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Auctionbytes-Update, Number 100 - August 10, 2003 - ISSN 1528-6703     Previous Story | Contents
	Letters from Readers By Ina Steiner AuctionBytes.com August 10, 2003
Carol wrote in about an article that appeared in AuctionBytes Newsflash on Thursday: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y03/m08/i07/s02 Hi, I found the article about Ebay sending the list to Google very interesting. I see NO WAY they could own the word bay. What if I wanted to do a search on Google for a bay horse? The seller of said bay horse is not allowed to use that word. When I think of the word BAY, I do not think of eBay. I think of a color of a horse. A person who sails will think of the body of water. Carol Carol - I believe it's up to eBay to file a complaint with Google against a particular Google Advertiser. ******** Danny wrote in about an article that appeared in Auctionbytes Newsflash on Tuesday: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y03/m08/i05/s02 Hi Ina, I read your article regarding eBay's VERO program. I am a seller on eBay and due to this program, I got suspended from selling my items on eBay. This VERO program is a trap, and the list of participants who join this program can either show up their names or not at all. That leaves a grey area for sellers who want to sell their items and don't know if the things they are selling are against eBay's VERO program. Thank you for your attention. Danny ******** Hi there, Here is a tip I use when packing with peanuts. When I would buy something that had to be shipped to me I always dreaded thinking about when I opened it because I just knew I was going to have a zillion peanuts all over the place.. So the next time I had to ship some glass that needed to be wrapped carefully and packed with peanuts I came up with the follow idea. And buyers sure appreciate it. For the bottom of the box I take a square or oblong plastic bag, like you get at Walmart or the grocery store, add some peanuts and staple it shut. For around the sides I use longer bags, (such as our morning newspaper comes in) add the peanuts, staple shut and position it around the inside edge, like a bumper. Of course I wrap the item in bubble wrap and then lay it on its nice bed. Then add another bag, filled with peanuts on the top. If you had a huge item this may not work so well. But for most items it works great, and customers sure appreciate how easy and mess-free it is for them. Mary ******** Hi, Here's a little inside view of eBay Stores: people open them and don't use them. Check some of the number of listings in some of the stores. Pick about 20 Stores and every 60 days, check them. They will still have one to twenty items listed. eBay absolutely cleans up on the monthly $10.00 from thousands of store owners ...some of whom don't even remember they have one! Ann ******** Here's a Letter from a reader about Karen Thompson's article in the last issue, "The Internet Lady's Top Tips for eBay Beginners" (http://tinyurl.com/jjex) along with Karen's response. Greetings, I realize I may get some serious disagreement with what I'm to propose, but having been in this awhile, I think I have a perspective that's worthwhile. In the article mentioned above, I agreed with almost everything that was written with one exception. The comment, "With the best will in the world, a lot of us don't have the time or patience to learn HMTL and upload from our own webspace". I'm sorry, but that attitude is just plain wrong in my book. Having waded through sale listings with the character of a giant classified add, with all the text run together, no paragraphs, lousy spelling, and a clear sense of "don't care" written all over it, I'm not too inclined to trust that seller to either honestly describe something or follow through after the auction is over. If you don't care enough to try to present your merchandise in a clear and appealing manner, then maybe you should try something else. Learning basic HTML is not difficult if you limit yourself to simple commands like paragraph breaks, and line breaks. Makes a dramatic difference in how a listing shows, and illustrates you have some seriousness about what your doing. Ebay has plenty of tutorials on this subject if you'll simply look for them. Doesn't mean you have to buy a $100.00 program like Front Page, but there are lots of free downloadable programs that will serve as HTML generators. To say that's too much trouble is ill-advised and I think short sited. Don't be surprised when you don't get the sales that people that put some effort into it do. There's an old saying about there being no such thing as a free lunch, and I think in this endeavor that's very true. You will get out of it what you put in. If you just take the easiest course, then your chances of success are very limited. With a little time and effort, your chances will improve. Thanks. Zach Hello Zach and many thanks for taking the trouble to write in! The article was targeted at the newcomer or those intending to take the "great leap" and designed to encourage them by explaining how to avoid basic pitfalls and not be frightened off by the amount of information they have to absorb. I fully agree with you that HMTL can be used to enhance listings and appreciate the advice on the free downloads, but when starting out it is not a pre-requisite for those who are feeling the experience is becoming just a little too much. I would however disagree with you regarding bidding on items with poorly constructed listings. If the listing does have a "don't care" appearance I would then check out the feedback rating and registration date of the seller. "Don't Care" combined with an older registration date and a few dubious ratings, then, like you, I would probably avoid. But "Don't Care" with a recent registration date and a few good ratings would then translate as "Tentative but trying!" to me. Regarding the time issue, I would say that despite what many of us think, the internet is not the be all and end all to many part time sellers. (I know, I know, I should cut out my tongue!) Busy mums, full time workers and the like often just use internet selling to rid themselves of unwanted items or earn a bit of pin money, they actually don't see it as a priority in their lives, but this doesn't mean that they aren't selling items that we want to buy and won't provide us with the service we require and should be encouraged at every available opportunity! Karen ******** Theft Report My family and I were robbed in our home. Thieves broke into our home last weekend while we were on vacation (7/30/03). I live in Acton, MA. I lost a lot of very expensive pieces of jewelry. My Mom recently passed away. They also stole all her jewelry. The Acton, MA Police department were notified and are involved in this case. They took finger prints. They also have the complete list of stolen merchandise. I am so angry that these thieves think nothing of coming into someone's home, stealing their personal possessions, destroying such special memories, and causing such deep sadness. I am contacting police departments, jewelry auction sites, pawn shop, flea markets, and antique dealers across the Eastern United States. My goal is to send a partial list of items to alert these parties regarding the stolen jewelry. (I have the complete list, available upon request.) I will pay a reward for any recovered pieces. If you have any information regarding this theft, and/or advice to offer as to whom and how I could make additional contacts (on the Internet and/or by phone), I would greatly appreciate hearing from you. Thank you for your time and consideration. Ellen Partial listing of stolen jewelry: diamond necklace 11 full cut diamonds = 1.8 in ribbed link diamond necklace with gold links = 1.8 carats 18 K. sapphire and diamond necklace w/ one pear shaped sapphire drop (3 carat) w/ 22 cut diamonds on chain =2.5 carats bracelet 15 karat yellow & white gold link = 1.6 carats alternating with 7 cut sapphires ladies custom diamond & wedding ring with 2 diamonds weighing approx.. 1.1 together both H color V.V.S. 1's ladies heavy 18 K yellow gold charm bracelet with 5 unusual charms in 18 K yellow gold 20" solid rope necklace in 14 K yellow gold with Lion head pendant in 14 K yellow gold with 2 genuine ruby eyes. --- Editor's Note: f you have any information for Ellen, please send me an email. ina@auctionbytes.com **** Dear Ina, Just started receiving your AuctionBytes and I simply love it! It's just jam packed full of helpful info. I do have a question though. Perhaps you can answer for me. I have been selling on eBay for about 2 years, just collectibles. So, I'm familiar with both buying and selling. Here comes the big " BUT ", I would like to know how to sell from my products from my existing web site, on eBay. I read your article on how to use the " About Me " for referring your customer to your web site. I have a Cafepress shop and would like to sell an item from that shop, on eBay. I don't quite know how to do that. A customer would buy that item on a Buy It Know, pay either by PayPal or credit, then I would have to go to my shop and place that order for the item. But to pay for it through my shop, would I have to use my own credit card. Is there a way to automate this transaction? Plus, that would be another dollar or more taken from my profits that I would have to pay eBay. I'm just not experienced enough to think this one through. Thanks in advance for your help in this matter. From another dreamer of becoming a successful internet businesswoman. Best Regards, Nancy ****************** If you agree or disagree with other readers, feel free to jump into the forums and speak your mind. That's what the forums are there for: http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/index.php