posted on May 21, 2001 04:33:12 PM
I just recieved a letter from ebay stating I cannot link the storefront from my auctions!
heres the letter with a minor edit.
Dear ,
We appreciate that you chose eBay to list your items. We would like to take this
opportunity to let you know that on May 10th, 2001, eBay has revised our
Links and Credits policy in regards to the listing of your items. This notice is
being sent to you as an advance notification of these changes, and to let you know
that we will not be enforcing this policy until May 31st, 2001.
we found that they would not be within our revised policy guidelines. The listings
contain the following information in the description:
link to http://shop.auctionwatch.com/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.html
Banner http://images.paypal.com/images/lgo/pplv2.gif
text: I accept US & International bidders & payment with a major credit card via
BidPay. Fast, easy & secure. www.BidPay.com
link to http://wsacp.auctionwatch.com/login.html?xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Our revised policy concerning allowed Links and Credits is as follows:
"eBay allows sellers to place the following types of links in your item's
description:
- One link to a page that further describes the item being sold in that listing
- Links to your eBay or Half.com listings
- One link to your About Me page (in addition to the About Me icon already provided
by eBay)
- Links that provide credits to third parties
Linking to web sites that offer to trade, sell or purchase goods or services, or
including links for any purpose other than those listed above is not allowed.
Prohibited links include, but are not limited to:
- Links to web pages that offer to trade, sell or purchase goods or services outside
of eBay
- Links to web sites or pages offering merchandise not permitted on eBay"
For your convenience we have included the link to our updated policy, as well as an
FAQ page that will better assist you in the changes that have been made:
Again, as a courtesy to our members, we will not begin enforcement of this policy
until May 31st, 2001. We encourage you to review all of your current listings and
auction templates to determine if they are in compliance with the revised Links and
Credits
guidelines.
We thank you for using eBay and we wish you many successful transactions in the
future.
I have pretty much had it with e-bay - I give them over $1200 a month and now I can't link my storefront, a service I have paid for and assumed was getting Authorization from ebay to work with links -
I think AW needs to update the AM pro so we don't launch a link and get booted from ebay.
What is the story? thrid party? Are they saying we can't use bidpay or paypal links too!?
posted on May 21, 2001 04:43:03 PM
The store front link AW adds to the bottom of your listing is allow as it only link to a gallery of Items you alredy have for sale on ebay.
your AW store front has the link to your other items for your direct sales this is allowed and inside ebays new policy.
You your self cant add a link in your listing to your AW direct sales but the link aw puts on the bottom is ok.
the links to direct sales and store fronts is no different then it use to be its just put in writeing now there is now a two click writen rule.
Haven't received notice yet, but guess it is on its' way!! EVERY single auction has been loaded with AW, along with the automatic storefront link...SOMEONE is DEFINITELY going to suffer a loss!!!
????Should AW charge eBay for the "FREE" advertising through storefronts?
?????Should we ask for our nickel back?
?????It's summer time, MAYBE we should just go BACK to the old fashion way!
YARD SALE 8-5 SATURDAY
8-2 Sunday
Let's guess what is next.....can't have PayPal if shipping to Iceland, but can have Bidpay if shipping to Greenland for 5 cents more, only can advertise internationally if you are a seller NOT in the USA?????.......
posted on May 21, 2001 04:48:44 PM
Does this mean no link to paypal allowed? No instant pay with Paypal allowed? I am confused. I guess Paypal is a service outside of eBay?
posted on May 21, 2001 05:14:16 PM
All you got was a warning. They threw all of my auctions off, including one that had a bid on it. I had used one free ebay picture and others from another site. I had links to Bid Pay and Yahoo Direct. No warning at all! I would have taken out the links. Ebay is getting too big and powerful.
For 3rd party services, we would allow either a logo or text but not
both. The auction contains a logo for Paypal with text, "I prefer
PayPal, the #1 payment service in online auctions!", BidPay logo with
text, "I accept US & International bidders & payment with a major credit
card via BidPay. Fast, easy & secure. www.BidPay.com".
On the view item page you may have one link to a web page that further
describes the item being sold in your listing. The purpose in allowing
this is to accommodate situations where the entire description takes up
too much space on the main listing page.
Please keep in mind the additional description page must provide
information specific to the item being sold. You may not reference
material that only generally applies to the item. For instance, if you
are selling a set of golf clubs you could link to one page that gives
the all specifications for each individual golf club in the set. It
would not be permissible however, to link to a page that provides
information about general golfing equipment.
We recognize that many sellers use third party services to perform
essential functions related to their listing, and that there are
legitimate reasons for crediting such companies in their listings. For
example, some companies offer picture hosting, counters, listing
software and payment facilitation services. In exchange for providing
their service, some third party companies require or request that they
receive "credit" or recognition for their service within the eBay
listing. We will allow such credit within the following guidelines.
We will permit listings that contain a small, discrete identification or
"credit" to third parties that provide services or products directly
connected with the particular listing or that allow a seller to
aggregate their eBay listings.
The credit may only contain one of the following to identify or credit
the company offering the product or service:
- Text (HTML font size 3) OR
- A logo (88x33 pixels)
The credit may not contain promotional material or other information
about the company. The text may contain no more than 10 words, and may
be no larger than HTML font size 3.
The service being credited should only be one that the seller is using
within that particular listing. For instance, if an image hosting
service was used to create your listing, you may display a credit for
the image hosting service provider (provided the credit adheres to the
above guidelines):
Example:
"Image hosting services provided company X."
The credit may link only to the third party company's web page
containing information about the service.
posted on May 25, 2001 05:48:38 PM
Gee Whiz! This is going to make a dent! But the question I am asking.... Is paypal logo's going to be ruled out? Where is the next big Ebay type company that will start out and allow all the things that Ebay is screwing up? Too many categories..., no links in your ads, No direct emails to sellers to discuss their item without big brother... There ought to be an auction house that has all the free things we used to have bundled in their site, like a listing program, image storage, and the fun way ebay used to be. They would clean up there certainly is enough money going into ebays hands that you would think they would offer that to entice sellers since they can obviously see that with all the different services we all have been using are now charging and our pockets are getting picked every which way they are losing money to sellers not selling collectibles and vintage items which Ebay was initially so famous for. Now its just a place for the retail stores. Is there an entrepreneur with lots of money out there that can't see this opportunity????????
posted on May 25, 2001 06:15:19 PM
"There ought to be an auction house that has all the free things we used to have bundled in their site, like a listing program, image storage, and the fun way ebay used to be." ...hmmm, been to Bidville?
the NEW PayPal Logo I use has a banner that LOOKS to have a text over it - it is not a text and is approved!
letter BACk to ebay.
<I>
Hello eBay,
I am struggling to keep up with all the new rules that surround ebay
and paypal, auctionwatch, bidpay and others.
Notice Via PayPal
"NEW Smart - The Smart Logo changes with your eBay auction; going from a Referral to
an Instant Purchase logo when your auction closes. Learn more.
Note: eBay auctions only." Is it??????????
They say this logo is okay, you say no because of a text attached.
This text is part of the logo - I cannot remove it.
I have no more buy nows on auctionwatch - so I hope the autionwatch
logo is okay, I cannot find out how to remove it.
I wish to comply with the new ebay rules, so, If you have any
problems with any listing please contact me so we can fix them.
Thank God I have some web design knowledge, I feel sorry for the
beginers who have none.
I have noticed a lot of others with the same or more problems you
pointed out. I am assuming this is another attempt from
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (competition) to make ebay less appealing for me.
posted on May 25, 2001 07:00:05 PMThere ought to be an auction house that has all the free things we used to have bundled in their site, like a listing program, image storage, and the fun way ebay used to be.
I've been using [http://www.ePier.com]
Nice site, nice folks, and auctions are fun again there.
I wonder does eBay really believe that they are totally exempted from really having seller problems like Yahoo? Or do they really wish the small sellers would just MOVE ON?
It can't be MY "fault", I've NEVER owned a "fault"!
I think this is an all inclusive issue. You are only one of the three problems presented to me. It is more obvious that my evil twin brother pushed a few buttons, but, still the issues are here. Paypal, bidpay, you (autionwatch) and minor other junk that frankly is rediculess at best. I spend a minimum of 1200 a month now on ebay - I don't get them ---------
Shouldn't (say) paypal and them get their )@*$&t in order!? come on! PAYPAL says "GREEN LIGHT!" and ebay say "RED LIGHT" I know how ebay is with the delete button! if you turn left on red YOUR OUT! good bye! no more auctioning! not on ebay! Or, move, get a new bank account and CC AND rejoin!
any rate, I think it's a ebay forum issue.
ebay has a very stong arm in this internet auction deal. This cannot last for too many more years - I can't see it........
The kicker is, they start this AFTER you start your fees and I give you $200
I understand it is stressful and that is why this thread is being left open. I just wanted to assure everyone that AW does comply with auction site rules.
posted on May 26, 2001 05:44:27 AM
Before all the changes at eBay are done, both Paypal and AW will be essentially out of eBay.
eBay is "buttonong down" the site to links, etc. to maintain control and curtail "leakage".
Before it is over, the only contact you will have with a buyer is a shipping address and all payments will be through eBay, whether credit card, or electronic debit/check. All under the spectre of preventing "fraud".
Picture hosting will be another thing that eBay goes after. They have already modified their hosting service. At some point they will make it mandatory to use their service.
These acts are to enhance revenue for eBay, they see AW, Paypal, and other services as services that eBay could be gaining revenue from, and eBay can shut them out whenever they wish. At some point eBay will.
posted on May 26, 2001 06:44:46 AM
you can see from my post of part of email from ebay I gather we cannot have text and a banner to our storefront. (bad grammer)
"Track this auction at AuctionWatch.com"
"storefront banner"
"View my other auctions at http://shop.auctionwatch.com/xxxxxxxxxxxx"
(Not hard to figure out but I Xed in anyway)
This is what the email I have directly from ebay says. (read past posts)
I have also wrote PayPal with this text and banner issue AND notified them that the NEW JAVA banner they have NO longer works! Thank gosh I found the problem with that before my launched!
I was suspended at about 8AM! at about 12 noon I get another letter from ebay!
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us with your concerns. I will
be happy to provide further clarification on this policy for you.
I have checked a recent auction of yours and found the Auction Watch
links to be in violation. First of all you may only include one link,
not four as you had in your auctions. Also, it may either be a text
credit, or a banner credit, not both.
We recognize that many sellers use third party services to perform
essential functions related to their listing, and that there are
legitimate reasons for crediting such companies in their listings. For
example, some companies offer picture hosting, counters, listing
software and payment facilitation services. In exchange for providing
their service, some third party companies require or request that they
receive "credit" or recognition for their service within the eBay
listing. We will allow such credit within the following guidelines.
We will permit listings that contain a small, discrete identification or
"credit" to third parties that provide services or products directly
connected with the particular listing or that allow a seller to
aggregate their eBay listings.
The credit may only contain one of the following to identify or credit
the company offering the product or service:
- Text (HTML font size 3) OR
- A logo (88x33 pixels)
The credit may not contain promotional material or other information
about the company. The text may contain no more than 10 words, and may
be no larger than HTML font size 3.
The service being credited should only be one that the seller is using
within that particular listing. For instance, if an image hosting
service was used to create your listing, you may display a credit for
the image hosting service provider (provided the credit adheres to the
above guidelines):
Example:
"Image hosting services provided company X."
The credit may link only to the third party company's web page
containing information about the service.
For more information concerning our revised Links and Credits policy
please view the following link:
They appear to consistently be saying that AW posted auctions violate their new policy. The auctions in question end after May 31, so it looks like there may be trouble.
Note - it's best not to direct users to Services Forums with these issues, as my posts on the topic were deleted, and I was sent to the Feeback forum with the questions.
I can only puzzle a few pieces together so far, and this problem is one!
I will be back on ebay one way or another, and I will get to the bottom of this. It seems they have a nice touch. Pleasent people to deal with - IF YOUR A MASOCHIST!
posted on May 27, 2001 03:39:25 PM
"To date AuctionWatch has always complied with Ebay policy and I see no reason to think they won't this time around."
Uhh, I count 12 words. They only allow 10 and have for well over a year:
posted on May 27, 2001 04:58:20 PM
What I am finding so far - very clear! eBay wants to corner the aution pay area and now the Storefront area which is one reason to attack the links to the Autionwatch Storefront. NOW, maybe auctionwatch beat them to the puch, or, maybe eBay thinks this is a good idea and wants to corner that as well. PayPal had responded to my email stating they knew about the paypal logo, java link (which I LOVE!) and the text problemo - before I, but never notified me.
Lets be real here..... nobody knows what the heck is going on except eBay. They won't even give me a reason for the BOOT today! how can other venders know where they stand!?
I realy can see a few venders going south do to the desperation of eBay needing to increase 50% by the year 2005!
SAN JOSE, Calif.--eBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman said the online auction giant will soon open online storefronts as part of an effort to gain a greater share of retail sales.
Speaking at the company's annual shareholder meeting, Whitman said the storefronts--where buyers can get goods at a fixed price without going through the bidding process--should launch sometime in the next quarter.
eBay has said for a while that it was considering offering storefronts, and sources outside the company told CNET News.com in April that the storefronts would be launched "soon."
Also at the meeting, Whitman said the company is positioning itself to reach its goal of $3 billion in revenue by 2005. To do that, sales will have to increase 50 percent annually over the next five years.
eBay has greatly expanded its global presence with the acquisition of iBazar, which eBay completed earlier this month, and its investment in South Korea's Internet Auction. Meanwhile, the company has added fixed-priced trading through its acquisition of Half.com and by allowing sellers to add a "buy it now" button to their auctions.
Whitman said the company plans to eventually roll Half.com into eBay. Maynard Webb, who heads eBay's information systems as president of eBay Technologies, said the process will be a gradual one. In the meantime, eBay will try to share features and technology with Half.com and plans to synchronize the feedback systems on the two sites.
"We will figure out how to migrate everything into one global platform," Webb said.
eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove said the company plans to integrate Half.com into eBay's main site within the next two years. Integrating iBazar should take between six to nine months, he said.
Shareholders offered little criticism of the company in a question-and-answer session with Whitman. Despite a market downturn that has devastated the e-business sector, eBay's stock has remained relatively stable, closing Friday around the same price it did one year earlier. And unlike most e-commerce companies, which are under heavy pressure from investors to post profits, eBay has run consistently in the black for several quarters.
Tony Mezzapelle, a San Jose resident who is a professional investor and has owned eBay's stock for about three years, plans to continue to hold on to the stock and said the meeting offered few surprises. Mezzapelle said he wished Whitman would have spent more time talking about the success the company has had in making its computer systems more stable.
eBay suffered a rash of outages in 1999 that led the company to invest heavily in upgrading its infrastructure. The investments depressed the company's profits but have led to a more stable system in general.
Mezzapelle said he also wishes the company would give more information on its audience.
"They claim they have 29 million users," he said. "I'd like to know how active they are."
eBay spokesman Chris Donlay said the company's customer numbers include the total number of customers who have registered with eBay, no matter how active they've been in recent months. The number also includes customers of eBay's overseas sites, including those run by recently acquired iBazar, he said.
One shareholder asked Whitman about Butterfields, the high-end auction company eBay bought in 1999. Whitman said the unit is profitable and that listings have "grown nicely" at eBay Premier, the upscale online auction site that Butterfields anchors.
But Whitman acknowledged that there has been a "lot of transition" at Butterfields since eBay bought the company and said the company has been disappointed by the high-end market.
"The high-end market is much smaller than we thought," she said. "It's not as big as we initially thought it would be."
eBay Premier replaced eBay's Great Collections, which struggled to attract sellers. Last fall, Butterfields cut 15 percent of its staff in the second set of job cuts in six months. The company also ceased holding live auctions at its galleries in Chicago.
KIDS! this effects everyone! WOW! Why didn't I think of a business years ago!?
Sorry to hear about your experiences. Once Tuesday rolls around we'll get in touch with eBay regarding these closures and try to determine why they felt the need to act on them.
AW has contacted eBay multiple times and has received assurances that all of our links are compliant with their terms of service. Typically when a user is shut down it's because someone in the customer service food chain is unaware of the discussions and subsequent approval we've received from eBay management.
If you experience any further difficulty please post it here and I'll be sure it's looked into.
posted on May 27, 2001 11:31:00 PM
Well, I see several areas where current AW links will not be in compliance with eBay rules.
These are:
1. eBay says: The credit may only contain one of the following to identify or credit the company offering the product or service:
Text (HTML font size 3) OR
A logo (88x33 pixels)
Well, in my auction AW has BOTH text & logo, eBay is saying cannot have your cake & eat it, too, so all my auctions ending after May 31st are now breaking that rule.
2. eBay says: The credit may not contain promotional material or other information about the company. Providing credit for services not used in the particular listing is not permitted. Example (Using the same listing for illustration): "Counter services and image hosting provided by company X."
It appears to me that AW is again going to be non-compliance here.
3. eBay says: The text may contain no more than 10 words, and may be no larger than HTML font size 3. The third party credit may NOT provide promotional statements or information about additional services offered by the company; it should simply identify the service provided by the company.
At last count, AW statement on all my auctions is 12 words, PLUS the Storefront statement, so way over word count, plus there are 2 links, with logo, I guess I'm missing something, but there is a lot of AW stuff being promoted in my auction, apparently a lot more than eBay is going to allow.
4. eBay says: Linking to web sites that offer to trade, sell or purchase goods or services, or including links for any purpose other than those listed above is not allowed. Prohibited links include, but are not limited to: Links to web pages that offer to trade, sell or purchase goods or services outside of eBay
So, the AW link goes to your front page, on which are numerous other links, to other merchandise, other sites, searching for cameras etc. that lead right into sites competing with eBay, etc etc., so I can see how eBay will have a problem with this, too.
****
So I am just wondering, here what 3 days away from eBay's deadline, what is up? I've looked at the other AW posts on your message boards about all this, but other than some rather vague re-assurances, there is little information that is a hard-boiled this-is-what-it-means-to-you and this-is-what-we're-going-to-do.
Seems kind of important, folks, maybe you should be trying a bit harder to nail this down, rather than waiting until the deadline, and responding only AFTER your customers auctions are being suspended en mass.
posted on May 28, 2001 06:32:38 AM
I thought AW storefronts violate the policy because they offer a mailing list sign up. Everything I have read, I take to mean that you cannot have a link to ANYTHING that offers a sign up, opt in or not, to a mailing list.
The auctions being closed are isolated events. eBay will not begin closing AW auctions on a larger scale without contacting us first to attempt to resolve any perceived violations of their tos.
Again, I'm sure this is a customer service representative acting without knowledge of our discussions with eBay management. They have reviewed our links and layout and have found no fault with them. Your auctions are safe.
We will contact eBay tomorrow to try to reach some closure on this.
I have a call into my contact at eBay who manages the Safeharbor team to check out the examples you all have posted and confirm back your auctions are not in violation of eBay policy. I will keep everyone posted as I hear back.
Regards,
Chris Barker
[ edited by cbarker on May 29, 2001 11:29 AM ]
