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TAGnotes Sat 14 Apr 2001 Vol 3 Number 50 Issue 311 |
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The
Auction Guild Notes for Sat 14 Apr 2001
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on 11 Apr ebaY posted that description search was still behind. ebaY
expected search to be back to its normal 10-14 hour indexing cycle by
Thurs 12 Apr. On 12 April many users received a notice from
ebaY
via email subj: URGENT: CORRECTED eBay invoice for 03/31/01
" Please be advised that the invoices for 3/31/01 were sent with
incorrect Invoice Numbers and Account Id's. Please disregard the
previous invoice and refer to this CORRECTED invoice for all
payments. If you have already made payment via check and have
submitted a payment coupon as required, the correct data should be
provided even though your invoice was incorrect." On 13 Apr ebaY
posted at 09:30:16 PT that the category changes that went were put in
place the previous night were causing further delays in the indexing
of title and title and description search. In fact neither search
worked consistently at all on 13 April, with users reporting problems
with search all day.
After hundreds of complaints on the ebaY boards about the new
My ebaY, ebaY posted on 13 Apr at 16:01:04 PT that they were
going back to the drawing board to address several concerns of users.
They listed
*WebTV users cannot view the new My ebaY.
*The new My ebaY design is harder to read.
*We are moving the item title to its own row and increasing the font
size of the item title.
*We are changing the colors of the listings within the My ebaY
"Items I’ve Bid On" section. Items in Green will reflect items that
you are currently winning. Items in Red will reflect items that you
are not yet winning. Items in Black represent Dutch items.
*We are eliminating the grid lines within My ebaY and are increasing
the width of the columns.
ebaY said the changes should occur within the next few days, but on
14 April at 15:37:48 PT users reported that ebaY had fixed the most
egregious of the color and text errors. Unfortunately WebTV users
were still without the My ebaY function.
Users reported problems with the ebaY email system on 14 Apr.
The system would not send BCCs to the sender.
TO REQUEST REFUNDS from ebaY go to
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic.html?pid=33
Don't take no for an answer, keep requesting until you get them.
$$$$ PLEASE NOTE $$$$$
ebaY is changing their maintenance schedule on 19-20 April. ebaY
will start maintenance TWO hours earlier, and extend it by ONE hour.
The ebaY site will be unavailable from 2300 PT on Thursday the 19th
until 0400 PT on Friday the 20th. TAG recommends sellers should
NOT list auctions that will end during this outage
On 13 Apr at 10:10:53 PT ebaY announced there is a new version
of Mr. Lister available for download. Older versions might have
problems because of the new category changes. ebaY users reported
that ebaY had not posted a timely category update to Sellers Assistant.
My ebaY no longer works for most Web TV users at all. For now,
until ebaY has made it available again, all users can go to the
international sites to get the OLD My ebaY pages at
http://cgi1.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?MyEbayLogin
http://cgi1.ebay.com.au/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?MyEbayLogin
http://cgi1.ca.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?MyEbayLogin
ebaY is changing the automotive category. Previously, the search
results included all ebaY categories, and included all items that
contained that search term. Now, the search will only look for items
in the automotive category, and will give the results in ebaY Motors
instead of eBay.com.
ebaY has posted extensive category changes in books, collectibles,
jewelry, gemstones & watches, real estate, sporting goods, and
everything else. As mentioned above, the changes caused problems
with search.
ebaY completely revamped the collectibles section. Go to this link
to see the new 'hub' http://pages.ebay.com/catindex/collectibles.html
All the other categories can be accessed from this link. Send
feedback to coll-@ebay.com.
Check your HTML before you post your listings,
Go to http://watson.addy.com/
http://validator.w3.org/
It will catch all of the common mistakes like unmatched tags.
The validation site can also be used to check ebaY pages - TAG
wishes EBAY would use it!!!
Pink Quotes of the Day Son-@ebaY.Com on 11 Apr at 21:05:49 PT
said, "we get suggestions from members all the time. Most of the new
features in My ebaY are ones that are repeatedly asked for by members.
We also ran the new design past several focus groups - long-time eBay
users - and modified it per their suggestions. Regards, Sonny" But on 13
Apr at 16:09:31 PT Lou-@ebaY.Com posted, " *** Update on Enhancements
to My ebaY *** Dear eBay Community, This week,
we released new changes to My ebaY. Although the enhancements have
been well received, we have noted several of your concerns regarding the
My ebaY changes including the following: * WebTV users cannot view the
new My ebaY. * The new My ebaY design is harder to read. We are
currently working on developing a new design that will allow the
majority of WebTV users to access My ebaY. The new design should be
released within the next couple of days. In addition, as a result of
your direct feedback, we are improving the lay-out and look and feel of
My eBay. In the next couple of days, the following changes will be made:
*We are moving the item title to its own row and increasing the font
size of the item title. *We are changing the colors of the listings
within the My ebaY Items I’ve Bid On section. Items in Green will
reflect items that you are currently winning. Items in Red will reflect
items that you are not yet winning. Items in Black represent Dutch
items.
*We are eliminating the grid lines within My ebaY and are increasing
the width of the columns. These changes should occur within the next
few days. Please continue to share with us your feedback so that we
can continue to make improvements to enhance your trading experience
So TAG gathers that the 'focus' groups ebaY used for this change were
a bit out of focus. Besides, it is evident that ebaY did not test this
before launching it, and that just about says it all. As for WebTV
users, the fact that ebaY did not insure this critical function worked
for WebTV moves from incompetence to criminal negligence.
For sellers who feel they have not had their refunds or other situations
dealt with to your satisfaction, you can file reports with
The Attorney General of California and also in your home state
http://caag.state.ca.us/piu/mailform.htm
The Better Business Bureau
http://www.bbbonline.com
The Federal Trade Commission
http://www.ftc.gov
The Office of Consumer Affair, US Department of Commerce
send email to - Caff-@doc.gov
The FBI's Internet Fraud Units
http://www.nipc.gov/contact.htm#arrow,
National Fraud Information Center
http://www.fraud.org
eComplaints http://www.ecomplaints.com/
ebaY is changing the deadbeat bidder programmed the final value
fee (FVF) request system. ebaY is adding a payment reminder feature.
This reminder email is available for sellers to send three days after
the auction ends, and can be sent directly from the My ebaY Items
I’ve Sold page. ebaY is also providing a feature whereby a seller can
reverse the warning and the final value fee credit on their accounts,
for sales that have finally been resolved satisfactorily. Go to
http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?RemoveNPBWarningShow.
TAG strongly recommends ALL users read the new User and
Privacy Policy Agreements (UA/PP). Effective 15 May. Links
can be found at the bottom of nearly every ebaY page and on the
site map under community. For a summary of the revisions to the
UA and Privacy Policy, go to:
User Agreement: http://pages.ebay.com/help\basics\uarevision1-faq.html
Privacy Policy: http://pages.ebay.com/help/basics/pprevision1-faq.html
To view the entire revised User Agreement, go to:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/png-user.html
To view the enter revised Privacy Policy, go to:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/png-priv.html
We have heard from many WebTV users that they can not view
the user agreement. We contacted ebaY about this but have still
not heard from them about it.
Announcement Board Marketing - (ABM)
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/marketing.shtml
Announcement Board Status (ABS)
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml
In the interesting tidbits department -
the lawsuit against ebaY on the Sports Memorabilia issue. The last
ruling was in ebaYs favor, and is currently on appeal.
http://www.krausekalfayan.com/ebay.html
http://www.krausekalfayan.com/ebaysac.htm#Top
ebaY Contact Information, analog mail and email addresses and
phone numbers, regular and toll free, refund info and insider
trading info go to http://www.auctionguild.com/generic.html?pid=17
* * * * *
Amazon Auctions, zShops and Marketplace
Amazon User chat board
http://amazon.remarq.com/amazon/threads.asp?g=discuss%2
Eamazon%2Eseller%2Econnection&nav=LAST
Amazon live telephone customer service 16 hours a day Toll-free
in U.S. and Canada: (800)201-7575
http://auctions.amazon.com
* * * * *
Yahoo does an adult and pornography flip flop. First is was a route
to profitability after advertising revenue went south. When an attempt
to generate income through their auction business was made without
knowledge or understanding of the online auction industry, and with a
display of arrogance that alienated the auction community, they self
destructed their auction business. Now after a couple of days of bad
publicity and negative contact by users, Yahoo has once again exposed
their suicidal tendencies and gone to the opposite extreme by banning
ALL adult material. From the Yahoo Auction AB
13 April Adult Categories - Yahoo Auctions is discontinuing the Adult
& Erotica categories. Items submitted before 12:00PM ET on 13 Apr
will remain on the site until the auctions close. No new submissions
will be posted after that time.
Flip
http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/internet/04/11/yahoo.porn.ap/index.html?s=8
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/010411/business_yahoo_earns_dc_5.html
Flop
http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2001/04/13/technology/wires/yahoo_wg/?s=2
Yahoo announcement board
http://auctions.yahoo.com/phtml/auc/us/promo/announcements.html
Yahoo site map.
http://auctions.yahoo.com/phtml/auc/us/promo/sitemap.html
http://auctions.yahoo.com/
Yahoo Contact Information
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic.html?pid=38
Yahoo PayDirect phone number
1-877-521-1458
http://list.auctions.yahoo.com/
* * * * *
ePier.Com We have had several reports from users that are very
happy with ePier. They enjoy using the site, feel the folks running
it are very supportive and responsive. Users have an easy time listing
on and navigating the site, and enjoy the atmosphere and the chat
boards. Approx 75,221 auctions, ePier claims approx 200 sales per day.
ePier is currently having some problems with their email system.
http://www.epier.com/announce.asp
http://www.epier.com
* * * * *
Antiques Collectible Connection website contains resources for
antique and collectibles dealers and hobbyists. There are tools,
tips and tutorials for buying and selling at online auctions, appraising
and identifying collectibles, building and hosting a web site and
setting up and promoting an online store.
http://alsnetbiz.com/acc/index.html
* * * * *
Online Auction Users Association
Live chats -
Monday 16 April 21:30 or 22:00 p.m. ET - Trivia Night with
Trivia Master Steve
Thursday 19 Apr 21:00 ET - Chat with OAUA President Jen Hassler
Interested in volunteering and serving the Online Auction Community?
Check out http://www.auctionusers.org/volunteerop.shtml
http://www.auctionusers.org
* * * * *
Online Auction & Trading Site Co-op
Interested in an OAT Site Co-op?
Interested in getting involved?
Information on co-ops -
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/pub/cir55/cir55rpt.htm
http://www.wisc.edu/uwcc/
Ideas for co-ops continue to develop
To participate in weekly live co-op chats go to
http://pages.zdnet.com/labellebooks/OnlineSellersCoop/
Every Sunday Night at 8:00 PM EST.
Vintage Items Co-Op info can be found at
http://www.ali-baba.org./ and
http://pages.zdnet.com/juststuff/vintmarket/
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***PLEASE NOTE: Many long links we post in TAGnotes must be
copy/pasted into your browsers URL/Address box in pieces, with no
extra spaces, to get them to work due to HTML limitations****
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If you would like an Auction House or Service Provider added to
this list, please email us at ta-@theauctionguild.com
Have any information for us? email us at ta-@theauctionguild.com
TAG Subscribers have often contributed to information reported on in
TAGnotes. Visit their auctions.
TAGassist Contributors
-
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme2/backintimetreasures/
http://www.dandelionfarms.com
http://cgi6.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcISAPICommand=
ViewListedItems&userid=bllamb&include=0&since=-1&sort=3&rows=200
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