Recently I was tapped for a comment on a "speculation" that eBay was doing away with its Voices program. For many years eBay has had a focus group program internally called the Voices of the Community. It is an ancient program created back in the 1990’s so eBay and its seller base could communicate.
Most of the members are… how you say this delicately? OLD! Not like Moses old, but kind of just old school LMAO. The story was picked up and put into an Auctionbytes blog and titled "eBay Silences Founding Voices Members". Seems eBay decided to turn over some of the "elder statesman" that were sitting on the panel in exchange for some new blood.
So, when I was tapped for the response to this development, I simply laughed. I think the inquirer thought I was smoking weed, because I actually found the concept of being in an unpaid position to express your opinion in 2009 sounded like BLOGGING?!?
WTF do you need to be in a corporate sponsored "program" just to express your opinion about eBay developments? I do that crap every day right here on ColderICE.com, LMAO. So I found the initial inquiry just kind of funny. The person that contacted me was all alarmed about it and I was like chill out dude.
It is 2009, not 1999…its the new millennium and communication has changed dramatically. I found the charge rather irrelevant cause anyone can communicate to the masses using social media now. Hey, if you have seen me speak LIVE, the you would "Get It". Social media has changed the world of top down corporate communications forever.
Wow, looks like RBH at eBay answered the claim on their official blog site. So the community is actually able to assess both sides of the issue and determine what really is taking place here.
On some level, I think the Voices program has been outdated for a LONG time. But looking at it objectively, I have a few questions that seem to raise for me about its effectiveness….If the Voices program was so "valuable" to the eBay selling community, why do they not take more HEAT for changes that the community does not agree with? Does the program really work? Has it ever? WTF do they do there, drink tea and chat? LMAO
So what do you guys think? Is the Voices program really effective or is it past its prime? I would LUV to hear your opinion on this?
Why in the world do people care what I think? I am not trying to be funny, I am being serious here. I am "just a squirrel trying to get a nut", either that or I am just a NUT, you can take your pick, LMAO
So I write a story that gives an example (albeit, a very simple one) that explains what round-tripping means as it relates to eBay Partner Network (ePN). That was a follow-up comment from the Auctiva shift to paid platform story.
From that, I got to speak with both InkFrog and Vendio on how they plan to respond. And now Auctiva has contacted your boy to "school me" on the situation at hand. So Spencer Smith, Auctiva’s Director of Marketing reaches out to me in this regard. First I want to give you the quotes…
Thumbnails (pictures) that are in the scroll galleries sellers embed in eBay auctions have NEVER had cookies attached to them.
The search box and the "click to browse items" DID have cookies attached to them ONLY after the buyer leaves the eBay site and goes to a DIFFERENT item from the same or different seller.
Auctiva NEVER took share if the buyer went back to the same item from the same seller.
eBay audited ALL activity by Auctiva and Auctiva was NEVER in violation of any ePN rules. When the terms changed, Auctiva complied to all changes and was never in violation.
Just to let you guys know, I don’t use ANY of Auctiva’s tools so I have ZERO skin in this game. There is no dog in the fight for me, but as a seller I realize how changes in fees can impact an eBay sellers business dramatically. My phone was ringing all weekend about this issue. So my goal is to educate and inform, BUT not report!!!!
I AM NOT A REPORTER,I am a commentator. Ina? Now she is a reporter. She does that better than anyone in this auction space. If you live in the UK, then the guys at Tamebay are reporting the news for you. Lil’ ol me? I am just here for levity
Get it? Got it? Good…lets get down to business baby.
Auctiva is in about 20% of all eBay auctions. You do NOT get that much real estate in the eBay systems (IMHO) without eBay being in the loop. I can really understand that Auctiva could not ever be in violation of rules because eBay always held their "on-off money switch". So I can see how they would have to always play inside the rules and be in constant contact with the ePN compliance team. Personally, I feel the notion that Auctiva was doing wrong is complete and utter NONSENSE. To put it plainly I think it is bull’ish and is FALSE.
Having said that, I do believe that a buyer on eBay that clicks a link in ANY ad that takes them off of eBay and then back to eBay (to the same or different item) is STILL round tripping. If I leave Chicago from O’Hare and then return at Midway….Or if I leave New York from La Guardia and return to Kennedy, I am still back in New York and that my friends is a ROUND TRIP TICKET not two one way tickets!!! So get off my arse dudes, LMAO. Phew, glad I got that out of the way.
eBay has said that going forward even links that take you to a different item will no longer be paid by the ePN program (announced in September 2008). They were OK in the past but in the future they will no longer be calculated as a paid commission and THAT my friends is what is going on.
Some points of clarity on the pricing structure that Spencer did let me know about.
Although the billing period begins on July 1, users will NOT be actually billed until the first weeks of August. So you actually have 60 days before you have a bill due to them.
They looked at Vendio’s old billing structure to craft this new billing plan for their sight, so it is NOT unprecedented.
The TOP level will be capped at $199.00 which included everything EVEN image hosting.
They offer a 30-day FREE trial with NO CREDIT CARD required. So that is a risk free offer for new users.
The will be providing more support INCLUDING live chat for all paid plan subscribers.
So, I hope this informative post lets you guys make an educated decision when selecting a paid provider for your eBay auction tool.
Wow, what a crazy week and a crazy time! We have been diligently working for TODAY’s launch of the new LIVE radio show. The new show is called “B.S. Walks” and it airs today at 1:14 pm est.
I decided to post my show notes so you can see what I am seeing and researching for the show! We got this an MUCH MUCH MORE, but it is all about making us better entrepreneurs, and good stewards of our money.
Today more than ever you NEED good sound advise and I hope to bring some of the best advise money can’t buy
According to Tuesday’s release about the ecommerce sector, With a small dip, Amazon (-2% to 86) remains the second highest scoring firm of all companies in this release. The situation for e-Bay is different. Its ACSI score slumps 4 percent to 78, an all-time low. Revenues fell 7 percent in the fourth quarter, marking eBay’s first ever negative year-on-year quarter, and its stock price lost almost 60% in 2008. Newegg leads the online retail category with a score of 88. The computer hardware and software retailer has done well offering consistently high quality service and quick response time.
While satisfaction with ecommerce declined 2 percent, customer satisfaction with the retail sector gained 1.3 percent to 75.2. The retail sector includes department and discount stores, specialty retail stores, supermarkets, gas stations, and health and personal care stores.
“Twitter is instant messaging made available to the public,” stated talk show host and author Hugh Hewitt.
It’s a constant stream of communication. The good news is you can turn it on or off as often as you like. Twitter also keeps a public record of all updates, which can be mined with Twitter Search.
Duct Tape Marketing founder John Jantsch identified three big advantages of Twitter, “(1) I get great insight when I ask questions, (2) let’s face it, I get traffic and (3) people on Twitter spread my thoughts to new places.”
There are a few big deductions that can significantly reduce your tax bill if you qualify. New investments of up to $250,000 in equipment, vehicles, or software can be written off immediately, rather than depreciated over future years, under the Section 179 deduction. If you have a home office that you use exclusively as your primary place of business, you can deduct costs for the business use of your home. And if you use your car or truck for business, you can deduct work-related expenses for gas, maintenance, insurance, and other costs, either using the IRS’s standard mileage rate or by calculating the actual costs. The home office and vehicle deductions are two of the most overlooked write-offs, according to the National Association for the Self-Employed.
• Hire a reputable tax preparer to prepare your return, rather than a nonprofessional who took a course in tax preparation. CPAs are licensed and are required to take continuing education courses. Large tax preparation services, such as H&R Block (HRB), have qualified personnel supporting their preparers. Preparers whose tax returns are audited frequently will be flagged as disreputable, opening up their entire client base to be audited, Hanley says.
• Make sure your reported income supports your living expenses and other deductions.
• Do not round off your deductions, which might make it appear that you are "guesstimating." Exact figures appear to be taken from actual records.
• If you’re worried about the impact of the Schedule C, you could investigate forming a corporation to reduce your possibility of audit. "That may sound attractive, but the cost of formation, together with the cost of annual tax return filings and possible payroll tax responsibilities, may outweigh the perceived benefits," Weiner says. Talk to an accountant about the pros and cons of incorporating your company (BusinessWeek, 10/3/07).
• Report all your income. "If the IRS matching program, which compares 1099s, W-2s, and other forms filed with the IRS to tax returns, reveals unreported income, you get a notice. Don’t invite unwanted attention," Rosenbaum says.
The recently funded and sexy as hell Tumblr is expanding their offering to make it just a little bit better. If you weren’t already satisfied with the myriad of available tumblelog posting options, now you have one more bonus choice to throw into the mix. Starting today, you can use your phone to record an audio post that publishes to your tumblelog.
Check out MY Tumbler at http://colderice.tumblr.com/ it has EVERY post I have ever made on Twitter on it, going back to the beginning!
As for traffic, the eCrater marketplace ranks as the 6,000th most visited site on the net according to Alexa. This means it gets a sizeable chunk of traffic (lots of whom will filter through to stores), although it’s still way behind the likes of eBay which ranks 20th. Plenty of sellers are making decent sales and many successfully run a number of stores in different niches.
QSC has received decent marks from third party reviewers, such as TopTen Reviews and PC Mag, and with no transaction fees and a low monthly fee, it’s a good offer, but we didn’t feel it was as nice to use as some of the other options available.
The cost starts at $9.95/mo + small commission on sales. Features include advanced customer management options, such as the ability to issue credits and partial credits, maintain a customer order history, build customer profiles and advanced cross-promotion.
Super Extra Extra Credit?!?
Episode I – Q408 in-depth analysis – available here with Q+A covered in an addendum (IA) (link)
Episode II – Introducing the ChannelAdvisor Ecommerce Framework (CEF) (link)
Episode III – eBay, Amazon and the CEF (you are here – I have split it into to parts A (ebay) and B (amazon) ) (link)
The 4 part episode from Scot Wing (CEO of ChannelAdvisor) is a “book” that is a must read! He is breaking it all down on eBay and Amazon and what is going on in eCommerce as it relates to what he sees from the inside and out.
Oh no, I am about to get in trouble again. You know I just could NOT leave this one alone…
OK, the eBay dean of education has a new interview with Ina Steiner on AuctionBytes.com. It is a pretty open discussion on specific on the platform. Nothing earth shattering, but telling none the less.
AuctionBytes: When did you start with eBay?
Griff: I started at the end of October, 1996 as eBay’s first Customer Support rep.
Griff is author the eBay Bible and has been with the organization since 1996, WOW! There really seems to be some cracks in the ceiling with these comments that he made.
Overall I am somewhat optimistic by his hints of change in 2009, but skeptical at the same time. Of course I had my own opinions (surprise, surprise) so I just thought I would share a little bit with you as I read through his responses. You can read the FULL ARTICLE at www.AuctionBytes.com of course.
Randy thinks that eBay is on the decline and Auctionbytes showed charts that look like the traffic does show it is soft. I throw my hat in the ring and I got another chart to show you!
Plus I am using my new screen capture tools that you can see my desktop and I will walk you through this as I test my new tools, YEAH
Edge Out the Competition: My Top 5 Sites for eBay News and Why I Read Them Daily
You know things this year have been moving rapidly. Changes on eBay, the economy and the ecommerce marketplace have been moving in rapid fire succession and sometimes it is hard to keep up. As a business owner and entrepreneur you MUST try to keep up with the latest news and movements in the market.
Many of you read my ColderICE .com blog, but I am NOT a news source. What I do at ColderICE.com is simply give you what I found elsewhere or what ever crazy topic is in my twisted mental at the time, LOL. So where should you and I go to get tips that will keep us ahead of the competition? That is the question I ask myself daily!
What I did is went back to the “Morning Papers and Coffee”, what is that you ask? Well, for those of you not yet on Twitter.com I would suggest you sign up (it is totally FREE). On most business days, Monday – Friday, I will post some of the more interesting blogs, news stories, and ecommerce related posts that I have come across in the last 24 hours. I post them on my Twitter feed which is available to you FREE at www.Twitter.com/ColderICE.
So what I did this weekend is combed through the last few weeks of the Morning Papers and Coffee links and found out which news sources had the MOST reportable and informative news stories for eBay sellers. The results of the top 5 sites for eBay seller news is below:
TameBay is owned and written by Chris Dawson and Sue Bailey, two British PowerSellers. Between us we have been trading on eBay for nearly two decades, and have more than 50,000 positive feedback comments (and just 2 negs!).
Chris and Sue met on eBay UK’s PowerSeller forum longer ago than either of them like to admit. By October 2006, both had become frustrated with eBay’s inability to keep their users informed of new features on the site, with the impenetrability of eBay’s Help pages, and with the lack of a UK- and Europe-centered news site for all things ecommercial. In a moment between classes at eBay University,Dan Wilsonsaid what were to be fatal words: “you need a blog”. TameBay is the result.
Why I like it?
How in the world two UK eBayers get the scoop on US eBay reports amazes me. This is a testament to the genuine care and concern Chris and Sue have about their eBay endeavors. So they are not only keeping tabs on what is going on in the UK, but they have “hawk eyes” in the US eBay goings on as well. These guys are the 007’s of the eBay world of news and happenings.
Things that happen on eBay UK can somewhat shape changes in the US and that gives ME an edge on the competition.
Scot Wingo’seBay Blog In addition to discussing eBay strategies,Scotwill provide his take on the latest eBay related news. As President and CEO of ChannelAdvisor, Scot Wingo leads the company in its mission to provide retailers and manufacturers with the tools and services they need to successfully utilize consumer marketplaces as a sales channel.Prior to launching ChannelAdvisor, Wingo played a role as the General Manager of GoTo Auctions, CEO and co-founder of AuctionRover.com and CEO and co-founder of Stingray Software.
Why I like it?
There are several reasons to like this blog, but the #1 reason this blog is important is that Scot has information from THOUSANDS of eBay sellers to look at when he makes his comments or thoughts. It is one thing for me and you to sit in our singular businesses and make assumptions on trends at eBay. But it is an entirely different view point when you get to sit above the data of thousands of eBay sellers and watch trending in that data. What Scot may say, might not be what you and I see today. But ultimately, the numbers don’t lie and that means what he sees today could be what you and I see tomorrow! And that my friends gives us an edge on the competition.
I write about ecommerce from the perspective of the online seller. I do tend to concentrate on the top two marketplaces, eBay and Amazon, but I’ll write about anything I find of interest in the ecommerce business. I also, consult for companies like (Amazon, BuyBak, Riders Discount, Reuters) and advise analysts from major brokerages and investment banks. I do not own
any shares in either eBay or Amazon.
Why I like it?
When you come up in this eBay business world, back when I started, there are not many people that you could actually find to mentor you in the world of eBay. The book that changed my world and how I looked at my eBay business was Scot Wingo’s eBay Strategies book. In that book Randy Smythe was heavily featured as one of the top, if not the top, eBay sellers during that time. I immediately connected with the philosophy contained in that book by both the author and the featured sellers. To think that I communicate one on one with both Scot and Randy today was absolutely UNTHINKABLE back then. I am amazed that they even talk to lil ‘ol me!
But what Randy has to say and what his perspectives are on both eBay and Amazon selling is vitally important and will most defiantly be and edge on the competition!
Steiner Associates LLC launched AuctionBytes in 1999 and is the leading publisher and number one source of news for ecommerce and the online-auction industry. AuctionBytes publishes email newsletters and the AuctionBytes Web site, which provides resources for online auction buyers and sellers, including “Cool Tools” and Discussion Forums. AuctionBytes publishers David and Ina Steiner are frequently quoted by major news organizations about eBay, online trading and Internet fraud including such publications asWall Street Journal, New York Times,Smart Money Magazine, andFortune Small Business.
The AuctionBytes Web site is a portal to the world of ecommerce and online auctions. New features are added to the site as the industry changes.
Why I like it?
Arguably this is where is ALL began. Long before others were blogging about eBay….NO scratch that, Ina Steiner was blogging BEFORE blogging was even “cool”! She was doing this in email newsletters first and then with blogs and video clips. She is like the Dr J. of eBay blogs, she was the first one to dunk
While many come and go, AuctionBytes have stood the test of time, controversy and scrutiny and they have been a rock for the eBay seller for nearly 10 years. That kind of edge, experience and longevity makes Ina Steiner the Walter Cronkite of eBay reporting. Hate it or love it, none of this would even be possible if not for the efforts of Ina making eBay reporting a legitimate endeavor. THANK YOU INA!
I am not one of these guys who just sells books, we really do practice what we preach. My wife and I are eBay Power Sellers and we still sell on eBay every day. Our eBay username is McGrrrrr (Look us up)
Here are my credentials:
* eBay Gold Power Seller since 1999
* Contributing editor to eBay Radio
* Only information seller allowed to exhibit at eBay Live
* My books are used in community college adult education classes
* Publish the largest newsletter for professional eBay sellers
* Invited to teach consignment selling by eBay
* Author of seven books about eBay and web marketing
Seven years ago after losing my job for the second time in my life, I decided to quit playing the J.O.B. lottery and go into business for myself. My wife took a deep breath and said: “Well there isn’t much security in that, but I’m willing to try it for a while.” We had just started learning how to sell on eBay so that is where we focused our efforts. We haven’t looked back since.
Why I like it?
Now I have never met the guy, or maybe I have and don’t know it since I do go to several eBay conferences annually, but Skip McGrath has been in the eBay “game” along time. He sells books, tapes, coaching, sourcing blah blah blah…I can go on and on about where you can find Skip on the net. I have not ventured into all the systems and methods that this one man has but together. However, I was searching the book shelves for a good eBay book one day and came across this fat ass book called “Titanium eBay” by Skip McGrath.
I picked it up that book and took it home. I found it both fascination and confirming, because many of the strategies and techniques that I was currently doing or were planning on implementing were in the book! And on top of that, he had fleshed out many plans and strategies I never though of. To this day, I still use that book as a sort of reference material that still works even though many things have changed on eBay.
That was enough for me to sta
rt following the comments and insight of an eBay seller that knows how to eBay…Skip McGrath is not just writing about it, he does eBay everyday and in everyway. Skip has a way with words and makes complex strategies accessible to the lay seller, both large and small, and I simply love that. So you get the meat on this link, without all the fluff. Check it out, cause this will give you an edge on the competition!
Most of the members are… how you say this delicately? OLD! Not like Moses old, but kind of just old school LMAO. The story was picked up and put into an Auctionbytes blog and titled "eBay Silences Founding Voices Members". Seems eBay decided to turn over some of the "elder statesman" that were sitting on the panel in exchange for some new blood.
Today, I woke to find that Richard Brewer-Hay actually responded to this article from AuctionBytes directly on the eBay Ink Blog. 
Why in the world do people care what I think? I am not trying to be funny, I am being serious here. I am "just a squirrel trying to get a nut", either that or I am just a NUT, you can take your pick, LMAO
Having said that, I do believe that a buyer on eBay that clicks a link in ANY ad that takes them off of eBay and then back to eBay (to the same or different item) is STILL round tripping. If I leave Chicago from O’Hare and then return at Midway….Or if I leave New York from La Guardia and return to Kennedy, I am still back in New York and that my friends is a ROUND TRIP TICKET not two one way tickets!!! So get off my arse dudes, LMAO. Phew, glad I got that out of the way. 
OK, the eBay dean of education has a new interview with Ina Steiner on 
Scot Wingo’s
Steiner Associates LLC launched AuctionBytes in 1999 and is the leading publisher and number one source of news for ecommerce and the online-auction industry. AuctionBytes publishes email newsletters and the AuctionBytes Web site, which provides resources for online auction buyers and sellers, including “Cool Tools” and Discussion Forums. AuctionBytes publishers David and Ina Steiner are frequently quoted by major news organizations about eBay, online trading and Internet fraud including such publications as
