ROY222
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posted on June 1, 2001 04:18:25 PM
Well that was quick. Was just checking e-pier and now Militaria is an adult category. They are charging a $20 membership fee to list. With ebay banning nazi items it looks like epier had a chance to gain some momentum in the online auction world. With this membership fee maybe sellers will again be moving.
Note they are not really charging nazis just charging people that list any of the military stuff-German, US, etc.
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dimview
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posted on June 1, 2001 05:13:10 PM
ROY222,
Yup, looks like this auction site shot themselves in the foot. Probably with one of those WWII German pistols.
They say:
Selling is completely free.
And since we are not collecting any charge or percentage of your sales, we do not ask for your credit card number.
http://www.epier.com/sellersguide.asp
But then, as you point out, there's a charge for an "adult verification license":
Verified Member Categories are restricted to mature audiences only.
There is a $20 to process and maintain your adult verification license for one year.
Click here to become verified, or login if you are a Verified Member.
http://www.epier.com/verifiedon.asp
fixed UBB.
[ edited by dimview on Jun 1, 2001 05:14 PM ]
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rustybore
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posted on June 1, 2001 07:26:27 PM
I'm flabbergasted
;(
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tomwiii
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posted on June 2, 2001 04:28:54 AM
Well, then... I'm flumooxed!
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dimview
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posted on June 2, 2001 07:18:31 AM
ePier put up an announcement regarding their "adult verification" scheme this morning without even mentioning that they had zeroed in on Military Memorabilia as one of only two categories (the "Adult" categories being the other one) that require this annual fee.
Come on ePier, we all know why you zeroed in on Military Memorabilia.
[fontsize=72] $$$$$
At least be upfront about it.
[ edited by dimview on Jun 2, 2001 07:18 AM ]
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wallypog
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posted on June 2, 2001 10:20:18 AM
Considering some of the prices this stuff is bringing, if I was a seller in this area I think a $20 annual fee for listing it would be more than reasonable.
HOWEVER, I believe how ePier went about doing this is extremely under-handed and shows a complete lack of class and character!
----------------------
http://www.wallypogsbog.bizland.com
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dimview
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posted on June 2, 2001 10:37:33 AM
wallypog,
I agree with you that implementing the fee and only afterward making an announcement without any notice is extremely underhanded and demonstrates ePier's mindset. I also think we can get a pretty good idea of their "business plan" now.
My read of the announcement is that the annual fee applies to both buyers AND sellers. I'm not so sure there's going to be alot of users deciding to become "adult verified members".
Basically, why should someone have to be a verified member to buy or sell a military medal, while any member could buy or sell a world's fair or any other type of medal?
The growth in ePier's military memorabilia resulted from the ban on eBay, so those group of sellers can just as easily move their items over to Bidville.
I think ePier has fumbled the football.
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tolz
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posted on June 2, 2001 11:15:04 AM
Very interesting indeed!
Folks, I am here to tell you that Militaria Collectibles Auction Haus is a good site to list your Militaria items.
http://www.militaria-collectibles.com
They do not charge any listing fees. They do charge a very small sales commission. So, if your item does not sell, you pay "Nada", "Nothing", "Zilch", as they put it.
They host 3 images per item listing at no to to the sellers!
They have a seperate "Buy it Now" Retail Sales Catalog.
They have a neat Militaria Message Board which includes a "Scam Shack, Buyers Beware" forum. Go check it out as they have posted info about some scammers and Internet bandits!
I do not work for them, however, I do, and will continue to support their Militaria Auction site.
I really feel that these "Niche" "Vertical" sites will begin to take off within the next year.
This whole thing with eBay tossing out and banning the German WWII items should get very interesting.
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relayerone
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posted on June 2, 2001 01:46:51 PM
LOL *ePier*
(shakes head)
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rustybore
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posted on June 3, 2001 08:15:07 AM
Seems that that $20.00 on epier buys the seller "special icon" of some sort that proclaims that seller as trustworthy and reputable - any epier user can buy this icon...
Hard earned feedback seemingly offers no clue as to a sellers reputation.
This comming from a site with a less than 10% sell through rate. This from a site where sellers rush to the epier boards to announce to the world when they get a bid...
Poor timing on epiers part I think...
Edited due to fat fingers...
[ edited by rustybore on Jun 3, 2001 08:17 AM ]
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dimview
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posted on June 3, 2001 08:47:03 AM
rustybore >
Poor timing on epiers part
With some poor programming to go along with it.
I went to the "Complete Categories" page and found Mature Audiences down at the bottom of the third column. Its marked "vm", so I click it and got error message. So that area of the auction site is not accessible.
I then tried to "list" an item in a Military Memorabilia category (WWII) yesterday and got through the fill-in-the-boxes page, only to click and be told I had to become a "vm" in order to continue.
But anyone can still access the Military Memorabilia category without being asked for their "vm" information.
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rustybore
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posted on June 3, 2001 08:58:13 AM
dimview
"anyone can still access the Military Memorabilia category"
So much for protecting "kiddies" from the pornography of Helmets, Medals, and SS marked dinnerware!
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deichen
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posted on June 3, 2001 09:09:07 AM
What a dumb move! This is great news for BidVille! YIPPEE 
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lovepotions
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posted on June 3, 2001 11:51:35 PM
So do you need this $20 license to sell and buy in that category or just to sell?
I too went to their site a few days back looking for a place to sell (adult category)
I saw the vm next to that empty category and thought I could carve out myself a spot there and be the only seller then i got a script but line thingy and just left.......
I guess I don't need to see if it was only a temporary bug and no way in hell will I pay a $20 fee so that some freebie(to everyone else) site can verify me...........thats insulting
I don't know why all these moralists have labeled adult category sellers as less than worthy to be in their bandwidth. Many of us are more regulated than most garage sale "collectibles" sellers who go unmonitored.
I have to go through many levels of VERIFICATION from many sources just to get my merchandise..........yet I could tax evade to my hearts content selling garage sale finds and thrift store junk.
*NOTE*
My comments are not directed at anyone here but just trying to get my point accross that I am way more "verified" as a business owner or seller of goods then most auction folks just to get my stuff to sell.
For any site that respects my industry and treats me the same as collectibles sellers I am an all faithful to the ends of the earth supporter of their site.
*wags finger at Epier* shame, shame, shame
http://www.lovepotions.net
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robnzak
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posted on June 4, 2001 10:34:47 AM
laughing so hard at epiers blunder that I'm about to...(excuse me...running to bathroom)...ok, back now, wiping tear from my eyes, and wondering what these folks are thinking? The only reason for making this an Adult catagory is either stupidity or greed. (hmmm). side tracking a bit now, had a seller post a question on the Bidville boards...wanted to know if she would be welcome to sell her used shoes at BV...seems at ebay, her listings were moved to the adult catagories because her photos showed part of her feet (she modeled the shoes), therefore it was a "fetish" item and buyers had to be verified before viewing her shoe listings....oh...I'm giggling again...someone make them stop!!!!!
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dimview
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posted on June 4, 2001 11:08:03 AM
We seem to have a timeline problem.
June 2 - ePier announces the $20 verified member [vm] scheme.
June 3 - ePier states that "Over a hundred members became verified members in just the first three days."
http://www.epier.com/announce.asp
emphasis added.
[ edited by dimview on Jun 4, 2001 11:08 AM ]
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deichen
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posted on June 4, 2001 11:14:52 AM
LOL
I had no idea that used shoes were a fetish item! Wow, I really must live a sheltered life!
Epier is sounding a lot like Yahoo! Covering there blunders with absurd statements! If they really did in fact verify that many users, then that would surely be more than the amount of auctions closing with bids!
{LOL, so hard, my tummy is hurting}
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rustybore
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posted on June 4, 2001 02:39:45 PM
Well, strange as it may seem, and for the moment at least, the auctions closing with bids on epier remains on the rise...
That rate of sucessfull auctions may (or may not) make a dramatic change in the next week or so, as the reality of this "middle of the night" fee placment kicks in.
Looks as though the head of epier is going to have a town meeting Wensday evening on one of their chat forums.
Would have been nice to have that meeting prior to the new fees though...
Should be interesting to keep an eye on epier in the next few weeks.
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Mikecol
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posted on June 4, 2001 04:55:56 PM
It is also rather strange that the listings , which have dropped to levels of three weeks ago in the last few days , have recovered today to show continued growth.
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pcornacchione
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posted on June 4, 2001 09:02:23 PM
the so-called "verification" icon is a little box with a check mark in it...now doesn't that just instill TRUST???
what a joke!!! epier screwed up big time with this one.
and the fee is currently for sellers ONLY...anyone can look at the auctions...anyone can see the pornography pictured in the adult auction section...so much for protecting the kiddies!!
i'm totally disgusted that epier allows full color pornography in the adult section...maybe i'm old fashioned but i don't see the need for a pornographic picture for selling a porn tape...i mean can't the title and the fact that its PORNO be enough???
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rustybore
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posted on June 5, 2001 08:19:03 AM
It should be noted, for those who are not aware of it, that ePier has removed the [vm] designation from MILITARIA auctions
Not sure if that means the idea is dead, or it is being modified, or reconsidered in some manner, but at its face, it looks like progress is being made.
I think the outrage from users was just too great for the folks from epier to ignore.
While this [vm] problem and the way it was gone about was bothersome, the fact that it seems to have been addressed is somewhat refreshing...
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dimview
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posted on June 5, 2001 01:36:47 PM
rustybore,
Certainly is interesting that the [vm] has disappeared from the military memorabilia categories.
Perhaps ePier realized that they were about to lose the very segment that allowed them to dramatically increase their sell-through rate (in relative terms) if they proceeded with their ill-conceived plan.
As you said, let's just hope they really understand the consequences of that "plan' and didn't simply run into [vm]-type implementation bugs.
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rustybore
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posted on June 7, 2001 10:21:27 AM
OK so there was a forum on epier last night with the CEO. Sadly, the board seems to have been loading slowly and many were somewhat dissapointed due to that.
However Mr. Kim did provide some clue into the long range plans at epier, although with little detail.
Amazing to me that FV fees were just plain rejected. This seems to be (IMHO) a somewhat stuborn stance to take on this fee method.
Hey what the heck do I know -- I've only been selling online since 1997, and have been on epier for a full year and remain prehaps their oldest active member.
Heres the address of last nights discussion if anyone is interested...
http://www.epier.com/ShowThread.asp?ThreadID=445&ForumID=4
I refuse to learn UBB...
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