Uproar on ebay

[nysablaze]

Just popping in to say Hi :-)

Recognise a few faces here, I will be moving stuff over during the next few weeks. Ebay has definitely priced themselves out the market as far as I'm concerned, just hope my business can survive.

[akitaslave]

hello Nysablaze, haven't seen you on the forums for a long time, I hope you are well.

[TottyzKlozzit]

have to take as chance I guess, how do ebay police every listing?

[satsumamoon]

You definately are allowed to advertise your website on your paybay about me page, and I would imagine you can put a link to ebid on there too, but I havent checked- shall I ask them if I'm allowed? that'd be fun!
I actually have a link there already- oops, I have lost all respect for ebay and am prepared to risk getting kicked of if it means I get ebid some of the publicity it deserves.
ebay rely on its users to police auctions. Mostly policing is done by competetors being dirty. Ebay do have software designed to pick up on key words in listings ; like www for example.
I get round this by inserting a jpg into the listing. When I change and upload the jpg, it changes on every single listing concurently, I used to use this for information about stock levels, new items and special offers, but I have a much better use for it at the moment- this is what it says (on every single listing);
(img of skull and crossed bones)
SAY NO TO REDICULOUS FEE HIKES!
Enough’s enough - I’m leaving!
Due to recent huge ebay fee increase,
I will be joining the mass exodus of ebay sellers
and setting up on the nicer eb**.com auction site.
Please visit my ‘about me page for more details.
Everyones’ Items on ebay will be getting more expensive.
Smaller items will be removed from my ebay listings firsts
because only pay/bay make money on those...
Eventually I will be leaving ebay altogether.
Prices on my own external website will remain at the same,
cheaper pricing and will continue to be inclusive of UK shipping.,,,,,

I am making discount vouchers, so that my ebay customers will get 10- 20% off their first ebid/satsumamoon order.
Some people will need this incentive as they have got 'the bother of signing up'. I won't make any money, in fact I will loose money, but its a worthwhile investment. I want my many regular customers to follow me to ebid!
Now is a good time to strike- there may not be another one anytime soon, THe storm WILL die down at ebay!
Getting people to join ebid is one thing- but please, encourage everyone to place a bid (not a buy it now) on a newbies listing, so that the site looks used and newcomers are encouraged.This encouragement will make newbies encourage others to join.
I am figuring out how to list lots of items fast, using the ebid excel sheet - they have made it very easy to find and to get started. So hopefully, by the time people get their vouchers, I will have a lot for them to spend them on.
I know its naughty, but I didn't post my parcels as planned- because I havent made the vouchers to put in them yet.
ps, a lot of ebay buyers have no idea that any of this is going on yet. Only sellers got an email about the changes.

[satsumamoon]

Here's a logo for all you ebay deserters to put in your lisings, emails,about me pages, chat rooms, forums and on your paypal receipts in place of the poopal logo;
http://www.thepixelpeople.com/share/sayno.jpg

[*artsbanquet*]

I like your discount voucher idea. Good thinking.

[uktycoon]

Very nice image satsumamoon - now I have a question for you. I have created my own image file using MS Paint and uploaded it to photobucket, but the image does not look so great in photobucket as it does in MS Paint - any idea how I can compress the file size before I upload it to photobucket??

[elvencards]

another convert here!

six years on ebay, 8,500 feedback - but enough is enough!

However, whilst it's certainly attractive to open a store and start listing, browsing here is awful.
Sellers can do their bit to bring previous customers here, ( I know I will, with links in emails etc. ) - but once here, they need to find this site clear and easy to use from the word go, most won't perservere if they find it awkward.
That's the GOOD thing about ebay - though it screws its sellers! - it's bidder friendly ( biased even - paypal certainly is! )
For example, the first search page is okay, search bar clear & obvious at the top of the page - but one click and it disappears to an obscure little box halfway down the page, just too much to take in, click an item and there's 4 clocks!
the countdown's nice, but a start time? a current time? ( hands up who doesn't have a clock already on their screen ), there's information overload, advertising etc. - the sellers item ( which is what you're looking for ) gets lost in it all.

I think ebid is the best alternative to ebay, or could be.
Currently it's attractive to sellers only, but sellers need sales,
and they won't get them, not in sufficient numbers anyway, not until the site becomes bidder friendly.
ebid now has to look at their site from the point of view of the casual browser ( and potential buyer )

Will soon open a store and start - will also hopefully ditch paypal ( the other arm of that money grabbing monster )
any tips most welcome...

[donkeyote]

One way to put a link to Ebid on your auctions without Ebay finding it is to use an image of the text - their bots can't find it.
If you wrote something like
"Come to Ebid to buy all of my items CHEAPER, just search for 'Donkeyote' on Ebid.co.uk" and then made it into an image (I use FastStone Screen Capture), then you just insert that image into your auction, it looks the same as any other text (or you can make it look any way you want before you do the screen capture, using a graphics package), and then Ebay won't find it unless they specifically go through every single auction by hand and look for things like this. It won't be a link, just a graphic, so they can't trace it.

[TottyzKlozzit]

I have placed a link to all auctions on ebay, saying my shop have moved. I have done it two ways

1st- mention items are better prices in the new shop, and ask viewer to send an email to you so you can point them to your 'new shop'

2nd way - I have an about me page and have put my shop as one of my favourite links. then copied from the Me page and created an insert which says click here to enter tottyz klozzit.

I have put some auctions on with the 1st method and some on with the 2nd...... I think the only way ebay will find out about the link is if it is reported by an ebayer....... the 2nd way, ebay can do absolutely nothin' about - hope ebayers get curious enough to ask the question thats all!