Tribe.net. Local Connections Scarlet's Lounge Designs http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#89bc9c3f-c7c3-4925-b6c8-918997e93a19 2008-09-22T22:29:59Z 2008-09-22T22:29:59Z

Yep, the new Bhuz site, "My Belly Dance Auctions", is awesome!!! I have just started moving my inventory there, and really like the way it is set up and how easy it is to use. Listings only cost 50 cents, no buy it now fees, no final value fees!!! It is only geared towards belly dance related items, so that is also a big plus for us. I recommend everyone go check it out. I think it is the next big thing, and we need more people to help support a great company that represents the Belly Dancer community. Better than etsy, because you can sell anything that is Belly Dance related, not only handmade items. Check it out! http://www.mybellydanceauctions.com/index.php

Scarlet's Lounge Designs 2008-09-22T22:29:59Z Shajara http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#78ece6ca-11ab-40a0-aa8b-a508fae70607 2008-09-22T04:34:34Z 2008-09-22T04:34:34Z

Bhuz also just opened up an auction site. I haven't tried it, but I believe the fees are quite low. http://www.mybellydanceauctions.com/

Shajara 2008-09-22T04:34:34Z Tahira http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#222351b3-166e-42db-8f2f-bd34411af99a 2008-09-21T03:35:01Z 2008-09-21T03:35:01Z

belly dance items are considered high fraud items because there is a history of items not being as they are described. Paypal has been known to hold cash for 21 days or until the buyer reports that they are satisfied with their purchase by leaving positive feedback. Even if you shpped via USPS through Ebay and had a tracking number to prove that the package arrived in a timely manner. just one more little wrinkle. . . {{{HUGS}}}

Tahira 2008-09-21T03:35:01Z Tahiyya http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#78424944-f9bb-4083-844d-dc80063c28fd 2008-09-20T03:09:08Z 2008-09-20T03:07:54Z

I just listed a book on ebay. Now, along with not being able to accept MOs, they are telling you how much postage will be on the item that you're selling. So on October 20, I say eBay, go away! I will not be selling on there any more.

Tahiyya 2008-09-20T03:07:54Z Jesennia http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#6a548077-d7d7-4d54-8edf-bf72eb8b6ccf 2008-09-13T08:33:52Z 2008-09-13T08:33:52Z

etsy still remains a good place so far. i received three rude/offensive/full on nasty emails this week from people. ebay does nothing to protect sellers or protect artwork. about all they are good for now is an occasional special auction i'm moving everything to my own site too and will use etsy for super special ooaks

Jesennia 2008-09-13T08:33:52Z Scarlet's Lounge Designs http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#88e89b68-f137-43ee-b999-8f7311040847 2008-09-12T17:25:07Z 2008-09-12T17:25:07Z

This is terrible! I am going to be moving my items to another venue and then eventually to my new website as soon as possible. Will keep everyone updated! :)

Scarlet's Lounge Designs 2008-09-12T17:25:07Z Tahiyya http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#d5242699-0a38-4acf-9ada-7bfc21f73435 2008-04-07T03:10:39Z 2008-04-07T03:10:39Z

I would protest to eBay. Live Chat is pretty good, and you can email them. I haven't had any problems with negatives for a long time, but someone did give me a neutral for slow shipping. She got herself blasted back, because she sent her paypal payment to the wrong email address, and then the USPS "sat" on it for three days. It didn't affect my listings, but I don't have a store, I closed it because it wasn't worth it to me. I actually do better in the regular auctions.

Tahiyya 2008-04-07T03:10:39Z $item.owner.firstName http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#f839f013-ccdb-4675-b19d-85a38f170ffe 2008-04-06T13:37:36Z 2008-04-06T13:37:36Z

I to have an Ebay store..And have wondered why everything has gotten so slow lately..I have over 1500 positives in a year and 1/2 And 3 negatives.Unbeknownst to me I recieved a negative a couple weeks ago from someone new with zero feedback and a memeber for under 30 days..Obviously the impact of this now my listings are not coming up..This is so unfair..Ebay & Paypal feel they work for the buyers..Hello we pay all the fees, do all the work, take all the pics and deal with all the bs..They take their money before we see a penny.If anyone has any ideas let me know..I am hoping to get off Ebay ASAP..They have become a very unfair place to do business :(

$item.owner.firstName 2008-04-06T13:37:36Z Jen http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#99311f26-4607-40ab-b5d0-40b114cba1e8 2008-04-06T03:28:15Z 2008-04-06T03:28:15Z

I know that when I sold something here on Tribe, and I used PayPal. The PayPal cleared, as in PayPal took the money out of her account, but didn't deposit into my account right away, I had to wait a few days for it because I used a new account and they had to verify something. I shipped the item next day regardless though, because the issue was with PayPal not my buyer.

Jen 2008-04-06T03:28:15Z Zel http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#b0b6f48e-cf0e-476c-b175-16a8c9ce0156 2008-03-01T17:43:37Z 2008-03-01T17:43:37Z

The most recent development is that eBay had listed close to half a million fake auctions to make their numbers look better for their stockholders. Several eBay members just found all of this out, are reporting it to any news agency that will listen, etc. http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000527568&start=0 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2008/02/fee_feedback_changes_at_ebay.html (see all the comments!) I've been caught up in this...wasting way too much time following this crap. LOL I am SO over Ebay....have pulled all of my bellydance stuff off of there, and only selling some bath & body stuff, although I ended 50% of my store listings. The remainder will be put on a "STORE CLOSING SELL" over the next couple weeks and that's it for me. Most of my things will be on onlineacution.com because even though I am paying them $8 there are no listing fees, no final value fees. And here is a great list of other auctions that someone posted for anyone who is shopping around for a differenct place to sell: http://www.auction.com/default.aspx http://www.auction.overstock.com/ http://www.auctionaddict.net/ http://www.auctionfire.com/ http://www.auctionquests.com/ http://www.auction-usa.com/ http://www.auction-warehouse.com/ http://www.bid-alot.com/ http://www.bidville.com/ http://www.blujay.com/ http://www.buyselltrades.com/ http://www.cqout.com/ http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html http://www.ecrater.com/ http://www.epier.com/ http://www.etsy.com/ http://www.hibidder.com/ http://www.ioffer.com/ http://www.itsgottago.com/ http://www.onlineauction.com/ http://www.overstock.com http://www.oztion.com.au/ http://www.plunderhere.com/ http://www.specialistauctions.com/ http://www.tazbar.com/ http://www.ubid.com http://www.ubidright.com/ http://www.us.ebid.net/ http://www.wagglepop.com/ http://www.webidz.com http://www.wensy.com/

Zel 2008-03-01T17:43:37Z Andalee http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#69c2843a-ec7d-42f0-a731-b5ec88c2718a 2008-02-27T21:28:00Z 2008-02-27T21:28:00Z

http://www.paypalsucks.com/

Andalee 2008-02-27T21:28:00Z Andalee http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#6d52b57a-0a2a-4790-b61b-86aaa7aa71a8 2008-02-27T21:21:46Z 2008-02-27T21:21:46Z

I hate ebay...I've been boycotting them for awhile and I've never had a good experience (as a buyer, never seller). Too bad, I have to use paypal. However, I've always loved Amazon and have been successful using their marketplace. There's always craigslist too. :) It's always free. I think Google should create an auction site. Google rocks!

Andalee 2008-02-27T21:21:46Z K-Lee, just K-Lee http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#c97e79f2-7bc9-4f86-841b-fc842b8850bf 2008-02-26T18:15:55Z 2008-02-26T18:15:55Z

Much ado over here on this topic as well: http://tribes.tribe.net/bellydancerboycotts

K-Lee, just K-Lee 2008-02-26T18:15:55Z Helen http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#800c7589-8096-4bb7-99fb-7afed1fb5dfd 2008-02-26T17:20:48Z 2008-02-26T17:20:25Z

I agree it's very very annoying when sellers put every descriptive word they can think of in the title - yet the product fits none of those descriptions.. I avoid those vendors

Helen 2008-02-26T17:20:25Z Helen http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#dde21ff5-ec30-47d7-a85f-8a7deaf89306 2008-02-26T17:19:12Z 2008-02-26T17:19:12Z

Amazon, maybe??? My sister in law sells things through Amazon, mostly used books. But occasionally other things.

Helen 2008-02-26T17:19:12Z Tempest http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#b64a7608-68d4-401c-bb08-2c1febff43ed 2008-02-23T20:51:59Z 2008-02-23T20:51:59Z

After reading posts I have a question is there a way of listing sellers stores on tribe? I have never heard of some of the sites you are talking about. Even though I'm always surfing the net. If ebay is going to cost so much for the small business it would make sense if one could go to a page which list web sites etc. Or is there already a page like this and I've missed it. thanks

Tempest 2008-02-23T20:51:59Z Rosalie http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#43913302-7db7-4775-8907-053d90412450 2008-02-23T16:25:20Z 2008-02-23T16:25:20Z

ok thank you. I went ahead and started working on an Esty. That whole ebay upset me last night. I thought the fees were getting too high. I called them last month trying to figure out why the fees seemed even more than before.

Rosalie 2008-02-23T16:25:20Z Djinn http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#7910b087-3c72-4dc2-b746-49643fdbce18 2008-02-23T13:57:42Z 2008-02-23T13:57:42Z

I quit ebay and got my friend to build me a website. Let me know if you want his contact info. He does good work.

Djinn 2008-02-23T13:57:42Z Rosalie http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#937bf5de-5f24-4c0c-a945-6e4f65cb2e94 2008-02-23T08:07:16Z 2008-02-23T08:07:16Z

Wow.. I just spent like 3 hours working on my Ebay. Thank you so much for posting this. I am speechless.. actually I am pissed! ..lol So this esty is pretty good? People buy from there? I think I am starting to panick... breathe in breathe out... ok.. I am going to read the stuff on here abit.. I think ..geezzz..

Rosalie 2008-02-23T08:07:16Z K-Lee, just K-Lee http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#b8e25b29-3632-44fd-82ed-3c81aa0b0ab6 2008-02-22T19:27:18Z 2008-02-22T19:27:18Z

I htink I am going to bounce over to esty right now and check it out. I always liked the mall shopper draw that ebay had but my sales have dropped off dramatically in the past 2 mos yet my fees are sky high. I even tried to omit my gallery pics to lessen the blow but I am curious what etsy's membership is like, esp for bellydancers. I am also growing tired of those bellydance sellers who list a Bellydance Dancing Skirts Tribal Cabaret Fusion Gothic SCA and to see 100 of them in every color and they are not bellydance, nor tribal, nor gothic, nor cabaret or what have you. They are cheap shit that only unknowing student dancers whose teacher doesnt advise them on costuming, would buy. vent over and out.

K-Lee, just K-Lee 2008-02-22T19:27:18Z Annie http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#3360b482-0d7d-4d35-815b-07db5227f535 2008-02-21T21:29:11Z 2008-02-21T21:29:11Z

I've heard that ecrater.com is OWNED by EBAY. Does anyone know if this is true? If so, I'm not going there either.

Annie 2008-02-21T21:29:11Z Zel http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#17cd0f44-8f24-4824-850a-4a19ab4fea08 2008-02-21T21:05:32Z 2008-02-21T21:05:32Z

I also wanted to add another comment about Etsy. It's a great site and the number of dancers shopping and selling items there seems to be growing, too, which is awesome!

Zel 2008-02-21T21:05:32Z Zel http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#bd6f1d17-ee46-4de5-99c7-9ba1667659b9 2008-02-21T21:04:02Z 2008-02-21T21:04:02Z

I am planning on moving away from Ebay and have been selling more on these sites: Gothic Auctions: http://www.gothicauctions.com/ Goth Auctions: http://www.gothauctions.com/auction/XcAuctionPro.asp Traffic on there is a bit slow, but there are currently NO fees and more of a community there. I don't know how well bellydance items would do there, but if bellydancers start signing up.... Right now, it is a good place to sell off items you no longer need/want...kind of like Ebay was in the early days. It really is virtually impossible to make money on Ebay, IMO. I'm having to bump up prices just to make anything at all, barely breaking even. Online WalMart is what they've become. And with the restrictions they have...forget it! All they want are the PowerSellers, who only sell....well....cheap crap.

Zel 2008-02-21T21:04:02Z Jennifer Rose http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#34cde982-bc0b-4028-b823-04fad0d0978a 2008-02-21T20:20:31Z 2008-02-21T20:20:31Z

Has anyone seen this cartoon? http://www.ioffer.com/feepay ::snickers::

Jennifer Rose 2008-02-21T20:20:31Z Minderella http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#3315553a-d7e2-403e-a894-7f05d3be0d33 2008-02-20T20:39:07Z 2008-02-20T20:39:07Z

http://money.aol.com/news/articles/tech-news/_a/sellers-boycott-ebay-to-uncertain-effect/20080220113009990001 Here is an article talking about the sellers protest of ebay.

Minderella 2008-02-20T20:39:07Z Zahira http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#c024bc55-70e1-4bd1-bd63-f6463fe18528 2008-02-20T07:09:09Z 2008-02-20T07:09:09Z

Other auction sites that people may find of interest are Oztion and Aussiebid. You only pay when you sell something - no listing fees

Zahira 2008-02-20T07:09:09Z Gigi http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#0d4196d5-e761-44cd-a0b0-b9eba78d8025 2008-02-19T21:39:41Z 2008-02-19T21:39:41Z

Oh yeah, I know that one!!!

Gigi 2008-02-19T21:39:41Z Shamsi http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#809f2497-c89f-4183-a912-7d2b2187d289 2008-02-19T21:37:35Z 2008-02-19T21:37:35Z

I have a very good friend who is a jewelry maker who distributes her products almost soley on ETSY and last year....well let's just say that she could have made this her day job. ETSY is well respected and they do have good visibility - I would say too there's a lot less of a stigma with shoppers/buyers regarding ETSY versus EBAY.

Shamsi 2008-02-19T21:37:35Z Kassandra http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#34350829-1549-4bfb-9284-ce81614ad89e 2008-02-19T21:26:14Z 2008-02-19T21:26:14Z

Hey guys! I just read this thread for the first time, and I am furious!! Now I understand why there are more sellers each day that put in the profile "I am new here, but check my feedback on eBay". I begun selling on Etsy mainly because the fees on eBay seemed outrageous to me. I have found that Etsy is a nice community so far. Etsy's principal policy is "handmade". Also vintage and supplies items (commercial and handmade) are allowed. I know many belly dancing sellers make their items, so I encourage you to give Etsy a try. Some advantages: You pay $0.20 and have a 4 months-period listing and 5 pictures for free. You can edit your listings at any time. You accept any payment that is suitable for you. You can have retaliatory feedback removed. You can have your fees back if buyer doesn't pay. I am there since July 07 and haven't had any problem (yet). Here are some useful links: http://www.etsy.com/terms_of_use.php http://www.etsy.com/faq_selling.php http://www.etsy.com/dosdonts.php

Kassandra 2008-02-19T21:26:14Z Loreli http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#eade9ab3-37c0-414b-9406-6a5c05fff8d9 2008-02-19T19:14:12Z 2008-02-19T19:14:12Z

I've now read about a few other places you can sell and this is encouraging, if they can can Ebay a run for it's money. I'm still concerned with the fact that not many people have heard of the new places and will still shop Ebay. Especially when it's all one sided for the buyers. And it's not just non paying buyer that concern me. How about the ones that email you after they recieve an item with some kind of claim that it's damaged, etc.? I have faith in my items and I offer refunds but they always want to keep it (despite the fact that they say it's damaged) and then want you to give them a partial refund AND keep the item. The big red Negative is held over your head and now there'll be no recourse for sellers in this situation.

Loreli 2008-02-19T19:14:12Z Jennifer Rose http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#8773b583-59d9-4607-ad46-f2f18749d7b5 2008-02-19T18:56:30Z 2008-02-19T18:56:30Z

Sandy (sacredgoddessonline.com) started an auction site: http://www.bazaarandbarter.com/index.php You get a $10 credit when you sign up, so sign-up and final value fees are totally reasonable.

Jennifer Rose 2008-02-19T18:56:30Z Rya http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#61a4c47e-cfb3-45fd-949c-285c824cd723 2008-02-19T06:23:40Z 2008-02-19T06:23:40Z

How would they feel if a buyer called in and told them they were full of crap! I bet a lot of cheating buyers are out there right now, excited about the fact that they can so easily get around paying now. That's BS. I've started buying all of my dvds and books from Amazon. Screw Ebay.

Rya 2008-02-19T06:23:40Z Loreli http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#f5ef8b5c-2480-45f1-b540-d160fa3353e9 2008-02-18T14:43:06Z 2008-02-18T14:43:06Z

I think I'll try Etsy. When I started selling on Ebay it was fabulous but I cannot afford to pay higher final value fees on top of the chunck Paypal takes. I checked out Etsy and you can sell vintage items there as well.

Loreli 2008-02-18T14:43:06Z Gigi http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#53be076b-9e3d-4775-9cf2-1f511c80be13 2008-02-18T14:02:47Z 2008-02-18T14:02:47Z

Thats kind of the same with me...Very good experiences...great customer relations, on the most part...but it is starting to eat up all my profits...my husband is an accountant, and he did up my #'s, and while it used to be, I was making a great earning, and loved what I did, I did not like how people would not read descriptions, and buy like a custom belt/bra and then pay...........I would say in the descp. and in the invoice, please send hip bra size...this isw a custom item...and then you would hear nothing fromhtme after 4-5 emails...then a week later.."where is my stuff, you have not sent it"?.....Drives me crazy....etsy is a place for people who make thier items...and although it is slow right now..I am grateful...I had one heck of a january and feb....over 77 custom orders....plus jusr regular orders...I hope I can build my etsy up...I also had some cards made saying I was moving...and I send themout to everyone,...and emails....So, I am closing my store but will continue to sell auction style, without being to accountable to eaby, and concentrate on vending and etsy! Good luck...oh yeah, etsy is just .20 a listing....! Gigi

Gigi 2008-02-18T14:02:47Z Loreli http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#e5235745-9ef1-4903-8da0-c832baaae1f7 2008-02-18T01:20:01Z 2008-02-18T01:20:01Z

I've heard about this and have been reading the Ebay discussions board on the topic. I don't know what to do. I'm tempted to do a website but I know I won't get the exposure I get on Ebay. I'm totally against the new feedback policy. I've never heard of Etsy. I make most of my belly dance items but I also sell vintage jewelry and clothes. I really depend on my Ebay profits as I am taking care of my elderly father and don't have another job. I've had lots of good experiences selling on Ebay but I hate the new policies.

Loreli 2008-02-18T01:20:01Z Gigi http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#63bb515d-a609-4bd7-b227-50b9b001d37d 2008-02-15T13:38:36Z 2008-02-15T13:38:36Z

Ugh, I had a person buy 3 belts in about 3 minutes...which came to about 350.00, then they would not respond...I dont have many non paying bidders, so was not sure how to go about dealing with it...so I emailed ebay, and they were very crappy tome...and were not helpful at all, on how to get my final value fees back, and just did not care...I was out 36.00 all together, because of this buyer...after a lot of reading, I fianlly found out how to get my fees back...Sick! Gigi

Gigi 2008-02-15T13:38:36Z Gigi http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#59039353-7b84-4677-b29f-1b2a7a57363b 2008-02-15T13:34:50Z 2008-02-15T13:34:50Z

Thats rather unfortunate...I have had a lot of good years on ebay, but lately it has just eaten away at my profit...I have been slowly moving over to etsy...it's scary though, when your customer base in on ebay...I guess I believe in my business and myself enough to try to do somthing different and see what happens...Good Luck to all you small business owners who sell on ebay...oh, by the way...that comment , SELLERS ARE NOT OUR CUSTOMERS...WHO THE HELL DO THEY GET THIER MONEY FROM????? ME, YOU, ALL THE SELLERS...Thats a bunch of crap... Peace, GIGI GIGI ORIGINALS

Gigi 2008-02-15T13:34:50Z Amara http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#16dd7bb0-2167-4051-b596-cf8321050795 2008-02-15T06:01:22Z 2008-02-15T06:01:22Z

I have removed all of my ebay items, and will NOT be listing again. If anyone wants my beautiful things- they'll have to contact me through tribe (my website information is on my profile) or directly through my site- and I'm going to have to rely on internet advertising it looks like.....One good thing is that I can continue my 'Make Me An Offer' through my website rather than wondering if someone is going to want the item I just listed (and have to pay the fees for even if I kill the listing!) I've found a lot of my stock walking out the door because of the 'Make Me An Offer'.....I just want all the girls to have pretty things...*grin* I hope Ebay notices how many people are leaving- and has a long hard think about what they're doing. I really can't see how they are rationalising their behaviour at all, considering sellers are the ones paying them their insane amounts of money. I have boycotted Ebay Selling. Vote with your wallets people.

Amara 2008-02-15T06:01:22Z Maral http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#e71ab65d-f359-49b7-95ec-2b4b76fb4e8c 2008-02-14T21:53:35Z 2008-02-14T21:53:35Z

Unfortunately there are unscrupulous people on both sides; there are non-paying buyers and ones who try to blackmail sellers, and there are sellers who ship defective items or not at all, etc. There are good and bad people on both sides of the fence, but Ebay seems to be adopting the attitude that poor innocent buyers need to be protected from the evil sellers, while sellers deserve no protection whatsoever (despite the fact that it's THEM who's paying the Ebay fees). It's ridiculously one-sided.

Maral 2008-02-14T21:53:35Z Kathryn http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#8c5029ef-9b64-4aa3-9a50-6b1944485455 2008-02-14T21:32:00Z 2008-02-14T21:32:00Z

Actually, after having a seller who tried to rip me off in a laptop purchase (never gonna buy one on ebay ever again!) blackmail me into not leaving bad feedback for him by threatening my 100% positive rating with bad feedback, I am kind of glad that ebay is removing sellers' ability to do that. Seems like ebay ought to be able to track buyers' timely payments and note whether or not the buyer timely paid as promised, or whether the buyer made unreasonable demands like free shipping/fraudulent chargebacks. IMO, the buyer's feedback should not depend on what kind of feedback the buyer leaves for the seller.

Kathryn 2008-02-14T21:32:00Z Yasemin http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#c1a0fa6b-8a6a-496e-acc3-816c7492af56 2008-02-14T16:26:09Z 2008-02-14T16:26:09Z

2nd post down, someone mentions Ecarater.com Maybe an alternative? http://tribes.tribe.net/fdhb/thread/2b5f681e-7e2a-473a-93e4-1849b0171024

Yasemin 2008-02-14T16:26:09Z Bellatrix http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#098ad5d9-73ac-4dd8-b5b9-f18a678a68a3 2008-02-14T14:32:36Z 2008-02-14T14:32:36Z

THANK YOU for putting this up! One more reason to go to Etsy...

Bellatrix 2008-02-14T14:32:36Z Jennifer http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#193cdd37-fcee-4d75-8fe7-0b18696efee4 2008-02-14T13:52:10Z 2008-02-14T13:52:10Z

So what are our alternatives? I haven't started selling anything on ebay yet, I've only bought stuff, and with these changes, I don't think I'm going to start. I know etsy is out there for stuff you make yourself, but what is available for stuff you didn't make?

Jennifer 2008-02-14T13:52:10Z Kat http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#b49ccd63-7eaa-4e30-b4e1-3ff9b45368fc 2008-02-14T12:29:54Z 2008-02-14T12:29:54Z

Did these already go into effect? I purchased something from a new seller about 10 days ago, and she was confused because paypal said that my paypal cleared, but that she hasn't gotten the money yet. And isn't 21 days about the amount of time you have to dispute a transaction? It just occurs to me that I told her that I was OK with her not shipping until she found out what was up with that. I mean, *I* know that paypal knows that I paid her, but she shouldn't have to worry about whether she'll be getting the money I said I paid her. I guess I'll be emailing her about this, too. Yeah. Ebay's not helping this buyer one little bit. I think I should write them a nice letter. (well, there's still tribe, bhuz and etsy.....)

Kat 2008-02-14T12:29:54Z $item.owner.firstName http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#a1d87308-f6a3-4d5b-b7be-37ba02e6666f 2008-02-14T10:57:14Z 2008-02-14T10:57:14Z

my husband's gonna be pissed!! thanks for that, we where leary about the changes but that's a bunch of bull!!!

$item.owner.firstName 2008-02-14T10:57:14Z Maral http://bellydanceswap.tribe.net/thread/988abccd-c198-4a8b-beb7-0e6a6b42481d#7722d22a-ac16-4c93-93d3-e8cbcda29a9a 2008-02-14T07:39:42Z 2008-02-14T07:39:42Z

Please delete this if it isn't allowed, but I thought that everyone should be aware of what Ebay is trying to pull. It is especially damaging to small businesses. http://starherd.livejournal.com/306304.html It's a little long, so here's the short version: - they are reducing the listing fee by 5 cents and making Gallery free. On the surface this looks great, and this is how they are marketing the change - as a "fee reduction". However, if you read the fine print you'll find that they are raising Final Value Fees (The fee the seller pays when the item sells at auction) by as much as 33% to 66% for some sellers. - if you have below a 95% monthly satisfaction rating on Ebay, Ebay will not display your auctions in the search engine. This seems reasonable until you consider people who don't sell in high quantities. For example, if you sell 10 items one month and 1 of them has a neutral or negative left for it by a buyer (deserved or not), you can no longer list auctions on Ebay and have them show up in the search engine, which makes it virtually impossible to improve your feedback rating since none of your items will ever sell. - they are removing the ability for sellers to leave feedback for buyers. This despite the fact that many sellers have been burned by buyers who try to extort the sellers by threatening to leave bad feedback if they don't ship something for free, or institute fraudulent chargebacks claiming the item never arrived. This, coupled with the 95% feedback rule, means that one or two unscrupulous buyers can completely ruin a small business' reputation on Ebay and make it impossible for them to continue selling. - if you have less than 100 total feedbacks or you have less than 95% satisfaction rating, and you sell an item, Pay Pal will not give you your money for 21 days. They are indeed expecting sellers to ship goods without pay, releasing the money only when the buyer gives positive feedback or 21 days has elapsed. How much you wanna bet that many buyers will then claim the item was not as described and have the charges reversed? - they instituted a 15% discount as a "Seller Reward", but out of Ebay's top 500 Powersellers only SEVEN qualify for the 15% discount according to the criteria given. Ebay claims that they're only targeting 'problem sellers', but really the ones who will suffer are the small businesses and individuals. Essentially they are making Ebay suited only for large businesses who move tens of thousands of dollars a month, and making it impossible for small businesses, hobbyists and casual sellers to function on the site. Many sellers and buyers are holding a strike on February 18th through February 25 - that includes no buying, no listing, no selling, no auctions on those days. If you agree that these policies are NOT acceptable, please honour this boycott in order to get the message out. Article on CNN Money; they're investigating the issue: http://fsbfeatures.blogs.fsb.cnn.com/2008/01/31/ebay-fee-hike-sparks-seller-rebellion/ "I called in and spoke with ebay yesterday to voice my complaint. I was told that ebay does not consider sellers their customers, only buyers. This is amazing to me since ebay only gets revenue from sellers. The buyers are my customer, not theirs."

Maral 2008-02-14T07:39:42Z