – people I’ve spoken with begin to understand it more after listening to us walk through the rationale and answering questions. To this end – I’d really like to invite everyone to listen to our seller webinar (Friday) or Town Hall on Monday. See the details below. You can also see Bill Cobb’s original announcement about these and other changes. Monday 3pm - eBay Town Hall http://www.ebay.com/townhall Bill Cobb’s AB Post http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200801290559182.html Thanks, Matt"

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
eBay World_Securities

Posted on 02 February 2008 at 00:33 in eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

21 December 2007

From eBay - daphne@ebay.com - Announcement: Minor change to posting on discussion forums

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/ann.jspa?annID=2000000070

Posted by:    daphne@ebay.com View Listings
Created in:    Category: Community Help Boards
Posted:          Dec 20, 2007 1:45 PM

Dear Community participants,

We'd like to let you know about a minor change we've made to our forums. Members who are active in our discussion areas know that sometimes eBay's forums become a target for malicious spammers. To combat this issue, we've asked our partners at LiveWorld to create a limit on how fast a single User ID can post consecutive posts to our forums.

Most of our Community participants in the forums will not be impacted at all. Occasionally, however, if you try to post two or more posts very quickly, you may run into an error message that reads: "error: please try your post again." If this happens, please wait a few moments and try again.

We appreciate your support in this matter, and we thank you for being part of eBay's active online Community.

Sincerely,
The eBay Community Development team

//
//
//

Comments

crazyjeans12000 ( 332

)

View seller's items | View Blog

If it works then it will definitely be worth the effort :-)

Dec-21-07 13:48:36 PST

hottonkiss ( 218

)

View seller's items | View Blog

Great! Thanks for letting us know that something is being done!! :)

Dec-21-07 13:50:42 PST

wysecw ( 335

)

View seller's items | View Blog

*looking for sllloooooowwwww mootttttiiiioooonnnnnnn spammers*

Dec-21-07 14:11:20 PST

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984
eBay World_Securities

Posted on 21 December 2007 at 12:45 in eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

06 December 2007

From eBay - Clamping Down on Unfair Postage & Packaging Charges

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/uk/200712051620282.html

***Clamping Down on Unfair Postage & Packaging Charges***
05 December, 2007 | 04:20PM GMT

We pride ourselves on bringing sellers a large audience of engaged, active buyers. In the last month alone, almost 15 million people visited eBay.co.uk looking for great deals on all manner of items.

Over the last year we’ve been asking those buyers who have left eBay, or who no longer buy as much as they used to, why they did so. One of the most common reasons cited was the prominence of sellers who clearly overcharge for postage & packaging on their items.

The introduction of Detailed Seller Ratings on the site earlier this year allows us to identify clearly those sellers who are consistently rated poorly by buyers for postage & packaging charges. As a result, we’ll shortly be introducing changes to the way that we display search results based on Detailed Seller Ratings for postage & packaging charges.

For the vast majority of sellers, this will mean that your items will continue to be featured as normal in search results.

However, those sellers who consistently receive the lowest scores on postage & packaging costs will receive considerably reduced visibility in default search results by appearing much further down the list of items. This will apply to sellers whose Detailed Seller Ratings for postage & packaging are 3.9 or below, which accounts for roughly 0.5% of all sellers on the site.

This small group of sellers are responsible for a hugely disproportionate number of buyer complaints about overcharging for postage & packaging, and taint the vast majority of good sellers who buyers agree are charging fairly.

We will be introducing these changes during the week beginning December 17th, after the main Christmas trading period is over, and we encourage all sellers to continue to review their postage and packaging charges to make sure these are as fairly priced as possible.

We expect to make further changes to the display of search results to protect buyers in 2008, including extending the use of Detailed Seller Ratings to other areas of concern for buyers.

You can comment on and ask questions about this change here.

Regards,

The eBay Team

//
//
//

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m12/i06/s02

Auctionbytes-NewsFlash, Number 1679 - December 06, 2007 - ISSN 1539-5065

eBay UK Filters Search Results by DSR Feedback Ratings
By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes.com
December 06, 2007

eBay UK announced it will begin changing the way it displays search results based on Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) for postage & packaging charges. Those sellers who consistently receive the lowest scores on postage & packaging costs - 3.9 or below - will receive "considerably reduced visibility" in default search results by appearing much further down the list of items. DSRs are feedback ratings that buyers can leave anonymously for their trading partners (sellers). DSRs consist of four criteria: item as described; communication; dispatch time (called "shipping time" in the US); and postage and packaging charges ("shipping and handling charges" in the US).

eBay UK said sellers who receive ratings of 3.9 or below for the postage & packaging DSR criterion account for roughly 0.5% of all sellers on the site. "This small group of sellers are responsible for a hugely disproportionate number of buyer complaints about overcharging for postage & packaging, and taint the vast majority of good sellers who buyers agree are charging fairly." It's noteworthy that eBay does not collect commission fees on postage and handling charges.

eBay UK will be introducing the changes during the week beginning December 17th, "after the main Christmas trading period is over." The company said the vast majority of sellers' items would continue to be featured as normal in search results. However, it warned that it expects to make further changes to the display of search results in 2008, including extending the use of Detailed Seller Ratings to "other areas of concern for buyers."

eBay spokesperson Nichola Sharpe said that the change announced in the UK is only effective for all listings appearing on the UK site, but it will not impact them as they appear on all other sites. She added that the visibility of non-UK sellers' listings would not be impacted on the US site but could be impacted on the UK site.

"While we cannot comment on exact plans for the other markets, specifically eBay.com, we have been communicating for several months with our sellers about DSR ratings and their potential impact and we may consider using other DSR rating scores in the future," Sharpe said. Indeed, eBay.com had announced in October that beginning next year, it would use DSRs to influence search results (http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m10/i11/s01).

Many users reacted to the announcement. Said one poster on an eBay UK message in reaction to the policy change, "It's about time ebay clamped down on their own fees. Their constant price hikes have forced people to increase postage." (http://forums.ebay.co.uk/thread.jspa?threadID=1200176292&tstart=0&mod=1196871395637)

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/uk/200712051620282.html

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Posted on 06 December 2007 at 20:23 in eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

26 November 2007

Banned By eBay - Glitchy Software Dude (with apologies to Johnny Rivers and Secret Agent Man 1966)

Originally posted early Sunday 11/25/2007 on the eBay Search forum.
The following song was quickly banned by eBay's coders.

An Ode to eBay's code and not test teams.
On the eve of Cyber Monday, here's to you Mr. Coders.

There's a dude who thinks he's a programmer
eBay sellers he meets he stays a stranger
With every change he makes another feature breaks
Odds are IT will crash before tomorrow

Glitchy software dude, glitchy software dude
They've given you a keyboard and taken 'way our sales

Beware of eBay sellers that you find
An eBay seller has an evil mind
Ah, be careful what you change
Or you'll fix something some way
Odds are IT will crash before tomorrow

Glitchy software dude, glitchy software dude
They've given you a keyboard and taken 'way our sales

Hackin' on the Best Match Smart Search one day
And then layin' in an eBay alley next day
Oh no, you let the wrong code ship
While evading chains and whips
Odds are IT will crash before tomorrow

Glitchy software dude, glitchy software dude
They've given you a keyboard and taken 'way our sales

Glitchy software dude

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9toYaZZKHA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Agent_Man_(song)

***Introducing Best Match: A new sort option based on relevance***
http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?threadID=2000241408&tstart=40&mod=1195343348001

//
//
//

Comments ... from people with a sense of humor.

4343martino ( 679

)

View seller's items | View Blog

LMAOFF !!!!

Nov-25-07 13:31:08 PST

//
//
//

And what are these eBay coders paid? Far too much for buggy software.

http://www.mydanwei.com/query.php?t_salary=ebay&type=salary&order_by=DATE_DESC

Query Records of ebay (1 - 30 of 836) ( 0.003 seconds)

No.	Position	Salary	Organization	City	State	Hiring Date
1	Senior Software Engineer	$95580.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2007-04-01
2	Senior Software Engineer	$96000.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2007-03-27
3	Dutch Language Specialist	$73840.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2007-03-24
4	PRINCIPLE NETWORK ENGINEER	$135229.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2007-03-23
5	Staff Software Engineer	$108272.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2007-03-15
6	STAFF SYSTEMS ENGINEER	$119356.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2007-03-15
7	Senior Software Engineer	$98102.40	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CT	2007-03-14
8	Senior Software Engineer	$97124.20	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2007-03-12
9	SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER	$101848.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2007-02-27
10	Senior Software Engineer	$95000.10	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2007-02-23
11	Software QA Engineer	$80000.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2007-02-17
12	Senior NOC Database Engineer	$97479.20	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2007-02-13
13	Globalization Management Systems Engineer	$109332.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2007-02-07
14	Software Engineer	$93554.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2007-02-07
15	STAFF SOFTWARE ENGINEER	$120570.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2007-02-06
16	Senior Software Engineer	$92359.10	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2007-02-03
17	Senior Software Engineer	$95000.10	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2007-01-26
18	Localization Engineer	$104500.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2007-01-15
19	Staff QA Engineer	$115225.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2007-01-12
20	Business Analyst, Revenue Accounting	$92500.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2007-01-05
21	Senior Software Engineer	$94860.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2007-01-01
22	Research Scientist	$106050.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-12-31
23	Senior Software Engineer	$101142.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-12-29
24	SOFTWARE ENGINEER	$89508.60	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2006-12-22
25	SOFTWARE ENGINEER	$89508.60	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2006-12-22
26	Software Engineer	$84930.10	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-12-16
27	Manager, Risk Analytics	$122000.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-12-10
28	Senior Software Engineer	$101142.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-12-06
29	Software QA Engineer	$93702.50	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-12-06
30	MANAGEMENT ANALYST (AD SERVICES AND OPERATIONS)	$110000.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2006-11-17

No.	Position	Salary	Organization	City	State	Hiring Date
31	Specialist, Direct Marketing Operations	$78000.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-11-13
32	Senior Database Engineer	$101990.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-11-09
33	SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER	$100017.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2006-11-09
34	User Interface Designer	$87033.40	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-11-04
35	Senior Software Engineer	$94050.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-11-03
36	DATA ARCHITECTURE MANAGER	$155845.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2006-11-03
37	Senior Software Engineer	$95000.10	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-11-01
38	SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER	$98311.50	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2006-11-01
39	Paid Search, Associate Data Manager	$96900.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-10-31
40	SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER	$94152.90	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2006-10-25
41	Senior Project Manager	$115000.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-10-20
42	SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER	$93554.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2006-10-19
43	SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER	$93554.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2006-10-19
44	Senior Business Systems Analyst	$122500.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-10-14
45	Software Engineer/Intranet Developer	$95257.50	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-10-09
46	Senior Software Engineer	$100000.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-10-02
47	Corporate Strategy Manager	$105000.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-10-02
48	Staff Software Engineer	$116507.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-10-02
49	Senior Software Engineer	$108199.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-10-02
50	Product Strategy Analyst	$105000.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-10-01
51	Senior Software Engineer	$82163.20	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-10-01
52	Senior Software Engineer	$82163.20	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-10-01
53	Senior Software Engineer	$82163.20	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-10-01
54	MANAGER, CORPORATE STRATEGY	$105000.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2006-10-01
55	Senior Product Analyst	$105000.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-10-01
56	Staff Database Engineer	$110755.00	eBay, Inc.	Plymouth Meeting	PA	2006-10-01
57	Statistician, Risk Analytics	$85000.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-10-01
58	Software Engineer	$115008.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-10-01
59	Manager, Corporate Strategy	$105000.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-10-01
60	Staff Database Engineer	$110755.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-10-01

No.	Position	Salary	Organization	City	State	Hiring Date
61	Software QA Engineer	$74476.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-10-01
62	Senior Software Engineer	$112500.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-10-01
63	Product Strategy Analyst	$105000.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-10-01
64	Senior Language Specialist	$76440.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-09-27
65	Software Engineer	$85000.20	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-09-25
66	Statistician	$78000.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CALIFORNIA	2006-09-19
67	Software Engineer	$83200.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CALIFORNIA	2006-09-19
68	Senior Software Engineer	$108942.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-09-18
69	Senior Software Engineer	$108942.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-09-18
70	Senior Software Engineer	$108942.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-09-18
71	Manager, International Business Analysis	$98115.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CALIFORNIA	2006-09-13
72	Autos Category Manager	$110000.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-09-11
73	Software Engineer	$85000.20	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-09-07
74	Statistician	$86091.20	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CALIFORNIA	2006-09-07
75	Software QA Engineer	$74476.20	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-09-04
76	Research Scientist	$106050.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-08-28
77	JAVA SOFTWARE ENGINEER	$80816.20	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2006-08-28
78	Senior Software Engineer	$93554.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CALIFORNIA	2006-08-28
79	SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER	$86027.80	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2006-08-26
80	Senior Software Engineer	$112439.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-08-26
81	SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER	$86027.80	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2006-08-26
82	Senior Software Engineer	$100000.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-08-25
83	Software Engineer 3	$105455.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-08-25
84	Localization Program Manager	$115000.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CALIFORNIA	2006-08-25
85	Senior Software Engineer	$102000.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CALIFORNIA	2006-08-21
86	Technical Outage Manager, Problem Management	$155952.00	eBay, Inc.	San Jose	CA	2006-08-18
87	Senior Language Specialist	$76440.00	EBAY, INC	San Jose	CA	2006-08-14
88	Senior Software Engineer	$102000.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CALIFORNIA	2006-08-14
89	Senior Software Engineer	$102000.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CALIFORNIA	2006-08-14
90	SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER	$127205.00	EBAY INC	SAN JOSE	CA	2006-08-12

//
//
//

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=485&page=47

1988, CHIEF JUSTICE REHNQUIST:

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

EventHorizon1984 Blog Log

EventHorizon1984 WeBlog Log
EventHorizon1984 Squidoo

Event Horizon 1984
eCRATER EventHorizon1984

Posted on 26 November 2007 at 17:44 in eBay, eBay Customer Service, eBay Search | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Event Horizon 1984, Event Horizon Hawaii, EventHorizon1984

20 November 2007

From eBay Stores Forum - Use of Euphemisms and Other Attempts to Circumvent Policy

From eBay Stores Forum
Use of Euphemisms and Other Attempts to Circumvent Policy
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000470228&tstart=0&mod=1195517010615

avery@ebay.com View Nov-19-07 16:03 PST
Hi,

In case you were not aware, there is a policy clarification thread on the Policy Explanation Board that may be of interest:

Use of Euphemisms and Other Attempts to Circumvent Policy .

Sincerely,

Avery

//
//
//

From eBay Board Usage Policy explanation
Use of Euphemisms and Other Attempts to Circumvent Policy
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000343315

avery@ebay.com Mar-30-07 14:59 PDT

The spirit of the rules in the Board Usage Policy is to create an atmosphere where all members can participate. The Board Usage Policy provides examples and guidelines for adhering to the Community Values, but each participant in the Forums should consider how their activity may impacts others. Being a part of a community is about balancing personal preferences with consideration for the community as a whole.

Finding alternative ways to be disrespectful or otherwise violate policy goes against the spirit of these rules and the Community Values. Participating in an online community (similar to any type of community) should not necessitate having every possible prohibited activity listed specifically. That something can be done does not necessarily mean that it should be done.

The following are some examples of circumvention that are prohibited:

# The use of euphemisms to avoid detection. A euphemism is “the substitution of a more mild, indirect, or vague expression”. If something can’t be said openly with the policy guidelines, using a euphemism does not make it acceptable.

# Manipulating text (including the omission of certain characters, adding spaces, etc.) – If you can’t post a word or URL as is, then disguising or otherwise manipulating text is not acceptable either

# Deliberately using multiple accounts to violate policies in order to avoid a sanction

# Using alternative accounts (regardless of who registered the account) to post during a sanction

Circumventing a temporary sanction may result in the indefinite sanction of related accounts. Continued circumvention may cause the full suspension of all related accounts.

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Posted on 20 November 2007 at 00:47 in eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

03 November 2007

From eBay Stores Forum - Shipping FREE???

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml#2007-11-03090934

***Current Issues - Resolved***

November 02, 2007 | 06:04PM PST/PT

The difficulties searching for items on eBay Express have been resolved. In addition, the issue causing "free shipping" to display incorrectly in core search has also been resolved.

We appreciate your patience.

***Free Shipping Displaying Incorrectly***

November 02, 2007 | 04:36PM PST/PT

Some search results are intermittently displaying free shipping incorrectly. The View Item page has the accurate shipping information and should be reviewed for the correct shipping amount. We are aware of this issue and working quickly to have it fixed.

Thank you for your patience

//
//
//

http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blog/blog.pl?/comments/2007/11/1194050465.html

November 02, 2007

eBay Search Glitch Shows Free Shipping

By: Ina Steiner

Fri Nov 2 2007 19:41:05

I was putting the final touches on a review of an eBay search engine called GetItNext for Sunday's AuctionBytes-Update newsletter when I noticed a glitch. I started to wonder about the company's technology when I realized it was actually a problem on eBay's end.

eBay posted two announcements on its System Announcement board today. One problem causes search results to display "Free" shipping, but when you click through to the View Item page, the listing displays a shipping charge. eBay said the problem is intermittent. "The View Item page has the accurate shipping information and should be reviewed for the correct shipping amount. We are aware of this issue and working quickly to have it fixed."

The other problem affects eBay Express, but eBay did not elaborate: "Some members may be experiencing difficulties when they search for items on eBay Express."

I congratulate eBay for getting the word out by posting these issues on the board. Sellers should be especially aware of the issue affecting the shipping charges so if customers complain, they can point buyers to the acknowledgement of the problem from eBay.

As for me, I'm glad I didn't blame a developer for a problem that was caused by eBay.

Readers Comments

eBay Search Glitch Shows Free Shipping

by: Rob

Sat Nov 3 2007 12:38:13

:-) I am hoping things settle down glitchwise.... with the holidays right around the corner!

eBay Search Glitch Shows Free Shipping

by: jsicolts

Sat Nov 3 2007 03:24:03

CAUSED BY eBAY. INTENTIONAL by eBay.
No wonder buyers & sellers are leaving awful eBay.

eBay Search Glitch Shows Free Shipping

by: Jeff S

Sat Nov 3 2007 03:59:33

How long did it last? I saw free shipping on my items at about 5:30 EST last evening.

//
//
//

For new newsgroup readers, these are not our forum posts. Any comments to the posters below should be made on the applicable thread, marked in bold below.

From eBay Stores Forum
Shipping FREE???
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000590607&tstart=0&mod=1194110216567

.

lj50331 (0 ) Nov-02-07 14:45 PDT
Check your listings, some of them shipping might become FREE!
Eaby sucks!

swit*** (4317 )    Nov-02-07 14:51 PDT    1
         I was just about to post this! More than half my listings say FREE shipping? What the heck is going on!

tant*** (4156 )    Nov-02-07 14:51 PDT    2
Yep! Mine are. And I'm having sales. So probably either I am going to have to eat it or deal with unhappy buyers, lowering my fb and putting me on the bottom of the ebay food chain due to THEIR issue, which I am sure they are working diligently on and thanking us for our patience.

snazz*** (1098 )    Nov-02-07 14:55 PDT    3
Yeah.. mine are too. Seems to be random - each time I refresh the page different items say 'Free'. Sent a message to tech support.. for what its worth, then came here to see if there was any information. Eeeek! Not good.

tant*** (4156 )    Nov-02-07 15:03 PDT    4
Someone I know on another board got on with live help. They said they are aware and working on it. And thankyouforyourpatience. Uh huh!

Mine are also alternating items as well. lovely isn't it?

lj50331 (0 )    Nov-02-07 15:05 PDT    5
and it's global! I checked some UK, Germany sellers' listings, many of their items postage are FREE!!!

tant** (4156 )    Nov-02-07 15:11 PDT    6
         Yep. International shipping appears to be free as well. That could be a BIG OUCH

john*** (10934 )    Nov-02-07 15:18 PDT    7
OMG
I just saw that and scarfed down a 3 Musketeer bar in fright when I could not change it.
Please note that the candy bar did not help hahaha
Linda

turtl*** (5283 )    Nov-02-07 15:20 PDT    8
Yep mine are free too, but when I click on the item the normal shipping charge applies.

And I don't need to wonder why I don't have any sales since 2 days. Buyers feel scammed when they see free shipping while they browse, then clicking on the item gives them a big surprise.

Visit our store

turt*** (5283 )    Nov-02-07 15:21 PDT    9
         I guess that's Ebay's secret dream to see free shipping everywhere.

Visit our store

prim*** (405 )    Nov-02-07 15:23 PDT    10
I just put my store on vacation (the kind that won't let them access the listings) until this is fixed. Course that does wonders for any chance of a sale huh.

Kat

lj50331 (0 )    Nov-02-07 15:33 PDT    11
Someone I know on another board got on with live help. They said they are aware and working on it. And thankyouforyourpatience. Uh huh!

yes, they are working on it!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2447919805441289802

loved*** (1816 )    Nov-02-07 15:43 PDT    12
I just posted this too! Another glitch to add to their long line of glitches. Clear your catsch.

vood*** (464 )    Nov-02-07 15:44 PDT    13
I too just checked my listings and am having the same problem when I click on my View Listings link. But when I search one of my auction listings in the main search engine it shows the shipping.

This is probably a glitch in response to eBay changing the search to include the shipping in the cost of the item.
I hope they get it fixed soon.

kust*** (1155 )    Nov-02-07 15:47 PDT    14
         I'm jealous.... none of mine are showing free

Kustom Kartoons - The Perfect Personalized Gift!

lj50331 (0 )    Nov-02-07 15:49 PDT    15
I'm jealous.... none of mine are showing free

check your listings page 8! FREE!!!

lj50331 (0 )    Nov-02-07 15:52 PDT    16
I'm jealous.... none of mine are showing free

page 10, 14 FREE!

kust*** (1155 )    Nov-02-07 15:52 PDT    17
         YIPPEE...... I'm included

Oh wait...... now I'm mad!!!!

Kustom Kartoons - The Perfect Personalized Gift!

vood*** (464 )    Nov-02-07 16:11 PDT    18
kustomkartoons thank you for lighten the mood. I would laugh but it may make the glitch monster madder and I would not want to do that.

tant*** (4156 )    Nov-02-07 17:12 PDT    19
         LOL! You folks have a good sense of humour on this board! I might have to stick around

vood*** (464 )    Nov-02-07 17:45 PDT    20
tantrumsandtiaras stick around it only gets better.

I just notice that the shipping cost seem to be back. Hopefully this is a permanent fix. I am holding my breath so if I start turning blue someone call eBay, I mean 911. :_|

just*** (11 )    Nov-02-07 22:02 PDT    21
         News about this on auction bytes

http://tinyurl.com/yqk4ac

soos*** (5512 )    Nov-03-07 03:57 PDT    22
Well now, while that shipping free glitch was going on, half my auctions said free shipping. So this glitch, thank goodness I had auctions to core. I had a few sales. but the important thing was a customer was drawn in to my store and auctions and is spending more than 200.00. So,,,I normally never offer free shipping. But I think I might give it a shot!

soos*** (5512 )    Nov-03-07 03:58 PDT    23
oh and yes I did contact her and she is getting free shipping!

acce*** (774 )    Nov-03-07 07:36 PDT    24
Mine show free but that is because I have free shipping to the usa on most items.
Elaine
http://www.stores.ebay.com/Accessories-Bags-Gifts
Free Shipping within USA on most items

andy*** (662 )    Nov-03-07 08:26 PDT    25
Sooshi, I just tried to click on some of your auctions and I keep on getting: A system connection error has occured. Please try again in a few moments. I tried accessoriesandgifts and I can open her auctions, no problem.

cats*** (1054 )    Nov-03-07 08:30 PDT    26
Some of mine are still showing as free ship. Ebay, I can offer it on my other site as fees aren't so outragously high but not here!

andy*** (662 )    Nov-03-07 08:53 PDT    27
I also still have rotating free shipping on some items, the free shipping moves from one item to another each time you refresh the page.

moto*** (1942 )    Nov-03-07 09:18 PDT    28
Has anyone had a buyer complete their sale based on the free shipping yet? And then when they got their invoice, did it show the correct shipping?

tantr*** (4156 )    Nov-03-07 09:25 PDT    29
It IS still doing this this morning!! Saturday. It is not fixed!!!!!

I did have some sales during this. The invoices are showing the correct shipping amount. No one has complained or said anything. Only one has paid, two have not yet.

The fear is that they will pay it. Yes, the auction page shows the correct shipping and the buyer should see that when making the purchase. HOWEVER, we know how that goes.

They can still seethe and then hit us in the FB later And the seller is the one who will pay.

just*** (11 )    Nov-03-07 09:29 PDT    30
They can still seethe and then hit us in the FB later And the seller is the one who will pay.

That is one reason this company has no business putting in a very flawed star feedback system when they have way too many glitches year after year after year.

tant*** (4156 )    Nov-03-07 09:34 PDT    31
EXACTLY!!!

And then putting us at the bottom of the barrel if we have a 4.8 for something that we didn't deserve!

Now do I have to email these buyers and ASK them if they expected free shipping? I don't know if those items showed free shipping?

If by chance they are inclined to take advantage I will get "um oh yeah! that DID say free shipping now that you mention it!"

lj50331 (0 )    Nov-03-07 09:36 PDT    32

Mine show free but that is because I have free shipping to the usa on most items.

Well that's very nice, but I'm still not buying the bags.

tant*** (4156 ) Nov-03-07 10:16 PDT 33
Hey! It made me look I'm a bag junkie!! Thinking of a couple of those for christmas gifts

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Posted on 03 November 2007 at 11:07 in eBay, eBay Customer Service, Fraud | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

05 October 2007

From eBay Trust & Safety (Safe Harbor) Forum - I demand an explanation!

For new newsgroup readers, these are not our forum posts. Any comments to the posters below should be made on the applicable thread, marked in bold below.

eBay's PR hack, viva_elzonoblanco is no longer useful to them and Not a registered user

//

From eBay Trust & Safety (Safe Harbor) Forum
I demand an explanation!
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?messageID=2007885309&forumID=107&x#2007885309

http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:Q39c0z1VBLYJ:forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa%3FthreadID%3D2000445800%26tstart%3D0%26mod%3D1191644097837+viva_elzonoblanco
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:eegSMoE41U4J:forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa%3FthreadID%3D2000445800%26tstart%3D720%26mod%3D1192405067704+viva_elzonoblanco

.

fenton.smith (106 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 17:40 PDT
Of course, I won't get one.

Imagine my shock, when after being off the board for a couple of hours, and then signing in again, I was greeted with a message saying that I'd been NARUed for SNP. The message on the login screen said that I'd been sent an explanation to my email address. Of course, there was none. I looked around and was directed to a page to pay my selling fees. The only problem was that my account balance was zero and eBay wouldn't accept a payment of 0.00. I then tried to pay 0.01 and went to PayPal, but for some reason couldn't log in. I then exited the browser and went straight into PayPal and checked my account only to find that everything was OK.

I did check my feedback page and, yes, indeed, I was NARU. I then checked around my account and found nothing amiss.

Then, about a half hour later I got this:

eBay sent this message to Fenton Smith (fenton.smith).
Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay.
Learn more:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/name-userid-emails.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------
RNO NOTICE: eBay Registration Reinstatement ( )
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear ,

We are happy to inform you that your eBay account is now reinstated. Please note that any listings or bids that were cancelled with your account cannot
be reinstated.

*Please do not reply to this email. If you have additional questions, billing inquiries, or concerns pertaining to the status of another account you own,
please visit the eBay Help system for information and access to assistance from eBay Customer Support. You can visit our Help system by clicking on the
"Help" button at the top of every eBay page.

Especially strange since I never sell on this account. So, guys and gals, you may have a rude shock in your future.

Ignorance is NOT bliss - None is so blind as he who will not see
Fenton.Smith

Previous 1 | 2 | 3 Next See last post
94 replies Date posted Reply #

blh518 (74 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 17:44 PDT 1 of 94
It was Vladuz - same thing happened to me except he sent me an email first. It told me to stop writing s**t things about him, and gave a little rundown of suspended functions on my account. eBay had me back up within about an hour without me contacting them.

No need for you at all, or your observations....you are not helpful to me....
perhaps to others you are, but not to me

cliniclady2000 (Private ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 17:46 PDT 2 of 94
OK, if he can get into eBay and do this, then he can obtain CC#s and anything else he wants....eBay has GOT to tell the Community what is going on....this is just too much.

blh518 (74 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 17:47 PDT 3 of 94
I was a bit more detailed on the biddie chat thread. Stuff seems to stay on our board longer than it does on yours....

No need for you at all, or your observations....you are not helpful to me....
perhaps to others you are, but not to me

fenton.smith (106 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 17:50 PDT 4 of 94
It does support my suspicion that he's cracked the hole in the way eBay handles logins.

It wasn't a pleasant surprise.

Ignorance is NOT bliss - None is so blind as he who will not see
Fenton.Smith

blh518 (74 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 17:53 PDT 5 of 94
I've sent the email headers a couple of places, but I'm guessing he can probably spoof those???

No need for you at all, or your observations....you are not helpful to me....
perhaps to others you are, but not to me

dimesy1 (0 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 17:53 PDT 6 of 94
blh, how do you know it was eBay that restored your access?

fenton.smith (106 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 17:54 PDT 7 of 94
Well, the restoration email was from eBay. I checked the headers.

Ignorance is NOT bliss - None is so blind as he who will not see
Fenton.Smith

blh518 (74 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 17:55 PDT 8 of 94
Well, I signed back in and I was there again. I was very suspicious of that email notification of reinstatement however.

All I know is I got the Vladuz email - I couldn't get in although I had posted earlier in the day. And then I got the reinstatement email.

No need for you at all, or your observations....you are not helpful to me....
perhaps to others you are, but not to me

fenton.smith (106 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 17:55 PDT 9 of 94
Sorry. I missed the implications of your question. Yes, V may have the access to both NARU and restore accounts.

Ignorance is NOT bliss - None is so blind as he who will not see
Fenton.Smith

blh518 (74 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 17:57 PDT 10 of 94
Ah, I see what you're saying. I just figured that the little weasel clearly disliked me so much, he'd be happier leaving me off eBay than letting me back on where I could thumb my nose at him.

No need for you at all, or your observations....you are not helpful to me....
perhaps to others you are, but not to me

dimesy1 (0 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 17:59 PDT 11 of 94
Maybe someone who can manipulate user accounts can also send internal email.

eBay is usually much slower to respond, no? (Not to mention the fact that the email was actually pertinent to the situation...).

blh518 (74 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:06 PDT 12 of 94
Yes, it's a definite possibility. If my ID did not really engage in any unauthorized activity so that eBay handled the suspension (and reinstatement processes) as a response, then the conclusion would be that he might have control of both suspension and reinstatement processes and have no need to do any manipulation with my ID at all.

No need for you at all, or your observations....you are not helpful to me....
perhaps to others you are, but not to me

fenton.smith (106 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:08 PDT 13 of 94
Yes. I never contacted eBay before my reinstatement and the response was far faster than I'd have expected from eBay. I suspect that those emails are an automated part of the reinstatement process. He probably didn't need to do anything to generate them.

Ignorance is NOT bliss - None is so blind as he who will not see
Fenton.Smith

blh518 (74 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:08 PDT 14 of 94
My suspension was for violating policies governing seller non-performance. Make what you like of this, but I have never sold anything on eBay.

No need for you at all, or your observations....you are not helpful to me....
perhaps to others you are, but not to me

career.curves (154 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:11 PDT 15 of 94
Fenton,

I just had this happen to me, you will notice my red store door is gone.

My store, inventory and auctions were canceled.

I'm frantic right about now.

My billing cycle is from the 15th of each month. I paid the amount they requested, which was odd because it isn't actually due until 10-15-07 and it was a very small amount.

I've lost current bids on auctions and had several watchers on certain items.

I'm totally lost with this and it happened today.

I've had customers contact me asking why I was NARU'ed, my store gone and other questions. I don't have any answers for them!

What is going on????

-Tammy

fenton.smith (106 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:13 PDT 16 of 94
A well known Romanian hacker did it. Sorry he cost you money.

Ignorance is NOT bliss - None is so blind as he who will not see
Fenton.Smith

fenton.smith (106 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:15 PDT 17 of 94
At least he emailed some of the others to let them know what was going on. I stumbled onto it out of the blue as you apparently did.

I hate to think what your customers must be thinking since I'd bet they all got those TKO notifications.

Ignorance is NOT bliss - None is so blind as he who will not see
Fenton.Smith

lenono910 (74 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:15 PDT 18 of 94
Tammy,
Sorry this happened to you.

Another good reason for a posting ID.

T&S KKC Member Number 9 Number 9...
‘It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.’ ~ Henry David Thoreau

career.curves (154 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:17 PDT 19 of 94
omg, I think I'm going to be ill.

-Tammy

blh518 (74 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:18 PDT 20 of 94
OK, Fenton, I'm lagging a little behind in comprehension here, as usual, but neither of us got suspension notices - just got blocked when we tried to access eBay. So would the reinstatement notices be automatic from eBay if a block had been instituted which was NOT supported by a formal suspension notice?

No need for you at all, or your observations....you are not helpful to me....
perhaps to others you are, but not to me

career.curves (154 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:18 PDT 21 of 94
Well, all I can say is his day is coming, quicker than he might think.

Will eBay help me with this or will they just say 'tough luck'?

-Tammy

orange_cape_hides_me (Private ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:18 PDT 22 of 94
BLH - I just emailed you. I thought you wouldn't mind.

I received an email beforehand as well ...

I don't believe that random Ebay users encountered this. It was very specific.

Caped~
The information and writing contained in this post is the property of the named Ebay user who retains sole and exclusive rights without limitation which may not be granted to another without written permission.

~Just say NO to Coach~ Proud Member of the Anti Coach Coalition

career.curves (154 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:19 PDT 23 of 94
just got blocked when we tried to access eBay

Same here, no email as was stated in my messages...everything through eBay.

Other than my reinstatement after payment was made.

-Tammy

orange_cape_hides_me (Private ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:20 PDT 24 of 94
Tammy - did you get an email predicting this?

There is no way to know if you were effected by the same thing. You can contact Trust & Safety and ask that they restore your auctions as ended auctions so you can use the relist function to get them back up.

Ebay should also have sent an email stating that your auctions were ended in error. If that didn't happen, let me know. I can direct you to someone that might be able to help you.

azlynn67 (0 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:21 PDT 25 of 94
Caped

How many others do you know that this has happened to?

career.curves (154 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:22 PDT 26 of 94
Caped, no I didn't get any email predicting this.

I didn't get an email from eBay stating my auctions were ended in error.

I appreciate your help....I have to say I do not something about this person and have openly talked on the boards about it.....maybe I'm being targeted as well, without the forewarning?

-Tammy

career.curves (154 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:23 PDT 27 of 94
do know*

Also, will anyone be notifying auctionbytes about this issue?

-Tammy

blh518 (74 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:28 PDT 28 of 94
Well, let's see how long it takes to get me reported for posting this - but this is the "warning" I got. I have added the asterisks. I think it doesn't hurt for people to see what it looks like.

From: you me
To: [my home email]
Subject: SGI Inc. V
Date: Oct 5, 2007 5:53 PM
Action: User blh518 (my home email) (74) Suspended!
Action: All Current Auctions Ended.
Action: All Current WIN Posts are Ended.
Action: All Bids/Best Offers Cancelled.

Stop saying s**t stuff about me, a*****e.

vladuz

No need for you at all, or your observations....you are not helpful to me....
perhaps to others you are, but not to me

kathiesklown1970 (2827 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:28 PDT 29 of 94
Vladuz likes you guys, we're like 2nd class citizens on the PayPal board, nothing exciting ever happens to us responders there.
.

Kath V35
If you wouldn’t say it in person, don’t say it online.

career.curves (154 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:28 PDT 30 of 94
From: support@ebay.com Save Address
To: career_curves@xxxxxxx.net

Subject: RNO NOTICE: eBay Registration Reinstatement ( )

Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2007 23:14:40 +0000

Dear ,

We are happy to inform you that your eBay account is now reinstated. Please note that any listings or bids that were cancelled with your account cannot be reinstated.

*Please do not reply to this email. If you have additional questions, billing inquiries, or concerns pertaining to the status of another account you own, please visit the eBay Help system for information and access to assistance from eBay Customer Support. You can visit our Help system by clicking on the "Help" button at the top of every eBay page.

We hope that your future experiences on eBay are pleasant and successful.

Regards,

eBay Trust & Safety

Learn how you can protect yourself from spoof (fake) emails at:
http://pages.ebay.com/education/spooftutorial

This administrative email was sent to career_curves@xxxxxxx.net from eBay. Your account is registered on www.ebay.com. As outlined in our User Agreement, eBay will periodically send you information about site changes and enhancements. If you would like to receive this email in text format, change your notification preferences.

See our Privacy Policy and User Agreement if you have questions about eBay's communication policies.
Privacy Policy: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/privacy-policy.html
User Agreement: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/user-agreement.html

Copyright © 2006-2007 eBay, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners.
eBay and the eBay logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of eBay, Inc.
eBay is located at 2145 Hamilton Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125.

-Tammy

viva_elzonoblanco (0 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:30 PDT 31 of 94
You people are all carrying on as if the sky was falling or something.

Obviously you have all fallen for phishing emails, and your pcs are infected with keyloggers.

You all need to clear your cache and cookies, run scans, then take a 9 page tutorial about avoiding phishing emails.

Nothing on ebay has been breached.

:^O

kathiesklown1970 (2827 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:30 PDT 32 of 94
Tammy where is your store, it's still gone? WHOA
.

Kath V35
If you wouldn’t say it in person, don’t say it online.

blh518 (74 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:31 PDT 33 of 94
Did you notice that the case ID space was blank in your reinstatement notice, Tammy. I wondered about that. [That's the same reinstatement notice I got].

No need for you at all, or your observations....you are not helpful to me....
perhaps to others you are, but not to me

career.curves (154 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:31 PDT 34 of 94
omg, I did get one of those....

I didn't open it for fear of it being a virus or something along those lines.

I'm going to post it here.

From: "you me" Save Address
To: career_curves@xxxxxxx.net

Subject: SGI Inc. - V

Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2007 21:59:13 +0000

"I honestly can't wait to see his 'mug shot'. This person is clearly quite capable of doing so major damage and will deserve everything he gets."

Oh ya? *uck you.

Action: User career.curves (career_curves@xxxxxxx.net) (154) Suspended!
Action: All Current Auctions Ended.
Action: All Current WIN Posts are Ended.
Action: All Bids/Best Offers Cancelled.
Action: Store closed.

vladuz

He caused my store to be closed?

That's okay, this clearly show a breech in eBay security.

-Tammy

blh518 (74 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:34 PDT 35 of 94
Obviously you have all fallen for phishing emails, and your pcs are infected with keyloggers.

Sorry, but that's not the case for me - no phishing emails and good security. And the idea of either Caped or Fenton getting caught out like that is absolutely ludicrous.

No need for you at all, or your observations....you are not helpful to me....
perhaps to others you are, but not to me

fenton.smith (106 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:34 PDT 36 of 94
I think V restored the accounts after playing around. You'll probably have a hard time convincing eBay that anything ever happened.

I never got an appology or offer to restorre my non existent listings either.

Ignorance is NOT bliss - None is so blind as he who will not see
Fenton.Smith

theicingonthecake (951 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:35 PDT 37 of 94
Obviously you have all fallen for phishing emails, and your pcs are infected with keyloggers.

Sorry, but that's not the case for me - no phishing emails and good security. And the idea of either Caped or Fenton getting caught out like that is absolutely ludicrous.

Oh HELLO? Don't you understand SARCASM?

black_widow_sniper (229 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:36 PDT 38 of 94
(((blh)) I think the snark tags fell off that post, it's ebay's standard reply to any problem...can't ever be their fault

“Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist”

lola-gt (Private ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:36 PDT 39 of 94
eBay security, an oxymoron if there ever was one...

Caveat Numptor

Elle - I love you, those three words are my life.
If I'm ignoring you it's because I think you suck.(B.M.A.S.#52)

*unlisted* (16 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:40 PDT 40 of 94
Kathie, we get enough drama in our arena.
Don't go egging anyone on. :_|

**The sky is falling.**

kathiesklown1970 (2827 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:41 PDT 41 of 94
I didn't think of it that way but I see what your saying.

He can take my eBay Store, sales stink. :^O

Kath V35
If you wouldn’t say it in person, don’t say it online.

*unlisted* (16 ) View Listings | Report    Oct-05-07 18:42 PDT    42 of 94
LOL!

**The sky is falling.**

career.curves (154 ) View Listings | Report    Oct-05-07 18:43 PDT    43 of 94
Kathie,

Yes, it's down and gone, along with all my other auctions and listings.

*sigh*

blh,

Yes I did notice that and I'm starting to put two and two together.

He clearly didn't like what I had to say on the boards, in the open.

-Tammy

space-the*final*front*ear (41 ) View Listings | Report    Oct-05-07 18:44 PDT    44 of 94
Well if anyone wants to snag a gif...

NKKC Member # 3

Which one is the dumbest? The one acting dumb or the one who believes the act?
The inmates have taken over the asylum ~ time to tipple

blh518 (74 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:44 PDT 45 of 94
Sorry, I did really wonder who, regularly watching T&S could have thought Caped and Fenton would get gulled. Should have realized it was tongue in cheek.

No need for you at all, or your observations....you are not helpful to me....
perhaps to others you are, but not to me

orange_cape_hides_me (Private ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:45 PDT 46 of 94
O.k., I just cleared my cache and deleted all my cookies. Or ate them. *burp*

Now I'm good to go.

K7 should be emailing you, Fenton.

windorphin (13 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:49 PDT 47 of 94
OH
MY
Gosh!

I stand in awe of this Vladuz guy.

Hey!

Could you make paypal think that I have a million dollars in my account?

:^O

Post Oratoriously

Seller Restriction FAQ and Help Page

theicingonthecake (951 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:51 PDT 48 of 94
I was kinda hoping for something less.... maybe the balances on all my credit cards missing a "0" at the end...

career.curves (154 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:51 PDT 49 of 94
caped

I'm open to some sort of contact on this.

-Tammy

fenton.smith (106 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:52 PDT 50 of 94
I've got FF set to dump everything whenever I exit, So I upchuck muy cookies and the rest quite frequently.

I haven't checked to see if I have a spam folder on my mail server. I'll probably do that tomorrow to see if I just got left out of those nice personal contacts.

Ignorance is NOT bliss - None is so blind as he who will not see
Fenton.Smith

fenton.smith (106 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:55 PDT 51 of 94
Caped, K7 and I have been exchanging emails. She was the one who suggested checking for a spam folder on the mail server.

Ignorance is NOT bliss - None is so blind as he who will not see
Fenton.Smith

blh518 (74 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 18:58 PDT 52 of 94
Look for an email from a gmail.com address.

No need for you at all, or your observations....you are not helpful to me....
perhaps to others you are, but not to me

career.curves (154 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:02 PDT 53 of 94
And what to do with it once you find it?

-Tammy

fenton.smith (106 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:08 PDT 54 of 94
I see eBay is responding to this in their usual highly ethical manner, just like they did on 9/25. They'll never learn that there are certain benefits to telling the truth.

Ignorance is NOT bliss - None is so blind as he who will not see
Fenton.Smith

itzashowtime (583 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:14 PDT 55 of 94
Ebays latest line is Shop Victoriously and Safely now on the Chatter.
LMAO

dee_069 (153 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:16 PDT 56 of 94
ROFLMAO! SAFELY??? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

itzashowtime (583 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:16 PDT 57 of 94
I dump all cach cookie history after I leave ebay. I always run my spyware also. Amazing how much junk you get from here.

itzashowtime (583 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:16 PDT 58 of 94
Dee
Yes exactly my reaction!

theicingonthecake (951 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:17 PDT 59 of 94
No, I'm guessing they won't ever learn about the benefits of telling the truth.

NOR will they ever learn about the benefits of treating their customers (both buyers AND sellers) fairly, having a halfway decent 'customer service' department, etc.

You don't suppose they might have been better served to have their 'technical' people (if you can call them that) working on IMPORTANT stuff.... oh, no....its FAR more important to screw around with the formatting and their stupid policies. So damned many policies that THEY don't even know what they are.

Its a joke. If I didn't have bills up the wazoo and didn't have to put my kid through school I'd have been out of here a LONG time ago.

carlmarxx (2616 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:19 PDT 60 of 94
Fenton: this wood explain all the Nude listings that where Posted?

itzashowtime (583 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:19 PDT 61 of 94
Fenton
Im sorry you are getting messed with. You have always been a fair person around here. I would think V would just mess with the ones that ticked him off or ebay employees.

carlmarxx (2616 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:20 PDT 62 of 94
HI: Cape!

career.curves (154 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:21 PDT 63 of 94
Well, this poker game has cost me my store, inventory and auctions.

I don't find this funny or amusing in the least.

Now, for those of us who have lost something due to this 'hacker', how do we go about getting it back?

I've already done the 'obvious' with the email, my account information....now do I just sit back until Monday?

-Tammy

shebuysbluesky (58 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:21 PDT 64 of 94
Me too Fenton. I got the same deal eBay claimed via phone call it was all a mistake.

Dear member1 as per this:

At least I got a lame phone call to see if I had any "questions" or "concerns". I told the fine young man who identified himself as "Chris" that I had plenty of both concerns and questions. However "Chris" did not have
the answers that would satisfy me.

ccornflake (-3 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:22 PDT 65 of 94
eBay has never been hacked
There is no fraud on eBay
Paypal is the only safe method of payment..
Checkout is optional
One click bidding has no bugs...
" I did not have sex with ...umm which one are we speaking of?..Oh Monica!! Ok nope no sex with her..

Cletus...
{{{{caped}}}}

carlmarxx (2616 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:22 PDT 66 of 94
Career: Was this the Hacker that caused Ebay too close down the T&S board?

itzashowtime (583 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:23 PDT 67 of 94
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000440268
look at the screen shot just posted on post 22

carlmarxx (2616 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:23 PDT 68 of 94
{{{Cletus}}}

itzashowtime (583 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:24 PDT 69 of 94
oops shebuys was posting it here while I was typing.

turkeyjackson (236 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:24 PDT 70 of 94
shebuys,

Fwiw, your email address is visible in your screenshot. You might want to self-report.

they_call_me_*ice*nuts* (23 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:25 PDT 71 of 94
damn ... I feel left out ...

I want to leave this world the same way I came into it ... Naked, screaming, and covered in someone else's blood ...

T&S KKC member #69

shebuysbluesky (58 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:29 PDT 72 of 94
TY turkeyjackson. I am going now to change the screen shot and have the email blurred out right now.

I will be changing that and a lot of other info on this account very quickly

space-the*final*front*ear (41 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:30 PDT 73 of 94
{{{King}}} better now?

NKKC Member # 3

Which one is the dumbest? The one acting dumb or the one who believes the act?
The inmates have taken over the asylum ~ time to tipple ;)

career.curves (154 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:33 PDT 74 of 94
Carl,

Yes, one in the same.

-Tammy

theicingonthecake (951 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:34 PDT 75 of 94
Gee, I don't know career - you could just as well be talking about Ebay employees or Live/Dead world employees.

carlmarxx (2616 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:34 PDT 76 of 94
WoW!

orange_cape_hides_me (Private ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:34 PDT 77 of 94
Hi Carl!

(((Cletus))) :-x Besos. Muchos Besos.

Curves - I've responded.

TGIF. Have a good night everyone.

career.curves (154 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:34 PDT 78 of 94
Wait a second, I didn't get a call from eBay about this, did everyone who got hit today get a follow up call?

-Tammy

carlmarxx (2616 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:35 PDT 79 of 94
Career: Maybe the FBI Got him.

orange_cape_hides_me (Private ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:36 PDT 80 of 94
No, Curves.

I'm running out, hopefully what I sent you will help you. I'll check back in over the weekend.

carlmarxx (2616 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:37 PDT 81 of 94
HI! Cape!

they_call_me_*ice*nuts* (23 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:37 PDT 82 of 94
thanks Spaces ... but I wish I was on V's priority list ...

I want to leave this world the same way I came into it ... Naked, screaming, and covered in someone else's blood ...

T&S KKC member #69
T&S KKC member #69

theicingonthecake (951 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:38 PDT 83 of 94
Because his/her actions are clearly those of a person who is out of control, trying to convince members that he/she has all the control.

Rather like Ebay itself? You know, THEY decide you've 'sinned' and there is no defense..

ter·ror·ism
–noun
1. the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes.
2. the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization.
3. a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.

I think you've gone over the deep end here with this terrorism crap. YOU sound more like a radical nut than anything else. Just my humble opinion though.

blh518 (74 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:39 PDT 84 of 94
I think even the word "terrorist" glamorizes him too much. Of the printable options, I prefer "vandal".

No call here - but I'm not at my phone number of record.

No need for you at all, or your observations....you are not helpful to me....
perhaps to others you are, but not to me

fenton.smith (106 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:47 PDT 85 of 94
I never got a call.

I did suddenly realize why he came after me. On the board where he was pushing his Captua Populator, I posted a review that called him a really stupid person who had no real idea of what he was doing and had no right thinking of himself as a hacker. He threw all that code at a problem that didn't need to be solved. One could avoid filling the eBay Captua fields by simply turning off JavaScript. I likened him to some of the most stupid programmers that I've worked with. They would throw thousands of lines of code at a problem that a competent programmer could solve in a few hundred lines.

I've also referred to him as primarily a publicity hound with a few tricks to attract attention. I'll admit that in the last year, he has learned a lot more tricks, but mostly by building on the work of others rather than by being really original.

Ignorance is NOT bliss - None is so blind as he who will not see
Fenton.Smith

blh518 (74 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:55 PDT 86 of 94
LOL, Fenton. Yes, that might well ruffled his feathers a wee bit! He also watches comments made about him on Auctionbytes, and he was monitoring the YouTube video that got pulled and commented there. He's got a following on the Yahoo Finance discussions concerning eBay but he hasn't popped up there yet to my knowledge. He's a busy little fellow, running around to see what everyone is saying about him.

No need for you at all, or your observations....you are not helpful to me....
perhaps to others you are, but not to me

master_of_mistakes (13 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:56 PDT 87 of 94
This may be affecting foreign sellers as well. I got an email this morning about some new auctions from someone on my favorite sellers list. I looked at a couple of them. No problem.

I go to his ID tonight to look things over, no auctions, nothing in his store. He had over 200 items this morning.

Not listed as a NARU. The seller is in Germany, but also sells here.

shebuysbluesky (58 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 19:58 PDT 88 of 94
Well the guy who called, "Chris", spoke perfect English with no accent. He refused to pass me on up to a higher level security employee. He answered most of my questions with either: "I don't know", "I can't say" or "Sorry I don't have that information."

--- outside of the perfect English that sure sounds like an eBay employee to me.

Of course maybe it was V and he just wanted to hear my sexy voice?

career.curves (154 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 20:01 PDT 89 of 94
Where did the call originate from?

I received a call from Midvale,Utah earlier in the day, at 1848 hrs.

Didn't answer it and no message was left.

-Tammy

kathiesklown1970 (2827 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 20:03 PDT 90 of 94
Night everyone. Sorry this happened to you guys.

Noapte bună V.
.

Kath V35
If you wouldn’t say it in person, don’t say it online.

shebuysbluesky (58 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 20:03 PDT 91 of 94
I don't have caller ID, but on other boards I have read that calls from eBay customer service can originate from Utah.

azlynn67_2 (0 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 20:09 PDT 92 of 94
I don't have caller ID, but on other boards I have read that calls from eBay customer service can originate from Utah.

They can, but I thought it was Draper (sp?).

christinel (717 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 20:10 PDT 93 of 94
I don't have caller ID, but on other boards I have read that calls from eBay customer service can originate from Utah.

This is true.

career.curves (154 ) View Listings | Report Oct-05-07 21:14 PDT 94 of 94
Well good grief, I might have received a call from eBay and didn't answer it because I thought the person would leave a message.

Hmmm, interesting.

-Tammy

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Posted on 05 October 2007 at 17:48 in eBay, eBay Customer Service, Fraud | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

03 October 2007

From eBay Technical Issues Forum - Do you people EVER test before turning something loose?

For new newsgroup readers, these are not our forum posts. Any comments to the posters below should be made on the applicable thread, marked in bold below.

//

From eBay Technical Issues Forum
Do you people EVER test before turning something loose?
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000444333&tstart=0&mod=1191448628477
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:mwuScww1GrQJ:forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa%3FthreadID%3D2000444333%26tstart%3D0%26mod%3D1191370435917+%22do+you+people+ever+test
.

jamie*n (327 ) Oct-02-07 00:08 PDT
Here we go again. You rolled out a new search with FUNDAMENTAL FUNCTIONALITY that's JUST PLAIN BROKEN.

I bring up an item from a seller I like. I click "View seller's other items - List" (I hate the Store concept, don't tell me to use it). I see everything that seller has listed. Fine - so far, so good. Now I type a search string into the search box at the top, then click "Show Items" down at the bottom of the left side bar, which is CLEARLY LABELED AS "NARROW YOUR RESULTS". What do I get? THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS of items matching my search term FROM EVERY SELLER ON EBAY!

NO! NO!! NO!!! That's not what I wanted. That's not what the box said I would get. The box for "Items from seller" was CLEARLY checked, and I did NOT uncheck it. I wanted things matching that search term from THAT SELLER and ONLY THAT SELLER. Ebay, this used to work, and it's such a FUNDAMENTAL USAGE. Did ANYBODY on your development team actually USE this abomination before turning it loose on the public? Please get some of your monkeys in there to fix it? Please?

Don't get me started on the fact that it's stripping *'s from search terms. That makes my day, too.

14 replies Date posted Reply #

kathyseven (1025 ) Oct-02-07 00:46 PDT 1 of 14
You need to go to the Search Discussion board and post on the locked thread at the top.
I've been told that's the only one the "finding" team reads.

Beware the button that takes you to a "Log In" page. Check My Messages First!

kathyseven (1025 ) Oct-02-07 00:52 PDT 2 of 14
One more thing.....don't sign into the boards and expect your search preferences to work. They WON'T!
I have to sign out and then sign into the ebay side for them to work at all.

I'm suspecting that you've been included in a beta test.
It sounds like what I went thru when I found myself in a beta search one day.
It was a very frustrating experience!

Look at the bottom of the page and see if there is an opt out link. If not, try dumping temp file cache and ebay cookies. Some members claim that helps them to get the "old" search back.

Beware the button that takes you to a "Log In" page. Check My Messages First!

jamie*n (327 )    Oct-02-07 01:11 PDT    3 of 14
Sorry, but no - I'm trapped in this nightmare and I'm just going to quit.

Cleared all cookies & cache (which FireFox very nicely does FOR me every time I close it and restart anyway). Went directly to "www.ebay.com", didn't use any bookmarks or links in emails. Clicked directly on "sign in". Signed in. Didn't go anywhere near this "Playground" abomination. Entered a search with a "*" in the term. What do I get? ZERO results, because the stupid search stripped the "*" out and gave me NOTHING in return.

Started over. Cleared it all, started at "www" again. Signed in. Went to a closed item from my watch list. Clicked "View sellers other items - List" Got the list of everything that seller is selling. Added a search term to the box with a * in it. What did I get? MORE THAN SEVEN THOUSAND RESULTS because now I'm looking at results from EVERY SINGLE SELLER on ebay for a search term that was now MISSING THE * I had explicitly added!

I'm stuck with this worthless piece of crap search. I can't opt out. I can't use any of the methods I've developed over time to actually get MEANINGFUL results from the search. I've needed to break the habit of SPENDING WAY TOO MUCH MONEY ON BUYING THINGS FROM EBAY for a while now. I think this time they may have finally succeeded in stopping me.

dewskis_dewings (31 )    Oct-02-07 05:18 PDT    4 of 14
Aha! OP said the magic word:: "FIREFOX". Dunno why, but FF has major big problems with the new search. I've learned to use my IE6 for searches because there's so many FoulUPS when using FF.

alwayszero (0 )    Oct-02-07 07:12 PDT    5 of 14
Hi Jamie,
First wish me a Happy Birthday! hehe....anyway when I do a search in the seller list I don't use the * or ". For instance, I get the list (I don't use the store either), I'll type at the top.....capris or sweaters, etc. with no * or " or whatever and I get the seller's list of that item. Try that and I also use Foxfire.

Also, when searching I use the Advanced Search and type in what I"m looking for without the * or ". Such as....Baby Face Galoob Doll or Barbie vintage white purse. Seems to work fine for me. But I have noticed that I'm not getting a full list or it seems small.

Several times I've searched a few times and get different results? Which is strange. If eBay would just fix what is wrong and STOP changing what works, might be nice for a change?

scambusting (0 )    Oct-02-07 09:25 PDT    6 of 14
No one at eBay uses eBay. The employees come here for the paycheck. Meg's team comes here for feel good backslapping and to check their stock options.

They do the same as the rest of corporate America. Hire by price, get the cheapest. They hire kids out of college who took a few programming classes, in a variety of languages. They now know everything. They're gurus and will tell you so. They expect to be systems analysts. They don't want to take the time to learn to program first. They already know how.

But the big problem is that no one uses eBay. It's a bunch of used junk and new phoney crap. Yeech. Just give me my paycheck and let me get outa here. Yippee it's friday.

marnisue@ebay.com Oct-02-07 12:05 PDT 7 of 14
Good Morning jamie*n

I have not been able recreate your issue. Here are the steps I am taking, please let me know where your steps vary from mine so I can report it correctly.

1) Find any item where seller has multiple items for sale:
http://tinyurl.com/2way2z
2) Click View All other items (List)
http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/beachgal707
3) In narrow search box, enter term to narrow items from that seller, e.g. helmet
http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/beachgal707?_rkw=helmet

results: items found with that KW that are true for seller

Thanks for your time,

MarniSue
Finding Team

scambusting (0 )    Oct-02-07 12:29 PDT    8 of 14
OPs not allowed to post a user name or an item number. Unless he finds an item from his seller with a title so unique that only one comes up, The two of you can't be on the same page.

jamie*n (327 )    Oct-02-07 15:59 PDT    9 of 14
So let's crank the frustration up a level. *MY* searches have all gone back to normal today. *'s ()'s, and -'s are all back to working the way they always did. I can properly narrow down a seller search with additional terms. My bookmarks of saved searches that do seller-specific searches with multiple alternate words (word1, word2, word3, word4) are now back to working when they were decidedly broken last night.

However, my husband's account (he uses Seamonkey instead of FireFox, not sure if that matters since the behavior is exactly the same) has now STARTED behaving like mine was last night.

I think we're both going to lose our sanity if we're not careful.

Ok, here goes using one of HIS items.

Finished item from a few days ago:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160159752437&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=006

Click the "View seller's other items - List":
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZkalisiak
(I did notice that this already looks different from your "shop.ebay.com" URL)
7 items visible.

Enter "loop" into the search box at the top - a clearly visible searchable word that should get ONE hit.
Note that he's double-checking that the box for "items from seller" on the left side bar IS checked, and the seller name is properly filled in.
Submit search.

http://search.ebay.com/loop_W0QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ32QQlredZloopQQrprZ138
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, almost FIVE THOUSAND results for "loop" from every ebayer in the system, including Men's Accessories, Women's Accessories, and so on.

We are NOT imagining this. Something is not right here. But I will admit, the exact same steps work perfectly for me, where they were behaving as they are above last night.

Help? And before you suggest it, cookies and cache are being cleared - with alarming frequency - as we go through this looking for a solution.

soupac332 (682 )    Oct-02-07 16:30 PDT    10 of 14
When I follow the steps you list, entering "loop" returns only the one item (also get the 5,000 hits with the last link), using Ffx 1.5.07 and Java 1.42. I have never cleared cookies nor cache for as long as I've been using this version (over 6 months). What version of Java is your husband using? Usually you have to install the Java plugin(s) "manually" with all versions of Mozilla/Firefox/Seamonkey/Thunderbird, although this might not be the case with the WIn versions (I don't use Windoze, any version).

coreshmoo (18 )    Oct-02-07 17:13 PDT    11 of 14
I get one item also with Firefox 1.5 which is the version on the CD that I use to boot Linux. I don't change nuttin, just boot the CD. It's Mepis.

I find that when there's a problem it's always eBay as since I don,t fix nuttin or change nuttin when something starts working I give the Bay the credit. I do sometimes reboot instead of running a virus scanner. I have rarely cleared my cache and cookies.

permacrisis (526 )    Oct-03-07 10:33 PDT    12 of 14
coresh I hear ya. I use Knoppix and LOVE it.

Of course knoppix can't fix the mess between ebay's ears

pmjohn@ebay.com Oct-03-07 13:45 PDT 13 of 14
jamie*n,

I think the confusion may be around which search box was used. The search box at the very top of the page always conducts a new search. If you want to refine your search (e.g., search within the seller) you need to use the search box that appears below the tabs and "Items for Sale by kal*****." I suspect that is why people experienced a different behavior. Those who got one result used the lower box. Those who got 4000+ used the very top one. The top search (we call it global header) is always a restart. It will preserve none of the search settings you've done previously. Please let me know if the above info doesn't address the issue you saw.

Thanks,

john

pmjohn@ebay.com Oct-03-07 14:57 PDT 14 of 14
We have identified an issue where a small group of users are losing some of these filters when they try to refine their search. We are pushing an update tonight so if you are one of the few people who experienced this issue, it should be all okay tomorrow morning.

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Posted on 03 October 2007 at 18:58 in eBay, eBay Customer Service, eBay Search | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

28 September 2007

From eBay Stores Forum ajames@ebay.com - Markdown Manager - not happy with new policy change

For new newsgroup readers, these are not our forum posts. Any comments to the posters below should be made on the applicable thread, marked in bold below.

From eBay Stores Forum
Markdown Manager - not happy with new policy change
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000438276&tstart=0&mod=1191047626922

cra** (6229 ) Sep-23-07 10:28 PDT
I see that as of 9/19 you can no longer add newly listed items to a sale because eBay thinks you should wait at least one day after listing. Yesterday I worked all day listing items in my store just so I could add them to a new sale I started last night and today I find out that they didn't make it to the sale because they were 'newly listed.'

There's nothing on the Markdown Manger "limitations" list that reflects this new policy. If there had been I would have waited until tonight to start the sale and send out emails to my customers. I sell this particular item every day for $9.99 and every couple of weeks put these $10 items on sale. I sell a lot at the full price and at the sale prices. Now I have to wait 24 hours to place items on sale.

I think this is a ridiculous policy and some kind of "social engineering" being practiced by eBay. I don't see how placing items on sale less than 24 hours after listing them is deceiving anyone. It's just screwing around with sellers' ability to market their items.

ajames@ebay.com Sep-24-07 17:37 PDT 13 of 38
Hi Everyone –

We would like to provide some clarification around the recent change to markdown manager which included increasing the minimum amount of time a listing needs to have been listed to 1 day (from 0). There is not a regulation in the U.S. like there is in other countries that requires a minimum time a good must be available at a selling price before it can be placed on sale, so that was not the reason for this change.

If a listing or listings are added by way of editing a live (existing) sale, the items that have not been on the site for at least 24 hours will not be applied to the sale. You can still revise and/or update a listing on sale, that flexibility has not changed. The feedback around adding additional quantities of the same product to an existing sale is a valid requirement and we will discuss a means for enabling that feature.

An error message is displayed immediately if you create a sale for a listing that has not been on the site for the minimum 24 hours if there are less than 200 items being put on sale. If there are more than 200 items being put on sale that fail this requirement the error message will be sent later as an email to the seller. The reason why an email is sent when there are more than 200 items is to keep the response time low so that the page does not time out.

The motivation for making this change is purely to ensure that a sale represents a true discount off of the original price. We know that the more confidence buyers can have in the value they're getting from a sale, the more of a sense of urgency that will be created, and the more valuable this feature will be for all of our Store sellers over the long term. Again, it is not our intention to make this tool less efficient and we would be open to any additional feedback you may have.

Thanks again and have a great day.

The Stores Team

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Posted on 28 September 2007 at 23:16 in eBay, eBay Customer Service, eBay Stores | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

From eBay Trust & Safety (Safe Harbor) - It never happened

For new newsgroup readers, these are not our forum posts. Any comments to the posters below should be made on the applicable thread, marked in bold below.

From eBay Trust & Safety (Safe Harbor)
It never happened
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?messageID=1010343023&forumID=107&x#1010343023

jackie9978 (0 ) Sep-26-07 05:44 PDT 23 of 36
Here goes.

8:12:24 AM System
Steven S. S. has joined this session!
8:12:24 AM System
Connected with Steven S. S.
8:12:29 AM Steven S. S.
Hello, thank you for waiting and welcome to eBay Live Help! My name is Steven. If you’re a registered member, may I please start by having you confirm your User ID and first name?
8:12:43 AM jackie9978
Hi, it's Jackie, Jackie9978.
8:13:19 AM Steven S. S.
Hi! Jackie. How are you today?
8:13:25 AM jackie9978
I've been better.
8:13:32 AM jackie9978
Are you ready for my question?
8:14:11 AM jackie9978
What protections is EBAY taking now that so many names and credit card numbers were allowed to be posted on one of your discussion boards? I know you want it to all disappear, but is EBAY safe or not?
8:14:19 AM Steven S. S.
O Sure!
8:15:39 AM Steven S. S.
May I have the link of the page you are referring to?
8:15:45 AM jackie9978
And, Steven S.S., why aren't you demanding that your "boss" bot issue a press release about this event that is causing many people to question the safety of ebay.
8:15:53 AM jackie9978
a link? You don't even know what happened on ebay?
8:16:56 AM Steven S. S.
I just need to make sure that the page you are viewing is of eBay.
8:18:08 AM jackie9978
Steven S. S., are you denying that EBAY allowed this awful thing to happen?
8:18:22 AM jackie9978
is EBAY safe or is EBAY unsafe?
8:19:49 AM Steven S. S.
Please be assured that eBay is a safe online trading site ad doesn't share any personal information.
8:20:13 AM jackie9978
Then, can you explain what happened yesterday on your Trust & Safety Discussion Board, please?
8:22:09 AM Steven S. S.
Sure.
8:23:59 AM Steven S. S.
Due to an exploit of a feature on the PayPal site, some eBay users’ contact information may have been exposed. As soon as we learned of this exploit, we worked very quickly to shut it down.
8:24:26 AM Steven S. S.
This occurred when eBay users clicked on the PayPal account signup URL from the eBay Web site. Third parties may have been able to enter an eBay ID and get the user’s contact information. [IF PRESSED, this information includes name, e-mail address, shipping information and phone numbers]
8:25:04 AM Steven S. S.
Information accessed did not include financial information like credit card numbers or bank account numbers. This information is kept under the highest levels of encryption on eBay’s and PayPal’s secure servers.
8:25:28 AM jackie9978
Then, why did that information appear on your Trust & Safety discussion board?
8:27:49 AM Steven S. S.
eBay and PayPal are very safe ways to buy and sell online. We have more than 2,000 professionals working to ensure the trust and safety of our systems every day. Because PayPal doesn’t share users’ financial information, privacy is built into the service.
8:28:06 AM jackie9978
Well, that isn't my question. You claim something never happened and it certainly did happen.
8:28:25 AM jackie9978
And, shame on you for trying to hide it. Just admit there was a mistake and FIX it so it does not happen again.
8:28:48 AM jackie9978
This wasn't a PAYPAL issue, this information was posted on YOUR boards.
8:30:02 AM Steven S. S.
As I said that it is pulled from there and it is possible that these unauthorized 3rd parties have posted this on the discussion board.
8:30:40 AM jackie9978
But, you said it never showed up on your website, which is false. Which is it? Was it a PAYPAL glitch or did EBAY permit this personal information to appear on your discussion boards?
8:33:14 AM Steven S. S.
It was due to a glitch as I mentioned.
8:33:29 AM jackie9978
lol, a "glitch".
8:34:01 AM jackie9978
So, Steven S. S., at first you denied it happened, then you called it a glitch.
8:34:04 AM Steven S. S.
This issue occurred when eBay users clicked on the PayPal account signup URL from the eBay Web site it was posted on the discussion board. The feature is designed to facilitate PayPal registration from eBay.
8:34:35 AM jackie9978
So, you're claiming that everyone who had their personal information posted did so by "clicking a URL" from a discussion board?
8:35:25 AM Steven S. S.
Not from the discussion board but when eBay users clicked on the PayPal account signup URL from the eBay Web site it was posted on the discussion board.
8:35:51 AM jackie9978
I see, so you're blaming PAYPAL for personal information of your users being posted on your discussion board?
8:36:00 AM Steven S. S.
Which I already cleared to you earlier and I didn't said it has not happened.
8:36:14 AM jackie9978
Steven S.S. doesn't that appear that you're simply passing the buck? Refusing to accept responsibility?
8:36:14 AM Steven S. S.
I just asked you the link of the page on which you saw it.
8:36:30 AM jackie9978
I saw it on Ebay's Trust & Safety discussion board approximately 24 hours ago.
8:36:41 AM jackie9978
That's your board, Steven S.S. not Paypal.
8:37:08 AM Steven S. S.
We are not playing a blame game but due to a glitch on the link it got posted on the discussion board.
8:37:12 AM jackie9978
You DID remove it, but the fact remains, EBAY permitted this information to be posted. And many people, myself included, are questioning the safety of EBAY.
8:37:30 AM jackie9978
So, Paypal redirected this information to your discussion board........
8:37:43 AM jackie9978
Steven S.S. that sounds so bizarre, is that the official story?
8:38:55 AM Steven S. S.
It was a glitch in the link on the eBay website link for PayPal because of which it got posted and which I already explained you many times.
8:39:15 AM jackie9978
Okay, it was a glitch on the EBAY link not Paypal now? Gotcha.
8:39:48 AM Steven S. S.
It's not that eBay knowingly allowed this to happen.
8:39:50 AM jackie9978
Steven S.S., don't you think EBAY should alert everyone that this "glitch" happened? And that you're taking precautions that it doesn't happen again?
8:42:35 AM Steven S. S.
I agree with you. However, it has been removed from the discussion board and our team is working on it.
8:42:58 AM Steven S. S.
Any update on this will be put on the announcement board to aware our members.
8:43:09 AM jackie9978
Steven S.S. acting as if it never happened isn't putting any faith into Ebay, but thank you for your time. Have a nice day.
8:43:40 AM Steven S. S.
You're welcome!
8:43:45 AM Steven S. S.
Is there anything else I can help you with today?
8:43:50 AM jackie9978
That will be all.

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Posted on 28 September 2007 at 10:26 in eBay, eBay Customer Service, Fraud | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

22 September 2007

EBAYFAVES.COM

EBAYFAVES.COM

As of early 21 September 2007

http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/results.jsp?domain=ebayfaves.com

Visit AboutUs.org for more information about EBAYFAVES.COM
AboutUs: EBAYFAVES.COM

Registrant:
Lanya Zambrano
Shoreline Highway
Mill Valley,
CA 94941 US

Domain Name: EBAYFAVES.COM

Administrative Contact , Technical Contact :
Lanya Zambrano
lanyaz@hagginmarketing.com
100 Shoreline Highway
Mill Valley, CA 94941
US Phone: 415-289-1110

Record expires on 14-Aug-2008
Record created on 14-Aug-2007
Database last updated on 10-Sep-2007

Domain servers in listed order:
NS2.DATAPEX.COM
NS1.DATAPEX.COM

Current Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.
IP Address: 68.208.128.89 (ARIN & RIPE IP search)
IP Location: US(UNITED STATES)-FLORIDA
Lock Status: clientTransferProhibited
DMOZ no listings
Y! Directory: see listings
Data as of: 14-Jun-2005

//
//
//

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049366/quotes
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (5 February 1956)

"They're here already! You're next! You're next, You're next... "
Dr. Miles J. Binnel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Body_Snatchers
The Body Snatchers.

"The Body Snatchers is a 1955 science fiction novel by Jack Finney, originally serialized in Colliers Magazine in 1954, which describes Earth being invaded by seeds which have drifted to Earth from space. The seeds take over human bodies and replace them with simulations grown from plantlike pods, perfect physical duplicates who kill and dispose of their human victims."

... "Bennell and Driscoll barely escape Mill Valley"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_the_Body_Snatchers
Invasion of the Body Snatchers

"Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a 1956 science fiction film."
... "The screenplay was adapted from Finney's novel"

//
//
//

Later on 21 September 2007

http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/results.jsp?domain=ebayfaves.com

Visit AboutUs.org for more information about EBAYFAVES.COM
AboutUs: EBAYFAVES.COM

Registrant:
Lanya Zambrano
ATTN: EBAYFAVES.COM
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA 20172-0447

Domain Name: EBAYFAVES.COM

Administrative Contact :
Lanya Zambrano
jc9f78mm5ss@networksolutionsprivateregistration.com
ATTN: EBAYFAVES.COM
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA 20172-0447
Phone: 570-708-8780

Technical Contact :
Lanya Zambrano
jc9f78mm5ss@networksolutionsprivateregistration.com
ATTN: EBAYFAVES.COM
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA 20172-0447
Phone: 570-708-8780

Record expires on 14-Aug-2008
Record created on 14-Aug-2007
Database last updated on 21-Sep-2007

Domain servers in listed order:
NS2.DATAPEX.COM
NS1.DATAPEX.COM

//
//
//

And who is Haggin Marketing?

http://www.hagginmarketing.com/contact/

Call Jeff Haggin, President and CEO, to find out more, request a return phone call, schedule a meeting, discuss a project you want us to review, or just to talk shop.

San Francisco (Headquarters)
Haggin Marketing, Inc.
100 Shoreline Highway
Mill Valley, CA 94941
Driving Directions

Contact: John Wynn, VP, Business Development
Phone: 415-289-1110
Fax: 415-289-0120
Send us an Email

Chicago
Haggin Marketing, Inc.
343 West Erie Street, Suite 630
Chicago, IL 60610
Driving Directions

Contact: Robin Phillips, Director of New Business Development
Phone: 312-337-7100
Fax: 312-337-7199

Job Opportunities

If you are interested in working at Haggin Marketing, please send us a cover letter with an electronic version of your resume to jobs@hagginmarketing.com.

Or mail your cover letter, resume, and samples to:

Haggin Marketing, Inc.
Attention: Human Resources
100 Shoreline Highway
Mill Valley, CA 94941

http://www.dmnews.com/cms/dm-news/catalog-retail/39125.html

"In a move intended to augment its multichannel direct marketing services and broaden its national footprint, direct marketing agency Haggin Marketing Inc. has acquired The Chicago Catalog Group.

Haggin Marketing is best known for its catalog marketing expertise. However, in recent years, it has brought in-house services such as Internet marketing and analytics."

http://www.orionre.com/Orion_News/recent_news.htm

"A recent example of Web to print is eBay. Haggin has been working with the giant online marketplace for about a year and helped it execute the unusual step last month of mailing printed catalogs to cross sections of its user base Haggin helped select. Haggin designed the catalog to show consumers what kinds of items can be won in eBay auctions and at what prices as well as inform buyers about brand-new products also available."

//
//
//

From eBay Stores Forum
ebayfaves.com data leak
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000563004&tstart=0&mod=1190406384339
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:uCKfKo3651kJ:forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa%3FthreadID%3D1000563004%26tstart%3D0%26mod%3D1190425629728+%22ebayfaves.com+data+leak

mel*** (14349 ) Sep-20-07 18:05 PDT
Hey Everybody. Long time, no see.

I wrote this blog post earlier this evening and I would really like some more debate and input on this topic.

Please read and consider:

http://blogs.ebay.com/melrose_stamp/entry/ebayfaves-com-data-leak-warning/_W0QQidZ337190010

Thank you. Please let me know what you think.

jeffk@ebay.com View Listings Sep-21-07 10:52 PDT 19 of 27

Hi everyone,

I'm stopping by to post this note on behalf of our marketing team - you're absolutely right that this was a mistake:

We truly apologize for any concern these pages have caused our members. This was an error that has been resolved. All pages no longer contain first name information. Thank you for bringing this to our attention and again, our sincerest apologies for this oversight. We will ensure this does not happen again.

Jeff K. | Community Development | eBay

.

jeffk@ebay.com View Listings Sep-21-07 13:25 PDT 26 of 27
Hi css,

Saw your good question, so I'm swinging by again really quickly

Haggin Marketing is a service provider, and built and is hosting the site on our behalf.

We are adding the eBay user agreement and private policy on these pages, and this should be live shortly.

Jeff K. | Community Development | eBay

.

jeffk@ebay.com View Listings Sep-21-07 13:26 PDT 27 of 27
Whoops, typing too fast - should be "privacy policy."

Jeff K. | Community Development | eBay

//
//
//

http://blogs.ebay.com/melrose_stamp/entry/ebayfaves-com-data-leak-warning/_W0QQidZ337190010

jeffk@ebay.com ( 0 ) View seller's items | View Blog

Hi Melrose,

I just posted to your thread on the Stores board as well with an apology from our Marketing department, but you are absolutely right - this was a mistake, and it's been corrected. Bluntly, this shouldn't have happened, and we're taking steps to make sure it doesn't again in the future.

Thanks for pointing it out.

Jeff
eBay Community Development

Sep-21-07 11:04:39 PDT

//
//
//

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m09/i21/s00

Auctionbytes-NewsFlash, Number 1626 - September 21, 2007 - ISSN 1539-5065

eBay Personalization Gaffe Could Help Phishers

By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes.com
September 21, 2007

An eBay marketing campaign to 4 million shoppers lets anyone who knows the recipients' eBay User ID learn their first names. Having real names included in emails lends them an air of legitimacy that scammers may use in phishing campaigns.

An eBay user wrote about the personalization gaffe on his eBay blog. Jeff Stannard of the Melrose Stamp Company, wrote, "If I don't study emails now close enough and not notice that my last name is not present from an ebay-looking-generated-email, I might just get a hijacked account as a result of my oversight." (http://tinyurl.com/33wynx). Other users expressed similar concerns on an eBay discussion board thread (http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?messageID=1010292224).

eBay recently sent personalized print catalogs through the mail to over 4 million prospective buyers containing URLs to a site called ebayfaves.com. Typing the personalized URLs into a browser sends users to a customized page that displays their first name along with shopping suggestions based on their interests.

Entering random eBay User IDs at the end of the URL brings back either an error page (if not in the database) or a customized page displaying the person's first name.

Ironically, eBay senior director of on-site and direct marketing Shawn Mielke said the problem of spoofed eBay emails was one reason eBay decided to increase its offline marketing efforts when he spoke at the Annual Conference for Catalog, Internet and Multichannel Merchants last year (http://www.dmnews.com/cms/dm-news/catalog-retail/36675.html).

While the ebayfaves.com URL does not expose personal or financial information beyond a user's first name, it can be used in phishing campaigns to help trick unwitting recipients. Last year, AuctionBytes revealed a similar but more serious incident in which anyone could find out if an email address was attached to a PayPal account, and if so, the account holder's full name (http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m03/i27/s04). The person who brought the vulnerability to AuctionBytes' attention said the security hole had been in place for about 1 year and that many scammers had been aware of its existence.

The ebayfaves.com URL is registered to Lanya Zambrano at Haggin Marketing Inc., a third-party company that specializes in direct mail and catalogs. eBay's privacy policy outlines the information it may share with other entities (http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/privacy-policy.html).

eBay and PayPal have areas on their sites devoted to educating users about security issues, and eBay generally recommends users download its toolbar that helps users know if they are on a spoof site.

Update 9/21/07: An eBay moderator posted on the forum discussing this issue the following note: "We truly apologize for any concern these pages have caused our members. This was an error that has been resolved. All pages no longer contain first name information. Thank you for bringing this to our attention and again, our sincerest apologies for this oversight. We will ensure this does not happen again."

//
//
//

Technorati Profile

Event Horizon 1984 Blog Log

Posted on 22 September 2007 at 09:57 in eBay, eBay Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

30 August 2007

From eBay Stores Forum - SELLER NON-PERFORMANCE Policy explained

For new newsgroup readers, these are not our forum posts. Any comments to the posters below should be made on the applicable thread, marked in bold below.

FYI apologist post_a_note aka 20th_century_art posts spin and damage control supporting eBay ...

From eBay Stores Forum
SELLER NON-PERFORMANCE Policy explained
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000551652&start=0http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:KVWT1loH9wEJ:forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa%3FthreadID%3D1000551652%26tstart%3D0%26mod%3D1188747785655+ebay+%22SELLER+NON-PERFORMANCE+Policy+explained

bhe*** (302 Listings | Report Aug-30-07 08:56 PDT
Lynda Talgo of TNS answers questions regarding the new SNP policy
http://www.ebaychatter.com/the_chatter/2007/08/lynda-talgo-of-.html

Q: What about non-paying bidders who leave a negative feedback?

A. It may seem that any negative feedback from a non-paying bidder is undeserved, but this is not always the case. For eokra212q9
xample, buyers may decide not complete payment because the seller has attempted to change the terms of the transaction after the conclusion of the listing. Clearly, this is an area that is not black and white. We're continuing to evaluate whether all types of negative feedback should be included in evaluating seller non-performance.

post_a_note (0) View Listings | Report Aug-30-07 12:08 PDT 10 of 40
I keep seeing this spouted without proof. Just another example of telling a lie enough and everyone will believe it as fact. Where is the proof?

Whenever I ask to see the proof that good sellers are being suspended over this, I'm asked to politely sit back down and remain quiet.

Funny double standards on this board.

If your child came home with a letter from her school concerned that she was in the bottom 1% of her class... would your first reaction be to accuse the school of lying?

:-x

This is a posting ID. If you have a problem with PIDs, feel free to ignore this post.

//
//
//

http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2007/6/1182798373.html

June 25, 2007