posted on February 24, 2001 11:55:28 AM
(after all this time I finally got caught by the typo-in-the-headline bug, LOL)
I do not like the new eBay contact/e-mail system.
It seems to me that eBay is overstepping its role as a "venue" when it encroaches upon the communications between users.
The official reason offered for changing the contact system is that it is being done for our security.
I suppose there may be one or two security advantages: for instance, now bottom-feeding sellers who try to woo my bidders away during the auction by offering the same item at a lower price will have to go through the eBay system to make initial contact. There will be a record of it. Ditto for post-auction bottom feeders who e-mail second-highest-bidders and offer them the item they were just outbid on. For the seller, the new system may result in fewer auctions being undermined by a third party. For the bidder, it may result in fewer people being ripped off or sold shoddy goods by sellers who have no accountability and who cannot be affected by negative feedback.
But of course the primary beneficiary of the new system is eBay itself. I suspect that the so-called "security" advantages of the new system are simply by-products of its ultimate purpose -- to keep people from making deals outside of eBay. In fact, now when you send any e-mail other than an EOA to another user, that e-mail will automatically contain a standard note from eBay warning the recipient that the message they are about to read may be an attempt to sell them an item outside the eBay forum, and if so, to decline the offer.
My greatest concern is that my non-EOA e-mails will now be filtered through eBay where they may be read by eBay employees searching for violators of the off-site sales rule.
I have nothing to hide, so it's not the fear of getting caught that bothers me. It's the principle. Isn't mail supposed to be private? Even e-mail? Now, I know on the internet "privacy" is an elastic concept but in general I think we all still trust e-mail systems to provide at least a semblance of privacy. We don't expect there to be hired inspectors rifling through one message after another in an attempt to ferret out rule-breakers. Yet with this new change at eBay, I can't help but feel that there [i]will[/b] be a team of employees assigned to reading our e-mail.
Nowhere on the new contact pages are there any assurances of privacy given. A glaring omission, IMHO.
But getting back to the effectiveness of the new system with regards to security: Will it serve as a deterrent to bottom-feeders? Time will tell, but I doubt it. If they get caught and their account gets suspended, they will merely register another 0 feedback account and go back to business as usual. They have nothing to lose, so the new system can't really hurt them.
I think the system's true effectiveness will be realized among legitimate sellers, who out of fear of being suspended, will no longer attempt to sell the occasional item on the side. Or those who'll risk it anyway, only to lose the account they worked so hard for because some geek at eBay is spying on their communications.
It reminds me of the cops where I live. They put up the radar guns on local roads between 7am-9am, targeting ordinary people on their way to work -- people who are generally responsible, who don't want black marks on their records, and who can afford to pay the fine. In other words, easy marks.
I still love eBay, but the cost of using it just seems to keep going up lately.
posted on February 24, 2001 12:33:14 PM
Say I have a web site selling some goofy little item. I have 100 of them and decide to sell 25 on ebay. Someone e-mails me from my web site wanting to buy the goofy item.
I don't know if the buyer is from ebay or not because they don't say. Am I supposed to not sell to them because it could be ebay "just checking".
To me ebay's entire concept of selling around ebay is preposterous. As a venue they should only have control over what's on their site. I used to do shows at "venues". Does that mean that every sale I make outside the show, from someone I sold to at the show, needs to be cleared with the promoter? Do I owe the promoter a cut of the action after the show? And for how long? Forever? Just because I used their "venue"?
I have any number of repeat customers. They already have my email address. Not one has asked me to sell outside of ebay. There's nothing to stop the high bidder, when reserve hasn't been met, from trying to cut a deal with this new "improvement".
I don't condone someone trying to avoid FVF and giving ebay what they rightly deserve, but the new move to hide email addys is too much for the bulk of us that are honest users, and the reason ebay gives us is just an insult.
The entire new "feature" is an exercise in futility and more misdirected use of ebay's resources.
They should focus their energy on what they are supposed to be. A site that is stable and brings buyers and sellers together.
In other words a VENUE. Not a COP.
John
Spam is but a click away.(from another aw poster)
posted on February 24, 2001 12:48:08 PM
Banging head against a brick wall only gives the "banger" a throbbing headache...and the brick wall still hasn't changed.
posted on February 24, 2001 12:52:51 PM
I received one of the new emails yesterday (A Question For Seller) and when I clicked reply the email address in the TO: box was the user's email address. So, I think the replies do not go back through ebay's email server. So, then it stands to reason that ebay will not know the reply to the question unless the other user actually tells them. Don't know if I am right or not, but just my 2 cents
[ edited by spottydoggy on Feb 24, 2001 12:54 PM ]
posted on February 24, 2001 01:00:16 PM
Right you are, Spotty, the reply doesn't go through eBay. But eBay doesn't require a reply to suspend a seller trying to make a sale. The offer alone is punishable.
posted on February 24, 2001 01:18:22 PM
My biggest concern with this system is the fact that, with ebay's track record of stability (or rather, instability), my prospective buyer's email stands a fair chance of not even getting through to me.
[ edited by spottydoggy on Feb 24, 2001 12:54 PM ]