AuctionBytes NewsFlash - Today's online auction news from AuctionBytes.com!
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eBay Bans Email-Based User IDs
By Ina Steiner
August 01, 2003
eBay announced yesterday that it will ban User IDs that consist of an email address.
According to eBay, such accounts are four times more likely to have their account stolen
compared to other accounts. The company said that due to the risk of such accounts being
stolen, it will require that all members transition to a non-email User ID.
Inactive members (members who have not had any buying or selling activity in the last 12 months) who have an email address as their User ID will be assigned a non-email User ID automatically starting the week of August 11, 2003. Active members who do not have a non-email User ID will be automatically assigned a non-email User ID by January 2004.
Members who are assigned temporary User IDs will not have a Change ID icon appear on their feedback page. However, if the temporary name is changed, a Change ID icon will appear for the standard 30 days.
eBay will also eliminate the ability to sign in to eBay using an email address if a non-email-based User ID exists. In a few weeks, these members will no longer be able to sign in with their email addresses.
Last month, eBay limited the ability to look up accounts by email addresses in Search lookup boxes, also citing security concerns.
eBay Founder Follows through on Commitment to 'Make a Difference'
By Ina Steiner
August 01, 2003
eBay Founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife made a gift of 2,591,000 shares of eBay common
stock on Tuesday, according to a Securities & Exchange Commission filing. The filling
did not give details about the recipient of the gift, valued at about $280 million.
Omidyar spoke at the recent eBay Live convention of the responsibility he and his wife Pam felt to put their wealth to good use and their belief that one person can make a difference. In 1998, they established The Omidyar Foundation, a private foundation that focuses on communities and how they will best be empowered to fulfill their own aspirations.
Other top eBay executives sold stock Tuesday, including Maynard Webb and
Jeff Jordan.
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Million Dollar Nickel Surfaces after 40 Year Absence
By Ina Steiner
August 01, 2003
Collectors Universe rare coin experts identified and authenticated a missing 1913 Liberty Head nickel that had been missing for 40 years. Bowers and Merena Galleries had offered a $1 million reward for the discovery and purchase of the famous coin, and had offered an additional $10,000 to be the first to view it. Relatives of the late North Carolina coin dealer George Walton decided to bring the coin for inspection after learning of the reward.
Liberty Head Nickels were minted from 1883 to 1912. In 1913, five Liberty nickels were minted illegally by U.S. Mint official Samuel K. Brown, but they were not put into circulation. Not of standard issue, the 1913 Liberty nickels were considered illegal currency, and became a classic among numismatists. Beginning in 1913, the Indian or Buffalo Nickel became the regular nickel issue, replacing the Liberty Head Nickels.
The Eliasberg specimen of the 1913 Liberty nickel, sold at a Bowers and Merena auction in 1996 for $1,485,000, was the first rare coin to ever be sold for more than $1 million. Today, two of the five Liberty Head Nickels are in private collections and two are in museums. The owners of the recently discovered fifth specimen have accepted the $10,000 reward for first viewing and are consulting with the Bowers and Merena experts about the possible disposition of the rare coin.
Walton's relatives had been uncertain of the coin's authenticity and had stored it in a hall closet since since his death in 1962.
eBay News Roundup
By Ina Steiner
August 1, 2003
eBay experienced technical difficulties on Wednesday. An announcement posted on 7/30/03 at 7:31 pm PST read, "Some members may be experiencing intermittent issues when viewing items or placing bids. We are aware of this and are working to correct it."
eBay will alter its policy for the "Revise Your Item" feature. Once the policy changes, sellers will no longer be able to change the category of their item if there are any bids on the item, and/or there are less than 12 hours remaining in the listing. The new policy will go into effect on the US site in approximately two weeks, and will be applied to our international sites a few weeks afterwards.
eBay added several new partners to its Anything Points program: Netflix (DVD
home delivery service), Premier Health (discount prescription ddrug service), Lending Tree
(home loans), and McAfee (anti-spam product). The Anything Points program allows eBay
users to earn points from partner offers or special eBay promotions. Points are stored in
useres' PayPal accounts and can be used to purchase items on eBay (sellers are paid in
cash).
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Other Stories
"Repackaging the Post Office," by Elizabeth Wasserman
Inc Magazine, August 2003
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20030801/postoffice.html
"Google 'key word' ads undercut eBay," by Anthony Effinger
Bloomberg News, August 1, 2003
http://tinyurl.com/ipy6
Antiques Week in New Hampshire Program Guide
UnRavel the Gavel is the official guide to Antiques Week in New Hampshire, which kicks off
on Saturday. The entire program, map and guide is available in print in the July 20th
issue of the antiques newspaper, and is also online at
http://www.thegavel.net/awnhman3.html.
Sotheby's Opens Café at NYC Headquarters
Sotheby's is pleased to announce that Dean & DeLuca, a premier retailer of gourmet and
specialty foods, will open a new cafe on the 10th floor of its headquarters at 1334 York
Avenue in New York. The new Dean & DeLuca cafe will open in September of 2003 to
coincide with the beginning of the fall auction season at Sotheby's, providing continental
breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and gourmet, savory snacks.
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