jsbrock
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posted on January 22, 2002 08:31:05 PM new
I have to ask this because I seem to be experiencing some unacceptable delays in test emails I have sent myself as well as user queries from eBay. Now I'm starting to wonder if Mail Relay is the reason I have received no contact from 2 high bidders that are noted for their speed in concluding transactions.
Is this service a mail relay or a black hole and is there anyway to tell if mail is not making it through? I think I better switch back to my real address, but I have to wonder if and how much mail may not have made it to me?
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jsbrock
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posted on January 23, 2002 03:47:47 AM new
Oh yea there's definitely a problem with Mail Relay. I switched back to my real address and re-requested the user queries from eBay and got them in less than a minute, I still haven't received the 2 I ordered when I was using Mail Relay or the test emails I sent to myself.
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AW , you may want to actually monitor this system as it has the potential to choke off someone's business completely. I'm sorry to report this since I am generally very pleased with AW services.
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[ edited by jsbrock on Jan 23, 2002 04:32 AM ]
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Antelope67
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posted on January 23, 2002 04:39:59 AM new
I was wondering the same thing just within the last 24 hours or so. I thought it was ebay. I listed 6 auctions yesterday and only received 1 listing confirmation. I had one auction end with a BIN last night and I received no EOA email from ebay and the auction only moved from Active to Ended because I was logged into the site (and then it was 3 hours after the ended time on the auction itself). I had to sit and refresh that auction for 20 minutes to get it to send out the "automated" WBN. I have been getting my personal emails or at least some of them. Unsure how many I was supposed to get but I have at least been getting some. For the most part, I like the relay thing. It has worked pretty well up until the last day or so. Thank you for looking into this matter.
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Antelope67
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posted on January 23, 2002 05:10:12 AM new
I emailed myself a test email thru the relay and got it right away. Maybe the problem is with ebay. A chain is only as strong as the weakest link, in this case the weakest link is ebay's email system. If ebay doesn't send out an EOA email or their system is late then a WBN for a BIN will either be late or won't go out at all. I still have not received the other 5 listing confirmations from ebay and still no EOA email from ebay for the BIN last night.
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SonyaCS
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posted on January 23, 2002 09:00:17 AM new
Hi Jsbrock,
Antelope67 is correct -- if you are using Mail Relay, the WBN will go out directly when the End of Auction notice is sent by eBay. Sometimes those go out right away, other times there is a delay. As long as you have your mailrelay address stored correctly on eBay and also in your AW My Account tab in Auction Site Specifics, you should be able to receive any messages sent to you through the "ask seller" form as well.
-Sonya
Got Questions? Check out AuctionWatch.com's Customer Service center at http://www.auctionwatch.com/service !
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jsbrock
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posted on January 23, 2002 09:14:48 AM new
Thanks, but my concern isn't about eBay sending out their notices late (which they often do thus rendering Mail Relay somewhat useless anyway...).
-- I requested 2 user queries from eBay that never arrived when using mailstep. Changed back to my real address re-requested and received them in under a minute.
-- Sent test emails directly to my mailstep address (not through eBay), never received them. Test emails sent to real address received in under a minute.
-- NEW: I rarely receive any SPAM at my real eBay address, but today received about 20 hits from some address in the UK to the mailstep address (which I haven't widely disseminated)
I have already gone back to using my real address, but what I would like to know now is if there some way to opt out of mail relay completely so that I don't have to wade through SPAM in my inbox?
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jsbrock
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posted on January 23, 2002 09:23:01 AM new
Here is part of an email I just received from a customer that tried to contact me while I was using Mail Relay (and yes all my settings were correct, it worked fine for awhile):
I greatly apologize for this inconvenience sir, i tried contacting through ebay but i kept getting a message from them that your email address wasn't accesible..... i will pay with paypal this week sir. . . sorry
The sad thing is, I've probably already antagonized this guy because I thought he had no intention of completing the sale. Now I have to finesse this sale in order to avoid my 1st neg in over 1300+ sales.
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SonyaCS
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posted on January 23, 2002 09:37:35 AM new
Hi Jsbrock,
I just tested MailRelay and it came through instantly to my MailRelay address. I apologize for the trouble you were having -- what was the timeframe for the problems you experienced?
-Sonya
Got Questions? Check out AuctionWatch.com's Customer Service center at http://www.auctionwatch.com/service !
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jsbrock
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posted on January 23, 2002 09:49:30 AM new
Well it would seem that it dates back to at least 1-21-02 when the customer had trouble contacting me. The test messages were sent and user queries requested last nite see times on my previous posts.
Might I suggest that if this service is going to be offered that there be away to really turn it off. As it stands anybody that knows your AW ID has a pipeline into your inbox. It's a little like installing a back door on someone's house without their permission and not even including a lock.
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SonyaCS
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posted on January 23, 2002 10:09:40 AM new
Hi Jsbrock,
Thank you for your input. I will keep an eye out for other issues like these. I haven't seen any similar reports of this happening.
-Sonya
Got Questions? Check out AuctionWatch.com's Customer Service center at http://www.auctionwatch.com/service !
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Antelope67
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posted on January 23, 2002 10:13:16 AM new
jsbrock brought up a good point. The email I use for ebay I've had for about 2 years with almost 0 spam until the last few weeks. Maybe this is where they are coming from? I can always change things around as I have 5+ emails but will be ditching one of them as it was the first one I ever had (3+ years) and currently gets 150+ spams per day. But I still have 4 others to fall back on and can open other ones if/when necessary. There still should be a way to prevent this though.
I tested my relay and it seems to be working but ebay is sending some emails and not others and last time I checked their message boards there was no notices of email problems on their end, only search difficulties.
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DianaAW
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posted on January 23, 2002 10:31:31 AM new
Hi everybody,
We have located the source of the problem you are reporting, regarding delayed and/or undeliverable emails. The problem started at approximately 11:45 Monday, and was resolved at around 10:00 am today, Pacific. During this timeframe, mailstep emails may have been delayed or not delivered.
Please accept our apologies for this, and any resulting inconvenience. You should no longer experience any delays in receiving email through mailstep.
Regards,
Diana
[ edited by DianaAW on Jan 23, 2002 10:48 AM ]
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Antelope67
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posted on January 23, 2002 10:35:04 AM new
Yes, the relay is where the spam is coming from. I just got one and checked out the full header containing the return path. It was sent to the AW relay and was from the uk unless it was emailed via a reroute of some sort as one email I received yesterday gave the ISP and said something about the ISP may be forged. Very strange indeed. I'm gonna change my email so that any emails coming through the relay will go to a different email address. Please look into this issue. I save headers so if you need to see one, I'll email it to you if you send your email address. I'd rather not have the full header posted on the AW message boards as my real email is in it as well.
[ edited by Antelope67 on Jan 23, 2002 10:37 AM ]
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jsbrock
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posted on January 23, 2002 10:41:22 AM new
Just received another spam email that referenced an invalid eBay item # in the title through mail relay (even though I no longer use it). I have the sinking feeling that I am going to have to dump my current email address and most likely AW as well if mail relay can't be blocked.
All somebody has to do to harvest these addresses is go to eBay search for AW listing with gallery links and presto they've got a nice yummy database of sellers involved in eccomerce to spam. Please, please, please make a way to really opt out of this fiasco.
Before mail relay I received maybe 1 spam a month.
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jsbrock
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posted on January 23, 2002 10:43:12 AM new
Yep, I've been getting this EURO trash all day and it really sucks having to wade through it to find auction related emails. Come on AW you're killin me here...
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DianaAW
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posted on January 23, 2002 10:50:41 AM new
Hi -- I'm sorry about the spam you are receiving - I will pass this by our engineering group and see if there is any potential solution.
Thanks,
Diana
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jsbrock
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posted on January 23, 2002 10:51:10 AM new
I've been submitting these to www.spamcop.net all day. They seem to be coming from www.ntlworld.com
In a sad way I'm just glad I'm not being specifically targeted, I thought I had unwittingly incurred the wrath of a nut despite my best efforts to avoid such situations.
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jsbrock
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posted on January 23, 2002 11:03:45 AM new
Word to the wise for all AW users, better install/update your antivirus program now before you lose a hard drive full of info due to this foul up.
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ChristopherCS
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posted on January 23, 2002 11:46:17 AM new
Hi jsbrock,
While we understand your frustration with the Spam you are receiving, it is unnecessary to paste the mail you receive in this thread.
Thank you for your patience while we investigate where the actual Spam may be coming from.
Christopher
Got Questions? Check out AuctionWatch.com's Customer Service center at http://www.auctionwatch.com/service
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