Ok, well the ebay boycott is over. Did it accomplish anything? Not sure. Doesn't look like it- it might when the feedback changes go into effect though in a couple months!
Anyway- by then I will have my website set up, that is if we can make it past all these hurdles! What a pain in the @$$ it has been! So... new launch date of March 1st! STAY TUNED...
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Etsy... or is it Artsy?
Well, if you haven't heard yet - for all those crafty kinda gals, we are setting up new shops on ETSY! Etsy is the place to find all sorts of Artsty Fartsy kind of work- and the BTDL gals are making the move along with the majority of the craft sellers on Ebay! You can now find me at:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5384940
And soon... very very soon (February 20th to be exact) I will have my new website finally ready! YAY ME!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5384940
And soon... very very soon (February 20th to be exact) I will have my new website finally ready! YAY ME!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
A Sad Day for Ebay Sellers... or should I say, days to come
Well... finally it happened. Ebay's greed has taken over and they have unleashed a multitude of changes and fee increases that will eventually usher in their down fall in my opinion. If there wasn't competition for Ebay- there will be now. Petitions to Google are in the hundreds of thousands with signatures daily...
Last week Ebay released their new fee structure going into effect on Feb. 20th and their new feedback policy that will go into effect in May. With the outrage going on worldwide, which has now reached world wide news - CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and a host of others- sellers are praying that Ebay will come to it's senses.
In 5 years of selling on ebay, I never thought that anything like this would happen. Sure there is grumbling when Ebay raises it's fees periodically but this time around they are trying so hard to masque the increases with accentuating what they deem as "positive" changes.
They are taking away the gallery fee... they are reducing the initial listing fees somewhat but the kicker is this... a 67% hike in the final value fees. So, anyway you look at it- and crunch the numbers- your fees will go up even with the removal of the piddly gallery fee and some change on the initial listing fee especially if your product sells for a higher amount. They tout "you asked and we answered" - what? I cannot afford to sell on ebay now!
I think what is even worse- is the feedback changes. Sellers will no longer be able to leave a buyer a negative or neutral feedback. They are giving paypal the power to withould payment to a seller until the seller leaves positive feedback for the buyer, and can hold payment up to 21 days. So, for buyers who bid and don't pay- a seller has no options. We can not reflect this any longer with feedback. Now, a buyer doesn't have to pay in a timely fashion, they don't have to comply with terms of auction- they can pretty much do as they please because the seller has no way to protect themselves or let other buyers know when a transaction has gone bad. This makes no sense. It is just plain crazy to me! Oh- get this, they have raised the number of blocked bidders a seller can have from 1,000 to 5,000. However, if a seller can not leave appropriate feedback, then how do other sellers know who to block?
Ebay fails to realize... that it is the sellers on ebay that line their pockets with gold. We pay 20% and more in fees just to sell on ebay and use paypal. We can no longer protect ourselves from feedback left that is unwarranted if we don't comply to a buyers demands- so why sell on ebay? Why not find a place to sell where the seller is offered more protection against non payers and people who bid just to bid with no intention to pay but can leave nasty feedback regardless? It's not a game for us, this is our livlihood- and this is how I stay home with my kids and still manage to earn a living.
Sellers have staged a week long boycott that will go into effect from Feb. 18-Feb 25th. This is to send ebay a message. Change the changes, or I'm going elsewhere along with a lot of others.
I am checking in to "Etsy" which is an online site much like ebay but craft oriented. A number of us are setting up shop there- so, I will post where you can find me just as soon as I'm set up. I'm also in the process of developing my website which will launch within the next month. If these changes do go into effect, and ebay doesn't listen to the sellers that support their company- then I am gone. It's just not worth it to me anymore!
If you have questions on the changes ebay is implementing- please email me. I'd be happy to send you all the of the documentation. If you are a seller- do your research. Ebay has sugar coated these changes to make it look like they are helping you out... it is so so so not the case...
Last week Ebay released their new fee structure going into effect on Feb. 20th and their new feedback policy that will go into effect in May. With the outrage going on worldwide, which has now reached world wide news - CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and a host of others- sellers are praying that Ebay will come to it's senses.
In 5 years of selling on ebay, I never thought that anything like this would happen. Sure there is grumbling when Ebay raises it's fees periodically but this time around they are trying so hard to masque the increases with accentuating what they deem as "positive" changes.
They are taking away the gallery fee... they are reducing the initial listing fees somewhat but the kicker is this... a 67% hike in the final value fees. So, anyway you look at it- and crunch the numbers- your fees will go up even with the removal of the piddly gallery fee and some change on the initial listing fee especially if your product sells for a higher amount. They tout "you asked and we answered" - what? I cannot afford to sell on ebay now!
I think what is even worse- is the feedback changes. Sellers will no longer be able to leave a buyer a negative or neutral feedback. They are giving paypal the power to withould payment to a seller until the seller leaves positive feedback for the buyer, and can hold payment up to 21 days. So, for buyers who bid and don't pay- a seller has no options. We can not reflect this any longer with feedback. Now, a buyer doesn't have to pay in a timely fashion, they don't have to comply with terms of auction- they can pretty much do as they please because the seller has no way to protect themselves or let other buyers know when a transaction has gone bad. This makes no sense. It is just plain crazy to me! Oh- get this, they have raised the number of blocked bidders a seller can have from 1,000 to 5,000. However, if a seller can not leave appropriate feedback, then how do other sellers know who to block?
Ebay fails to realize... that it is the sellers on ebay that line their pockets with gold. We pay 20% and more in fees just to sell on ebay and use paypal. We can no longer protect ourselves from feedback left that is unwarranted if we don't comply to a buyers demands- so why sell on ebay? Why not find a place to sell where the seller is offered more protection against non payers and people who bid just to bid with no intention to pay but can leave nasty feedback regardless? It's not a game for us, this is our livlihood- and this is how I stay home with my kids and still manage to earn a living.
Sellers have staged a week long boycott that will go into effect from Feb. 18-Feb 25th. This is to send ebay a message. Change the changes, or I'm going elsewhere along with a lot of others.
I am checking in to "Etsy" which is an online site much like ebay but craft oriented. A number of us are setting up shop there- so, I will post where you can find me just as soon as I'm set up. I'm also in the process of developing my website which will launch within the next month. If these changes do go into effect, and ebay doesn't listen to the sellers that support their company- then I am gone. It's just not worth it to me anymore!
If you have questions on the changes ebay is implementing- please email me. I'd be happy to send you all the of the documentation. If you are a seller- do your research. Ebay has sugar coated these changes to make it look like they are helping you out... it is so so so not the case...
Thursday, January 24, 2008
It goes by so quickly...
Have you ever noticed that life seems to pass by so quickly that you barely noticed the changing seasons... dates... events. It was just Christmas- and in the blink of an eye I'm signing my boys up for Spring Baseball, tryouts are in February- we just got done with Football! I was combing my 9 year olds' hair the other morning before school and realized that he is getting so tall I no longer am able to do this so easily with him staring me straight in the face almost!! I am not a tall person :) But still, when your 9 year old is almost staring you eye to eye- you have to ask yourself, where did the time go? Ok Ok Ok, I know why am I combing his hair? BECAUSE it is a pitiful long mess and I can't stand it when it looks as if he rolled out of bed to go to school with a rats nest on his noggin. It's like a flashback of Bad News Bears Hair. UGH.
I realized also while laying in bed the other night... sleep eluding me as usual... that in 3 short years, I will be attending my 20 year high school reunion. UGH. Then I realized, I'd better go on a diet now because it will take me that long to look decent before I head home for the big event.
I am so glad I scrapbook. I'm so glad that in my busy busy crazy frantic life - that I take the time to make sure my memories last, will I remember their first loose tooth? What about the big ole' space in their smile when they have NO front teeth at all. What about the first fish caught with no help from dad? Or the world's largest bull frog on the back porch that daddy was WAY to afraid to pick up? All of these events mean nothing if they aren't remembered - preserved, so that one day when I realize my boys are all grown up I will have proof of their innocence. Proof that life was once fun for them, easy, carefree- and mommy and daddy knew everything there is to know about everything in life. It all goes by so fast!
I realized also while laying in bed the other night... sleep eluding me as usual... that in 3 short years, I will be attending my 20 year high school reunion. UGH. Then I realized, I'd better go on a diet now because it will take me that long to look decent before I head home for the big event.
I am so glad I scrapbook. I'm so glad that in my busy busy crazy frantic life - that I take the time to make sure my memories last, will I remember their first loose tooth? What about the big ole' space in their smile when they have NO front teeth at all. What about the first fish caught with no help from dad? Or the world's largest bull frog on the back porch that daddy was WAY to afraid to pick up? All of these events mean nothing if they aren't remembered - preserved, so that one day when I realize my boys are all grown up I will have proof of their innocence. Proof that life was once fun for them, easy, carefree- and mommy and daddy knew everything there is to know about everything in life. It all goes by so fast!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Oh the sadness......
I have an extreme case of cabin fever. My little one has been home ALL WEEK with the flu, and now Strep Throat. He will be missing his FIRST basketball game tomorrow and I've been experiencing the wrath of Brady ever since I broke the news to him. There has to be a special award given somewhere for moms of sick children... oh how I need a Calgon Moment!
Friday, January 11, 2008
What Ever Happened to Global Warming?
Well- it's nice tropical breezy weather here in Southern Oregon... NOT!! What a wet snowy mess we have had here on the West Coast! I love the holidays but not the weather that comes with it- they closed schools here with an inch of snow on the ground!
Living in the Rogue Valley is nice- unless you have to get in or out of the valley during the winter... after travel delays, rediculous weather and way to much snow, (and too many page views of "tripcheck.com") I'm ready for SPRING! Anyway- after my LOOOOONG absence I'm ready to get going, creativity is finally flowing again!
Living in the Rogue Valley is nice- unless you have to get in or out of the valley during the winter... after travel delays, rediculous weather and way to much snow, (and too many page views of "tripcheck.com") I'm ready for SPRING! Anyway- after my LOOOOONG absence I'm ready to get going, creativity is finally flowing again!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Hunting for the Perfect Tree...
Nothing like driving 2 hours to find some snow for the kids to play in! Not to mention, hunt for the perfect tree... the perfect kind that daddy has to drag a mile uphill back to the truck!
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