The Case of Sutchi Hui Pedestrian versus Chris Bucchere Bicyclist. One Dead In San Francisco. 9 April 2012 EventHorizon1984
We are not a current events type of space. But sometimes something comes up ......
On 29 March 2012, in the city of San Francisco, a bicyclist identified as Chris Bucchere collided with a pedestrian identified as Sutchi Hui. Mr. Bucchere survived the impact. Mr. Hui died later at the hospital.
While this type of sad event happens around the world daily, it's what happened after the collision that made headlines.
An individual identifying themselves as "Chris Bucchere" wrote a post about the incident on the Mission Cycling AM Rider Google group (http://groups.google.com/group/mc-am-riders).
We pieced together and verified from various sources, the contents of that Mission Cycling AM Rider Google group post. See below.
Wrecked
Dear Missionistas / Raiders of the Morning, Famiglia and Amigos,
I wrecked on the way home today from the bi-weekly Headlands Raid today. Short story: I'm fine. The pedestrian I clobbered? Not so much.
Around 8 a.m. I was descending Divisadero Street southbound and about to cross Market Street. The light turned yellow as I was approaching the intersection, but I was already way too committed to stop. The light turned red as I was cruising through the middle of the intersection and then, almost instantly, the southern crosswalk on Market and Castro filled up with people coming from both directions. The intersection very long and the width of Castro Street at that point is very short, so, in a nutshell, blammo.
The quote/unquote 'scene of the crime' was that intersection right by the landmark Castro Theatre – it leads from a really busy MUNI station to that little plaza where The Naked Guy always hangs out. It was commuter hour and it was crowded as all getup. I couldn't see a line through the crowd and I couldn't stop, so I laid it down and just plowed through the crowded crosswalk in the least-populated place I could find.
I don't remember the next five minutes but when I came to, I was in a neck brace being loaded into an ambulance. I remember seeing a RIVER of blood on the asphalt, but it wasn't mine. Apparently I hit a 71-year-old male pedestrian and he ended up in the ICU with pretty serious head injuries. I really hope he ends up OK.
They asked me a bunch of stupid easy questions that I couldn't answer, so they kept me for a few hours for observation, gave me a tetanus shot and sent me on my way.
Anyway, other than a stiff neck, a sore jaw/TMJ, a few bruises and some raspberries, I'm totally fine. I got discharged from the hospital durning the lunch hour. The guy I hit was not as fortunate. I really hope he makes it.
The cops took my bike. Hopefully they'll give it back.
In closing, I want to dedicate this story to my late helmet. She died in heroic fashion today as my head slammed into the tarmac. Like the Secret Service would do for a president, she took some serious pavement today, cracking through-and-through in five places and getting completely mauled by the ragged asphalt. May she die knowing that because she committed the ultimate sacrifice, her rider can live on and ride on. Can I get an amen?
Amen.
The moral of this little story is: WYFH
Hoping you'll all keep the rubber side down,
Chris
We here would love to make a few choice personal comments about this masterpiece, but it would not be fit to print.
"All we want are the facts" Joe Friday, Dragnet
Let's go over some of this
The above post was attributed to Chris Bucchere, because his email address was attached to it. One problem with that logic; if you want to get one of his email addresses it's easy enough to use Google to get one.
For instance you can get a Chris Bucchere email address from http://feedhaus.com/.
Or make one up, with his name imbedded within.
All well within the realm of what any simpleton Internet Troll could accomplish.
To objectively state that Chris Bucchere made that post, where a computer is involved, you need to link the IP address associated with that email address to him. Match the MAC address to a device he has access to or owns. And then prove he was at that specific device at the time of the post.
If that post was made from a smart phone, best of luck trying to reverse trace the phone number and phone that made the post.
Ok, neither are outrageously difficult to obtain, but that's another discussion.
Not to say this is impossible. But the reverse process, a search warrant for Chris Bucchere's phone and Internet records, requires some probable cause.
You can read the appropriate California statute for yourself:
The owners of that Google group say it's him, but that's not proof.
Let's take a different and public tact.
"There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!" Cosmo, Sneakers (1992)
There is a growing misconception that the poster known as "Chris Bucchere" only made that one incident post. This is not true.
View for yourself some posts attributed to poster "Chris Bucchere", going back to 2010, on the Mission Cycling AM Google group.
Because that group closed itself to the public, use the Google "Cached" option to view messages.
A cursory examination shows that the poster known as "Chris Bucchere" had a good online rapport with other group members. Not out of the ordinary with online groups. Plus he left multiple Internet links identifying himself. Abet any Internet Troll could do this.
But when you read his postings, you will find out he had a good offline, that is a person to person relationship, with other group members. Internet Trolls are not known for doing this, unless they're into Identity Theft.
A Detective would have no problem determining if the poster known as "Chris Bucchere" is the Chris Bucchere the Police interviewed on 29 March 2012.
The original post was deleted, making an online public reading difficult. But not impossible. If you're really the curious type, do a Google search for "Wrecked - Mission Cycling AM Riders". Suggest using the quotes ("").
We suspect that link leads to the post that's making news around the world.
Currently that link will not yield that post, and at present it's not Google cached yet. However the original post might show up in the Google cache in the coming weeks. Should it appear, you'll probably see it circulating around the Internet.
Unless Google decides to quash it, or has already deleted it.
"the southern crosswalk on Market and Castro" The poster known as "Chris Bucchere"
What does the area involving the death of Sutchi Hui look like?
"I was cruising through the middle of the intersection and then, almost instantly, the southern crosswalk on Market and Castro filled up with people" The poster known as "Chris Bucchere"
There is an article, "The Chris Bucchere Accident", which includes video of pedestrians in the Castro & Market Street area. The area of the above photos.
You can judge for yourself whether pedestrians can fill a crosswalk "instantly."
"I couldn't see a line through the crowd and I couldn't stop, so I laid it down and just plowed through the crowded crosswalk in the least-populated place I could find." The poster known as "Chris Bucchere"
One might wonder what "laying the bike down" means. It's a term taken from a motorcycle maneuver, which involves hitting the pavement and sliding.
There is an interesting section within; "Today's bikes are also capable of stopping faster than ever before, making the advice about always lying down to avoid a crash obsolete."
Now imagine a bicycle and bicyclist going sideways, not upright. Into a crowd of pedestrians.
Likely scenario would be the two wheels are facing the crowd, with the bulk of the bicycle protecting the rider.
Our opinionated question is 'Why didn't he turn (left or right)?'.
"The light turned red as I was cruising through the middle of the intersection." The poster known as "Chris Bucchere"
"The light was yellow, sir." Jake Elwood, The Blues Brothers (1980)
"A person riding a bicycle or operating a pedicab upon a highway has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this division"
Answer: Yes.
Much has been made of whether the light was yellow or red. Isn't a bicycle/vehicle supposed to yield to pedestrians, whether the light is red, yellow, or gren?
21950. (a) The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. (b) This section does not relieve a pedestrian from the duty of using due care for his or her safety. No pedestrian may suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard. No pedestrian may unnecessarily stop or delay traffic while in a marked or unmarked crosswalk. (c) The driver of a vehicle approaching a pedestrian within any marked or unmarked crosswalk shall exercise all due care and shall reduce the speed of the vehicle or take any other action relating to the operation of the vehicle as necessary to safeguard the safety of the pedestrian. (d) Subdivision (b) does not relieve a driver of a vehicle from the duty of exercising due care for the safety of any pedestrian within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.
According to part (d) a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk has right-of-way. Meaning the vehicle yields. Read, STOP.
"Reporters. They want a comment." Robert Goren "Can they print a hand gesture." Alexandra Eames Law & Order: Criminal Intent
The driver was "arrested on manslaughter charges in the death of 2 bicyclists. Essentially reckless driving, speeding, and two fatalities.
That incident took place on 7 April 2012 at "9:30 a.m." The arrest was recorded in an article posted at 10:50 AM.
Contrast that action with Chris Bucchere, who according to MissionCycling.org, "reckless riding on that day", probably GPS tracked going 35.2 mph in a 25 mph zone, resulting in one fatality?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2126649/Chris-Bucchere-accused-KILLING-71-year-old-defending-actions-cycling-internet-forum.html -- 'I plowed through... and blammo': Cyclist accused of KILLING 71-year-old after brazenly telling internet forum how he ran him over
http://www.marinij.com/sausalito/ci_20334356/cyclist-involved-fatal-s-f-crash-was-coming -- Cyclist involved in fatal S.F. crash was coming from Marin Headlands ride
http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2012/04/05/was-cyclist-who-killed-pedestrian-reckless -- Was the cyclist who killed a pedestrian reckless?
http://sfist.com/2012/04/05/cyclist_who_struck_pedestrian_at_ca.php -- Cyclist Who Struck Pedestrian At Castro: "I Just Plowed Through The Crowded Crosswalk"
http://dothedude.blogspot.com/2012/04/asshole-cyclist-looking-for-sympathy.html -- Asshole Cyclist Looking For Sympathy Buys Himself A Heap Of Trouble
http://tarckbike.com/node/17985 Jackass of the day -- Jackass of the day
http://sfcitizen.com/blog/2012/04/06/did-strava-com-help-kill-pedestrian-sutchi-hui-whats-your-time-on-the-castro-street-descent-aka-castro-street-bomb/ -- Did STRAVA.Com Help Kill Pedestrian Sutchi Hui? Timing Yourself on the “Castro Street Descent” (AKA Castro Street Bomb)
http://holierthanyou.blogspot.com/2012/04/chris-bucchere-accident.html -- Holier than You Blog: The Chris Bucchere Accident
http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=forum.posts&thread=1982296&forum=2&page=1&pc=24 -- Talking about your legal issues on a public forum
"Camping, an 89-year-old retired civil engineer who has built a multi-million-dollar nonprofit ministry based on his apocalyptic prediction"
"In 2009, the nonprofit reported in IRS filings that it received $18.3 million in donations, and had assets of more than $104 million, including $34 million in stocks or other publicly traded securities."
"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some have coveted, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 1 Timothy 6:10
"Baka Bakka." Ruri Hoshino, Martian Successor Nadesico
As previously announced, we have been conducting an ongoing, thorough investigation stemming from the cyber attack in April and promised to notify you should there be any changes to the situation.
A press release was issued today outlining these details. We will promptly send a customer service notification via email to all of our impacted account holders whose customer data may have been stolen as a result of an illegal intrusion on our systems. This information was discovered less than 24 hours ago and in response, we took down our services until we could verify their security.
SOE is committed to delivering secure, stable and entertaining games for players of all ages and we're working around the clock to ensure this situation is resolved as quickly as possible. We deeply regret the inconvenience this has caused and appreciate your continued patience and feedback.
Sincerely, Sony Online Entertainment
Of course now, about a week later Monday (5/2/2011), Sony decided to rectify the situation:
"The data breach comes on top of the 77 million PlayStation accounts"
"Sony said that it shut service Monday morning to Sony Online Entertainment games, which are available on personal computers, Facebook and the Playstation 3 console. Its most popular games include "EverQuest," "Free Realms" and "DC Universe Online."
Of course now, about a week later Tuesday (5/3/2011), Sony decided clarifiy the situation with this email:
Our ongoing investigation of illegal intrusions into Sony Online Entertainment systems has discovered that hackers may have obtained personal customer information from SOE systems. We are today advising you that the personal information you provided us in connection with your SOE account may have been stolen in a cyber-attack. Stolen information includes, to the extent you provided it to us, the following: name, address (city, state, zip, country), email address, gender, birthdate, phone number, login name and hashed password.
Customers outside the United States should be advised that we further discovered evidence that information from an outdated database from 2007 containing approximately 12,700 non-US customer credit or debit card numbers and expiration dates (but not credit card security codes) and about 10,700 direct debit records listing bank account numbers of certain customers in Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Spain may have also been obtained and we will be notifying each of those customers promptly.
There is no evidence that our main credit card database was compromised. It is in a completely separate and secured environment.
We had previously believed that SOE customer data had not been obtained in the cyber-attacks on the company, but on May 1st we concluded that SOE account information may have been stolen and we are notifying you as soon as possible.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the attack and as a result, we have:
1.
Temporarily turned off all SOE game services;
2.
Engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full and complete investigation into what happened; and
3.
Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our network infrastructure to provide you with greater protection of your personal information.
We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding and goodwill as we do whatever it takes to resolve these issues as quickly and efficiently as practicable.
For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information. Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number, social security number or other personally identifiable information. If you are asked for this information, you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking. When SOE™'s services are fully restored, we strongly recommend that you log on and change your password. Additionally, if you use your Station or SOE game account name or password for other unrelated services or accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them, as well.
To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we encourage you to remain vigilant, to review your account statements and to monitor your credit reports. We are providing the following information for those who wish to consider it:
U.S. residents are entitled under U.S. law to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free (877) 322-8228.
We have also provided names and contact information for the three major U.S. credit bureaus below. At no charge, U.S. residents can have these credit bureaus place a "fraud alert" on your file that alerts creditors to take additional steps to verify your identity prior to granting credit in your name. This service can make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name. Note, however, that because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you, it also may delay your ability to obtain credit while the agency verifies your identity. As soon as one credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the others are notified to place fraud alerts on your file. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, or should you have any questions regarding your credit report, please contact any one of the agencies listed below.
You may wish to visit the web site of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or reach the FTC at (877) 382-4357 or 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580 for further information about how to protect yourself from identity theft. Your state Attorney General may also have advice on preventing identity theft, and you should report instances of known or suspected identity theft to law enforcement, your State Attorney General, and the FTC. For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; telephone (877) 566-7226; or www.ncdoj.gov. For Maryland residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; telephone: (888) 743-0023; or www.oag.state.md.us.
We are committed to helping our customers protect their personal data and we will provide a complimentary offering to assist users in enrolling in identity theft protection services and/or similar programs. The implementation will be at a local level and further details will be made available shortly in regions in which such programs are commonly utilized.
We thank you for your patience as we complete our investigation of this incident, and we regret any inconvenience. Our teams are working around the clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible. Sony takes information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that additional measures are taken to protect personally identifiable information. Providing quality and secure entertainment services to our customers is our utmost priority. Please contact us at (866) 436-6698 should you have any additional questions.
Hi
blog readers, it’s Anuj from the comms team here. Following on from
Farhad’s blog post on Monday, I’m pleased to let our customers in India
know that we’ve resumed local bank withdrawals.
When
you select the ‘Withdraw Funds’ option on your PayPal account, we will
ask you to fill out a new field entitled ‘Purpose Code’. This
information is required under the laws of India in order to identify
the nature of cross-border merchant transactions. Simply select the one
most appropriate for your business. More details on purpose codes can
be found here (
http://www.paypal.com/in/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/Marketing/popup/PurposeGroup_IN-outside
)
If
you have any questions, please contact PayPal customer support by
logging into your PayPal account and clicking on ‘contact us’ at the
bottom of the page.
I’d like to apologize again on behalf of PayPal for all the inconvenience this has caused our customers.
Anuj
Hi blog readers, it’s Anuj from the comms team here.
Following on from Farhad’s blog post on Monday,
I’m pleased to let the thousands of businesses who rely on PayPal to
sell their goods and services around the world know that we’ve resumed
local bank withdrawals in India.
When you select the ‘Withdraw Funds’ option on your PayPal account,
we will ask you to fill out a new field entitled ‘Purpose Code’.
This information is required under the laws of India in order to
identify the nature of cross-border merchant transactions. Simply
select the one most appropriate for your business. More details on
purpose codes can be found here
If you have any questions, please contact PayPal customer support by
logging into your PayPal account and clicking on ‘contact us’ at the
bottom of the page.
I’d like to apologize once again on behalf of PayPal for all the inconvenience this has caused our customers.
Anuj
This entry was posted
on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 7:45 am
Q. I run a charity, and I am based in India. I don’t see the purpose code for donations and charities A. PayPal can currently be used only as a gateway for payments of goods and services into India. We cannot process payments for charitable donations at this time.
Q. I used to use PayPal for Personal Inward Remittance to India. Now, my balances are stuck in PayPal A. We are no longer able to complete these withdrawals to your bank account in India. You do have the option to complete your withdrawals by check. If you have any questions, we urge you to contact PayPal customer support by logging into your PayPal account and clicking on ‘contact us’ at the bottom of the page.
"PayPal needs specific approvals to allow personal inward remittances to India, which we currently do not have. Until we get these approvals, personal payments into India will remain suspended."
Which brings up the question, PayPal says thousands of India business accounts but how many PayPal India personal accounts are there?
According to Anuj Nayar, PayPal Director of Global Communications, there are 1.6 million Indians signed up to PayPal. With the caveat "not all of them are regular users". We'll leave it to the reader to do some research as to how many regular PayPal personal account India users exist.
"Within hours of reaching out to them, PayPal's PR team here patched me
on a telephone call to Anuj Nayar, their Global Communications Head. He
patiently explained the fracas to me, bit by bit, for the better part
of an hour."
Which explained how he obtained that tantalizing 1.6 million fact. And Mr. Joseph confirmed PayPal India's lack of paperwork being the reason for the transaction holds:
"I cross-checked my data with Alpana Killawala, at the Reserve Bank of
India, I was in for a slight surprise. All money flowing across our
borders is subject to two major laws. The Foreign Exchange Management
Act (FEMA) and the Payments and Settlements Act of 2007.
According
to those laws, organizations like PayPal should have submitted
themselves to scrutiny by the RBI. They hadn't, so they were pulled up.
To prevent inconvenience to customers, the Reserve Bank has allowed
PayPal to honour all transactions done upto January this year. But
they're still on the watch list."
In other words 'pulled over for operating without a license'. Solely the fault of the operator.
But Mr. Joseph also wrote something rather disquieting:
"If they don't satisfy all the bank's detailed questions by the thirtieth of April, their operations could be disrupted again!"
Now PayPal India payments were officially suspended on 27 January 2010, cause being operating with out a Payments and Settlements Act license. The "thirtieth of April" is 90 days (give or take) after the suspension. Ninety days being a sterotypical warning period.
It appears PayPal was never in the clear to operate, but to "prevent inconvenience to customers" was given 90 days to comply with the law or face disruptions to PayPal's operations.
Interesting.
The clock is ticking PayPal India. Get your act together.
/*
Apologies for the "transaction" typo in previous articles.
"Delay or failure to receive such a license or regulatory approval could require PayPal to change its business practices or features in ways that would adversely affect PayPal’s international expansion plans, and could require PayPal to suspend providing products and services to customers in one or more countries."
John Donahoe, eBay CEO, 27 October 2009
"The Reserve Bank of India has asserted that PayPal’s offering of
payment services to customers outside of India to send personal,
non-commercial payments to recipients in India requires a license from
the Reserve Bank. The Reserve Bank has directed the Indian affiliate of
PayPal’s processing bank to suspend all withdrawals to the Indian bank
accounts of PayPal customers for both personal and business customers.
PayPal has suspended personal non-commercial payments to Indian
accounts, and intends to apply for a license from the Reserve Bank of
India, but PayPal could be subject to fines from the Reserve Bank for
the period of operation without a license, and PayPal’s prospects for
future business in India, both cross-border and domestic, could be
materially and adversely affected."
Take note of the following:
"period of operation without a license"
"intends to apply for a license from the Reserve Bank of India"
eBay has stated PayPal is operating without a license in India. And PayPal has not started the license process yet. Merriam-Webster defines "intend" as "to have in mind as a purpose or goal." Which is not the same as saying 'applied for a license' or 'is waiting for license approval.' In other words, 'the check is in the mail.'
Worse case is PayPal arguing with the Reserve Bank of India, that PayPal does not need a license.
"suspend all withdrawls to the Indian bank accounts of PayPal customers for both personal and business customers"
"personal,
non-commercial payments to recipients in India requires a license"
eBay has stated the Reserve Bank of India stipulated PayPal needed a license for "personal, non-commercial payments." BUT PayPal suspended transactions for "personal and business customers" instead of just "personal" transactions.
If there is someone in charge at PayPal International who's actually awake and functioning, perhaps they should bother to read what eBay CEO John Donahoe puts a signature to quarter after quarter.
Interesting that it's three months to the day, 27 January 2010, where due to PayPal's ineptness in obtaining an India license, eBay's worse case scenario of "PayPal to suspend providing products and services to customers" occurred.
Enough already. PayPal get your license and get on with business.
But don't fret. The people in charge of PayPal India "intends to apply for a license from the Reserve Bank of India" REAL SOON NOW.
/*
Apologies for the "transaction" typo in previous articles.
“Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges. I don’t have to show you any stinking badges.” ‘Gold Hat’ (Alfonso Bedoya), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaxURLFn6jU
The PayPal India Suspended Transaction Services and Farhad Irani 15 February 2010 EventHorizon1984
We anticipated PayPal would make a statement this week regarding suspension of personal transactions into India. PayPal remained predictable. On February 14th, "Day 19", Farhad Irani the lead for the PayPal business in Asia Pacific posted a letter on the PayPal Blog. A copy of the letter is attached to this article.
The letter contained Farhad Irani's "sincere apologies for the inconvenience", and not much else. The else being two paragraphs regarding taking money out of a credit card for a "five USD fee". Presumably to make up for the cash PayPal is holding.
And two paragraphs providing tacit confirmation that PayPal business accounts were affected;
"help the
thousands of Indian businesses who use PayPal"
"We were hoping that our merchant customers would be able to start withdrawing their funds at their local bank by today, but it looks like this will still take some more time.".
Otherwise, as India colleagues surmise, many PayPal India customers will have to wait, according to PayPal, "months" for their money.
"“Providers of cross-border money transfer service need prior
authorization from the Reserve Bank under the Payment and Settlement
Systems Act,” a spokeswoman for the Reserve Bank of India, Alpana
Killawalla, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “PayPal does not
have our authorization.”
Currently some people with no official capacity to speak for PayPal are
spinning 'it's the fault of the India government. As we noted
previously, when a business fails to comply with the law, it is the
fault of the business.
The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (51 of 2007) and the Payment and Settlement Systems Regulations, 2008 have been notified and have come into effect from August 12, 2008. The Payment and Settlement Systems Act stipulates that no person other than the Reserve Bank, shall commence or operate a payment system except under and in accordance with an authorisation issued by the Reserve Bank under the provisions of the Act.
All persons currently operating a payment system or desirous of setting up a payment system, as defined in Section 2(1)(i) of the Act should apply for authorisation to the Reserve Bank, unless specifically exempted in terms of the Act. Existing payment systems will cease to have the right to carry on their operations, unless they obtain an authorisation within six months from the commencement of the Act (i.e., 12th August 2008).
The Payment and Settlement Systems Regulations, 2008 detail the form and manner in which the application is to be made to the Reserve Bank for grant of authorisation. The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 and The Payment and Settlement Systems Regulations, 2008 are available on the website of Reserve Bank.
Ajit Prasad Manager
Which means prior to January 27th, PayPal had six months plus almost a year to receive RBI authorization, and did not.
"I’m personally committed to
working closely and tirelessly with the Reserve Bank of India to get a
fast resolution to this issue" Farhad Irani, 14 February 2010
With PayPal weeds also spinning authorization is time consuming and difficult for a United States company like PayPal to obtain, perhaps it would be helpful to see who is licensed.
It turns out there is an interesting document concerning companies certified by the RBI.
Systems Act, 2007 for Setting up and Operating Payment System in India The Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 along with the Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems Regulations, 2008 and the Payment and Settlement Systems Regulations, 2008 have come into effect from 12th August, 2008.
The 'payment systems' operators authorised by the Reserve Bank of India to set up and operate in India under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 are as under:
Position as on January 31, 2010
Contained within is a list of compliant United States companies, and when they were certified.
Cards Payment Network
American Express Banking Corp, March 31 2009
Master Cards International Incorporated, March 31 2009
Visa International Services Association, USA, March 31 2009
Cross border Money Transfer - in-bound only
Buyindiaonline.com Inc, January 18 2010
MoneyGram Payment Systems Inc., May 25 2009
Royal Exchange (USA) Inc., May 25 2009
Western Union Financial Services Incorporated, March 31 2009
Save for the new Buyindiaonline.com, it appears United States companies were able to be complaint, in 2009.
Perhaps as a friend noted, one or more of these PayPal competitors asked the RBI why in 2010 was PayPal operating in violation of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, while they were compliant with the Act in 2009?
Probably a coincidence PayPal's owner eBay bans MoneyGram and Western Union payments.
Or not.
/*
Apologies for the "transaction" typo in previous articles.
'It’s more concerning that a company such as Paypal could “overlook” such an important regulation. I think this is really telling of the level of people at the top within Paypal, surely some heads have rolled for this…unforgivable, and we have to trust them with our money, I wonder what else is being “overlooked”.' Bigpoppa
//
An Open Letter from Farhad Irani on the Situation in India
Hi. My name is Farhad Irani and I lead the PayPal business in Asia
Pacific. As the leader of PayPal’s business in the region and as a
fellow Indian, I want you to know that we are sparing no effort in
ensuring that the present day inconvenience in not being able to
process the bank withdrawal functionality in India for sellers is
quickly and completely addressed. This is the single most important
item for me and my management team. My sincere apologies for the
inconvenience you must be facing.
I’d like to let everyone know that I’m personally committed to
working closely and tirelessly with the Reserve Bank of India to get a
fast resolution to this issue, so that we can continue to help the
thousands of Indian businesses who use PayPal to sell their goods or
services in the global marketplace. India is a very special market for
me and your continued success is very precious to us.
We were hoping that our merchant customers would be able to start
withdrawing their funds at their local bank by today, but it looks like
this will still take some more time. I understand your frustration and
want to let you know that we are doing everything we can to free your
funds.
It has always been possible for sellers to request a check or
withdraw funds to a credit card, and these options are still available
from the Withdraw Money tab of your PayPal account. If you don’t have a
credit card attached to your PayPal account now, you can add one under
the Profile section of your PayPal account. Before asking for a credit
card withdrawal, please check with your card issuing bank to ensure
that they can process it.
It usually takes five to seven working days for you to receive a
check when you request a check withdrawal and PayPal normally charges
a five USD fee. We are trying our best to help sellers during this
difficult time and therefore will refund the check withdrawal fee back
to your PayPal account within a week. I appreciate that this is not
ideal, but please bear with us.
I’d like to let you know that I’m listening to your concerns. This is my direct PayPal email address: Farhad@paypal.com. Feel free to send me an email.
"The Reserve Bank of India said it asked the company on Jan. 27 to immediately suspend PayPal payments to and from India as well as transfers to local banks in India. PayPal said it complied with the request the next day."
Indicating the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) "asked" PayPal to suspend payments. Which is 'all well and good' save for this part of the article.
"“Providers of cross-border money transfer service need prior
authorization from the Reserve Bank under the Payment and Settlement
Systems Act,” a spokeswoman for the Reserve Bank of India, Alpana
Killawalla, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “PayPal does not
have our authorization.”
The act, adopted in August 2008, regulates payment and settlement methods in India."
When a business fails to comply with the law, it is the fault of the business. Not the regulation.
Apparently the answer to why the suspensions occurred is PayPal's papers are not in order.
"The first ad campaign for Heineken beer from SSC&B will begin to run in magazines next month. The ads will be big pictures of frosty, beaded bottles and glasses of the No. 1-selling import with the simple quote in smallish type, ''Come to think of it, I'll have a Heineken,''.
The rest of the very very short article states the initial advertising budget was $12 million. Adjusted for inflation that would be about $28 million now.
One wonders how much eBay spent to copy an existing successful advertisement.
//
Addendum 6 November 2009
Yes, at this point we're merely having fun. After all eBay and it's compensated representatives are now spinning "Come to think of it" is a common idiom and essentially free for the taking.
"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".
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.
Follow us.
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.
"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.
"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)
Very briefly that Guide requires companies to identify themselves when commenting on their products. And people making comments about a product, that a company shows to the public, must be independent of the company. Or the person or company must provide to the public their relationship.
We use the term "Weed" to describe people paid to post. The term derives from how these individuals are viewed. For example the featured article notes, "company has policies to weed out suspicious reviews".
A Wall Street Journalposter provided a partial description of the tactics an eBay Weed employs. This edited version is similar to PowerPoint discussion points given by public relations companies to writers.
Blame the messenger.
Attack the messenger or message.
Downplay the message.
Twist what the messenger is trying to say.
Spin everything positive for Ebay
Never blame Ebay for anything
Tell users to go elsewhere if they don’t like it
For the Weeds that will use some of those tactics on this article, tell your supervisor to study a little history. Or actually read the various Public Relations text books. Some of us did.
Philip Morris Public Relations 1992:
Change the focus of the issue
Explore and exploit the opposition's weaknesses
Investigate legal challenges to opposition efforts
Develop alliances with other groups being attacked by the opposition
Begin large-scale program of journalism education (focusing on accuracy, accountability, objectivity, etc.)
Become a source of information and expertise
The above combined checklists sounds familiar doesn't it?
One persona missing from the public relations tactics is the 'friend'. A theatrical example is Security Officer Price from the film Stalag 17 (1953). This personae and it's subtypes are the hardest to detect, and we'll leave that for a future article.
Which brings us to the eBay Weed of the Day.
Disclaimer: We are commenting on individual(s) associated with the following posts, who may have attempted to influence public opinion through methods unsanctioned by the FTC. This opinion should not be taken as fact, and the reader should form their own unbiased opinion.
This part of a recent post was made on a recent article involving eBay.
#1 "Some people just can't handle change or changing markets. A handful of people have been complaining for more than a year now (mostly the same ones on every blog they can find in a day); they need to learn to move on."
Interestingly months earlier the following comment was made on a different article by another independent voice.
#2 "if you take out the 10 or 15 most vocal anti-eBay people blogging all over the place (sometimes with different names as well), you realize that the noise is pretty low if noticeable at all. Life goes on, adapt or die.
To be obvious:
"Some people just can't handle change or changing markets"
"adapt or die"
"they need to learn to move on"
"Life goes on"
"A handful of people have been complaining for more than a year now"
"if you take out the 10 or 15 most vocal anti-eBay people"
"(mostly the same ones on every blog they can find in a day)"
" blogging all over the place (sometimes with different names as well)"
The dissimilar writing styles 'sound' like two separate writers. Which begs the questions. Two different people stating near identical talking points months apart? Down to the parenthesis; "(", ")"?
We leave you with this thought. Those are not the only examples.
"Sure. Fine. Whatever." Dana Scully, X-Files (Syzygy)
The eBay/PayPal legal/financial team was busy at work implementing the new and improved 10% hold policy. Where PayPal holds 10% of PayPal payments made to sellers.
The dunning template (we edited in the Fill In The Category) letter sent out on June 23rd reads:
Your business is important to us, and we are
working hard to provide an easy, fast and secure payment service to you
and your customers while keeping our prices competitive. We're also
committed to clearly communicating changes to our policies and
procedures. To that end, we are writing to inform you of a change to
your PayPal account, which will take effect 30 days from the date of
this email.
Beginning 07/23/2009, a small percentage of the
total payments you receive will be held temporarily as a reserve in
your account. This small reserve amount helps to ensure that funds are
available to cover payment reversals or buyer chargebacks, if you do
not have a sufficient PayPal account balance and do not provide the
funds to do so.
A reserve is like a security deposit for
your PayPal account and is standard practice in the payments industry,
especially for retail segments like Fill In The Category where there is a
higher-than-average risk of reversals or chargebacks. This does not
mean that you have done anything wrong. We are requiring a small
reserve in your account because you sell in a category that has a
higher risk of reversals and chargebacks and because you are relatively
new to PayPal as a seller.
Your reserve amount will be 10%
of the total payments you receive, which will be held on a rolling
60-day schedule. That means 10% of the money you take in each day will
be held in your account, and then made available for withdrawal 60 days
later.
For example, if you receive $2,000 every 60 days
into your PayPal account, then a reserve amount of about $400 would be
required on a rolling 60-day period. In other words, about $6.67 would
be held in reserve each day, then released 60 days later.
If you are a PayPal Money Market Fund customer, you will still earn
interest on your total balance while your money is in reserve. Click
here for more information or to enroll in the PayPal Money Market Fund.
We recognize this is a change in the way we do business with
you. By requiring some merchants to reserve money in their accounts,
we're able to lower our own costs. Keeping our costs low helps us to
continue providing competitive pricing for all sellers who use PayPal.
If you have any questions about this change, please call us at
1-877-729-7252. We appreciate your business and look forward to a
continued partnership.
The end of second quarter (June 30) looming for eBay and PayPal, explains the timing of the 10% hold policy. Essentially new financial quarter, new revenue. The why hold at all can be found in knowing what the "1%" represents.
Using numbers from eBay's SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) filing, 23 October 2008 10-Q Quarterly ReportForm 10-Q, the following is the worse case (for sellers or best case for eBay/PayPay) calculation of "1%" per quarter.
Active eBay users affected: 830,000
Active registered PayPal accounts affected: 548,000
Net total payment volume, HELD: $115,690,000
PayPal's revenue in this case would be the interest on the $115 million per quarter, or $450 million per year. Plus incidental fees.
As we've noted on previous occasions, this is what eBay/PayPal considers to be "small."
"Keep On With The Force Don't Stop Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" Released 1979, Michael Jackson (1958-2009)
Let's use numbers from eBay's U.S. SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) filing, 23 October 2008 10-Q Quarter Report, and see what "one-third of 1 percent" represents.
The worse case amount for PayPal fraud in one year (not one quarter) at "one-third of 1 percent":
How To Guide - FTC Guides Concerning Use Of Endorsements And Testimonials In Advertising 18 May 2009 EventHorizon1984 Commentary
This comment isn't really about the material violations made by certain
corporations and their paid shills. Although we're including the link
and text, because eBay spams the Internet with these eBay blogs and
associated keywords. And we like to help them along.
Today's lesson, so to speak, is what we've noticed in the actual online FTC complaint process.
If you don't feel like writing an actual letter and mailing it (http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/cmplanding.shtm), here's the link to the online complaint form.
Step 1: Let's Get Started
Is your complaint concerning identity theft?
( ) Yes
( ) No
For this example, select "No".
Is your complaint most closely related to:
( ) Debt collectors or debt collection practices
( ) Credit Reports
( ) Dissatisfaction with other business practices
You get to the interesting part when you select "Dissatisfaction".
What kind of company are you complaining about?
Automobile
Business Opportunities
Home Furnishings/Repair
Internet
Lending Financial / Services
Lottery of Sweepstakes
Telephone/Cable
Work-related
Other
Want to hazard a guess as to what choices you get when "Internet" is selected?
Auctions
Internet Service Provider
Spyware/Computer Viruses
Web Design Services
Other Internet Practices
Auctions
Internet Service Provider
Spyware/Computer Viruses
Web Design Services
Other Internet Practices
It is truly amazing at the amount of Federal attention the "Internet"
"Auctions" business has garnered recently. Think the FTC is referring
to eBay here? Or perhaps eBay's paid and undisclosed speakers?
Unless some "Internet" "Auctions" business plans to spin this as 'Auctions means Amazon too'.
In case you're wondering. Yes, there's more to the form. Yes, we are doing some spring cleaning bulk filings. Don't need this type of distraction and "noise" during the summer.
And you may be asking too, does this go anywhere? Based on past history, see our end quote.
"Oooh That's Gotta Hurt!"
Ash (Bruce Campbell), Army of Darkness (1992)
http://www.geocities.com/evildeadpage/gotahurt.wav
//
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/guides/endorse.htm
FTC GUIDES CONCERNING USE OF
ENDORSEMENTS AND TESTIMONIALS IN ADVERTISING
Sec.255.0
255.1
255.2
255.3
255.4
255.5
Definitions.
General considerations.
Consumer endorsements
Expert endorsements.
Endorsements by organizations.
Disclosure of material connections.
(a) The Commission intends to treat endorsements and testimonials identically in the
context of its enforcement of the Federal Trade Commission Act and for purposes of this
part. The term endorsements is therefore generally used hereinafter to cover both terms
and situations.
(b) For purposes of this part, an endorsement means any advertising message (including
verbal statements, demonstrations, or depictions of the name, signature, likeness or other
identifying personal characteristics of an individual or the name or seal of an
organization) which message consumers are likely to believe reflects the opinions,
beliefs, findings, or experience of a party other than the sponsoring advertiser. The
party whose opinions, beliefs, findings, or experience the message appears to reflect will
be called the endorser and may be an individual, group or institution.
(c) For purposes of this part, the term product includes any product, service, company
or industry.
(d) For purposes of this part, an expert is an individual, group or institution
possessing, as a result of experience, study or training, knowledge of a particular
subject, which knowledge is superior to that generally acquired by ordinary individuals.
Example 1: A film critic's review of a movie is excerpted in an
advertisement. When so used, the review meets the definition of an endorsement since it is
viewed by readers as a statement of the critic's own opinions and not those of the film
producer, distributor or exhibitor. Therefore, any alteration in or quotation from the
text of the review which does not fairly reflect its substance would be a violation of the
standards set by this part.
Example 2: A TV commercial depicts two women in a supermarket buying a
laundry detergent. The women are not identified outside the context of the advertisement.
One comments to the other how clean her brand makes her family's clothes, and the other
then comments that she will try it because she has not been fully satisfied with her own
brand. This obvious fictional dramatization of a real life situation would not be an
endorsement.
Example 3: In an advertisement for a pain remedy, an announcer who is
not familiar to consumers except as a spokesman for the advertising drug company praises
the drug's ability to deliver fast and lasting pain relief. He purports to speak, not on
the basis of his own opinions, but rather in the place of and on behalf of the drug
company. Such an advertisement would not be an endorsement.
Example 4: A manufacturer of automobile tires hires a well known
professional automobile racing driver to deliver its advertising message in television
commercials. In these commercials, the driver speaks of the smooth ride, strength, and
long life of the tires. Even though the message is not expressly declared to be the
personal opinion of the driver, it may nevertheless constitute an endorsement of the
tires. Many consumers will recognize this individual as being primarily a racing driver
and not merely a spokesman or announcer for the advertiser. Accordingly, they may well
believe the driver would not speak for an automotive product unless he/she actually
believed in what he/she was saying and had personal knowledge sufficient to form that
belief. Hence they would think that the advertising message reflects the driver's personal
views as well as those of the sponsoring advertiser. This attribution of the underlying
views to the driver brings the advertisement within the definition of an endorsement for
purposes of this part.
Example 5: A television advertisement for golf balls shows a prominent
and well-recognized professional golfer hitting the golf balls. This would be an
endorsement by the golfer even though he makes no verbal statement in the advertisement.
[40 FR 22128, May 21, 1975, as amended at 45 FR 3872, Jan. 18, 1980]
§255.1 General considerations.
(a) Endorsements must always reflect the honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or
experience of the endorser. Furthermore, they may not contain any representations which
would be deceptive, or could not be substantiated if made directly by the advertiser. [See
Example 2 to Guide 3 (§255.3) illustrating that a valid endorsement may constitute all or
part of an advertiser's substantiation.]
(b) The endorsement message need not be phrased in the exact words of the endorser,
unless the advertisement affirmatively so represents. However, the endorsement may neither
be presented out of context nor reworded so as to distort in any way the endorser's
opinion or experience with the product. An advertiser may use an endorsement of an expert
or celebrity only as long as it has good reason to believe that the endorser continues to
subscribe to the views presented. An advertiser may satisfy this obligation by securing
the endorser's views at reasonable intervals where reasonableness will be determined by
such factors as new information on the performance or effectiveness of the product, a
material alteration in the product, changes in the performance of competitors' products,
and the advertiser's contract commitments.
(c) In particular, where the advertisement represents that the endorser uses the
endorsed product, then the endorser must have been a bona fide user of it at the time the
endorsement was given, Additionally, the advertiser may continue to run the advertisement
only so long as he has good reason to believe that the endorser remains a bona fide user
of the product. [See §255.1(b) regarding the ``good reason to believe'' requirement.]
Guide 1, Example 1: A building contractor states in an advertisement
that he specifies the advertiser's exterior house paint because of its remarkable quick
drying properties and its durability. This endorsement must comply with the pertinent
requirements of Guide 3. Subsequently, the advertiser reformulates its paint to enable it
to cover exterior surfaces with only one coat. Prior to continued use of the contractor's
endorsement, the advertiser must contact the contractor in order to determine whether the
contractor would continue to specify the paint and to subscribe to the views presented
previously.
Example 2: A television advertisement portrays a woman seated at a desk
on which rest five unmarked electric typewriters. An announcer says ``We asked Mrs. X, an
executive secretary for over ten years, to try these five unmarked typewriters and tell us
which one she liked best.''
The advertisement portrays the secretary typing on each machine, and then picking the
advertiser's brand. The announcer asks her why, and Mrs. X gives her reasons. Assuming
that consumers would perceive this presentation as a ``blind'' test, this endorsement
would probably not represent that Mrs. X actually uses the advertiser's machines in her
work. In addition, the endorsement may also be required to meet the standards of Guide 3
on Expert Endorsements.
[Guide 1]
[45 FR 3872, Jan. 18, 1980]
§255.2 Consumer endorsements.
(a) An advertisement employing an endorsement reflecting the experience of an
individual or a group of consumers on a central or key attribute of the product or service
will be interpreted as representing that the endorser's experience is representative of
what consumers will generally achieve with the advertised product in actual, albeit
variable, conditions of use. Therefore, unless the advertiser possesses and relies upon
adequate substantiation for this representation, the advertisement should either clearly
and conspicuously disclose what the generally expected performance would be in the
depicted circumstances or clearly and conspicuously disclose the limited applicability of
the endorser's experience to what consumers may generally expect to achieve. The
Commission's position regarding the acceptance of disclaimers or disclosures is described
in the preamble to these Guides published in the Federal Register on January 18, 1980.
(b) Advertisements presenting endorsements by what are represented, directly or by
implication, to be ``actual consumers'' should utilize actual consumers, in both the audio
and video or clearly and conspicuously disclose that the persons in such advertisements
are not actual consumers of the advertised product.
(c) Claims concerning the efficacy of any drug or device as defined in the Federal
Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 55, shall not be made in lay endorsements unless (1) the
advertiser has adequate scientific substantiation for such claims and (2) the claims are
not inconsistent with any determination that has been made by the Food and Drug
Administration with respect to the drug or device that is the subject of the claim.
Guide 2, Example 1: An advertisement presents the endorsement of an
owner of one of the advertiser's television sets. The consumer states that she has needed
to take the set to the shop for repairs only one time during her 2-year period of
ownership and the costs of servicing the set to date have been under $10.00. Unless the
advertiser possesses and relied upon adequate substantiation for the implied claim that
such performance reflects that which a significant proportion of consumers would be likely
to experience, the advertiser should include a disclosure that either states clearly and
conspicuously what the generally expectable performance would be or clearly and
conspicuously informs consumers that the performance experienced by the endorser is not
what they should expect to experience. The mere disclosure that ``not all consumers will
get this result'' is insufficient because it can imply that while all consumers cannot
expect the advertised results, a substantial number can expect them. [See the cross
reference in Guide 2(a) regarding the acceptability of disclaimers or disclosures.]
Example 2: An advertiser presents the results of a poll of consumers who
have used the advertiser's cake mixes as well as their own recipes. The results purport to
show that the majority believed that their families could not tell the difference between
the advertised mix and their own cakes baked from scratch. Many of the consumers are
actually pictured in the advertisement along with relevant, quoted portions of their
statements endorsing the product. This use of the results of a poll or survey of consumers
probably represents a promise to consumers that this is the typical result that ordinary
consumers can expect from the advertiser's cake mix.
Example 3: An advertisement purports to portray a ``hidden camera''
situation in a crowded cafeteria at breakfast time. A spokesperson for the advertiser asks
a series of actual patrons of the cafeteria for their spontaneous, honest opinions of the
advertiser's recently introduced breakfast cereal. Even though the words ``hidden camera''
are not displayed on the screen, and even though none of the actual patrons is
specifically identified during the advertisement, the net impression conveyed to consumers
may well be that these are actual customers, and not actors. If actors have been employed,
this fact should be disclosed.
[Guide 2]
[45 FR 3872, Jan. 18, 1980]
§255.3 Expert endorsements.
(a) Whenever an advertisement represents, directly or by implication, that the endorser
is an expert with respect to the endorsement message, then the endorser's qualifications
must in fact give him the expertise that he is represented as possessing with respect to
the endorsement.
(b) While the expert may, in endorsing a product, take into account factors not within
his expertise (e.g., matters of taste or price), his endorsement must be supported by an
actual exercise of his expertise in evaluating product features or characteristics with
respect to which he is expert and which are both relevant to an ordinary consumer's use of
or experience with the product and also are available to the ordinary consumer. This
evaluation must have included an examination or testing of the product at least as
extensive as someone with the same degree of expertise would normally need to conduct in
order to support the conclusions presented in the endorsement. Where, and to the extent
that, the advertisement implies that the endorsement was based upon a comparison such
comparison must have been included in his evaluation; and as a result of such comparison,
he must have concluded that, with respect to those features on which he is expert and
which are relevant and available to an ordinary consumer, the endorsed product is at least
equal overall to the competitors' products. Moreover, where the net impression created by
the endorsement is that the advertised product is superior to other products with respect
to any such feature or features, then the expert must in fact have found such superiority.
Example 1: An endorsement of a particular automobile by one described
as an ``engineer'' implies that the endorser's professional training and experience are
such that he is well acquainted with the design and performance of automobiles. If the
endorser's field is, for example, chemical engineering, the endorsement would be
deceptive.
Example 2: A manufacturer of automobile parts advertises that its
products are approved by the ``American Institute of Science.'' From its very name,
consumers would infer that the ``American Institute of Science'' is a bona fide
independent testing organization with expertise in judging automobile parts and that, as
such, it would not approve any automobile part without first testing its efficacy by means
of valid scientific methods. Even if the American Institute of Science is such a bona fide
expert testing organization, as consumers would expect, the endorsement may nevertheless
be deceptive unless the Institute has conducted valid scientific tests of the advertised
products and the test results support the endorsement message.
Example 3: A manufacturer of a non-prescription drug product represents
that its product has been selected in preference to competing products by a large
metropolitan hospital. The hospital has selected the product because the manufacturer,
unlike its competitors, has packaged each dose of the product separately. This package
form is not generally available to the public. Under the circumstances, the endorsement
would be deceptive because the basis for the choice of the manufacturer's product,
convenience of packaging, is neither relevant nor available to consumers.
Example 4: The president of a commercial ``home cleaning service'' states
in a television advertisement that the service uses a particular brand of cleanser in its
business. Since the cleaning service's professional success depends largely upon the
performance of the cleansers it uses, consumers would expect the service to be expert with
respect to judging cleansing ability, and not be satisfied using an inferior cleanser in
its business when it knows of a better one available to it. Accordingly, the cleaning
service's endorsement must at least conform to those consumer expectations. The service
must, of course, actually use the endorsed cleanser. Additionally, on the basis of its
expertise, it must have determined that the cleansing ability of the endorsed cleanser is
at least equal (or superior, if such is the net impression conveyed by the advertisement)
to that of competing products with which the service has had experience and which remain
reasonably available to it. Since in this example, the cleaning service's president makes
no mention that the endorsed cleanser was ``chosen,'' ``selected,'' or otherwise evaluated
in side-by-side comparisons against its competitors, it is sufficient if the service has
relied solely upon its accumulated experience in evaluating cleansers without having to
have performed side-by-side or scientific comparisons.
Example 5: An association of professional athletes states in an
advertisement that it has ``selected'' a particular brand of beverages as its ``official
breakfast drink''. As in Example 4, the association would be regarded as expert in the
field of nutrition for purposes of this section, because consumers would expect it to rely
upon the selection of nutritious foods as part of its business needs. Consequently, the
association's endorsement must be based upon an expert evaluation of the nutritional value
of the endorsed beverage. Furthermore, unlike Example 4, the use of the words ``selected''
and ``official'' in this endorsement imply that it was given only after direct comparisons
had been performed among competing brands. Hence, the advertisement would be deceptive
unless the association has in fact performed such comparisons between the endorsed brand
and its leading competitors in terms of nutritional criteria, and the results of such
comparisons conform to the net impression created by the advertisement.
[Guide 3]
[40 FR 22128, May 21, 1975]
§255.4 Endorsements by organizations.
Endorsements by organizations, especially expert ones, are viewed as representing the
judgment of a group whose collective experience exceeds that of any individual member, and
whose judgments are generally free of the sort of subjective factors which vary from
individual to individual. Therefore an organization's endorsement must be reached by a
process sufficient to ensure that the endorsement fairly reflects the collective judgment
of the organization. Moreover, if an organization is represented as being expert, then, in
conjunction with a proper exercise of its expertise in evaluating the product under
§255.3 of this part (Expert endorsements), it must utilize an expert or experts
recognized as such by the organization or standards previously adopted by the organization
and suitable for judging the relevant merits of such products.
Example: A mattress seller advertises that its product is endorsed by a
chiropractic association. Since the association would be regarded as expert with respect
to judging mattresses, its endorsement must be supported by an expert evaluation by an
expert or experts recognized as such by the organization, or by compliance with standards
previously adopted by the organization and aimed at measuring the performance of
mattresses in general and not designed with the particular attributes of the advertised
mattress in mind. (See also §255.3, Example 5.)
[Guide 4]
[40 FR 22128, May 21, 1975]
§255.5 Disclosure of material connections.
When there exists a connection between the endorser and the seller of the advertised
product which might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement (i.e.,
the connection is not reasonably expected by the audience) such connection must be fully
disclosed. An example of a connection that is ordinarily expected by viewers and need not
be disclosed is the payment or promise of payment to an endorser who is an expert or well
known personality, as long as the advertiser does not represent that the endorsement was
given without compensation. However, when the endorser is neither represented in the
advertisement as an expert nor is known to a significant portion of the viewing public,
then the advertiser should clearly and conspicuously disclose either the payment or
promise of compensation prior to and in exchange for the endorsement or the fact that the
endorser knew or had reasons to know or to believe that if the endorsement favors the
advertised product some benefit, such as an appearance on TV, would be extended to the
endorser.
Example 1: A drug company commissions research on its product by a
well-known research organization. The drug company pays a substantial share of the
expenses of the research project, but the test design is under the control of the research
organization. A subsequent advertisement by the drug company mentions the research results
as the ``findings'' of the well-known research organization. The advertiser's payment of
expenses to the research organization need not be disclosed in this advertisement.
Application of the standards set by Guides 3 and 4 provides sufficient assurance that the
advertiser's payment will not affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement.
Example 2: A film star endorses a particular food product. The
endorsement regards only points of taste and individual preference. This endorsement must
of course comply with §255.1; but even though the compensation paid the endorser is
substantial, neither the fact nor the amount of compensation need be revealed.
Example 3: An actual patron of a restaurant, who is neither known to the
public nor presented as an expert, is shown seated at the counter. He is asked for his
``spontaneous'' opinion of a new food product served in the restaurant. Assume, first,
that the advertiser had posted a sign on the door of the restaurant informing all who
entered that day that patrons would be interviewed by the advertiser as part of its TV
promotion of its new soy protein ``steak''. This notification would materially affect the
weight or credibility of the patron's endorsement, and, therefore, viewers of the
advertisement should be clearly and conspicuously informed of the circumstances under
which the endorsement was obtained.
Assume, in the alternative, that the advertiser had not posted a sign on the door of the
restaurant, but had informed all interviewed customers of the ``hidden camera'' only after
interviews were completed and the customers had no reason to know or believe that their
response was being recorded for use in an advertisement. Even if patrons were also told
that they would be paid for allowing the use of their opinions in advertising, these facts
need not be disclosed.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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".
"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.
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.
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.
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/PayFlowcheckout.
"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.
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
"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."
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?
"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.
Not So Free, eBay Free Picture Price Change 12 February 2009 By EventHorizon1984
"I’d like to share some news
regarding fee changes for eBay-hosted pictures that we’re making in the
Collectibles, Art, Antiques and Pottery & Glass categories. The
first eBay-hosted picture in an item is already free.
Effective
February 18, 2009, we are making all additional pictures, Picture Pack
and Gallery Plus FREE for listings in all four categories on the US
site", Greg Fant, eBay VP of Marketing & Buyer Experience
We wonder if sellers realize that according to eBay's User Agreement, eBay will own the rights to the photos you host on eBay?
When you give us content, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide,
perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicensable (through multiple
tiers) right to exercise the copyright, trademark, publicity, and
database rights (but no other rights) you have in the content, in any
media known now or in the future.
If you want to know what eBay will do with your photos, here's what follows the User Agreement parargraph above.
For the convenience of sellers, we may offer catalogs of stock images,
descriptions and product specifications, which are provided by
third-parties.
The catalogs may include copyrighted, trademarked or other proprietary materials.
The reader may wonder why eBay needs "Collectibles, Art, Antiques and Pottery & Glass" photos, when eBay has a ready supply of stock photos available to sellers. The answer is eBay does not have a large supply of stock photos for collectibles.
Yet.
Unless sellers continue to host their own high quality photos, after February 18th eBay will own the rights to a growing supply of royalty-free "Collectibles, Art, Antiques and Pottery & Glass" photos.
Which eBay will gladly loan out to all sellers. Translation for eBay sellers: Give to your competitors.
Really think about it, before taking eBay up on it's "free" offer.
"I teach you to lie, cheat, and steal, and as soon as my back's turned you wait in line?" Gregory House, M.D., House
Hello everyone...I’d like to share some news
regarding fee changes for eBay-hosted pictures that we’re making in the
Collectibles, Art, Antiques and Pottery & Glass categories. The
first eBay-hosted picture in an item is already free.
Effective
February 18, 2009, we are making all additional pictures, Picture Pack
and Gallery Plus FREE for listings in all four categories on the US
site (www.ebay.com). This includes all formats and all durations.
eBay is committed to providing a great experience to its users. Buyers
in these categories have asked for more photos to help them decide
which items to compare and which item to purchase. We believe that more
free photos will allow sellers to provide buyers the visual details
they need to make these decisions, lower buyer questions, and increase
seller sales.
By the way, we're also working on improving the visual shopping
experience for buyers with new ways to browse and view multiple, large
pictures, which should further increase the benefits of free pictures
for both sellers and buyers. Stay tuned for more information about
these upcoming visual enhancements.
We’re excited to make these changes, and believe they will enhance
the marketplace on eBay for everyone. I encourage you to click here for full pricing details.
Sincerely,
Greg Fant
VP of Marketing & Buyer Experience
"Say it ain't so, Joe." - Isn't that the odd American sport of Baseball? 4 October 2008 Event Horizon 1984
"This is like deja vu all over again."
Yogi Berra
We're loathe to putting day to day politics on this blog. There's enough aggravation in daily reading. But with Major League Baseball into the playoff season, the injection of politics has us crossing the line.
"If you build it ... HE will come." Shoeless Joe Jackson, Field of Dreams (1989)
If you're a fan of Baseball, or happen to be be the average American glued to the television or radio, you do know this piece of baseball history and mythology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoeless_Joe_Jackson
In testimony before the grand jury, Jackson admitted under oath that he agreed to participate in the fix.
He also admitted to complaining to other conspirators that he had not
received his full $20,000 share. Legend has it that as Jackson was
leaving the courthouse during the trial, a young boy begged of him,
"Say it ain't so, Joe," and that Joe did not respond. In his 1949
interview in Sport Magazine, Jackson debunked this story as a myth.
In 1921, a Chicagojury acquitted him and his seven White Sox teammates of wrongdoing. Nevertheless, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the newly appointed Commissioner of Baseball,
banned all eight accused players, claiming baseball's need to clean up
its image took precedence over legal judgments. As a result, Jackson
never played major league baseball after the 1920 season.
If you didn't know baseball, you probably wouldn't know this has been floating around the last 80 or so years.
"Say it ain't so, Joe"
Governor Palin, October 2008
"If you can't imitate him, don't copy him." Yogi Berra
Or not?
"I grew up watching the summer baseball on these fields."
"In fact started out as a sports reporter. Sports have been a passion
of mine of mine all my life, so I feel not at home here but I feel very
ah comfortable in like this is a fun booth to be in."
Governor Sarah Palin, 29 August 2008
Donny Baarns interview during the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks and Mat-Su Miners game.
http://ballhype.com/video/alaska_governor_sarah_palin_interview/
Every four years American President's and Presidential contenders
attend or watch the playoffs. Mostly leaving the politics out of Baseball. But this Presidential cycle just had to mix politics with American's most beloved pastime.
Politicians do us a favor. Leave Baseball out of it.
You should know better.
// // //
"And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again." Terence Mann, Field of Dreams (1989)
The Urbanite blog made a quick mention of one eBay auction.
http://weblogs.amny.com/entertainment/urbanite/blog/2008/09/on_ebay_its_going_going_gone_f.html On eBay, it's going, going gone for Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch collectibles
"Ebay seller ny_dealmaker is selling a “Lehman Brothers Color Changing Travel Thermos.” The former employee writes: “Make my lose your gain.” "
We have the link to that auction, below. The auction description does make one wonder if this potential Lehman Brothers MBA is typical of the the late broker's staff.
"Own a piece of Lehman Brothers
memorabilia. This is a thermos that changes color when you add liquid.
It says Lehman Brothers behind the plastic. This is brand new and never
been used. Make my lose your gain."
"This is brand new and never
been used. Make my lose your gain."
How about?
"This is brand new and has never been used. Make my loss your gain."
Doesn't this make you worry just a little about the eBay expertise of Lehman Brothers? Given the fact that Lehman Brothers collapsed due to the expertise of Lehman Brothers.
http://onlyebay.blogspot.com/2007/12/citigroup-and-lehman-raise-ebay.html Thursday, December 06, 2007 Citigroup and Lehman Raise EBAY Estimates
In a report released this morning, Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney has raised his EBAY earnings estimates and reiterated his Buy rating, citing his tracking of proprietary listings. Mahaney states that fundamentals are shaping up stronger than consensus expectations. Mahaney claims that "re-entry into Japan and the growth of eBay's PayPal online payment service are also positives for the company's portfolio of brands." Mahaney has a $49 price target. Mahaney joins Lehman Brothers analyst Doug Anmuth, who earlier this week also raised his earnings estimates on EBAY despite maintaining his Hold rating and $33 price target.
eBay hit another 52 week record low of $21.70 per share.
Lehman Brothers is currently trading at $0.21 per share.
Pick up a buck's worth and make their "lose your gain."
Disclosure: Our English Grammar is terrible. So is our sense of humor.
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.
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:
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.
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.
"The processor for your internet merchant account may require you to notify them of the addition of the Payflow gateway." monroe@paypal.com
Verification that eBay intends to force ALL Merchant Account processing through eBay's PayPal owned Payflow gateway.
All an eBay seller needs to do to use PayPal Payflow, is to hand over to eBay the seller's Merchant Account number and password. And trust them with it.
Free for now, but based on past actions expect eBay/PayPal/Payflow to charge 2% to 3% per transaction later.
"Yesterday and today, our technical team contacted the top credit card
processors (who account for over 80% of card volume in the US)" monroe@paypal.com
Translation: PayPal's technical team contacted PayPal (24% 2007), ProPay, and a few credit card processors.
Clarification on using your own merchant account in eBay checkout
monroe@paypal.com View Aug-21-08 15:09 PDT Hi everybody,
This is Monroe Labouisse, Director of North America Marketplaces at PayPal. I'm writing on behalf of John McDonald, Senior Director of Trust & Safety at eBay, as well.
There are several threads on this board with lots of good questions about using merchant accounts in eBay checkout, the Payflow gateway, etc. Thank you for all of your input, concerns, questions. They're very helpful to us.
Let me start by reiterating eBay's goal: to enable direct credit and debit card payments to a seller's internet merchant account through eBay checkout. The end-goal is simple: buyers do not have to go off the eBay site to pay directly with their credit or debit card.
The plan that we announced yesterday is that sellers with internet merchant accounts can in January 2009 connect that account to eBay checkout via the Payflow Payment Gateway. Note two things: 1) an internet merchant account may be different than the merchant account that you use to process payments in a physical store (check with your merchant account provider), and 2) the Payflow Payment Gateway connection to eBay checkout will be a FREE service for eBay seller for their eBay transactions.
You've asked lots of good questions about the details of this plan, and it's difficult for us to provide all the answers to you through this forum. It's also the case that we don't have all the answers to your questions right now.
But please remember this improvement to eBay checkout is still nearly 5 months away, and until then, you can continue to process direct credit and debit card payments as you do now. We will be providing you with a lot more information (on the site, through online workshops, with the help of customer support, etc.) in the future when we get closer to the time you can integrate your internet merchant account directly into eBay checkout. We would appreciate any and all suggestions you have on how to provide you more information through other channels.
In the meantime, thank you for your patience. Bear with us while we answer your questions as best we can, and keep an eye out for more from us this fall on our plans to integrate direct credit and debit card payments into eBay checkout.
Regards, Monroe
// monroe@paypal.com Aug-22-08 12:24 PDT 18 of 20 lisasopinion,
I'm not ignoring you. I just didn't have any new information for you, and I have been posting to other boards as well. I do now have good news for you, however.
Yesterday and today, our technical team contacted the top credit card processors (who account for over 80% of card volume in the US) and verified that it is possible to have one internet merchant account (IMA) connect with more than one gateway. So, you should be able to use two gateways (for example, Authorize.net & Payflow) with one IMA.
The processor for your internet merchant account may require you to notify them of the addition of the Payflow gateway. We recommend that you check with your IMA provider (in most cases, this is your bank) to verify if additional steps are needed.
This is from our technical team: "In most cases, the bank will provide the merchant with an alternate account identifier. This should be free."
Finally, to repeat what I said above ... this improvement to eBay checkout is still nearly 5 months away, and until then, you can continue to process direct credit and debit card payments as you do now. We will be providing you with a lot more information (on the site, through online workshops, with the help of customer support, etc.) in the future when we get closer to the time you can integrate your internet merchant account directly into eBay checkout.
The PayFlow Payment Gateway (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_payflow-gateway-overview-outside) is a payment through PayPal and NOT through a seller's Merchant Account gateway.
Please note that PayPal (through PayFlow) will be handling Merchant Accounts, and a PayPal Employee (monroe@paypal.com) and not an eBay Employeeis answering questions about non-PayPal Merchant Accounts. A rather severe conflict of interest.
This combination of payment through PayPal, PayFlow (PayPal), and ProPay (eBay is reported to own a piece) is best known as a (United States) Sherman Anti-Trust violation.
//
http://workshops.ebay.com/thread.jspa?threadID=13000000295&tstart=0&mod=1219360247072 Merchant Account question - not online
popp*** (99 ) Aug-21-08 09:16 PDT Our Selling Account has been on Ebay since 1996 when it was Auctionweb, 10,500+ FB w/only 1 neg.
We have a small business and do have a merchant account for Mastercard & Visa which we process manually over the telephone for each and every transaction.
Will this method be acceptable? We technically qualify since we accept Mastercard & Visa. I am wondering if one of the requirements is that ebay has to process the transaction for us ..... which in our case is not possible.
Our bank is small and does not offer Internet processing.
11 replies Date posted Reply #
popp*** (99 ) Aug-21-08 09:40 PDT 1 of 11 An answer would be appreciated:
1. Will manual credit card processing be allowed?
A lot of older folks prefer calling in their information knowing that it is processed personally.
Not all small businesses ... or older folks .. trust putting all this information on the Internet
monroe@paypal.com Aug-21-08 10:16 PDT 2 of 11 poppad,
It will not be a violation of the policy to take credit card payments from customers who call in their information.
That said, encouraging buyers to do that is not what we want sellers to do either. It is safer, and more convenient, for a buyer to complete the transaction on the site because we will then have a record of the payment, which we need from the buyer in the event of a dispute.
However, if a buyer does not trust putting their credit card information online and asks you to be allowed to call it in, that's OK.
By the way, it is also possible to take PayPal payments over the phone through a PayPal product called Virtual Terminal. You can find out more about it here: https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_vt_hub-outside
Regards, Monroe
monroe@paypal.com Aug-21-08 10:19 PDT 3 of 11 Sorry, meant to add: I would also encourage you to contact your merchant account provider to talk to them about enabling your merchant account for online payments, if it isn't already. That way, you can also receive payments to your merchant account online and not just over the phone.
Of course, I would also encourage you to contact PayPal. We can handle your processing needs for online payments, including direct credit card processing :)
Monroe
tekg*** (23926 ) Aug-21-08 10:37 PDT 4 of 11 What kind of integration will eBay provide (besides ProPay) for sellers that have merchant accounts already? I want integration with Authorize.Net payment gateway as part of the eBay Checkout flow. _______ Mr Sun @ TekGems: via vt6421a
popp*** (99 ) Aug-21-08 10:45 PDT 5 of 11 Thank you for the response.
However, I do not understand why we must incur additional costs to take Mastercard & Visa through these gateways when we already have taken them for 10 years w/o a chargeback or problem?
Our rates w/our bank are very low .. they haven't changed in 10 years ..
It seems to me that to go the Paypal route would cost a great deal more.
pers*** (7050 ) View Listings | Report Aug-21-08 10:47 PDT 6 of 11 Will PP VT now be tied in automatically with this new checkout system?
I sell to some countries where PP is not an option, and my buyers call me with their CC info. Will they now be able to input this into the new checkout and have it processed through PP's VT?
monroe@paypal.com Aug-21-08 11:33 PDT 7 of 11 tekgems and poppad,
eBay plans to integrate sellers’ internet merchant accounts into eBay checkout through the Payflow Payment Gateway. This will be a FREE service for eBay sellers. Normal fees to set up a Payflow Payment Gateway account will be waived.
It is NOT our intent for you to switch from your current gateway provider in order to use this free service on eBay. It is our understanding that your credit card processor would enable you to connect your internet merchant account to the Payflow Gateway for eBay sales, and to your current gateway for your website sales.
If it is your understanding that your internet merchant account cannot be set up to connect to two gateways, then please let me know. Please contact your merchant account provider to clarify first. It may be that your account specifications need to be adjusted. We have technical support available at Payflow to help as well.
Thanks Monroe
monroe@paypal.com Aug-21-08 11:39 PDT 8 of 11 personal*touch,
Buyers who don't have a PayPal account can, today and in the future, enter their credit card details into eBay checkout directly and the payment can come to you through your PayPal account. There is no setting change you need to make. You don't need to use VT. Just accept PayPal.
Here is an answer I put on the eBay Ink blog:
PayPal is available to buyers in 190 countries around the world, so it should accomodate virtually all of your international sales. You can find the list of countries here: https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-approved-signup-countries-outside
If you encounter a buyer from a country other than those 190, and the buyer does not have a PayPal account, then I would suggest you ask them to pay directly with a credit card. They can do that through your internet merchant account if you have one, or they can do it if you offer PayPal. Buyers without PayPal accounts can pay you via PayPal simply by entering their credit card details into eBay checkout.
Regards, Monroe
tekg*** (23926 ) Aug-21-08 11:47 PDT 9 of 11 > Buyers who don't have a PayPal account can, today and in > the future, enter their credit card details into eBay > checkout directly
Checkout is biased towards Paypal. Its never been agnostic about which payment method eBay prefers. This makes the buying experience very confusing. Just letting you know what I read via e-mail every day. _______ Mr Sun @ TekGems: via vt6421a
urba*** (407 ) Aug-21-08 11:55 PDT 10 of 11 can you accept both when this new checkout system exceeds?
what I mean by that is, will the buyer be able to choose, while in checkout, if they want to use paypal or my merchant account?
and, if they use paypal, does that mean their paying with paypal fund only and if they choose my merchant account, it'll be credit card.
what I'm trying to figure out is, right now a buyer can choose paypal for credit card payment or from paypal funds.
how will this work with a merchant account and paypal being offered in the lsiting during checkout?
These are not our posts. The
following comments were found in the eBay Australia Discussion Forum. Follow the link
below if you want to leave your own comments.
Regarding eBay Australia's Paypal-Only scheme
(added 6 May 2008)
Were any of the smaller sellers back in March aware of these 'top secret' offers (running from 16 - 21 March 2008) for 'Exclusive Top Sellers' ...?
See the screenshot and the links below.... with bonuses ranging from $50 up to $10,000 for some selected 'Exclusive Top Sellers' if they would list with only Paypal....
screenshot:
It looks like this was a cunning plan/attempt to quickly boost the
percentage of Paypal transactions prior to their Paypal-Only
Notification of 11 April 2008 to the A C C C....
Here are the eBay promo pages with the various offers:
For
a limited time, eBay's top sellers will qualify for unlimited free
final value fees on all their auction and fixed price listings. All you
need to do is offer the most preferred payment option…PayPal.
Plus
if you offer PayPal on 100% of your listings during the promotional
period, you'll also receive a bonus $10,000 into your PayPal account.
(Look out for an email from PayPal telling you how to redeem your
bonus.)
Offer available from 16 to 21 March on eBay.com.au. So get ready to start listing.
What is PayPal?
PayPal
is a fast, secure and easy way to get paid on eBay. Once you sign up
you can start receiving debit card, credit card and bank account
payments from buyers.
With PayPal, you can send and receive payments securely without sharing your bank account or other financial details.
Why use PayPal?
PayPal
is safer. Sellers offering PayPal are almost half as likely to
experience an unpaid item as those who don't (according to 2007 figures
of those selling on eBay.com.au).
And soon you'll also
have access to free PayPal Seller Protection. From 27 March 2008
PayPal's Seller Protection Policy will provide cover to eligible eBay
sellers for credit card related chargebacks, claims that an item was
not received or unauthorised payments (eg stolen credit card or account
takeover).
Not sure if PayPal is right for you? Read more about the benefits PayPal offers sellers on eBay.com.au.
Terms and Conditions
List now and take advantage of the exclusive free final value fee promotion. eBay.com.au
is offering unlimited free final value fees for 6 days from Sunday 16th
March on eligible auction and fixed price listings when PayPal is
offered as a payment method (“ Promotion ”).
When?
Starting 00:00:01 Sunday 16th March 2008 (AEDT) and ending 23:59:59 Friday 21st March 2008 (AEDT) ( 'Promotional Period' )
Who Can Enter?
Entry
is only open to eBay Sellers who receive an invitation via email and
who are the intended recipients of the email (“ Participants ”).
Participants will be identified by their eBay user name and must be
validly registered members of eBay with an Australian registered
address. Uninvited Sellers are not eligible for this Promotion.
Employees
(and their immediate family members) of eBay and PayPal, and persons
whose eBay or PayPal accounts have been temporarily or indefinitely
suspended or made inactive by eBay or PayPal during the Promotional
Period, are not eligible to enter the promotion.
Participants
are responsible for ensuring that all their contact details registered
with eBay and PayPal are correct. Participants will forfeit their right
to claim the prize in the event that their contact details are
inaccurate or wrong or they have an invalid eBay or PayPal account.
Participants may check or update their contact information by visiting
the Profile tab on the PayPal site at http://www.paypal.com.au or the My Account section on the eBay site at http://www.ebay.com.au .
What listings are eligible for this promotion?
This Promotion applies to all auction and fixed price listings of Participants that offer PayPal during the Promotional Period
( 'Qualifying Listings' ).Qualifying Listings must be made by Participants on ebay.com.au.
Qualifying Listings must offer PayPal as a payment method.
eBay
will waive its right to charge Participants final value fees on each
Qualifying Listing at the time the listing ends in a sale during the
Promotion Period. In so doing, eBay does not waive any other rights it
may have.
Qualifying Listings created before the Promotional Period and scheduled to begin during the Promotional Period are included.
Listings in two or more categories are included.
Multiple-item listings and Dutch auctions are included.
Car parts and accessories are included.
What listings are excluded?
Store Inventory format and Classified Ad listings are excluded.
Cars,
Motorcycles, Boats, Aircraft, Caravans, Trucks, Commercial Vehicles,
Trailers, Other Cars, Bikes & Boats, Services & Real Estate
category listings are excluded.
Listings created during the Promotional Period but scheduled to start after the Promotional Period are excluded.
Listings that do not offer PayPal as a payment method are excluded.
Listings
that or Participants who contravene eBay's or PayPal's policies are
excluded. All other eBay fees including listing upgrades, insertion
fees, format fees, subscription fees, as well as all PayPal fees apply
as normal. Final value fees will revert to original price once the
Promotional Period has ended.
To
be eligible for the PayPal credit ( 'Incentive' ) Participants must
offer PayPal as a payment option for 100% of their new listings on
ebay.com.au that are listed during the Promotion Period.
The
PayPal credit will be transferred automatically into the Participant's
PayPal account. However, winners may have to actively accept the
transfer for it to be valid.
Credit will be transferred within 28 days of the Incentive end date.
Each entrant can only be eligible for one incentive payment irrespective of the number of listings they submit.
Participants
who reject the credit, or who do not accept it within 30 days of
receiving it, will be deemed to have rejected the prize and the prize
will be returned to eBay.
Privacy Policy
All
entries become the property of eBay. Each entrant consents to eBay
collecting their personal information in order to conduct the
Promotion. No further use of information collected solely from entries
into the Promotion will be made beyond this incentive by eBay.
To
facilitate an entrant's participation, eBay may disclose an entrant's
personal information to other companies associated with this Promotion
(including PayPal) and where eBay deems it necessary to do so. If an
entrant does not provide their personal information, eBay will not be
able to enter them into this Promotion. An entrant may access and
correct any of their personal information held by eBay, upon request to
eBay.
Miscellaneous
Participation in this Promotion is deemed to be acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.
eBay
reserves the right to verify the validity of entries and to disqualify
any entrant who tampers with the entry process or who submits an entry
that is not in accordance with these Conditions of Entry. eBay's
decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into,
including in the event of a dispute.
eBay does not accept responsibility for late, lost or misdirected entries.
eBay
is not responsible for any technical malfunctions or problem on
internet congestion, including injury or damage to an entrant's or any
other person's computer related to participation in this Promotion and
any problems with transmission of entries over the internet.
eBay
is not liable for any injury, loss or damage of any nature whatsoever
(including but not limited to indirect or consequential loss) which is
suffered or sustained as a result of or in connection with receiving,
taking or using the Incentive or participating in the Promotion, except
for any liability which cannot be excluded by law. Any tax liability
arising as a result of accepting any Incentive is the responsibility of
the winner.
Entries are deemed to be received at the
time of receipt into eBay's database. eBay is not responsible for
receipt of incorrect, inaccurate or incomplete information caused by an
entrant or occurring during transmission. eBay is not responsible for
any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone, telephone or
computer network, or lines, servers, or telephone or internet
providers, traffic congestion on any phone or computer network, or any
combination thereof, including any injury or damage to participants or
any other person's handset or computer related to or resulting from
participation or sending or receiving of any communication or of any
materials in this Promotion.
If for any reason this
Promotion is not capable of running as planned, eBay reserves the right
in its discretion to modify at any time the terms of the Promotion
including the Prizes and these Conditions of Entry.
eBay
is not providing financial advice to you and is not acting as your
agent. The PayPal service is provided by PayPal Australia Pty Limited
(ABN 93 111 195 389) which holds an Australian Financial Services
License, number 304962. You should consider the Product Disclosure
Statement before deciding to sign-up for or use the PayPal online
payment service at https://www.PayPal.com.au . Please note that certain fees may apply if you withdraw money from your PayPal account.
'eBay' means eBay International AG of Helvetiastrasse 15/17, CH-3005 Bern, Switzerland.
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.
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 ofMy 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
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.
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"
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.
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.
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.
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
"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.
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".
"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.
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.
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.
"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
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.)
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 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.
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.
. 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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
"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 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.
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.
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.
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
"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."
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.
"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."
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
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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!
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.
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.
"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."
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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
"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."
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.
"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"
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.
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
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.
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
"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."
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?
"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."
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 ...
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
"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.""
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
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.
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
"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."
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
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.
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.
"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?"
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.
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.
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
"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."
"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."
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.
"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."
"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.
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.
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
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).
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.
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
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 youËà ready to close this chat window, please feel free to click on the ºâit?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
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 //
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 //
Update to Shopping.com Mystery Listings on eBay By: Ina Steiner 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.
// // AuctionBytes - Response from Usher Lieberman, eBay - 4 March 2008 //
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 //
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 »
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
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.
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."
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
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!)
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) //
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: 26.180.18(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 //
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 //
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).
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 mark_your_word and lalamama5002 are eBay Trolls. eBay deleted lalamama5002 (ID created 05-23-07) post #22.
The immediate post below is eBay's Official Response, approximately 16 hours later, to this incident.
Thank you for alerting us to the problem with the design templates found at http://pages.ebay.com/storefronts/designtemplates.html.
We are removing templates #1 and #2 right now (note: it will take about
an hour for the change to hit the site) so we can investigate and
remedy the problem. We will update this thread when we add those two
templates back. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Regards, eBay Stores Team
//
//
//
From eBay Stores Forum Do NOT download EBay's new Store Template - TROJAN VIRUS!!! PINKS http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000389221&tstart=0&mod=1182553134809
.
bangkokbint (456 ) Jun-21-07 01:54 PDT I just got an email from ebay offering new 'seller tips' so, after checking it out, I decided to download their new ebay store templates and redesign my store.
Immediately I tried to download it I got a warning from my computer saying "Trojan Virus" in that file (tried two different template files, both have the virus). So I tried to download it on my second computer - same thing, Trojan Virus warning.
Do NOT attempt to download their template and, EBay, you might want to look at those template files as it looks like they're contaminated.
Pity too, as the store designs looked nice
.
blazebird (1966 ) Jun-21-07 02:21 PDT 1 of Are you sure the email was from eBay?
If it isn't one thing, it's another.
.
bangkokbint (456 ) Jun-21-07 02:23 PDT 2 of Yes, it's a new ebay template - available also thru your Store Manager section.
.
seoulsoulsofun (285 ) Jun-21-07 02:24 PDT 3 of Hmm.... I got the message in my eBay message box too. The store designs
does look nice but I don't dare to open them after BBK warning. Maybe
we can go under Manage Store?
.
seoulsoulsofun (285 ) Jun-21-07 02:30 PDT 4 of Maybe that is why the email message is
Stores Design Secrets, Save Big on UPS, Build A Viral Buzz
LOL.
.
bangkokbint (456 ) Jun-21-07 02:33 PDT 5 of
It's this link:
Also accessible thru 'Design Your Store' and then 'Design Center'.
.
bangkokbint (456 ) Jun-21-07 02:34 PDT 6 of seoul, LOL
.
bangkokbint (456 ) Jun-21-07 02:37 PDT 7 of Ran a second virus program on the two templates I tried to download and it's also flagging it as a 'Trojan' virus file and won't let me download it to my computer.
.
seoulsoulsofun (285 ) Jun-21-07 02:58 PDT 8 of
I open it with my PC to check and scan it and no virus found on mine. Wonder what is going on!!!
.
bangkokbint (456 ) Jun-21-07 03:03 PDT 9 of Is your virus scan up to date?
.
seoulsoulsofun (285 ) Jun-21-07 03:08 PDT 10 of Yap. That PC is always up to date. Still I am wary..better stop till we see what is going on.
.
frantichippie (13 ) Jun-21-07 03:39 PDT 11 of I didn't get any warning trying to download them and when I opened them up, they are just one simple .htm file you view to get the code to setup your store.
As far as I know, there isn't anything malicious that can be included in an .htm file and there are no other files included, so I don't see how it couldn't be safe.
I have no idea why some are getting trojan warnings though.
Susie
.
rykar (1137 ) Jun-21-07 04:54 PDT 12 of I thought maybe a change might be nice.
So I started to download the first template and received the virus warning. I didn't proceed with the download.
Although, I thought, that it must be a mistake. Then I started to think..Oh, no! this probably wasn't from Ebay because I opened it up through my regular email.
I went to my Ebay message center. I was relieved to find out it was legit.
So I was dumb and went to the second template. Warned again...but, I thought no that can't be right and completely downloaded the second template. Only to find out that my virus software said it was unable to block the virus. I immediately did a virus scan and it didn't show any virus.
I don't understand it. The software said it couldn't be blocked and yet it doesn't show up as a virus.
It's freaky that Ebay doesn't test software with all the technological expertise at their fingertips. It will make me think twice before downloading anything new from Ebay.
.
tattered*primitives (323 ) Jun-21-07 05:01 PDT 13 of I downloaded templates 1 & 2 with no problems. Manual scan of file shows no virus.
.
mark-your-word (0 ) Jun-21-07 05:15 PDT 14 of Why do you need new templates when your closing your store in 9 days?
.
againandagainvintage (917 ) Jun-21-07 05:30 PDT 15 of As a rule of thumb, I automatically delete any email from eBay, Paypal, or any company. Or, I look at the email, but do not click on any links or downloads. I only click on emails (or downloads)from people who are friends and whom I know well. It is too risky with eBay emails. I assume they are all spoofs.
.
animalpaws (824 ) Jun-21-07 05:33 PDT 16 of I downloaded with no virus. However, the first one did fine but the second one just downloaded the first one.
.
rockinghorsegirl4now (2311 ) Jun-21-07 05:42 PDT 17 of I just tried to download one template and it came up partway. No virus warning but IE said it had restricted the download because of Active X and something else. All I got was instructions how to proceed.
But since I downloaded IE 7 a few months ago---or maybe it's the updates of my firewall---I sometimes can't get simple end of auction emails from Ebay because my computer found them to be suspicious. So a siren goes off and a warning comes on that the email has been blocked because a potential virus was detected. The emails are just wiped out totally and I can't get them at all.
.
tribblekitty (1603 ) Jun-21-07 05:45 PDT 18 of I tried one of the templates. Turned out I didn't like it anyway, but I ran 2 different virus checkers on it & they both showed OK.
.
rockinghorsegirl4now (2311 ) Jun-21-07 05:46 PDT 19 of The siren and total elimination of the emails only happen with Ebay emails.
.
rockinghorsegirl4now (2311 ) Jun-21-07 05:50 PDT 20 of I like my plain jane store just the way it is. I just wish all the glitches would get fixed. Ebay doesn't need to keep changing things and keep adding new things---it just needs to fix all their programming problems first. New bells & whistles come with even more glitches.
.
ttlphotogallery (265 ) Jun-21-07 06:10 PDT 21 of I tried downloading the first 2 templates and got the same warning. I couldn't open them if I wanted to because McAfee deleted them because of the trojan!
.
lalamama5002 (0 ) Jun-21-07 06:15 PDT 22 of Bankook, there is no virus. You probably got it from looking at porn sites...
hahaha...
.
dorothysew (806 ) Jun-21-07 06:18 PDT 23 of Anyone whose gotten the viral notice should report it to the tech board or to live. Just posting on this board may not get any notice from anyone who will do anything about it.
D
.
seoulsoulsofun (285 ) Jun-21-07 06:30 PDT 24 of One thing I like about Op is whenever there is a problem, she would always alert us! Thanks!
.
mainstreetmallonline (3518 ) Jun-21-07 06:36 PDT 25 of You cannot put a trojan in a .html file but you CAN put one in a .zip
file. It can be activated by the unzip process. Not all anti-virus
programs pick up .zip file trojans so do be careful.
.
frantichippie (13 ) Jun-21-07 08:30 PDT 26 of Maybe we should narrow it down to which virus programs are finding the trojan and which aren't.
I'm using a fully up-to-date version of AVG and it says the file is clean (only downloaded the first one).
Susie
.
seoulsoulsofun (285 ) Jun-21-07 09:02 PDT 27 of I am using AVG too and it passed.
.
tattered*primitives (323 ) Jun-21-07 09:42 PDT 28 of I use Trend Micro. Files were clean upon scan.
.
theoldlady100 (2289 ) Jun-21-07 10:14 PDT 29 of A momentary OT hijack:
Hey tattered, I just took
a peak at your store, thinking maybe you had changed it with the new
templates. Wanted to let you know that I LOVE the look of it right now,
your color combos are just fantastic, and if I remember correctly, your
logo is new, and I really, really like that too! Congrats on a job well
done.
.
theoldlady100 (2289 ) Jun-21-07 10:22 PDT 30 of peak = peek, blame it on low-blood sugar, I need food!
.
elonica (0 ) Jun-21-07 10:30 PDT 31 of There is no ONE software that can catch ALL the spyware,Trojans, viruses etc. That's the reason I always cross-check with 4 different programs.
.
sliique (408 ) Jun-21-07 15:42 PDT 32 of I BET the almighty, rersource hogging Norton was showing a "hit," on a trojan.
I also BET Nod 32 wasn't.
.
vintageantiques358 (166 ) Jun-21-07 16:17 PDT 33 of For me McAffee seemed to think just about everything was a virus. IE will give an alert/warning about ActiveX. It alls comes down to if you trust your download source. Obviously some anti-virus say the templates are OK, some don't, and some the templates have come come up both ways (virus/no virus). And I really can't see ebay unleashing Trojans upon the community.
.
summer.doze (7 ) Jun-21-07 16:48 PDT 34 of Ha ha ebay revenge for ebay live. They come back from emtpy live and decide it's all store sellers fault so they try to infect everyone's computers. Nice try. We're not that stupid right Bankgokbint?
.
bangkokbint (456 ) Jun-21-07 17:22 PDT 35 of There is no ONE software that can catch ALL the spyware,Trojans,
viruses etc. That's the reason I always cross-check with 4 different
programs.
I have 3 and this download from EBay definitely
has a Trojan virus on it. My friend, who is a computer geek, also tried
to download it last night. He runs 6 different virus programs and YES
it picked up the Trojan on his computer. So I'm not opening it.
My
best friend here just got rid of a Trojan virus on her computer. It's
totally screwed up her computer to the extent that, when she opened a
program, it would simply close itself again. Took her technician 4 days
to get rid of it.
Obviously it's up to y'all what you download,
but my computer runs my business so I'm not taking chances. I download
files all the time from the net and this is the only one I've ever had
pop up a Trojan virus.
.
storesteam@ebay.com Jun-21-07 18:30 PDT 36 of
Hi everyone,
Thank you for alerting us to the problem with the design templates found at http://pages.ebay.com/storefronts/designtemplates.html.
We are removing templates #1 and #2 right now (note: it will take about
an hour for the change to hit the site) so we can investigate and
remedy the problem. We will update this thread when we add those two
templates back. We apologize for the inconvenience.
bangkokbint (456 ) Jun-21-07 18:58 PDT 38 of Pinks,
Thanks a LOT!
Those templates look really nice, but I didn't want to take the chance
while my virus programs are telling me - DON'T YOU DARE - LOL!!
Personally I think the people that create these viruses should all be lined up against a wall and pelted with wet paint.
.
cheropache (17 ) Jun-21-07 19:27 PDT 39 of BANG, thanks very much for carrying the flag on this matter... you did a great service to fellow users, with your vigilance....... cheers... .
psychocat1959 (268 ) Jun-21-07 20:48 PDT 40 of Ummmm... Pinks? Any chance of finding out how this happened and what caused the problem in the first place?
.
elonica (0 ) Jun-21-07 21:03 PDT 41 of
psychocat1959, I have the same question, I can guess these templates are made by a third party and I can not imagine they have not been checked thoroughly, that's much more than just negligence. But we are not surprised, right? And we can not wait to download other "state of the art" new and amazing ebay products.
.
psychocat1959 (268 ) Jun-21-07 21:38 PDT 42 of
Not surprised, but disappointed that they did not take the time and
effort to check it out well before making it availiable to download.
I've gotten to where I'm always skepticale of anything free and new
that eBay offers.
.
summer.doze (7 ) Jun-21-07 22:21 PDT 43 of Like I said - revenge people. I'm telling ya. Unless they hire highly inept people.
.
bangkokbint (456 ) Jun-21-07 22:41 PDT 44 of Well you won't see me often standing up for EBay LOL, but in this case it's probably not their fault.
You can get contamination from viruses and worms anywhere, email, zip files, even from visiting certain sites. It happens to the best of us (in the US once our entire office was shut down for 3 days because we lost our entire computer system to the LOVE YOU virus).
It's these freakin' scamming virus creators that should be rounded up and jailed. I mean what sad individuals that they've nothing better to do with their lives.
.
tattered*primitives (323 ) Jun-22-07 05:18 PDT 45 of Lady,
Thank you! I torture myself over those templates. I was sick of seeing my old one and needed a change. Hope I don't go through this again....I can't stand using new templates all the time. Just a pain in the butt! I need easy!
.
c5photography (75 ) Jun-22-07 09:53 PDT 46 of I was trying to use template 1 or 2 and was able to dl it, but when I
type the info in, the preview did not work. I am glad to find out it
was not me. I am also glad to see ebay jump on this.
.
onsnapper (271 ) Jun-22-07 15:58 PDT 47 of Well I just do not see the difference in the templates versus what I have now. Can someone please point out what am I not seeing ? Excuse me, I think my geezer is showing !! LOL... So what is there to like ?
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.
At your own risk.
eBay had previously released this thread to Google. Do a Google search using "spopa2006" or "Sergiu D. Popa" and click the 'Cached' link.
eBay Forums: Phisher Indicted - check out this ... 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! ... forums.ebay.com/db2/ thread.jspa?threadID=2000388887&tstart=0&mod=1182890093453 - 50k - Jun 26, 2007 -
eBay Forums: Phisher Indicted - check out this ... spopa2006. (2. ) View Listings | Report, Jun-26-07 13:34 PDT, 3 of 4. Listen guys. I am Sergiu D. Popa. I am that horrible guy! ... forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000388887&tstart=0&mod=1182907929201 - 51k - Jun 26, 2007 -
From eBay Stores Forum Phisher Indicted - check out this article http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000388887&start=0
.
jan** (803 ) Jun-20-07 11:29 PDT 'Phishing' lands man in legal trouble 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.
By Dan Browning, Star Tribune Last update: June 20, 2007 – 11:35 AM
A Romanian immigrant has been indicted 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, Michigan, was indicted Tuesday on three counts of possessing 15 or more devices designed to access data on the Internet without authorization, and three counts of aggravated identity theft.
Popa had email addresses for more than 10,000 individuals, and investigators found evidence that he planned to solicit them to visit fraudulent web sites, where they might be tricked into leaving personal information, according to a sworn statement by Theodore Theisen, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigations who works on the Minnesota Cybercrimes Task Force in Minneapolis.
"One of the collections of emails consisted of addresses of TCF Bank customers," Theisen noted.
FBI agents in Minneapolis began investigating Popa and others suspected of widespread Internet thefts in the United States and elsewhere in 2005, he wrote. The heart of the alleged thefts was a phishing scheme in which unsuspecting victims are tricked into divulging personal information to what appear to be legitimate businesses.
From May 2004 through February 2007, Popa allegedly used two Yahoo email accounts and numerous phony web sites that contained computer programming code set up to collect credit card numbers and personal information, the indictment says.
Theisen says in his affidavit, which was filed in Feb. 27 and unsealed Tuesday, that Popa also 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. Popa offered to sell the stolen information to others, he said.
Popa also allegedly offered to sell "a phishing/spamming toolkit" for $1,500, with step-by-step instructions, Theisen said. Authorities found one file in his Yahoo account that contained identification and credit card information for more than 5,800 victims; 96 of these had addresses in Minnesota, and 34 of them were in Hennepin County.
Popa's emails led authorities to conclude that he has worked with others in various credit card fraud and identity theft scams. In January 2005, Theisen said, Popa sent an e-mail to one individual saying, "i am a accredited vendor in underworld. i have many scams, shop admins, and many full credit cards. i can also pull up credit reports and cash out ATMs. I charge for my services but I am great provider of everything."
Popa entered the United States on a six-month visitor visa in June 2000 and overstayed his visa illegally, Theisen said. Popa has lived with his parents and on his own in New York, and after his parents divorced, he moved with his father to Michigan.
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. Popa served 71 days in confinement, Theisen said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested him as a deportable alien in July, but he filed for permanent residency and sought to suppress his felony record for immigration purposes. The FBI filed a criminal complaint against him the day before he was scheduled to appear in immigration court for a deportation hearing. amishgoodslogo
.
5 replies Date posted Reply #
.
roc** (2313 ) Jun-20-07 16:53 PDT 1 of 5 And it ONLY took the FBI at least 2 years to arrest him. Typical. And he may still get away. And he's been an illegal alien since Jan. 2001. Geesh, how many breaks does this guy get?
Just like all those muslims involved in 9-11. The government had been watching them for years. Not that it did any good.
.
mon** (Private ) Jun-20-07 18:16 PDT 2 of 5 Maybe he paid his taxes?
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
.
the*** (1381 ) Jun-26-07 18:32 PDT 4 of 5 Is this a joke?
Postal
administrations in several international countries have contacted the
United States Postal Service about the declaration of value placed on
customs forms. They have noted that in many cases, the declared value
is understated when compared to the actual invoice or known value of
the item, especially for sales conducted over the internet.
While this applies to sellers both on and off eBay, the USPS has asked
us to remind our sellers to declare the proper value on all customs
forms.
The correct value of each item is required on customs
forms as it helps determine the proper duties and taxes, and whether
they should be applied. Some countries will soon begin taking steps to
address this issue, such as levying fines on the addressee when the
declared value is determined to be lower than the invoice.
To
make sure you're complying with international regulations, please make
sure the stated value on your customs declaration is supported by your
invoices or other documentation.
From eBay Seller Central Forum Read The New Announcement on Customs Declaration Forms http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000204633&start=120
internetrailroad (11454 ) May-07-07 17:53 PDT 131 of 134
**gosh** are we still talking about this one? I haven't been on the boards since last summer, but I've always been amazed that there are sellers who would even consider falsifying a customs form. If you have to facilitate a violation of United States federal law to sell something on eBay, maybe you shouldn't be selling things on eBay! Ya think?? I mean, I'm not the one subject to 5 years in San Quentin here, but if you have to do something illegal to close a sale, maybe you ought to get a job!
junky48 (28 ) May-30-07 21:29 PDT 132 of 134 So folks dont think another country can fine them? HAHAHAHA You better think that one over.......
Fried of mine shipped an antique oil can to Canada. It had been opened years ago and a little oil residue inside. Well it leaked and made a spot on the box. Canadian customs caught it. They reported it to the USPS.
USPS fined my friend $700.00 !!!!
He lied on the customs form and also when asked "anything fragile liquid flammable or perishable" he said no.
//
// //
FYI apologist post_a_note aka 20th_century_art posts spin and damage control supporting eBay ...
//
From eBay Stores Forum
Can you believe the ba**s of this buyer? http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000465422&start=0
post_a_note
(0
)
View Listings
|
Report
Nov-11-07 18:25 PST
12 of 20
"I would not falsify the documents, it is a Federal offense."
Probably
a very serious Federal offense, on a par with sending a magazine with
advertisments in it by 'media mail.' That kind of serious Federal
offense.
Anyone
in this forum who has been charged, prosecuted, fined, or convicted of
mistakenly checking the 'gift' box on one of their customs forms...
please raise your hand.
{crickets chirp}
As usual... mountains out of molehills.
This is a posting ID. The views and opinions expressed here may resemble those of eBay employees or management.
eBay User Agreement - As of 22 May 2007 http://eventhorizon1984.typepad.com/event_horizon_1984_blog/2007/05/ebay_user_agree.html
eBay Privacy Policy - As of 22 May 2007 http://eventhorizon1984.typepad.com/event_horizon_1984_blog/2007/05/ebay_privacy_po.html
eBay Privacy Policy Appendix – Third Party Access - As of 22 May 2007 http://eventhorizon1984.typepad.com/event_horizon_1984_blog/2007/05/ebay_privacy_po_1.html
From eBay Seller Central Forum - AdChoice - Coming Soon! http://eventhorizon1984.typepad.com/event_horizon_1984_blog/2007/05/from_ebay_selle_3.html
.
Online Letter From eBay.
Sun, 20 May 2007 18:25:01 -0700
..
Changes to the eBay User Agreement and Privacy Policy
Dear *,
I'm writing to let you know that the eBay User Agreement and eBay
Privacy Policy have been updated, effective immediately for users
registering as of May 16, 2007, and on July 9, 2007, for current users.
The rules and dispute resolution policies you originally agreed to
in the User Agreement have not changed in any substantive way. We've
made some changes to this agreement to make sure our legal documents
are consistent with the ways our sites and services are evolving and to
better meet the needs of our user community. You'll notice some changes
to our "Content License" and "Abusing eBay" sections to that effect.
The new Privacy Policy, like the old one, outlines the broad
categories of information we collect from you, how we use this
information, and what your options are with respect to the information
we collect. You'll notice a few changes to the policy, which we've made
to cover new programs and site safety projects we're putting in place.
* Combating Fraud. We're increasing our efforts to combat
fraud on the site with a variety of programs. For example, we've made
some changes that allow us to address "Ask a Question" and "My
Messages" spam and other malicious activities using our message
systems. And we're making sure our disclosures about cooperating with
law enforcement allow us to respond to increasingly sophisticated
fraudsters and criminals. * Streamlining Services. We've
heard your comments about how many steps it takes to complete a
transaction or get customer support where multiple eBay companies are
involved. So we've made some changes that will allow our Customer
Support team to help you with questions that span our companies. And
we're streamlining your use of the services provided by members of the
eBay corporate family, so your experience across the eBay Inc. platform
will be as seamless as we can make it. Some of our new programs also
mean you'll see eBay services and content in a lot of places (not just
on the site), so we've made some changes to reflect that. * Customizing Your eBay Experience.
We're rolling out programs and working with partners that help make our
sites and services, and some of the ads you see on the web, more
relevant and useful to you. Naturally, because we're a transparent
community, we'll identify the new ads served with this program and
provide you with choices about them. Beginning in July, we'll make a
new preference available in My eBay--named AdChoice--that lets you tell
us whether you want us to use the information we have about you to
customize the ads you see. You'll be able to sign in and change your
advertising preferences in My eBay at any time. You'll also notice
links on the ads we serve this way, so you'll know an ad is served with
the new program and be able to set your preferences right from the ad.
We hope you'll agree that these changes will make the eBay sites and
services work better for you. If you accept the new User Agreement and
Privacy Policy, you don't need to take any action. If you do not wish
to accept the new User Agreement or Privacy Policy, please refer to our
Help pages for instructions on how to close your account.
Thank you for using eBay and we look forward to many more successful transactions!
Sincerely,
Scott Shipman Counsel -- Global Privacy Practices eBay Inc.
...
...
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 itspostingtime posts spin and damage control for eBay ...
[eBay has deleted the below thread]
From eBay Stores Forum OT: Sold Out http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000372399&tstart=0&mod=1179764254228
oldspartantrader (2503 ) May-21-07 01:01 PDT 6 of 40 To bad -- in the interest of TRUE CHOICE -- that we could not just opt out of participating.
The reason people come to eBAY -- To purchase widgets that we pay to have hosted -- pay to display --
Now we are paying eBAY to draw these people so that they can sell our customers to competitors.
Is a truly beautiful thing --- The cannibalism and parisitism --- masochism and sadism
I
posted about these ads on the day I became aware of them -- I felt then
-- and I feel now -- that they are the single biggest threat to a
seller -- and the single biggest signal of eBAY direction that has been
revealed.
These ads fly in the face of common sense -- dood taste -- and ethical business behavior.
When eBAY monetizes the site in this manner -- IT is stealing my work to piggy back their profits.
Carl
itspostingtime (2 ) May-21-07 05:54 PDT 20 of 40 postcards,
I haven't received this announcement yet, but this language:
If
you do not wish to accept the new User Agreement or Privacy Policy,
please refer to our Help pages for instructions on how to close your
account.
is pretty much standard for ANY User Agreement with
ANY company----the initial User Agreement you agree to is likely you
say something like: This Agreement is subject to revision at any time
We will provide notice of any revisions (insert number) days before the
changes become effective.
and then, because the changes apply to
everyone , everyone has the same option.....an option identical to the
option they had when they first read the original User Agreement: you
can either agree to it and join, or reject it and not join/leave.
This is BASIC. There's nothing unusual about this.
As
to the preference coming in July, I think its pretty clear that is an
OPTION: you can go along with it or not. If you decide not to use it,
that doesn't alter the User Agreement and you don't have to leave.
One thing I'm not clear on is what this means: some of the ads you see on the web
It kind of sounds like they are talking about ads ebay sponsors OFF
eBay ("on the web") rather than ads here, but I suppose it could mean
both. I guess we'll know better come July. LOL
I do think it's
fairly clear that, whatever ads they are talking about, this option is
only about whether you want them customized (using data they have
collected about you, which is why this is from the Privacy Dept) or
whether you don't want them customized. If you opt out, it's not like
ads won't appear. They'll appear, they just won't be customized for
you.
itspostingtime (2 ) May-21-07 06:44 PDT 27 of 40 chop,
IPT,
what that might mean is that ebay will disclose our preferences to
their partners and say when they're advertising ebay ads like in my
yahoo mailbox ... then I'll see customized ebay ads instead of that
flippin' ebay bicycle thingy
Yes, basically that's what I think they mean by customization and "ads on the web"
Might
be worthwhile to find the page that talks about who they share your
info with. Ebay has a page that that breaks it down and then when it
changes you can compare!
Thanks for the tip, but personally
I would never go to the trouble of comparing and stuff. If this is what
I gather it is, it's no big deal to me. Do I mind that Amazon shows me
other stuff Amazon thinks I might be interested in? No. It's the same
principle. maybe I'm missing something, but nothing about this bothers
me. Who knows? Maybe if I opt in I'll actually start seeing some ads
that would interest me rather than the usual assortment of stuff I
couldn't care less about.
turtle,
I don't see anything in
the Announcement to suggest this has anything to do with placing ads on
ebay LISTINGS. Where are you seeing that?
fai** May-21-07 06:46 PDT 28 of 41 The
Sponsored Ads, showing directly under currently running, active Core
listings, have been here for quite some time. Not everyone has seen
them for the past two months, although many folks have posted screen
shots. They are real. Soon, everyone will see them.
Let's take a
trip down Memory Lane. Remember the old days when you did a web search
on Lycos, Snap, Hotbot, Web Crawler, etc? You'd get a list of links to
your query and be simply drooling with anticipation of having your
question answered.
You'd click on a link and the page would
open...to a list of links that obviously promised an answer to your
question. You thought, How Cool...more references. You'd click on one
of those links and...you guessed it...another page would open that
consisted of nothing more than more, frickin' links.
WTF??? You
figured that one of the links had to be an actual page of Real Info, so
you clicked on a few. By the 10th one, you were really pizzed. You had
multiple pages open, all of them covered with links and not a single,
relevant Content Item to be found.
You knew this not only Sucked
(big time!), but you also knew this was not the way the web should
work. What the he!! was this sort of thing, anyway?
Advertising.
Advertising of advertising. Advertising of advertising, nested within
pages of advertising of even more advertising.
But, where is the
Product? In your case, the "product" is the answer to your question
(square footage of Antarctica - shoulda just looked in an old geography
book, dammit!).
This is not to say we all don't occasionally
land upon one of those Link pages, even nowadays, but most modern
Search Engines have weeded-out the majority. Besides, those mazes of
nested advertising were an invention/result of the Booming Internet
(mid-to-late 90's).
Much more than simply a "House of Cards",
they were basically a whole danged development! Although this is a bit
of a simplification of the facts, it does help to explain how the Boom
turned to Bust, practically overnight.
Ebay will become a page
of Links. A return to simpler times (tongue is firmly against check). A
Gateway, if you please, to all sorts of wondrous things. Oh, and while
you're here, take a look at some of the crapola listed. You'll find a
listing or two squeezed between each Sponsored Ad.
Ah, but where
oh where do those links take a person? Why silly, they take you to
shopping comparison sites and mega-seller sites. OK, but do they
actually have the product I originally searched for on ebay? Uh, maybe.
Possibly. Hopefully. We don't give a shat, we got your Click Money.
Begone, peasant! And be sure to come back again.
"The
first company that I have ever been associated with that is both
CANNIBALISTIC -- and -- PREDITORY toward every mark in sight." ~Carl
itspostingtime (2 ) May-21-07 06:54 PDT 30 of 40 The
more I think about this, the more I'm inclined to think that the ads
referred to would include ads displayed here (and perhaps elsewhere).
Like the banner ads at the top of some ebay pages and so forth. (I
still don't think they are talking abouts ads on actual listings.)
But,
the thing is, those banner ads and so forth, they are already here.
They aren't going anywhere. All this seems to be doing is saying: You
can choose to have the ads we show you customized for you, or not.
So,
what's the big deal? The ONLY thing this seems to do is provide the
customization offer. If we're going to be looking at ads anyway, some
people may indeed decide they'd prefer customized ads. Those who don't
opt for it, will continue to see what they've been seeing.
maybe
I'm missing something, but this doesn't seem like any big deal really.
A good thing for those who want the customization, and basically
neutral for those who don't.
itspostingtime (2 ) May-21-07 07:02 PDT 33 of 40 Dorothy,
Agreed,
and that's what I'm trying to say. You can either opt into this (which
means permitting ebay to use your information, so that it can customize
the ads for you) or you can say "No, you can't use the info", in which
case, obviously ebay cannot and will not customize the ads.
But the ads will be there no matter what, just as today.
itspostingtime (2 ) May-21-07 07:12 PDT 35 of 40 turtle,
Why would they let us customize the ads if they were not on our actual listings? Dosn't make sense, does it?
Well,
actually, it makes perfect sense. Advertisers love when people opt into
stuff like this for the simple reason that it means the ads can be
targeted more effectively. Ads that are narrowly targeted...and these
would be...have a much better chance of being clicked on.
It's
basically a win-win for the advertisers and the target audience member.
If I opt in, (in theory) I'll see ads that will actually interest me,
rather than ads that probably won't interest me. And if I am
interested, I'll click through, which is good for the advertiser. And
good for ebay, since it gets paid on the basis of the number of clicks.
It's
basically the same idea behind Amazon's very successful "If you are
interested in this book, here are some more you might like."
The
point is, this is NOT about us as sellers, it's about ALL ebay
registered users as ad viewers. You are not customizing the ad based on
what YOU want eBay to show to OTHERS. If you opt in, you are simply
saying to ebay: show ME ads based on the info you have about my
interests and so forth.
itspostingtime (2 ) May-21-07 07:22 PDT 37 of 40 animalpaws,
I
have long thought Ina Steiner either needs an editor very, very badly,
or she deliberately slants her stories to provoke people LOL (In
fairness to Ina, I'm inclined to think the former. At least, most of
the time. LOL)
Now, go back to the auctionbytes article and
(before the entire thread goes ballistic here), click the link she
provided and notice that, for example, your SS number is NOT shared
with third parties.
In other words, nothing to be alarmed about,
just another poorly worded sentence by Ina that could mislead people
into thinking ebay hands out your SS number to third parties. To really
understand what she's saying, you MUST click on the link she provides.
Otherwise, it's highly misleading.
I
went to read for myself and you are throwing out a blanket scare mesage
when in all actuallity none exist.The financial information is for
internal service providers only.If one were to read your post ,they
would think that Ebay is selling that financila info to everybody.That
is not the case.I would advise all to read the linked information
rather than trying to interpret somebody's agenda in their own words.
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This
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your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy. This
Privacy Policy is effective upon acceptance for new users and is
otherwise effective on July 9, 2007.
Collection
You
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that information on our servers located in the United States.
We may collect and store the following personal information:
email
address, physical contact information, and (depending on the service
used) sometimes financial information, such as credit card or bank
account numbers;
transactional
information based on your activities on the sites (such as bidding,
buying, selling, item and content you generate or that relates to your
account);
shipping, billing and other information you provide to purchase or ship an item;
community discussions, chats, dispute resolution, correspondence through our sites, and correspondence sent to us;
other
information from your interaction with our sites, services, content and
advertising, including computer and connection information, statistics
on page views, traffic to and from the sites, ad data, IP address and
standard web log information;
information from other companies, such as demographic and traffic data; and
other
supplemental information from third parties (for example, if you incur
a debt to eBay, we will generally conduct a credit check by obtaining
additional information about you from a credit bureau, as permitted by
law; or if the information you provide cannot be verified, we may ask
you to send us additional information, such as your driver license,
credit card statement, or a recent utility bill or other information
confirming your address, or to answer additional questions online to
help verify your information).
Marketing
We
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marketing purposes without your explicit consent. We may combine your
information with information we collect from other companies and use it
to improve and personalize our services, content and advertising. If
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or by following the directions provided in an email or from a link on
the advertisement.
Use
Our
primary purpose in collecting personal information is to provide you
with a safe, smooth, efficient, and customized experience. You agree
that we may use your personal information to:
provide the services and customer support you request;
resolve disputes, collect fees, and troubleshoot problems;
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customize, measure, and improve our services and the Sites' content and advertising;
tell you about targeted marketing, service updates, and promotional offers based on your communication preferences; and
compare information for accuracy, and verify it with third parties.
Our Disclosure of Your Information
We
may disclose personal information to respond to legal requirements,
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violates the rights of others, or protect anyone's rights, property, or
safety.
We may also share your personal information with:
Members
of our corporate family to help detect and prevent potentially illegal
acts and provide joint content and services (for example, registration,
transactions and customer support). Our corporate affiliates will send
marketing communications only to users who request these services.
Service
providers under contract who help with our business operations (such as
fraud investigations, bill collection, affiliate and rewards programs
and co-branded credit cards).
Other
third parties to whom you explicitly ask us to send your information
(or about whom you are otherwise explicitly notified and consent to
when using a specific service).
Law
enforcement or other governmental officials, in response to a verified
request relating to a criminal investigation or alleged illegal
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investigation, such as name, city, state, zip code, telephone number,
email address, User ID history, IP address, fraud complaints, and
bidding and listing history.
eBay
VeRO Program participants under confidentiality agreement, as we in our
sole discretion believe necessary or appropriate in connection with an
investigation of fraud, intellectual property infringement, piracy, or
other unlawful activity. In such events, we will disclose name, street
address, city, state, zip code, country, phone number, email address
and company name.
Other
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Activity Associated with User IDs
Your
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Other people can see your bids, items that you have purchased in the
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comments, and so on. Notices are sent to other community members
regarding suspicious activity and policy violations on our sites and
refer to User IDs and specific items. Therefore, if you associate your
name with your User ID, the people to whom you have revealed your name
will be able to personally identify your eBay activities.
Using Information from eBay
eBay
enables you to share personal and financial information to complete
transactions. We encourage you to disclose your privacy practices and
respect the privacy of other users. We cannot guarantee the privacy or
security of your information and therefore we encourage you to evaluate
the privacy and security policies of your trading partner before
entering into a transaction and choosing to share your information. To
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contact, shipping and financial information to facilitate your
transactions. When users are involved in a transaction, they may have
access to each other's name, User ID, email address and other contact
and shipping information. In all cases, you must give other users a
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what information you have collected about them.
You agree to use user information only for:
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using services offered through eBay (e.g. escrow, insurance, shipping and fraud complaints), or
other purposes that a user expressly chooses.
Cookies
We
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A few important things you should know about cookies are that:
We offer certain features that are available only through the use of cookies.
We use cookies to help identify you and maintain your signed-in status.
Most cookies are "session cookies," meaning that they are automatically deleted from your hard drive at the end of a session.
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You
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No Spam, Spyware or Spoofing
We
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You may not use our communication tools to send spam or otherwise send
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We do not rent or sell these email addresses.
Account Protection
Your
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If you do share your password or your personal information with others,
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to legally binding actions taken on your behalf. Therefore, if your
password has been compromised for any reason, you should immediately
notify eBay and change your password.
Accessing, Reviewing and Changing Your Personal Information
You
can see, review and change most of your personal information by signing
on to eBay. Generally, we will not manually modify your personal
information because it is very difficult to verify your identity
remotely. You must promptly update your personal information if it
changes or is inaccurate. Once you make a public posting, you may not
be able to change or remove it. Upon your request, we will close your
account and remove your personal information from view as soon as
reasonably possible, based on your account activity and in accordance
with applicable law. We do retain personal information from closed
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resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, assist with any
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Security
Your
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treat data as an asset that must be protected and use lots of tools
(encryption, passwords, physical security, etc.) to protect your
personal information against unauthorized access and disclosure.
However, as you probably know, third parties may unlawfully intercept
or access transmissions or private communications, and other users may
abuse or misuse your personal information that they collect from the
site. Therefore, although we work very hard to protect your privacy, we
do not promise, and you should not expect, that your personal
information or private communications will always remain private.
Third Parties
Except
as otherwise expressly included in this Privacy Policy, this document
addresses only the use and disclosure of information we collect from
you. If you disclose your information to others, whether they are
bidders, buyers or sellers on our sites or other sites throughout the
internet, different rules may apply to their use or disclosure of the
information you disclose to them. eBay does not control the privacy
policies of third parties, and you are subject to the privacy policies
of those third parties where applicable. We encourage you to ask
questions before you disclose your personal information to others.
General
We
may amend this Privacy Policy at any time by posting the amended terms
on this site. All amended terms automatically take effect 30 days after
they are initially posted on the Site. In addition, we will notify you
through the eBay Message Center. If your questions are not answered
online, you may write to us at: eBay Inc. Attn: Legal - Global Privacy
Practices, 2145 Hamilton Avenue, San Jose, California 95125, or using
the Contact Us form.
Hi blog readers, it’s Anuj from the comms team here.
) 
Woot!
)
The Sutchi Hui Pedestrian versus Chris Bucchere Bicyclist Incident. San Francisco Vehicular Fatality.
The Case of Sutchi Hui Pedestrian versus Chris Bucchere Bicyclist. One Dead In San Francisco.
9 April 2012
EventHorizon1984
We are not a current events type of space. But sometimes something comes up ......
On 29 March 2012, in the city of San Francisco, a bicyclist identified as Chris Bucchere collided with a pedestrian identified as Sutchi Hui. Mr. Bucchere survived the impact. Mr. Hui died later at the hospital.
While this type of sad event happens around the world daily, it's what happened after the collision that made headlines.
One viewable by the public online post.
"Never post anything you don't want repeated in RL."
SoccerkickrevivaL
An individual identifying themselves as "Chris Bucchere" wrote a post about the incident on the Mission Cycling AM Rider Google group (http://groups.google.com/group/mc-am-riders).
We pieced together and verified from various sources, the contents of that Mission Cycling AM Rider Google group post. See below.
Wrecked
Dear Missionistas / Raiders of the Morning, Famiglia and Amigos,
I wrecked on the way home today from the bi-weekly Headlands Raid today. Short story: I'm fine. The pedestrian I clobbered? Not so much.
Around 8 a.m. I was descending Divisadero Street southbound and about to cross Market Street. The light turned yellow as I was approaching the intersection, but I was already way too committed to stop. The light turned red as I was cruising through the middle of the intersection and then, almost instantly, the southern crosswalk on Market and Castro filled up with people coming from both directions. The intersection very long and the width of Castro Street at that point is very short, so, in a nutshell, blammo.
The quote/unquote 'scene of the crime' was that intersection right by the landmark Castro Theatre – it leads from a really busy MUNI station to that little plaza where The Naked Guy always hangs out. It was commuter hour and it was crowded as all getup. I couldn't see a line through the crowd and I couldn't stop, so I laid it down and just plowed through the crowded crosswalk in the least-populated place I could find.
I don't remember the next five minutes but when I came to, I was in a neck brace being loaded into an ambulance. I remember seeing a RIVER of blood on the asphalt, but it wasn't mine. Apparently I hit a 71-year-old male pedestrian and he ended up in the ICU with pretty serious head injuries. I really hope he ends up OK.
They asked me a bunch of stupid easy questions that I couldn't answer, so they kept me for a few hours for observation, gave me a tetanus shot and sent me on my way.
Anyway, other than a stiff neck, a sore jaw/TMJ, a few bruises and some raspberries, I'm totally fine. I got discharged from the hospital durning the lunch hour. The guy I hit was not as fortunate. I really hope he makes it.
The cops took my bike. Hopefully they'll give it back.
In closing, I want to dedicate this story to my late helmet. She died in heroic fashion today as my head slammed into the tarmac. Like the Secret Service would do for a president, she took some serious pavement today, cracking through-and-through in five places and getting completely mauled by the ragged asphalt. May she die knowing that because she committed the ultimate sacrifice, her rider can live on and ride on. Can I get an amen?
Amen.
The moral of this little story is: WYFH
Hoping you'll all keep the rubber side down,
Chris
We here would love to make a few choice personal comments about this masterpiece, but it would not be fit to print.
"All we want are the facts"
Joe Friday, Dragnet
Let's go over some of this
The above post was attributed to Chris Bucchere, because his email address was attached to it. One problem with that logic; if you want to get one of his email addresses it's easy enough to use Google to get one.
For instance you can get a Chris Bucchere email address from http://feedhaus.com/.
Or make one up, with his name imbedded within.
All well within the realm of what any simpleton Internet Troll could accomplish.
To objectively state that Chris Bucchere made that post, where a computer is involved, you need to link the IP address associated with that email address to him. Match the MAC address to a device he has access to or owns. And then prove he was at that specific device at the time of the post.
If that post was made from a smart phone, best of luck trying to reverse trace the phone number and phone that made the post.
Ok, neither are outrageously difficult to obtain, but that's another discussion.
Not to say this is impossible. But the reverse process, a search warrant for Chris Bucchere's phone and Internet records, requires some probable cause.
You can read the appropriate California statute for yourself:
Penal Code Section 1523-1542
So did Chris Bucchere, the one in the collision, make that post?
The site associated to that group, MissionCycling.org, had this to say:
"The mailing list this was posted to exists solely to allow the broader cycling community to communicate about cycling events and related topics. It was by no means an official Mission Cycling members list. Chris Bucchere’s post came as a surprise and shock to all of us who read it."
The owners of that Google group say it's him, but that's not proof.
Let's take a different and public tact.
"There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!"
Cosmo, Sneakers (1992)
There is a growing misconception that the poster known as "Chris Bucchere" only made that one incident post. This is not true.
View for yourself some posts attributed to poster "Chris Bucchere", going back to 2010, on the Mission Cycling AM Google group.
To do this, use Google and search for "site:groups.google.com groups.google.com/group/mc-am-riders "chris bucchere"".
Because that group closed itself to the public, use the Google "Cached" option to view messages.
A cursory examination shows that the poster known as "Chris Bucchere" had a good online rapport with other group members. Not out of the ordinary with online groups. Plus he left multiple Internet links identifying himself. Abet any Internet Troll could do this.
But when you read his postings, you will find out he had a good offline, that is a person to person relationship, with other group members. Internet Trolls are not known for doing this, unless they're into Identity Theft.
A Detective would have no problem determining if the poster known as "Chris Bucchere" is the Chris Bucchere the Police interviewed on 29 March 2012.
The original post was deleted, making an online public reading difficult. But not impossible. If you're really the curious type, do a Google search for "Wrecked - Mission Cycling AM Riders". Suggest using the quotes ("").
We suspect that link leads to the post that's making news around the world.
Currently that link will not yield that post, and at present it's not Google cached yet. However the original post might show up in the Google cache in the coming weeks. Should it appear, you'll probably see it circulating around the Internet.
Unless Google decides to quash it, or has already deleted it.
"the southern crosswalk on Market and Castro"
The poster known as "Chris Bucchere"
What does the area involving the death of Sutchi Hui look like?
The view as provided by www.dailymail.co.uk:
The view as provided by www.sfgate.com:
The view as provided by zzz.sfbg.com:
The view as provided by sfist.com:
"I was cruising through the middle of the intersection and then, almost instantly, the southern crosswalk on Market and Castro filled up with people"
The poster known as "Chris Bucchere"
There is an article, "The Chris Bucchere Accident", which includes video of pedestrians in the Castro & Market Street area. The area of the above photos.
You can judge for yourself whether pedestrians can fill a crosswalk "instantly."
"I couldn't see a line through the crowd and I couldn't stop, so I laid it down and just plowed through the crowded crosswalk in the least-populated place I could find."
The poster known as "Chris Bucchere"
One might wonder what "laying the bike down" means. It's a term taken from a motorcycle maneuver, which involves hitting the pavement and sliding.
Here's a motorcycle explanation and photo:
How to Lay Down the Bike
There is an interesting section within; "Today's bikes are also capable of stopping faster than ever before, making the advice about always lying down to avoid a crash obsolete."
Now imagine a bicycle and bicyclist going sideways, not upright. Into a crowd of pedestrians.
Likely scenario would be the two wheels are facing the crowd, with the bulk of the bicycle protecting the rider.
Our opinionated question is 'Why didn't he turn (left or right)?'.
"The light turned red as I was cruising through the middle of the intersection."
The poster known as "Chris Bucchere"
"The light was yellow, sir."
Jake Elwood, The Blues Brothers (1980)
According to the Police there is a, 'motorist who reported seeing Bucchere and another cyclist fly through several red lights and stop signs before the deadly Castro district crash.'
We'll have to wait and see what statements were made by other people AT the incident area.
It was after all, the commuter hour and crowded.
Unconfirmed at this point, is the notion that there were traffic cameras, and other cameras, automatically recording the incident.
"I laid it down and just plowed through the crowded crosswalk"
The poster known as "Chris Bucchere"
Is a bicycle considered a vehicle in California?
V C Section 21200 Laws Applicable to Bicycle Use Peace Officer Exemption:
"A person riding a bicycle or operating a pedicab upon a highway has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this division"
Answer: Yes.
Much has been made of whether the light was yellow or red. Isn't a bicycle/vehicle supposed to yield to pedestrians, whether the light is red, yellow, or gren?
Right-of-Way at Crosswalks
21950. (a) The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
(b) This section does not relieve a pedestrian from the duty of using due care for his or her safety. No pedestrian may suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard. No pedestrian may unnecessarily stop or delay traffic while in a marked or unmarked crosswalk.
(c) The driver of a vehicle approaching a pedestrian within any marked or unmarked crosswalk shall exercise all due care and shall reduce the speed of the vehicle or take any other action relating to the operation of the vehicle as necessary to safeguard the safety of the pedestrian.
(d) Subdivision (b) does not relieve a driver of a vehicle from the duty of exercising due care for the safety of any pedestrian within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.
According to part (d) a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk has right-of-way. Meaning the vehicle yields. Read, STOP.
"Reporters. They want a comment." Robert Goren
"Can they print a hand gesture." Alexandra Eames
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Then there's this tragedy.
Teen Driver Arrested After SUV Hits 3 Cyclists In Concord, Killing 2
The driver was "arrested on manslaughter charges in the death of 2 bicyclists. Essentially reckless driving, speeding, and two fatalities.
That incident took place on 7 April 2012 at "9:30 a.m." The arrest was recorded in an article posted at 10:50 AM.
Contrast that action with Chris Bucchere, who according to MissionCycling.org, "reckless riding on that day", probably GPS tracked going 35.2 mph in a 25 mph zone, resulting in one fatality?
This incident took place on March 29, 2012. Over a week later the "Prosecutors have not filed charges but are looking into the case."
Guess in San Francisco, if you're under two vehicular fatalities, it's ok.
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"Don't try to usurp my throne, bitch! *I* am the slowest person in the group."
The poster known as "Chris Bucchere", 7 December 2011
"Recently retired from asking for or seeking anything from anyone. Now simply accepting my destiny."
Chris Bucchere
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Some references.
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EventHorizon1984 Log
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Posted on 09 April 2012 at 17:24 in Business, Commentary, Current Affairs, EventHorizon1984, Google, Legal, Web/Tech, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Technorati Tags: bicycle, blammo, Castro Street Bomb, Chris Bucchere, Concord, Dear Missionistas / Raiders of the Morning, Famiglia and Amigos, Mission Cycling AM Rider, San Francisco, STRAVA, Sutchi Hui, The pedestrian I clobbered, Wrecked
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