Gaming World Forums
General Category => General Talk => Topic started by: Death Gulp on February 18, 2008, 06:14:10 pm
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I was cruising around YouTube, and the internet and I came across this, maybe (probably) you guys have heard of it already, especially if you use eBay.
During the week of Feb 18th to the 25th, there will be a worldwide eBay "strike", which will involve eBay users not selling, listing, buying anything on eBay.
Here is a link to the YouTube video I first found (I didnt make it). It explains the reasons and whatnot, probably better than I can.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23TomS5--nQ&feature=bz301 <-- The guy who made it is now banned from eBay.
As the video states, on January 28th, 2008, the new CEO of eBay one "Mr. John Donahoe" called the users (buyers and sellers) "nothing more than noise", then goes on to say that the users of eBay are "a flea market" and implied he was ashamed to be apart of it. Now I can see why the users of eBay would be pissed, I was. He goes onto say there will be a new fee increase for eBay, and a number of other things. Here they are:
Hidden content (Click to reveal)Why Boycott Ebay?
Grievences:
1. Final Value Fees are increasing about 66% for the first $25.
2. 30-60% is what the current fees take from our profits! Potentially even more, if we use any extras.
3. Feedback changes.
The proposed changes are more harmful than beneficial:
A. Sellers will no longer be allowed to leave negative feedback.
B. Feedback older than 12 months will no longer be displayed.
C. Suspended members' feedback will be removed, thereby potentially skewing the numbers incorrectly.
4. Rather than eliminating bad sellers, Ebay is tying the DSR (how sellers are rated on certain aspects) to where items rank in searches. This allows ebay to still receive their money, but, unfairly hurts good sellers hit by "kamikazee bidders".
5. Ebay has announced their PayPal company will reserve the right to hold payments received for up to 21 days. Who are considered risky sellers? Sellers who have not yet acheived a rating of 100 feedback; among others.
Again, rather than eliminating the real bad sellers, ebay & paypal will earn interest on the money, while honest, hard working sellers get ZERO!
This is a means for members to unite, and to come together with a basic plan. This is that list:
1. Unite to sell and buy on one or two alternate sites.
2. Refrain from buying on ebay until ALL demands are met.
3. Refrain from selling on ebay until ALL demands are met.
4. Stay committed to each other buy letting sellers know you are buying from their non ebay auctions.
5. Stay committed to each other by letting buyers know where you will be selling.
6. Join myspace.com/boycottebay the source of our direction.
Demands:
1. Restructuring the fees, to a REASONABLE rate.
2. Revamp the FB process, BUT, not in the way proposed. We WILL NOT be held hostage by extortionist members.
3. Immediate release of paypal funds.
4. Refunding of Reserve Fees, if the item sells.
Although I do not use eBay on a regular basis, once in a while kinda thing, I will do the boycott during this period, and not use eBay. The big thing for me is the PayPal issue, holding for 21 or so days, or until a "positive" feedback. The other big one is the 'new' feedback system. I maybe can see where their coming from with Paypal, but for now. Fuck eBay.
Does anyone else here that uses eBay also find these changes stupid? god damn.
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the new feedback system is mad gay, but to be honest money and getting more space is more important, so I'll sell my stuff on ebay.
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Yeah, people who make the majority of their money on eBay, or need to sell stuff for whatever reason should continue to do what they do. for me though i can live [for ][/for] without eBay
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you know that Youtube is part of the internet right?
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Uh that was pretty stupid from the CEO.
AND the new system of Ebay is... how can i put this into words... without hurting anybodys feelings...
oh yeah complete bullshit.
Now i know to avoid the whole thing, thank you.
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As the video states, on January 28th, 2008, the new CEO of eBay one "Mr. John Donahoe" called the users (buyers and sellers) "nothing more than noise", then goes on to say that the users of eBay are "a flea market" and implied he was ashamed to be apart of it.
Why the fuck is he the CEO if he talks shit about his userbase?
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Thank god my shoes came in today!
This is pretty redic though :/
I can abide by doing this boycott.
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Why the fuck is he the CEO if he talks shit about his userbase?
Since when has a CEO ever been chosen based on how much they like their audience?
If he can get a bigger profit, then he could call ebay users dick-sucking, baby eating whores of satan and such and it wouldn't matter.
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Google should buy Ebay or make their own Ebay-esque site.
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what the hell does redic mean.
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Wow, those changes ARE complete bullshit. Normally I'd be all "heh......netizens in protest *goes off to do exactly what they are protesting*" but I'd be done for boycotting this. On the other hand, I wasn't going to be buying or selling this week anyway so w/e.
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That Paypal thing IS redic (ridiculous), they should boycott the site longer than a single week to make a bigger impact.
Thank god I always use Amazon instead when I do my rare online shopping.
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Can someone please explain what they did to the "system" for those of us who don't use eBay?
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1. Beginning in February, buyers and sellers will be able to earn up to one Feedback per week from the same trading partner. Today, members may only affect each other's Feedback scores one time, regardless of the number of transactions between the parties. This change will both encourage repeat transactions and reward good service.
2. Sellers will no longer be able to leave negative or neutral Feedback for buyers. This change will occur in May, 2008.
3. Removal of negative and neutral Feedback left by members who are suspended or who fail to respond to the Unpaid Item (UPI) Process.
4. Positive Feedback percentage will be based on the past 12 months of Feedback, rather than lifetime, since it is most indicative of the seller's recent performance.
5. Restrictions on when Feedback can be left:
* Buyers must wait three days before leaving negative or neutral Feedback for sellers with an established track record
* Instead of 90 days, members will be able to leave Feedback for 60 days
Will sellers still have access to Buyer Requirements to manage their buyers?
Yes. The Buyer requirements tool enables sellers to prevent or limit the buyers from bidding or buying their items if certain criteria have not been met. The criteria are:
* buyer is registered in a country where seller doesn't ship to
* buyer has negative FB score
* buyer has a recent Unpaid item strike
* buyer does not have a PayPal account
You can read the whole thing on eBay's page. Among the bad, and I say this as someone who does not use eBay, is the fact that sellers can't leave honest feedback for buyers.
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2. Sellers will no longer be able to leave negative or neutral Feedback for buyers. This change will occur in May, 2008.
3. Removal of negative and neutral Feedback left by members who are suspended or who fail to respond to the Unpaid Item (UPI) Process.
I really don't understand these two. I thought the whole purpose of leaving negative or neutral feedback for somebody who hasn't paid, was so that people know this person doesn't give you money for the things that you sell
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4. Positive Feedback percentage will be based on the past 12 months of Feedback, rather than lifetime, since it is most indicative of the seller's recent performance.
I'm actually for this one - my account got a single bad feedback in 2004 because the seller didn't speak English and I couldn't get him the payment, and it's prevented me from having a perfect Ebay record after 50+ buys and sells. I'm going to be glad to get my 100%.
Otherwise these changes suck. I haven't used Ebay since school anyways so no biggie but it sucks for current users.
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Why is eBay making these changes?
* Repeat Feedback credit
Sellers who drive repeat business should be rewarded when they receive repeat Feedback. The current system only enables a member to impact another member's score once. This hurts sellers who deliver great buying experiences and drive repeat business.
* No negative or neutral Feedback for buyers
The current system prevents buyers from leaving honest Feedback as they fear retaliation from the sellers if they leave a negative. This makes it hard for buyers to distinguish between sellers while making bidding or buying decisions. In addition, when buyers receive negative Feedback, they reduce their activity in the marketplace, which in-turn harms all sellers.
* Removal of negative and neutral Feedback from suspended members
Members who are suspended for Unpaid Items or other offenses should not be permitted to harm the reputation of members in good standing.
* Restriction on when negative or neutral Feedback can be left
A time limit should be placed on how quickly negative and neutral Feedback can be left. This will encourage communication, drive members to leave positive Feedback and will limit Feedback extortion.
http://pages.ebay.com/services/forum/new.html
Sorry, I thought I had posted this link. So, yeah, its basically because buyers are afraid of sellers giving them bad feedback in retaliation.
What happens when a buyer fails to pay for an item?
If your buyer has failed to pay for an item, you should file an Unpaid Item (UPI) claim. If the buyer fails to respond to the UPI report, then any negative or neutral Feedback they have left will be removed. If the buyer shows a pattern of such behavior and is suspended for UPI, any negative or neutral Feedback they left will be removed. Sellers should only file an Unpaid Item claim when the buyer did not pay. Filing false claims may result in seller suspension.
So, like, I don't know. You can, according to the site, set up filters so that someone who hasn't paid on a recent item can't bid on your auctions, but it still feels like this is more of a slap on the wrist to people who don't pay, instead of actual punishment. Maybe actual eBay users can enlighten the rest of us?
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feedback is pretty damn vital for knowing whether we can trust buyers or not, unless the new policy will flag their accounts with like UNPAYING CUNT or something, then it's a real kick in the balls. Ebay's previous policy for not paying (or recieving items as a buyer) was basically like getting a message from them(ebay) saying "too bad", because they didn't actually deal with the problem and all we can do is leave negative feedback.
I basically can't trust them for support, because they are terrible.
But then also essentially what kind of retarded idiot sends out their item when they haven't recieved payment yet? O_o
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I'm actually for this one - my account got a single bad feedback in 2004 because the seller didn't speak English and I couldn't get him the payment, and it's prevented me from having a perfect Ebay record after 50+ buys and sells. I'm going to be glad to get my 100%.
Otherwise these changes suck. I haven't used Ebay since school anyways so no biggie but it sucks for current users.
What happens to people who occasionally use eBay? Over the course of 12 months my older-than-12-months positive feedback will be wiped I'm guessing which I don't like at all.
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The feedback system was retarded to begin with and rarely provides any actual constructive criticism other than "ur good" or "shit sux." I actually a WORD DOCUMENT full of copy and paste comments that I use whenever I purchase stuff from ebay or amazon.
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I'll join the strike since I don't use ebay anyway
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And I think it's called a boycott, not a strike
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No ebay for me for a while.
I usually sell stuff locally on Craigs List anyway.
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Yup, I do all of my selling on Craigslist. I could never get into ebay all that much.
Those changes do look pretty horrible though. I'm sure most of the people who have used ebay for awhile are pretty mad.
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I do understand the fear of retaliation thing.
When someone sends you something crappy, you don't want to give bad feedback. You know he will retaliate with negative feedback of his own, saying "BUYER WAS A JERK". When you have like 4 feedback and he has 212000+ feedback, this retaliation hurts you a whole lot more than your initial feedback hurt him. So you just don't give any, or you leave a good feedback and just never deal with him again... which makes the whole feedback system completely moot.
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I do understand the fear of retaliation thing.
When someone sends you something crappy, you don't want to give bad feedback. You know he will retaliate with negative feedback of his own, saying "BUYER WAS A JERK". When you have like 4 feedback and he has 212000+ feedback, this retaliation hurts you a whole lot more than your initial feedback hurt him. So you just don't give any, or you leave a good feedback and just never deal with him again... which makes the whole feedback system completely moot.
Yeah, when I first started out, I would leave negative feedback if I was dissatisfied with a seller...then I'd wonder how I received negative feedback in return, even if I paid promptly and was polite. This is pretty devastating for "newbies", because I wasn't able to purchase a few items on eBay because of my negative feedback score. Right now, I'm only at 75%.
I had one seller recently force me to leave good feedback before he would even give me a refund for a broken product. eBay in general is just fucking wack, and I have the worst luck with sellers because I'm always sold falsely advertised products that are clearly not in the described condition.
Sellers also seem to be overcompensating for fees and gouging on shipping prices, too...it doesn't cost 12 dollars to ship a fucking CD from New Jersey to Delaware.
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Wait, sellers can't give feedback to buyers like that, but can they still do the little replies to buyer feedback on their own pages? I think it's perfectly fine for them to not be able to feedback buyers (or just negative or whatever it is), but I think it would be absolutely terrible if they can't still do the comments, for those cases when the buyer is in the wrong. I mean yeah, they're still getting negative feedback, but that doesn't mean much if prospective buyers see the sellers point of view on it, like when a buyer complains about not getting their item and they hadn't paid for it. As long as they can still leave those responses, I don't think this is a huge deal.
Also I think a HUGE BOYCOTT OF EBAY is pretty ridiculous. Yeah, a lot of those policies are really fucking dumb, but if you have that kind of problem, find your stuff elsewhere instead of trying to get other people to stop using it too. If you don't think it's worth it to use eBay with these policies then don't use it, but it's not worth turning it into a big issue.
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Ok, I just 'scabbed' on the strike.
But come on, a $350 D1X with all the accessories is worth my digital dignity.
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What are some other decent auction sites that might become bigger because of this?
I use Ebay a fair bit, but mainly just to import DS games (a few Aussie Ebay stores get US games as soon as they come out in the US so I don't need to wait, hooray for region free) but barring that I wouldn't miss it, and this does seem like bullcrap as far as sellers are concerned.
I know people who are 'power sellers' and make a lot of their income off Ebay, and the fees just seem ridiculous.