posted on November 12, 2005 08:07:56 PM new
Hi,
I have posted this question to Vendio Gallery topic but did not receive any response from Vendio staff so I’m posting it again in, hopefully, more appropriate group.
I have a major problem with Vendio plastering advertisements around my enlarged pictures. I could understand a small link for Vendio services but now I have 4-5 clickable links sending my potential buyers AWAY from my auction. If you click on Dealio, you will be sent AWAY from eBay and you will loose a buyer.
After all Vendio is not free and I am paying for the service.
posted on November 13, 2005 05:17:39 AM new
I actually had an email from a customer telling me that were not buying the item and that they would report me to eBay for trying to sell this service. I had a time of it trying to explain to her that it was vendio NOT me doing this.
Beth
www.vintageads4u.com
posted on November 13, 2005 04:42:57 PM new
Hi there,
Thank you for your feedback. Dealio is a Vendio product and should actually help you increase your sales, because as a Vendio customer you are automatically given featured placement in the Dealio search results (for no additional cost). We changed the Dealio ad to a button rather than a banner, so it is much less obtrusive. Are your buyers referring to the button (which just looks like an orange smiley with no real promotion), or the larger "Dealio" banner?
posted on November 13, 2005 05:20:51 PM new
Diana,
Thank you for the response. How do you address issue of potential buyer being sent AWAY from my auction. The whole idea of advertising Dealio is for the buyer to go there and spend some time on Dealio service. That there is a big chance he/she will never return to my auction to make the purchase.
If it really helps our sale, can we have an option of not having this "help" all over my pictures?
posted on November 13, 2005 07:47:10 PM new
Thank you for posting this thread;
I was unaware of this advertising by Vendio.
I have just checked my enlargements and see this smile button AND large clickable banner and must add my voice to Jack's here.
My immediate reaction on seeing this banner is to click on the link and away from my own auction!
I am quite sure that my particular category niche is not going to benefit by anyone using Dealio services and
I certainly do not want the "help" of sending potential bidder AWAY from my auctions either!
posted on November 15, 2005 09:04:26 AM new
I have noticed the advertisements as well. I do not want them. The two links are large and prominent at the top of each enlarged picture. It would be different if the links were small and at the bottom of the page, just like the Vendio advertisement on the bottom of each of our auctions.
It is one thing to be added to a free data base, and another to be forced to advertise for that site.
I do not want anything that takes people away from my auctions.
posted on November 15, 2005 09:25:40 AM new
I'm chiming in here too as I saw this the other day while reviewing my auctions. Isn't it a bit absurd to include an ad on MY auction, that I paid photo-hosting fees for, that encourages a potential buyer to look elsewhere? It's clear to me someone at Vendio is spending too much time hitting the peace pipe instead of focusing on what the company does best. (For example...I'm still having to correct the international shipping rates per auction, a fix that was due last September.) Dealio, in my opinion, has nothing to do with my items and all to do with Vendio trying to create additional revenue streams. The bottom line for me is if we paid for photo hosting, we should have the right to opt out of any Vendio silliness. With eBay finally stepping up to the plate with it's listing enhancements, Vendio must respect it's paying customers or suffer the consequences. Please remove the Dealio spam from our auction photos.
posted on November 15, 2005 02:24:49 PM new
Edited to provide statistics on dealio downloads. These can be found at download.com. Since 11/8 it has been downloaded 35 times (8 times last week).
Now, assuming every employee has downloaded it.
Lot's of good articles about this and other tools and why consumers will not download them. It is a trust issue.
Interesting reading, if you just google "dealio".
[ edited by vintageads4u on Nov 15, 2005 02:36 PM ]
posted on November 16, 2005 11:07:30 AM new
Hello everyone,
We appreciate your feedback regarding Dealio. The Dealio service is designed to help Vendio supported sellers sell more, so we take your concerns very seriously. We wanted to explain a bit how our Dealio release today provides a key benefit for you as a Vendio seller. We are now including eBay results in Dealio search results, with Vendio supported sellers’ items placed above others as Featured Items. This enhanced visibility will ultimately lead to more sales for Vendio supported sellers. As more buyers learn about and use Dealio, the benefit you receive grows even further. While Dealio has already been downloaded thousands of times during the beta directly from the Dealio.com site, we have many more promotional efforts planned that will drive further value to you as a seller. We encourage you to learn more about our recent enhancements by clicking here.
We look forward to helping you grow your sales by featuring your items in Dealio.
posted on November 16, 2005 01:35:12 PM new
Sonya, your response totally sidestepped our concerns. The issue here is we do not like Dealio spam on our photos, photos we paid hosting fees for. I don't mind a Vendio one-liner, for example, but not an ad that has the potential of taking our potential buyers elsewhere. That is the issue that needs communicate and addressing. Dealio markets itself to the Best Buy/Wal-Mart/Target crowd (see the official press release)anyway, not the independent folks who are the backbone of eBay. And what happens when several Vendio SMPRO listings have the same item up for sale? IMHO, Dealio is a waste of time anyways. If people are shopping on the internet they're already doing their own pricing research.
posted on November 16, 2005 01:44:54 PM new
My items are not included yet anyway. As I understand Dealio is starting with consumer electronics.
There are so many more things you could be doing for current customers including upgrades to listing, smpro on the desktop (which is not worthless due to intl shipping problems), and vd stores.
Consumer resistance to these toolbars is enormous and you are basically using my reputation with my customers to lend legitamacy to your endeavors. Fears of spyware, adware and slowing the computer are just three reasons.
I think many of us should think about putting a disclaimer on our auctions that we are not affiliated with nor support Dealio.
Beth
www.vintageads4u.com
posted on November 16, 2005 04:18:26 PM new
Sonya,
Your response it very unacceptable and it sounds like a press release of your supervisors.
I have approximately 500 auctions now and I post multiple pictures in each auction. Many people view ALL my pictures daily and I AM PAYING YOU for your advertisement.
I have FIVE links to Vendio in my auction description and FIVE links, buttons, etc all over my enlarged pictures.
Please remove them as they interfere with my auctions OR pay me for the advertisement.
posted on November 16, 2005 06:22:11 PM new
I'm in total agreement with the other posters regarding the clickable Dealio link being put directly above the picture/s. Nothing should detract from the pictures or distract a potential buyer, and that link definitely does both! As paying Vendio customers, we have a right to request its removal.
posted on November 16, 2005 07:14:10 PM new
For sellers with a Vendio Store (included free with many Sales Manager Subscriptions), you can use an alternate image enlarge page by selecting the "Include Store promo on enlarged image page" in Global Preferences (My Account). For those sellers not using Vendio Stores for fixed price items, the Vendio Store is also a Gallery of eBay items.
vintageads4u, we have already enabled this preference for you while testing to make sure it presents a page you'll like better, so you should see the changes on your active items immediately.
posted on November 16, 2005 08:41:29 PM new
I don't use the click to enlarge feature so I should stay quiet BUT Sonya, one minor change (having the DEALIO link open in a new window) would at least prevent people from leaving the Seller's page when clicking on the link. I have to say the Dealio ad does look tacky and the name is hokey - not the quality I would want to project to my customers. I don't blame these folks for being a little ticked! For some reason "Dealio" sounds like "Let's Make a Deal" one of the tackiest game shows ever!
-------------------------------------
posted on November 17, 2005 05:32:49 AM new
Not only are the pictures mine, but the auction itself is mine. I paid a great deal of money to eBay for each of my auctions.
I pay eBay over $3,000 a month. I am NOT going to allow Dealio links that send MY customers that I PAID for and WORKED for, away from MY auctions.
My auctions are listed all throughout the internet on a multitude of different sites for free, and I do not have to link back to any of them.
We do not use Vendio store, and do not use fixed price items. That should not mean we are stuck with these ads. I do not want Dealio ad links that take my customers away from my auctions.
So the message Vendio wants to send is "don't buy this item until you've checked to see if there's a better deal."
Really?
That doesn't sound like a service to benefit me at all. You're pulling people away from my auction (rather than programming this to open a new window), and once there, you're encouraging my potential bidder to check out other venues.
Heck, just change the logo to a flashing stop sign since that's basically the function of your newest promotion.
Good grief, I've been with Vendio for years and have referred many people to the site as well as recommended it in various disussion boards.
I don't think I've ever been quite so insulted in all the time I've been in this business, including the various and sundry eBay changes that have been foiseted upon us without warning or consideration of our business practices.
I see this in my User Agreement: "3. Vendio Banners. All images hosted by Vendio must be accompanied by our click-through banner, or they will be subject to deletion without notice. The banner is included in our system generated code."
But I don't see where I've agreed to let you place non-click-through banners on my auctions, nor do I see why I should.
If you want to promote Dealio, then make darned sure that the click-through banner on my auctions takes your potential clients to a page that adequately markets the service.
This is a big deal, Vendio. Roll your eyes all you want, but as a paying customer, I have a right to expect that you are looking out for MY best interests. Why would I want to do business with a company that doesn't?
I could understand if this was free service, but it's not. If I wanted obnoxious banners and trade-for-trade advertising, I could go that route. I don't. I want my ads to be my ads and in exchange for using Vendio, I've agreed to give you CLICK-THROUGH advertising on every auction. Period.
I've never had you come up with a deal breaker before, but this could be the one.
I'm really disappointed in both your approach to this new business of yours, and the cavalier manner in which you've decided to use your paying customers to promote it.
This, along with the canned responses to this thread and the demeaning tone of them is just wrong. Might as well start your pitch with : "Now, children ....."
Well, I'm not a child, but I may have to take my toys and go to a different playground if this is your new approach to customer care.
posted on November 17, 2005 04:52:47 PM new
Hi everyone,
Thank you for your feedback. We have enabled a limited Vendio Store plan in each of your accounts (if you did not already have a Store enabled.) If you go to the Store page and make sure the "Promote and increase traffic to my Store. Include a Store banner in all of my auctions" option is unchecked and the "Include Store promo on enlarged image page." under My Account -> Global Preferences -> Promotional Options is checked, the Store promo will replace the Dealio ad on your enlarged image page, and no Store banner will be displayed in your eBay listings.
You do not have to have fixed price inventory in your Store. The Store will open to the eBay Gallery and will display your eBay listings if anyone clicks on it from your eBay listings. As long as you do not add any fixed-price listings to the Store you will not be charged anything - if you add any fixed-price items to the Store you will begin to be charged for this service.
posted on November 17, 2005 05:14:09 PM new
That's a nice fix for the squeaky wheels, but I still would like clarity as to where in my User's Agreement I have agreed to allow click-away links to be added to my auctions.
While I appreciate that you scrambled to find a fix for those of us who have spoken up, I do feel that you've broken a trust and I just don't understand why you're being so cavalier about it.
The unspoken message I'm getting here is: "we did it, we like it, get used to it".
So, now I have to inspect my auctions all the time for more marketing surprises?
Do you really think this is what your users pay for when they buy into your service? If I was a Vendio employee, and you required me to wear a company uniform, I'd do it because you'd be paying my checks.
But this is the other way around, and I just don't see where I have an obligation to promote the site beyond what I have agreed to -- which is a CLICK-THROUGH banner on my auctions that will open a new window and give you the opportunity to dazzle my customers with your marketing promotions.
Why I should risk losing a single one of them -- why ANYone should have to risk losing them -- with your click-out sales pitch that encourages people to comparison shop instead of buy the item they were looking at simply baffles me. And I can only guess that you were counting on nobody noticing .... or that you'd deal with complainers as they came along (and figuring that most of your clients wouldn't make a peep).
How could you have come up with the least user-friendly solution on this?
posted on November 17, 2005 06:01:41 PM new
Hi there,
The Dealio button *should* be a hyperlink that will open a new window. I will check on this, as it may be a bug that we need to correct if it's opening Dealio on the enlarged image page. Thanks again for posting. We are not trying to be cavalier about this, and I apologize if it sounded that way. We feel that the free featured placement will be a benefit to our customers as Dealio gains more traction.
posted on November 17, 2005 07:07:52 PM new
Diana,
I have contacted my eBay account manager about this scandalous situation. Vendio has received some kind of recognition from eBay and hopefully eBay will be able to persuade you that this is as much against Vendio customers as against eBay.
You are sending potential buyers AWAY from my auction and I hope eBay is not going to appreciate it either as they loose potential revenue.
Additionally, eBay has strict policy of advertising and placing links inside the auctions so I hope I am breaking eBay policy allowing you to advertise.
The previous posters are correct; we have completely lost trust in Vendio as this is against our interest.
posted on November 17, 2005 08:23:12 PM new
Oh darn..I was hoping that I wouldn't find a reason to leave vendio, and have to learn something new, but this is just not right. I'll go and see about "pretending" I have a store, but I shouldn't have to. Tacky tacky tacky. I didn't know about it, until I heard from a client, but I sure don't like it now that I see it.
edited to ad, I went to the store page and it said it expired (from a long long time ago when I had a free store). I can't see anywhere to unclick this:
"Promote and increase traffic to my Store. Include a Store banner in all of my auctions" option is unchecked
I was able to click:
"Include Store promo on enlarged image page." under My Account -> Global Preferences -> Promotional Options is checked,
will you fix this for me? I do not want that funny face dealo in my pictures. I pay good money for people to look at the pictures..not click and go away thinking they have been spammed.
[ edited by magneticattractions on Nov 17, 2005 08:29 PM ]
posted on November 18, 2005 02:50:05 AM new
Can someone please tell me where I can find the Store page that Diana was talking about in her email to us. When I click on the Store Link on the left, the only thing I see is a button to Launch the Wizard. Do I need to launch the Wizard so that I can find and UNCHECK the option to PROMOTE & INCREASE TRAFFIC TO MY STORE AND INCLUDE A STORE BANNER TO ALL MY AUCTIONS? Thanks for your help.
[ edited by ciao346 on Nov 18, 2005 04:18 AM ]
posted on November 18, 2005 08:13:24 AM new
Hi Diana,
I have been using Vendio for 7 years and I agree that Dealio is not the approach I want to take at this time either. I also do not like the banner on my image pages. You mentioned in an earlier post that you enabled a limited Vendio store plan. Is that for all Vendio users or just the ones who voice an opinion on this subject? I had a Vendio store for a while earlier this year but decided against the added expense. Will I now have access to a limited store so I can get the Dealio banner off my imagine page and replace it with the store promo? I really do like Vendio and think you folks do a great job.
posted on November 18, 2005 09:56:52 AM new
Hi everyone,
ciao346, you do need to go through the wizard and set up the basic information for the store. You really don't have to add anything besides maybe your contact information, but once you proceed through the wizard you will have access to the page that will allow you to uncheck the option to display the store banner in your listings.
thegirls1 and magneticattractions, I have enabled a limited store for your account as well.
Thanks again for the feedback,
Diana
[ edited by DianaCS on Nov 18, 2005 09:57 AM ]
[ edited by DianaCS on Nov 18, 2005 09:58 AM ]
posted on November 18, 2005 12:27:17 PM new
Hi Diana,
I did exactly as you said, and no where in the process of the wizard was there any option to UNCHECK the Promote & Increase Traffic to my Store and Include a store banner to all my auctions. The wizard asked for all kinds of info, but nothing related to the removal of the banner. PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS...ALSO, if I somehow signed up for something in that process in that wizard, please have it deleted. Thanks for your help.
posted on November 18, 2005 12:38:55 PM new
Hi ciao346,
Once you've gone through the process of setting up the store, on the store page (click "Stores" in the left navigation bar) you will find the option that you need to uncheck in order to prevent the store banner from being added to the listings. The option you need to check is in My Account -> Global Preferences -> Promotional Options.
posted on November 18, 2005 03:22:54 PM new
Hi again Diana,
I was able to UNCHECK the Promote Traffic option on my store page, then I went to My acct under the Global Preferences and CHECKED the Include Store Promo on enlarged image page. (This was actually already checked on the page) I then refreshed the page and went to eBay and refreshed my auctions and clicked on a photo and the Dealio banner is still there and when I clicked on it, it still is linking me away from my auction.
Do I have to wait until eBay refreshes their pages, or should this change show up immediately?
