posted on February 1, 2001 07:26:29 PM new
"Citing concerns over spam and the harvesting of user email addresses by outside marketers, eBay yesterday said that it would change how
users communicate via email and prohibit new users from registering their email addresses as user IDs."- AW daily report 02-01-01
Well when I signed up over 3 years ago they said to use my email as my user id to promote honesty.... now they want us to change our i.d.s and of course lose all feedback ratings.
posted on February 1, 2001 07:30:32 PM new
Selecting a "nickname" instead of an email address for an ID will not affect your feedback. All you are doing is changing the your identifier, your feedback goes right along with it.
posted on February 1, 2001 08:56:37 PM new
<<prohibit new users from registering their email addresses as user IDs>>
or
<<Well when I signed up over 3 years ago they said to use my email as my user id to promote honesty.... now they want us to change our i.d.s and of course lose all feedback ratings>>
Which one is it?
New users not being able to use their email address or users already using their address?
I am not following your complaint.
~Not barrelracer on ebay, don't pick on them!~
posted on February 1, 2001 10:00:36 PM new
Thanks, knowing ebayers, I was confused, I thought that you lost your feedbacks if you changed your user id, my bad?
posted on February 1, 2001 11:21:07 PM new
Well as a seller, I have no intention of jumping through eBay's little hoop. I don't buy their propaganda, spam has never affected me to that degree, and I will be keeping my e-mail addy as my user id. My buyers should be able to contact me easily and DIRECTLY.
posted on February 1, 2001 11:35:35 PM new
I've actually been thinking about changing my user ID from a nickname to my email address. Figure I should at least try and remove the barrier ebay wants to place between me and my buyers.
posted on February 2, 2001 12:11:04 AM new
You people are amazing, eBay makes a move to protect YOU the members from potential harmful spam email by offering the suggestion to HIDE your email behind a user id, forcing potential spammers to have to obtain an eBay account to get your information instead of having it readily available.
Don't you see, when they have to get an account, they are not only spamming, they are violating a legal contract with eBay and allows eBay to maintain a legal edge over potential abusers from obtaining, selling, and abusing your email information.
Also, you do not lose your feedback, reputation or your customers by creating a user ID, just protects you more.
In addition, as you said that you like your email address easily available to your buyers to get a hold of you. Well your buyers are eBay members too, and are perfectly aware of how to obtain your email address the legitimate way using their account to get behind the user id. Don't get upset, be proud that eBay has the concern for your information and for mine to offer a way to protect us from these jerks who use eBay for nothing but to cause mischeif.
posted on February 2, 2001 01:29:11 AM new
Someone let me know if my thinking is right. If I change to a user ID from my email address and a buyer wants to contact me before bidding the email is relayed through eBay?
In theory that sounds okay, but I've got EOA's after I've gotten feedback. I've sent BillPoint invoices that didn't arrive for 48 hours. IF those delays were to show up in eBay's email relay it could be a disadvantage.
My spam isn't bad enough to go to a user ID at present. If I have a choice I choose to keep my email ID.
posted on February 2, 2001 03:20:33 AM new
If you want buyers to contact you directly you always have the option of putting your email address in your auction description.
posted on February 2, 2001 04:08:49 AM new
I am lovepotions everywhere in cyberspace except for Yahoo because someone nabbed that name before me.
I do it for a brandname connected to everything I do online.
It would be easier for me to go back and do a search for my favorite seller by an ID name.
I can't go and look for you on Ebay to buy my favorite scented candles I bought 8 months ago by trying to remember [email protected] for example.
If you were candlegirl on Ebay I'd find you easily *made up example*
Also don't forget people change their emails all the time..regular folks without a personal domain name email.
Even if I did somehow remember that candlegirl is [email protected] and she now uses earthlink and changed that info I'd have a hell of a time finding her.
In everyone if my adds in all auction sites I type in the email to contact me for questions
But you can find me anywhere on any auction site by simply looking for lovepotions and I'll be there (if I have current listings of course)
http://www.lovepotions.net
"Any Ebay user can get your email address at any time by clicking on your Ebay ID..It brings them to a page where they put in their user ID, and password, then your email address shows up, and they email you directly."
"This feature will change in the near future." They will do away with it.
posted on February 2, 2001 06:16:54 AM new
I will never believed that eBay is trying to protect us from Spam. In fact, I think that this new move is merely to insure that eBay has exclusive access to email addresses to sell secretly to spammers.....
When our business first started selling on eBay, we also signed up with road runner which allows us 5 emails addresses. So I set up each department with their own unique address including the eBay department. Then we signed up with eBay. No emails were ever sent using that address but the eBay registration the next day was the THIRD email we recieved. The first two were for debt consolidtion....
As for the other email addresses, they never have received any spam, I do mean never. And they are used every day, more than the eBay address. But I continue to receive at least two everyday from the one we use for eBay.
[ edited by mark090 on Feb 2, 2001 06:30 AM ]
posted on February 2, 2001 06:24:11 AM new
Personally, I think the decision of whether or not a seller wants their email easily available to other members is THEIR decision. I don't like anyone, eBay included, making that decision for me.
Do I like spam? No. I still don't want eBay, under some pretense of protecting me, to dictate to me about how available my personal email address is.
edited for spelling cuz I'm ticked.
[ edited by Meya on Feb 2, 2001 06:26 AM ]
posted on February 2, 2001 06:32:47 AM new
bubbahyide is right. I suppose half of all ebaY users will have shades for 30 days when the change has to be made.
posted on February 2, 2001 06:46:08 AM new
I recently made a change to my user name for this reason anyway. I had my email address as my ID, and I changed it. But, under the old way of doing things, another member could click my user name and get my email address easily, and immediately.
Under eBay's new method, a member is going to have to use eBay's form, and then say a prayer to the database gods that the forwarding will work in a timely manner. This totally chomps in my opinion.
The unrest this has caused in members has made it to the news:
posted on February 2, 2001 06:59:50 AM new
This is the way it always is. Ebay comes up with some self-serving scheme and then tries to pass it off as a beneficial change brought on as a result of “overwhelming requests by community members”.
If you still want to have your direct e-mail available to viewers just put it in a picture and embed it in your description. You can’t search for text in a picture so it can’t be detected or harvested, and it won’t be clickable, but it will be there and be available to anyone.
I sincerely doubt that the bulk spammers will take the time to gather up addresses that are presented in this manner.
They set the rules – we figure out how to play the game.
posted on February 2, 2001 09:11:23 AM new
Heres my take on the user id vs. real e-mail addy: I began my life on eBay as [email protected], then shortened it to bidbusters. (less typing) There have been times I have thought about going back to the full addy as my eBay name; after all, if I like it when I see the whole thing in another persons ads (meaning i can click right thru without 'signing on' and all that crap) then I suppose it would be easier for others to be able to see MY full addy. But if i go back to [email protected], then 30 days later, someone else could 'be' 'Bidbusters' and i do not want that ! 'bidbusters' must be a pretty cool name to more than just myself; I see 'bidbusters1', 'bidbuster' as other User ID's so why throw my unique ID back into the user pool for others to grab, possibly grabbing away my customers in the process ?
posted on February 2, 2001 09:27:27 AM new
I am starting to get a little ticked at ebay...
First I read several reports that say by 2005 they will be making 5 Billion a year profit.....
Then they raise the listing rates.....
I pay a ton of money to ebay each month....
Thats ok they are providing a service that I need.
But this e-mail thing......this is really making me mad. I have my user ID my e-mail address so it is easier for people and it reduces fraud. Many times I have had people try to e-mail my customers pretending to be me.........
If they make a policy saying you can't put your address in your ad detail then they will lose a ton of loyal customers...
posted on February 2, 2001 09:29:27 AM new
If it were just the user ID's that were going to be changed it would be one thing. But under the new method, a user will no longer be able to click your user name, sign in, and get your email address.
All questions etc. that you wish to ask a user will go through eBay's form and server. The only way you will get that user's email address is if they answer you using their email.
I wasn't too upset about not being able to use an email address for an ID until I read up on the rest of the changes. eBay will be in control of messages you want to send to another user! That is the problem. They say they will not be reading any of these requests or messages, but what is going to stop them from doing that? Do any of us really want private emails between user's being handled by eBay?
I think once the true ramifications of this new "protection" are understood, there will be a massive outcry. This isn't even in the same catagory as fee increases and nickle and dime charges. This is a control issue, and one that the members should not stand for.
posted on February 2, 2001 09:59:43 AM new
So, has everyone here sent a letter of complaint to eBay? I just sent mine. The boards over there are humming with members were are upset over this as well.
One member said that the fee increase must be for a "mail forwarding" charge. Hmmm...
posted on February 2, 2001 10:28:54 AM new
I changed my user ID from a NICKNAME to my Email address, just the oppisite what ebay wants you to believe, think about a few things, if someone wants to ask a question about one of your items, its a hassel to go to the trouble of routeing it through ebays system. A simple, straight to you email is the way it has been, and should stay,,what would YOU want, a fast email responce, or a SLOW ebay 3rd party resonce! Ebay stated when I signed up, "that it was not going to be in the middle of completed transactions", " That it was between the seller and buyer to contact each other", Well tell me, what the HE-- are they doing! If they want to run OUR BUSINESS, they should Collect from the deadbeats who owe us $$ too, why not! Ebay is hurting itself on this one. I wrote ebay too, and put in my PROTEST.!
[ edited by redphone on Feb 2, 2001 10:47 AM ]
posted on February 2, 2001 12:12:59 PM new
Does anyone know how this will affect how we contact our ebay customers through AuctionWatch? Will it still work?
[ edited by mark090 on Feb 2, 2001 06:30 AM ]