Auctionbytes-NewsFlash, Number 258 - February 13, 2002 - ISSN 1539-5065
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eBay Integrates Half.com Accounts, Sellers May Lose User IDs
By Ina Steiner AuctionBytes.com February 13, 2002
eBay is integrating Half.com accounts with the eBay site. Members can merge their eBay and Half.com accounts and feedback histories into one account. While eBay had announced that it would rename Half.com to "eBay Express Buys," the company announced on Monday that it has no plans to rename Half.com at this point, and it will continue to segregate items from the two sites.
Here are highlights of the changes that will occur over the next few weeks:
eBay will make changes to the Half.com User Agreement
Current Half.com members are not automatically made members of eBay.com. Half.com members will need to go through the eBay registration process and accept its User Agreement
Users must make changes by February 21st to ensure smooth integration of feedback histories
Half.com User IDs will change if there is already an eBay User ID of the same name. If this happens, "-half" will be added to the end of the Half.com User Id. If this is the case, members will have the opportunity to select a different User ID
eBay will change the Half.com feedback system to an eBay style of feedback with colored stars, and the ability to reply to and rebut feedback comments.
Half.com members will be able to retain their feedback, but the scoring and the feedback comment page will be different. Half.com feedback scores will be changed from a 1 to 5 point scale to a Positive, Neutral and Negative scale, and feedback comments pages will be set up like eBay’s feedback system.
A feedback rating of "1" on Half.com will become a negative feedback point; a rating of "2" or "3" on Half.com will become a neutral feedback point; and a rating of "4" or "5" on Half.com will become a positive feedback rating. In addition, Half.com feedback comments longer than 80 characters will be cut off to fit into the eBay format.
eBay announced that, "the alignment of registration and the migration of Half.com feedback are crucial steps in bringing the sites closer together. We feel that this will enable sellers on both sites to reach a greater audience, as well as providing members of both sites with even more trading options."