Surely one way to get around this problem is to ask the seller, (via eBay`s
Ask Seller a Question) if they are prepared to give you their personal e-mail
addresss, and them yours, before the auction ends.
Then, if an item doesn`t sell, you can contact the seller privately, and see
if a deal can be made.
One then only has to do a database of reputable sellers, (with their
personal e-mails) who sell good poster/lobby card paper, and this eBay
"problem" is
solved. Sellers can be contacted in the future, either to see if the item
can be "pulled" before the auction ends, or to be contacted afterwards, to
make
a deal.
I can`t see eBay getting around this too soon.
Best
Andy
_www.premierepostergallery.com_ (http://www.premierepostergallery.com)
Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com
___________________________________________________________________
How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List
Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L
The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
--- Begin Message ---
I see Kirby asked for my opinion of the latest eBay change. I just wrote about
this in my latest e-mail club message. For any MoPo members not in my e-mail
club, here are my thoughts on eBay's latest mis-adventure:
EBAY DOES IT AGAIN! eBay is constantly tinkering with their site (you know the
old expression, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"?; eBay's motto seems to be,
"If it ain't broke we will tinker with it until we finally break it!"). What is
their latest misadventure? They have taken all eBay auctions and made them
"semi-private"! Their stated purpose is to stop all of the fake second chance
offers that are made all the time, and they SAY that they are limiting this
move to just items over $200 (because that is where the most fraud is), but I
don't believe them for a second! If that were true, they would not have made
the "view seller's other items" page not show the high bidders' IDs, only a
weird "Bidder One", "Bidder Two", etc., because any scammer can still see all
the bids on any sub-$200 item (and those that are still under $200, but will
end up over). Only honest bidders are hassled by this latest development,
because they can no longer see the list of high bidder IDs (the!
y have to click on items one by one to see the high bidder, and they can't
even do that if the item is over $200).
What do I think is really going on? I think eBay has finally realized that
a huge amount of sales take place "off site" and that many people only LIST
items on eBay, but then contact the bidders (or prospective buyers contact
them) and then a deal is made off eBay. I think eBay wants to stop this, and is
using the "scammer defense" as an excuse to soon make ALL auctions private. I
think that eventually buyers and sellers will not see very much about each
other until AFTER the deal is completed (much as things currently are for
sellers on Amazon).
What does this mean for sellers on eBay, and for me personally? I think it
will likely have little effect on my sales, since all of my sales were
completely "private" for a couple of years (and before that, all my major sales
were "private" as well). It was only a few months ago that I returned to all
"public" sales, and there was little difference in them then, and I would think
therefore this latest change will mostly be a "non-event" for me personally,
especially since most of my items stay under $200 for almost the entire time
they are for auction (and since all start at 99 cents, you can see the bids of
those that end up over $200 while they are still under $200). For instance,
this week just FOUR of my items are currently over $200 as of right now. The
only likely change I can see is that those people who used to place early bids
on items as a form of smart "advertising" for themselves (they know hundreds of
buyers click on MY items, and if their user ID is on MY !
items, some of those bidders might wonder who those sellers are and check out
THEIR items for sale, and doing this is FREE to them!) may well now do far less
of this kind of early bidding. But otherwise I think my items will be largely
unaffected (especially since most of my items are under $200 for most of the
time, and therefore you still CAN see the bidders; you just have to do more
work to view them).
But what about OTHER eBay sellers? I fear that this latest blunder on
eBay's part will have a chilling effect on the selling of all over-$200 items
on eBay. There has been a steady reduction in such items over the past couple
of years, and I fear this latest move will likely accelerate that process. And
I think that is the last thing eBay needs, for eBay is fast becoming a gigantic
yard sale, mostly over-flowing with unwanted material, and a lesser and lesser
number of true rarities (my auctions excepted!). I also am afraid that once
eBay does what I believe they will do and expand this to ALL items, that it
will be the nail in the coffin of most smaller eBay sellers. Many bidders were
already afraid to bid with sellers they don't know even when the auctions were
public. How will they feel if all the auctions are "private"?
I may well make the next poll be about this latest eBay change. I wanted
to first give them a week to see if they withdraw it (if there is a lot of
public outcry against it). If it appears this latest move is very unpopular
with MY buyers (or that it will have an adverse effect on my results) then I
will accelerate my plans to sell through a venue other tha eBay! Stay tuned to
these club messages for the latest developments!
Bruce
Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com
___________________________________________________________________
How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List
Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L
The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com
___________________________________________________________________
How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List
Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L
The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
--- End Message ---
