posted on April 13, 2001 08:01:40 AM new
Well -- that was a fast flip-flop. Yahoo just announced that they are getting rid of ALL PORN on the site: links, auctions, marketplace, banners, etc. I guess the negative publicity from the anti-free speech nazis was just too much for them to bear.
That is a pity. Yahoo was one of the few mainstream sites where an adult could have access to purchase adult materials without going to a specialized site. Next, I suppose, we will have the "adults-only" domain names (ending in .xxx) for adult material, and then, finally, it will be banned off the internet, since we are really not going to be allowed to do anything that an 8 year-old shouldn't do.
Ok -- if that's what you people want... A sanitized lifestyle is on the way.
It is tough being an atheist in these times. I have to keep worrying about how a god that I don't believe in feels about what I do. So much for freedom of religion.
posted on April 13, 2001 09:17:28 AM new
It is pretty obvious that Yahoo does not have a clue as to what to do next. Too bad they didn't listen to the critics about the auction fees. Maybe this is a sign that they are starting to take notice.
I hope thye do generate some revenue. Then maybe they can buy Koogle a clue.
posted on April 13, 2001 01:45:47 PM new
.............FLIP
4/11/01 "Yahoo President Jeff Mallett said in an interview that pornography remained a small portion of the more than seven million products Yahoo offered through some 13,000 retail partners.
But he added Yahoo was comfortable offering controversial pornographic material as part of a broad commerce platform. "We are hard and fast on being the largest enabler of commerce on the Web," he said. "We have chosen to offer adult-oriented items as part of that."
.............FLOP
4/13/01 Leading Internet portal Yahoo! Inc. has said it will remove pornographic products from its shopping, auctions and classifieds Web pages.
The move is in response to concerns voiced by its customers following the company's expansion of its online offerings of pornographic videos this week, President Jeff Mallett said in statement Friday.
---------
Y! must have been flooded with complaints on the 12th to make such a quick and drastic move.
4/13/01 Adult Categories
Yahoo! Auctions is discontinuing the Adult & Erotica categories. Items submitted before 12:00PM EST on 4/13/2001 will remain on the site until the auctions close. No new submissions will be posted after that time.
----------------------
I just browsed Adult for the first time, looks like it was a very successful category. I only looked at the first 4 pages, seemed like 35-40 of every 50 ads had bids. I guess the sites overall sales ratio will take a huge hit when it's gone. I know the movie categories will, adult listings were 70% of all DVD and 56% of all VHS listings.
" The move also comes a day after Yahoo Chairman Tim Koogle, in an interview on the CNNfn television network Thursday, dismissed the decision to put adult material on Yahoo! Shopping, maintaining it had generated few complaints."
posted on April 13, 2001 06:14:30 PM new
I can't believe that this is going to help Yahoo Auctions out much. I know that in the Adult Magazines category, about 20% to 25% of the posted items have bids, and it was not unusual for us to sell 50% to 75% (or more) of our items that were closing on any one particular day. (Yes, we sell adult stuff. We're the worst people on earth, obviously.) Looking around at the other categories, I don't see anything even close to that.
So, are they planning on dropping the porn sites out of their search engine also. Or, do they like the revenue that they demand from adult sites too much to give them up?
And.... if you were a Yahoo stockholder (which I am not), would you be comfortable with a management team that made BIG decisions so quickly, and judging by the flip-flop, so haphazardly?
posted on April 13, 2001 06:34:15 PM new
Wonder if they are doing away with Yahoo Clubs and Egroups? No notices yet on those pages.
I have kept track of the adult sections since the fees were announced:
http://home.earthlink.net/~splashx/yahoo.htm
the adult section of Yahoo was the only good part of the auction left for making money. Much better than ebay. This action will do away with another 10k auction listing.
posted on April 13, 2001 06:48:24 PM new
They only mentioned the classifieds, stores and auctions.
I saw no mention of the large vast free porn underground called Yahoo Clubs
Any news on that end of Yahoo's ventures?
I can understand the heat Yahoo got for opening their own corporate sponsored videostore.I was quite against that myself.
But
Yahoo should not be in the position to ban small businesses and entrepeneurs from having their own shops or maintaining auctions.
Yahoo shops items are not in their general directory and those people pay the same $300 a month plus a cut of profits I believe if you go through them to get a merchant account as other shops.
The poeple claiming this move saves them and their 5 year olds from viewing porn is an outrageous statement
The auction sellers pay the same listing fees as everyone else. I pay $60-110 a month in fees. I was only a part time occasional seller on Ebay so I was not lucky enough to cash in with $1,000's of funny money listing credits. I paid cash money (debit card not credit card) for those fees. When Yahoo was free I still paid that much with featured listings.
There was absolutely no warning in this banishment of anything adult oriented. I logged on at 2 pm EST today to re-submit some items and found out the hard way.
No email warnings
No front page warnings
No announcements were made until moments before the change went into effect.
http://www.lovepotions.net
posted on April 14, 2001 11:42:18 AM new
I'm a seller on yahoo. I just can't believe what has happened. Yahoo brought in 70% of my income. Yes, I do sell porn and adult toys. Ebay only gives me about 20% because of their restrictions. I thought Ebay was going to discontinue their adult section with all of their new rules where you can't show the cover of the movie and no discription of what the movie is. Yahoo allowed me to show my customers exacting what they are purchasing.
I believe if looking at porn offends you then DON'T LOOK!!!!
posted on April 14, 2001 12:54:44 PM new
I've been shorting this stock since it was at $36. Yahoo is a great site with lousy management. These moralist who push their ideals on me, offend me. Yahoo should ban these moralists from their site.
posted on April 14, 2001 03:20:02 PM new
I am pro-gun/weapons, but I accept the fact that Yahoo and other auction sites have the right, as private corporations, have the right to put on their auctions and sights what they wish and what they feel the public feels is most appropriate for their firm.
posted on April 15, 2001 08:48:28 AM new
Yahoo has the right to do whatever it wants, but as far as I am concerned, they just committed suicide.
The fallout from the ban will be a serious blow not only to their bottom line, but to many of us who abhor the religious right telling us what we can and can not think and view.
posted on April 15, 2001 01:18:32 PM new
insightwatcher, you have the right not to visit Yahoo, and leave the right of Yahoo to sell any legal item, and for the members to buy the porn if they so choose. You have the right to not to buy the porn. In America, if someone sells something you don't like, you don't have to patronize their business. If enough people agree with you, then the business goes bankrupt.
posted on April 15, 2001 08:43:57 PM new
grape; I don't know how anyone can help the current situation other than not listing on Yahoo until they adjust their fees.
Yahoo hired someone from "Egghead Computers" to run Yahoo Auctions. Judging by the lack of any decisions or actions to save Yahoo Auctions, I assume he hasn't arrived yet.
lovepotion; The adult listings have been deleted on Yahoo Clubs and Yahoo Groups since they announced their non-porn "strategy". The adult clubs are still there if you are a member or know the URL.
eadultentertainment; Have you done a search for "adult auctions". There are quite a few on the web.
insightwatcher; You have the right to not veiw adult sites, clubs, or auctions. Pornography is legal because our elected officials in the house and senate enjoy renting X-Rated movies and hiring escorts when they are traveling on official government business.
litlux; I couldn't agree more. Yahoo and AOL can kiss my *%$#.
posted on April 16, 2001 12:16:57 AM new
Has it not occurred to all of you indignant "adult" sellers that it was NOT the "moralists" and "religious right" you so despise who convinced Yahoo to abruptly do an about-face and discontinue all their pornographic offerings.....but it was, in all likelihood, the powers-to-be at one (or more) of their MAJOR CORPORATE CLIENTS (those who advertise on the site as well as those who pay handsomely for Yahoo Shopping placements), who were probably extremely upset with the PUBLIC IMAGE Yahoo was presenting, and who probably threatened to DISCONTINUE ALL BUSINESS with Yahoo unless the pornography were eliminated from the site.
Is that so difficult to fathom, or are you just BLINDED by your hatred of all those who don't share your embracement of pornography???
Yahoo has made it clear in the past that their policies and decisions will not be swayed by public opinion.
They didn't ban so-called racist and hate-group items from their Auction until it became financially necessary for them to do so.
They never made any attempt to contain the pornography within the Adult category (in which it belonged) on their Auction, by policing the site and moving or removing the violating listings from inappropriate categories (where children COULD and DID stumble across them).
And they CERTAINLY haven't been influence by the opinions of their Auction sellers in regard to the listing fee structure they implemented.
So what makes you think it was public opinion that swayed them to reverse their decision to include (or should I say EXPAND) pornography on their website???
I think the Yahoo brass **couldn't care less** what the "moralists" and "religious right" think.....but let Target, Avon, Estee Lauder, FTD, Dell Computers, Gap, Barnes & Noble, Banana Republic, Saks Fifth Avenue, Eddie Bauer, Spiegel, Adidas, Fox Movies, Columbia House, Chase Bank, H & R Block, Fortune Magazine, Lands' End, or one of the other companies that pay Yahoo Shopping/advertising **big bucks** complain to them about the pornography, and I guarantee they'll sit up and take notice.
And I think that's probably what happened.
lovepotions, you said, "Yahoo should not be in the position to ban small businesses and entrepeneurs from having their own shops or maintaining auctions."
Who says????????????
It's Yahoo's website. They can ban any shop or auction they WANT to ban, whether you like it or not....whether you think they have the RIGHT to or not....and whether pornography shop owners and Auction sellers pay them the same fees that anyone else pays. (I do believe any shops or auctions cancelled should have all applicable fees reimbursed but Yahoo, unfortunately, doesn't have a very good track record in that regard.)
I have a collector guide for Nazi memorabilia that I can no longer list for sale on Yahoo Auction. So I now sell it elsewhere. And you can do the same with your pornography----find somewhere else to sell it.
That shouldn't be too hard for you to do. The internet is **overflowing** with XXX websites, where your merchandise will fit right in.
And Wiffy, I have to laugh at your comment, "A sanitized lifestyle is on the way."
You're KIDDING, right??? I mean, with television full of sex, and movies full of sex, and advertising full of sex, and the internet full of sex.....just how quickly do you think this "sanitized lifestyle" is going to arrive?????????
posted on April 17, 2001 08:08:57 PM new
Granee: Yahoo made it VERY clear that the reason they were removing the adult content was (I am paraphrasing here) that they had received "thousands" of letters expressing outrage that they would offer adult material on their site. Of course, this material had been available for years -- it was only TWO DAYS after the President of Yahoo (or whoever it was) made the pro-porn comments.
Coincedence? I think not!
Heygrape: I'm sure I am in the minority here, but I think that Yahoo's auction fees were the BEST thing they ever did! My sales ratio went from roughly 5% to almost 25% in about three weeks! With the fees, they also got more serious about deadbeat bidders (my deadbeat percentage went to almost zero), and, yes, they cleared out the "junk" -- meaning the auctions of old magazines starting at 10 cents, auctions that were merely fronts for websites, and multiple listings for the same item. Not that I am defending Yahoo entirely (I an REALLY unhappy with them right now), but I guess I have a different perspective on the fees.
eadultentertainment: We feel for you; we're almost in the same boat. It takes a LOT of creativity to list on eBay these days!
posted on April 17, 2001 08:57:43 PM new
Wiffy -- Yahoo also said they received thousands of requests for fees which was not true. They also said they did the fees to get rid of the "junk" like airline fares, get rich quick scams, and dirty undies.
Looks to me like the only people that can afford their fees are the people with the airline fares, get rich quick scams, dirty undies, and porn like yours.
posted on April 17, 2001 10:06:26 PM newquickdraw29, you asked, "just who do you suppose influenced the major corporations, the mothers of the CEOs?"
I don't think the CEOs of Yahoo's advertisers and of corporate Yahoo Shops need to ask their mothers what they should think of Yahoo selling pornography, nor do I think they need to see what public opinion is in order to form their own opinions. I think they came to their own conclusions, and very rapidly at that.
Wiffy, you overlooked the part of the article that says, "Ms. Dugan said the swift response was due to the high consumer response, which included not only individual users but also corporate advertisers."
Yahoo was worried about its POCKETBOOK, its BOTTOM LINE. And I guarantee you that the "moral opinions" of its involvement in pornography voiced by biggies like Target, Avon, GAP, Spiegel, Lands' End, and others carried CONSIDERABLY more weight with Yahoo than the opinions voiced by you or me. (Not to mention the lawsuits and loss of $2.5 million local tax-abatement status that Yahoo was about to face because of their pornographic offerings.)
I shouldn't be surprised that a pornography seller would think "Yahoo's auction fees were the BEST thing they ever did!" The adult/erotic category was one of the very few areas still getting active bidding on YaWho, so the fees probably got rid of a lot of your competitors. But it also got rid of ALMOST ALL THE BUYERS looking for things OTHER THAN pornography. Which in turn got rid of ALMOST ALL the non-pornography listings, too. 93% of them (and increasing daily).
By the way, the inplementation of Yahoo Auction fees didn't get rid of "multiple listings for the same item". To the contrary---where identical multiple listings were DISALLOWED before the fees started, now Yahoo ENCOURAGES them!
posted on April 18, 2001 02:30:55 PM new
heygrape: My point was that people that are selling items that people actually WANT to buy can afford the fees.
