Some explanation is needed...

[HelenAndGraham]

I think you've made some useful points ukcoins but, without capital letters and with no paragraphs, your post is virtually unreadable to my old eyes! ;-)

[dardonboi]

This needs some bumping!

[madelaine]

In the absence of management comment, I've sent this link to support

[emporiumdays]

aaaaaa

"................. im amazed at the amount of people who state this site is just so much better than fleebay but the truth is this site is nowhere near as professional as fleebay, if ebid want to attract some serious professional sellers who do it for a living and want to keep them they need to make changes............."

People who state this site is just so much better than fleebay are probably talking about different aspects.
They might mean 'the friendliness of the forums', the 'much cheaper fees' or whatever else....
No one can deny that this site isn't as good as feebay if you're measuring 'sales'.
And of course the vast majority of members would like to make more sales.

That's why members are trying to suggest ways to help keep new buyers (and potential sellers) rather than lose them through any over stringant measures.

Infact there's been some very thoughtful posts put up here.
It's obvious that a huge amount of experience, time and effort has gone into literally 'bending over backwards' to try and help eBid solve this.

[lejoueurdepipeau]

In the absence of management comment, I've sent this link to support

I think that's a good plan!

[baconsdozen]

Quote from ebid in the latest auctionbytes article.
"the eBid community, with their enthusiastic and infectious energy"
Are worth listening to?

[0ctavias0fferings]

In the absence of management comment, I've sent this link to support

I also think this is a good idea.

To save the poor person who has to trawl through the thread in an attempt to pick out the important bits, a quick recap ...

Originally Posted by madelaine .. to new members who end up with a strikethru. I understand that no email is sent explaining why this has happened or what the member needs to do to regain good standing on ebid. This is incredibly unfriendly towards new members and I believe it drives people away. I would certainly not return to a site which suspended my account without explanation. It has happened recently to two buyers who bought and paid immediately. Such people need to be cherished not driven away!

The OP here highlights the problem which is being caused by emails going to spam. It is an established fact that many new buyers never see those emails.

This is the most likely reason for new buyers to get a quick strike through and they are then highly unlikely to come back.

If I was new to eBid and had signed up just to buy one item that I had seen a seller advertise somewhere on the net, then I receive a strike through for not verifying (meanwhile having completed the one transaction with the one self-promoting seller I wanted to buy from) the chances are that I simply wouldn't come back to the site again.

Why do buyers need to be verified when we get paid by Paypal (which gives us their details and has already verified them)? Surely anyone signing up as a buyer only doesn't need the same level of verification as a seller.

In most cases where I have promoted an item and a buyer has joined up to eBid to purchase it, they buy and pay instantly, so the transaction is completed long before the "verification" has taken place.

At sign up the buyer could be offered two options ...

1 with full verification and therefore a full member on the site, unlimited buying power (once verified). Remind them to check their spam filter for emails from eBid and add eBid to their email 'allowed' list.
2 guest buyer, no verification needed, limited buying power, no ability to leave feedback, and you must use a shopping cart with Paypal payment. Payment must be made before the item appears as 'sold' in the seller's list therefore there is no problem with wasting time reclaiming fees for unpaid items.

It isn't really much of a change at all, simply an added option which ought to be relatively easy to code.

If the option to become fully registered and verified is offered (explaining the benefits of doing so) alongside the option to be a 'guest buyer', then those who choose full registration will know to look out for an email to complete the process.

Those choosing to be 'guest buyers' can just carry on and make their purchase without being struck through for not verifying themselves.

There is, therefore, a much higher chance of those 'guest buyers' returning to the site to purchase more items or to upgrade to full buyer / seller membership.

The inability of 'guest buyers' to leave feedback won't make any difference to our feedback ratings as these buyers are currently unable to leave feedback anyway, they have been struck through before they ever receive the item.

It is the sellers who currently put in the effort to bring the buyers onboard, as we are all aware, eBid concentrates on bringing in new SELLERS.

It is therefore our efforts, as sellers, in bringing the buyers here which is being made a mockery of by the system's insistence that the buyer must completely verify themselves or be struck through.

Those buyers being struck through are NOT going to come back again and they will NOT recommend the site to friends, losing us even more potential customers.

... did I miss anything?

[madelaine]

No, I think you got it about right, Octavia. My comments (including a list of my buyers who have suffered in this way) "have been passed to our managerial staff".

One of my most recent strikethrus sent such friendly emails and was so delighted with her knitting patterns that I suspect she would have been a repeat buyer but she is Dutch and the email, which looks unfriendly anyway, is probably too much for her English.

Yes, I know "they" all speak English but, in my quite extensive experience, "they" speak English but not THAT brilliantly when you get off the immediate, expected, topic.

I am not criticising anyone's ability in English - more pointing out that we would mostly be hopelessly lost in Dutch!

[lejoueurdepipeau]

The buyer I wrote about once before -"maccabeus" - has never been re-instated. He bought six items and has 6 positive feedbacks. He left feedback for his purchase even before I posted it - simply saying "God Bless". Most of his purchases were books about religious subjects although it was a table lamp from me. Luckily I did have the address before the strikethrough so was able to post the lamp. I googled the address and found a business of many years standing - involved in building community projects. What can the buyer have done to deserve a crossing through immediately on signing up??

[PetBazaar]

No, I think you got it about right, Octavia. My comments (including a list of my buyers who have suffered in this way) "have been passed to our managerial staff".

Ah, Gazza must be about to take off his "Tech Support" t-shirt and put on this "Boss!" t-shirt.