posted on September 17, 2001 07:06:08 PM
I would rather send a check to the charity of my choice,which I plan to do tomorrow.This is like E-Bay taking up tithes for the Church!JeeZ...
posted on September 17, 2001 07:38:40 PM
While I do think this is a self serving publicity grab on ebay's part there are some benefits to participating. I looked at some of the Auction for America items in my category and they seem to be getting unusually high bids which means more money for the charity perhaps more than a seller could donate on their own. Buyers might also be more inclined to bid wildly if they know for sure that all proceeds will go to the charity as opposed to a seller who they can't check up on.
Billpoint is pretty scary from a chargeback perspective, but I think I will pick a few good items and post them for the cause, hell I'll even ship international (ouch).
Forgot to add that on a strictly mercenary note it never hurts to make buyers in your category aware of your "brand", and many of these auctions are getting hundreds of hits, which might outweigh the cost of eating the shipping.
posted on September 17, 2001 08:37:00 PM
OK-I went and looked at some of the AFA auctions as suggested by another poster and yes many have FREE shipping mentioned in their ad and some say S/H $$. Many say "I prefer PP".
At the top of each ad there is a box that says:
Important:You must pay for this item using eBay Online Payments so that all proceeds can be sent to this charity.
Now we all know people can read, but sometimes misunderstand what's being said.
Billpoint is not mentioned by name it says eBay Online Payments so I could easily assume that means any online payment service....well I could.
If someone bids, wins and automatically sends payment with PP, what's going to happen?
Even IF eBay requires all references to any other online service be deleted from the currently running auctions, there is bound to be some buyer who sends the payment through PP anyway cause they don't ordinarily use BP.
This is going to be a mess. For both buyers and sellers!
posted on September 17, 2001 08:51:35 PM
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010917/wr/attack_tech_ebay_dc_1.html
eBay Adds Charity Auction to Benefit Terror Victims
PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) - The popular Internet auction site eBay Inc. (Nasdaq:EBAY - news) on Monday opened a charitable auction site to benefit victims of last week's attacks, and challenged itself to raise $100 million in the 100 days its ``Auction for America'' will run.
A spokesman for eBay said sellers Monday listed some 5,000 items -- including cell phones, jewelry and diet pills -- on the Auction for America site, which will forward all proceeds to last week's victims. Visitors may also go to the site (http://pages.ebay.com/auctionforamerica/) to donate cash.
There was no immediate indication on how much money had been raised the first day but one of the higher-priced items, a diamond and sapphire ring from Tiffany's, was being offered for $8,000.
The company said it also had its engineers and staff at work on additional charity services that would be up and running once they were technologically feasible.
posted on September 18, 2001 02:03:44 AM
uhh, i voted no. thanks for the link.
my contribution:
1. the item itself
2. time to measure (somewhat lengthy process with clothing) and describe
3. the time to shoot, reshoot, edit the photos
4. listing (tonight, it took me twenty minutes to list one item! something's goofed up on the listing page, with both i.e. and netscape)
5. sending out e.o.a.s, packing, shipping, paying for shipping
6. signing up for billpoint, which i don't take
ebay's contribution:
1. listing fees
2. server space for my listing
3. fvfs
buyer's contribution:
... um, nothing? they get the item, free shipping, and to feel good that the money they're paying goes to a relief fund.
it's hard enough to make a living on ebay as a seller. i'm sure i'm not the only one who has a lot of catching up to do, due to last week. thanks, but no thanks. i've already contributed directly to the red cross through paypal. ebay should have done it the same way. i applaud ebay for how they handled the wtc items, but this is just p.r. for ebay, with sellers bearing by far the brunt of the cost.
