Pretty Good Week

Howdy Folks,
Well, the Big Bonanzle Block Party sale in Whiskey Jack's Bonanzle booth was a pretty good time. I had the pleasure of visiting with a lot of people, and I had a fun time. The day started out with yard sales! A nearby town had it's annual community wide yard sale event, and I managed to find some pretty good treasures, including a vintage 1940's era bakelite bankers lamp, some antique Noritake china (circa 1918 according to the backstamp), and other great items.

Perhaps my favorites were a set of 4 large ex-library books from Doane College. These books were from their college library and they each contain several issues of LIFE magazine as well as page upon page of newspaper articles. The books are from 1947 and 1948. The end of World War Two and the very beginning of the Cold War. The articles are amazing, covering everything from returning war vets to the "red scare". Although I did purchase them to resell, it just might be awhile before they are listed online. I am having far too much fun reading them! Each book contains hundreds of pages and thousands of articles, so it might take me a day or two.

It seems eBay has another new policy (at least new to me). Apparently they can (and do) restrict the amount of time an item can be relisted. Let me explain how I found this out. I listed four vintage Gillette safety razors. They did not sell. I relisted them. Again, they did not sell. When I relisted them a second time, I was allowed to relist three of them, but not the fourth. The razor that I was not able to relist was one of two 1959 Gillette safety razors. One was listed and one was not allowed be relisted.

According to the "error" message I received from eBay when I tried to relist the razor, eBay can restrict certain items from being relisted, when any of several situations occur (such as low DSR's, complaints, nonpayment of fees, etc.), none of which applied to me. My account is current and in good standing and I am a top rated seller and a power seller. Even more interesting is the fact that, according to the "error" message, there is no list of restrictable items. It is done on a capricious and arbitrary basis by eBay.

I have to wonder if this is another of eBay's methods of pushing out the small seller in favor of larger sellers that bring in more revenue for eBay through their fees. Although I have no proof of this, it does seem in line with eBay's apparent move to shed itself of smaller sellers that don't generate as much revenue for them.

I have asked them for an explanation for their decision, but as yet I have heard nothing back from them. They promise an answer within 24-48 hours, but that time limit has passed with no response from them, so I am not holding my breath. If, however, by some strange quirk of fate I do hear from them, I will post their answer here.

Has anyone else experienced this type of capricious and arbitrary action from eBay? If so, I would love to hear about.

Until next, take care, and as always, your comments, thoughts and suggestions are always welcome!

A Crash Course In Ebaynomics

Ebay Does It Again
A Crash Course In Ebaynomics

I received an email today from eBay. A reminder that effective March 30th, the new eBay fee schedule will take effect, and that I am right on track for the lowest rates! This email went on to say that the "cost of selling on eBay is about to be dramatically reduced with our lowest insertion fees ever."

I went to the link provided in the email to check out the new fee structure. And what did I discover? Ebay lied. Imagine my surprise.

I currently have a basic store subscription which costs me $15.95 per month. Most of my items are between $1.00 - $24.99, so my per item insertion fee is .3 cents. Although my subscription rate will remain the same, the per item insertion fee will jump almost 600% to .20 cents per item. In order for me to retain my current .3 cent per item insertion fee, I must upgrade my store subscription to an anchor subscription of $299.95 per month.

Perhaps this is some sort of a new revised math or something, but in my mind a rate increase of almost 600% sure doesn't sound like "dramatically reduced...lowest insertion fees ever".

Apparently, eBay must think we are all a bunch of moronic dolts. How can anyone actually think that changing insertion fees from .3 cents to .20 cents is dramatically reducing fees to their lowest ever.

In fact, this little fee deal that eBay is pulling is nothing more than an attempt to scam new eBayers into purchasing a store subscription. It is also accomplishing something else, however. In reading the eBay seller forums, many of the sellers have seen right through eBay's lies, and have called it for what it is. An attempt to push out those sellers who do not sell enough high price items, and thus increase eBay's profits.

Increasingly, eBay has been romancing large retail outlets and stores, which will bring in substantial profits to the eBay coffers. And the truth of the matter is, that although eBay needed to smaller sellers during it formative years, we are no longer needed and no longer wanted. Many sellers have developed a loyalty with eBay, but that loyalty is not reciprocated by eBay. Nor will it ever be.

If eBay continues along its present course, as I suspect it will, it will become just another large online big box store, and the atmosphere of friends and family that made eBay an enjoyable experience will be completely lost. It is not far from that now.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my articles, and please remember that your thoughts, comments and suggestions are always welcome and encouraged.

Is eBay in Trouble?

Howdy Folks,
I just finished reading one of the online newsletters that I receive, and I have to say, that I am not all that surprised at what I read. In fact, the article seemed to validate something that I have been saying for quite some time. That eBay has changed their primary focus to the larger online retailers, and has been catering to their needs and whims, all while largely ignoring those of us who are smaller retailers. In effect, eBay is abandoning it's core group of sellers. Those how made eBay what it is. In the words of Stephen King's "Gunslinger", Roland, eBay has "forgotten the face of their father."

I would encourage all of my readers to read the article I am talking about. (Click here to read it). And be sure to click on the links in the article for some further insight and comments about the article. Since most of us still use (or are used by) eBay, I think that by keeping tabs on eBay's new direction, will help us to keep a leg up on what's going on, and help us to adapt and hopefully maintain our sales. After all, that's what its all about isn't it?

Until next time, thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to leave your comments and ratings for these articles. They are always welcome and appreciated.

Adios Amigos y Amigas,
Whiskey Jack

Today's Word of Wisdom: "When ya think yore up ahead of the herd, it's always a good idea to take a look behind you and see if they are still followin'."

Ebay vs Bonanzle: Smack Down!

Ebay vs Bonanzle: Smack Down!

Well, not really a smack down, but it sounds cool doesn't it? For today’s web site review article, I have decided to try and tackle the issue of Bonanzle versus eBay. Many Bonanzle sellers have openly expressed hostility toward eBay in many venues across the internet. Are their claims true, or are they simply a bit over zealous in their passion for Bonanzle? Hopefully, this article will address these issues. Now I admit that I am somewhat biased toward Bonanzle, as I do sell there, and in fact I have two booths on Bonanzle. However, I also sell on eBay, both in auctions and I have an eBay store as well, so hopefully, I can remain at least somewhat unbiased in this comparison. First lets take a look at the pros and cons of Bonanzle.

1. Listing / Buying / Selling

One of the first things I liked about Bonanzle was the simplicity of listing. Granted, eBay as well would be much easier if I kept my listings simple and used their TurboLister thusly. However, with the ability to use extensive HTML in my eBay listings, I alone have made listing on eBay, for me, much more difficult than it has to be. Bonanzle also has the ability to accept some basic HTML in the listing process, and I have to admit that although it is limited in its scope, I do like the Bonanzle listing process better than eBay’s. Plus with Bonanzle, you have the ability to customize your item categories within your booth, and you are not limited to only certain categories as you are with eBay.

Another benefit of listing on Bonanzle is the importing of listings from both eBay and CraigsList. You can also import your eBay feedback, and by doing so, if you have good feedback on eBay it gives you a certain trust factor with Bonanzle buyers right from the get go.

Both eBay and Bonanzle offer a local pick up option to buyers. However, Bonanzle takes it a step further by giving its sellers the opportunity to arrange for a pick up time and date.

Unlike eBay, Bonanzle offers the ability to run sales (known as “Bonanza’s”), offer customized discounts, and free items as well, all making for a more user friendly environment for both buying and selling.

I would have to say that as far as basic listing, buying and selling, Bonanza is far better then eBay.

2. Fees

There are no listing fees. This is a big plus for me. Ebay’s fee structure can be so complicated with various percentages in listing fees, final value fees, fees for extras, and so on. With Bonanzle the final value fees are very simple. If your item(s) sell for $10 or less, the final value fee is only .50 cents. If the item(s) sell for $10 - $50, the final value fee is only $1. Item(s) selling for between $50 - $99, the final value fee is $3. Items selling for between $100 - $1000 have a final value fee of $5, and those selling for over $1000 have a final value fee of only $10. With eBay, fees could reach into the hundreds of dollars. Plus, with Bonanzle, their fees are guaranteed not to increase through 2010.

As far as fees go, Bonanzle is the winner hands down.

3. Payments

Ebay currently only allows payments to be made through PayPal, which is an eBay company. One of the main drawbacks to me, at least on principle, is that this ensures that eBay gets more of your profits than it would if they allowed its sellers to accept checks, money orders, or other non-PayPal payment methods. Ebay, through PayPal, also has now instituted a new rule, which they claim helps bolster buyer confidence, is to withhold payment for certain randomly picked items for a specified of time up to 21 days. Not really a good thing for sellers who are depending on those payments to pay their own bills. I addressed this particular issue in an earlier blog article.

In the area of payments, Bonanzle has a far better, user friendly policy than does eBay.

4. Shipping

Ebay, on the plus side, does have a handle on shipping options. Ebay sellers have the ability to choose any form of USPS shipping, UPS, or FedEx. Bonanzle does not. Both venues give the seller the option to use calculated shipping, but with Bonanzle this is a limited feature that can be cumbersome. Plus sellers cannot add handling fees. With Bonanzle, these fees must be added to the item price, which gives the outward appearance of higher prices. Although this is not an issue for sellers who do not charge handling fees, it can be an issue for those who do. This does create a little more work for the Bonanzle seller. I have found that when I list on Bonanzle, I always use the “Fixed Shipping” option. I then set the shipping price based on shipping calculations that I have already figured out in advance. Unfortunately, this does always give me 100% accurate shipping price. Sometimes it is right on, sometimes I have to take a hit on shipping, and sometimes I overcharge by a few dollars. I suppose it all works out in the end, but I would like to see Bonanzle offer a better range of shipping options, so as to ensure more accurate shipping prices.

There is also the question of international shipping. With Bonanzle there is no differentiation between the two. If you charge $5.00 for fixed shipping, then you are charging that amount for both domestic and international shipping. If you use the calculated shipping, then you are limiting yourself as to the method of shipping as no real options are given. It makes for some seller difficulties that I hope Bonanzle can overcome.

As for now, however, eBay has the better shipping options.

5. Communication with Buyers

Actually, there is no comparison is this category. With eBay, there is only limited communication between the buy and the seller, and that only through eBay monitored messages. With Bonanzle, not only can buyers send messages to the buyers, but Bonanzle has a unique feature that eBay cannot compare with. The live booth chat. With this wonderful feature, Bonanzle sellers and buyers can literally communicate with each other in real time, and the possibilities are fantastic. With this feature, Bonanzle sellers can actually hold real time auctions right in their booth. They can deal with buyers, socialize with booth visitors, promote their items, and more, all in real time.

There is no question that in so far as communication with buyers, Bonanzle has cornered the market with the live chat feature.

6. Customer / Seller Support

With both Ebay and Bonanzle, there is the “community” that one can turn to for help for just about any issue or problem, and good solid advice is sure to follow any request for help that is given. But it is here that the similarities end. When communicating with eBay itself, users are sure to experience a level of frustration that can barely be coped with. I know because I have experienced it myself (as mentioned in a previous blog article). In a word, eBay is inaccessible. Unless you are a Power Seller (who due to their high volume selling and the resulting more money that they make for eBay), you are sure to be relegated to either an automated computer program that will attempt to answer your questions with canned answers that are rarely sufficient, or you will be forced to communicate via email with uncaring and non-understanding customer service agents.

Not so with Bonanzle. On Bonanzle, users not only have their questions and concerns answered by actual people, but even the owners will answer your questions. The owners also put out a monthly newsletter and a regular blog, all designed to keep users updated on upcoming changes and new features. They are also interested in user opinions and they are open to user suggestions for improving the site.

Without a doubt, Bonanzle received the highest of marks in this category.

7. Dispute Resolution

Although eBay does have a dispute resolution section, it does not always find in favor of the person who is in the right. Ebay has a tendency to find in favor of the buyer, presumably in an effort to protect its buyer base, and thus ensure future income. With Bonanzle, the simply transparency found in the booth setups tends to create a refreshing open faced honesty among the sellers, and thus reducing even the possibility of disputes. Although this may change as Bonanzle grows, it is very much within the realm of possibility that Bonanzle will meet any potential problems that may arise.

I have to give Bonanzle the highest marks in this category as well.

8. Promotion

With eBay, item or store promotion is going to cost you extra, above and beyond (sometimes well beyond) your initial selling fees. Ebay offers subtitles, bold print, borders, highlighting, “Featured Plus” packages, “Pro Pack” and “Value Pack” listing upgrades, and designer upgrades. None of these have ever really been shown to improve sales, but eBay does promote their use, and each of them does cost the seller more money.

Bonanzle does things a bit different. Not only does Bonanzle give sellers the option to sign up with Google Base (which allows sellers to have their items come up in Google searches), but Bonanzle also encourages, and offers tips on, self promotion. A tactic that is far better and user oriented than eBay’s method. On Bonanzle sellers also have the ability to hold sales known as Bonanza’s, which are 1-3 hour discount sales. These Bonanza’s are extremely popular among Bonanzle users.

Bonanzle also allows its users to offer free items. This is an excellent promotional tool that almost all Bonanzle users have taken advantage of. Let’s face it, everyone loves to get something for nothing.

Once again, a plus for Bonanzle over eBay.

9. Other Things to Consider

There are some other things that must be considered when comparing Bonanzle with eBay. Even though Bonanzle has been receiving accolades across the internet and throughout the ecommerce world, and although Bonanzle has clearly won this little contest, eBay still has some advantages over Bonanzle that only time can overcome. Among them, is the simple fact that eBay is still the biggest ecommerce site on the web today, and it is where the buyers are. It has the name recognition and familiarity with the general public that is needed to generate the high degree of sales that it has.

In plain terms, everyone knows about or has heard of eBay. It has become a household word much like Jell-O or Kleenex. Even computer spell check programs recognize the name, and parody singer “Weird” Al Yankovic has recorded a song, “I Sold It On Ebay!” The same cannot be said about Bonanzle. At least so far. With the exuberant and zealous Bonanzle community, this could conceivably change in the not too distant future. Again, only time will tell.

Because of this, many sellers are reluctant to leave eBay altogether. Myself included. I still have my eBay store, and I still run auctions on eBay, simply because I make money there. More than I do on Bonanzle. However, I am optimistic that Bonanzle can and will eventually eclipse eBay as the premiere ecommerce site, as long as Bonanzle continues to hold to its core values and goals, and as long as eBay continues to alienate the smaller volume sellers as it is currently doing.

Although I am a big fan of Bonanzle, and although I have no intention of ever leaving Bonanzle, this little “One-on-One” contest should encourage other online sellers to examine which of the two sites best addresses their needs as sellers. Perhaps it will be one or the other, or both. Sellers should examine which of these sites offers the best in customer service and the best in solutions to technical problems, and which is the most user friendly.

If I were to offer a prediction, I believe that eBay will continue to alienate its smaller volume sellers and increasingly cater to the larger volume sellers (i.e. Power Sellers), or those who ultimately make more money for them. I see Bonanzle as growing to be as large, if not larger then eBay, especially in providing a place for those smaller, lower volume sellers that are becoming increasingly disenfranchised with eBay. I believe that a clear line will be drawn as Bonanzle continues to be an ever increasing home for small business operators, and eBay continues to be an ever increasing home to larger retail businesses.

In closing, I would encourage everyone reading this article to give Bonanzle a try, I think you’ll be pleased. I hope you’ve found this article to be helpful, and I hope unbiased. If you enjoy these articles, I hope you’ll consider subscribing to and following this blog, and please don’t hesitate to leave your comments, they are always welcome and encouraged. Thanks for stopping by, and until next time,

Adios,

Whiskey Jack

Today’s word of wisdom: “Don't go sellin’ your mule to buy a plough.”

Frustration Upon Frustration!

I don’t know what the heck eBay is doing over there, but sometimes I wonder if they are trying to run off their sellers, or at least the small guys like me. Recently I fired up TurboLister so as to put some things up on eBay, and I received a little warning on one of the items. The warning, in essence said, that PayPal will be withholding payments on certain items, chosen at random by PayPal, until one of the following conditions are met:

1. The buyer leaves positive feedback

2. 3 days after confirmed item delivery*

3. 21 days without a dispute, claim, chargeback or reversal filed on that transaction.

The only saving grace that I can see in all this is condition #2, so the sooner you ship your item, the faster you will get paid for it. However, this still puts you at the mercy of the Post Office, or FedEx, or UPS, or whomever you use to ship your items. Condition #1 is, in my opinion, absolutely ridiculous. This condition leaves you totally at the mercy of your customer. No payment will be released until THEY decide to leave you feedback. Some buyers don’t leave feedback for months if at all. Also, if the buyer wants to keep their payment to you in limbo until they have extra funds (in case they bought something that exceeded their budget), all they have to do is withhold feedback. Fortunately (I guess) condition #3 only allows the buyer to keep that payment in limbo for 21 days. I hope no one using eBay/PayPal really needs their money in this depressed economy.

I wrote to ebay and outlined to them my suggestions regarding this new policy. I told them, “It would be my suggestion that this policy be enacted for sellers who maintain a 95% or lower feedback score, or who receive more than say 5 negative feedbacks in a one to three month period, and then rescind the policy on those who can raise their feedback score back up to above 95% and/or receive no negative feedbacks for a period of between 6 to 12 months. This would not only create a sense of protection among buyers, but would also give those sellers with poor sales behaviors some incentive to become better sellers with better customer service. I am afraid that to impose this policy on all sellers, especially those with 100% positive feedback and no negative feedback, may encourage these "good" sellers to go elsewhere to sell their items.”

Their response was typical eBay. “Thank you for writing eBay in regard to your concern about new policy of holding payments on PayPal. I do appreciate your comments and contention in this matter and will provide some insight into this matter. Robert, please be informed that, eBay and PayPal are working together to help increase buyer satisfaction which, in turn, can mean more sales for you. We have found that after 21 days the chance of a buyer dispute or claim significantly decreases. In a small percentage of cases where it has been determined the risk of dissatisfied buyers is higher, PayPal may delay release of the payment funds to the seller until the buyer has left a positive feedback or 21 days have passed without a dispute, claim, chargeback or reversal filed on that transaction.”

It is too bad that although has implemented new feedback rules and the DSR to help prospective buyers determine if a seller is trustworthy, eBay itself doesn’t seem to trust those eBay sellers who maintain good ratings.

In addition to this, I had listed a lot of 3 airsoft pistols and a holster on eBay on Saturday the 10^th. Ebay pulled the listing and gave me a “failed” rating in “Policy Compliance.” My earth shattering violation consisted of one of the pistols in the listing was an HK brand airsoft pistol. Apparently the H&K company (Heckler & Koch) reported the listing as a violation of their “intellectual property rights,” because not only did I truthfully describe the item as an HK brand pistol, but I (hold your breath), actually put a photo of the pistol in the listing!

Apparently, Heckler & Koch has decided that not only can you NOT mention their name, initials, or any identifying words in a sale listing of one of their items, you also cannot show a photo or picture of it. They go on to say that my selling of the pistol on eBay is “The unauthorized or unlicensed sale of merchandise bearing H&K's marks, or marks confusingly similar to,” which they say is illegal. I wonder if they monitor garage sales as well.

Personally, I don’t feel that I violated any trademark laws at all. In fact, according to the email I received from eBay included a “form” email from H&K which stated, “Guideline: If the product you are listing bears the brand or logo of a company, but it wasn't made or authorized by that company, don't sell it on eBay. Using a trademark without the trademark owner's permission infringes trademark law. For this reason, eBay prohibits members listing items which bear another's trademark but are not authorized by that trademark owner.” I did none of these things. I did not use another company’s trademark, and never stated or implied that the pistol was not manufactured by H&K. The pistol was and is a product of the H&K company. It was and is not a replica. In fact, I followed this guideline to the letter. Ebay’s response was again, typical. They thanked me for asking a question (which I did not ask. I simply told them that I had remedied the problem), and they gave me several FAQ links to “help” me find an answer to my unasked “question.”

Sigh. Just another example of the “Big Guy” trying to push out the “Little Guy.” If you would like to see how I remedied the listing, click here: Lot of 3 Air Soft Airsoft Pistols plus Holster.