Final CLD before Christmas for eBay.ie, prediction of CLD for eBay.co.uk
November 30, 2006
So eBay.ie have a “Catch the last minute Christmas shoppers by listing an item using the Buy It Now Only (Fixed Price) format for only 5 cents this weekend” cheap listing day. As per our post on the 24th November, we’re still predicting that as has happened the last three years that eBay UK will have a cheap listing day promotion the following weekend. It is almost a tradition that they have one giving just enough time for buyers to pay and the goods to be posted in time for Christmas. Get your listings ready because it’s bound to happen!
Last year the final pre-Christmas CLD was on the 10th December. We may be wrong by a day or so - but I wouldn’t put money on it not happening.
Tazbar joins eBay in the fight against counterfeit goods
November 30, 2006
Regarding counterfeit goods Lee Markham of Tazbar today told me “the actions that ebay are taking in this area are good….. there will be many people who are in possession of stock who will be looking to get rid ASAP. therefore we all have to be extra vigilant”
Tazbar are well aware of the problem of counterfeit goods and are looking at measures to keep their site clean. Lee points out “It is easy for me to sit here and point the finger elsewhere. But I must say that if they were not allowed to come into the country in bulk then there would be less chance of them finding their way into the marketplace”.
It’s certainly true that if Customs and Excise could prevent the goods from ever being landed in the UK then sellers wouldn’t have counterfeit stock to sell. From his days selling on eBay prior to setting up Tazbar he reflects “I was importing goods from China, the checks and rules I had to go through were extensive, (and they were only tents!) This makes me wonder how so much counterfeit product is available in the UK.” Tazbar are working with their lawyers to establish new systems to further control the amount of counterfeit items that reach the website.
Whilst the problem isn’t created by the auction sites it’s good to know that Tazbar are as committed as eBay to eradicating fakes and counterfeits to make trading online a safe experience for buyers
In brief
November 30, 2006
An xray of a duck apparently showing an alien in its stomach has been sold on eBay for US$9600. To the Golden Palace Casino: who else?
Ever wondered what happens to all the scissors and knives confiscated at airports? They end up on eBay, of course.
The Ministry of Sound have enabled clubbers to buy tickets through their mobile phones with Paypal.
An American student has tried to auction 2% of his future earnings on eBay in return for his college fees being paid. Sadly eBay pulled his listing as being in violation of their charity guidelines.
Free secure images for Paypal checkouts
November 30, 2006
Do you use Paypal checkout on your website? Unless you’ve paid for secure hosting, your customers are probably getting that annoying pop-up browser warning on the secure pages, asking if they want to display the non-secure items too. It gets on my nerves badly enough when I’m just printing out packing slips.
Now E-Junkie have come to our rescue with SSL Pic. Free, secure image hosting for your Paypal payment pages means no more browser warnings. No more browser warnings means fewer worried customers, and faster printed packing slips 
Via Paypal Developer Network.
Overstock have same counterfeit problems as eBay
November 30, 2006
In an open letter on the Overstock forums, CEO Patrick M. Byrne chastised sellers for their attitude to Overstock staff. Angry sellers turned on them over new measures bought in to prevent auctions with a buy it now price a couple of pennies higher than the starting price.
“Starting price $29.95, Make it Mine @ $30.00.” Folks, that is not an auction, that is a classified ad. Our real auctions have disappeared under an ocean of such classified ads, which destroys closing rates for everyone.
In a sideways dig at eBay, he mentioned a “competitor’s environment where such behavior is tolerated”, whilst naming and shaming the biggest offenders.
More interesting than noting Overstock are mirroring eBays move to give auctions a higher profile, is a paragraph hidden away in the middle of his diatribe.
We decided that our auctions of designer items were little better than the competition’s. I know that the ethic of auction sites is to hide behind the claim that they are a neutral venue, and in a legal sense that is what we are as well, but from an ethical perspective, I am simply unwilling to allow Overstock customers, even those visiting our auctions board, to be sold anything fake. If this means that all the auctions business dries up, then that is what it is going to mean. No one gets to sell fake merchandise on Overstock. It’s that simple.
It’s good to see that counterfeit items removed from sale on eBay are not going to simply end up on alternative sites. All auction sites should take note of his ethic “If we do not know if it is real, then it should not go up”.
Steps to reduce counterfeit items on eBay start to take effect
November 30, 2006
eBay have made no official announcement regarding the steps they are taking to remove counterfeit goods from their site. They do however appear to be making moves to implement the unannounced program.
On the Community Question and Answer Board there are signs that suspect auctions are being removed. ‘Trade mark misuse’ was the reason given for the auction being ended.
Earlier today Tamebay browsed 1064 Louis Vuitton auctions to discover that almost all were listed by UK sellers. With some from Europe and a couple from the US there were only two from the far east, one with a picture of the receipt displayed on the listing and another with a promise to go to an official Louis Vuitton outlet to confirm authenticity prior to payment. The only other items were dust bags and a Louis Vuitton catalogue.
Browsing 1213 Christian Dior items in the clothes, shoes & accessories category reveals a similar story, just one bag from the far east from a seller of Christian Dior cosmetics.
Where have all the Chinese sellers gone from eBay.co.uk? It looks like the policy is being implemented! eBay probably have a number of reasons for not officially announcing it such as not informing sellers how to get around the safeguards and of course with court cases in Europe and the US not wanting to prejudice their defence.
Get it Fast in time for Christmas
November 30, 2006
Time to start adding Special Delivery or ParcelForce options to all your eBay listings. From tomorrow eBay will start promoting ‘Get it Fast‘ to buyers in the run up to Christmas.
Get it fast gives buyers the option of a guaranteed delivery time on their purchases to ensure the gifts they buy arrive in good time for Christmas. Many will be willing to pay slightly more for the peace of mind knowing the presents they buy will be there for the big day.
eBay have a ‘Seasonal Seller Guide‘ with tips on selling in the run up to the holiday period
Skype: “out!”
November 30, 2006
Skype’s entire business development team underwent a massive reorganisation yesterday, with several senior figures leaving the company and marketing to be centralised in London.
Moving right along…
November 29, 2006
It’s hard to believe right now when I seem to spend every waking moment packing parcels, but there will be life after Christmas. Marshia Collier, author of eBay for Dummies, considers what the New Year might have in store for eBay sellers. It’s US-centric, but postal increases are guaranteed in just about any country.
Realize that it’s not because eBay’s a big bad company that wants to pilfer from our pockets, but they’re constantly attempting to improve the site to make it the ultimate marketplace for online shoppers, and they need to cover their costs.
I’d take issue with this, though. eBay are a business, full stop. They’re trying to make the most money they can, full stop. It’s not about “covering the costs of improvements” any more than it’s about “building community”: it’s about making a profit. Which is what sellers should be focussing on too.
WWW: what women want
November 29, 2006
Women will drive online shopping this Christmas outspending men for the first time, according to internet research firm Nielsen Net Ratings. Outspending men by just £7 but, in my experience, getting a lot more for her money, the average woman has probably just shopped a bit smarter, like doing her shopping on eBay 
With UK internet usage up 10% to an average 11 hours a week, and some of the high street’s best known names making schoolboy errors with their websites, this feels like a great time to be an eBay seller.
eBay Express Exclusives in the Evening Standard
November 29, 2006
Today’s Evening Standard is promoting exclusive designer goods available on eBay Express. Five talented designers come together under the express*exclusives user ID and you can read more about them on the express*exclusives about me page.
Currently listed are a Charlotte Tangye footprint shoe rack, some Jethro Macey quirky flying duck hooks, Sylvie Fuller latte mugs, Leanne Rostron urban bone china salad plates and my personal favourites, Gary Birks’ bone china cat and dog bowls.
Another designer exclusive to eBay Express is Lou Lou and Law. Ann Louise Roswald and Natasha Law have collaborated in a cool, relaxed line of clothing featuring iconic Law nudes and Roswald’s eye for line, pattern and shape.
Great to see some superb items to draw the buyers into eBay Express UK.
Our thanks to Dan Wilson for scanning the above, click to embiggen
Find your Best Match on eBay UK
November 29, 2006
eBay have brought a new method of sorting search results to the site:
Best Match allows you to sort the listings that you see based on their ‘relevance’. The ‘relevance’ of a particular listing is based on past buyer behaviour, as well as the information in the listing title and description.
This means that what buyers do on the site affects the order in which listings are displayed in the future. If buyers who perform certain searches end up viewing, watching, bidding on or buying particular types of listings more often, then this will be factored into our relevance calculations in future.
With 75% of users of the site searching rather than browsing by category, figuring out how this one might work could be crucial for sellers.
eBay Express wish lists come to the UK
November 29, 2006
Last week we pointed out the missing ‘wish list‘ on the eBay Express UK site. Someone at eBay must be listening to us because today it’s appeared!
Go make your wishlists and email them to family and friends (and your boss!) and make sure they know what you want this Christmas. But don’t stop there, create lists for your birthday, Valentines, wedding, anniversaries…. let your wish lists run wild and put an end to that present you didn’t want but have to keep in case the sender comes to stay and wonders where it is!
If anyone is feeling generous you can see my own wish list on eBay Express UK.
eBay top of the stocks
November 29, 2006
Financial bloggers Seeking Alpha have chosen eBay as number three in their all-time top ten tech stocks. They write:
eBay’s stock chart is arguably the most impressive one for the reason that unlike other Web companies of the 1994-2000 era, its genius business model was clear and investors ate it up. Unlike many companies that experienced a stock market meltdown in 2000-03, eBay’s income statement thrived, and it leveraged its balance sheet to acquire Paypal for $1.5B in one of the best Web acquisitions of all time which today contributes a growing share of its top and bottom line.
eBay is trading within a reasonable range of its all time high and considering the growth of e-commerce, its recent deal with Yahoo! and [admittedly expensive] acquisition of Skype, the company’s upside is considerable.
eBay also featured on the Top Ten Best Acquisitions list for their purchase of Paypal, and the Ten Worst Acquisitions list for Skype.
Skype and landline in one handset
November 29, 2006
Dave from DSTele.com just gave me a heads up on a really exciting bit of kit! The first ever cordless Skype phone that does not require a PC and that can also accept landline calls.
The RTX SKYPE Dualphone 3088 allows you to connect the Dualphone base station to your broadband connection, and then you can talk free of charge with your Skype friends or call other landline numbers worldwide via Skypeout or as usual via your regular landline operator. Now you can have a truly cordless DECT telephone handset and make either landline orSkype calls without turning your computer on - I’m tempted to get a Dualphone for myself.
If you want to be first to own a Dualphone, DSTele.com have a special 7.5% discount for Tamebay, simply enter AYSCX982 into the coupon code when purchasing. This offer is valid until 10th December 2006.
Is it time Tony Blair got skyped up?
November 29, 2006
It often seems that anything George dubya Bush does Tony Blair does next. Well on a recent visit to Estonia their prime minister, Andrus Ansip, decided to give President Bush a Skype phone. Jaanus reports on the skype blog that it was a top of the range Phillips VOIP841 cordless DECT handset which can be plugged straight into your router. George doesn’t even need to turn his computer on to make calls. If Tony gets skyped up too the government can save a few quid on our taxes!
Personally I use a Motorola ME4052 with a USB skype dongle. The advantage of this is that I can accept both land line and skype calls on the same DECT handset. It does mean I can only skype when my computer is turned on - but hey, it’s hardly ever turned off 
eBay in the news
November 29, 2006
Meanwhile, troops returned from Iraq will not be able to spend their Christmas bonus on eBay: Top brass were worried it was too much of a distraction, so brought in the ban across the MoD’s internet network. It applies to all 180,000 men and women in uniform AND 100,000 civilian staff. … A spokesman said: “As with many other employers, the MoD does not allow its networks to be used for private transactions on commercial auction sites.”
Happy Christmas from the Royal Mail: Devon postal workers are to stage a one-day strike next Monday.
eBay-alikes we like
Slivers of Time is an online marketplace matching up temporary workers with employers, allowing customers to sell not spare items, but spare *time*. Need people to cover your lunchtime rush *today*? Need very flexible working to fit around your other commitments? We think this is a brilliant idea.
Steps to reduce counterfeit items on eBay
November 28, 2006
We’re hearing from several sources that eBay are about to take steps to reduce counterfeit items on eBay. Steps will be introduced in the next week or so to prevent sales of items which attract fakes and scams which could include everything from designer clothes and accessories to the much sought after Playstation 3.
Steps are likely to include limitations on one and three day auctions, restrictions on cross border (cross continental) trade, reviews of accounts for sellers that trade in these goods and insistence on PayPal verification for those listing items of this nature.
We know that eBay have a number of legal cases in the pipeline (Louis Vuitton & Christian Dior in Europe and Tiffany in the US) and so are unlikely to comment on programs like Watchdog for fear of prejudicing their defence. However steps to reduce incidences of fakes being sold on their site can only be welcomed by legitimate sellers and buyers alike. It’s worth jumping through a few hoops if buyers know they can trust you!
Virtually a millionaire
November 28, 2006
Ailin Graef has been playing an online game called Second Life for the past two years and become a real life millionaire. Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. There’s a digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Ailin Graef or as she is known in Second Life “Anshe Chung” has been playing since 2004 and built up a vast property portfolio.
Players of Second Life can buy areas of game land, for either in-game or real money. Anshe Chung earned an initial stake by selling custom avatar animations when these were a new feature of Second Life, and using this money she successfully became involved in the emerging market for land. Anshe Chung now owns several full servers worth of land, which she develops and sells on to other users at a profit and has amassed a fortune to the tune of 300 million Linden dollars the currency of Second Life.
What’s the point you may ask? I’m beavering away listing and selling on eBay… what’s the interest in a game? Well the answer is Linden dollars can be exchanged back into real money and at about L$275 equal to US$1 Anshe Chung in Second Life makes Ailin Graef a millionaire in Real Life!
Shell bidding
November 28, 2006
Sea urchin shells and spines are popular collectors’ items on eBay, but buyers began to get confused when the shells they received didn’t look like anything else in their collections. In fact, a new species previously unknown to scientists was being traded.
With many thanks to Postal Supplies for the link.
Two in five Brits on broadband
November 28, 2006
The Guardian technology blog points out that three-quarters of those who are online in the UK are now on broadband. This is great news: obviously, the faster the internet, the more usable and flexible it is, and the more frustrating it isn’t. And as designers, we can finally begin to abandon that old, annoying question: “how’s it going to load on dial-up?”
But as the Guardian rightly say, without absolute figures for internet usage, the statistic has limited application. According to the EU’s statistics office, 57% of Brits use the internet at least once a week, with 63% of all households having internet access available. (Figures relate to the first quarter of 2006.)
While not the most-connected nation in Europe (that prize goes to Iceland, with a massive 84% of their tiny population online), 42.75% of Brits now on broadband is fantastic news for the UK’s ecommerce industry.
Buyers eye - pollypuffle
November 27, 2006
Pollypuffle (Carol, to those that know her) recently said about her customers “everything else and I mean EVERYTHING else is secondary - You don’t got buyers, you don’t got sales, rocket science it ain’t!” and having recently purchased from her I know it’s not just words. If you buy from Polly she really does put the “king” into “The customer is king”
Polly sells furniture, and not just any furniture either, this is high street designer furniture at prices that have to be seen to be believed.
What I really love about buying from Polly is that nothing is too much to ask. There are no silly terms, starting from when you pay - Polly prefers credit/debit card by phone, but if YOU prefer bank transfer, PayPal or cheque/postal order that’s accepted too. No surcharges or pressure to pay by a method that isn’t your first choice. Unlike many sellers Polly doesn’t have reams of terms and conditions to wade though. She tells you what’s on offer, if you like it you buy, you pay and she delivers.
Talking of delivery if there’s one thing I want once I’ve paid on eBay it’s to have my goods, and in this Polly excels. Almost as soon as I’d paid she emailed me to see if I could accept delivery four days later. Four days might seem a long time - but bearing in mind I purchased in the evening and we’re talking about a hefty piece of furniture, it was a fantastically quick three days in reality. Not only that, but it wasn’t a “We will delivery on xyz day” but a “We could deliver if it’s convenient”. Most importantly, like the last time Polly
delivered to me, the goods arrived on the day they were promised (albeit yet again I answered the door in my dressing gown… I’m sure she does it on purpose!)
Like everyone what I love most about buying is when the goods arrive, and with Polly you can rest assured you’ll be delighted! Your purchase will arrive in great condition - firstly her goods are brand new, secondly they’re packaged securely and thirdly I don’t know where she gets her delivery drivers from, but they’re the friendliest I’ve met and carry on her ethos of customer service.
If there’s one thing that’s consistent about Polly it’s the quality of her goods. None of the flat pack “only requires a screwdriver, allen key and the patience of a saint” stuff. Her furniture is - I was going to say assembled, but that’s an understatement - handcrafted, beautifully finished and solid.
So what’s the thing that Polly does best? Is it her products (which are fantastic)? Is it her couriers (which are truly superb)? The answer is no…. it’s the fact that she treats you as if YOU were her one and only customer!
Wrapping with Esmerelda
November 27, 2006
Right on cue for the serious spendy season, the third eBay UK advert is now available for viewing. I like the message here that some of her Christmas shopping has already been done on eBay, but that there’s still plenty of time to order more goods from the site. With eBay traffic up this weekend, lets hope the trend is going to continue.
Shit spelling sends charity auctions to the dogs
November 27, 2006
Sadly the celebrity Fleece Dogs auctioned on behalf of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home haven’t reached great prices, mainly because no one could find them. Despite coverage on the BBC, the Sun newspaper and a mention on the Johnathan Ross show the auctions have fallen foul of eBays offensive items policy and don’t even show up in View Sellers Other Items.
Only Geri Halliwell’s Shih Tzu showed up in searches as the other auctions for the Blue Peter Dog, Paris Hilton’s Chihuahua, Jenny Frost’s Dachshund, Zara Philips’s Boxer, and the Queen’s Corgis were hidden due to an unfortunate spelling mistake - “Shit-Tzu”
eBay have an (unpublished) list of banned words and sadly these auctions for a great cause were hidden from public view. A salutory lesson for sellers to make sure offending words don’t appear in their auctions even by accident.
I wish I’d spotted this error in time for the seller to edit their auctions, but not to worry - for all you dog lovers out there you can donate direct to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home by clicking on the image below
Phishers on the phone
November 27, 2006
Phishers are moving from email to the phone to try to steal banking and other personal information. A new batch of emails purporting to come from Paypal give out a telephone number for members to call to verify their data. Other scammers have even missed out the email altogether: victims receive a telephone call out of the blue from someone who knows their credit card number, and wants them to confirm the security code on the back: clearly a way to get around this new security feature in the system.
“Hackers are moving away from the Web and using something victims are more comfortable with: making a call,” said Paul Henry, vice president of technology evangelism at Secure Computing. [I *want* his job title!] “Consumers are programmed to enter in information on the phone. It’s a natural evolution of phishing.”
Callees and email recipients should beware: the phishers are getting more sophisticated. Many phishing emails now contain the recipient’s real name rather than being addressed to “Dear valued customer” or similar. And, ironically, in an attempt to appear genuine, some phishing emails now contain warnings against giving your personal information to unverified parties: that, at least, is something the scammers have got right.
Recent Comments
- Whirly: #3 you don’t deserve one after having a 1p listing festival you jammy blighter.
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If anyone has one and wants to spend it with me... - northumbrian: the only fault with that bling thing is if anything it makes the item look to good
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