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TAGnotes Sat 23 Jun 2001 Vol 3 Number 73 Issue 334

The Auction Guild Notes for Sat 23 Jun 2001
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On 20 Jun at 09:04:14 PT ebaY posted that the SuperSize option in
ebaY’s pic services were down for single images. Multiple images
are unaffected. Attempts to use SuperSize will appear to be successful
to the user, but will not result in a SuperSize image on the site.   At
14:35:29 PT ebaY posted that they have fixed the problem with the
SuperSize option in ebaY pic services for single images. Those images
that have appearing as regular size images will now automatically appear
as SuperSize. Sellers do not need to relist or make changes. At
18:47:51 PT they posted an update on their ongoing problems with ebaY
pic services. They again say that they feel they have resolved most
issues. ebaY recommends sellers use their full feature package which
entails downloading an ActiveX file, something TAG STRONGLY recommends
against. If a seller wants to use ebaYs full feature pic services, but
is having problems while trying to load it, check to see if you are
running a firewall, or internet protection software such as "net
protect" as this can cause the download not to occur. This is one of
the reasons TAG does NOT recommend the ebaY full feature pic services.
ebaY is requiring users to let down their shields just to use one of
their services. Their pic services are no better than many available
for a small fee or even free on the net, and none of them require the
kind of risks using ebaY pic services requires users to take. If you
are having problems listing because you can’t get past ebaYs pic
services page, try to access an older version of our listing form from
one of these
links.http://cgi5.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ListItemForSaleShow&
oldstyle=1&category=0
http://cgi5.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ListItemForSaleShow&
oldstyle

ebaY took their site down for regularly scheduled maintenance on
22 Jun. They included Billpoint in the maintenance. ebaY was
down early at approx 00:13:36 PT and back online by 03:25:04 PT.
At 05:00:41 users reported ebaY slow to load. By 05:09:13 PT cgi 5
was down, and at 05:14:12 PT ebaY was reported down for most
of the east coast. At 05:42:44 PT My ebaY and stores were down,
ebaY was inaccessible regionally though some users reported they
could access ebaY though an annonymizer such as the safeweb
cloak.   At 06:14:53 PT users again complained about site slowness,
and My ebaY down. Pages were partially downloading. 06:54:57 PT
brought complaints of search being down. At 07:24:12 PT, users
reported search slow. At 08:03:24 PT users were still reporting
intermittent access to most pages. ebaY posted at 08:32:41 PT
that due to internet routing problems, some members in certain cities
couldn’t get into ebaY. ebaY said, “After working with our partners,
we believe the problems have been resolved.” In TAGs opinion, the
problems might have been internet routing problems, but they could
also have been caused by ebaY restricting access to keep the site from
crashing, which would be consistent with the range of problems reported.

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.

ebaY is adding a stores directory where buyers can browse stores by
category. ebaY store sellers can choose a category or categories in
which to list their store. In addition, ebaY will have an all stores
page, that list all the ebaY stores. ebaY has limited the number of
stores on the www.ebaystores.com page to 300, based on a first-come,
first-served basis from when the stores opened, so all the other stores
will not be listed until the directory is put up.

If you have questions about stores you might be able to find answers at
http://servlet.ebay.com/ForumController?dest=http://forums.ebay.com/dws?14@@.eeafb97

or write to store-@ebay.com.
During the free trial period ebaY is waiving all ebaY stores
subscription and insertion fees on fixed-price listings for stores
opened by 1 Aug until 1 Sep 2001. Sellers who open an ebaY store for the
first time after 1 Sep will receive a 30-day free trial on their
subscription. Final Value Fees apply on all sales. Listings - both
fixed-price and auction listings - that were listed after a store was
opened will appear in the store. It takes several hours for auction
listings to appear on the store page. International sellers attempting
to open an ebaY store on the US ebaY.com site are having difficulties
putting in their seller address. ebaY is aware of problem and say they
are working on it. International sellers should wait until it is fixed
to open a store. Currently, the confirmation e-mail sent out to buyers
and sellers when a fixed price transaction is completed may not be
accurate. The e-mail states that buyers are
planning to send payment "via check". This may not be the accurate
payment selection by buyers, so sellers should e-mail buyers to confirm
payment method with them. ebaY is aware of problem and say they are
working on it. ebaY will bring back the About Me icon and the View
Seller's Other Auctions link on the View Item page. This change will
take a few weeks. TAG continues to receive reports that if you close a
store ALL your auction listings will also be ended, so keep your store
and your auction IDs separate, or time your store closing with your
auctions ending.

ebaY has added some tours and tutorials to learn how to buy and sell
on ebaY. Link to the info can be found at
http://www.ebay.com/education

ebaY ended the protest auction against the ebaY SPAM recommendations
email, posted by the shooting star power seller. Several users saved
the auction before it was ended. These links were provided to the press
and an article appeared on CNET.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-6321552.html?tag=tp_pr
To view the pulled auction go to Jacket Auction
http://www.boomspeed.com/wcdc/jacket1.html
Bidding on the pulled Jacket Auction
http://www.boomspeed.com/wcdc/jacket2.html
There are other supporting protest auctions that can be found by
searching ebaY for my 2 cents or protest art or "2 cents" with quotes.

After the auction got media attention, the seller who listed the auction
was contacted by ebaY and had a discussion with Meg Whitman, ebaYs CEO.
ebaY was once again able to back down enough to quell the furor, though
in TAG’s opinion the compromise does not amount to anything of substance
for the seller. TAG feels the best solution was to abandon the program
altogether. If ebaY wanted to make a change of substance but still
retain the program, they could have easily made it the more ethical Opt
In, rather than the SPAMMERs method of Opt Out. Here is what is
changing. ebaY will no longer use the term "recommendation" to describe
the list of items sent to bidders. The items will be described as items
with similar titles, and the email notice will contain information about
the listing that the bidder just lost. ebaY will allow sellers to opt
out of the feature. If a seller chooses to opt out, bidders that do not
win an item the seller has listed will not receive an email with similar
items, and the seller's items will not be included in any emails sent to
bidders looking for similar items. This change is being developed now
and should be released within two to three weeks. TAG sees this as a
lose lose policy for sellers. The end of item email will now include a
list of some of the seller's current listings at the top of
the email, along with a link to a complete list of the seller's other
items. The similar item list will follow the list of the seller's
items. When a bidder confirms a bid on ebaY, they will be able to opt
out of receiving the email. Notice of the ability to opt out will be
more hidden, as it will be at the bottom of the page instead of next to
the bid confirmation. ebaY will include a link in each end of item
notice to the user preference page so buyers can opt out of receiving
end of item notices. When the opt out preference is available users may
opt out at:
http://pages.ebay.com/services/myebay/optin-login.html
Buyers that opt out will be permanently opted out and will no longer
have to repeatedly select "no" to not receive the emails. TAG sees this
ability to opt out from the ebaY SPAM options page and the best part of
this compromise. ebaY is also delaying the end of auction notices a
minimum of 24 hours in order to give sellers a chance to re-list the
same item or post similar items to the one they just sold.

$$$ WARNING $$$ $$$ WARNING $$$
We keep seeing reports that on the ebaY auction listing page the
DEFAULT is now YES on Billpoint for users who are signed up
with Billpoint. This is happening if the seller wants to offer
Billpoint or not. Carefully check your auction listings and make sure
the options are set properly.

Gifs you can Use page,
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic.html?pid=58
Coming soon - a SPAM FREE logo, for those sellers who opt out of
ebaYs SPAM program.

Check all the latest ebaY insider trades, where Meg Whitman and
Pierre cash in another approx 4 mil each in stock.
http://biz.yahoo.com/t/e/ebay.html

Pink Quote of the Day on 22 Jun in a conversation about the
clarification of what is and is not allowed as links on the auction
pages, and the conflict of one ebaY employee saying yes and another
saying no to the same question, Gwenyth@ebay said, “We really
should be clear that Gianni, the rest of the board staff and I are not
technical reps. Nor can we know the exact details of every policy
or feature put into place on eBay. There are over 2000 people
working here, and it would be impossible for any one person to
have the answers. What we try to do is check with the people
who know. I believe Gianni did say that that was his guess, and
he was going to follow up. That's the best we can do.” This
points out the endless problems and confusion caused by ebaYs
written, unwritten and ambiguous rules. Ask each of the 2000
employees and get 2000 different answers. Since violation of any
of these rules can cause sellers to lose income and even be
suspended, in TAG’s opinion it would be the right and ethical
thing on ebaYs part to make a list of rules not open to
interpretation. At least ebaY should have only one source for
answers, so that the ebaY employees are consistent in their answers.
Either that, or have the person referenced in the quote come answer
these questions herself.

And talking about ethics and consistency, a quick check of some of
ebaYs corporate sellers show almost ALL of them in violation of
ebaYs linking rules. TAG continues to see reports of sellers who
are having auctions ended due to links violation, but certain corporate
sellers are NOT having their auctions ended despite reports to ebaY
about their violation. Hard Rock Café has been reported for 12 days by
various ebaY users for their violations, and ebaY has done
NOTHING about these auctions. The same is true for the PGA
auction TAG included in the last issue of TAGnotes, which has links
to the PGA website and other links all in violation.
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1157534297
ebaY owned ReturnBuy is also in violation of ebaYs rules, including
a link from the auction listing to a customer sign up page. For example
see the ‘customer service’ link on this auction
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1249665589
For a list of other corporate sellers go to the TAG editorial on ebaY's
links ban, and what you can do about it. ebaY Cuts The Threads of The
Web? FIGHT BACK!!! Also the Billpoint logos are NOT in compliance with
the 88X33 limit. Join our fight to help level the playing field so the
users who built ebaY have a chance, and fight against ebaY's new
corporate favoritism program.
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic.html?pid=57

To report corporate sellers who violate ebaYs rules, go to
http://pages.ebay.com/help/basics/select-RS.html
click on questionable items, listing practices, inappropriate links -
sellers links, topic# 42010011 click on continue and it takes
you to a page describing the link violations, click on submit and
you will come to this link http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll
put the auction item information in the appropriate block. Add a note
such as “Please end this auction for link violations as per your policy.
Enforce your policy equally as you said you would”
We are tracking reports to ebaY and the action they take or don’t
take, so feel free to forward information on auctions you report to TAG.
Send to ta-@theauctionguild.com

For sellers who feel they have not had adequate refunds, that ebaY is
restraining trade, defrauding sellers by not providing the services
paid for, or other situations not 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
http://www.consumer.gov/sentinel/index.html
File Complaint
https://rn.ftc.gov/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01
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/

Announcement Board Marketing - (MAB)
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/marketing.shtml
Announcement Board Status (SAB)
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml

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

Approx 5.2 mil auctions inflated by approx 6% for double category
listings yielding approx 4.89 mil auctions. On 22 Jun 2000 ebaY
had approx 4.53 million auctions.
* * * * *
Amazon Auctions, zShops and Marketplace
Announcement Board - http://amazon.remarq.com/list/16791839

Amazon live telephone customer service 16 hours a day
Toll-free in U.S. and Canada: (800)201-7575
http://auctions.amazon.com
* * * * *
BidVille.Com has added a Bulk Loader program to their site to speed
up the entry process. Members can download the program in the
TrackPal section of the site.

Bidville sellers are holding a $1-Sale, with items starting at $1. To
find the sale go to Bidville and click on the $1-Sale logo from the
home page.   http://www.bidville.com
* * * * *
SellYourItem sellers are running auctions they call ‘at cost’ auctions
that start at the sellers cost price. For more information and a link
to the at cost auctions go to
http://www.sellyouritem.com/MyPage.html?User=jeff5
http://www.sellyouritem.com/index.html
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Gegy.Com is the latest in the auction sites coming online - this one
is just starting beta, and is seeking users to help test the site.
http://www.gegy.com/betaform.html
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Boomspeed.Com the free image hosting site, has been having problems,
causing images to disappear from auctions. There also continue to
be some access problems. Though nothing has been posted about these
latest problems yet, you can keep an eye on their announcement board at
http://www.boomspeed.com/host/news.htm
They also appear to be responsive to emails at in-@boomspeed.com
http://www.boomspeed.com/host/
* * * * *
Ad Aware is a free multi-spyware removal tool that detects and safely
removes components of advertising parasites from your system. This
software is highly recommended for ebaY users and all internet surfers.
http://www.lavasoft.de/
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Online Auction Users Association
Interested in volunteering and serving the Online Auction Community?
Check out http://www.auctionusers.org/volunteerop.shtml

Live Chat for July
Thursday, July 5 , 9 p.m. EST - Diversification. Let's talk about
selling elsewhere
Thursday, July 12 , 9 p.m. EST - OAUA night! Why join? Come
find out more about us.
Monday, July 16, 9:30 p.m. EST - TRIVIA NIGHT with the
TriviaMaster
Thursday, July 19 , 9 p.m. EST - Let's discuss incentives for your
buyers
Thursday, July 26 - 9 p.m. EST - Tentative chat with AuctionHog.com
http://www.auctionusers.org
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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://auctions.yahoo.com/booth/watafind

http://www.esnipe.com
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