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TAGnotes Sat 1 Jun 2002 Vol 4 Number 32 Issue 414
  

The Auction Guild Notes Sat 1 Jun 2002
************************************************************
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     * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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     * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This issue brought to you by the preceding subscriber ads,
supporting TAG through their advertising dollars. Please support
them, by clicking on their links and buying their products.
Subscribers ads $5.00 - Commercial rates available via email.
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************************************************************
ebaY - on 28 May at 23:38:25 PT ebaY posted that users could
not access View Account Status between 11:12 PT and 11:37
PT.

On 29 May, users reported the site down from 05:32:51 PT until
05:52:23 PT.   At 13:42:30 PT users received messages that the
"Archived Items Host items are currently unavailable" when trying
to access closed items. At 21:35:55 PT users continued to
report closed items were showing as "invalid" even though they
were under the 30 day limit for relist, and under the 3 month limit
for access.

On 30 May at 04:10:37 PT users were having trouble accessing
the site receiving messages saying, "This function is currently
unavailable We apologize that you are not able to access this
feature at the present time. Our Technical Support Team has
been notified and we are working on resolving this difficulty as
quickly as possible." At 04:12:41 PT users reported intermittent
problems with search. At 07:15:15 PT some users reported
problems with ebaY picture services iPix images were not
loading. At 06:40 PT Auction Watch had a catastrophic failure
causing a 12 hour outage of images across the ebaY site,
unrelated to ebaY. At 14:05:15 PT ebaY posted that some ebaY
graphics and images, including those on the home page were
down, and page loads on the site were slow. ebaY claimed this
problem was fixed as of 13:50 PT.   At 15:22:32 PT ebaY reported
that Hotmail had informed ebaY that Hotmail had fixed the email
problems and Hotmail account should be receiving ebaY emails
as normal. At 15:30:32 PT ebaY announced that from 13:30 PT
to 13:50 PT, users reported difficulty viewing some ebaY
graphics and images, including those on the home page.   At
21:45:05 ebaY UK time (BT) ebaY posted that there were
problems with the ebaY UK home page and that users could not
view ebaY graphics and images, and the page was slow load.
ebaY reported at 22:19:58 BT that the problem was fixed as of
21:50 BT.

ebaY took the site down for maintenance from approx 01:00 PT
until 03:00 PT on Fri 31 May. Both ebaY and ebaY Billpoint
payments were down.

ebaY was relatively stable on 31 May and 1 June, with the
majority of the complaints posted on the board being about
problems with the SellYourItem 2.0 form. WebTV users with
Web TV "Classic" models are no longer able to search ebaY.
The newer models of Web TV don't appear to have as much
trouble, though sellers with WebTV seem to have many
difficulties using ebaY.

TAG STRONGLY recommends that, if a seller feels that any of
the ebaY outages and glitches appears to have negatively
impacted the sale of any of their auctions or listings of any type,
request refunds. Don't pay for service if you don't receive it.

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.
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic.html?pid=17
If you don't get your refunds complain to the BBB Online at
http://www.bbbsilicon.org/index.htm
And also file a complaint with the FTC
https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm

-----------
Pink Quote of the Day - On receiving information from the real
seller of an item, providing a scammers email with headers,
sent by the scammer to one of the real sellers non successful
bidders, Klyman@ebaY power seller support said -
"...   Thank you for providing us with the details about this
situation regarding this user. We are concerned about violations
on the site and have thoroughly investigated your report. In
accordance with our site policies, we have found that there is not
enough evidence to show that a violation has taken place. We
understand your concern about this situation, and can reopen
the investigation if any additional information can be provided.

Because privacy concerns are important to everyone we are not
at liberty to discuss the details of another user's account. We
hope that you understand our position in this situation. We also
hope that it assures you that your personal account history will
always remain private.   Regards, Klyman PowerSeller Trust &
Safety."

Since the real seller provided a smoking gun, the email from the
scammer, that clearly showed that the scammer was soliciting
an "off ebaY" sale (a violation of ebaY's rules), pretending to be
the seller of an item he did not own, and claiming an auction he
did not run (this is usually called Fraud) and trying to dupe a
losing bidder into sending money to the scammer for an item the
bidder would not receive (this is usually called Theft) HOW could
ebaY say they did not have sufficient evidence of a violation? For
ebaY to send this canned answer to a seller (and a power seller
no less) who provided ebaY all the evidence they needed to NAIL
the scammer, shows just where ebaY stands in the pursuit of
fraud on their site, their concern for buyers and their concern for
the legitimate sellers who use their site. Remember ebaY, you
can convince the media to write all the fluff stories you like about
how community minded and concerned you are, but your
ACTIONS tell the truth where your WORDS lie.

-----------
*** SCAM ALERT *** (also see PQOD above)
TAG was recently notified of a scam perpetrated on ebaY where
the second high bidder on an ended auction is being emailed by
a person posing as the seller, told that the winning bidder
backed out and that the back up buyer can buy the item with a
money order payment.    This scam happened recently to an
ebaY powerseller, whose under bidders were emailed. The
email address was listed to a non registered user on ebaY.
ebaY says they likely have another ID. The email -
"Dear sir/madam,
this is in reference to SAPPHIRE & DIAMOND PLATINUM RING
NR (Item # xxxxxxxx). i understand that you are not the high bidder
but the high bidder flaked on me.
if you would like to buy it off me you can. i see that your highest
bid was $378.00. if you would like to buy it you can, other wise i
will post it back on ebay. but if you would like to mail $378.00
plus $8 for shipping for a total of $386.00. i accept money orders.
thanks and have a Great Day.
Mail to:
Michael Smith
2950 NE 23rd Street Apt. 46
Gresham Or, 97030"

-----------
Do you have an opinion on Sell Your Item 2.0? This form is
going to be forced on sellers sometime this month, at least your
opinion should be recorded for all to see. ebaY said it selectively
polls between 1,000 and 10,000 users to get their results and
that SYI2.0 was preferred 9 to 1. Let's get 10,000 posts on the
thread started by Jerry to really show ebaY and the world just
what sellers REALLY think about SYI 2.0 -
http://forums.ebay.com/dwc?128@19.HzRsd8oYa0B^-@.ef298fe
When we last checked it there were 102 posts - 4 For, 53
Against, the rest are neutral, comments, conversation, or further
expansion on dislike by the same posters.

-----------
Is ebaY crossing info on auctions? This seller does NOT use
Checkout, but look what appeared on his auction when it ended.
The shipping was actually 34 cents, and he must have had one
relieved buyer!!! TAG wonders who was missing the shipping
fee on their auction...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcISAPICommand=ViewIt
em&item=2102877898

-----------

Ongoing Issues and Information
--------------------------------------
See the TAG website for miscellaneous ebaY info at -
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic91.html

Is Checkout interfering with your online business? Is the new
search slowing down your sales? You pay ebaY for services, so
file a complaint against ebaY with the Better Business Bureau,
the FTC and or The Consumer Trouble Shooter.
http://www.troubleshooter.com/data/access.html
BBB Online - http://www.bbbsilicon.org
FTC - https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm
FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center at: http://www.ifccfbi.gov/

ebaY CONTACT for ebaY, ebaY UK, Billpoint, Half.Com,
information including analog mail and email addresses, phone
numbers, regular and toll free, refund info, close account info,
and insider trading info etc can be found at
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic.html?pid=17

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Yahoo
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Yahoo Auction/Warehouse/Classifieds (YA) - is closing their
European auction sites on 28 June. They are running ebaY
sponsor pages such as this one on their UK site -
http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/auctions/notice
In addition to the ebaY logo, Yahoo also has a link to a directory
of other auction sites in Europe, one directory for each country
closing its Yahoo Auction site.

As of 19Apr02 Yahoo Auctions had 329,060 (-40,688)
As of 7May02 Yahoo Auctions had 316,720 (-12,340)
As of 24May02 Yahoo Auctions had 314,105 (-2615)

Yahoo Auction counts brought to you by
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/copper-maven/
-----------------
Ongoing Issues -
------------------
YA allows links to your website in your auctions. Their policy for
links in auctions is at -
http://auctions.yahoo.com/phtml/auc/us/legal/linking_policy.html

How to get help on Yahoo and Yahoo Auctions
Yahoo Help Central - http://help.yahoo.com/
Yahoo Auction Online Help Pages -
http://help.yahoo.com/help/auctions/
Contact YA for help -
http://add.yahoo.com/fast/help/us/auct/cgi_feedback
Auction Abuse help -
http://add.yahoo.com/fast/help/us/auct/cgi_abuse
Copyright infringement Help -
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/copyright/copyright.html

Yahoo contact Information
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic.html?pid=38
http://auctions.yahoo.com/

* * * * *
Amazon Auctions, zShops and Marketplace - On 29 May at 17:24
PT Amazon posted that their payments transactions were not
processing to completion. All orders were queued for
processing once the problem was fixed. Amazon noted the
problem fixed on 30 May at 13:49 PT, and announced that all
transactions were processing normally

On 30 May at 19:21 PT, Amazon posted that there had been a
delay with seller uploads but all uploads were queued, were
being processed.

---------
In the last issue of TAGnotes we posted a link to the buyers
claim form, thinking the seller could respond with their proof of
delivery from this form. We were mistaken, but have been told by
sellers that they CAN respond to a buyers claim, and if the seller
has proof of delivery Amazon will not charge the seller. We are
investigating further to try to find out how to counter a buyer's
claim and what proof is necessary.

Discussion on this issue can be found on the Amazon chat
boards at -
http://forums.prosperotechnologies.com/n/mb/message.asp?we
btag=am-sellconnect&msg=6473.9&search=y

http://forums.prosperotechnologies.com/n/mb/message.asp?we
btag=am-sellconnect&msg=6770.6&search=y

---------
Amazon live telephone customer service 16 hours a day
Toll-free in U.S. and Canada: (800)201-7575
Auction Pro phone number 1-877-251-0696
http://auctions.amazon.com

* * * * *
Sellyouritem.com (SYI) - has been selected to host the auction
for a collection of manuscripts and other pieces by the famous
American Poet/Author, Carl Sandburg (1878-1967). Sandburg
won a Pulitzer Prize for his biography, Abraham Lincoln: The War
Years (1939). Also included in this auction are pieces from Ed
Steichen, and Clarence D. Batchelor. All three are Pulitzer Prize
Winners. The auction is scheduled to begin June 5th.
http://www.sellyouritem.com/press_release/sandburg.html

SYI continues to be a topic of discussion on the ebaY and other
online auction boards. As a result of this, their auction listing
numbers have doubled and grown by 20 thousand in under a
month. TAG has started to see posts such as "I bought that at
TOP" on the ebaY boards, referring to SYI as The Other Place.   
For this activity to continue will take the efforts of every single
seller and buyer on SYI, to go out and actively recruit every
person they know.   Because of the predominance of ebaY, only
direct action by the SYI users will provide the traffic necessary to
build a viable alternative. Sellers should email every buyer they
have dealt with in the past and inform them of the location of their
current listings, offering incentives if a purchase is made from
the SYI site. Buyers should email every seller they have ever
dealt with and inform them of where they are currently looking for
items to buy. The buyer is in a better position than the sellers to
solicit other sellers as they are not SPAMMING since they are not
selling anything. For buyers who visit SYI and can't find what they
want, an action as simple as listing it on the SYI wanted board,
would be a positive action on their part. Sellers should check the
wanted board frequently, to answer such requests.

TAG feels that the need for ebaY alternatives has been proven
and confirmed by ebaY itself, as ebaY CFO Rajiv Dutta has
stated ebaY's desire to rid ebaY of "Marginal Sellers" and
"Clutter". It is up to the sellers and buyers who agree with TAG
and ebaY, to actively build alternatives.

Some of the high quality listings at SYI -

Antiques and Collectibles - all auctions run with low starting
prices and no reserves -
http://www.sellyouritem.com/ListAuctions.html?User=oas3

"At Cost" Auctions - sellers list auction starting at their cost for
the item with no reserve
Enter At Cost in the title search or go to -
http://www.sellyouritem.com/Search.html?Keywords=at+cost&R
ange1=&Range2=
&SortBy=EndDate&SortDir=asc&BuyNow=0&SearchType=Title&
Button=Search

Militaria, sold by world leading expert, museum quality -
http://www.sellyouritem.com/MyPage.html?User=snyderstr

International Paper Money, Bank Notes and First Day Covers -
http://www.sellyouritem.com/MyPage.html?User=FBNeNotes

Send comments and suggestions to
sugges-@sellyouritem.com.
Categories go to
categ-@sellyouritem.com.
Direct questions about the site to
supp-@sellyouritem.com.
Live support board is at -
http://www.sellyouritem.com/Lounge.html?RoomID=3&Button=Vi
ew
SellYourItem Wanted Board at -
http://www.sellyouritem.com/Lounge.html?RoomID=2&Button=Vi
ew

39363 auctions on SYI.Com, 185 wiith bids, a 4.7% bid rate.
http://www.sellyouritem.com
* * * * *
Auction Watch had a catastrophic crash on 30 May from 06:40
PT to 18:10 PT. They did not lose any data, and all images were
restored. AW posted updated notices throughout the day,
informing their users the problems were being worked on. In
their final post, they said, "We realize that this failure creates
more than a minor inconvenience, and we deeply apologize for
this. We are currently reviewing plans to compensate users
affected by this outage, which we expect to announce in the
coming days. Thank you very much for your continued patience
and support."
http://www.auctionwatch.com

* * * * *
Andale - Sellers who use the Andale gallery on their auctions,
are causing those viewing their auctions to download a
Macromedia Flash Player. This pops up whenever a potential
buyer tries to view any auction with an Andale Gallery. TAG has
heard complaints from buyers, and sellers who use Andale
gallery might be losing sales because of this.
http://www.andale.com

* * * * *
Access Web Works image and web hosting site has
disappeared from the net without notice or an explanation. TAG
is trying to track down some information on this and will post it
on the TAG website as soon as we can find out anything.

* * * * *
USPS - Rate increase goes into effect on 30 June. To create a
zone chart for your zip code, go to this USPS chart, and enter the
first 3 digits of your own zip code.
http://postcalc.usps.gov/Zonecharts/

The new rate charts are available at your local post office.
Info on the new rates can be found at -
http://www.usps.com/ratecase/

* * * * *
Shipping Alternatives -
UPS - http://www.ups.com

FEDEX - http://www.fedex.com
US - http://www.fedex.com/us/
Check out FEDEX Ground

Airborne Express -
http://sbw.airborne.com/CompareRate/CompareRateInfo.asp

You can also check with Greyhound and other bus services, and
the various airlines who ship items.
Greyhound - http://206.66.2.229/
************************************************************
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
*************************************************************
Have any information for us? email us at
ta-@theauctionguild.com
TAG Subscribers often contribute information reported on in
TAGnotes. Visit their auctions or websites.
TAGassist Contributors
http://www.antique-central.com

http://www.ButtermilkHillAntiques.com

http://www.esnipe.com/
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