marble
|
posted on May 8, 2001 11:51:19 AM
I remember eBay when ...
I had 19 feedbacks and a seller said "I'll accept your personal check since you have an excellent feedback record."
I found an auction with the same number as my zip code.
All user IDs were email addresses.
Some user IDs had no numbers in parentheses after them.
People who traded Beanie Babies through the mail thanked each other by exchanging postitive feedback on eBay - and nobody thought twice about it.
Safe Harbor was just a city in Florida (well actually it's Safety Harbor, but close enough).
Someone with 5000 feedbacks wrote a book and touted himself as "the leading seller on eBay."
|
doninpa
|
posted on May 8, 2001 12:20:52 PM
..it wasn't called eBay.
|
sasoony
|
posted on May 8, 2001 12:32:01 PM
I thought I was one of the first sellers on eBay (or in the first wave of sellers). What was it called before eBay?
|
doninpa
|
posted on May 8, 2001 12:36:51 PM
It was called Auctionweb in the beginning. I believe it was sometime in 97 when it changed to eBay.
|
toollady
|
posted on May 8, 2001 01:03:28 PM
I remember ebay when there was no AW! 
|
dottie
|
posted on May 8, 2001 01:13:33 PM
I remember eBay when it was Privately Owned.
I remember eBay when Skippy used to post on the boards regularly.
I remember eBay when it was thriving with thousands and thousands of successful Mom & Pop Entrepreneurs.
I remember eBay when they had LIVE SUPPORT.
I remember eBay when folks helping on the boards would regularly receive "skippy credits".
I remember eBay when Reserve Fees were raised... and the "mass exodus" that supposedly happened.
I remember eBay when there was no VeRO program.
I remember eBay when there was no "GoldsAuction" to welcome folks seeking alternatives.
I remember eBay when they rolled out BANNER ADS. - and the "mass exodus" that supposedly happened.
I remember eBay when listing fees were cheaper.
I remember eBay when Ending Values were SUPER because folks actually liked the excitement of BIDDING!
I remember eBay when they dropped firearms and RELATED items... leaving a lot of Civil War collectors in the lurch. *too bad*
I remember eBay when they updated the policy on alcohol and tobacco items.
I remember eBay when they updated the policy to linking to other sites... including services for Payment, Counters and Image Hosting.
I remember eBay when there weren't a bunch of Non Paying Bidders to deal with. (back when a Deadbeat was called a "DEADBEAT", rather than a "nonpaying bidder"
I remember eBay when you didn't have to jump through a bunch of hoops to get a refund for Final Value Fees due to Deadbeats.
I remember eBay when Gallery Feature first rolled out... how it USED to improve bids for an additional quarter per listing.
I remember eBay when they rolled out the "Watch" feature. *whew, what a mess that created* (did I mention that I LOATHE the watch feature?)
I remember eBay when they offered "double exposure" within the listings for items using (eBays own) BILLPOINT as a payment option.
I remember eBay when there was no 321Gone or Bidville or Bidpay or ePier... (or does that even matter?) - It SHOULD matter to all Mom & Pop sellers!
I remember eBay when it didn't own Half.com
I remember eBay when there weren't Half.com offers appearing on item search results pages or alternative suggestions for Half.com books served up to our potential eBay bidders!
I remember eBay when they teamed up with DISNEY.
I remember eBay when there weren't partnerships with BMG Music Service, TradeOut Bulk Deals, General Motors & Goodwrench, The History Channel (maintained by BUTTERFIELDS), PSA Trading Cards, Keen.com, SquareTrade (where you can sometimes buy negative feedback removal for $15.00).... the list goes on and on...
I remember eBay when they improved the auto categories by rolling out eBay Motors! - and the "mass exodus" that supposedly happened.
I remember eBay when they hadn't improved all of the categories... like Jewelry or Collectibles etc.
I remember eBay when they teamed with IPIX and how they dedicated such a large section of the Sell Your Item process toward pushing the use of IPIX (during it's Free INTRODUCTORY period)
I remember eBay when they rolled out the "List in Two Categories" feature - which DOUBLES your listing fee INCLUCING any special features like Gallery or Bold or Highlight if chosen.
I remember eBay when they began including FEATURE LISTINGS in the Search Results (as they SHOULD have been doing all along) & raised the COST of that "Feature".
I remember eBay when they rolled out BUY IT NOW right at Christmas time. It seemed to increase the Christmas shopping season, but after the first of the year... brought another "brand" of eBay shoppers. ("how LOW can ya go?"
I remember eBay when there were no flashing banner ads as you enter and leave individual listings. (and by the way... they seem to slow the page loads, but flash too quickly to actually read them... VERY ANNOYING)
I remember eBay when they rolled out the eBay eMail Forwarding tool - how it miraculously terminated all "SPAM" (not) and saved us all from trading with each other outside the "safe harbor" of eBays VENUE!
- and the "mass exodus" that supposedly happened.
I remember eBay when the eMail Preferences for millions of registered users "accidently" got reset back to "YES" a couple of times for recieving eBay related SPAM such as Special Promotions or Direct Mail and Telemarketing contact from eBay affiliates.
I remember eBay when they actually had an ANNOUNCEMENT BOARD that 3% of the community could locate and understand.
I remember eBay when they hadn't "improved" on the MY EBAY page. (remember when you could get a total of your sales for the month in a single glance?) *sigh*
I remember eBay when there was a specialty site called "Great Collections" that flopped.... and then they renamed it "eBay Premier" and THEN began placing those listings within eBays REGULAR listings.
I remember eBay when it hadn't teamed up with GoTo.com yet- bringing more BIG BUSINESSES to flood the listings.
I remember eBay when it offered a new and exciting VENUE for the average Mom & Pop seller/collector that would be useful in growing individual businesses to any level they desired! ... when it was all about US and OUR successes as Entrepreneurs... and not just EBAYS quarterly earnings.
I remember eBay when, yes... I remember when! *sigh*
Dottie 
|
janusaries
|
posted on May 8, 2001 01:34:12 PM
Dottie--
Well said!
All I can add to that is a resounding "Ditto!"
|
toollady
|
posted on May 8, 2001 01:35:08 PM
Good memory Dottie!
I've tried to forget all those "features" that rolled out.
Waving hello!
|
vidpro2
|
posted on May 8, 2001 02:07:10 PM
dottie you didn't leave any for anyone else!
|
NearTheSea
|
posted on May 8, 2001 02:14:39 PM
I remember Skippy! He gave out ebay credits ($25?) randomly, if someone helped someone else, ebay related, on the Q&A board.
Do they still do that?
[email protected]
|
toybuyer
|
posted on May 8, 2001 09:06:58 PM
I remember when ebay auction numbers and "come see my stuff" messages were listed predominantly on the AOL antique and collectible message boards in 1997 and AOL didn't prevent it. However, other members were threatened with suspension from AOL for similar "commercial" advertising. That's when eBay had under 100,000 registered users.
Ebay had to have loved the free advertising.
Not toybuyer on ebay.
|
hcross
|
posted on May 8, 2001 10:49:06 PM
I remember when there were only a couple of hundred categories.
I remember getting skippy credits a few times.
I remember the live support board.
I remember when they banned the sale of guns and ammo, terrible thing that they included vintage items in that ban.
I remember when it seemed like you knew everyone, now, unless you specialize, you rarely see the same people twice.
|
jrb3
|
posted on May 9, 2001 02:10:23 AM
You could copy movies onto blank tapes sell them as blank VHS tapes that just happened to have popular movies taped on them.
I remember when there wasn't an Ebay reference on every other TV sitcom.
Gosh just Realized I've been on for 3 1/2 years.
JB
|
avalontech
|
posted on May 9, 2001 07:43:07 AM
I remember when I sold my first item on auctionweb (May of 96 - still in my feedback!). I had been buying for a while before that, but I made the seller plunge with a slide projector I bought for $14 at an storage unit auction and sold for $150. I was hooked!
[ edited by avalontech on May 9, 2001 07:44 AM ]
|
MrsSantaClaus
|
posted on May 9, 2001 07:59:52 AM
I remember begging people to teach me how to eBay ....
|
reamond
|
posted on May 9, 2001 08:58:39 AM
I remember selling a box load of MWMT "rare" beanies and paying for a Mercedes Benz 300E.
I remember only a couple pages of books for sale and having 20 bidders for each book and making 500% profit.
I remember when it was quicker to just browse through the category pages rather than run a search.
I remember when eBay not only said it was a only "venue", but behaved as one too.
I remember when a buyer would contact you about a problem BEFORE they neg'd you.
I remember when there were no buyers or sellers with AOL email addresses.
|
heartsong
|
posted on May 9, 2001 09:29:01 AM
I remember when all the servers were named after dragons.
I remember asking someone on live support to go wake up komodo or iguana ... and they did.
I remember doing endless traceroutes for Skippy.
I remember receiving the first round of "skippybucks" and they felt like a thank you gift instead of a payoff.
I remember watching folks disappear off the Q & A as they got drafted to be pinkliners.
I remember when Dale was a support person and not Uncle Griff.
I remember when Michael Wilson used to post on AW.
I remember when the "Magic" was real.
|
birdwatcher-07
|
posted on May 9, 2001 11:48:14 AM
I remember eBay when you could email Pierre (before he became The Founder) and get a reply back.
I remember eBay when I could search my favorite collecting category and come up with only 100 listings or so.
I remember eBay when communication between sellers and potential buyers was actually encouraged, and road blocks weren't put up to discourage it.
|
jerry12
|
posted on May 9, 2001 12:15:56 PM
I remember when me and my old friend the "claw" were the only 2 users and all we did was trade pez dispensers back and forth.
|
marble
|
posted on May 9, 2001 12:32:21 PM
I remember when Up4Sale and Auction Universe gave eBay some real competition.
|
eventer
|
posted on May 9, 2001 02:30:13 PM
I remember when you used to actually get the latest guideline changes emailed to you directly & not done in double secret fashion.
|
gboy
|
posted on May 9, 2001 02:42:42 PM
Nice one Jerry.
I remember back when I could buy a framed picture on ebay and it wouldn't come in a pizza box crawling with ants.
[ edited by gboy on May 9, 2001 02:44 PM ]
|
swoose
|
posted on May 9, 2001 02:53:05 PM
I remember eBay when each function was named for a different reptile...
|
gingersnapp
|
posted on May 9, 2001 03:29:30 PM
you could sell anything and for big bucks, now there's 10,000 of that once rare item.
you could search descriptions of ended auctions, a wonderful help for researching items.
you didn't have to compete with big companies only the mom and pop type seller like yourself.
you could sell anything, now I have no idea with all that is not allowed.
it was fun!!
|
marble
|
posted on May 9, 2001 04:13:05 PM
I remember eBay when you were on your own to figure out how to use it, because there were no how-to books on the market.
|
photogeyk
|
posted on May 9, 2001 04:49:56 PM
i remember ebay when it was fun!!!!!!!
every 20 seconds in america a woman is giving birth:SHE MUST BE FOUND AND STOPPED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.................................................................
|
ladyfargo
|
posted on May 9, 2001 04:56:20 PM
Unt I remember ven you coot buy unt sell z items of z Reich unt no vun woot interfere.
[ edited by ladyfargo on May 9, 2001 06:22 PM ]
|
pumpkinhead
|
posted on May 9, 2001 05:02:38 PM
I remember when ebay was "unknown", so therefore going to the thrift store was like walking into a gold mine. I was the only ebayer in the darn place.
I remember when the ebay system went down, it went down for days. Now, that was fun!
I remember when I was just about the only seller listing golf shirts. I had hundreds of them from a store went out of business and it was like my own little category. Dont even think they had a golf category at the time. But, it didnt matter to me, I was loving every minute.
|
figmente
|
posted on May 9, 2001 06:25:56 PM
I remember when they frequently went down.
|
uranis
|
posted on May 9, 2001 07:12:12 PM
I remember when we all had to wait till the top of the hour to post, as they only allowed so many items listed per hour.
I remember Pierre answering questions in the live support area.
I remember when eBay (AW) paid $100+ for the one millionth item listed. It was some kind of $5.00 toy as I recall.
I remember when a lady put her 3 kids up for sale. She warned them to start behaving or she would. The sale lasted a day and a half before someone with no sense of humor complained. It was really quite funny.
|
