posted on September 8, 2000 05:23:23 PM
Thanks for the update, Neil. I just went over and had a look for myself. kel, if you're reading this, way to kick ass on Town Square!
Boy, if you think folks here are pissed off about this, you ought to see some of the reactions over at the Town Square, especially towards the end of the thread. It's explosive.
posted on September 8, 2000 06:56:08 PM
Is everyone aware that as of right now today you can download either Yahoo messenger or MSN's in about 5 minutes and then call anyone in the USA for free over the internet via Net2phone???
you wrote: "Some folks must think I live in a small village full of Igloos where all they need is a name & city and voila, the postie knows right where to drop it off?"
posted on September 8, 2000 08:27:43 PM
Okay, if this calling the seller nonsense catches on, help me think of where I should have my call forwarding set for...Dial A Prayer...The White House Switchboard...National Rifle Association?
posted on September 8, 2000 08:39:34 PM
Well I am not too concerned about getting phone calls, BUT did ya'll catch the part about:
"Buyers can use one of our recommended authentication and grading services to evaluate an item before bidding on it."
I copied that from the original post.
Now THAT could be bothersome. I can see it now, a newbie asking to have your $10 widget authenticated! Why? Cause "eBay recommends it to be sure the seller isn't trying to cheat them".
posted on September 9, 2000 03:08:25 AM
I guess all those legalities from VERO, US and International Law, plus all those "vocal minority" folk have gotten to them.
Ever get the feeling....nah, we passed it 18 years ago....or did we?
:\\\"Crystalline Sliver cannot be the target of spells or abilities.
posted on September 9, 2000 05:01:50 AM
I also wonder if this will encourage people in your area to call you up and ask if they could come over and look at the item before they bid. Changed my number to the second line which I use for my computer. Ebay says you have to have a working number, I don't think it says you have to actually answer the phone.
posted on September 9, 2000 05:04:28 AM
Perhaps sellers should start a business "Customer Service For Ebay Sellers....Can I help you?. Well I will be happy to....but you must send $5.00 via Paypal to pay the service fee for this call. You can then call back and we will be happy to forward your call to the seller of your choice." Every acct can have an extention number that is sent out from ebay via EOA announcment.
When Ebay is so secretive about giving out their number what makes it so easy for them to think they should give out my number. If you think Im kidding go to ebay and look for a customer service number. I did and only got it after asking on the boards. Then when I called it was an answering machine saying I should leave my info and they will be happy to get back to me. Well I am a buyer to Ebay seeing a pay for their "offerings" so the owners of ebay (just like I am the owner of my online auction business) should automatically have their phone numbers/street address that is verified for $5.00 a year available. I would be happy to give Pierre a call at home in the middle of the night (thats when I usually am listing) and ask him about a few of these Pez sitting here I had when I was a kid.
I might need to ask if I list these are they sure if someone bids early that my listing will really really really show up?
Wake up Ebay and step out of your dreams.....focus on making your site safer and more dependable. I am tired of all the excuses for crap service. When I am paying you for a service (a ten day auction) and you are down for any reason you are frauding me out of something I have paid for.
I think I would be inclined to get a new number..hook it up to an answering machine with a nice sales pitch of new items I am placing for sale that would be on one of those looped tapes (never ending).....might help sales!!! ...GOD HELP SELLERS THIS SEASON TO MAKE UP FOR THE SHI* SUMMER SALES WE HAVE ALL HAD!!!
Whats that old saying about before you talk about someone else fix your own first!!!
If a bidder is having a problem they should email the seller with their concerns!
posted on September 9, 2000 05:11:01 AM
I think eBay needs to start random drug tests. I can't imaging suggesting such a practice without the aid of some mind altering drug.
posted on September 9, 2000 06:39:33 AM
Ebay rep says: **Thanks for your input. It seems that most people voted against enclosing phone
numbers on EOAs. We will definitely take that into consideration**
Well, another taking into consideration reply. Same thing I recall reading several times about the Watch Feature. Soon we will hear them say that they took it into consideration but the majority of users like the idea so they are going to keep it.
And they are actually thinking of putting street addresses now?? Aren't there a lot of folks who use PO Boxes for safety? I mean, the majority of folks out there are decent people but all it takes is for one nutcase to get your phone number let alone your street address and make things more personal.
Many of eBay's changes the past year have had me threatening to quit selling but if this inane idea actually goes through and I start receiving phone calls at odd hours is the day I finally quit eBay for good!
posted on September 9, 2000 07:09:57 AM
I think that since you have to have a working phone to sell on ebay, then they should also make sure it belongs to the person registering. Say verification through the phone company. No cell phones allowed.
This way it would eliminate the need for all this crap taking place right now.
posted on September 9, 2000 07:26:16 AMraygomez, how are you going to feel when buyers from all over the globe (if you sell internationally), or even from across the country call you from a 3-12 hour time difference at 4 a.m. your time?
Just try to get your local Antique Shops owners home number, or any of his vendors for that matter. Sellers who don't own or run their own store front are not going to want their home/personal phone numbers given out. Many of these same sellers us PO Boxes as well to protect themselves.
If you sell from a store, and can use that phone number, then that's fine for you. It won't be fine for many many sellers.
I suspect there will be a huge backlash is eBay starts this.
posted on September 9, 2000 07:34:22 AM
Ray,
IMHO, any buyer who is paranoid about being cheated has absolutely no business buying on eBay. If you can't draw a reasonable conclusion about my integrity based on my feedback, then I don't want you bidding on my auctions.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
posted on September 9, 2000 07:53:31 AM
calm down folks.....when I register on any auction site, I give my dedicated computer line ph #. I always have my computer on unless I am gone, so if that # is given out they will get a busy. I haven't personally received this notice however.....How was it delivered?????
And you don't have to return overseas or any ph call. Politely tell anyone who disurpts your sleep that this can be handled by email. More than likely, whoever called about the packing ...it was probably a prank anyway!!!!
Ebay is like America......love it or leave it....no one makes us stay
posted on September 9, 2000 08:29:07 AM
Well, I see that this new feature is indeed working. Got a contact email today. Person isn't bidding nor has he/she bid on any of my auctions. I've also decided to leave ebay and their running-scared site alone.
All the threads there are already done deals. Why even bother wasting time expressing my opinion when they do whatever the xxx they want?
As soon as I learned of this, I thought they are asking for false information, which otherwise would have been correct and valid. And I'd bet that this has turned off many people, offended sensibilites and so I am thinking of closing the auctions and walking. Why did I ever think I could sell on ebay without a fight I don't know. Must have been a total loss of sanity by me at the time.
But I am going to call my atty and ask about this. Just for my own knowledge and I also know about finding anyone simply by going to Yahoo which is where I'll be selling from here onwards. Flame on!
posted on September 9, 2000 08:29:15 AM
Since this has become the main thread on this topic, I'll add my two cents here.
I find this whole idea completely inane, and I'm strictly a buyer.
I can see some buyers being worried about low FB sellers, but bid less on those auctions (and the seller can start building FB); but I can also see buyers calling high FB sellers over lots of little things that could be handled through email.
Then if they call at a wrong time of the day, and besides the obvious time zone problem that many will surely forget, some of the sellers may have different shifts. Wake up a seller, and they're cranky because of the wrong time, and that's not a fair first impression.
I can see bidders peppering sellers with calls for just about anything, and from the sound of it, this has already started.
So why, as a buyer and not a seller, do *I* have problems with all of this?
It makes me feel like eBay is treating its customers like dirt to advise other people to put them through the wringer (or should that be ringer? ). (Also, strictly as a side note, the thought crosses my mind that this will take enough of their time that service to me might be reduced a little. )
I also don't see how it will help reduce fraud. The frauds will simply pretend to be honest. Happens all the time.
Additionally, it gives me an uneasy feeling about what eBay may later do to buyers as well, or may already be doing.
Third, they've raised another red flag with me by stating they're "working on changes that will allow us to remove anonymity on eBay," which is so vague it leaves me to speculate what on earth this could mean. Some AW members are bandying around the thoughts about eBay specifically putting street addresses, instead of preferentially using P.O. Boxes, since plenty of good people do use P.O.B.s to shield themselves from possible nutjobs. OTOH, I didn't see anything about street addresses mentioned in eBay's "fraud" note, but given the vague statement, it's one thing that could perhaps happen.
However, the statement is still hopelessly vague. Is my phone number going to start showing up in EOA's to the seller. Is my contact information going to start showing up next to my ID on the bid history page for all (seller and everyone else) to see?
I've already been increasingly bombarded with spam (130-fold increase over the last few months), much of which talks about things directly or indirectly eBay-related. This is bad enough, when eBay could at least help bidders by only allowing the seller to see bidder addresses (why should bidders ever see other bidders' email addresses? -- there is no reason I can think of).
If my "anonymity" is already netting me spam, which I strongly suspect is eBay-related, what will eBay's "remove anonymity" intent do? Get me on more snail mail and telemarketing lists?
I've been a great bidder with glowing FB, and while I have nothing to hide in that regard, I wait to see how eBay details some of these new ideas, because I recognize the bother some of this will be to sellers.
I applaud their rooting some of the criminals out, but I highly question their new methods. Like I said in the other thread, this sort of, as a gut level reaction, looks like mechanics aiming to fix a rudder problem, looking at the wrenches and drivers that have so far been used little or never, and deciding that what they really need is an atomic bomb.
It is, of course, hard to say how far bidders will take the calling thing, and it is hard to say what eBay means by "remove anonymity," but this really gives me a troubled feeling.
Someone, please give me an aspirin, because ForeBay Flight of Fancy is flying upside down, sideways, and backwards.
I don't trust the pilots any more.
----
What's being done in the name of direct marketing nowadays is crazy.
The above are all just my opinions, except where I cite facts as such.
Oh, I am not dc9a320 anywhere except AW. Any others are not me.
Is eBay is changing from a world bazaar into a bizarre world?
[ Edited to add a bit that I also don't see how listing phone numbers will cut fraud. ]
[ edited by dc9a320 on Sep 9, 2000 08:39 AM ]
posted on September 9, 2000 10:47:47 AM
Somehow it all seems pointless! Here's how I see a call by a potential bidder:
Buyer:"Hello, I saw one of your items up for auction on ebay. I would like to bid but ebay mentioned I should call you, the seller, before placing any bids to find out if you're a fraud. Are you?"
Seller: "No. Did you check my feedback rating of 25?"
Buyer: "Yea. But, one can never be certain."
Seller: "I'm an honest seller and my 25 feedbacks shows it."
Buyer: "Ok, thanks, just had to make sure."
Were they going to expect an answer, "Yea, we're crooks!" "Better avoid us."
I've been actually scammed in the past and another time almost, and both times I talked to them on the phone. Professional cons are well prepared and they are masters of deception. Ebay doesn't know they are doing more harm than good by telling buyers to call the phone number. It builds a false sense of trust.
"If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again, it was probably worth it."
posted on September 9, 2000 11:08:35 AM
raygomez, you said, "IMHO, any seller who is afraid to get phone calls should not be selling on ebaY."
Professional scam artists are not afraid to receive phone calls. They encourage you to call so they can suck you in more with their trust. Believe me, it happened to me!
In one month they can move on to a new location and new phone numbers. They can use multiple usernames set up under stolen credit cards.
Any seller with a feedback of over 100 should be trusted 99.9%. Most scammers may build a FB of 50 to gain trust, then they start to scam. They will not go the expense and time that it takes to get a FB of 100+.
Honest sellers have the right to feel nervous about having their reputations questioned. It's uncomfortable and a nuicance. The buyer is presuming guilt until ample proof. That's enough to make any seller afraid. But for me, feel free to call me anytime, but the phone will be busy as my modem is on nearly all day, and after that my message machine picks up.
"If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again, it was probably worth it."
posted on September 9, 2000 11:14:13 AM
I'm sorry, but I think most of you are whacked. Do you really think people are gloing to start calling you long distance for items under $10-20? Please....They will Email you like they always have. And if someone does want to call me on a high ticket item, $100 and up, I would highly encourage it. I'm sort of glad I'm a seller so I don't have to deal with most of you. I can't believe that there are so called business people out there that want as little contact with customers as possible. I come to this board to pick up some helpful hints from folks, and usually come away with some helpful advice. But it just kills me how the same people are here day after day talking about more of there concerns and the sucky people they deal with. It really make me wonder how much better you would do if you get off this board. The Ebay Outlook......from the posters on this board.......pretty bad. Ever notice how the other millions of sellers that preach and believe in customer service don't frequent here, they don't need to, they are catering to their customers needs and probably taking their phone calls.......
posted on September 9, 2000 11:26:38 AM
We are not telemarkets bmurz. We are internet sellers. We have sold on the internet for years using email. We live where we sell. We have children and other family members to think of. We have jobs, we go to school. We do not sell over the phone. We sell on the internet. ebay is an internet venue.
I am an EXCELLENT seller with EXCELLENT customers service and a spotless reputation. You feel free to put your phone number and home addy right there on your auction pages if you want to, but don't try to tell anyone else they must give out their info.
Great to hear you love customer service. I'm not talking about selling over the phone as you suggested. There is a big difference between selling over the phone and somebody calling you to ask about your item. I don't sit at the computer all day with my E-mail up like a lot of folks. So if someone really wants to ask about my item and they don't get a reaponse via E-mail, why shouldn't they call me?
There is also a big picture to look at. Not everyone sells low price items. I sold a New Beetle for over $16,000 at the beginning over the year. I talked to the person via telephone pre and post auction. I'm sure if you were him, you would have just E-mailed me and sent the money.......
posted on September 9, 2000 11:44:57 AM
Well, I tell ya
I am not home during the day sometimes. (Hey! someone with my number could call a few times and figure out just when I'm not home everyday) (hey! They would know the kind of stuff I have laying around the house!) (Hey! They would have my street addy too, they could just drop by anytime!)
I had a bidder (once) email and ask for my number so that they could call and ask a question or two. I gave it no prob.
The way ebay is talking tho, anyone who wins an auction, be they a legit bidder or not, would get that info (phone physical addy)The bidder could just sign on with fake info just for that purpose couldnt they? Like oh someone who steals jewelry, just do a search, bid on what you like and win with a ridiculous proxy...whammo they have a supplier, hell they can do local regional searches.
