posted on September 28, 2001 06:41:21 AM
I cover auctions for a major newspaper. I'd very much like to talk to eBay users who are concerned about how A4A has been set up, and the potential impacts on dealer business.
If anyone is willing to discuss the matter candidly with me, please email me at [email protected]
posted on September 28, 2001 12:53:43 PM
I should tell you from the beginning that I am a Canadian rather than a US seller, so I am not sure if my opinion will be useful. No doubt you have already heard from
a number of eBay sellers regarding what some see (myself included) as one of the most high handed moves by eBay to date. Not unanticipated given their virtual
monopoly, this beats all: Offering 100 million for charity by waiving their fees ( a small fraction of this generous offer they have made on behalf of eBay sellers, none
of whom were consulted or has the opportunity to opt out without looking stingy and uncaring) and expecting sellers most of whom make a very modest income to
donate the goods, pay for the shipping and donate their labour. Please understand, these sellers have tightened belts through a slow summer awaiting the best
selling months: the ones leading up to Christmas. Now in the wake of the September 11, in addition to the pall that understandably effected sales in the last few
weeks, sellers must compete against charity auctions with free shipping for the next 100 days
It is a despicable move. Now I know eBay did not invent the idea of inducing charitable donations through shame but this is the best part:
The payment system. eBay has decided that sellers must sign up for their proprietary payment system, Billpoint, in order to participate and only payments made
through Billpoint will be accepted. This is where the naked self interest really shines through: Billpoint is way down the list in payment methods most popular on eBay.
If indeed this was motivated by a charitable impulse, payments for these auctions would be accepted by any number of methods instead of limiting it to Billpoint. If
you are told that this is to administer the fund in the most efficient manner, wipe the wool from your eyes: eBay has and continues to bill sellers through their credit
cards directly and is set up to accept funds in this matter. They have no reason to insist on Billpoint other than to muscle new sellers into a program which has been
losing the race for most popular payment method on eBay for quite some time.
Has anyone told you about the poll that eBAy saw fit to REMOVE from their site, indicating that over 70% would not participate in Auction for America and chose to donate in other ways? Their claim was that people were voting more than once. This is the first time that a survey of this kind has been removed.
I beleive that the majority of eBay sellers were as emotionally devastated by the attack as anyone else and given a fair opportunity to donate what they could afford through eBay, would certainly have done so with enthusiasm. By using this tragedy to manipulate it's membership, eBay has done themselves and their sellers an enormous disservice.
posted on September 28, 2001 03:27:27 PM
BRAVO, naru! A totally accurate assessment of the many characteristics of this A4A program that has effectively put the small seller out of biz for a while!
And PS: When I voted on that poll (which seemed to be shortly before it was deleted) the number was 76% of sellers who would NOT participate...If eBay said it was removed because people were voting more than once I think that is bunk!
[ edited by Triggerfish on Sep 28, 2001 03:29 PM ]
posted on September 28, 2001 09:40:14 PM
I've decided not to bid on A4A auctions and to keep my eBay auctions to an absolute minimum until A4A is over. I also will not bid on any seller's merchandise who is participating in this program. It's bad enough that every single business has to tell me how bad they feel over the event as if we couldn't figure that out. It's another when one business wants to ruin others in the name of charity.
posted on September 28, 2001 09:58:36 PM
A4A is finished, history no longer a threat! Listings are down almost 50% from their peak and are slowly declining.
I hope they don't think of some creative way of resurrecting it, like offering a free listing day for all who participate. People will again jump on the bandwagon.
posted on September 29, 2001 12:20:59 AM
There are plenty of infuriating things about the way A4A is set up, but the one that caps it for me is the Billpoint issue. Even if you accept eBay's assertion that they have to use Billpoint, why on earth do the sellers have to sign up? The A4A sellers never handle or see the payments, they go right to Billpoint. To me, that's just more proof that eBay is using this tragedy for their own gain...
I've seen Meg Whitman touting A4A on television several times now, and the only donors she wants to talk about are the celebrities, not the regular sellers on whose backs she had hoped to saddle the burden. Sellers pay shipping? That alone limited donations to the program in huge way. With the summer slump just behind us, lots of us cannot afford to pony up the shipping. Besides, that free shipping gives A4A a big advantage over regular auction listings.
Argh
posted on September 29, 2001 05:32:33 AM
>If eBay said it was removed because people were voting more than once I think that is bunk!<
It is "bunk" because I tried to vote more than once and I could NOT. It sent me a message that this email address had already done so!
The only way that anyone could vote more than once is if they did it from different email addresses.
(and that should be allowed because ebay allows to you have multiple I.D.s anyway)
PS When I voted it said 73% would not participate.......I'd bet that number is considerably higher now!
posted on September 29, 2001 07:12:42 AM
I quit my job in July to sell on E-bay full time but the past few weeks have brought in little money. My former boss called out of the blue and asked me to come back. I accepted because the future on E-bay looks grim right now.
