Some explanation is needed...

[bykimbo]

I don't think Gazza and Mark will disagree with my views as much as some others might. I'm sure they would have noted it when eBay enabled unregistered buyers and, after all, the guys apparently already view the risks associated with sellers and buyers differently as evidenced by the "buyer only" eBid sites where sellers are not allowed to operate from. So I'm confident this is a subject they will have already looked at long before now and I look forward to hopefully hearing their views.

I think you'll find that has everything to do with the need to adapt the site to work in each new country, with language, currency and shipping providers, and very, very little to do with their personal views of the honesty of the people of an entire nation.

[0ctavias0fferings]

As eBid is today any unregistered SURFERS can view any sales page they like but they cannot buy or sell. So all I am saying is eBid could allow these people to BUY ONLY by sending the sellers some cash using a trusted payment processor who has already verified their ID. This creates a traditional sale consisting of two parties, a buyer and seller and the seller is given the information they need to send the goods by Paypal. Why does the third party in this arrangement, eBid the venue, need to verify the buyer at all? All they need to worry about is getting the seller to pay any fees due to them after the sale. This is why I suggested making sales to unregistered buyers a privilege of seller+ status as they have already paid eBid for "free(ish)" sales

Precisely. Unregistered buyer / guest buyer, it makes no difference what you call them, basically we are dealing with them anyway because in the majority of cases their ID doesn't get a strike through until AFTER the goods have been sent out.

The whole point is to find a way to prevent them getting that strike through their name which is clearly preventing them from coming back again.

Isn't it best to keep the thread on topic instead of clouding issues by bringing in all kinds of other side issues?

Surely what we all should be able to agree on is that we don't want to lose the newbies we work hard to bring here because of a pedantic system which reacts in a kneejerk manner, banning people for, basically, no good reason. And it is for no good reason when eBid are clearly aware that their emails consistently wind up being caught in spam filters.

@emporiumdays - did you mark the eBid mails as spam or was it that your email provider marked them as spam?

Way more than 50% of the emails I get from eBid go to spam and nothing I do seems to prevent this so it's hardly surprising that newbies don't get emails.

Interestingly, it never happens with emails from eBay. Even those annoyingly repetitive emails which come in streams, not sold or successfully listed, sold or whatever, all of their emails come through to my inbox, in fact, I haven't had this same email to spam problem with any other site, so what is making emails from eBid get treated this way by email providers?

Whatever the cause, don't we all agree that it's not good for the site or the sellers here to see so many newbie buyers banned so quickly after they have bought and paid for something from us?

[emporiumdays]

@emporiumdays - did you mark the eBid mails as spam or was it that your email provider marked them as spam?

I am not aware of having 'marked' or changed anything to do with my emails. I know this sounds lame, but I didn't even know of the 'allow' or 'block' settings.

I've been using PC's for many years for Video production / Editing / DVD production etc.
But it's only now, of recent times that I've had anything to do with the 'on-line' side of things...
ie: buying / selling / emailing....

So I think it would be a fair call to say that we can't always 'assume' that every person (including Mr. or Mrs. Average - particularly the 'older' generation), is going to be aware of the 'spam' problem and the need for setting changes...

[emporiumdays]

The other aspect to this is that I've never deleted emails in the past; it's only of recent times (last month or so) that I've started to do so.
At the time of joining, I was of the mindset that all eBid correspondence was in need of saving. So, deleting eBid's emails (and 'accidentally' puting them into spam) wasn't at all something I was doing at the time.


I wouldn't know how to determine if my 'email provider' is/was marking them as 'spam', other than to assume that they did if I find the email in the spam folder.

[0ctavias0fferings]

I wouldn't know how to determine if my 'email provider' is/was marking them as 'spam', other than to assume that they did if I find the email in the spam folder.

That's what I reckon because I know I didn't mark any of mine as spam but that's consistently where the majority of the emails from eBid end up.

[starlady22]

Helen&Graham. i just wanted to say you made some great points, and put them so well.

Jane

[madelaine]

To sum up
1)So there appears still to be a problem with ebid emails (a lot of mine seem to take days to arrive as well which can't help).
2) It seems that buyers who have given no problem are being prevented from returning AND having their names besmirched (good word, eh?) by being marked as bad for all the net to see.
3) eBid's emails on the subject not only go astray but are horribly unfriendly.

I feel quite differently about giving information to Paypal which is regulated by the FSA in UK.

[emporiumdays]

Helen&Graham. i just wanted to say you made some great points, and put them so well.

Jane

Yes, I agree....

... and madelaine, yes I suppose regardless of 'why' the emails don't get to various peoples 'inbox' destination, there needs to be, (as has been suggested), a more reliable way to display the desired notification from eBid.

[HelenAndGraham]

Helen&Graham. i just wanted to say you made some great points, and put them so well.

Jane

Thanks but I think credit is largely due to Gothicina for taking the time to highlight all the various issues of any substance which actually brought the thread back on track and made it much easier to focus my post.

Although there's obviously diverse opinions leading to a little "friction" now and again, I'm pretty sure everyone contributing to this discussion all want the same thing... A safe and secure, buyer friendly eBid that generates more and more sales and I've no doubt Gazza and Mark will appreciate our feedback if that is the aim.

[emporiumdays]

Thanks but I think credit is largely due to Gothicina for taking the time to highlight all the various issues of any substance which actually brought the thread back on track and made it much easier to focus my post.

Although there's obviously diverse opinions leading to a little "friction" now and again, I'm pretty sure everyone contributing to this discussion all want the same thing... A safe and secure, buyer friendly eBid that generates more and more sales and I've no doubt Gazza and Mark will appreciate our feedback if that is the aim.

Yes, nice thoughts....

(and of course madelaine)
(Octavia & ropegg and many others)