ebayunfair
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posted on October 8, 2001 11:03:25 PM new
Both CNN and the Wall Street Journal have contacted sellers on ebay that have issues with the AFA. Apparently stories are planned on the AFA scandal. All sellers should e-Mail them with their thoughts. Ebay will certainly have their spin doctors in full court press. www.cnn.com and www.wsj.com
Ebay Unfair Petition
http://www.geocities.com/ebayunfair
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engelskdansk
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posted on October 9, 2001 06:33:46 AM new
And I'm sure the journalists will be able to see beyond the self-serving complainers who only want to profit personally from the tragedy.
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engelskdansk
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posted on October 9, 2001 06:38:46 AM new
Oh and since you already have another thread on the same subject, this one is really redundant.
I'd be happy to email CNN with my thoughts about sellers who are whine and whinge that their "living" has been affected because they can't sell artifacts from an event where thousands of people so tragically died.
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ebayunfair
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posted on October 9, 2001 08:44:46 AM new
That is not the issue at all. ebay has come in and stated that they will now give a large portion of the exposure you have paid for with listing fees away, and you will still have to pay the same amount. The result is that sellers have to list more items, that are selling at lower prices to get to the point they were before the AFA program started. This has nothing to do with WTC items.
One seller is a disabled firefighter who is losing his business (his only form of support) because of the impact of AFA, another former firefighter with a degenerative bone disease can afford her medication because it was paid for by her ebay based business. It isn't right to hurt people for a self serving program that promotes ebay and is designed only to drive up billpoint membership.
ebay unfair
http://www.geocities.com/ebayunfair
Ebay AFA Policy Petition
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engelskdansk
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posted on October 9, 2001 09:10:39 AM new
http://www.auctionwatch.com/mesg/read.html?num=2&thread=427492&id=427750
Let's see, according to this thread, there were 16,483 AFA auctions on October 8.
Sorry, if you are selling quality items, they will still have a market.
Frankly, I don't think you have any credibility. You joined here on October 7 and all 5 of your posts have been to complain about how unfair eBay is.
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wbbell
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posted on October 9, 2001 09:29:43 AM new
My sales have been doing as well, if not better, than before 09-11.
The economy is in a general malaise, and September is a slow month for everyone. Blaming this on AFA is just looking for a scapegoat.
I agree that eBay did not go into AFA with a well defined plan, but there is no way that 16,000 odd auctions out of 5 million is perturbing anyone's sales. Unless your sole category was WTC souvenirs.
Any serious seller on eBay has to learn to adapt. Place one AFA auction and state to please look at my other (non-AFA) auctions. Make lemonade out of lemons!
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kyms
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posted on October 9, 2001 11:16:19 AM new
AFA has only made my other auctions stronger. I have recieved a few feedbacks that thank me for doing something for others...Then these folks have gone on to bid on my regular items... AFA is okay with me.
What are you selling that is doing so badly? My bids have been great in most catagories...to me, half.com is my worst Ebay complaint, they are my main Ebay related competition.
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computerboy
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posted on October 9, 2001 11:50:19 AM new
AFA in no way effects auction performance. If a person wants to buy a hat, they buy a hat. To think that a shopper is going to hunt high and low to find an exclusive item soley in AFA listings is ridiculous.
The only folks that are complaining about these AFA listings are the same folks that cry about every little change that takes place on eBay. These folks suffer from "poor me" syndrome and most have no business working for themselves.
In short, business is war and the strong survive. If you sit back and watch others do things and make changes and you don't follow, you deserve to me eliminated.
See Darwin's Evolution for futher reference.
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raglady1
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posted on October 9, 2001 08:34:51 PM new
Computer Boy couldn't agree with you more! I am so sick of these whining cry babies on these boards, give me a break, if 17,000 auctions are ruining your business get a new business, get a new life. Ebay doesn't owe you one damn thing, its always somebody elses fault that you aren't doing well, if its not ebay its the post office raising rates or Salvation Army charging more for their merchandise! If these people stopped wasting their time crying about every little thing they might be able to direct some of that negative energy to something positive like making their lives better. Why anyone would begrudge these poor victims families from getting some compensation for their unspeakable loss is beyond me. Consider yourselves lucky that you have your lives, your families and your homes and live in a free country where there is a free enterprise system.
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rampaged
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posted on October 9, 2001 09:34:58 PM new
I don't post here often but read daily. I want to state the following.
This is what A4A has done for me.
I ran two A4A auctions for ten days and they ended today. One widget I bought wholesale for $4.50 and normally sell with a buy it now price of $18.00. It sold for $52.76 and I paid $6.45 shipping and $2.00 for insurance.
The second widget cost me $5.40 wholesale and I normally sell it with a buy-it-now price of $16.00. This item sold for $39.00. I paid $7.70 for shipping and $1.10 for insurance.
Both bidders paid almost as soon as the auctions ended.
The winner of the $39.00 auction went to my eBay store and bought an additional $104.00 worth of the same widgets and is going to be paying $34.85 in parcel post shipping plus $3.00 insurance for a total of $141.85
Both winners sent me very nice email and thanked me for having A4A auctions. Both winners had low feedback and are either new to eBay or have a buying ID.
Needless to say I feel good for even though I see eBay trying to get all the glory and trying to get new Billpoint customers I feel I have contributed in helping with the tragedy that has happened to our country. My contribution may be a small one but it made me feel great.
My donations went to the American Red Cross.
God Bless America!!!
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grumpyebayer
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posted on October 9, 2001 10:06:32 PM new
I'd be happy to email CNN with my thoughts about sellers who are whine and whinge that their "living" has been affected because they can't sell artifacts from an event where thousands of people so tragically died
Millions of people tragically died from slavery...Ebay has not stopped those artifacts from being sold.
Millions of people tragically died in camps in Nazi Germany...Ebay has not stopped those artifacts from being sold.
Thousands of people have tragically died in car crashes after being hit by drunk drivers. Do you think ebay would stop the drunk driver from selling the car on ebay?
I have not been selling on ebay lately so, this does not affect me as it may affect others. However I still think it stinks. It smells like week old fish wrapped in dirty nellies.
It is going to a good cause at least. I hope an independent accounting firm is handling the tabulations.
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engelskdansk
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posted on October 9, 2001 10:42:31 PM new
grumpy -- The slave trade and the Nazis didn't happen last month.
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walkalot
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posted on October 9, 2001 11:13:46 PM new
Engelskdansk, wbbell, kyms, computerboy, raglady1 and rampaged ...
Just to let you know, I am a seller who agrees with the content of your posts. I don't read the boards very often, too much of a waste of my time because of all of the negative complaining. It is refreshing to read the positive commentary that all of you posted. Thank you.
My completed charity auctions total more than $700. I revised the auctions so that the buyer pays for shipping and insurance and the revised auctions are getting a lot of bids too.
The AFA auctions have been an effective business tool for me, sort of like a loss leader at the department store. I've been getting new buyers bidding up my regular customers and ending up with higher prices.
As eBay evolves in the years ahead and moves to a more structured model to meet the demands of a world wide economy, I will adapt my eBay business accordingly. I certainly won't waste my time whining and complaining, instead I will figure out how changes to eBay's format will benefit me with higher profits.
walkalot
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Libra63
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posted on October 10, 2001 02:31:05 AM new
My September was the best I ever had. I don't sell alot of items but every item I listed I sold.
I have to agree with the people that wrote about all the complainers. This board is very helpful. I hate to come in here and read threads that are nothing but complaints.
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grumpyebayer
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posted on October 10, 2001 02:36:06 AM new
The slave trade and the Nazis didn't happen last month.
And the point of that statement is what? That 2 months will make it acceptable? 3 months? 2 years? 100 years? I did not realize that pain, suffering and tragedy had a time limit.
No, they did not happen last month, but I'll bet the survivors remember(ed) for the rest of their lives. I have seen people on this very board get into an uproar about nazi items. Ebay continues to allow those sales.
I had a friend that died in a plane crash. If I wanted to, I could put up parts of that plane or the clothes he was wearing when he died, up for auction as soon as I could get my hands on them and ebay would not care. His death is no less tragic than the people that died in the WTC. All deaths are tragic.
For me there is no acceptable time to sell items from the WTC or any other event like this for that matter.
Of course this is just my opinion and I am not collecting any listing fees for it, so that makes it almost worthless.
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bettylou
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posted on October 10, 2001 05:52:29 AM new
Gosh...complaining about complainers is a complaint itself.
At least from where I sit.
AW has this brand-new "don't read" function. You decide you don't like a thread, you avert your eyes.
Ain't technology grand?
[ edited by bettylou on Oct 10, 2001 05:53 AM ]
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engelskdansk
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posted on October 10, 2001 06:47:54 AM new
grumpy -- I think we agree here. Outside of magazines and newspapers and postcards (only those taken BEFORE the buildings came down) (for which there should be at least a year's moratorium -- and which would probably qualify as historical) I can't think of anything else that would be "acceptable" to sell. Ever.
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ahc3
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posted on October 10, 2001 09:10:21 AM new
I was getting pretty tired of people complaining about how much A4A was ruining their business. As someone said, 16,000 auctions out of 5 million is .0032% of all auctions or about 3 in 1000 - I can't see how this would make even a small dent. From what I have seen of these auctions, they tend to close high because people know the funds are being donated. I can only see this is as a positive as the free publicity brings new buyers to ebay
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amy
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posted on October 10, 2001 10:20:24 AM new
Complaining about the complainers who are complaining about the negativity that runs rampant on this board...those who do this could ALSO use the DON'T READ function 
Or is it only PC to complain about ebay?...all other complaints are a no-no?
No matter what ebay does, there is that AW contingent who will scream long and loud about how ebay is killing the little guy...how sales are tanking due to the newest change. A4A was no different. Anyone with half an ounce of sense would have realized that from the get go there was not a huge participation, and that over time the number of A4A auctions would drop even more. It didn't take an Eienstein to deduce that the A4A auctions were not going to affect the other auctions...and could even help if it brought in new buyers. It didn't take much to realize that any drop in sales was a direct result of the 9/11 WTC calamity. But it was much more fun to blame ebay!!
The latest broo-ha-ha over checkouts is the same thing. Most of the dooms day predictions about it will prove to be "chicken litte-the sky is falling" cries.
For all the changes that have been predicted to "ruin" ebay it is interesting to note that most of us are still selling on ebay...and doing well, thank you! The changes didn't ruin it for the small seller.
So for all who complain about the negativity, remember this...in the main, the negativity is voice by a group of malcontents who can't be satisfied, no matter what ebay does. They live to complain 
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tiggressoflove
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posted on October 10, 2001 10:32:34 AM new
I would've done A4A, but ebay wouldn't let me open a billpoint account.
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