eBay News, Fun & Tips for Online Buyers and Sellers

Eczema, Dermatitis, Psoriasis, and Cleaning Products

linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk (linksmultiple) — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 11:26:00 +0000

Here's a quote from one of our members about the link she found between the harsh chemicals in many household cleaning products and personal care items and her skin problems.....

I Suffered with eczema since 10 yrs. old. My problems with eczema are a big part of the reason I listened to someone talk about the harsh chemicals in cleaning products in the first place! For those of you who don't know what eczema is, let me enlighten you. It is a skin condition, often associated with allergies (yes, I have hay fever every spring -- allergic to all sorts of grass pollens and can't use the normal washing powders, fabric conditioners and moisturisers).

It manifests itself in different ways. Almost always it makes the skin itch. Trying to control yourself from scratching is MOST difficult. In the winter, I would experience very dry, itchy skin in patches. If I scratched, it would be very flaky. Eventually (if I scratched too much) it would begin to turn red and hurt. Other times, I'd have a patch, but the skin wouldn't turn dry. Instead, it would turn "weepy" -- moist to the touch at all times and always, always itching. YUCK! It is gross and very annoying! When I was 10, my parents took me to a dermatologist (a luxury after months of suffering and not getting the stuff to go away). The dermatologist gave me some prescription salve to put on my arms (only place affected). I was also given a long list of things to stay away from -- all soap except Ivory, all bath oils and bubble baths, warm baths were ok; hot baths or hot showers were off limits, don't sit in the grass or play in the grass, don't wear wool, etc.

The salve and the life changes helped, but the salve seemed to take the pigment out of my skin. I was left with large white splotches on my arms. Since I'm Caucasian and relatively pale anyway, the "bleached arms" weren't that big of a deal until summertime when part of my arms wouldn't tan at all!! My condition also seemed to get worse with stress. I began having some problems in school in the 5th grade, and that's when all this eczema started (the hay fever had started 3 years earlier). When I'd get anxious before a test, etc. the eczema would really flare up. The condition continued off and on for years. Sometimes I might go a whole year with no episodes; other times it would flare up every 3-4 months. When I heard about a company that provided chemical-freee cleaning products and special moisturisers I was 7 months pregnant with my 2nd child, my eczema was flaring up and I had long ago stopped using the salve.

My two-year-old had just been diagnosed with eczema and she wouldn't let me near her with the medicine the pediatrician had prescribed for her. She would scratch her little legs at night after she'd gone to sleep until they would bleed. I heard that there was something called Renew Problem Skin Lotion that was supposed to be good for eczema and I decided to try it for my daughter's sake. What did I have to lose? I'm happy to report that the Renew Problem Skin Lotion used once or twice per day TOTALLY cleared up my eczema and my daughter's eczema in less than a week! She would let me put it on her because it just looked like lotion -- not medicine, I guess.

Nothing had EVER worked that quickly on me before. That was 6 years ago. My daughter's eczema had never come back (and no, I don't use the Problem Skin Lotion all the time -- I keep it on hand for any sign of dry skin, but we don't use it exclusively and certainly not all the time).

Stormpay Update

linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk (linksmultiple) — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 10:23:00 +0000

For anyone affected by the recent events surrounding Stormpay and many Autosurf programs, here is some information from one of the related forums which was posted by "CaRamsfan" on 5th February 2006..........

Hi Folks,

I just wanted to share with you what I have been receiving
in regards to 12DP & Stormpay. Again, outside of this I
don't know anything else but as I do receive news I will
forward it to you.

I apologize for the length of these updates but they do contain pretty good info!

Here is what I received…

Update 1:

Hello Team

I was on the forum on 12 Daily Pro last night ( Saturday ) and following a live conference call being held by some of the major Auto-surf owners . The conference call was being held by the owner of NME Mr. Mikula and Charis and Vince were on the call.

They are in the process of deciding the best way to battle Stormpay and get their money and accounts Un-frozen. They are considering Legal options . Also , NME is getting a payment processor ready and wants to work with Alien Trust owner and Charis afcourse .

It is unclear how they will partner up but the main things they discussed were the fact that the Auto-surf industry is completely legal and the various aspects of the industry.

The bottom line comments from Charis were that she will be making every attempt to get people the refunds and perhaps was not going to be able to get the surfing earnings and commissions out to members and that she felt it is always better to under promise and over deliver. She said she wants to at least get the refunds to people if she can so we can all start on a clean slate.

We don't want to read anything into this team other than the fact that these are at least Charis's stated intentions. It tells me she intends to not only return the membership fees if at all she is in a position to do so depending on events that unfold with stormpay , but also intends to stay very much in the industry and start something new and on a clean slate as she put it.

Vince the Prince from Alien Trust said that they are going to try very hard to get everyone compensated but that it may take some time. I have no idea how to read into that . I know he may be working closely with Don Mikula of NME to start a new payment processor and work alongside him.

The bigger companies and owners are getting partnered up as events unfold day by day and they are looking to work as allies and partners . That could be very good news for us and for the industry.

I am suggesting that we all closely follow the events and that we be patient at this time.

Emotions are running high everywhere and the consensus is that Stormpay has been and is the main culprit here and they are not going to get away with what they have started. This is literally WAR because it has affected the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of families.

I am completely ready to move forward as the remedies and possible refunds fall into place and things become more clear.

This is not the end. Its just the beginning .

Warrior Steve {the mad Hungarian}

-----------------------------------------------------------

Update 2:

Good evening to all of my friends at Adlandpro. It is an honor to be among such dedicated and professional business owners!

I only post a forum when I feel I have something important to say. This topic is important and I am here to ask you for your help.

This forum has been set up for those who are members of 12DailyPro and/or the autosurf industry in general. What is being suggested to help 12DailyPro could also be applied to other legitimate autosurfs if those members so desired. I personally am an advocate of this profession and want to see it survive. Yes, there have been many scam artists to jump on the band wagon, but I do not feel it is fair to punish those legitimate business owners who have worked so hard to get this industry off the ground.

I am here to make a plea to help these members recover the money they currently have in 12DailyPro and to present the facts as I know them to help people make an informed decision. By no means do I wish to convey that the information presented here is 100% accurate, but I have done my best to present supporting evidence for any statement I make. I feel it is sufficient to determine who is in the right and who is engaging in questionable practices at best and outright illegal practices at worst. In the end as always, you must make up your own mind.

BECAUSE MY AIM IS TO HELP 12DAILYPRO MEMBERS WHO MAY BE IN TROUBLE, I would respectfully ask that unless you wish to contribute to this cause monetarily or by spreading the word, or add useful information regarding Stormpay or 12DailyPro, that you please refrain from posting negative comments. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I highly respect that. Please understand, I am not attempting to start a war here or taking sides in any way, shape or form. I will present the information as clearly as possible and offer my view of matters based on that information.

At this very moment, there are thousands of people's money at stake and I hope we can focus on helping these people reclaim their hard earned money, while hopefully helping the 12DailyPro program survive the bitter set of circumstances they are facing. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

NOTE: If you can, please pass on this information to any other community/forum/message board you belong to. IT'S IMPORTANT TO GET THE WORD OUT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME TO HELP 12DAILYPRO.

While there is no guarantee that all members will be refunded, our support and contributions could just be the deciding factor in whether we do get our money back. It is my belief that some action is better than no action at all.

THERE IS A LOT OF INFORMATION ON THIS POST, SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME. THIS IS A COMPLEX MATTER AND I WANT TO CLEAR UP AS MUCH OF THE CONFUSION AS POSSIBLE. IF YOU CAN'T READ IT ALL AT ONCE, PLEASE READ THE NEXT SECTION TO SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP AND THEN COME BACK AND FINISH EXAMINING THE EVIDENCE LATER. THANK YOU!

It is my hope that after reading this post, those of you who are members of 12DailyPro and those of you who have friends/family/business associates that are members of 12DailyPro will come together to help save this incredible program and show your loyal support to its owner, Charis Johnson, who has single handedly changed the lives of thousands of people around the world for the better.

One has only to read the thousands of posts in her forum to know that she has done the seemingly impossible -- keep 300,000 members consistently happy and pay them on time with integrity, never once missing a payment and never once being late in her payments to members.

Since I am asking for your sincere support for 12DailyPro, I want to present as many verifiable facts as possible about the owner of this program. These facts, coupled with my own personal experience with the program and the sincere expressions of thousands of members in the 12DP forum should convince you beyond any doubt that the owner of this program has done nothing wrong and deserves our respect and our loyalty as she faces the most difficult circumstances a business owner could ever face.

I will also present to the best of my knowledge and ability verifiable facts about Stormpay so that everyone can see clearly what a dishonest company this is and why we should immediately take action to force them to STOP illegally spending our (12DailyPro members) money on THEIR debts!

This is the only way we have a chance at recovering the money we currently have in 12DailyPro. Otherwise, Charis will have to spend the money she would rather spend refunding US on legal expenses to fight Stormpay. So please do take the time to review this information, but my team and I urge you to take swift action in supporting 12DailyPro. Each minute that goes by means one more minute that your funds are disappearing and going into the hands of someone they do not belong to!

For those of you who want to help out immediately and come back and read all the facts later, here is what you should do:

12DailyPro members are 100% committed to this program as you will see on the 12DP forum. Rather than complaining or wondering whether they will get their money back in light of the fact that Stormpay is currently holding their money hostage and illegally spending it to pay back their debts, 12DP members are taking a proactive stance.

They are banding together and realizing that there is great strength in numbers! 12DailyPro now has over 320,000 members. If each member donated just $10 that would raise over $3.2 Million -- enough to legally fight Stormpay and recover our money AND hopefully enough to pay back all the members what they are owed!!!

Together we can make this happen! (Just like the neighbors did for Jimmy Stewart in the movie 'It's A Wonderful Life'!) A couple of the 12DP Forum Moderators have donated as much as $3,000 each. You will see their screenshots on the forum thread referred to below.

Why would the members be willing to donate their own money to see the program stay afloat? One reason: They trust 12DailyPro implicitly because Charis has consistently paid members for almost a year now (10 months to be exact), she has always communicated details of all situations that have arisen and she has literally changed the financial picture of thousands of people around the world in a very short period of time -- this program has done for people in a matter of months what most companies cannot do in 20 or 30 years. Simply put -- everyone LOVES Charis and 12DailyPro and with good reason.

If you are one of those whose life has changed for the better because of 12DailyPro, will you now show your gratitude and loyalty and support Charis and all your family members in 12DP by generously donating to keep our money safe? We hope that you will rise to the occasion and show your support! Let's show everyone what Adlanders can do!!

On 12DailyPro's forum you will see a thread called 'Help for Newbies' and a post in that thread titled 'Message from Charis - How to Make a Legal Donation.' It should be noted that many, many 12dailypro members offered, even begged, to donate money long before Charis put up this post. Charis has also had to at least temporarily let go of her staff and other than the forum moderators, is operating completely alone at this time so as to have more funds to use in repaying all members. This DOES NOT mean she is closing shop but that she is having to take these drastic measures until the Stormpay issue can be resolved.

As of a few hours ago, over 200 members had already made donations. That number would probably be in the thousands except for the fact that most members do not have EMO accounts and are setting them up as we speak. Currently EMO is the only way we can donate to 12DP since their Stormpay account is completely frozen. EMO Verification can take as little as 15 minutes or 2 hours (and it may take longer depending on volume of requests received plus the fact that this is a weekend - so please be patient).

If you don't have one already, open an account with EMO (go to www.emocorp.com since 12DP had to temporarily remove this link from their site). You will then need to VERIFY your EMO account to be able to fund it. Select Verification under Profile Management when you log in. I also highly recommend you set up the EMO Secure Card option by selecting Preferences on the Profile Management tab. Be sure to print the Secure Card and keep it in a safe place as you will need it when you log in. Once your EMO account has been verified you can use your credit card or bank account to fund your EMO account.

I am in the process of having my EMO account verified and will donate just as soon as that happens.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and support!!

............Best wishes also to Charis and her family.

Teekamp’s Lennon Paintings in eBay Charity Auction

linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk (linksmultiple) — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 10:39:00 +0000

Recognised the world over as a "Spirit Painter", Peter Teekamp has been painting for more than thirty-five years and is now a Washington state resident. As a muralist, he has travelled to several countries, leaving positive messages behind on walls and canvas.

Twenty five years ago, Teekamp was moved by the death of John Lennon to paint the portrait, “12 Faces and Phases of John”, in tribute to the star’s memory.

Now, the painting is to be auctioned on eBay.com starting at 5pm Thursday December 8th. eBay’s Giving Works Missionfish organisation will be the channel through which Teekamp is donating 50% of the sale proceeds to the American Red Cross.

Peter said of the painting, "When I found out about John leaving this earth, I was shocked and disappointed for the human race. Of all people, why him, this peacemaker and by a fan asking for an autograph? Shot down in front of his home after a hard day's work, in the middle of his comeback, recording his new album 'Starting Over.' I felt a direct inspiration to paint him at that moment. With tears in my eyes, hearing the radio play 'Imagine' over and over again, I started to paint the faces and phases of John's life in spirit."

A second painting, created by Teekamp this year, "All you need is Love", will also be auctioned, with 100% of the proceeds being donated to the American Red Cross.

Here is the link to the press release containing photographs of the paintings, together with more information – please take a little time to have a look and support this charitable auction if you can.

Here are the item numbers for the auctions:-
7371151539 (12 Faces and Phases of John) and 7373313000 (All you need is love)

Scams on Screen – Let’s do something about it

linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk (linksmultiple) — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 21:55:00 +0000

Many eBayers watched Trevor MacDonald’s “Scams on Screen” program last night with a feeling of dread.

The program focussed on the exploits of a 16 year old fraudster who used eBay to con 84 people out of thousands of pounds by selling non-existent merchandise on eBay.

It’s not so much the misdeeds of one individual that made us feel such great concern, but the impact that this program will have on our eBay trading. Because even though scams on eBay are in the tiny minority, the TV program will inevitably cause “fear, uncertainty and doubt” in people who would otherwise be good customers of our eBay Shops.

What can be done to resolve this growing concern about the safety of buying (or selling) on eBay? It seems that eBay itself is unable to cure the problem – presumably because of the possibility that an admission there is a problem would be seen as bad publicity and therefore detrimental to eBay’s reputation.

So at LinksMultiple we’ve decided to do something positive and will be launching a new service early next year – the “eBay Scammers Register” - on our main website. Our site is primarily focussed on online auctions and eBay in particular, so we’ve already collected a mass of information about trading on eBay, including detailed records of several million transactions and associated feedback.

Key to stamping out fraud is eBay’s feedback system, but many buyers only look at the overall positive rating figure and never look at the details. Soon, we’ll be publishing some key statistics on our website that will show eBay sellers' buy/sell ratio (so you can be sure their reputation is good with buyers, not just gained through a few low-cost purchases).

The statistics will also include a “newness factor” (so you can see if their feedback has been artificially created) along with a “sameness ratio” (so you can check if “friends” have been used to create false feedback). A “respondent reputation” rating will also be shown and this indicates the bona fides of those who have themselves provided feedback.

It would be really helpful for everyone in the eBay community if you would let us have details of any eBay scams you know of – just drop us an email at linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk – with brief details of the scam, the eBay item number and the scammers eBay ID. All your details will be kept in strict confidence.

Let’s work together to keep eBay a good place to do business!

Google, Froogle, GoogleBase and eBay Shops

linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk (linksmultiple) — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 14:03:00 +0000

Google, it seems, is making swift and strategic changes to expand and diversify its customer base.

Until quite recently, Google was just the place for a fast and comprehensive search of the web – nothing too fancy, just quick and accurate results for the keywords you entered.

Then along came Froogle shopping and with it, the opportunity to have your eBay items listed in the world’s number one search engine – a great way of increasing visitors to your eBay shop.

And then GoogleBase was released in beta trial format – offering free entry for product inventories as well as a lead through to classified advertising. GoogleWallet is still an unconfirmed rumour, but if it comes, it will probably be a PayPal lookalike.

During October, Google made a major change to the way its’ search engine tries to remove spam from its’ index – unfortunately, with a lot of “collateral damage” to legitimate web pages, including removing many millions of eBay items with a consequent drop in traffic for eBay sellers.

On 23 October, every one of eBay’s items were removed from Froogle – just for one day – but some people are asking, “was this a mistake or a trial run? – is Google planning to take all it’s search traffic away from eBay?”

Many eBay shop owners are starting to wonder what’s going on – is eBay going to do something to protect its sellers and their market place. Perhaps everyone should be prepared for major announcements soon? Yahoo!, wouldn’t that be great?

Ex Formula 1 Drivers Collectables Set to Climb in Value?

linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk (linksmultiple) — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 17:20:00 +0000

Congratulations to the GP Masters team and all the retired Formula 1 drivers who competed in front of 70,000 fans yesterday (Sunday, 13 November) at the Grand Prix Masters inaugural race at the Kyalami circuit in South Africa.

And wasn’t it great too (at least for we slightly older motor racing enthusiasts) to hear Murray Walker (aged 82!) returning to a permanent position as commentator in the series. Hearing the “real” F1 theme back on the BBC also brought a lump to the throat and a little tear to the eye.

To be at least 45 (the minimum age for ex F1 championship-winning drivers to qualify for the race series) and still be able to even fit into these cars is remarkable.

But to be also able to drive for 30 laps non-stop in a 650 BHP racing car with no traction control and still keep the competition at bay is almost incredible.

Yet that is what Il Lione (Nigel Mansell, to most people except the Ferrari Tifosi fans) achieved yesterday after qualifying in pole position. Mansell finished the race less than 0.5 seconds in front of Emerson Fittipaldi in second position and Ricardo Patrese in third place.

With a planned seven or more races next season, including possibly Silverstone, it wouldn’t be surprising if these GP Masters attracted a loyal and considerable following.

Now where did I put that Blue and Yellow Number 5 Williams model that Nigel used to drive – and where oh where is the Silverstone programme he autographed – got to get them listed on eBay quick!

Is eBay Harming Charities?

linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk (linksmultiple) — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 19:51:00 +0000

Yet again, eBay has come in for criticism on regional television in the UK – this time on the BBC’s Look North news program (Tuesday 8 November).

So what has eBay done wrong? Well it seems that donations of second hand clothes, books and other items to charity shops in the high street are rapidly declining. The conclusion appears to be that instead of donating items they do not want to charity shops, more and more people are deciding to raise cash for themselves by listing their bric-a-brac on eBay, the world’s largest online auction.

While that statement may have some basis in fact, the counterbalance is that many Charities have decided to keep up with the changing world in which we live by joining eBay and having their own virtual shops as well as a physical presence in the High Street.

Oxfam has, for some years, been in the forefront when it comes to new ideas and making use of technology to further its’ corporate objectives of raising money to help stamp out hunger and poverty in the emerging Nations.

A representative of Oxfam was interviewed and pointed out that times change and Oxfam was taking advantage of new ways of raising funds – including setting up their own eBay Charity shop.

eBay has a complete section dedicated to charity auctions and even features the BBC’s famous Pudsey Bear on its’ home page to help raise public awareness of how online auctions can be a very effective way of raising funds for good causes.

So come on everyone, it’s not down to eBay Corporate to make charity fundraising on eBay a practical proposition. It’s up to you and me to do our bit too by donating items for these Charity sales. And come on BBC, let’s put a more positive slant on how the eBay community helps charities – times do change and so do the methods of raising funds for good causes.

eBay Sellers Boost Royal Mail Profits

linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk (linksmultiple) — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 18:15:00 +0000

Two years ago, the Royal Mail postal service was reported to be losing around £2million each day.

But the last reported figures showed a massive turnaround for the Royal Mail to an enormous £220 million profit.

Whilst this dramatic change has been accredited to cutting costs, partly by shedding some 30,000 staff from the payroll, other sources claim there is a quite different reason – eBay!

The volume of packages mailed by sellers of items on eBay has increased tremendously over the last couple of years. It’s reported that Royal Mail offices in the UK have seen an increase in postal volume of around 66% since 2003.

Apparently, from a total of 100 post offices who were surveyed by the Sunday Telegraph, almost ¾ attributed the increase in mail volume to eBay packages.

If the length of queues at our local post office is any guide, I’d say this assessment about eBay is correct – there has to be an opportunity for some enterprising 3rd party to launch eBayPost as a time-saving service to the eBay community?!

Ever Heard of Jagger 1 2 or 3?

linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk (linksmultiple) — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 10:21:00 +0000

Ever Heard of Jagger 1 2 or 3?

To most of us, the word Jagger is something associated with a Rolling Stone. But for the webmasters of this world (webmasters run websites) Jagger has become a real headache over the past several weeks.

Jagger 1, 2 and 3 are the implementation phases of a massive change in the way that Google, the world’s largest and most profitable search engine, indexes and presents web pages.

It seems these changes are being made by Google in an attempt to get rid of so-called spam sites which use a variety of tricks to attract search traffic from Google. Quite often, you will see snippets from sites appearing in the SERPS (search engine results pages) which look like what you’re looking for. But when you click on them you can be instantly re-directed to another page – sometimes to unsavoury “adult content” even when your query was about golf clubs or something else quite innocent.

Google’s Jagger update is also an attempt to get rid of duplicate content and pages which sometimes flood the SERPS with results that are identical or nearly identical. Google has apparently received many complaints that millions of expired eBay listings with duplicated content, have displaced other more relevant results and some schools of thought believe that eBay listings could be a specific target for removal from Google’s index.

As an eBayer myself, it seems useful that potential customers for items that I’m selling on eBay might find my listings through Google search and not just after they reach the main eBay site. But it seems possible that Jagger will massively reduce the amount of eBay listings that are indexed and so referrals to eBay shops and sellers by Google would massively reduce.

The final phase 3 of Jagger is expected to roll out sometime next week and then we’ll be able to see the impact on eBay items being indexed (or not). Should be an interesting time?!

Launch of LinkSysMat - Auction Analysis

linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk (linksmultiple) — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 15:08:00 +0000

At LinksMultiple, we've been building an archive of pricing information based on online auctions for the past several months. During that time over 100,000 visitors have used this information to check on what makes a great bargain and what price they should bid at.

So we decided to expand the archives and to build some analysis tools that will help buyers and sellers check on description and pricing data for items previously for sale at the world's largest online auctions.

The LinkSysMat tools help you to analyse highest, lowest and median prices across a whole range of categories - from car and motorcycle accessories right through to toys and games.

If you're a seller, using the graphical and statistical results from LinkSysMat will indicate the likely effect on sales volumes for given changes in price. This information will help you to set your pricing at a level which maximises sales and minimises costs assosiated with re-listing your items.

If you're a buyer, the same information can be used to help set your maximum bidding level and also to check the frequency and volume of listings for the specific items or category of item that you want to buy.

Take a look at our main website and visit the "Value an Item" and "Best Bargain" sections where you can use Google to search a sample extract of half a million auctioned items and prices which come from our main database containing over 5 million items.

What’s the Hype with Skype?

linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk (linksmultiple) — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 16:09:00 +0000

What’s the Hype with Skype?

VOIP (otherwise known as Voice over Internet Protocol) isn’t a new technology – it’s been around for over 10 years now and still hasn’t taken over the traditional telcos virtual monopoly on voice communications either by landline or by wireless networks.

So why is eBay so pleased to have acquired Skype recently?

Meg Whitman is quoted as saying, "In the end, the price that anyone can provide for voice transmission on the Net will tend toward zero." Is this a direct attack by eBay on the world’s major telcos?

Well probably not, because the value to eBay from using the Skype technology comes through leveraging their user’s ability to make and close deals quickly and at the last minute – not to make charges for using the “eBayphone”.

Many of eBay’s investors are apparently questioning the logic behind Whitman’s acquisition of Skype and are apparently viewing the move as an attempt to move into the traditional telcos’ territory. But they’ve missed the point – because eBay probably plans to stick to its’ core business of online auctions, but can massively leverage it’s position against potential competition by “bundling” VOIP services as part of the overall customer retention package.

Smart move Meg!

New Archive Category Launched

linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk (linksmultiple) — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 11:27:00 +0000

We found our original "Value an Item" archive so popular with visitors that we've decided to launch a new service - "Best Bargains".

Based on the same concept of recording description and pricing information, "Best Bargains" uses Google search facilities so you can see what items that you might want to buy (or sell) are a good deal.

Why would anyone want to use our archives instead of eBay's own historical information? Well, unless you're already a registered eBay user, you can't access completed items on eBay, so it's not easy to figure out what any current item is likely to sell for.

And that information is especially useful if you want to use one of the new "Bid Sniping" tools that are becoming so popular because they automate the process of bidding at the last second. Very handy if you don't want to stay up all night waiting for that international auction to finish!

What do you Think of Skype?

linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk (linksmultiple) — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 12:50:00 +0000

eBay has recently bought Skype, the leading VOIP (voice over internet protocol) service company.

VOIP has been around for a good many years and allows telephone communication without actually using a telephone, but using your computer connected to the internet instead.

So what does this mean for eBay users? Well, apparently in the US, eBay links around 150 million buyers and sellers and they send 5 millions emails to each other every day.

Wouldn’t it be good if instead of just relying on emails for the buyer to ask questions and get replies from the seller you could get in touch immediately by voice using Skype.

That sounds a great idea, although many people prefer email because it means they can respond when it’s convenient for them. Now, the immediacy of communication facilitated by Skype may put these sellers at a disadvantage compared with those sellers who are prepared to take eBay Skype calls at any time.

But with the ever-increasing global trade made possible by eBay, be prepared to have your sleep disturbed when that important buyer calls from Hong Kong at 3am your time!

Anglican Church Chapel Sells on eBay

linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk (linksmultiple) — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 10:51:00 +0000

In our continuing series of unusual auctions on eBay, the latest piece of news is about an Anglican Church chapel that has been sold in the US. In itself, that is not very strange since the sale of homes and other buildings on eBay is increasing in popularity.

But what is unusual is that the chapel is being physically moved across the country. The move began around two years ago when a developer based in Copper Basin won an auction to buy the chapel at Ituna, Saskatchewan, Canada. The property went for $9,000.

Built in 1910, the Anglican Church chapel was originally owned by a railroad company but had been closed since around 1990. The purchase price included a church organ dating from 1911 along with sacraments, a stove, pews and other religious items.

Construction workers travelled from Wisconsin to begin dismantling the building, with carefully marked sections being loaded onto flatbed trucks and driven south, where reassembly is now underway.

Commenting on his reasons for buying the chapel, the developer is quoted as saying, "There is so much in Arizona that's new and so little that has the history and roots that you have back East."

Application Development Tips for eBay Shops & Sellers

linksmultiple@yahoo.co.uk (linksmultiple) — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 10:57:00 +0000

As the eBay global community matures, one of the key things we have noticed is increasing competition in the "internal" eBay marketplace.

This growing competition is happening as a result of rapid increases in the number of sellers in both the domestic market and also on an international basis.

In recent months, eBay has focussed much attention on building its' online auction business in developing economies such as India and China, with the result that sellers of low cost products from these countries are now readily able to promote their items through eBay to the US, UK and Europe.

One of the things that can be done to make your eBay shop or eBay website stand out from the crowd is to develop a unique "look and feel" to your “piece of eBay territory”. Many eBay shops now also have their own independent websites and sell goods through these using eBay as a "gateway".

You need to be careful not to infringe any eBay rules about "off-eBay" trading, but building your own website that operates in harmony with your eBay shop (and also promotes your eBay shop) is something that many people have started to do.

So - we thought it might be useful for fellow eBayers if we published some methods and guidelines that are used by major commercial enterprises when conceiving, building and operating their own websites. Our team here has been leading and project-managing major web-enabled IT developments for many years using both local resources and offshore software development in India, which massively reduces costs.

Over the next few weeks, we'll be publishing articles on Rapid Application Development, Managing your Project, Development Processes, Quality Control and getting the Website Application up and running safely and securely.

For small website development projects that most eBay shops and sellers might want to undertake, it’s not really necessary to stick rigidly to all the methods and techniques detailed in these papers. But they are a good source of tips and hints used by the “big boys”. We hope they will be useful to fellow eBayers!