posted on February 3, 2005 10:29:34 AM
this is about as clear as mud to me. does someone else understand it? if they made "a mistake" as they say, what is the "fix"? convenient way to get a float on money.
To Our Basic Stores Subscribers -
As you know, on February 18 the Basic subscription for Stores will change from $9.95 to $15.95 per month. In January, as part of our Frequently Asked Questions for the eBay.com / eBay Motors Fee Change announcement, we told you that your February invoices would be billed with the old subscription fee and that we would pro-rate the fee increase for February 18 to February 28 and add it to your March invoice.
You'll notice on your February invoice that the fee increase amount is being pre-billed in February, not in March. This was a mistake on our part. The amount you have been billed is accurate, but we billed you early. We apologize for this mistake.
To Clarify: On February invoices, you will be invoiced for $9.95 for the current Basic subscription plus a pro-rated fee increase to cover the period of February 18 to February 28, during which the increased monthly subscription applies. For example, those Basic Store sellers who receive their invoices on February 1st will see a charge of $12.31, reflecting the 17 days of the current pricing ($9.95) and 11 days of the new pricing ($15.95).
Basic Store owners billed on the 16th will receive an invoice that reflects 2 days of current pricing ($9.95) and 26 days of new pricing ($15.95) for a total of $15.52. Of course, any Store owners who elect to discontinue their subscription before the end of February will receive a pro-rated credit, as is our standard practice.
posted on February 3, 2005 10:37:48 AM
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
posted on February 3, 2005 10:41:09 AM
I guess no one thought to do it the simple way. Forget the prorating garbage and bill the new rate on the first bill after the 18th. Would have saved a big headache and billing mess.
Be kind. Everyone is fighting their own secret battles.
...Author Unknown
posted on February 3, 2005 10:57:32 AM
How many out there truly believe this was a mistake?!? Seems to me they're trying one of two things.
a) Increase revenue before their stock split
b) By billing all the sellers on THIS invoice... any eBay store owner who was going to keep their store upon until February 18th and then close it (to avoid higher fees)... now gets stuck paying the extra money!
Either way it's pretty underhanded. With all their billing "mistakes" isn't it a wonder that they never under charge us, or have the mistake work in the sellers favor?! Statistically that should happen 50% of the time!
posted on February 3, 2005 11:52:37 AM
"b) By billing all the sellers on THIS invoice... any eBay store owner who was going to keep their store upon until February 18th and then close it (to avoid higher fees)... now gets stuck paying the extra money!"
DING! DING!
eBay: Well, you got stuck paying the extra fee anyway, so why cancel now?
Seller: Oh, alright durnit. I'll wait till next time and then cancel.
<next billing period comes around> Oops! I forgot about to cancel!
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Replay Media - The best source for board games, card games and miniatures on the web! http://www.replaymedia.com
posted on February 3, 2005 01:45:00 PM
eauctionmngt - yes, i wondered the same, if it was a shell game manipulation, related to the stock split and first quarter earnings. the timing is well, pretty odd, as you noted, and the float on all that money is probably quite a bit. nothing like some free money for ebay. sometimes i wonder what kind of class-action lawsuit is going to hit eBay one of these days, and really cost them a major chunk of change. wouldn't surprise me in the least.
posted on February 3, 2005 03:12:00 PM
I am so glad I closed my store when I heard about the increase. Mistake billing my sweet patootie, they had every intention of billing it as soon as they could.
posted on February 3, 2005 05:16:27 PM
Dear Seller,
So sorry we dipped into your account a little early,but Meg needed a case of new underware as falling stock prices have her on the run. We do hope that you will remain loyal to us and remember....E-Bay Loooovvvees you! You may want to pad your bank account, for if things don't go well this quarter we will be billing you a quarter in advance for the balance of the year.We hope you make Powerseller soon as that is all that is keeping us going.We are giving 50 FREE listings for every share of stock you buy in February which will be credited to your account in June.
Keeping listing,
The E-Bay Team
**********************************
Two men sit behind bars,one sees mud the other sees stars.
posted on February 3, 2005 05:17:45 PM
So basically they are switching to PREPAY store monthly fees as opposed to the old way of billing of services USED. And everyone gets screwed.
Once word gets out hopefully the news sites will spin it to show how greedy Ebay is.
