FAIR SHAKE

This group was started by members of the First Thread, and has expanded to others. This has been a great source of communication and information for many. (Sample newsletter below--sorry for the pictures that didn't come through)

If you would like to join this newsletter group, just send your email to:

Boycottforsuccess@live.com

Here is the 4/8/2008 edition of the Newsletter, NINTH EBAY BOYCOTT NEWSLETTER UPDATE:

Hello,

Well, things are really starting to get busier and busier this week. There is a Boycott meeting at Fairshake this Wednesday night and Delphi is stepping up it's state meetings. There is a FANTASTIC link that was posted on the First Thread by IHearhorses that I have put on top of the link section. It has a great deal of articles I have never read. Tevans49 came out with some great articles that seem to suggest there are people starting to realize what this is all about. Check it out!! Also, SELLERS please look at your bills. There was a "glitch" in billing as seen in the post below. We've also added instructions by Swims on how to put pictures into the thread. Now is your time to get those boycotting pictures in! LeBennington found a great auction, and although long, it's a definite worth read! Very Clever! There is also a copy of the Seller Update: Fees, Rewards & Standards below to help anyone that would like to read more on the NEW rules and regs or if you are unsure.

May 1 will be here all too soon and I would just like to thank ALL THE CONTINUING BOYCOTTERS because you HAVE made a difference, A Big difference and you should be proud of the fact that you have been part of the solutions, instead of the problem.

On a personal note, I apologize for not being in the threads this past week. It seems I was removed without explanation so I cannot be there to support all the boycott threads. Now is the time to really step this up because more and more people will be coming to those threads looking for information. I know that it sometimes gets old after awhile, but when you put yourself in a "newbie's" shoes, seeing all this information for the first time......that is when we will get results. We need to educate everyone we can. It is even more important now because many have left the site and are busy adjusting to other sites to sell or buy. People will come to the forum threads, as I did, when I read the email. These people will come after seeing their bill go up and their scores drop. Try and get everyone you know involved. We want to make NOISE......we want to make NEWS......we want to make eBay STAND UP AND NOTICE US! We can do this you guys.......we really can.

One last thing. I am very proud to have "spoken" with most of you. I've found wonderful and passionate people from eBay and THAT, they can't take away from me.

Thank you as always

The Boycott Info Team

P.S. As I'm sure you have seen, I am not a writer by trade so please excuse typo's, spellings, formatting etc. I try to get this out to my wonderful partners before I go to work so sometimes my time is pressed. Please be kind to me. lol

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FROM TEVANS49 Taken Off First Thread

Good morning fellow campers:

Interesting article.....and if it does nothing else at least it will draw Oprah's attention to the issues.....

eBay: Where's Oprah When You Need Her?

If anyone can sort out the eBay (EBAY) mess and bring the people together it's Oprah!

There is something known as the "chaos theory" and eBay seems to have created a state of chaos between itself and its own sellers. People don't take kindly to being part of a "chaotic" situation and will eventually look elsewhere for "peace". It's no longer about how much eBay charges in fees or, how they match up results or even how they DSR sellers into an unknown zone, it's about people skills and eBay is lacking in this department. With 14,000+ employees worldwide, one would think that some of them have basic people skills.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/71350-e ... urce=yahoo

ALSO:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/71328-n ... urce=yahoo

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eBay Invoices Show DSR Discount Discrepancies?
By: Ina Steiner
Thu Apr 3 2008 21:16:22

PowerSellers are receiving their eBay invoices with DSR discounts for the first time, and it appears many are seeing math errors. Some sellers report that they are getting the discount twice, although they say there is a math error in the second discount calculation. Other sellers say they are seeing a discount amount, but are actually being charged money.

Said one eBay Powerseller of the DSR discount appearing on invoices, "They gave it to me twice - once called "subscriptions" and once called "discounts". On the Powerseller board, lots of people are saying that when they do the math, they are not getting the full discount and some are finding that they get charges."

As announced in January, eBay is giving PowerSellers discounts for achieving certain levels of Detailed Seller Ratings, which are left anonymously by their buyers:

If you are a PowerSeller and all four of your detailed seller ratings (DSRs) for the past 30 day period are 4.6 or higher, you qualify for a 5% discount on Final Value Fees;

If you are a PowerSeller and all four of your detailed seller ratings (DSRs) for the past 30 day period are 4.8 or higher, you qualify for a 15% discount on Final Value Fees.

Another seller wrote me complaining of a discrepancy in when eBay calculates the discount. While the statement read, "We calculated your discount on 04/01/08," she said she knew that her DSRs had been at or above the requirement for the discount on April 1st and at least 3 days prior. In response to her inquiry, she said she received an email from eBay stating:

"The ratings are taken 3 to 5 days before the invoice, so the ratings at the bottom of your seller dashboard page are not the ratings we based the discount upon, the ratings at the bottom are your most current ratings. Your snapshot of your ratings was taken 3 to 5 days before April 1st and at that time your 30 day rating did not meet the requirements for the discount. We are currently working on getting a screen shot of the day we took the snapshot of your rating so you can see what your ratings were when we based the discount, that will be coming very soon on the account."

This would not be the first time eBay has had major billing issues,...let us know if your invoice looks correct and if you are experiencing any issues
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Seller Update: Fees, Rewards & Standards
eBay buyers want value and selection from sellers they can trust--and good sellers deserve rewards for delivering great customer service. That's why we're making a number of important changes that may affect you:

1. Reduced Listing Fees
You asked, we listened. We're reducing Insertion Fees and adjusting Final Value Fees to lower your up-front cost to sell on eBay. You wanted free Gallery, now you've got it--plus more feature discounts.
* Lower insertion fees
* Free Gallery picture with every listing
* Lower fees for Gallery Plus, Picture Pack, and Feature Plus
2. Rewards for great sellers
There will be discounts and incentives for those who satisfy customers best. Who decides who gets rewarded? Customers do, by giving sellers high Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs).
* More search exposure through Best Match
* Fee discounts for PowerSellers
* Increased protection for PowerSellers
3. Feedback Changes
Significant changes coming soon will increase buyer confidence and showcase good sellers.
* Buyers will only be able to receive positive Feedback.
* Positive repeat customer Feedback will count and Feedback more than 12 months old won't.
* Negative and neutral Feedback left by the buyer will be removed for transactions in which a buyer doesn't respond to the Unpaid Item (UPI) or if the member is suspended.

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ONE SMALL STEP FOR US!! Found This In My Searches On The Forums

THANK GOODNESS, eBay is turning off the "PLAYGROUND"

xfmrbuyer xfmrbuyer (92 (92 ) View Listings | Report


Apr-07-08 13:03 PDT

Well, it is a start:

After thousands of complaints by both BUYERS and sellers and a very poor March for many sellers eBay has made ONE small move to correct the situation.

FROM the eBay SEARCH board:

Hi All -

Thanks for all of your comments & posts on this thread.

Just an FYI - After listening to all of your comments, issues and concerns about the search on playground on this thread and elsewhere, we are turning playground off and going back to re-think some of the features you got a chance to demonstrate on there.

We are going to unstick this thread and will be back with a new thread to announce the turning off of playground shortly.

Thanks again for all of your time, patience, passion & communication,

MarniSue
eBay Classification team

ONE INTERPRETATION OF WHAT IT MEANS

It means that the OUTSIDE company (not eBay) that was placing an UNKNOWN number of eBay buyers in the "PLAYGROUND" search (by default) will not be doing so until they "fix" it, if ever.

March sucked for MANY sellers and it looks like eBay is starting to wake up and is looking for the reason.

The combination of everyone being defaulted to "Best Match" 3/3/2008 and the "Playground" broke the camel's back.

TOO many chefs in the kitchen.

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LINKS:

New Link http://dsrwatch.com/ From IhearHorses, on the First ThreadThere are several links for information:

http://forums.delphiforums.com/boycottebay/start
www.myspace.com/boycottebay
http://home.comcast.net/~jimiam007/site/?/home/

http://www.netwalkercustoms.com/feebayf ... um.php?f=1

MEDIA OUTLETS http://www3.capwiz.com/mygov/dbq/media/
AUCTION COUNTS AND ONLINE AUCTION NAMES This will give other online auctions and listing counts and there is no need to join to view this. (Im including directions because I had a heck of a time trying to find this the first time)

To find the listing counts of each auction: Please go to http://www.powersellersunite.com/ On the left hand side, scroll down to the orange box that says “Free Auction Tools” click on “Auction Site Count”

Link to find Ebay listings by countries http://www.dealscart.com/count/ebayworldwideCount.html

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Boycott Quote Of The Issue lol

This is a quote Lilyjo sent me and I loved it so much I just had to include it. It also goes right along with The Rain Has Come.



Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...



It's about learning to dance in the rain.

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POST BY BENNINGTON

Donahoe_Has_Got_to_GOOn 04.03.2008 at 1:53 pm Said:

Here is the text from the auction:

Up for Bid:
One Ebay Member ID, opened May, 1997.
ID boasts a healthy 3,250 positive individual feedbacks making for a feedback rating of 99.7%. (eBay does not count feedback from repeat buyers, even though those are the best kind.)

Having left well over 10,000 feedbacks, this ID is very experienced, and prides itself upon those very repeat buyers, which are the lifeblood of any good ID.

It started out life as an enthusiastic, healthy member ID, taking pride in its appearance and reputation, and experiencing joy and serendipity in it’s dealings as both a buying and selling ID. None of this schizophrenic “I buy under one ID and sell under another ID and sometimes I diddle with both on the same auction” business.

It is proud of being an honorable ID, one that, as a seller, works to make it’s winning bidders happy with their wins, and, as a buyer, to pay promptly when invoiced by fellow sellers.

A globe-trotting ID, with all the necessary shots, it boasts friendly and personal feedbacks from nearly fifty different countries, and considers it has done nearly as much for global relations as any host of ambassadors.

For many years, this ID was happy in its warm, comfortable, nurturing eBay environment, but then it noticed it was becoming tired and out of breath trying to create listings. “It’s just old age”, the Member ID thought. “I’m not as fast or efficient as I once was.” “My arm is sore. I wish this Mexican bidder would stop twisting it and threatening to leave negatives if I don’t give her the same postage rate as someone in the USA.”

It wearied of trying to outrun accusations of dishonesty by prank bidders. “What men are these,” the ID wondered, “who would steal their closest kinfolks passwords and bid nilly willy on laptops they didn’t really want? What hath the world come to? Nay, is it the End of Days? Or simply a Fool’s Paradise online?”


Then the ID realized, it wasn’t all old age. eBay was secretly contributing to the problem, like six pound ankle weights on a treadmill walker (the Member ID was very familiar with this form of torment). It seemed every day there was a Policy Change email lurking in the inbox, waiting to pounce like a crazed nonpaying snipe bidder.

“My head hurts!” moaned the ID. “The rules are changing so fast,I get dizzy”.

“Take the Pill!” cried eBay. “Trust our diagnosis! Our corporate doctor, while knowing little about the day to day operations of an actual eBay user, does know what’s best for all Member IDs!! He’s not an auction participant, but he did play one on TV!”

But the honest little Member ID found the side effects only made things worse. It began to question eBay’s motives, worse, to doubt them.

Question upon trouble, trouble upon question began to burden the poor ID’s wearisome thoughts, even intruding upon its sleep.

The Member ID even tried taking a six month cold-turkey holiday from eBay, but foolishly found itself lured back, like a hobby moth to the flame of virtual e-commerce.

So, now, sadly, this ID finds itself in poor and declining eBay health lately. The relationship has become abusive, and unhealthily co-dependent.

In short, the Member ID finds that it needs to make a clean break from it’s owner, for both their sanity.

This Member ID has been diagnosed with the following malaise:

Advanced Non-Paying Bidder Syndrome: a cancer eating away at eBay

DSR Fluctuations: symptomatic of Advanced NPB Syndrome (see above), in which nonpaying bidders can leave malicious feedback and infect otherwise healthy cells, I mean, stars

Best-Match Palpitations: onset of sudden and unreasonable fear of being lost and never found in a formerly friendly environment

TurboListerrhoids: frequent cramping and bloating occuring during loads

Fee Ennui: Debilitating worry that fees are multiplying and spreading, and finding you no longer care

Bull-imia: The act of accepting absolute and utter bullcarp from eBay as Gospel, and trying to keep your feet out of it, while you wrap you mind around what sense it makes. Warning: This condition may cause confusion, disorientation, and irrational spurts of anger.


Altzliarheimers: Symptomatic of foreign wiseheimers demanding you to lie and put an alternate value on Customs forms.

Scams: Embarrassing condition involving others. Not to be confused with scabs, although equally ugly, bothersome and annoying when visible in public. Deemed necessary to hide, or at the very least, politic to ignore, by eBay.

Blockage: frequent necessity to block unwanted or unwelcome bidders, since Ebay won’t operate to remove these dangers themselves. Avoid eBay Brown Bag Lunches at all cost, as these will only exascerbate symptoms.

Shillarrhea: When one’s blood pressure rises upon suspicion of shilling. Often accompanied by Blurry Vision: seeing stars when one should see bidder IDs when viewing a bid history

Fleas: Irritating condition in which ID’s items are considered unworthy. All small IDs have them. eBay said so.

Quarantine: a mandatory 21 day isolation period for Paypal payments, at eBay’s discretion

IDgestion: the gut wrenching, sickening feeling occuring upon logging in to eBay these days

This ID has been told it has four weeks to live, and should make arrangements for last rights on or near May 1st, at which time, life support, in the form of Feedback reciprocation, will be removed, and negative bloodletting will begin.

There is no transfusion for this condition.

There is neither health insurance, nor customer service available, either, unless you count the standard eBay canned response: “Take two aspirin, clear your cookies, and don’t call us in the morning.”

This ID has been fully tested, and found to be devoid of any relatives, small children, or pets. It is therefore guaranteed completely free from the infectuous, highly contagious problem that many other IDs suffer from: “my brother/toddler/dog placed the bid and didn’t mean to”.

It comes from a smoke-free household. It does, however, cause steam to escape involuntarily from the ears on occasion.

Winning bidder will win all rights to this ID. Seller will provide winner with password, after payment of winning bid, and after removing seller’s personal information, and replacing it with winner’s own information. We can complete this transaction via phone, or in person. Seller retains all rights to, and will erase the current About Me page, but will happily work with winning bidder to create a replacement page.

Seller cannot, obviously, guarantee continued success, or profit of any kind, to buyer. Take at own risk. May cause irratibility and/or cramping. And gas. Do not use while operating machinery or size 4 font.
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************HOW TO PUT PICTURES IN THE EBAY FORUM THREADS by SWIMS

First, find your pictures & download them to your computer in your picture file in downloads. Second, get a free Photobucket account & after doing so just hit the browse buttons, there are 3 at a time, and find your picture file in your download area and click on photo and hit the button on bottom of window. You will then see the gif file or whatever you have appear in the photobucket small window. Do this three times if you have three photos & then hit the upload button and your photos go into your photobucket album. From there it is easy to hit the html button on any individual photo and just copy it, making sure to go to edit on your tool bar and hit the copy, and close photobucket window. Next open your tread discussion window, which should already be open or shrunk and click in discussion window & go to the edit in tool bar and hit paste. Then you should see the html code appear in the discussion window. Then you can add anything you like below or above the photo for all to see & enjoy! Just be careful on how racy you make the photos, as that got me a week vacation! Any more problems you can contact me directly by using the FeePay contact member link & my FeePay user ID. Time for some much needed sleep! Busy morning tomorrow! Remember, I am about 16 hours ahead of you! Yes, I can see into the future & I am psychic! Hee Hee! cheers! Swims