posted on January 27, 2004 07:06:51 PM new
Hi Everybody,
Seems like there have ALWAYS been problems with AOL Users getting their WBN's etc., but the last week to 10 days, it's been almost every one of my customers that use AOL have not gotten their WBN's or Reminders, etc.
Anybody have an idea as to why & how to get around this?? It's gotten to where I cringe when I have an auction close with an AOL using winner!!
posted on January 27, 2004 07:24:35 PM new
It's not AOL per se. I have won hundreds of auctions under using AOL for all my communications, and have never missed getting a post auction invoice from a seller (Vendio sellers included), or a bid confirm or an end of auction notice from ebay.
The spam situation is getting so bad that sellers and companies like vendio need to get the major info efficiently in the sender and message slots in a way that does not set off all the spam filters. That will mean less verbage and less co-branding in the trigger lines so it looks less like a Vendio or other company solicitation. Complaining about people's spam filters means the messages are arriving looking like spam--and if they do, they deserve to be filtered out.
posted on January 27, 2004 07:37:54 PM new
Hi passedtothepresent !
Right, I soooo agree with you & a few years ago, edited all my Notices, whether Vendio sends them for me or I send them through my own Outlook Express, to not include any of the typical words, etc., that are associated with spam. It corrected any/all of the problems I was having at the time - EXCEPT for AOL users. If it weren't an AOL issue, then there would always be roughly the same amount of AOL'ers & non-AOL'ers not getting the Notices, but I'd say it is, maybe, 9 to 1 right now, and previous to the past 1-2 weeks, it was typically maybe 7 to 1, so I do have to respectfully disagree with you about it being an AOL issue. Perhaps, you having had no problems yourself is anecdotal, since it appears to be a common issue with many, many seller's I have come in contact with and also reading the boards at eBay.
posted on January 27, 2004 10:34:04 PM new
Hi Biffette.
Sorry. I didn't mean to say AOL is not an issue for sellers (I also sell). The info I gave was meant to be helpful for non-AOL users sending email to people with AOL-- not to imply you were not noticing what you noticed with AOL email users. My case merely demonstrates it is very possible to use AOL and consistently never lose any seller emails.
So why do the emails disappear....
AOL's system has some features that make it more sensitive to spam and more likely that the buyer will not recognize the sender. For instance:
--the default line sizes for the sender and the subject messages are quite short, and many users do not know that they can move the column widths like a spreadsheet to see more information or reset the column width defaults. If the recognizable info isn't in the first 10-15 characters of the message, it can go unrecognized.
--Also, AOL now includes a prominent "report and block" button. That makes it exceptionally easy for a person to hit that button as the reflex knee jerk response to handle anything that looks like spam or isn't recognized. Once that button is hit, that sending address is permanently blocked and never again appears in the inbox.
That being the case, my suggestion to sellers having problems with AOL users is to send a few emails through the ebay links to enquire what the reason was the email (with such and such sending address on it) was not recognized. The user is able to access their blocked address box and unblock it which solves the problem at least with that buyer for that and future emails. Plus if everyone is saying similar things it provides clues on how best we re-write the sender and subject info yet again.
We can also suggest to the AOL user that they not use the send and block button as their first line of defense. Many don't know that there any spam blockers that work with AOL (none of the major ones like SpamKiller and McAfee do). Spam Inspector is a cheap program compatible with AOL to handle the spam AOL doesn't block, an all filtered mail can be reviewed during the automatic but not permanent block. Many AOL uers are looking for such a program and can't find one, so they are resorting to the send and block button for everything not obvious.
That was not said to imply you have not diligently worked to do your emails the best possible. The motive was just to provide some helpful info to those emailing AOL users that can result in more emails getting through, and blocked emails getting reinstated. If there is a way to become a Spam Inspector affiliate, you might even be able to get paid for your extra effort emailing them if they sign up for it
