Venting/dissing on evilBay..

[scorch56]

.. as in "giving them grief" personally; not crying and whining ON or IN their public venue. Man.. I hate these bastards more and more with each passing day. Sucks too.. at a time when I NEED to liquidate my collection. There's hardly a week passes anymore when I find something I CAN'T do on eB anymore.. or some other way they AREN'T going to support my efforts anymore. The following letter I sent to them (Maybe it will get me banned. I should be so lucky. The only satisfaction I get when I correspond to them in this way is the fact that I know that they at least have to be cordial when they reply back. Can't wait to see what kind of "non-answer" they have for this..):

" " Gawd I'm beginning to hate you people.. look at my feedback.. as a buyer AND a seller.. it is next to impeccable. Just this week I sold about $500 worth of items.. and even though 95% of my 600+ POSITIVE feedback is as a buyer.. I generate A LOT of revenue.. for both YOU (eBay) and PayPal. I ALWAYS pay through PayPal and I ALWAYS use nothing BUT PayPal when I sell as my ONLY payment method.

Tonight.. I am trying to inform some bidders who bid on an item like one I'm listing this weekend.. that I am listing a unit like such as they bid on.. but with a BIN price of about 4/5ths of what it went for. NO scheming, NO conniving, NO trying to "undercut" eBay of it's precious sellers fees and sell my item outside of you.. I wouldn't think of that. But I'll be damned if I try to contact these people through the "contact member" link in their OWN feedback profiles.. YOU guys stop me because I'm not directly dealing with them at the moment!

If that's the case.. why don't you remove those contact links altogether anymore? They're useless! (They didn't USED to be.. only since eBay's gotten so damn paranoid about losing a few cents on an outside deal!) If a seller and a buyer ARE currently engaged.. like you say in the refusal/warning page AFTER you ask for a typed in verification number (equally as stupid) they CAN contact each other through the auction page.. so why even have a contact member link anymore? besides.. there's that BIG emblazoned warning to the immediate right of any message warning about outside transactions.. always has been.. ISN'T THAT ENOUGH?

I tell you.. it's getting so damned complicated to deal on evilBay anymore and what with the arm & leg you and PayPal take (rising rates..; the lack of backing for buyers AND sellers.. depending on whatever side of the fence one happens to be on at the time of a dispute; etc.) that I'm beginning to think all this crap is more trouble than it's worth, AND I'VE BEEN A MEMBER SINCE 19-FRICKIN'-99!

You say that the reason we can't contact other members this way anymore is because of concern for our safety and security.. bullcr*p! As a buyer.. I really appreciated when other sellers used to contact me and tell me that they were selling something they noticed I was interested in! I never ONCE.. in all my years.. had a person try to sell me something outside.. or harrass me. It comes down to one thing.. your inescapable fear that you're gonna' lose out on a few bucks of fees. Get over it.

BTW.. JUST FYI.. HERE is the "bulk" of the message I am trying to send these people:

"Hello.

I am seriously considering selling my Turbo Duo which is in like condition to the one you bid on last week. It is boxed; complete with all hookups, only thing missing is the manual.

Should I decide to sell it I will be listing it this Sunday (Sep 17) with a BIN considerabley less than what this unit went for.

I also have ALL the pack-in games that originally came with the unit, but will list them separately.. possibly as a lot. Also have Bomberman, Loom and Vasteel (all complete). If I sell the TD.. I'm selling everything. Please check Sunday early evening if you're interested.

Thank you for your time & attention."

How in the hell am I supposed to drum up interest for my auction if I can't let people know about it? Oh wait.. yeah.. I can add on other features for an added cost to me and give more to YOU.. but god forbid I should try and do that myself.. sheesh. " "

..Ahhh.. good old eBay.. redefining and reinforcing the concept of "necessary evil" on a daily basis.. don't ya' just love 'em?

[JerseyDevil65]

I can tell you from experience that when you start a letter "gawd I'm beginning to hate you people" the rest of your letter probably went unread.

BTW, I agree with you 100%, E-Bay sucks, which is why I avoid them unless absolutely neccesary.

[scorch56]

Mmm.. yeah.. I decided to wait an hour before I submitted it. When I finally did.. I removed that first sentence.. even "toned down" some of the swear words. Just had to get it off my chest.

[johno590]

Why can't you contact a member, even if you arn't dealing with them?

I can e-mail anyone on ebay...?

[ChronoTriggaFoo]

So wait..even after I've typed out my message to someone I am not currently engaged with through an eBay deal, AND have typed in eBay's Verification Number, AND after I get a confirmation that says the message has been sent, the intended recipient does NOT receive their message? Because I have not been receiving replies from people that have been scammed from the same individuals as me.

[gum_drops]

I just emailed my other ebay account using the contact member button, not through a listing and then responded with that account with no issues. And I have never been involved in a transaction with myself. I sear no shilling *cough*

If memeory serves there may be a limit on how often you can do so, I dont remember.

[ryborg]

It's always been an ebay policy to not allow unsolicited emails from sellers. This is not a new thing (even before "19-frickin' 9"). See link:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/rfe-spam-ov.html

Frankly, I'm glad this is a rule. I bid on many different items, most simply because of an obscenely low bid price with minimal time remaining. I lose most of these auctions, and if 5% of the sellers would start emailing me about their other similar (not even the same!) items, I'd be pissed. I know I am not alone on this one.

What makes you think all of these old bidders want your email in the first place? Congratulations, you're a spammer.

Like JerseyDevil said, your email was not read by ebay. You'll never get a real response out of them when you send a curse-filled, hard to read message asking why you can't violate an original and important policy.
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Bigboobs

[scorch56]

It's always been an ebay policy to not allow unsolicited emails from sellers. This is not a new thing (even before "19-frickin' 9"). See link:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/rfe-spam-ov.html

Frankly, I'm glad this is a rule. I bid on many different items, most simply because of an obscenely low bid price with minimal time remaining. I lose most of these auctions, and if 5% of the sellers would start emailing me about their other similar (not even the same!) items, I'd be pissed. I know I am not alone on this one.

What makes you think all of these old bidders want your email in the first place? Congratulations, you're a spammer.

Like JerseyDevil said, your email was not read by ebay. You'll never get a real response out of them when you send a curse-filled, hard to read message asking why you can't violate an original and important policy.

First off.. (since you're in a "flaming mood").. I AM NOT a seller soliciting a sale; I am a seller simply trying to inform a few buyers with very high feedbacks (=sincere buyers.. not "kids") about an upcoming auction of my own. Turbo Duo auctions have been rare on eBay as of late (<1 per week). Also.. I am referring to an auction ended just LAST week for $610. These bidders with positive feedback in the "hundreds" were all beat out in the end by a newb with positive feedback of THREE. Will he pay $610? Maybe.. maybe not. So if I want to put a TD up this weekend with a BIN for substantially less, and closer to what THEIR last bids are.. and would prefer to sell it to someone like them (=trustworty and would pay) that's my business. I see nothing wrong with alerting them to the fact either.

Another thing.. the fact that they were bidding on this item just last week.. hardly makes them "old bidders" or this.. an "old" auction.

Once in a great while I guess these kind of mailings DO slip through because I get them still occasionally.. about once every three months.. big deal (and I do a lot of bidding). It doesn't "bother" me.. it doesn't make me cry; or instantly run my spyware scans. If it's something I'm genuinely interested in.. I look. If I'm interested.. I bid.. if for some reason I'm not.. I don't and the message gets deleted.. end of story. I don't mind them because I'm not too paranoid, or just too busy with my important life to look upon them as a bother or intrusion. I kind of actually appreciate them.. but that's just me.

I am also aware that evilBay has had this policy for years. It was at first instituted to thwart harassing/threatening messages from disgruntled buyers/sellers.. and ALSO.. to simply stop the proposal of "outside sales" (which I am NOT doing). Years ago.. one could easily e-mail fellow members and the "message" system wasn't even in place; then about 4 years ago eBay instituted the internal messaging system expressly for the purpose of (and they actually stated it when it first came out) allowing members TO communicate between each other about ANYTHING because.. as they said.. they'd rather have an internal system than an external one (as in e-mail), thereby further protecting their "citizens" FROM the aforememntioned possible harassment and soliciting. Up until recently.. one could use the internal messaging system for anything.

I also want to point out to everybody (you included) that I am talking about eBay's INTERNAL MESSAGING system.. and NOT "e-mail" per se. I am aware that in a loose sense the two ARE related.. since supposedly.. everytime you message someone it is sent to their registered e-mail address as well.. but e-mail addresses are hidden within the system and whenever you initiate or reply to a MESSAGE you also have the option to "turn off" e-mail notification and not reveal e-mail addresses as well. I personally.. have NEVER sent nor recieved an internal message with mine or anyone else's persoanl e-mail addy "exposed" in it. Your link refers to e-mail.. so we're talking apples & oranges here.

As for my complaint to eBay.. I already said I removed the first sentence and toned down the language. I have recieved replies to "hotter" complaints in the past than this one by a mile.. and will this time as well. If you'd like.. when it comes.. I'll post it here.

Lastly to those who are talking about the "mechanics" of this.. here is what happens to me. I want to correspond with someone I'm currently not dealing with.. nor having a transaction with on eBay. You are left with one avenue.. go to their feedback page and click on the "contact buyer" button (go ahead and look at your own). Which briefly brings up another question.. if buyers and sellers currently involved can easily correspond through the auction page or "My eBay" then what the hell is THAT button for on the FB page IF for nothing other than cases where two members AREN'T currently engaged in a transaction? That's all it used to be used for. Anyways.. back to the situation at hand. So you click on the button and an open dialog box comes up where you can type your message. There is no warning or refusal to submit or send any message at that point yet.. EXCEPT for the usual box on the right warning against "outside transactions" and "sending money by wire".. that's been there forever and both you and the recipent see it in their message (I know.. it's always on mine). You type in your message.. any message really.. then you hit "send", "submit".. whatever. You go to the next page and you're STILL not warned, nor refused, nor denied to send.. but nowdays (another "security" measure semi-recently implemented to thwart spammers and "bots".. I have no qualm with that) you are directed to type in a verification code. Once you do and submit.. THEN a page comes up saying you aren't allowed to send messages anymore without direct involvement.. kinda' stupid if you ask me. I think even you ryborg can see the stupidity in that.

The resultant page that comes up does not specifically say your message has been blocked.. it kind of "chastises" you; warns you again about outside solicitation, says "ebay OFTEN blocks these kind of messages" (possibly they screen messages?) or something to that effect (never specifically stating whether your own message is going to be allowed through or not) and gives you several other suggestions or avenues to contact the other member by.. one being e-amil.. but it's kind of hard to get another member's e-mail when ebay doesn't give them out anymore. I assume the message never gets through.. because as another previous poster mentioned above.. you NEVER get a response anymore.

So the whole process/system is kind of pointless if you ask me.

[scorch56]

I just emailed my other ebay account using the contact member button, not through a listing and then responded with that account with no issues. And I have never been involved in a transaction with myself. I sear no shilling *cough*

If memeory serves there may be a limit on how often you can do so, I dont remember.

I just tried this also using an account I set up about a year ago.. but never used. As far as I know.. it is not tied or connected to me in anyway. I found my other ID through advanced search went to the FB page.. used contact memeber and simply typed in "test message" went through code entry.. and didn't get the warning/refusal. Thinking it was maybe based on screening for words though I then tried again sending the exact message I sent other members regarding my sale; but it went through fine as well.

So I decided to go back and resend my message to one of the former bidders I speak of.. it still won't let me. This time I used advanced search to "connect" to their FB page and NOT through the bid history page of the former auction, but it still won't let me. It seems to know or remember who I AM and how I stand in relation to them (a non-transactee). It makes no sense. The only thing I can think of is that once you've tried to contact someone through an auction page and been refused.. it somehow "marks" you.

Beats me.. x_x .

[yok-dfa]

Dude, that's way too much text. A nice, small summarry would be handy.

BTW i agree with ryborg that it's very annoying if people start to spam you with their actions...

[Griking]

First off.. (since you're in a "flaming mood").. I AM NOT a seller soliciting a sale; I am a seller simply trying to inform a few buyers with very high feedbacks (=sincere buyers.. not "kids") about an upcoming auction of my own.

No offense dude but that's called spam. If your past bidders wanted to keep up on your future auctions then eBay has a feature called "Favorite Sellers" which will do that for you.

[ryborg]

First off.. (since you're in a "flaming mood")..

Since when is a dissenting opinion (it's not even an opinion, really, since you simply cannot email non-winning-bidders in the manner you want to) considered a flame? It's nothing personal, there's just no way you can call what you're doing anything other than spamming.

However, I do find it somewhat amusing that you typed all that text and no one is going to read it.
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Zoloft lawsuit

[scorch56]

<sigh>.. once again.. let me spell it out. I AM NOT talking about E-MAILING anyone! If I could.. maybe that would be easier.. but eBay doesn't give out e-mail addresses. I AM talking about the INTERNAL EBAY MESSAGING SYSTEM. When I think of the word "spam".. I think about thousands upon thousands of blanket e-mails going out to unsolicited e-mail addresses. In my case I'm talking about a grand total of THREE INTERNAL messages. Also.. when I think of "spam".. I think about solicitations for things I never wanted, nor am interested in.. like "cheap meds" or "online poker", "mega loans" to strangers.. or Omaha Steaks. I am trying to let 3 people who have previously bid on a Turbo Duo auction and would PROBABLY not object to taking a look at MINE.. know about it.

I'm not going to get in a flame war with you guys over semantics though.

[jonjandran]

<sigh>.. once again.. let me spell it out. I AM NOT talking about E-MAILING anyone! If I could.. maybe that would be easier.. but eBay doesn't give out e-mail addresses. I AM talking about the INTERNAL EBAY MESSAGING SYSTEM. When I think of the word "spam".. I think about thousands upon thousands of blanket e-mails going out to unsolicited e-mail addresses. In my case I'm talking about a grand total of THREE INTERNAL messages. Also.. when I think of "spam".. I think about solicitations for things I never wanted, nor am interested in.. like "cheap meds" or "online poker", "mega loans" to strangers.. or Omaha Steaks. I am trying to let 3 people who have previously bid on a Turbo Duo auction and would PROBABLY not object to taking a look at MINE.. know about it.

I'm not going to get in a flame war with you guys over semantics though.

You're right about it not being Spam.

Spam Definition:

Technical Definition of Spam

An electronic message is "spam" IF:

(1)the recipient's personal identity and context are irrelevant because the message is equally applicable to many other potential recipients;

AND

(2)the recipient has not verifiably granted deliberate, explicit, and still-revocable permission for it to be sent.

Spam is an issue about consent, not content. Whether the UBE message is an advert, a scam, porn, a begging letter or an offer of a free lunch, the content is irrelevant - if the message was sent unsolicited and in bulk then the message is spam.

So for Congress or any Law Enforcement to consider it Spam it has to be sent in bulk.