posted on August 6, 2001 11:01:18 AM
Just checked my notification preferences after receiving an email telling me that I did NOT win an auction. This appears to be an attempt at new advertising by eBay sending us more spam without our permission. I also noticed that I was subscribed to their personal offers list. It seems that eBay has little regard to our privacy. I don't recall these options being on the notifications list before. As usual eBay seems to think that we want to get lots of spam email and has set the notification preferences to the default of "yes".
You would think that they would have sent out an email notifying that they had made some changes to their policies. I have agreed to accept email regarding changes to the user agreement etc. but never received anything with regards to these recent changes.
Anyone else having this problem or is it just me because I recently changed my registered eBay email address so that they couldn't spam me at my old address anymore?
posted on August 6, 2001 11:14:10 AM
I noticed this the last few days also and I hadn't changed any of my preferences or anything else. Now I'm getting all their spam each time I lose an auction.
So now I guess I have to try to change my preferences back again? So much for the opt out when they just opt us back in when they feel like it.
posted on August 6, 2001 01:11:34 PM
I believe the "Personal Offers" list is the rework of the "RECO engine." I just went and checked, and of course despite opting-out of all but one of the RECO when this was asked during the bidding process, I still got defaulted to "Yes" when they moved the question to the preferences page instead. They assume you want it, unless you take the time to look for preferences. I apparently have not bid since this was rearranged, but had I, the "suggestions" eBay would have sent would thus be spam IMO, since it was unsolicited (I did not ask for it) commercial email (UCE).
The one RECO note I received (when the question was still being asked during the bidding process) had a small number of similar items, but the rest were rather off the wall, and one auction was bordering on tasteless.
I know what I want, I know how to search, I know I don't need more "offers" implying I don't know how to look for the same or similar thing again, much less ones that spend 5K or more making mostly irrelevant suggestions.
eBay should offer options for making suggestions and various means of receiving communications, but except for the EOA and maybe outbid notice, these options should be defaulted to "no" so the user can choose whether or not to opt in.
Oh, and while I'm not sure about this, I also don't recall eBay sending any notice, despite my having "Yes" for the options for receiving notes about eBay updating its policies/etc. I'd have to double-check, however.
----
What's being done in the name of direct marketing nowadays is crazy.
The above are all just my opinions, except where I cite facts as such.
Oh, I am not dc9a320 anywhere except AW. Any others are not me.
Is eBay is changing from a world bazaar into a bizarre world?
posted on August 6, 2001 01:56:21 PM
It never ceases to amaze me that the decision makers at eBay seem to assume that people want to receive spam or unsolicited commercial email (UCE). Everytime they make changes regarding the sending or receiving of unsolicited emails they always choose the default of opting-in. Very seldom do they advise their users that they have made such changes and the users only find out after their address has already been released. Some people might consider it to be marketing, but others might consider it to be in violation of Federal Privacy Regulations in Canada regarding e-commerce and the release of personal information.
