posted on November 21, 2000 11:20:37 PM new
Hello all.
Don't know if anyone will see this, but I would love some imput on some questions I've had since checking out the bidbay chat boards:
First, I should say that I've checked out the listings in the area I sell (as well as the area I collect)...not bad.
However, a few questions and concerns:
1)What is the deal with the CEO removing feedback? I could understand if negitive feedback was left because of a chat board problem, but there have been several mentions of feedback being removed because a seller asked. While I understand how upsetting negitive feedback can be, I worry about this removal process.
2) The bidbay bucks thing....how does that work? Seems like a fun idea, but it seems that other sellers don't like the program. Why?
3)I am a sucker for a contest! So, can someone explain to me how they work. I figure the prizes look really nice so there must be a 'catch' somewhere.
4)I've seen sellers made announcements on the chat board to their buyers. Is bidbay really that small that leaving a message on a chat board is effective?
Guess that is it for now. I wouldn't mind dipping a toe in the water at bidbay if I could get a clearer picture of the place (I trust that the chat board is not representitive of how things work over there).
posted on November 22, 2000 12:04:28 AM new
Hello Lotsafuzz,
LTNS, I will attempt to answer your questions. Of course some will be JMHO of course!
1)I don't like the censoring of negative feedback unless it's profanity in nature or posting private info on ones profile. This happening of George removing negative feedback because the seller or buyer doesn't like it needs to stop and I have voiced my opinion regarding this issue several times and will continue to do so.
2)Bidbay bucks are awarded for positive feedbacks, occasional George Board contest, and entering the contests to win prizes with bidding and selling. Check the contest pages for more info. Can't post a link here. Sorry! What sellers don't like at this time is the Bidbaybucks are issued to freely and the value of them has decreased quite a bit because to many in circulation right now. This I feel is about to change however to a positive note.
3)No catches, the contests are won from bidding and listing and you do receive the prizes. Again read the contest rules for more info.
4)This question I can't answer because I've never done it but I would think it would help. Bidbay is not as Ebay by no means but I would not consider it a small site either.
posted on November 22, 2000 06:37:34 AM new
Hey lotsafuzz. Neat name! lol
email me at [email protected] and I will tell all! I will also tell you about how the ptb stole 3000 bidbay bucks from me that I had earned by selling. They were NOT FDIC Insured!
Have a GREAT day!!
posted on November 22, 2000 01:09:13 PM new
WOW! People *do* come down here!!
Coolvette: Thanks for the answers.
mzkittie: This may suprise you, but I know of your problem with bidbay already. I've become 'hooked' on the bidbay chat board and saw most of it unfold.
General question to anyone who cares to answer: Does the CEO (George, if I am not mistaken) take an active roll in the auctions or just the chat board?
Also, what is with all the recipe sells? Don't get me wrong, I sure wouldn't mind paying 5 cents for a recipe that looks good (saves me from buying an entire book when I only want one recipe from it), but there seems to be a lot of them.
posted on November 22, 2000 02:43:13 PM new
lotsofuzz I am so glad you followed the saga. What most people do not know is that gt says that if you get suspended, you only get suspended from chat, which is not true. At any time, for any given reason and without notice or warning, they can and WILL suspend the entire account AND keep the bidbay bucks. They can also go in and clean the system where it looks like you never existed and never had any bbb. That is why I am so glad I have all my auctions printed out! I have the proof. All I have asked for is to have my account reinstated and my earned bbb given back, once I get them spent, I will leave them alone. I have received no response so I have decided that I will have to tell my story anytime and anywhere I have the opportunity. After all, I did nothing on that chat board that others havent done. They are still there. I have one thread where a member uses the f word and never even got reprimanded. I suggest you do not get involved in the chat. I wish I never had. But regarding the recipe issue, most of your answers you can find there!!!!! Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving to you!
[email protected]
posted on November 22, 2000 05:49:38 PM new
Is this the gambler, the same proclaimed board posting addict, suspended, reinstated, then suspended again ?
1-877-4BIDBAY May help you.
lotsafuzz:
As to CEO taking part, do you mean bidding, yes under his name.
Selling, yes under his name.
Its his site.
Chatting, yes.
Posting, yes.
Problems, yes.
Growing, yes.
As too the negative feedback's being removed, a lot of these were first time users and Anon-Cowards trolling for fun, some even left negative feedback within hours of winning bids. Sad, but true. Yes they should be removed, you would want this also, and yes eBaby once did this also, till they got so big they cannot see there own nose in front of their face.
Hi Pat
All stated opinions are JMHO, and may not concur with anyone else\'s.[email protected]
posted on November 22, 2000 06:26:02 PM new
Yes Bruce it is I!!! The scorned one who got booted 2 x. If you read all my latest posts on here, I have said that. Been there (2X) got booted (2 x ) and have the knife wounds in my back to prove it!!! It does not change the fact that I had 3000 bidbay bucks stolen from me. My mouth is not any worse than a lot of others on that board. I always speak the truth. That is part of my problem.
The ceo has been known to bid in a name other than his own. I really don't care. They do all they can to drive up the numbers but it only makes them look foolish. The stats speak for themselves!
[ edited by mzkittie on Nov 22, 2000 06:29 PM ]
posted on November 22, 2000 06:55:10 PM new
Can someone please explain to me why the other thread was locked? I have been sitting back reading and trying to find out more about this bidbay. I have watched it for a while but I don't see much selling going on for real money.
Seems like there is alot of fighting going on which does not make a happy family environment.
What is the purpose of locking a thread when you can just open more (3 more). Thanks
posted on November 22, 2000 07:05:08 PM new
YIKES !
The Thread was started by a BidBay Member. Another BidBay Member followed with a positive comment. The Thread was then attacked by Gainsayers against the BidBay Site & the Site mocked. This was allowed as you can see. The BidBay members said nothing derogatory in the Thread, just the non BidBay Members who were allowed to ruin the Thread.
So it's very obvious that if you start a peaceful Thread and these disruptors want it Locked they just come in and Mock you and you get punished for being peaceful.
Makes no sense does it. They must be AW Employees on a personal vendetta because logic is not eveident here.
posted on November 22, 2000 07:40:55 PM new
Hi Gary!!! I believe it was locked because it got personal and off the topic. Nite ncsports on bidbay, formerly whocares on here
posted on November 22, 2000 07:56:09 PM new
Well Kittie
If you look at the 1st part is was right on schedule, but the gainsayers got it off subject, yet were allowed to get a few dozen posts in of derogatory remarks and mocking the originators subject matter. That was okay I guess. They even started some mocking threads that still exist. I guess its okay to laugh at a Site, but not okay to defend that Site.
Makes one wonder about vendetta's and jealousies.
Makes for great Advertisement and people will go look. That in itself accomplishes alot. Like Paul the Apostle said that don't stop the ones who are preaching for gain & wrong motives, at least they are spreading the Gospel !!
posted on November 22, 2000 08:04:01 PM new
I don't know why the thread was WOMD other than the reason stated by the moderator; however, I must agree that it had taken a very personal turn. One should consider using their IM or private email for this.
posted on November 23, 2000 05:33:30 PM new
YikesLOL
If you see this. I guess this is the safest thread about this Bidbay. I see the ones who are from there had all their threads blocked and all the ones trying to disrupt the threads have their threads remaining except for this one.
What kind of bothers me is that the original threads seemed peaceful, so why were certain ones allowed to wreck their threads & theirs remain including ones titled that knock that site.
Maybe I should go to the Bidbay place and ask some questions.
posted on November 23, 2000 05:41:14 PM new
Enuad:
This really disturbs me. It seems like a huge coverup here and I just want to know what is wrong? Why are these people so bitter? I make a post on the other thread asking and..........well LOCKED so I guess I won't get answers. Perhaps that is the intention.
posted on November 23, 2000 05:50:21 PM new
YikesLOL, I just went there and looked. Rules say you can't promote a Site, so I'll steer clear of what I feel promotes.
I do see something I'd like to see at any site and that is their owner talks right in the Chat Rooms to the people. Different concept of staying in touch like some big Corporations are now doing with positive results.
I think like any Public chat places I've seen, you have humans with different opinions and you have conflicts at all of them including eBay on a much bigger scale. So I think infighting is unavoidable. Heck, Pro Sports Teams have fist fights in the locker rooms. It's how it's dealt with. They seem to handle it better than what I've seen at Yahoo especially where it's totally out of control. I went there, hardly said a word and was called every filthy name in the book.
It looks like any site to me trying to get on its feet. I saw where they are stressing advertising and thats a plus for any business.
Lets face it here. Any site trying to start has a big obstacle in their faces & it's called eBay. Continual uphill battle.
I see where Bidbay started in 1/2000, so it's still new. Alot don't make it that long.
But lets be real here! at eBay everyone hates Pierre & Meg. The eBay Cafe has had the most vicious wars known to the Internet, not counting the Feedback Scandal in the Book Room, yada, yada.
At Golds they complain that only a few list and no one knows the owners, yada, yada.
At Yahoo you hear about little punk kids calling everyone filthy names in every room for no reason and calling girls horrible things at random. Plus the most Rampant Bid reneging known to man.
At Amazon its the fees and total out of touchness with staff and no bids, yada, yada.
At other small sites you see accusing of shamming and blackballing, yada, yada.
So why pick on one site & it's people is all I'm saying.
How is anyone going to compete against eBay when I come here and see them killing each other.
posted on November 23, 2000 07:25:54 PM new
Enuad I don't hate Pierre. Meg is just a businesswoman, no matter how we feel about her. She's doing the best she can with what she was handed I guess.
I sold at Gold's for awhile, but found no real sales were happening.
I used to sell on Amazon, but it just faded into the background for me.
Yahoo was a total waste of my time. All deadbeat bidders.
I'm still registered at all of the above but never went back.
There are plenty of other nice auction sites with nice chatboards that I frequent.
BidBay just happened to come up in conversation one day in e-mail, I went to the site, checked it out several times, read the rules, read the chat boards, recognized a few people there, e-mailed them, received answers and nothing I saw or read was satisfactory.
I guess I don't know what the little sites can do to compete. I do know however, that there are more competing than ever. Fighting on chat boards certainly is not appealing.
Posting the accolades of one site over another is also not appealing. What I posted was the truth. If you go there and read the chat boards you'll see what they're doing. They tell more than anything could ever tell.
posted on November 23, 2000 07:26:55 PM new
YadaYada:
It was I who asked you in the other thread.
In all honesty then, how can you make such a long statement on something you personally don't know about? I thought the purpose of these boards was to share experiences, not hearsay. I think it is unfair to make such statements that you were not even involved in.
I guess you should be thankful this year that you were not part of the Heaven's Gate Cult where they were "told" what to think and do.
posted on November 23, 2000 07:39:21 PM new
YikesLOL!
Read the above carefully. I saw for myself what was going on. I personally read the posts. Just because I didn't register, doesn't mean I couldn't read them. Anyone can read the posts. I could read the stats, the auctions, the rules, the chat boards. The only thing I couldn't do was sell or buy because I wasn't registered. Does that make it better for you? It was first hand experience in that I could do the other things.
Well, I know I can't make the money I do at eBay anywhere else. But obviously the little guy is not inmportant to them. They neither listen nor care. They are mindset on Big Money. If they could exist without the Cafe's they would in a minute.
I read on another thread they gave the guy who got the 10,000 Feedback Shooting Star a Ink Pen and that's true. I know someone personally who knows him personally.
That I think speaks for itself how they appreciate those who made them what they are. Are they that cheap? I mean the Feedback Profile was their Medal of Honor for its members at one time.
What's needed is a few smaller sites that are surviving and prospering to merge together for strength, capital, etc.
I've been to other sites like Edeal, but even there they fought over the Money for listing contests. Accusations galore. Alot of bitterness. And sales are minimal. Just like Boxlot & Epiel. No sales to justify your time. I got an email to join a Dutchbid place, but they have a once in a while Chat Room post and the ones I saw were attacking the Bidbay site. When I found out that it's owner is a disenchanted former employee of Bidbay and who I understand caused problems for the site with his tongue when he did work for them, I then understood his personal vendetta and vindictiveness. Don't agree with it thou. And Sales there are dead to the grave. You'd die selling there.
You'd think MSN would rock, but its too confusing & slow. You'd think Gates could rock eBay's kitchen anyday of the week.
I guess we are resigned to eBay for now for sales, but I give the smaller sites a chance with problems no different than the others I see.
posted on November 24, 2000 07:04:08 AM new
I was referring to dutchbid, but I could name a few others like Edeal, ePier & Tbay also. I ran over 100 auctions at those 3 for over 2 months and one sale. Not too promising.
But if those 4 would group together and merge with a few of the other established small sites I bet they'd make an impact.
posted on November 27, 2000 11:32:12 AM new
Not to jump in on a conversation, but...
I am pretty new to auctions. Bidbay has been my first and only site. I also do this for part time income. I started two months ago and have sold 10x as much here compared to selling in craft stores in 1 1/2 years!
My bids are no where near being dead...
I have no other sites to compare it to, because nobody else wants my business due to registration constraints. That's fine cause I am very happy where I am at.
posted on November 27, 2000 07:40:06 PM new
I've sold there and haven't done as well as expected. The only items that sold were for BidBay bucks, not cash.
I prefer cash and if I have to pay a listing fee to get that cash, I will. I do, as a matter of fact.
I've bought items with BidBay bucks, two were nice, one item was a huge disappointment. There were several items shipped together in a used plastic baggie, in a big box stuffed with peanuts. The only useful things I received out of that lot were the peanuts. Sad but true. All were scratched, tarnished, missing pieces, not at all as advertised and the photo was, I'm sure, retouched to not show the flaws. I didn't leave negative feedback, instead I no longer bid on items with less than a 10 word description, unless I "know" the person. The descriptions of most of the items are non-existent, because most of the items listed are for the benefit of winning the weekly contests. The more you list, the better chance you have at winning.
I take at least an hour per item to list, with photos, descriptions, etc. I know my items inside and out, define everything, so no one is ever disappointed. Too bad I can't say the same for some of the seller's on BidBay.
Some, like the above poster, have never used online auctions before. That's fine, but one can't really judge a site unless one has more experience in seeing the difference in the sites.
momoalltrades, what kind of restrictions are placed on you on other sites? Just curious, because I never had restrictions, unless you mean you have to provide a credit card to list. Someday, when BidBay charges, it'll be there too. How else do you expect to pay your fees?
posted on November 27, 2000 07:45:20 PM new
momoalltrades,
I just looked at your auctions and most of yours are under $1, some at .10, which is fine, but out of 1-1/2 pages of auctions, you have a grand total of $2 in bids.
I can tell you right now, that with what you have on auction, you can and will make money elsewhere, real money. Don't be afraid to try, you might be surprised! I sold a lot of craft items on other sites and the money sure does add up.
posted on November 27, 2000 07:52:58 PM new
Thank you all for the input.
I got really excited about Bidbay, but have decided not to use that site.
If anyone is interested, here is why:
1. The removing of feedback by the PTB (yes, I understand removing feedback if it was left because of board problems, but I don't think that is always the case). While I would certianly love to have my one ebay neg removed, I don't think removing feedback 'just because' is a good idea.
2. Frankly, the chat board does *not* show the site in the best light. Yes, I understand the nature of 'board wars' (hell, I've been in a few myself), but that stuff is just awful (and I am not talking just about the snits between posters).
3. The 'bounty' placed on the head of an AW poster by management. To my mind, that is just petty and stupid and doesn't lead me to believe that management is capable of running a professional site.
To those who do enjoy Bidbay, I wish you the best....the starting blocks are there for a really nice site.
Again, thank you all for taking the time to answer my questions.
