RebelGuns
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posted on October 22, 2000 07:22:56 PM
The threat to boycott eBay got world-wide attention last year. No, we didn't manage to get thousands to go over to Yahoo, Amazon, etc., but we did manage to get eBay to get its act together. The international coverage WE (posters on Auction Watch) generated saw even eBay stock dramatically plunge. I personally got calls for interviews from CNN/CNET, Boston Globe and Singapore! Is it time to strike again???
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kathyg
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posted on October 22, 2000 07:44:11 PM
You go first.
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RebelGuns
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posted on October 22, 2000 07:47:58 PM
I usually do...
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VeryModern
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posted on October 22, 2000 07:48:36 PM
Actually, thousands did list other venues. Otherwise how did Yahoo wind up with 2.5 mil + auctions?
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twelvepole
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posted on October 22, 2000 07:51:34 PM
There was a boycott last year?
Ain't Life Grand... 
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RebelGuns
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posted on October 22, 2000 07:51:53 PM
CNN/CNET
Some eBay customers warn they'll bolt
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-342812.html?st.ne.lh..ni
CNN/CNET
eBay outages enrage users
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-343530.html?tag=st.cn.sr1.dir.
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amy
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posted on October 22, 2000 08:03:01 PM
Must have been an invisable rebellion.
Sure didn't stop ebay from growing. And since you want to boycott again, doesn't look like it really forced ebay to "get their act together".
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zeenza
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posted on October 22, 2000 08:03:46 PM
Ebay history shows that Boycotts have NEVER been effective.
Individually, we will all have to accept the inevitable or simply move on quietly.
JMHO
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RebelGuns
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posted on October 22, 2000 08:08:57 PM
I assume the nay-sayers were not involved in last year's action, nor got to sit back and watch eBay stock plunge as the stories hit the newspapers and the internet.
EBay service improved remarkably in the weeks following the action.
They have allowed their network to deteriorate again. When the stock plunges again, they will make the investment.
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bobbysoxer
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posted on October 22, 2000 08:12:54 PM
RebelGun
I was very much involved in the boycott and I disagree with your assessment with the results. eBay did back off a little with the reserve policy but other than that IMHO there was no affect.
I agree with those who you labeled as "nay-sayers."
not bobbysoxer on eBay
[email protected]
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RebelGuns
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posted on October 22, 2000 08:17:02 PM
I disagree with your assessment. If eBay had not improved, we would not have backed off.
I suppose you think the stock plunging coinciding with the CNET series was coincidental?
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radh
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posted on October 22, 2000 08:23:48 PM
eBay is UNSTOPPABLE!
eBay will cover the globe, it will be EVERYWHERE.
What happens to us is of absolutely NO consequence -- we are dust motes in the mighty tomes of History. We will not even be so much as a footnote in the Annals of Time.
I still find it quite extraordinary that a major corporation who exaults the g00dness of Humanity, would simultaneously allow so much evil.
Behind that mirage you are staring at -- behind that monitor, lurk the Billionaire Babbit Brats, and frankly big business was always kinda pathetically boring, much less how truly abjectly pathetic e-commerce is.
In other words, the reason most of us are here is NOT the reason they are here. And for each of us that finally YAWNS and says, omigawd - these people cannot SEE the OBVIOUS -- EACH ONE OF US MALCONTENTS WILL BE REPLACED BY 100+ NEWBIES.
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kathyg
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posted on October 22, 2000 08:35:16 PM
radh: Wish I shared your approval of the eBay concept, but I don't. eBay is no Microsoft, not even close. Microsoft will become a a runner-up in history to Standard Oil, perhaps even surpass them. eBay is more analagous to Pet Rocks.
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bobbysoxer
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posted on October 22, 2000 09:00:25 PM
The boycott of 1999 was during the off season. I wonder why not during the peak season.
The stock is/was a mute point.
not bobbysoxer on eBay
[email protected]
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RebelGuns
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posted on October 22, 2000 09:09:09 PM
Ebay was having a series of multiday crashes during this period of time.
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RebelGuns
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posted on October 22, 2000 09:12:47 PM
Also during this period eBay was being VERY unresponsive to folks who had joined here at AuctionWatch. There were also other problems as well. Within weeks, very nearly all of the complaints were addressed, including raising the maximum "credit" a poster could build-up before being cut off.
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bobbysoxer
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posted on October 22, 2000 09:34:31 PM
To me the boycott was not effective (in August? puleese! I'm impressed--NOT!).
That is my opinion and there is nothing you can say or do to sway it.
radh:
Thanks! I agree with your post BTW.
not bobbysoxer on eBay
[email protected]
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uaru
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posted on October 22, 2000 09:45:57 PM
Am I unhappy with the service interruptions? YES
Am I unhappy with some of eBay's policies? YES
Am I ready to move to another auction service? DEFINITELY NOT
A call for a boycott isn't necessary. If eBay's frustration factor exceeds it's satisfaction factor then the buyers will move, the sellers have no choice but to follow the buyers.
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eoi
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posted on October 22, 2000 10:31:14 PM
Before August I have about 90% of my sales on ebay, since then it has been about 60-70%. Amazon gets a big piece, but not thru the auctions, I found it was easier to sell stuff directly to amazon.
I wasn't too happy when ebay bought half.com, as I had about 10% of eggs in that basket.
I've been using a new site called gothicauctions.com which is pretty good for stuff that fits the gothic genre, but since they are free I list a mix of non-genre stuff there. The bidders are little more flakey (more kids).
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Libra63
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posted on October 22, 2000 11:19:41 PM
I guess I don't understand a boycott of ebay. There are to many sellers that depend on the cash flow to do it and if you do it during the peak time that means less food on the table for some people. A full boycott will never work. I for one would never boycott them over a long period of time. I did about 5 months ago not list on a certain day when everyone else said they weren't but I did the next day. I need the revenue that I get from ebay to pay my medical insurance and medicine so I have to do some auctions a month. I have been to other auction sites and find less bidders there than on a slow day in ebay. Sure, I get upset when ebay is down but as you know things happen. Nothing is for sure. I worked in a hospital in the Cat Scan department and talk about down time, we were probably down 25% of the time. Computers are not human, and either is the internet or ebay. Humans run it but they are only as good as the programs and equipment. With a base as large as ebay, outages will happen. Of course there is no good time to go down. Think about all the programs they have and all the html etc. they have to do. I find it unbelieveable they aren't down more. Traffic is heavy in ebay heavier than in Yahoo or Amazon. I want to say I am a seller, I do not work for ebay, it might sound like it but I don't. Let's be thankful that there is a place like ebay to sell our wares and maybe there are some sellers that have gotten the American Dream. This is just my opinion.
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cozmo227
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posted on October 23, 2000 01:40:19 AM
Libra63
I'm sure most dealers depend on eBay or they wouldn't be there. They depend on eBay, but they don't depend on you. Really eBay takes you for granted, you need to recognize that.
You are the exact reason they will push everybody around, they know you "depend" on them and won't leave. You need them for the money, but they are the same way only in a bigger way, you are a means to the really big money.
As long as they know you depend on them as you say, they will use you to get to the next level. They will use and abuse you until they get there and when they do, you will be toast, you're no longer needed.
If you are totally dependent on one source for income, you should do just as they would, diversify. If you have a problem with your main source of income, use that to motivate you to explore other sites.
After a lot of problems with eBay we have started to run a lot of auctions on Amazon. It wasn't very successful at first, but as my packing guy reminded me, neither was eBay at first.
We are now doing about 20% Amazon and 10% Yahoo to boot. Thats after 4 weeks and I look at it as all bonus but we're less "dependent" on one corporation than we were before. And its getting better all the time. Plus there are no deadbeat bidders on Amazon! Now that's a user friendly site!
Don't put all your eggs in one basket, especially one with a increasingly hostile host that knows you are totally dependent on them.
Use this as I did, an excuse to make the time to check other places out, you'll be glad you did.
Don't let somebody kick you around just because you think you have to, you don't!
Cozmo
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deco100
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posted on October 23, 2000 04:33:11 AM
The last major(?) boycott was the result of continuous outages and the "it's only a dollar" fiasco. It probably involved the 1 or 2 % of us who frequented the DNF Board. It was unorganized and people were stopping and relisting at different times so it was not a concerted effort. If it accomplished anything at all, it was thru the publicity.
Now ebay has grown even larger, is even less prone to be hurt by a very minor thorn in it's side. The only "community" left is those of us who post or lurk here at AW.
If you want to do something worthwhile then read the post preceding this one and also join the Million Auction March. Just in case other posts have been added as I write this the consensus was "don't put all your eggs in one basket" and spread your sales around, even if it's only what you have not sold on the first go round on ebay.
Building up other large auction sites like yahoo and amazon and niche auction sites is the best you can do and this does not hurt your main income from ebay either.
IMHO a boycott would have no influence and it would deprive you of income if you are dependent on ebay sales, which many are.
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HartCottageQuilts
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posted on October 23, 2000 04:43:23 AM
And since you want to boycott again, doesn't look like it really forced ebay to "get their act together".
Best observation yet (among a number of good observations why a boycott is a baaaaaaad idea).
How do you know, rebelguns, that your boycott caused ebay stock to drop? Have you analyzed the stock market for that period, and checked all other possible contributing factors, including the value of the $, the weather, and the market in general?
Is ebay your primary source of income, as it is for a number of the folks you call "naysayers"? What losses could you project if you "boycotted" ebay for a week? A day? How would you make up for those lost revenues?
[ edited by HartCottageQuilts on Oct 23, 2000 05:06 AM ]
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zeenza
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posted on October 23, 2000 05:05:40 AM
Ebay has used a Bandaid for everything on the site relating to sellers requests,
BUT their 'Hipe Dept' which is finely tuned was, is, and always will be... fully operational.
The reserve fiasco had no effect on Ebay. You are dreaming if you think it did.
Either that, or you are one of those Ebay Cheerleaders who do not make your living here, and just entertain yourself with a few bucks coming in.
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krs
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posted on October 23, 2000 07:00:29 AM
The stock did plummet as a direct result of the publicity which arose during the series of hard outages last year, but to say that it was a result of any boycott is presumptuous and self congratulatory, Rebelguns.
There was no boycott. If 1000 shoppers regularly use a grocery store but one of those decides not to do so because he or she doesn't care for the feel of the cantalopes, is that a boycott?
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jwpc
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posted on October 23, 2000 07:07:58 AM
Boycotts against eBay won't work - Greed drives most sellers, and they won't change venues because they care more about today's dollar than the long range improvement that might be brought if a real boycott could actually be organized.
Realize without outside publicity most sellers would know nothing about a boycott anyway, they don't go to the eBay boards, or AW either.
Most seller's philosophy is a "bird in the hand".....they are independent, and have no long range foresight.
I for one left to find another venue and after I disposed of my eBay attitude and approach, I have found tons of FREE success at Yahoo.
Boycotts against Ebay fail because seller greed rules.
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amy
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posted on October 23, 2000 07:09:16 AM
If a tree falls in a forest and there is no one there to hear it...is a sound created?
The Great Ebay Boycott of 1999 reminds me of that tree in a vacant forest...did the boycot really make a sound since there was no one around to hear (or see) it?
[aside to KRS...there is a missing "T" in the second use of the word "boycott" above...it was left out so you would feel needed this morning  ]
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eboda
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posted on October 23, 2000 07:09:30 AM
Ebay is a nearing an internet monopoly
and with monopolies--arrogance, indifference, and just I don't care attitude--the Post Office
what to do
go to other auction sites and give them some business and keep the announcements going the brokerage houses doing investment research on Ebay.
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krs
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posted on October 23, 2000 07:14:29 AM
There's no such thing as a vacant forest, Amy, and thanks, but I got my fix in the MC already.
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amy
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posted on October 23, 2000 07:38:13 AM
Ken..it was such a tiny fix I decided to beef it up
But tell me, resident wise one...
Is there a contradiction in all this "call to arms" to boycott for "the future good"? Doesn't the term "greedy", when used as above, really mean "looking out for one's own best interest"? And couldn't it also be that "boycotting for the future good" is the boycott participants looking out for their own future best interests and therefore they are actually also being "greedy"?
And is there also a similar contradiction when a person labels others as being only concerned with their own monetary well being but at the same time crows about his/her "free success"?
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