Tag Archives: paypal

Small Business on eBay – The Straw That Broke This Cornerstone's Back

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Cornerstone Commercial Supply, a name most of my regular readers will remember from articles in the past year is calling it quits on eBay.

Cornerstone is an established small business with over 30 years of quality service dealing with the public. They offer a unique niche product selection which would seemingly be ideal for eBay. Commercial carpet cleaning products, tools, and machines both new and used.

Just as a small bit of background, let it be known that the owners of Cornerstone Commercial Supply are not rich people. They are the father and daughter team of Richard and Connie Carpenter, they both work every day to survive in this difficult economic environment.

Richard Carpenter

Richard Carpenter

Richard Carpenter has been in the Commercial Carpet Cleaning business for over 30 years and as a distributor for over 12 in his present location.  He and his daughter Connie are honest, hard working dedicated people who give the customer a fair shake even when it is not necessary.

I consulted with Cornerstone Commercial Supply to bring them onto eBay as a client of iBusinessLogic in 2007, with the very best of intentions, now I feel as though I owe them an apology for what it is I have done.

It seemed to me to be a perfect match back in the end of 2007.  We researched similar product sales on eBay with advanced eBay research tools. This research revealed a steady and growing market for the professional carpet cleaning products, with competition already established and selling on eBay.   We had a solid plan and in our view, no other carpet cleaning supplier had approached the niche as we would, with a dedicated and well designed eBay store, a full product line, and very competitive pricing, we felt we had a good chance of growing a nice secondary business on eBay for Cornerstone Commercial Supply. Continue reading “Small Business on eBay – The Straw That Broke This Cornerstone's Back” »

Cyber Monday – Shopping on eBay With Microsoft as a Guide

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This morning I was greeted with a pleasant email from our friends at eBay and Microsoft.  Since I already had a Nintendo DS Lite and assorted games in my Amazon.com shopping cart, I decided to investigate the coupon opportunity presented by eBay and our friends at Microsoft Live Search. 

Here's how to save up to 40% with a coupon + Microsoft Cashback:
1. Search for an item on www.live.com.
2. Click the sponsored ad with the Microsoft cashback symbol  You'll be taken to eBay.com.
3. Make sure the item is Buy It Now and the seller accepts PayPal. If the item is eligible,
you'll see a cashback notice on the "commit to buy" page.
4. Enter code: CSHOPEBAY2008. Pay with PayPal before midnight PT on Dec 1, 2008.  

I found what I was looking for on eBay with free shipping, albeit at a higher price than on Amazon. The special coupon deal should make up more than the difference between the prices on the two sites, right?

Found it on eBay
Found it on eBay

 

 

Coupon on eBay - 60 day delay?

Coupon on eBay - 60 day delay?

The discount looked good, in effect I would be getting about 3 games for free with this deal - great!

Then I saw the detail "you must have a Microsoft  cash back account" whats that?  Hmmm, lets look into that before we pull the trigger on this purchase.

When I read the terms below and found there would be a 60 day delay to realize my $71.97 savings on top of several other possible ways that I would not or could not qualify for my "coupon" the thrill was gone.  I went back to Amazon and bought my Christmas gift. 

Amazon does not play these games, or make people jump through these hoops.  Most buyers would not bother to read the fine print and therefore would expect a actual discount at checkout.  The way this coupon seems to be setup, you must first buy from the eBay seller, before learning that your coupon would not be good for another 60 days.  Technically, that is not a coupon, that is a rebate. 

Yes, there are small links which will lead anyone to the information presented below, but how many shoppers will actually follow those links before using the buy now button.  The sellers should not be dealing with  unhappy buyers who have been lead to believe they would be saving money instantly with this deal.

Does this make for a Great Buyer Experience?      

But before you dive into the dry fine print of the cashback program, check out this recent article on APPScout about the Microsoft Live Search Cashback Program (Thanks to Elizabeth for forwarding the link). I think the App Scout article confirms my reaction to the 60 day delay in payment.  The article also suggests that Microsoft has reacted to complaints about the 60 day delay by offering instant reimbursement for "some" eBay buyers, but those eBay buyers will only know if they received the reimbursement after they have made the purchase.  (How fair is that? You MIGHT get your 40% off today, or 60 days from now, or never... it really depends upon who or what we may think of you.)

eBay Terms for Live Search Cashback Rewards

Your participation in the Microsoft Live Search cashback program ("Cashback Program"), is subject to the Microsoft Service Agreement at http://tou.live.com (the "Program Terms"), and these eBay Terms. In the event of a conflict between the Program Terms and the eBay Terms, the eBay Terms shall apply.

Cashback Program

  • Eligibility
  • Qualifying Purchase
  • Receiving Cashback Rewards
  • Limitations
  • The Microsoft Live Search Cashback Program provides cashback for up to 12 qualifying purchases per account on www.ebay.com. The amount of cashback will be determined by eBay, specified at the time of checkout on the "purchase review page" and equal to a percentage of the sale price (excluding shipping and handling fees, insurance fees and other such fees) ("Cashback Rewards"). The maximum amount of Cashback Rewards per qualifying purchase is $200.00 USD. In addition, all Cashback Rewards (including Cashback Rewards earned in connection with purchases made on websites other than www.eBay.com) are subject to the annual $2,500.00 per person cap set forth in the Program Terms.

You are eligible to participate in the Cashback Program as long as you: (a) are at least 18 years of age and reside in the United States, (b) have a confirmed US eBay.com account in good standing, (c) have a verified US PayPal account in good standing, (d) have a Microsoft Cashback Program Account in good standing; and (e) comply with the eBay Terms and the Program Terms. In order for your accounts to be in good standing, they must not be limited or suspended. To make a qualifying purchase, you must do all of the following:

  • Search for an eBay.com item on www.live.com.
  • Click on an eBay.com sponsored advertisement on www.live.com that has the cashback icon a gold circle with a dollar sign, next to the advertisement. When you click on the advertisement, you will begin an online session. Sponsored advertisements typically appear at the top or along the right hand side of the page of a www.live.com search results page in a shaded or colored area of the page.
  • Purchase an eligible eBay.com Buy-It-Now item using PayPal within 60 minutes of the time you began the online session. Cashback Rewards will apply only to the first eligible item you commit to buy during an online session. You may make only one qualifying purchase per online session.
  • To make additional qualifying purchases, you must repeat each of these steps including initiating a new search on www.live.com.

After your first eligible purchase is completed, you must go to My Messages on eBay.com and look for a message from eBay with "cashback" in the subject line. Click the "Get Cashback" link or button in the message to set up a Cashback Program account with Microsoft by providing all information required by Microsoft (or, if you already have a Cashback Program account, log into your account in order to associate your eBay purchases with that account). Once you have created a Cashback Program account and have logged in to associate your eBay purchases with your account as described above, the Cashback Rewards will be available in your Cashback Program account approximately sixty (60) days after you pay for your qualifying purchase. PayPal in its discretion may decide to pay your Cashback Rewards more quickly on a case by case basis. Cashback rewards are issued to the PayPal account you used to make the qualifying purchase on eBay.com. Only certain items selected by eBay from time to time in its sole discretion will be eligible for Cashback Rewards. eBay will notify you on the purchase review page of the Buy-It-Now transaction process if the item you wish to purchase is not eligible.

Please review the purchase review page carefully before you commit to buy an item. Please note, the following will always be ineligible for Cashback Rewards: purchases that are completed on www.express.ebay.com or www.half.ebay.com; purchases of automobiles or other vehicles; purchases of real estate. Cashback Rewards cannot be transferred or applied to multiple eBay.com accounts. Purchases on eBay.com of gift certificates, gift cards and items acquired for resale will be eligible for Cashback Rewards. eBay may permit you to combine Cashback Rewards with other eBay promotions, coupons, or gift certificates. With the exception of eBay promotions, coupons and gift certificates, Cashback Rewards cannot be combined with any other offer on purchases on www.eBay.com. eBay shall determine in its sole discretion whether your purchase is a qualifying purchase under the eBay Terms. PayPal may disqualify transactions or remove previously paid cash rewards from your PayPal account if you return or cancel a qualifying purchase, participate in any fraud or abuse relating to the Cashback Program (including conducting "sham" transactions or otherwise colluding with merchants, or otherwise), or fail to meet the Program Terms or these eBay Terms. In the event that you receive Cashback Rewards for a purchase that is later determined to be an ineligible purchase, you provide PayPal with the right and authority to remove the Cashback Rewards from your PayPal account, even if it means that your PayPal account will have a negative balance for which you will be liable. Live Search cashback is a Microsoft Corporation program. Cashback Rewards are funded and paid by Microsoft. Neither eBay nor PayPal have any obligations to you regarding Cashback Rewards or your participation in the Cashback Program except as set forth in these eBay Terms. eBay is the official time keeper for determining whether your purchase is made within 60 minutes of the time you initiate an online session. You hereby agree to release eBay Inc. and PayPal, Inc. from any claims, demands and damages arising out of or in any way connected to your participation in the Cashback Program. In addition, you hereby agree to release Microsoft from any claims, demands and damages arising out of the eBay Terms. eBay provides Microsoft with limited information about your eligible purchase (such as the date, time, amount, and item description) when you apply for a Cashback Reward. Microsoft will use this information only to process and manage your Cashback Rewards, and not for any other purpose. eBay may change these terms and conditions from time to time by posting revised terms and conditions on www.eBay.com, and all such changes will be effective when posted.

The Truth About eBay 2008

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Last week I wrote, 1.4 Billion Reasons Why eBay is Walking Away from Auctions which spoke about the new direction of eBay as a conglomerate.

In that article I used a fictional character to represent the desire of the eBay management team to dominate the world.  

Billions

Billions

After I published the article my thoughts went from the satisfaction of having written a deliciously evil analogy about the massive shift of focus of a huge company to thoughts of fairness and concern.  

I did not really want to say that in a personal sense, John Donahoe was evil.  The man is just a man and I really do not think anyone should call another man evil, unless they know for sure that he is. I do not remotely think Mr. Donahoe is evil, he is simply a highly placed corporate executive trying to make the most money possible, his only concern being the final balance sheet. (hope it is not the stock price). This may be distasteful to some, but not to me, I like making money. Although I also care about my long time customers and hopefully would not forget about them quite so easily. 

I quickly wrote, BTW - John Donahoe is Not Evil, and Neither is eBay- It was a Parody… .  This caused confusion among my readers and I saw the effects of that confusion in my Twitter feed which included comments to me (and about me) from followers and friends, concerned that I had received a call from Dr. Evil himself.

I received no such call from Dr. Evil, unless it was sent telepathically or via the sub conscious.

My true feelings were conflicted as I did not want to offend Mr. Donahoe or the other eBay execs by making it seem that I am telling the world that they are evil, on the other hand, in some peoples perspective, the deeds are close to the analogy.

The truth about eBay in 2008...

Like a patient with Alzheimer's, eBay has its mind on other things.

...and I know this is a very tough pill to swallow for many long time users of the site, but eBay is not so quietly moving itself out of the eBay business.

The core eBay business is still active and alive, the patient is with us, physically if not in spirit.  We can see something is wrong, our trusted friend is not quite the same, we know deep down there is a change coming that we do not want to think about or speak about... Our friend eBay is dying.  

Emotions abound, everyone wants to help, no one knows what to do yet everyone has an opinion.  We call the doctor and the diagnosis is clear, yet we do not believe.  The patient, eBay, knows it is on a different course, yet we all keep thinking the inevitable will not happen.  Sometimes the hardest part of life changes like this is the deception.  We all deceive ourselves into thinking everything will be OK.  

The patient is not eBay as a corporation, that will survive for eons. The patient is eBay auctions which are travelling through the final chapter of an amazing lifetime.  It is time to say goodbye.

Fixed price will live on, the corporation needs that to fuel its finance business and Paypal beast but auctions are just too much trouble.  

Over the weekend I asked this question of my Twitter followers:

Scott Pooler
Scott_Pooler Who said this? “There are times when I wish we can close this store and just open a new store, but we can’t,” 

The answer is John Donahoe.

Whats he Thinking?

Whats he Thinking?

He said what almost every eBay store owner has said to him or herself on multiple occasions, except John Donahoe has never operated an eBay store.

He followed that quote up with this statement: “We need to make bolder, more aggressive changes to the eBay ecosystem even if they are unpopular.”

John was speaking about the eBay auctions business, it seems clear that in John Donahoe's mind, the core business of eBay is more of a pain point than a legacy.

The quote is from a the New York Times article: Amid the Gloom, an E-Commerce War

The New York Times article is one of the best and most in depth I have yet seen covering the real evolution of eBay into an Amazon clone. BRAD STONE of the New York Times seems to indicate this move towards fixed price may be too little and to late.  

I think eBay should just change its name to PayBay.

PayPal and the new acquisition Bill Me Later are John Donahoe's vision of the future.  While the eBay name and logo are colorful and shiny, PayPal is the engine that drives the bus.  

Back in 2007 I wrote an article which offered a suggestion about how to feed the PayPal engine.  

eBay lowering fees - We say - eBay Listing Fees FREE

The exponential growth of PayPal has proven that eBay is simply a feeder system for the money machine known as PayPal. PayPal would not be the cash cow it is today if eBay did not exist, eBay may not exist if it continues to increase fees and limit the ability of sellers, both new and experienced, to make sales. Sales are what drives the engine of the cash flow which feeds PayPal!

Imagine - if you will… a system of eBay where fees were completely removed (Somewhat like CraigsList or Kiiji). This would be a free market system like no other and the exponential growth of the PayPal transactions would more than cover the losses from removing fees for sellers.

The competition (Amazon/Google Checkout) would no longer be a threat to eBay/PayPal because eBay has the advantage in worldwide numbers. That advantage is dwindling only due to the fee changes over the last several years. If eBay were to remove fees for listing and re-listing and continue to insist on the use of PayPal for transactions then I say eBay would have a complete stranglehold on the Internet marketplace for years to come.

So, if the market is afraid of eBay reducing fees, what do you think they would say about removing fees altogether?

Evidently Mr. Donahoe did not read my previous thoughts on the matter, but it seems as though I was on the right track.  My question is...

If eBay is so excited about buying up and creating free classifieds sites around the world, and since they are obviously closing down the eBay core business of auctions... Why not spin off the auctions marketplace and make it fee free?  Sell advertising and rake in the PayPal/Bill Me Later millions. 

The reality of eBay 2008 is confusion... The giant has a thorn in its foot and can not find relief... 

Someone, please... Pull out the thorn.

Google Checkout Teaming Up With FedEX – eBay & UPS Watch Out

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We are all aware of the relationship between UPS and eBay with the extension to PayPal.

(Shipping services on eBay are limited to the USPS and UPS and payment is tied in with PayPal ever more tightly every day.)

eBay, UPS and the USPS have had a very tight relationship over the years. With UPS & the USPS providing eBay merchants a discount when placing shipping business through eBay checkout. This is a great deal, and I use it every day but...

What About FedEx - My Favorite Ground Carrier?

It has disturbed me somewhat that FedEX has not been given access to the eBay seller marketplace over the years because frankly... I believe FedEx provides better pricing and service for merchants across the board, than pretty much any other shipping company.  I also believe in competition and equal access and I think the merchants should have the ability to choose from the major carriers in the shipping calculator on a massive platform like eBay.

(This is not a paid enforcement of FedEx, it is simply my experience over the last 20 years shipping packages around the World.)

But deals are deals and eBay, UPS and the USPS have there thing going on....

FedEx is not sitting on their rear however, it seems they have smelled the flowers and found opportunity with a small upstart by the name of Google.

FedEX-Google-Offer.jpg

With FedEx offering a 21% discount to merchants using Google Checkout, at a time when a merchants are building their own ecommerce outlets outside of eBay at a record pace and more competitors to eBay are accepting Google checkout, this seems like a very wise move by Fed Ex and Google.

Just click the image above to get the details of the Google/Fedex deal for merchants.

I know I will be recommending my clients look hard at the overall cost savings of using Google Checkout and FedEx shipping services together.  Even if the discount is tied in with Google AdWords spending, spending on Google AdWords and building ones own website could be more beneficial than spending money on eBay fees long term.

Check it out - I know I will!

(This is not a paid endorcement)

Paypal re: IRS – A "Small Percentage" PayPal Customers Process $20,000.00 Per Year

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Our friend and co- blogger Richard Brewer Hay, over at eBay Ink reported today about the move by the US Congress to require PayPal and other online payment processors to report annual gross receipts of individual online merchants in excess of $20,000.00 to the IRS.

Richard's report was partially sourced from the Wall Street Journal and also from the official PayPal blog. (See the block quote below).

In my humble opinion,

The following statement  "a small percentage of PayPal customers are effected" by this impending IRS & Online sales tax issue, says little for PayPal or eBay as a route to business success.  I mean... if the use of PayPal as a business solution to process payments from online sales, is a healthy concern, wouldnt more than a "small percentage" of PayPal users be effected by this IRS fact finding mission?

How can any online or ecommerce business stay in business if they do not process more than $20,000.00 per year in PayPal payments? What is the incentive? Continue reading “Paypal re: IRS – A "Small Percentage" PayPal Customers Process $20,000.00 Per Year” »

PayPal Buyer Disputes Now Appearing in "My eBay" Console

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July 09, 2008 | 04:32PM PST/PT

Ted Fong

Hi everyone...I'm Ted Fong with eBay's Buyer Experience team. In the next few days, eBay's Dispute Console will contain any claims you've made through PayPal, as well as PayPal claims filed by your trading partner. You'll also see the status of the claim or dispute, as well as a notification if you need to take action.

To get to the Dispute Console, go to My eBay and click the link in the left column.

Sincerely,

Ted Fong
Buyer Experience

This seems like a good move...

Anything to allow the seller a chance to respond quickly to any dispute within PayPal or eBay is a good idea in my book.

We recently experienced a PayPal buyer dispute from our allbusinessauctions eBay account sales.  The item sold was a used commercial appliance or furniture hand cart which cost more to ship than the buyer bid on the item.  The hand cart never arrived at the destination even though we carefully wrapped it and shipped DHL.

DHL has been slow to provide details on our claim yet our buyer has been very patient and has stated that he understands this was not our fault. 

Of course it is not our fault but we have also taken the time to stay in contact with the buyer through the PayPal dispute procedure providing regular emails, letting him know what we are doing to try and resolve the situation, either by tracking his item or by processing an insurance claim.

Communication is key to resolving any issue, be it with a buyer, a seller or a supplier. 

If you simply expect the other party to know what you know, without telling them directly, the other side will eventually become suspicious or feel slighted, even if the situation works out to their advantage in the end.  Keeping in contact shows your professionalism and your attention to detail and this in turn will increase the buyers opinion of you and your business, even if things go wrong.

I have proved this theory to myself on numerous occasions, why not try it yourself...

Now if we could just get eBay to read this article and post it on the Trust & Safety office wall!

eBay Master Plan & eCommerce – Speculation – Why Not Join The Two?

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eBay is in a period of transition...

As sellers we are left to react to the changes - wouldn't it be nice to have an idea about the master plan?

eBay Plan

I don't think eBay will be revealing the complete master plan any time soon...

Either because they do not have one (a possibility proffered in multiple other blogs and chat rooms) or, more than likely, eBay knows each change brings with it a cloud of worry and concern from the users of the site.  If they were to set out the overall plan all at once, it would be met with so much resistance from the community the transition would become almost impossible. 

Once again we are left to speculate - and with speculation comes opportunity. 

Opportunities to dream, opportunities to succeed...

An opportunity to think about what could be...

Lets take a look at what eBay has to work with... Continue reading “eBay Master Plan & eCommerce – Speculation – Why Not Join The Two?” »

Catalyst, Day Two Quick Report – eBay – Google – Scot Wingo

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It is now almost the end of Day 2 here at Catalyst.  I have a great deal of information to share, but alas I am due at the resort club for a special dinner.  I am in my room just doing a quick freshen up before dining at the famous Pinehurst Club.

In summary for day 2, I will say that Scot Wingo presents himself as a straight shooter across the board, not that anyone would think otherwise.  The entire keynote presentation he made this morning was well thought out and included real meat for online merchants.  Later Scot presided over a forum-type of presentation giving a synopsis of how several ChannelAdvisor client companies had grown their online businesses from "Infancy" to full "Adulthood" as Internet merchants.  One notable comment by Scot was, "eBay is like training wheels for eCommerce."  Very Interesting...

eBay & Paypal combined forces for a presentation which revealed a certain nervousness from Stephanie Tilenius, the new head of North American operations for eBay. It is obvious that eBay has suddenly realized that merchants are actively seeking new channels to sell goods.  A great deal of anguish over recent and some long term problems at eBay was expressed by the audience in the question and answer period after the joint speech. Stephanie Tilenius indicated that we have yet to see the end of drastic changes at eBay and said, "by this time next year we will not recognize eBay.com compared with how it looks today."   Interesting yet cryptic quotes.  To be fair, I should say that Stephanie's handling of the questions which were presented by less than friendly voices was both calm and well thought out.  But no specifics were given to sellers which would allow them to allay fears over the recent and coming changes at eBay.

Google's presentation later in the day by Vince Monical, head of Google's eCommerce and Analytics team, included a lot of interesting facts about the methodology of search.  A great deal of emphasis was placed upon the effectiveness of the site's analytics product, Google site comparison and the multitude of eBay "Cloud" apps which can be run from any computer anywhere, like Google Docs & Spreadsheets.  The effectiveness of Google checkout was also touted but it did not seem as though the audience had been sold.  In fact, the last session of the day included a 10 person focus group of local citizens in Pinehurst, NC, who shop online.  Not one of those people raised their hand when asked if they were familiar with or would prefer Google checkout over any other type of checkout.  Several members of the focus group were familiar with PayPal however.  Some work needed there for Google.

There is still so much to cover and write about today.  One main thought though...if you hesitated about coming to Catalyst for any reason in the past - maybe because you thought it was just a sales pitch for ChannelAdvisor - put that thought out of your head.  This conference is worth every penny of admission.  The ChannelAdvisor people, from top to bottom, seem to honestly want to help online merchants improve with solid information.  There are many views expressed here, and not all of them coincide with what could be expected from a rah rah self-promoting conference, which this is not.  And I can say that I am simply glad that I spent my day here today.

I have only covered about 1% of the notes I jotted down in today's sessions. More is available to write about for sure, including real commentary about social networking marketing, small business life-cycle models for Internet sales, eBay based trade up programs used very successfully by online merchants in the Golf category and much more.

Stop back by and I will try to put into words all I learned today, but for now I must get to the dinner and try to absorb even more useful information from the people attending and presenting here at Catalyst.   

ChannelAdvisor Catalyst @ Pinehurst Day 1 Complete – Quick Notes

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Catalyst is the name of the ChannelAdvisor conference held once a year each in North Carolina, London, England & Queensland, Australia. 

As most of you may already know, ChannelAdvisor is a very large and diverse multi-channel management solution.  The conference named Catalyst is much more than a sales pitch for ChannelAdvisors various online sales solutions.  At Catalyst, attendees find service and solutions providers covering a complete spectrum of ecommerce and online merchant business.

The solutions presented are from eBay and Paypal to Google, Overstock, Hosted Solutions, Frooition, AsWas, American Express, ShipWorks and more.  The business of doing retail business online is covered at this conference.

PinehurstWe all arrived at Pinehurst, the fabulous golf resort in the Sandhills of North Carolina (originally built in 1895) and were greeted by the very gentile and accommodating staff.  I spent the afternoon settling into my room in the Manor (built in 1923) and checking out the shops & restaurants in the village at Pinehurst. 

The first day's event schedule was consumed mostly by a Golf tournament event. 

The opening keynote speech featuring Chris Shimojima, VP of global electronic commerce for Nike, started at 6PM in the Grand Ballroom of the main historic Carolina Hotel at Pinehurst.

Mr. Shimojima's keynote was a fine example of Nike marketing.  It highlighted two of Nike's newest products and marketing programs, Nike + and Nike iD. 

The point of the speech was apparently intended to inspire the audience to look for innovative ways to reach a target audience.  While that point is quite valid, in my opinion the speech was more of a marketing spiel for Nike and less an inspirational or educational effort meant to teach the audience how to succeed as marketers in new and innovative ways.  I say this because the two examples Nike presented here (Nike +, a custom shoe configurator) and (Nike ID, an electronic device which tracks runs and provides feedback via the Ipod and your computer) could only be accomplished as marketing programs by a company such as Nike with a development and marketing budget to match.  

When I presented this point to Mr. Shimojima after his speech in open question form, he responded that Nike does not have a large marketing budget.  I found his response to be a bit off base, especially after just witnessing the presentation which highlighted a 6 year development time on one project, multi-million dollar "test" marketing retail locations in Tokyo, New York City and London, and endorsements from movie and TV stars and professional athletes including Tiger Woods. Could this indicate Mr. Shimojinas presentation may have a more appropriate audience on Madison Avenue?

I appreciate ChannelAdvisor's efforts to bring the attendees of Catalyst a real powerful example of how innovation can help a company succeed, but unfortunately in this case the presenter spent more time promoting his own products than sharing real actionable techniques with his audience.  This may have been a bit of an overshoot, a missed-the-runway sort of presentation.  The audience is here trying to learn how to build a business into something like Nike.  The Nike Corporation did not start out with the resources it has available today to innovate in the marketplace.  Maybe a more down to earth example of real world success from a peer or possibly newly minted eCommerce success story would have been more appropriate, rather than hearing words and a sales pitch from the mountaintop of one of the ultimate brands in the world. 

eBay lowering fees – We say – eBay Listing Fees FREE

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eBay is considering lowering fees for sellers

Let me repeat that...

eBay is considering lowering fees for sellers!

The "market" is wondering if this would be a good idea? I don't think any serious eBay sellers would question the wisdom of such a plan.

In fact with the increase in revenue for PayPal primarily from eBay transactions, I personally would recommend that eBay make it's auction and Stores services...

FREE! Continue reading “eBay lowering fees – We say – eBay Listing Fees FREE” »