Some explanation is needed...

[hotandvintage]

My my! An honest buyer. Was starting to think they didn't exist but obviously one does. Still struck through are they?

Is anyone here really that bothered about making sales? Would it be better for us to simply have a nice, safe and cosy environment where we can all huddle together and swop selling stories from the old days?

After all making sales happen just causes us all work which can be a real pain in the rear end when you need to get your number of forum posts up! LOL

No they're not struckthrough - Read earlier post.

The problem is we are not arguing over the strikethroughs being wrong, as unless they are giving false information when signing up or the information they have giving has caused problems in the past then I do not think they should be getting strikethrous. Which I assume we all do.

But what seems to be the argument point of this whole discusion is down to the fact that some feel they should not have to sign up at all and some even think that ebid should not even have to collect their fees on a sale with some pay button.

Now I would like a checkout where it is that simple for those coming from google, and I think the idea has legs. But would take a lot more time than is being suggested. So personally think it has to be put on hold until they bring out the API

So yes we all want sales, so suggesting otherwise is just showing how you are attempting to take a discussion about a serious problem to some form of playground chatter. Why because someone dared question the security of your prefered payment method that was being suggested as being so secure that ebid should hand over their reputation to it.

So hopefully ebid have marked down the cart idea for the future and are working on a way to stop none deserving buyers getting struckthrough that still stops those ten year olds bidding on everyones stuff and wrecking the site.

[0ctavias0fferings]

Well, it actually costs money to have an internet connection, (for me around $300 per year), and of course PC's do wear out and need replacing. I would say that it 'costs' a member the best part of $1 a day to be on eBid.
(Admittedly though, your PC gets used for other things too).

Anyway, if a person isn't making $7 per week after all other 'costs' - (forget wages), then you'd actually be going backwards.

So I think realistically, you have make this (what amounts to $30 per month) to pay for your connection and PC in order to break even, (and you're still not making wages).

Now that's of lot of seeds, or a lot of trading cards ....

I wonder if this is why every sale counts and it's best not to lose any buyers unnecessarily.....

Well said Steve.

People don't think about the hidden costs.

[0ctavias0fferings]

... someone dared question the security of your prefered payment method that was being suggested as being so secure that ebid should hand over their reputation to it.

So hopefully ebid have marked down the cart idea for the future and are working on a way to stop none deserving buyers getting struckthrough that still stops those ten year olds bidding on everyones stuff and wrecking the site.

What don't you understand about non-registered buyers being able to use the suggested shopping cart to buy an item instantly?

When this buyer puts something in their shopping cart it is not sold yet. The item is not sold until it is paid for. There is no auction wrecking possible in such a situation. The only possibility is that you might make sales out of a shopping cart situation.

Non-registered buyers would ONLY be able to use a shopping cart and buy now items, they are not members of the site and therefore are not allowed to bid on items.

IT IS NOT POSSIBLE THEREFORE FOR THEM TO BE 10 YEARS OLDS RUNNING AROUND THE SITE WRECKING AUCTIONS.

[hotandvintage]

What don't you understand about non-registered buyers being able to use the suggested shopping cart to buy an item instantly?

When this buyer puts something in their shopping cart it is not sold yet. The item is not sold until it is paid for. There is no auction wrecking possible in such a situation. The only possibility is that you might make sales out of a shopping cart situation.

Non-registered buyers would ONLY be able to use a shopping cart and buy now items, they are not members of the site and therefore are not allowed to bid on items.

IT IS NOT POSSIBLE THEREFORE FOR THEM TO BE 10 YEARS OLDS RUNNING AROUND THE SITE WRECKING AUCTIONS.

You are arguing about the wrong point to the wrong person by the souinds of it.

I said once or twice in previous posts that the cart is a good idea, considering we are getting most of our buyers from google I hope ebid try to at least look at it.

Where we differ is the fact you seem to be under the impression that it is not that hard to do so why are they not doing it.

Now if I am wrong and you are a web designer/programer that can have this running by morning then porve it and let us see your example, as most auction scripts are built around the same structure, So I am sure they would love someone that is offering to do the job for free and show them a working model, as it is only a simple matter, as you said once or twice, so it is not as if you would want paid for it.

But I still think the easy fix that we really need now, would be to return to what was working before, as this is a new thing, which I assume has just been introduced.

[baconsdozen]

This whole thread is continiuing to damage ebid and looks as though it shows no sign of dying down and tempers seem to be getting frayed..I would say it is being badly managed but the answer is it's not being managed or even looked into at all.
I find it all rather sad.

[hotandvintage]

This whole thread is continiuing to damage ebid and looks as though it shows no sign of dying down and tempers seem to be getting frayed..I would say it is being badly managed but the answer is it's not being managed or even looked into at all.
I find it all rather sad.

I never get angry about stuff that is said on a forum, which I suspect seems to cheese off others.

But I think it has actually brought up some good points, as I recall a lot of people would never join ebad, and would prefer to go direct to a website to buy what they wanted or just to a store.
I was surprised that it still existed in this day and age, but maybe it does.

And the idea of a cart, may have started ebid thinking about it as a future addition.

So even out of the mess that this post has become there are still positives.

But I agree it is a mess. So will let it go and just see what happens with the strikethrous.

[HelenAndGraham]

Gothicina has confirmed the point at which these strikethroughs take place. It is after eBid support find a fault with someones registration info.

As someone who owns and runs scores of websites - mostly sales orientated - I know Gothicina is right and many people deliberately register on sites using false info, perhaps using anti-spam emails, phone numbers consisting of all zeros, false addresses etc. etc. So, without seeing real examples from Gothicina, we can only guess that these are the typical type of events causing many of the strikethroughs.

While eBid sellers in these forums obviously focus on the protection and security of the eBid marketplace website they list in, an ever increasing number of web surfers think exactly the same way about the security and protection of their own information. They will often have concerns about the possibiity of rogue eBid sellers! Trust is a two way street.

Millions of people make use of the primary service of Paypal which, quoting from their home page, is:

WHY USE PAYPAL?
It's safer, it's faster and it's everywhere. Use PayPal to shop at thousands of web-sites, knowing that your financial details are never shared.

Just as the "good old days" on eBay have gone, the internet in general has moved forward dramatically too. People want to shop safely by using their Paypal account (or equiv) and will often only share info with blue chip websites they feel they can trust 100%. Good selling practice means making products as easy as possible to buy safely. So I suggest this problem is only going to get worse unless eBid start to plan a marketplace offering much more open access to buyers.

Now if I am wrong and you are a web designer/programer that can have this running by morning then porve it and let us see your example, as most auction scripts are built around the same structure, So I am sure they would love someone that is offering to do the job for free and show them a working model, as it is only a simple matter, as you said once or twice, so it is not as if you would want paid for it.

But I still think the easy fix that we really need now, would be to return to what was working before, as this is a new thing, which I assume has just been introduced.

Go to your Paypal account and grab yourself a "buy it now button". Paste it on any web page you like - your blog, a forum, a store etc. - and it will work flawlessly. The code to enable safe sales to unregistered buyers is done and freely available. The only issue now is eBid's own business model which is why Gazza and Mark may want to restrict the use of direct sales to any buyer in order to protect the final value fees eBid charge. Nobody needs to reinvent the wheel but I do believe they need to consider adapting to the internet as it is now rather than how, once upon a time, it was.

[adruml]

This whole thread is continiuing to damage ebid and looks as though it shows no sign of dying down and tempers seem to be getting frayed..I would say it is being badly managed but the answer is it's not being managed or even looked into at all.
I find it all rather sad.

Actually support is on it. Someone had submitted a support ticket but had gotten lost in the shuffle and was just resubmitted yesterday. Support did not want to reply in the forums as it is somewhat of a cluster. The poster who had submitted the support ticket should be recieving a reply soon and hopefully they will share the response with the forums.

[0ctavias0fferings]

WHY USE PAYPAL?
It's safer, it's faster and it's everywhere. Use PayPal to shop at thousands of web-sites, knowing that your financial details are never shared.

Which is precisely why I chose to pay by Paypal in a Real World store I had never been to before. I'm very fussy about who has my CC details.

Paypal is a huge business, regulated by the FSA and in spite of attacks on the site by, for example, Wikileaks supporters, they actually do an incredible job. Millions of transactions are carried out through Paypal every day. I trust their security ahead of <i>any</i> other site on the internet and quite a lot of RW outlets as well.

I know there is a vociferous crew here who seem to hate Paypal but in real life that attitude is not echoed.

Only about another hundred or so links to delete. A few will remain but not many.

[madelaine]

I can confirm that I am still in discussion with support about my original problems - buyers getting strikethrus which I don't feel are justified and the unfriendly nature of ebid emails.