posted on July 3, 2003 11:23:59 AM new
If you're a Power Seller you're paying a lot of fees to ebay and ebay loves you. They often look the other way on ebay rules such such as the 98% feedback rule.
posted on July 3, 2003 11:31:37 AM new
You have access to the Powerseller discussion board which can be very entertaining at times, otherwise the only advantages are email support or telephone support depending on your level. I have to admit that when someone was stealing my images and descriptions I received a response pretty fast (their auction was pulled the same day). Also had a buyer threaten me under my non powerseller ID and used the same powerseller email address and told them that my other ID was a powerseller and they acted on it pretty quickly. Not sure if I would have received such a fast response otherwise.
posted on July 3, 2003 11:50:50 AM new
well,once meg think she can offer great health benefits for power sellers but the underwriters said no way.so what is the benefits ??none
posted on July 3, 2003 12:23:51 PM new
Benefit: People trust you over the little guy because you have 120,000 or whatever, sales under your belt? (Newbie's do despite being told to check FB, or the real truth about the seller...)
umm, benefit: You made lots and lots of money
thats a bennie I could live with
umm, you get to enter EBay contests that could actually have a pay-off as a winning prize.
umm...you get to hog the whole gallery with the 500 widgets you are selling so the person browsing gets tired and stops after 3 pages, and never gets the see the rest of em.
(Ever do that? I have)Also seen where I've Listed an item and its like on the 16th page of the gallery because some PS has listed three hundred of them the same day?
And finally, Benefit: Gets to make mucho dinero. Probably gets free Ebay merchandise, too...I wanted that hat ya know....
)
posted on July 3, 2003 12:53:30 PM new
Lame Family ....
What a total pile of Enron/World Com crap ebay is for having two sets of feedback standards.
They brag about this to buyers :
They are exemplary members who are held to the highest standards of professionalism, having achieved and maintained a 98% positive feedback rating and an excellent sales performance record.
And then come up with so weird hidden formula for letting poor Power Sellers slide under the 98% rule. Isn't that what business is really all about? Deceiving the public with crooked accounting. If ebay is doing this with the 98% rule then Gawd know what it's doing with it's financial records.
posted on July 3, 2003 12:57:10 PM new
I have to agree, the powerseller email and phone service are great! Things get done quickly when you write or call. The powerseller board is so-so, I like this one better.
posted on July 3, 2003 12:57:55 PM new
hmmm...mucho dineiro?...i dont think so!...I never heard about the PP sweepstakes and I use my bank instead of a cc..i agree CS support is pretty nice..health insurance?laughable!
For me, like the stars - just a goal I set for myself..but when put in perspective, the powerseller logo PLUS the feedback and $2.75 will get you a wet cappucino vente at my local Starbuck's drive-through.
posted on July 3, 2003 12:59:47 PM new
I have received excellent e-mail support but have not had too many problems and usually got a quick response from ebay anyways.
I still think many people have a misconception about Power Sellers and lump them all into one big bad stinky pile.
posted on July 3, 2003 01:02:08 PM new
Ace:
Your comments have provoked some thoughts so I figure I will just spill it here. Seems to me, if you are a PS, naturally your percentage of mistakes/errors/grievances will eventually rise as your sales do. I am far from a "math" person, but to me, it seems like the tax bracket equation would and does apply. I couldnt really see ebay NOT looking the other way. They are in business, right? Anybody's business is in sustaining, if not increasing their bottom line. So how do you enforce a kinda morality into sales?<p>
Lets say if I sell toys and a guy comes and buys something, does everything right, pays on time, etc. etc. then I find out, say he is a child molester. Do I stop selling to him? (Personally, I probably would.) But what if I needed and I mean "Needed" the money to sustain my ebay business? Could I too, look the other way? I think I might despite myself. Now maybe that is an too exteme a scenerio.<P>So what happens when a bidder with a few negs bids on your auction? Do you cancel the bid? Or do you sell to him and hope he wont screw up this time on you?
I'd venture over 50% of sellers do the latter. And if he doesnt this time, do you leave good FB? Isnt that what Ebay is in itself doing? But I understand what you are saying is that their acceptance effects alot of people where as the one to one.....Well you get drift. But the only thing I ever learned in accounting was bottom line, its the bottom line. lol...Tessa q:0
posted on July 3, 2003 02:47:05 PM new
AuctionAce,
The caculation for powerseller was inplace long before the relatively new feature of showing the feedback percentage.
There is nothing that has changed, no sliding etc.
neroter12,
umm, you get to enter EBay contests that could actually have a pay-off as a winning prize.
Any eBay contests that there are have been open to all eBay users. There are none I know about that are for Powersellers only.
umm...you get to hog the whole gallery with the 500 widgets you are selling so the person browsing gets tired and stops after 3 pages, and never gets the see the rest of em. (Ever do that? I have) Also seen where I've Listed an item and its like on the 16th page of the gallery because some PS has listed three hundred of them the same day?
Powersellers are not given any special placement in listings or have any special rules they do not have to follow. If a PS listed 300 of an identical item I suggest you report them.
And finally, Benefit: Gets to make mucho dinero. Probably gets free Ebay merchandise, too...I wanted that hat ya know....
There is the occasional perk. There is a welcome package sent to each power seller with a certificate in it. At ebay live there was the PowerSeller lounge but other than that they are just like anyone else when it comes to free stuff.
kiara
I still think many people have a misconception about Power Sellers and lump them all into one big bad stinky pile.
I would agree with you 100%. Most people that have problems with power sellers in general have a chip on their shoulder about something. That is like saying you hate all democrats or all Canadians or monkey porn.
posted on July 3, 2003 03:07:35 PM new
I am not a powerseller. Power Sellers are only used for projected income for eBay. I have said that before and I am sure that that is what happens. The more power sellers the more ebay can project their earnings. Without them they couldn't.
I have called customer support a few times where I have gotten in immediately had my problems solved immediately. I reported image stealing and with 4 hours their auction was pulled. All of my image stealers were powersellers. I wrote one and he said how do you think I am a powerseller I don't have time to do all that stuff because I have to list. Well so do I so I use my camera, editing time listing time and all they do is click and they are ready to go. You can get mega denarro by just doing your job without all the bells and whistles.
As to listing 500 of the same widgets don't you have to do a dutch auction? I am sure you cannot list 500 single auctions for the same widget and be in compliance.
posted on July 3, 2003 03:17:58 PM new
Can anyone post a link to this Enron-like 98% rule?
What I'm saying if ANY ebayer clicks on the little Power Seller Man icon then reads about the special sellers having to maintain a 98% rating. THEN they see a bunch of sub 98% ratings and the PS icon. Those ebayers have no idea there is a special rating system for power sellers. It creates an unnecessary Lyndon Johnson sized Credibility Gap.
Senior Investigating Officer, Internet Fraud Unit, International Web Police.
posted on July 3, 2003 05:46:57 PM new
Lane,
I dont lump all PS in one catagory. Hell, I wish I was one! But they do benefit from the contests. Did you see the contest where if you go to direct pay you're eligible to have your ebay fees 'for the current period' paid if you win? That certainly benefits a PS, way more than someone who's got 20 dollars worth of fees for the invoice period.
There's no incentive for the "little guy" seller to even enter such a contest if the payoff is a mere 20.00 verses a PS whose payoff could be 100dreds or thousands. So in way, that contest IS directed at the PSellers and that benefits Ebay as well. And Noh mentioned the Paypal sweeps also. A contest payoff should be equal to all, not based on what your ad revenue is to EBAY is what I am saying.
And maybe 300 is an exgaggerated figure, but they do list some of the same items at least maybe 10-20 times. I've seen it with mine own eyes. The item may not get actual preference, but it does happens to fall in the gallery that way sometimes.
To be truthful, I dont really care what any body else is doing. I'm doing what I am doing, and so far I am pretty happy with my sales. I feel fortunate enough to be enabled to keep doing it. But ACE has point. I just dont know if from EBAY's eyes that is relevent. Newspapers, TV, Radio, they all give some more attention to the bigger ad revenue clients...why would Ebay be any different?
posted on July 3, 2003 05:56:41 PM new
Libra, you're supposed to do dutch, but I think some think tis' better to place seperate auctions. Go look at the listings for Hammocks. There is one seller that is doing it with Mexican Hammocks if I am not mistaken. And I've seen it before, too.
posted on July 3, 2003 07:27:20 PM new
The Dutch Auctions are good for multiple items and I understand that but why do so many sellers list the same item ten times and constantly only have two or three of them sell? Are they chaep ads that they do not care about the listing fees?
Senior Investigating Officer, Internet Fraud Unit, International Web Police.
posted on July 3, 2003 07:40:45 PM new
Ace, seems to me its like a rollover. If auction A has five bids and exceeded your price, then you go to same item at auction B.
Restarts the whole process for the seller, no?
Yikes I Gotta get listing! You all are very interesting people on this board!
posted on July 3, 2003 08:33:19 PM newBut they do benefit from the contests. Did you see the contest where if you go to direct pay you're eligible to have your ebay fees 'for the current period' paid if you win? That certainly benefits a PS, way more than someone who's got 20 dollars worth of fees for the invoice period.
Ummm I missed the point here. Each person has an equal chance to win. Yes it would benefit the power seller more. That is the powerseller's fault? That is proof they have more contests? Sorry I do not see it. The person that has a $20.00 ebay bill in a month I am sure would be happy to get that back if they won.
And Noh mentioned the Paypal sweeps also.
I am not sure what you talking about here. They have 1000 a week or month drawing. You get in that drawing by paying for an auction using pp funds or echeck. I am not stupid enough to do that so I get no entries in it each for the things I buy
And maybe 300 is an exgaggerated figure, but they do list some of the same items at least maybe 10-20 times. I've seen it with mine own eyes. The item may not get actual preference, but it does happens to fall in the gallery that way sometimes.
Oh you may be able to find 300 at some point in time. I have seen close to that many by one seller (notice I did not say power). I had them all shut down. I have seen it with power sellers also and had them shut down. It is a report on the web form that anyone can use.
Ace,
The Dutch Auctions are good for multiple items and I understand that but why do so many sellers list the same item ten times and constantly only have two or three of them sell? Are they chaep ads that they do not care about the listing fees?
Normally I charge for these kinds of things when I am teaching people how to become power sellers but I will talk about this one
I do that. For a couple different reasons. I put each of those 10 in a different category. I am finding out which one they sell better in. Once I figure that out I can relist the ones that do not sell in the popular categories and if they sell I get my fee back. Smart business.
Same applies to dutch. Say I had a dutch item oh 6 of them. I list a dutch 6 starting at 9.95. I snag a sale maybe two off of it. Listing price on > $50.00 is $2.20. I list 6 separate at 9.95 My listing fee is $1.80. I sell the same two here lets say.
Now it comes time to sell the other four this week. Can I relist the dutch auction, nope. I can relist my single auctions and if they sell I get all my listing fees back.
If I sell say 50 different items that is not chump change.
Can anyone post a link to this Enron-like 98% rule?
No, this is top secrete power seller stuff.
Ok, Ok, really. We know about it cause it is somewhat common knowledge among the older power sellers. The pinks occasionally talk about it. If there is a link I do not know about it but if you could get to the PowerSeller message area you can search and find it.
posted on July 3, 2003 09:54:49 PM new
ACE, LOL!!!
Lane: How can you not see it? Any SWEEPS or contest should have the same equal chance of PAYOUT or PRIZE for everyone!! Imagine selling a chance for something a lottery ticket say, and posting, "well, since you are at poverty level your prize will be one dollar IF you win, but since YOU are Middle class, your prize will be 100 dollars, and so on.
THAT is the point. I'm sorry, but that kind of contest sucks at best and is highly deceptive at worst.
posted on July 3, 2003 10:05:26 PM new
I once worked in a small company that had a big turnover in employees so they introducted a profit sharing plan to retain workers. One worker got curious about the structure of the new plan and got a hold of all the filings made by the employer.
We were not are equal and the company owner installed his wife and kids as company officers and they reaped something like 80% of the rewards of the profit sharing plan. In the owners eyes he was more than fair.
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Sargent Stadanko
Senior Investigating Officer, Internet Fraud Unit, International Web Police.
