Why I don’t buy on eBay mobile
December 14, 2008
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Having an HP iPaq mobile handset it should be easy - whenever an idea for a present occurs to me - to fire up the mobile browser, tap in the keywords for the present and click to buy. It’s even better if I see something in a shop as I can instantly compare the retail price and often find I can source it cheaper on eBay.
The problem is I never actually buy on mobile eBay for one reason - I never know what the carriage charge will be as eBay mobile doesn’t reveal it.
It’s a frustration that on the main eBay site that Best Match doesn’t include carriage charges, there’s nothing I object to more than paying unreasonable shipping costs. It’s much worse on eBay Mobile which doesn’t even highlight items with free carriage.
At this time of year if I think of a great Christmas present idea I just want to buy it before I forget. It’s time eBay mobile was upgraded to let me see if what looks like a good price is going to disappoint me with high P&P costs, or if it comes with reasonable (or free) shipping and really is a great deal.
eBay applaud Microsoft law suits
December 12, 2007
Microsoft has stepped up it’s anti-counterfeiting measures filing 52 lawsuits in the US and referring 22 further cases to local law enforcement in 22 seperate countries. All the cases name resellers who allegedly sold counterfeit Microsoft software on various online marketplaces as the defendants.
15 of the 52 lawsuits filed involved software traced to the largest-ever commercial counterfeit syndicate, which was broken up earlier this year by Chinese authorities, the FBI and Microsoft. Through its investigations, Microsoft found that the counterfeit software produced by the Chinese syndicate was distributed in some markets through US online sellers. Users of Microsoft software helped identify the counterfeiters after Windows Genuine Advantege technology informed them that their software was fake.
Microsoft work closely with eBay to erradicate fakes from the site, they are members of the VERO program and have published an eBay guide explaining how to identify genuine Microsoft products.
Matt Halprin, eBay Trust & Safety VP said “eBay applauds Microsoft’s actions to stop the abuse of its intellectual property. The sale of counterfeits is an industrywide problem both offline and online. Counterfeit software is illegal and not welcome on eBay”
Beer seller takes the “p” and loses a fortune
September 2, 2007
Today’s lesson for eBay sellers: if you’re selling something rare and collectible, make sure you check the spelling on your listing. One seller recently sold a bottle of beer for $304. A pretty respectable sum, you might think, until you discover that your winning bidder went on to sell the same item for $503,300.
The item in question was a bottle of Allsopp’s Beer, brewed specially for Sir Edward Belcher’s 1852 expedition to the Arctic. The original listing misspelled the name of the company, with only one “p”: it also didn’t contain any of the extra information about the provenance of the beer bottle, which the later re-auction added.
I can’t help but feel sorry for the first seller: how gutted would you be to let half a million dollars slip through your fingers like that? It definitely pays to research before you sell - though perhaps not as well as it pays to search for misspellings on eBay!
Send a Valentine gift with PayPal
February 9, 2007
PayPal have teamed up with four charities to raise money this Valentines day. Using PayPal mobile you can easily send a Valentine gift to BBC Children in Need, World Society for Protection of Animals, Youth Music or Shelter.
If your partner isn’t going to be impressed with an overpriced card why not donate the amount you’d have spent to the charity they’d most appreciate? Simply text the charity (PUDSEY, ANIMALS, YOUTH or SHELTER) with your donation amount to 64483
MySpace : the power of three?
February 7, 2007
Reuters report that social network MySpace, now owned by the Murdoch Corporation, have been in talks “for months” with eBay to allow users to post items for sale directly on their MySpace profiles.
The source is apparently “a person close to the discussions”, though no official word from either company has been received yet.
What has been confirmed is a new partnership between MySpace and Vodaphone, which will allow the latter’s customers to access their MySpace from mobile phones: users will be able “to edit their own MySpace profiles, find and add friends, post photos and blogs and send and receive MySpace messages while on the move”.
Americans last year spent more time on MySpace than any other site. With 43 million users (or thereabouts), a direct tie-in looks like a very profitable move for eBay.
3, eBay, Google to revolutionise mobile internet
November 16, 2006
Watch television on your phone, surf the net on your phone… this all sounds very similar to the old promises of 3G phones, which have largely been ignored by consumers. Let’s hope that this partnership with two of the internet’s biggest players can create something a bit more exciting.
Mobile eBaying goes European
November 15, 2006
If you can’t bear to be away from eBay even when you’re out - and I have heard that some people are like that 
- Pocket Auctions now lets anyone with a Java-enabled mobile watch their sales, bid or buy through the phone handset. The service began in the UK last year and has proved so popular that local services for France, Germany, Italy and Spain have now been launched.
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