Question
So I inadvertently used a trademarked name in an auction. The VeRO heavyweight muscled her way into my tiny office, demanded I change or end it and stood there tapping her foot while I did it.
Then she yanked the auction anyway.
Silly me, I forgot I had scheduled another auction using the same term. Blam! It got yanked too.
These grievous infractions netted me a stern "we want to suspend you but we're cutting you a break...JUST THIS ONCE" letter from noonewhocares*ebay.com. I am of course supposed to be grateful I still have an eBay account.
Strangely, I'm not.
I found myself wishing they would in fact suspend me. I have found other selling avenues, and eBay is just too much work for too little payoff (not to mention the constant stream of abuse).
My response:
"If eBay wants to suspend my account, that is just fine with me. Frankly, I am sick to death of eBay's ponderous unhelpfulness in every aspect of the business, despite the nearly $18,000 a year I pay in fees. I can take that money elsewhere if you prefer.
"I report users with dead email addresses to you and you do NOTHING, in spite of the fact it is a suspendable offense. Not a day goes by that I don't get auction winners with dead email. Then they leave negative feedback because I `didn't contact them'.
"You also allow deadbeats to leave negative feedback for me, which has irremediably harmed my business.
"Since I am not all-knowing and all-seeing it is possible that at some future point I will inadvertently infringe on someone's intellectual property rights somewhere. If you are so anxious to get rid of sellers who make money for you (and so desperate to keep deadbeats and idiots with dead email), you might as well just go ahead and suspend me now. I am a hardworking 16-hour-a-day seller who barely makes a living doing this; believe me, you'd be doing me a big favor."
Answer
Dear Fluffy:
WOW what a great letter. Not that I think the ponderous machine will care but very eloquent none the less.
Good luck.
Dee
Answer
Fluffy,
I am shocked. I have been reading your posts for years on the AW board.
I find hypocrisy one of the hardest things to tolerate and I think in the vero program, it is blatant. I get veroed for using the term Shabby Chic in an auction but ebay has a keyword Shabby Chic. Did they pay royalty fees to R. A. to use that term, did she give them permission to use *her* term without compensation? or is the guerilla too much for even HER lawyers to tackle (yet).
I will continue to use ebay for as long as they are profitable (at an hourly wage I can live with and 16 hour days and barely making it isn't it!) but I am trying to make my website a viable revenue stream as well and may also start selling in antique malls again. But, when larger sellers like you start even thinking of leaving, I think us little guys need to start worrying.
Good luck,
Mel-
Answer
Mels,
Unfortunately, I live in one of the most expensive areas in the U.S., so my barely-making-it would be someone else's comfortable living.
I cannot help but notice though lately a number of factors have converged to make eBay selling nearly untenable:
1) Spam blocking. This isn't eBay's fault (although I believe they should require an alternate email address that we sellers can have access to). My invoices aren't always getting to Hotmail, Yahoo, and AOL addresses. Unfortunately the pennypinchers who like to bid on my auctions also like free or cheap email.
2) Dead email addresses. This is actually costing me money in unpaid-for auctions and time spent trying to get invoice information to these lamers. It's up to an average of 20 deads per week out of 300-400 ended auctions. Since this problem was virtually nil a year ago, I am not liking the look of that curve.
3) Feedback. I am starting to get more than the occasional snarky comment about my negative feedbacks; now bidders who look otherwise legitimate are using it to rationalize their non-payment. Another problem that was almost non-existent a year ago. Thanks, eBay, for not suspending the miscreants.
4) Spam. I get in excess of 1200 spams per day now, and not all are caught by my filters.
Starting over with a new main user ID would alleviate problems 3 and 4 (I could use a spamproof address for the new one), but problems 1 and 2 would remain.
I think this is more than a geez-I'm-having-a-bad-day moment; it feels like the beginning of a sea change.
Answer
As I've said on MANY other threads, eBay may have a place in the great scheme of things, but one that is ever getting smaller.
If google dont screw up it could be in a position to trounce eBay, and at the same time allow vendors the freedom to brand their products and attract repeat customers to their web sites.
Booksellers have alternate markets which need to be well advertized, and it would be great to see this for other items as well.
The sheer unmitigated gall and arrogance of eBay is beyond description, and for many of us, beyond tolerance.
The simple truth of the matter is that as online sellers we have to look at marketing to the ever growing hordes of people who simply DO NOT LIKE ebay, and who have either been burnt there, or who simply find the site too annoying with all the crap and site problems. This is a substantial market that by now numbers millions if one can extrapolate from basic experience.
Most of my inventory will never see eBay. Especailly the best stuff. Its still a great place to sell junk though!!
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