posted on October 27, 2000 05:59:46 AM
While my activities have been less dramatic and my swings more muted, I did see a lot of myself in this story.
The emotional rollercoaster ride is all too familiar.
I expect that there are tens of thousands of sellers on eBay who are re-evaluation their involvement and we will see these changes play themselves out over the next year.
It also appears that small time new sellers are facing ever increasing barriers to getting started. Just facing eBays listing page now is a daunting task even before exploring the image hosting, auction creating, sales management, payment options, international shipping, TOS creating and price competation questions.
One of the first things to suffer from a more difficult markerplace, along with my sanity, was my free spending attitude. I felt so confident about selling that I enjoyed roaming the listings and buying things that I neither needed nor in some cases even knew existed. This activity has been severly limited.
If my actions, seeking alternatives other than eBay both online and in RL coupled with reduced buying, is representative of any significant number of seller then eBay will certainly change. More so and very quickly if we are not replaced with new individual sellers. I don't believe Disney etal will be doing much shopping.
Having tasted this opportunity I won't/can't stop. Like many of you, I expect I'll wander off to alternative sites, web pages, some RL activity to support my habit and other consignment/consulting B2B activities.
There may never again be that one special place,'The Old eBay", where we all gather but that's not necessarily bad. We may well be being pushed out of the nest and although it is uncomfortable, will in time prove to have been best.
I have a unshakable belief in the future of P2P business and the force of empowered people.
I see the efforts to contain and control these tides as having some parrallels to the annual rituals of building sand dunes along the shorelines. Some short term profitable success in what is ultimatly a lost cause.
I expect eBay will continue on to substancial success in a field that will expand far beyond any one company. Think Ford, maybe even PanAm and the transportation industry.
I really appreciate the opportunity eBay gave me to get started, I'm sorry the relationship is going thru such a difficult change, I don't think they are handling it well and I'm confident that sellers will eventually, as a group, go on to create a huge, fascinating and wealthy marketplace.
There will be a lot of casualties and pain along the way.
posted on October 27, 2000 06:38:47 AM
Interesting article, and the writer's age, situation and type of merchandise sound a lot like mine. Sounds like we run about the same number of auctions in a week. HOWEVER---I think the difference between us is that she came in in the beginning, made a lot of money, and came to expect that that would last forever (or at least a lot longer than it did). Ergo, she's now being evicted because she staked it all on this rather extreme premise. I do have sympathy but at the same time I also think I have a more realistic outlook. Having started later, I don't have the expectation that people will buy everything I offer at all, let alone at 10 times the price or even double the price I offer it at. And I don't expect to bring in $700 a week on eBay now or in the future. Why? because I never have so I do not have that expectation or anticipation making me heartbroken when it doesn't happen. I did go to eBay as a sole income when the startup I was working for folded, but I never looked on it as more money than what I was doing previously--not by a long shot. It's far less money for me, but it's also far less stress (even with outages). It means I don't have to deal with a boss who I hate or a control freak supervisor in my face or any of the other lovely experiences of corporate life. That's why I'm thrilled to be making $200 a week (which in any outside job I would regard as chicken feed). I'm going to eventually have to find other work when I can't make it on that amount but I am not going to whine about that, it's been the best 6 months of freedom of my life and having eBay even part time might mean I will only have to get a part time job locally instead of a full time suit n' pantyhose gig an hour away in the city by freeway. To me, that's the big payoff.
I just think for many oldtimers the expectations are too high based on what happened months or years ago and clearly those times are not coming back, even if the site becomes ultra-stable, buyers are more savvy now about pricing and they know nothing's unique anymore (or very little.) So, assuming there is no more Santa Claus, what's your next move? There is no need to be all or nothing. The writer dramatically suggests that she can no longer do eBay but what on earth stops her from getting a part time job and doing eBay for the rest of her income? The world won't stop for anyone's situation, you have to keep adapting. I'm sure she will find other work, but really, it's madness to think any market will remain the same (or ANYTHING in life for that matter.)
posted on October 27, 2000 07:11:22 AM
I UNDERSTAND the article, and how tempting it would be to quit a boring, low paying job to sell full time - but on the other hand, to quit after only two weeks is not only immature, but irresponsible, particularly if you have set debts or anyone else depending on you.
On line sales have done a shake out more than once - the survivors who do this full time have learned to either branch out, use other venues, produce web sites that actually work, or sell products other than those they originally began with.
Nothing is static - change will happen. I began in 1996, 2 years before the person who wrote the article, (at this time most of the ads didn't even have pictures - we were just coming into the scanner age, and almost no one had a camera)!!!! and yes I totally understand and remember how almost light headed I was with some of my first on line sales. I thought I'd found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - I sold everything - but as more and more people came into the market place, the more I learned to continue to win I had to refine my auctions, not only my products but my presentations. The "post it and it will sell" attitude that many of us developed in the early years had to be replaced with a business like attitude of what sells, how to sell is, how to procure good items at a low price, how to best present them, when to post, when to end auctions, how to develop repeat buyers, etc., etc.
It also means keeping up with computer changes, better products to produce better pictures, etc. A successful business requires investment - it can't be all take and no reinvestment.
All businesses have their ups and downs, but the on line business is really just beginning, less than half of American homes have computers - there are many, many more buyers and sellers to come. But the market of the old days where buyers paid a fortune for nothing are basically gone. Now, without a solid business approach, you won't survive long doing this full time.
The American Dream is still available - the belief that one can become a true entrepreneur is still available, but for it to last it has to be tempered with business planning - not done on a emotional high.
I don't worry about new competition because I know that most see it as a "get rich quick" game, and after a few bombs, and disappointments they'll drop out - once they learn that it takes more than a few minutes to find a good product, produce an attractive ad, etc. etc., they discover to really be successful it is REAL WORK, and they'll go back to their regular jobs. This is not a job for everyone - those who survive see the market from a non-emotional view AND more than anything I believe those who survive and continue to sell really love what they do, they love sitting endless hours on line (I am not being sarcastic)....I love to type, I love on line, and sitting 12 or 13 hours a day posting, or creating ads is a delight to me.
I have seen friends of our try and fail, but not only did they not approach this from a business position, but they really don't like to type, they don't spend time creating attractive ads, and they never took time to learn the market and its moves.
posted on October 27, 2000 07:54:50 AM
I agree with brighid868. I thought the rent bit was dramatic. She should have seen that coming and took a part time job.
At the end of the article it notes that the author recently had a book published. According to Amazon.com, the has authored several books, a couple in '99 and a couple in 2000 so eBay wasn't her only income.
She can hardly blame eBay for the decisions she's made.
posted on October 27, 2000 08:13:00 AM
I beieve the article was meant to illustrate a point, rather than to be taken literally.
The context and message hits home, as most of us are experiencing similar selling patterns with our online businesses. Slower sales, more competition, margin pressures, fewer succesful closing auctions, higher costs. Sound familiar? Of course it does, as all these things are currently happening.
The strong will survive, as they always do and I plan on being among this group. I'll keep track of the selling trends and will be sure to educate myself as best I can, in order to have the selling edge on my competitors. I'm familiar with how to do this, as I've done it many times before and will likely many times again. Change is what you make it and you need to look for opportunities rather than residing to failure.
posted on October 27, 2000 08:26:59 AM
One thing that has come full force to antiques and collectibles dealers is a total and complete upheaval in the marketplace. This is all due to ebaY. Everything about the market for vintage and collectible goods has changed in the past 4 years.
The availability of goods, the time and expense required to locate and purchase them, the final selling price, the availability of other marketplaces in which to sell, everything.
Now we pay more and sell for less, if at all.
And this has been because of ebaY. Completely because of ebaY. But hey, we ARE ebaY!!! Yes, we've done that to ourselves to a large degree, but ebaY has done it too.
A few years ago, when Antique Malls were the rage, many of my former customers became my competition, renting mall spaces and turning into dealers themselves. Many of them did it in their spare time and didn't necessarily even need to turn a profit, they did it because it was fun!
It was surmised, at the time, by many in the business, that after a while, there would be a 'shakeout' in the Antique Mall market and that many of the part time dealers who were marginally profitable or not profitable would go away and that things would settle back out. It never happened. Some would leave, but they would be replaced by another, or perhaps 2 or 3 more people.
This meant that instead of being able to buy wholesale, my margins were cut because there were many more people looking for the same goods. I was able to compete and succeed because I was more knowledgeable than many and could find deals in the malls that I could then turn around and resell at a profit.
But with the auction format and the stiff competition, bringing even many more people into the market as sellers, I find that the prices to buy things are roughly what I can sell them for. The quailty merchandise that used to be available is almost gone. People are selling it on ebaY, and I can't blame them for that! I do it too!
So I don't know if it's so much a matter of blaming ebaY the company for the changes as much as it is blaming the marketplace that ebaY created. Things are yet to settle out though. There are many other external issues as well. The rise of technology has people spending more of their available income on that technology instead of feeding their collecting habits. Many people who are serious collectors have filled many of the empty spots in their collections or have simply filled up their house!
I believe the new breed of ebaY seller on the rise is positioned very well to compete in the market ebaY creates. That is the breed of small manufacturing business where people make their items at home or in small outlets and use ebaY as their distribution point. There are no others selling exactly the same items, and if there are, the competition faces the same costs and expenses.
While the sale of vintage goods was what started ebaY and was the market that first embraced ebaY because it allowed for a distribution channel for this type of item that never before existed, in today's ebaY, the seller who has a small manufacturing business seems much better positioned to succeed in the marketplace. Better than the seller of unique goods, and better than the reseller of mass manufactured goods.
posted on October 27, 2000 09:29:15 AM
A real business is one that makes long term plans, not to be killed in a day when the servers hiccup or the bidders don't buy.
A business that is undercapitalized will fold when business is slow or spends more than they take in.
I wonder why it took her a 60 hour week to put up and close 50 auctions the majority of which didn't sell. Maybe I am missing something.
The only one you can blame when you are in business for yourself is yourself.
posted on October 27, 2000 09:56:56 AM
The woman in the story may be a metaphor for what is happening to all of us. If she went broke, I am sorry for that, but didn't she know about these little "imperfections" with ebaY? It isn't like it hasn't been said or reported before.
This is par. She should have a hot backup, you know, the one we were promised? Don't shoot the messenger, shoot the ones responsible for the half-truths and ignorance. It simply isn't the point. So let's smack her on the wrists, call her stupid when indeed, right this moment there are rooms full of posters that say SEARCH IS OUT. Again. Everything is OUT
Again.
posted on October 27, 2000 09:56:56 AM
The woman in the story may be a metaphor for what is happening to all of us. If she went broke, I am sorry for that, but didn't she know about these little "imperfections" with ebaY? It isn't like it hasn't been said or reported before.
This is par. She should have a hot backup, you know, the one we were promised? Don't shoot the messenger, shoot the ones responsible for the half-truths and ignorance. It simply isn't the point. So let's smack her on the wrists, call her stupid when indeed, right this moment there are rooms full of posters that say SEARCH IS OUT. Again. Everything is OUT
Again.
Dupe post not intentional.
[ edited by millicent_roberts on Oct 27, 2000 09:58 AM ]
posted on October 27, 2000 10:20:03 AM
I also saw the article as being a well written piece designed for the Salon audience - with tales of buried treasure, success and failure brought on by forces both internal and external - with the added (and necessary) element of the villian (ebaY) who puts the final nail in the coffin by lying and cheating its unsuspecting heroin. Unfortunately, no matter how dramatized, the elements of TRUTH are there -and the info about ebaYs outages - FACT. for every well informed seller on the boards who know exactly what is going on at ebaY and reacting accordingly, there are several million in ignorance who - no matter how you cut it - ebaY is stealing from. You all can go on and on about that being the real world, and too bad - that is corporate america etc etc, but I will NEVER agree. ebaY was NOT started that way - and though the reality has changed - and they have now become just another corrupt big business - I will continue to call them on it, and look for ways to change it, improve it, and insure to the best of my ability the continuance of the belief, that as Ray said- always so much more eloquently than I could ever put it - I have a unshakable belief in the future of P2P business and the force of empowered people. - Rosalinda
posted on October 27, 2000 10:38:31 AM
I agree Rosalinda. But we are up against a mega-giant that is SO out of control, we are basically powerless. That said, maybe a new site will come along that has honesty, integrity and all those other factors that ebaY has not.
I read the story and wondered who will also write about their story and views of this place. It could happen. There is momentum right now.
There is no more powerful force than people who beg for crumbs and get even less.
posted on October 27, 2000 10:49:30 AM
Someone quits their job after selling for two weeks on eBay? I suppose it could happen, but I'd have a hard time taking seriously the opinions of one who would think it appropriate to make such an important decision based on so little experience.
posted on October 27, 2000 11:17:36 AM
I thought the article was very good, however, it is certainly unreasonable to place all the blame on ebay. She found a niche for herself, where she could fairly easily buy locally and resell to a wider audience. It was certainly naive of her not to expect a host of others to do the same. It is the very fact that ebay works so well that is attracting more competitors (since it is so easy to go into business) as well as driving down prices (much more available).
I think the efficiencies of ebay type venues will cause the market for collectible items to hit the brick wall of reality, since shoppers will be much more knowledgeable about prices and availability.
Everyone wants to be in the selling business, but I don't believe there are enough end buyers to support the prices on run-of-the-mill stuff some sellers think they are entitled to.
posted on October 27, 2000 11:21:33 AMFACT. for every well informed seller on the boards who know exactly what is going on at ebaY and reacting accordingly, there are several million in ignorance who - no matter how you cut it - ebaY is stealing from
What is the basis for this fact & what proof do you have to back this up? IMHO, it appears you are assuming there are several million in ignorance. Exactly how do you know this?
I wish the author, Claudia, well, and hope that her finances improve ASAP.
However, the entire basis of the article, to wit:
Terrible NASTY eBay who ruined my life...
This premise simply cannot be reconciled with truth.
When I first came online 1996, there were only several hundred websites for selling books, each year their number increased, and now - who knows how many THOUSANDS of venues one can buy books on.
I actually did NOT come online to find out about eBiz, but for a different reason completely. In my search for locating that other thing, I decided from the get-go to research book collecting and book selling.
I saw the handwriting on the wall the FIRST WEEK I CAME ONLINE!!
TECHNOLOGY CHANGES EVERYTHING!!
Just see what happens to Ol'
Bezos when the REAL CAPITALISTIC RETAIL CORPORATIONS totally understand the uses of the Internet.
LOLOLOLOL!!!!
If you go to the CHILDREN'S section of a bookstore, and scan some of the Internet for kiddies books --- you'll notice that these books have sections on HOW TO SELL ON THE NET.
What the Worldwide Web has done to ALL OF RETAIL makes it EASY for the average 10 year old to sell and buy on this medium.
But, NOoooooooooooo!!!!!
Noooooooooo!!
Lettuce g0 *bonkers* and BASH eBay!!
eBay is the sole cause of poor sales and not enuff bidders!
eBay is responsible for the glut of merchandise online!
eBay is the reason that established online cyberauctioneers can no longer support themselves and their families using online auction venues.
eBay is the CAUSE!!
yeah, - rigHT! LOL!!
Perhaps some economics courses might be advisable for all those who choose to BLAME and *bash* eBay, courses which highlight SUPPLY and DEMAND; courses which delineate for all those eBay Bonkers that there are THOUSANDS OF SITES financed by vulture capitalists giving away FREE merchandise to those who USED to hang out at eBay - even the g00d deals on eBay cannot compare with "Pay ONLY shipping!"
If you could NOT foresee what would happen two years ago, when YOU were making a bundle on eBay, then I suspect that you were among those who FLAMED me for pointing out that MILLIONS of people would come to SELL on eBay, and I was told to not be afraid of competition - LOLOLOL.
It is NOT the fault of eBay, that people refused to make a SAFE SOLID BUSINESS PLAN.
A eBiz plan that took into FULL account the peculiarities and dangers of RELYING on cyber-based sales for FAMILY INCOME.
Without a Business Plan filled with goals to combat these eventualities, NO WONDER someone couldn't pay their rent.
Did she and her mother seriously believe that their success would NOT be imitated -- by millions of other human beings????
posted on October 27, 2000 01:14:48 PM
ANY entrepenuer will tell you..in business there is always risk.
Ebay is not responsible for ANYONE making their living.
It is infact, a venue.
At any time the venue changes we should all be adjusting along with it. Ever vigilant in keeping our eye on OUR FUTURE.
If Ebay changed...it was WE, more than any stockbroker, who would be ths first to see it. And feel the effects.
While I am slightly sympathetic with this gals plight...she had no real guarantee in her previous job either. Not really.
Life is full of problems. Sometimes, you must
adjust...but you should always expect them.
posted on October 27, 2000 01:45:21 PM
The author said "bolderized"
but...
should have been
"bowdlerized."
To expurgete prudishly. After Thomas Bowdler.
- American Heriage
More time reading, less time listing.
More time reading AW boards to see the way the wind blows before spending $$$ on listing and maybe should be diversifying.
I agree with Zeenza. It is a risk and it must be measured.
Though I will agree with the author on the spector of corporate/brand partnering. Lower overhead and hassle for ebay.
I think it is coming. Ebay has huge eyeball glue! "Branding" means trust to the masses.
ack!
Finally Radh...I saw a "How to Sell on Ebay" class in the local "Discover U" flyer (it's an urban adult ed kinda place with a venue separate from any Comm colleges or univerisities). I almost fell over.
Maybe I am part of the glut. Bidders who spread their seller wings. Still fledgling by the standards of a lot of posters. Still learning a LOT here. Also learning to spread it out and experiment with other avenues.
Maybe the real secret is that now that collectibles are so common they aren't so collectible....
or...maybe the simple living zeitgeist is creeping into the collecting one...yoiks!
May all your auctions be good ones!
Capriole
typo
[ edited by Capriole on Oct 27, 2000 01:47 PM ]
posted on October 27, 2000 01:56:19 PM
I agree with Very Modern. I read and enjoyed this story. That the seller was wrong or dumb isn't the point here. But most of us know that already.
And BTW, over on the boards, this has become a great topic of conversation as well. But nobody called the other silly little names. They appreciated it as it was meant to be appreciated. End of story. And no tantrum tactics either.
Anyone bold enough to stop everything else in life to become a seller or run auctions ought to take Business 101 somewhere. But not at ebaY U.
[ edited by millicent_roberts on Oct 27, 2000 01:59 PM ]
posted on October 27, 2000 02:09:52 PM
M_R
You are right to a degree.
But as a media freelancer, it is a painfully typical story: poor victim/evil bad-doer.
It doesn't make such exciting copy to write what a successful ebiz they still have after all the ups and downs. How they manage to gut out slow spells, find new markets, etc.
Radh's spin is soooo right on.
Ebay as monster is easy copy to write, easy narrative to understand etc.
What is complex is how the online person to person market is morphing. That eBay is so huge that even stand-alone business wants a piece of the action.
And if you are going to write for Salon.com at least spell better than your editor (who clearly missed that one!)
Anyhow no tantrum here, just some reality in media (which is sharing news for $$ so why spend it on "boring" articles...right?)
posted on October 27, 2000 02:29:48 PM
The article inspired verbosity to be sure (see attached
I have always been a hot head when it came to ebays failures. I still listed tho. The only thing that would stop me using ebay is if they send out our private info in each end of auction email.
Even tho, I did not have any inventory left after a major life upheaval, I still thought that I could scrape by if I went to school full time, living on child support, local sales when possible and ebay sales.
In fact, it wasnt possible, this town is a wasteland of chipped pottery and cracked and or overpriced Frankoma. Art glass? uck, around here the closest you'll find to it is boyd toothpick holders and chicken dishes.
Even my car is failing me after an accident, I'm afraid to drive it too far to go on a good old fashioned, much needed road trip.
I do my scavenging at ebay...trying to snipe those great deals, and then I turn around barely a day after I receive my treasure and list it on ebay. At times I feel like a vulture doing this, I swallow that feeling right quick tho if I make a buck or ten. It lingers tho, and I know in this tight group of dedicated sellers and buyers of art glass that I am seen doing this over and over.
I know my competition and they know me. I like not the idea that I am building this rep...but hell, I have to do SOMETHING!
Anyway.....I just dropped out of school and got a job. Traded a dream in for another, I can do that so easily it's beginning to scare me. My dreams like the items I love so much seem so easy to sell or trade.
I'll not be selling much on ebay.....I guarantee I'll be buying tho. The prices are ridiculously low and getting lower every month.
Edited to add this:
I do not blame ebay for my failures. I blame them for theirs, I suck mine up and go on. I was never able to sell alot of little items, no attention span whatsoever for things I didnt love to sell. I could not sit here and list a bunch of small priced items all day.... or I would have made it. I can sell what I like and only what I like. I am no true salesperson to be sure.
capriole: Wery interesting to hear from a free-lancer.
Have you by chance read the book entitled, The Culture of COMPLAINT -- I have not finished it, yet, but most of it seems to be a fine, cutting edge analysis of how much of American culture of late has been based upon thE ""CULT"" OF THE VICTIM.
Victimization sells.
However, this cult of victimization breeds a high incidence of clinical Learned Helplessness, where one focuses upon things that tend to paralyze one all the more, breeding irresponsibility, negative feelings of NO control.
There are SO MANY variables in the eBiz of a cyberauction microbusiness, that FEW bankers would EVER okay ANY loan for such a venture. TOO many variables over which one has NO control.
AND, finally, for alla the people who wanna BASH eBay for its corporate partnership with that ""big ol' bad" DISNEY --- if I had to place bets, I'd bet on the odds which say that had Amazon.com brought that """"nasty"""" big capitalistic corporation under its wing, that you'dcha be extolling the """""brilliance"""" of Mr. Bezos.
So, you mean to tell me that *I* actually believe that it would be better for liddle widdle itsy bitsy teensie weensie microbusinesses, were Michael Eisner to produce his very own separate online Disney Auctions?
That idea is as ludicrous as attempting to tell me that it would be better for sole proprietors had AOL developed its own auctions, instead of partnering with eBay.
When I first came online, it took me less than 72 hours to ask myself, "GeesH, what's gonna happen when 5 million copies of the SAME title are listed online for sale?
eBay is NOT responsible for my thinking this, NOR is it responsible for sellers who did NOT look at the Internet & TECHNOLOGY and wonder, omigawd - What will be the end results of this remarkable evolutionary advance for Humanity?
NOW........ TO *important* matters:
Does anybody by chance know what the userid of the author is????
I'd like to look at her auctions, and I suspect that MANY lurkers here, would like to, too.
posted on October 27, 2000 02:57:03 PMI also saw the article as being a well written piece designed for the Salon audience - with tales of buried treasure, success and failure brought on by forces both internal and external - with the added (and necessary) element of the villian (ebaY) who puts the final nail in the coffin by lying and cheating its unsuspecting heroin.
I saw it as a work of fiction. Entertaining and based loosely on (but not constrained by) the facts. With lots of exaggeration and melodrama thrown in for good measure.
The author, were she sincere in her desire to succeed, could have spent the time she used writing the article to hone her selling skills.
Anyone who takes 60 hours to list 50 auctions, few of which sell, never really had the skills to begin with.
[ edited by fountainhouse on Oct 27, 2000 02:58 PM ]
posted on October 27, 2000 03:03:41 PM
The collectibles market will be forever changed because of ebay radh. This is a good thing and a bad thing. There are reasons to cry and reasons to celebrate.
The only antique dealers not affected are the ones that sell high High HIGH end stuff.
You can't make light of it or make it sound like people are crying over it for nothing. There is one single antique store left in town, the invetory never changes. The only reason they are there is because they opened a bed and breakfast above stairs and they have dealers that are desperately hanging on to the flesh and bone world of sales.
They dont want to sell their items for pennies on the dollar. This area is stagnant anyway and where would they get new stuff if they took a loss on all the old stuff. http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/[email protected]/
posted on October 27, 2000 03:15:19 PM
I have no intention of writing to or about Salon.com. Never even heard of it until this morning. And I did consider that this person did self-destruct herself, so to speak.
However, that does not mean that a so called "auction" site can treat its members to change after change, breakdown after breakdown and expect them to be happy about it. When it effects my pockets. I don't think anyone will disagree about that?
And save the yada yada on vulture captalists, or whoever. I really don't care. Honest! There are more things in this life than eBay, Inc. That much I know for sure
I have NO interest in her ID or her auctions.
Who knows, maybe she got really smart and split!
[ edited by millicent_roberts on Oct 27, 2000 03:20 PM ]
posted on October 27, 2000 04:14:28 PM
Kitsch1: you state, "You can't make light of it or make it sound like people are crying over it for nothing."
~ ~ ~ ~
Sure I can!
I researched and delved into this topic excessively over two and a half years ago, BEFORE I even registered at eBay.
Just like alla that DOWNSIZING in the 80s, so too, there will be MASSIVE changes in ALL forms of retail - due to the Worldwide Web.
Technology has changed EVERYTHING!!
AND.... we ain't even seen nuthin' yet of all the economic dislocations and massive disruptions and change~change~change that is bearing down upon us.
The Future is approaching at break neck speed, and wonder of wonders -- it AIN'T eBay's fault.
posted on October 27, 2000 04:16:56 PM
I didn't read all the posts in this board but I did read the article. Very good and Very well written. However quite unbelievable as Claudia O'Keefe in case noone has heard of her is an accomplished writer. Yes thats right a writer so doubt seriously that she is being evicted or having any money problems.
Anyway it was a great article and I am sure it has happened to alot of people but I guess thats what they mean by Don't put all your apples in one basket or is it eggs?
Anyway, I just thought I would throw in my 2 cents worth. Thanks for the link I am still reading the stories they'll be great to read during Ebay Downtime!
[ edited by Capriole on Oct 27, 2000 01:47 PM ]
