posted on May 1, 2002 01:40:45 PM new
25,000 sellers is not even onough of a percentage of ebay members to make ebay sit up and take notice
Personally, I never bite the hand that feeds me.
ebay is successful, because we are successful, we are successful because ebay it successful.
Get the picture.
outages are a fact of life in any business,
nothing is perfect.
posted on May 1, 2002 02:31:14 PM new
This thread keeps getting better and better. Now, they want to have eBay provide health insurance to sellers. I thought that was a function of a company for its employees.
Where is the fear at? The fear that I am going to give you $ 19.99 and $ 5.00 a month for a t-short and an e-mail notice. Also I have the right to vote on a strike in which we do not post auctions on eBay and go to the alternate site. Meanwhile, all the bidders are still on eBay.
If you do not like the fees, try one of the other sites like haggle or bv.
posted on May 1, 2002 04:47:18 PM new
One thing that stands out to me about that site is the lack of information.
Who are the people that run the site? Where's the contact information? It looks like the founders wish to remain anonymous. That in itself should scare people off.
Where's the information as to their membership base. How many people have joined? Where does the money go? What happens to the money if this idea never gets off of the ground? Do they keep it or do people get their money back?
If these people are soliciting for members on this discussion board, maybe they should answer a few questions.
posted on May 1, 2002 05:22:34 PM new
Have you noticed. They haven't been back in to post since the original one. I'll take odds that they never do. They will never show their faces after what they have been reading hear. Do people think that everyone is dumb, other than themselves? It must have taken all of a half hour to think of this scheme. I might not like what ebay does sometimes, but if I don't like it I can leave. I have no complaints about eBay. I know where they stand, I understand their terms and I follow rules very good.
posted on May 1, 2002 05:32:21 PM new
Opps! I missed that long essay by EASU. They did return and give us the same song and dance. Well, I for one will or would not join first a union and second especially this one. I worked for many years, never belonged to a union, I had equal pay to the males, I worked along side and got my raises the same as them. I am retired and just have fun selling, why would I want to change that. Sorry about all the posts but if I had read them all I wouldn't have to retract my statements.
posted on May 1, 2002 05:39:33 PM new
easu wrote: Why can’t eBay provide us with a comprehensive health plan as one of you suggested?
I occasionally consign items with Sotheby’s and Christie’s. Do you think you could get them to provide me with health insurance also? For that matter how about getting Starbucks and my local grocer to insure me, since I frequent them as well? What a silly statement. Surly you understand the difference between a customer and an employee.
In the competitive marketplace we deal in, the customer decides which businesses make it, which do not, what they can charge, and more specifically, whether ebay’s fees are acceptable. In typical unionese, it looks like you think you’re smarter than us en-mass. You’re not. If ebay raises it’s fees to the point that we can’t make money, you better believe another auction site will be happy to provide us with a comparable service. It looks as if you’re trying to satisfy a demand that doesn’t exist.
BTW, how do I get my free T-shirt? I mean, you did say they are free didn’t you??
posted on May 1, 2002 06:11:31 PM new
This is truly funny. Health insurance? So what happens next? Sellers who smoke too much while they are listing can sue ebay if they get lung cancer?
posted on May 1, 2002 07:45:33 PM new
When the union includes paid vacation and holidays, plus sick leave for sellers, I will think about paying $19.95 plus monthly dues.
Seriously, my problems with ebay are not the fees per se, but the mis-allocation of their resources.
The technical head got a half miilion dollar bonus? What about all the problems, the glitches, the incompatabilities, the clunkiness of the site. And don't forget the "enhancements" which are added willy-nilly and foul up segments of the site for weeks after they are introduced.
Or the great ebay marketing team which thinks burger promotions and points programs are great (or used to) ways to get more bidders.
Now these are issues I can relate to, since any improvement in these areas will result in more sales for everyone.
As a seller I am not afraid to spend money to make money. That's the way marketing works. The point I would like to get across to ebay is that I want to pay them more fees. That would mean I am selling more.
posted on May 2, 2002 12:01:18 AM new
Sing along with Pete Seegar, Odetta, Oscar Brand, Leadbelly, Woody & Britney the chorus to that ole battle song: "FeeBay Maid"...
"Oh you can't stop me I'm sticking with the feeBay!
I'm sticking with the feeBay!
I'm sticking with the feeBay!
No, you can't stop me I'm sticking with the feeBay,
I'm sticking with the feeBay till the day I die!"
posted on May 2, 2002 08:43:41 AM new
I finally had the guts to decide to open my own B&M store in addition to eBay selling, which I've done sporadically for 5 years. (I lost my 9-? slave labor position, so it was a good omen!)
I now HAVE to make all this work. I think the idea behind EASU is good, and I'm all for unions (should be one for secretaries...), but I don't think this has a prayer.
I've tried all kinds of auction sites...free listings, etc. But NO buyers. Go to Bay9, or any of the other newbies. NO buyers, despite the banner ads, etc.
EBay DOES advertise - full page ads in slick monthlies is NOT CHEAP. Neither is prime air time. Sure, I think I'm getting gouged on fees, but at least I'm SELLING, not just LISTING!! EBay is doing a good job of drawing in new customers all the time.
My thought is that rather than lower the fees, they might just offer a bit better service in the reliability department. Sigh.
I DO miss the old days, when there were few people selling pallet-loads of sleazy imports, and when people bid high on real collectibles. (Anybody need a Tabasco Beanie??) But the market is what it is. And if people want to buy it, someone will list it.
And where else can you have so dam much fun working???!!!
posted on May 2, 2002 12:51:51 PM new
I think the point is that it to be a union, then you have to an employee. However, I do not think that EASU.net is legit. How can it be in that they are charging you a fee in the hopes that they can lower the fees we pay when we list.
With a labor union, there is federal oversight and employee oversite. There are also brick and mortor locations for the union members to go to. If they call a stike against ebay, how would you get the bidder to go to the alternative site and do they any idea the costs in hosting such a site. The history on their web page is a history of the labor movement, it has nothing to do with posting auctions on eBay. Working as an employee and trying to make money on eBay are two different things, and once some government agency finds out about this scam, it is doomed to be shut down.
This is not a union, just some jokers that want to make a buck off of us thinking that we would be stupid enough to fall for it.
P.S. My father was in a real labor union for years, when he saw this, he fell out of his chair laughing.
posted on May 3, 2002 10:09:17 AM new
The idea of a sellers union, evoking America’s labor history with benefits and strikes, is just plain silly and not very well thought out. A more viable concept would be a seller’s co-op similar to that offered by many trade organizations. I’m not talking semantics here. Farmers have used these for years.
Ask your independent optometrist where he buys the eye glasses he sells. He probably belongs to a co-op that buys in bulk and really does pass the savings on. These organizations do not make money on dues like unions. They are incentivized to produce, by adding a small markup to the items their members buy at a discount. No discount, no sales. No sales, no income. True, there might be nominal membership fees to offset administrative costs, but these are usually small and not designed to be the profit centers that unions use dues for. The benefits could be substantial and include savings on shipping, supplies, inventory(?), and yes, even health plans.
I know there are some generic small business trade organizations out there. Wouldn’t it be nice to have one concerned with the issues discussed on this board? The system is new and the rules are still being written. Most of the writing is being done by ebay (and PayPal to a degree). A sellers trade organization, with paid lobbyists to help form laws, might be the more effective way to protect our interests.
Offering to attack ebay with a strike, publicized on CNN, is a heavy-handed tactic designed to cause damage, not foster relations between businesses that really do have a common goal. Give it up easu. Welcome to the 21st century.
posted on May 3, 2002 12:10:04 PM new
Ok great, handling of the money is the first issue to discuss. This is not about scamming people or putting money in someone’s pocket. All moneys collected are accounted for. Nothing is set in stone. If the t-shirt has no value to some of you that is totally fine, it cost us $5 to make the t-shirt and on average another $5 to pack ship and insure it, leaving $9.99 per new member for the union.
Lets get it strait what we are discussing here, yes eBay does give you something for your money, yes EASU.Net is a new idea, but let say all collected moneys were accountable. Let say we could actually use this money to maybe change eBay to help us the sellers make more money in less time. Don't be cynical and sarcastic this is possible. Let us work together to build tools that work for us. EASU.Net is trying to work with you but you have to want to work together. It was never and will never be about the money. It is about the possibility that our numbers present. Surely an you see that EASU.Net is build on the basis of working by Sellers for Sellers.
So the first big issue we have to solve is how do we create a system in which everyone feels that there is fair accountability to Union Moneys collected. This is the first an most important issue on your minds so lets hash it out and see what we can come up with.
Someone suggested a cooperative site, does anyone know what it is and how it is doing. This in our opinion sounds like a great idea, if enough people are involved to generate a critical mass of interest resulting in a chain reaction of buyers and sellers. For some time Yahoo Auctions! were siphoning many disgruntled eBay sellers, because they where FREE. When the Internet bubble burst and they slapped sellers with fees 80% of the yahoo users ran away, most grudgingly came back to the only game in town eBay. Yes they are cheaper than brick and mortar, and they have the traffic. Buy why can't we ask for any try to get more for ourselves. Working together I know we can solve any problem.
Please do email back with your questions inquiries and suggestions. Lets keep this fire burning. Best Regards EASU.Net [email protected]
posted on May 3, 2002 01:31:39 PM new
If it were April 1 instead of May 3 I would think this is an April Fool's joke. Ebay sellers unioninize, hahahahaha...When did I become an employee of Ebay????
posted on May 3, 2002 04:55:13 PM newHe probably belongs to a co-op that buys in bulk and really does pass the savings on.
Interesting concept, that. A sufficiently-capitalized co-operative organization with some clout (i.e. a goodly number of members) might very well cut a deal with eBay for fee credits at a discount...and resell those fee credits to its members at a slightly higher price (but still less than one pays on eBay).
For the scoffers out there: How do you think membership stores work, anyway? Costco has clout with the manufacturers because it buys in huge quantities. And we're willing to pay $35 a year to be a member because we know we save far more than that over the course of a year.
posted on May 3, 2002 04:57:51 PM new
Then call it a co-op, don't call it a union. In my mind, a union has negative connotations. It really is not a union. If they got big enough to negotiate with ebay for their members, then more power to them. But it still is not anything like a union.
1) Who are you and the rest of the people who own and operate the site? If you wish to remain Anonymous why should anyone believe a word you say? Put that information on your site along with contact info.
2) How many members have currently signed on with your union?
3) What happens to the money people pay if your union never gets off of the ground? Will you provide refunds of the membership fee and dues?
posted on May 5, 2002 05:36:02 AM new
I think there should be a Buyer's Union to protect the interests of the buyers (whose money, after all, is the real support of both eBay and eBay sellers).
