6 Jun
2001
6 Jun
'01
5:24 a.m.
In a message dated 6/6/01 11:10:57 AM Central Daylight Time, marvin(a)rain.org
writes:
<< John Foust wrote:
I can't think of any significant change to eBay's UI in the
last few years.
You can no longer directly email a buyer or seller but have to go through
Ebays intermittently working email forwarding system, the requirement to use
Active X in order to use their new photo hosting service, the sellers page
requires javascript unless you have the old page bookmarked or go through a
two step process to get there, the addition of the BIN (Buy It Now) feature,
the addition of spam ads (half.com) competing with sellers when doing a
search, the use of cookies to monitor buyer/seller habits, ... >>
grrrr, it sucks. I have to clear out all kinds of javascript errors running
my favourite netscape 3... I really miss the option to directly email
sellers. Good deals could be made that way!
6 Jun
6 Jun
5:50 a.m.
That's why they did it - too many "no fee" deals that kept them out of the
loop. Some people think that it's just a privacy upgrade but then when you
use their form to send mail, a copy can be intercepted, so you have to watch
what you write. I normally do a question to the seller and ask them to write
me directly at a specific address, then hit them with my
thoughts/ideas/deal. When you mention that you want to buy it right away and
by early closure it would preclude the final value fee (especially on really
low priced things- you basically make squat) they usually perk up and
listen.
I do like the way that the question-to-the-seller automagically enters the
item number and title though, that way you're not guessing about what their
point is towards.
I really miss the option to directly email
sellers. Good deals could be made that way!
6:37 a.m.
Russ Blakeman wrote:
That's why they did it - too many "no
fee" deals that kept them out of the
loop. Some people think that it's just a privacy upgrade but then when you
use their form to send mail, a copy can be intercepted, so you have to watch
what you write. I normally do a question to the seller and ask them to write
me directly at a specific address, then hit them with my
thoughts/ideas/deal. When you mention that you want to buy it right away and
by early closure it would preclude the final value fee (especially on really
low priced things- you basically make squat) they usually perk up and
listen.
Jerome Fine replies:
In most cases, the exact cost of shipping is not stated. Although I have
never found an item interesting enough to try and go around eBay, I always
attempt to verify the exact shipping cost plus also verify what the total
price will be - namely will there also be a handling and/or insurance
charge. If a vendor will not reply to that question, I doubt that a private
deal would be possible. So, just ask for the exact cost of shipping.
I do like the way that the question-to-the-seller
automagically enters the
item number and title though, that way you're not guessing about what their
point is towards.
> I really miss the option to directly email
> sellers. Good deals could be made that way!
That part does help. And since I use (even an old version of) Netscape,
I just need to click on the URL line to get back to the actual auction page.
So in general, I don't see where eBay has plugged the possibility of
private deals - just e-mail the vendor with a legitimate question and
when there is a response take it from there.
Sincerely yours,
Jerome Fine
5:51 a.m.
SUPRDAVE(a)aol.com wrote:
In a message dated 6/6/01 11:10:57 AM Central Daylight Time, marvin(a)rain.org
writes:
<< John Foust wrote:
I can't think of any significant change to eBay's UI in the
last few years.
You can no longer directly email a buyer or seller but have to go through
Ebays intermittently working email forwarding system, the requirement to use grrrr, it sucks. I have to clear out all kinds of
javascript errors running
my favourite netscape 3... I really miss the option to directly email
sellers. Good deals could be made that way!
Yes, good deals could be made and that would most likely be considered fee
avoidance by Ebay if the deal were made outside Ebay. THAT is the reason
they implemented this stuff; penalize the people who play by the rules in an
effort to stop the people that don't.
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days inactive
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participants (4)
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jhfine＠idirect.com -
marvin＠rain.org -
rhblake＠bigfoot.com -
SUPRDAVE＠aol.com