eBay Today | Alternative Tomorrow

eBay Promotion? Or Hidden Price Hike?

2009-05-22T14:15:00.001-07:00

On June 16, 2009 eBay will implement a new listing fee structure. They are promoting this new fee schedule as a good deal to sellers in which eBay is allowing each seller to list five auction-style listings per month for free but charges a Final Value Fee of 8.75% on the sale price or a flat fee of $20, whichever is lower. All additional items sold will have the current fee structure applied to them.

eBay has been encouraging high-volume sellers and simultaneously been pushing the fixed-price format, which makes up about half of eBay’s volume. In the first quarter of 2009, Fixed Price grew 12 percent while Auction format items declined 20 percent. With the new promotion, eBay is trying to attract unique items listed in the auction format.

Let’s do the simple math on this new promotion and see if it actually does save sellers money. Assuming the items do not sell, it will save the seller up to $20 a month assuming they list items over $500. Currently, if you sell an item for $50, you pay $1 for the listing fee and $3.07 for the final value fee, totaling $4.07. With the promotion, the $1 is waived but you are now charged $4.38. Let’s take a $400 dollar item; you are charged $3 for listing it and then $15.32 in final value fees with the current fee structure. With the new promotion, you will be charged $20 because 8.75% on $400 is $35. The only way to take advantage of this promotion is to have items sell under $25 or over $485. If your item falls in between those numbers, I would recommend to work around this new fee structure. Users who use an eBay tool or a third-party listing tool will not be eligible for this offer. Maybe it is now time to look into tools? Or maybe just list 5 low value items first every month.

Their fee structure does not compare to any of the eBay alternatives [Wigix/Bonanzle/iOffer] out there as those sites are clearly lower in fees. Does this mean that sellers are willing to pay a premium to get their items sold?

Link to announcement: http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200905120954402.html

eBay & Resolution Do Not Go Together.

2009-05-07T13:59:00.001-07:00

eBay revealed that they are trying to move dispute resolution from Paypal to eBay by the end of 2009. This is a highly debated move and it contains many aspects, but the one that stands out the most is the new [to eBay/Paypal, not credit card companies] policy about counterfeit items.

What happens if a buyer believes an item is not authentic?
When buyers file a claim alleging that the item is not authentic, we require the buyer to destroy the item. Once a buyer confirms destruction of the item, we will reimburse the buyer or provide an eBay coupon.

Source: http://pages.ebay.com/...

This policy has been around with credit card companies, but this is very new to the online marketplace and this seems to favor the scammer even more. Let’s take a case in which a legitimate seller is listing authentic Gucci purses and unfortunately runs into an illegitimate buyer [this happens all the time]. The transaction takes place on eBay and everything seems fine until the item is received. Then, the seller gets a notice in his inbox that notifies him that his Paypal account has been frozen due to receipt of item ‘Not&a... Now, Paypal asks the seller to fax in documents, etc. which takes days and sometimes weeks to sort out. Meanwhile, the seller cannot withdraw money from his Paypal account to pay bills/suppliers/etc.&a...

With the new procedure, eBay would require the buyer to destroy the handbag. I’d say, in 9 out of 10 cases, the buyer would ... report that the item has bee... actually destroying it as what a normal person in their right mind would do. No... seller would ... of luck as he cannot even prove the handbag is realanymore. I have always sided with the fact that all of these protection policies and dispute resolution outcomes favor the crook and I think that’s what the majority thinks as well. Sites such as Bonanzle and Wigix have played it smart and left dispute resolution to the payment processors.

Will It Work? Told Who? ToldYa

2009-05-05T15:53:00.000-07:00

Friendster, Myspace, Facebook and now Twitter. Every day, we are exposed to new widgets and apps that clutter our online profile. Create one that is a necessity, you might become the next Mark Zuckerberg. Earlier this week, we were introduced to the newest Web 2.0 child: ToldYa. They have created a way for items to be sold through the same channel where we communicate in. How? A portable, embeddable online store that allows friends to securely buy and sell on social networks, blogs and sites with ease. ToldYa uses a web-based software platform to create, host and manage Portable Stores which are placed in user’s profiles and blogs. Sites such as Wigix have already taken advantage of the social networking going on everyday by allowing their users to publish their recent activities to their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Is ToldYa going the right direction?

Let’s take a step back and see how this product is actually used. Friend A posts something for sale through ToldYa’s widget and it appears on his Facebook profile. Friend B wakes up and checks his Facebook, work email, personal email and then cell phone, in that order. Friend B sees in his Newsfeed that Friend A is now selling his iPod and is interested in purchasing it. Friend B clicks Buy and goes through the checkout process and schedules a pick up and will pay in cash when he picks up the iPod. The only advantage of this process compared to Wigix’s social publishing is that the actual transaction can take place on Facebook. Other than that, both provide the same functionality. So the bigger picture question is: Is this a widget that Amazon and eBay should be looking into building?

For more information on ToldYa: www.toldya.com.

Aroxo a new feature for eBay?

2009-05-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

Aroxo: Cute name, pretty site, but old idea. I ran across this article on Tech Crunch today and was really shocked that another company is building something that has failed before.

Aroxo differs from eBay in which their product pages are static so that buyers and sellers are aware of each other, whereas all pages on eBay are dynamic. We do see eBay going to a SKU system and might easily be able to build a system very similar to this in the future as the current “Want It Now” program is not really successful due to the backwardness of it. This can easily become an add-on for eBay once they move towards a more structured catalog similar to Amazon or Wigix.

Currently, this structured catalog system already exists at Wigix. Wigix is an emerging marketplace that utilizes the NASDAQ model where buyers and sellers can place open buy and sell orders very similar to the bid/ask stock trading platform. Wigix was founded on March 28, 2007 and went to Public Beta on April 29, 2008 and reached 2,000,000 products in their catalog as of January 28, 2009. If I had 3 minutes with the founders of Aroxo, I would suggest that they have a meeting with Wigix before entering the US market to figure out if the model is excelling.

Priceline.com also tried to apply their bidding model to items outside the travel industry and learned firsthand that reverse auctions don’t work well with goods. They closed the doors on WebHouse Club, a privately held licensee of Priceline.com that allowed consumers to name their own price for gasoline and groceries. While Priceline.com’s travel business model has proven that reverse auctions do have merit, just not in all sectors.

At the end of the day I see Aroxo more of a feature that sites such as eBay will adopt, but not as a standalone entity. Best of luck!

Does eBay Equate to Auctions, Anymore?

2009-04-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

eBay announced first quarter 09 revenue of $2.02 billion, a year-over-year decrease of $171.6 million. According to eBay, other sectors such as Paypal and Skype performed well compared their core Marketplace business where revenues fell dramatically. Bottom line, eBay’s net income for Q1 was $357.1 million which comes out to $0.28 per share.

Is this a wakeup call for eBay to return to its core business and ensure they remain the premier online marketplace? According to Ina Steiner, co-founder of AuctionBytes.com, “eBay’s marketplace sales dropped 18 percent in the first quarter versus Amazon’s 18 percent increase, showing there’s more going on at eBay than a strong dollar and bad economy.” This makes one think if one day eBay loses its grip instead of us saying “eBay it” we will start saying things such as: “Let’s Amazon it” or “I just Bonanzled it” or even “Brb, I am Wigixing.”

Skype

Skype, first Oprah now IPO, what a ride it’s been for them. Skype reported $153.2 million in revenue for Q1 which represents a 21 percent year-over-year growth. Skype also increased their user base by 37.9 million which brings their total membership of registered users to 442.2 million.

Paypal

Paypal reported a superb quarter with $643 million in revenue which is an increase of 11 percent year –over-year. The net total payment volume for Q1 was $15.86 billion which is an increase of 10 percent. Payapl’s number of registered users increased to 73.1 million which is a 22 percent year-over-year increase.

Marketplace

So eBay’s other two branches look really strong, how about their core/trunk? Their marketplace group, consisting of site such as Kijiji, Shopping.com, StubHub, ebay and more, recorded $1.22 billion in revenue which is an 18 percent decrease year-over-year. One bright spot was that their online classifieds revenue increased by 23 percent year-over-year which is a strong indicator that they are growing in popularity in comparison to the structured auction/buy process. After eBay spins off Skype, is Paypal next?

eBay Bucks. Great Benefit? Or Good Marketing?

2009-04-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

eBay has recently announced that they are beta'ing a buyer loyalty program [Article Link]. This not a new thing to e-commerce as almost every retail site out there has some sort of affiliate/loyalty program in which you can receive cash back and sites such as FatWallet [Fat Wallet Link] make it extremely easy for you to take advantage of these deals. Many say this might be too little, too late for eBay, but I think it is a win-win proposition for them. What many do not realize is that, yes you can get 2% back on your purchases, but that incentive just become an eBay gift certificate that will have to be spent within 30 days on their site.

So let’s dissect this from eBay’s finance department’s point of view. Let’s pick a highly sold item, say an Apple iPod 4GB Silver 3rd Gen [Wigix Link]. Let’s take this eBay auction for example: eBay Link. The seller has already paid $0.35 [I won’t count the subtitle and just assume that was free] to list this item and when the item sells, eBay will collect another $5.20 or so. So eBay has made roughly $5.50 on this transaction. eBay is now going to give 2% of the final sell price back to the buyer, which is roughly $1.50. Like all gift certificates, I am assuming eBay calculated a 50% breakage, so they only paid out $0.75 on this transaction. Now, let’s say the buyer purchases 2 items this month on eBay and accumulates $3 eBay Bucks, what can one possibly buy online nowadays that won’t cost more than $3 to ship [ok, yes, if you have Amazon Prime]. At the end, eBay is really not giving up much, if anything at all, and gaining a ton of good press.

I wanted to compare this pricing model to one of a new emerging marketplace, Wigix. Wigix’s fee structure [and most new online marketplaces out there] is more competitive than eBay’s entire fee structure even with this additional 2% cash back. Wigix has no listing fee and charges nothing for all sales under $25, then a very simple structure for all items above $25. If that same iPod Nano was sold on Wigix, the seller would have only had to incur a fee of $1.50, a 75% savings compared to what they would have paid if it sold on eBay. Even if we factor in the buyer’s cash back promotion eBay is running, Wigix is still only charging 60% less compared to eBay. This pricing structure is extremely competitive and a great start for the promising company.

eBay Import Tool

2009-04-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

Yep, Wigix did it again. A eBay Import Tool AND and bulk upload tool? All in one week? Wow.

Here is more information on it: Click Here

Hope everyone had a great Easter. Summertime is around the corner. See you at the beach.

Wigix Brings Community to Online Shopping.

2009-03-05T11:05:00.000-08:00

Wigix Brings Community to Online Shopping

Wigix Launches New Ecommerce Community Network Starting with Book Lovers and Parenting

OAKLAND, Calif., March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Wigix (www.wigix.com), the world's first online stock market for consumer products, today announced the launch of its community network, which aims to create a community of buyers, sellers and enthusiasts around specific interests. The communities allow users to interact with groups focused on various market segments including fashion and beauty, consumer electronics, green living, parenting, book lovers and more. This initiative is kicking off with the launch of the first two targeted communities - Toddults and Bookworms.

"One of our goals in developing Wigix is to provide a new online shopping experience created and perpetuated by the people involved. Most current experiences involve product searches that are convoluted, confusing and constrained, resulting in a grab bag of listings with varying degrees of information," said James Chong, CEO and co-founder, Wigix. "This does not engender a community of interest around an object of mutually shared desire; instead, buyers and sellers snipe and gripe over single trades where they should be debating and rating. We want to change that and provide gathering places for enthusiasts centered around their passions and expertise."

The Toddults community is where buyers, sellers and experts can come together with a focus on raising children. The community will allow consumers to find out from experts what products are best to raise healthy children from toddler to adult as well as discuss controversial topics including the octuplets mother, Heelarious high heels for babies and more. The Bookworms community is where users can share, discuss and vote for their favorite books. Buyers, sellers and enthusiasts can come together to share their knowledge and find the best deals, while making educated transactions about their products of interest.

"I am excited about being a part of something so new and fresh. Wigix is really changing the way we interact with a retail site and I look forward to sharing my knowledge in Wigix's Toddults and Bookworms communities," says Francine Levitov, a Wigix Category Expert and Bookworms Community Expert.

Continuing on the company's commitment to develop a unique and compelling online marketplace, Wigix's community networks will now allow members to join specific groups, gain product information and expertise through like-minded individuals, share photos and experiences, easily search for the products they are looking to buy or sell and develop an overall sense of community.

About Wigix

Wigix (www.wigix.com) is the world's first online stock market for consumer goods. Wigix uses NASDAQ-style trading along with community and social networking technologies to create a community-driven marketplace that not only delivers dramatically lowered costs and improved user experiences but also a vibrant community of passionate and informed collectors, owners, and traders who can all share in the success of the site. Wigix's catalog of over two million unique items is structured to allow buyers and sellers to easily find specific products and avoid the common problem of multiple listings that exist on other sites. Take a look at the uniqueness of Wigix's catalog at: www.wigix.com/index.php/item/detail/8911/Nintendo-span-stylecolor-de4e00bWii-b-span-Home-Console-Game-System

Wigix, Inc. was founded in 2007 by James Chong, a successful entrepreneur who also architected the online trading systems at Charles Schwab. In addition to Chong, Wigix's team includes co-founder Bob Lee (a former Charles Schwab colleague) and Albert Loh, along with other Internet and software veterans. Wigix is headquartered in Oakland, California, and also has operations in China.

SOURCE Wigix

Super Bowl Commercials

2009-02-03T09:45:00.000-08:00

So we all watched an incredible game and some not so incredible Super Bowl commercials. But of course, there are always some bright spots.

My favorite one [careerbuilder.com]:

Have you seen this one on YouTube? It's Wigix's ad against eBay. Corny, but funny.

You Sell? They Match? Wigix Out Of Their Mind?

2009-01-02T16:10:00.001-08:00

So I was checking my email last week. Oh, Happy New Year's btw. I got an interesting email about a cool contest Wigix is running. They are matching all sales for the top 3 sellers. That is pretty amazing. This should help them get a whole load of new sellers. Wish everyone the best for 2009.

Best eBay Alternative? Wigix? Bonanzle? Etsy?

2008-12-17T13:45:00.001-08:00

You and I can now vote for this year's Best eBay Alternative!

I won't tell you who my vote goes for, but check it out here [it is brought to you by Small Business Computing]: Link

Good luck to everyone in attempts to defeating the Sleeping Giant.

Flip Mino. $99. Unheard of!

2008-12-09T12:25:00.000-08:00

Wigix is blowing out the Mino for only $99 come December 15th. That is a great deal! There are some little catches [like only 1 per hour for 10 hours], but this is all in all a great steal!

Check it out here: Link

Pure Digital Flip Mino Camc ..
Powered by wigix

Good luck! You will have to beat me out!

Wigix: Want It Got It Exchange. Samcro.

2008-12-04T09:31:00.000-08:00

Enhancements and changes usually do not excite as they are assumed. I was browsing around my Wigix account this morning because I was notified they are selling 10 Flip Mino’s for 99 a pop in 10 days. I noticed something new; I saw that the Item Detail Page was completely revamped. It looks a lot cleaner now, but that wasn’t the biggest point of this upgrade. It showed me that they actually care about improving user experience and that a bright future lays ahead for Wigix.

On a lighter now, I just crammed 10 episodes of Sons of Anarchy in 2 evenings. I have to commend FX on its great job and part of me wants to get “patched.” If you do not pick up anything this year, try to pick this up. It is easy to watch and well casted [Hellboy? Pete Dunham? Peggy Bundy? Fat Guy From Batman?].

Cyber Monday. Black Friday? Valentine’s Day?

2008-11-26T11:59:00.000-08:00

What do all three have in common? They are created by the marketing industry to increase sales and encourage consumers to spend. Internet sites are innovative and always trying to stay one step ahead, so what did they do when they could not keep customers at their computers during Black Friday? They created Cyber Monday where a day would be dedicated for e-commerce. However Shop.org created this phenomenon, it worked and is a great avenue for new and upcoming e-tailers to market themselves and pad their bottom line.

I wish everyone a great Thanksgiving and do not forget the $149 Wii at Wigix tonight!

2008-11-21T10:35:00.000-08:00

Why do we spend $200 on a pair of jeans? Are we a product of marketing? Sucker to ads? Or are they really that much better than a pair of Old Navy’s?

To be honest, I want to and do believe they are more comfortable and make me look more attractive when I put them on, but isn’t that what they want me to think? It probably is. But these designers have got us spending, this is no different than brand name hand bags and all luxurious items.

There is a huge denim sample sale this weekend in the Bay Area. These sales are great if you are of a irregular size, because the popular sizes go on the first day when its 5 for $250, but everything becomes 10 for $250 on Sunday. =)

Here is the link [see you there]: http://www.thewarehousesale.com/

Black Friday! $149 Wii? Free Tools?

2008-11-18T11:25:00.000-08:00

I am sure we have all done it or at least have a cousin who has. Wait in a line that was 3,000 people deep that formed 14 hours before the sale. What were we waiting for? The possibility that we could save $45 on an item that was probably trampled over by the other 73 crazy people in front of you. Nonetheless Black Friday is a great day for retailers as they implement dreams into their customers and they pad their yearend revenue. I love the buzz and the endless threads on FatWallet and Slickdeals, but will I ever show up at 7pm to wait for a store opening 11 hours from then? Probably not, but it’s always fun to hear stories on Cyber Monday. =)

Some cool stuff I saw for this year’s Black Friday:

$149 Wii at Wigix.com.

Ryobi 4 Piece Cordless Set $59.97 + Free Tool at Home Depot.

LG 42" 1080P LCD for $700 at FireFold.com.

eBay Layoffs. Corporate Kool-Aid.

2008-11-12T14:59:00.000-08:00

Korporate Kool-Aid. How many of you sip it? How many of you chug it? Is this really the occupation we were studying for during college? Many of you know what I am talking about, the selected few that do not are probably absorbed by the Martini Happy Hours and the endless days of kissing your DB supervisor’s ass. What happened to free thinking and being able to voice your opinion to further your company? Why are good ideas filed away and looked at only after the employee goes postal? This is good if you are trying to get by in life and collect a regular paycheck, which I was a couple years ago. Sometimes, you just get burned out and you want to go into hiding and perform a job the normal monkey with training can do [I believe this is actually the majority of jobs]. Do you really need to go to four years of college to sort a spreadsheet?

There are huge differences between a big and small company. Want to shine? Want people to notice you? Join a startup. Want to watch YouTube for 4 hours a day? Want to meet about a meeting about another meeting? Want to tread in red tape for days to get your request for a product enhancement approved? Join a big corporation.

Small fishes get in lost in the mix of things when the pond becomes too big, this is the feeling I received from eBay as time progressed. In the beginning I would be able to get things fixed and problems resolved by a simple phone call to my Power Seller rep, but as time progressed I noticed that I was not getting the same service I was before and now my rep would not be able to help me with any issues, but instead give me the standard run around template pdf answer they sat in training to give. I never would wish harm or negativity upon anyone, but with the number of Power Sellers dropping off of eBay, how many of those 1500 being let go will be customer service reps?

Blogging on the Beach. Surf-viving.

2008-11-10T12:28:00.000-08:00

Don’t you hate it when you log onto your Facebook and see a “working on the sand” Status Update? Well today, it is your turn to hate me as I am “Blogging on the Beach.” I ran into an old friend of mine this past month and we decided it would be mutually beneficial to carpool as we work and live less than a mile away from each other. I used to sit endless hours next to him trying to absorb all the poker knowledge he had and it help grow my bankroll. Now that I no longer play competitive poker we do not have that crazy addiction bond. This brings up a new challenge in my life: Surf-viving. I do not see standing on the board and riding the wave as the hard part, but instead the act of survival when a wave pulls you down and slams you into the ocean floor. So being the generous and free going spirit he is, he took me out to Linda Mar in Pacifica this AM, I got a call at 5:45 that woke me up enough to get me into his car and proceed to fall asleep under the cigarette adapter powered electric blanket. I sleep for the next hour and we reach the beach. I have been to the beach many times, but how many times did I actually go into water deeper than my waist? 0. Plus I just learned how to swim across a pool this summer, so this was going to be a fun experience. Yeah, fun if you are sadistic. I put on the wet suit, which took 7 minutes and I had to do it in the bathroom because I could not figure how to put it on without flashing the entire parking lot. I then had to get some stuff out of the car and used the emergency key tied to my suit, I didn’t realize my leg could not be lifted at a 75 degree angle long enough for me to put the key in, turn and pull out. So I broke that little gadget. I then proceed to bring my goggles with me as I need some sort of security blanket, he tells me I can bring it if I want but it was equivalent to wear Oakley’s at a 3-6 table. So I left the goggles on the shore and jumped into the water. The wet suit performs miracles: the 55 degree water was not cold anymore, my ability to float was exemplified ten times and it made me look 20 pounds skinnier. So I wade out there and get worked by the ocean. I got hit in the head by the board, hit in the side by the fin, hit in the head by the ocean floor and swallowed over a gallon of ocean sewage. I am drained and frightened after 45 minutes, so I take a break and lay down on the sandy beach. I head back to the car after a short nap and realize my goggles are no longer on the shore, no biggie as I am no longer a surf virgin.

Obama in. Same Sex Marriages Out.

2008-11-05T16:14:00.000-08:00

50%. What does that number mean? It means failing in school. It means an All-Star from 3 point range. It means winning the NFC West. It is also what my voting record was from last night. I went one for two, Obama is in and same-sex marriages are out. What did I learn? Not much, except that you can’t win them all and that the world we live in is still filled with people who have nothing better to do but police everyone else.

I want to continue this rant, but I will end it here. Short and simple. Change.

eBay InDemand. So is Vanessa Hudgens.

2008-10-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

Rated G. Never in my life did I think I’d pay for a non-animated G rated movie, well I did this past Friday. My good friend was taking her two year old daughter to watch High School Musical 3 and asked if I wanted to tag along. They were going at 7:15, so it fit my schedule perfectly: Right after my dinner with my mom and brother and right before my plans with Blue Moon. I went into the movie without any expectations other than some teenage heartthrobs dancing around like they just got their own TV show on the Disney Channel. But was I in for a surprise, I was entertained for a full hour and a half with dancing, singing and a lot of corny acting. It was awesome though, I loved it. At one point, I had to blow my nose because my sinuses were congested from the highly involved story line. I am very glad to see that people are still able to profit from making clean entertainment. I have always thought the days of Milo and Otis were over.

So eBay has released some new info to its buyers, InDemand. This is something worth taking a look at if you are a big seller. It is awesome information that should have been let out to the public years ago. I wonder if this will help eBay increase its number of listings and seller happiness in the near future. This is a good move for eBay.

Change: Word of the Year.

2008-10-28T09:44:00.000-07:00

Change. That seems to be the word of the year. Yesterday, the 49er’s showed that change might be the solution. I am not talking about the change at head coach [Thank you Mike Nolan.], but instead the change behind the center. Yes, J.T. O’ Sullivan might be Mike Martz’s little protégé, but his actions have directly lost games this year. Every time he throws a pick in the Red Zone, everyone has to remember he did not just give up 7 points to the other team, he gave up 14. Instead of scoring 7 points [which has to be assumed], he just gave 7 points to the other team, which is a net of -14. No NFL team can win consistently with this kind of play at quarterback. We got a peek at Shaun Hill last season during the end of the season; he gave us what Alex Smith [man, the Ryan Leaf of Northern California?] couldn’t: Touchdowns. When the 49er’s said that the starting job for quarterback was up for grabs this offseason, I was quietly rooting for Shaun Hill. Now that he has another shot at leading a team to winning ways, I truly hope that he takes advantage of this opportunity and proves to us if he has it or not. If he doesn’t that is fine, at least the organization will clearly know what they have to do during this offseason. If he does, that is great; we have been hiding the next Tom Brady.

Change has been heavily present in the online auction/marketplace recently too. Many opportunists have seen eBay’s current debacle as a chance to enter the market. There have been many innovative sites, such as Swoopo. I never had the chance to actually do the math on their site, but it seems like they are making a fortune. I was just thinking if they can control the increments bidding goes up by and they charge per bid, they would only need 200 bids on a Nintendo Wii at $1 per bid and a final auction price of $120. That means if each bid went up by ~50 cents people would be buying Wii’s at $120. The model is cool, but I think people will eventually get fed up with paying for bids and not winning anything.

Wigix Storefronts: Yes . Proposition 8: No.

2008-10-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

Laws. Do they really tell us what is right or wrong? I think this is a huge misconception amongst our average citizen. A law does not dictate something that is morally right or wrong as those standards are up to us to come up with. For example, there are a lot of things that against the law but are victimless crimes. Crimes in where no one gets hurt, except the offender and the offender only. These laws are created to protect society according to the government, but does it really prevent one from committing these crimes? Does a law make your moral stance wrong? No.

I will give a little background before moving onto my next thought. I am apolitical. I can be said to be either a Libertarian or a one with a Utilitarian mindset. My end goal is to increase the quality of life. I do not vote in the current electoral system as a Californian, because even if I wanted to vote Democrat [which I did the last time I voted], I would have no choice. I will create another posting sometime down the line before the election on how one single vote does not matter and it never has, thus assuming it never will [please no flames on this yet].

So now onto the current topic: Proposition 8 in California. What on earth? I was watching TV and saw some ads for Yes on 8. I honestly do not care much about politics and our government as I feel like the correct decision is rarely made, but this Proposition has caused me to actually put some thought into it. At first, I thought this Proposition was going to be a waste of time and money, as who wouldn’t vote No. Then, I did some research online and realized that Yes was ahead by 4-5 points. That then really got me thinking, who on earth are they people who are so scared of homosexuals that they are paying tons of money to make it illegal for them get married. So I started to narrow it down and concluded it probably was the Religious. This past week, I would bring this up to everyone who I talked to and low and behold every person who wanted to vote Yes on 8 was indeed a church goer. There is nothing wrong with religion at all, but have they been blinded so bad by their sermons to really believe a Proposition will make sure their kids turn out straight? Everyone had the same argument: Do I really want my kids to see two gay guys kissing and think it is right? Don’t you care if your son turns out gay? I reply with the same argument, do you really think a law will make your son not follow his desires? Do you really think seeing two guys kiss will make your son go out and make out with the first guy he sees? Laws won’t stop him from having sex before the age of 18. Laws won’t stop him from smoking marijuana to impress a girl. Laws won’t stop him from playing beer pong when he is a freshman in college. Do you really think a law will prevent him from doing what he wants? Why do we as humans want to police everyone? Honestly, just live your own life as we all are flawed.

I will vote this November: No on 8. And while I’m inside the booth I will mark Obama, not because I am 100% behind his policies, but because I am a product of my environment [Dip Set].
On a lighter note, Wigix just released their Store Fronts today and I applied. I hope I get approved soon so I can better organize my inventory. I will keep everyone updated.

Wigix Update: My item I submitted [Panasonic Cordless Phone] is under conditional approval, I forgot to submit the MSRP so I got that sent back to me. But that took a second and I resubmitted it!

Wigix Update 2: I bought a couple of things to see the nature of the sellers on Wigix. I purchased a Dice-K baseball card, Super Smash Bros for the Wii [order got cancelled with no reason, but seller emailed me], Hannibal Rising the book, a webcam and CSI: Season 4. 2 of them are on the way and I think the rest should be soon. I love it! =)

eBay Suspended Me. Chiefs Suspend Johnson.

2008-10-21T17:05:00.000-07:00

Has the quality of the common man gone down? Is a simple gentleman not the status quo anymore? Are we evolving towards a society where men are becoming savages and women are allowing it? From the likes of current events in Larry Johnson’s world, it seems like it. Let’s dissect this situation. Larry makes more money than 99.99% of this country. His new contract has him locked in for $19 million guaranteed. So we have established Larry makes a lot of money and can buy whatever he pleases. Next, he is causing trouble at night clubs more than once a year. Let’s evaluate this situation. Why does one go to a night club? Usually to show off, party with friends and try to meet beautiful [smart] women. But at the end of the night it all revolves around showing off by buying bottles, paying for tables, dancing with the most beautiful women and so on. What does Larry have to prove to this country? His salary is public knowledge, no one on this Earth doubts he is poor. So why does he repeatedly go out to clubs and wreck havoc. Are humans naturally self destructive? Truthfully, I do not know the answer but it seems to be a trend in a lot of wealthy athletes.

Me on the other hand, yes I do go out to night clubs. Have I ever gotten into an altercation? No. Do I buy bottles of Ace of Spades and rent out VIP? No. I know my place and drink Snake Bites and shoot Patron because I know my place and have nothing to prove.

He spat a drink in a woman’s face.
I received a negative feedback from a non-paying bidder.

He told the same woman he was going to kill her boyfriend.
I had a 4.4/5 DSR for shipping.

These very distinct different actions got the both of us suspended by our respective employers [even though I do not receive a W-2 from eBay, I feel as if the majority of my income is generated through them.] But are we the same person? Maybe, just to different extents...

eBay Feedback System: Market Inefficiency?

2008-10-17T14:11:00.000-07:00

What would you do with 10 million dollars if you had to spend it in one shot?

This is what I wanted to do since I got my Drive’s License. Give that money to a huge media conglomerate [Time Warner? News Corp? Clear Channel, perhaps?] to buy whatever exposure I can to send out one simple message:

If you are driving the same speed as the car on your right, CHANGE GOD DAMN LANES!

If you have no idea what I am so furious about, I will assume you fall under one of the following categories: You are so rich that you have a chauffeur; you live in a rural area and do not have to deal with more than 3 cars on your way to work; you drive a Prius and think you are exempt from all driving regulation or YOU ARE THAT IDIOT THAT IS GETTING HIGH BEAMED AND TAILGATED. Call me impatient if you want, but no one on this Earth likes to be limited by someone’s ignorance, whether it is in business, education or driving.

There are tons of market inefficiencies and people have been able to make money off of them from day one. The only people monetizing a car plugging up the passing lane [everyone, please read PASSING LANE, this lane is for passing, if you want to pace, do it in the other lane!] are stress ball and horn manufacturers. I do not understand the reasoning of people who think they need to drive in the fast lane once they go over 70 mph. I think because there are really no consequences for their actions. They are so oblivious and think that the car behind him is just rude and intolerant that they continue on their merry way; when in reality they are holding up the flow of traffic and starting what will eventually be TRAFFIC JAM.

It is sad that people do not realize one simple step on the brake pedal can cause a chain reaction that will cause a car 4 miles away to come to a complete stop. Prof. Stemp, who taught me Calculus freshmen year in college, came up with this wonderful proposal: Fine bad drivers! So I furthered that thought and came up with this solution: Install a mechanism in each car that fines the driver for braking when the car in front of them is not braking [something small, 10 cents?]. Then the mechanism will be able to detect how many cars the driver caused to brake due to their bad judgment and then fine them for each car that broke [say a penny for each additional car?]. A system like this will make people accountable and hold them responsible their actions. [I am going to end my rant on driving etiquette now, as I can go on forever and probably publish a New York Times’ Best Seller with the amount of anger and passion I possess.]

Our current driving system is just like eBay’s new feedback policy. Sellers are no longer allowed to leave negative feedback for buyers. What kind of absurd feedback system has been implemented? Ask any eBay seller and they can share with you horror stories of buyers extorting them for free stuff such as shipping in exchange for feedback. There are now no repercussions for buyers on eBay and they can run rampant in sellers’ stores and cause all the havoc they please with no repercussions. It would be equivalent to us running into Wal-Mart and filling hundreds of shopping carts with inventory while telling the employees we are just about to pay but instead play Destruction Derby for an hour and then go home.

[/end rant]

TGIF. I hope everyone has a great and safe weekend.

eBay's True Value: Worth It?

2008-10-15T09:14:00.001-07:00

$20. What can it get you nowadays? To be honest, not much. It can almost get you and your date into the movies on Friday night [if you bring your Student ID], it can get half a pair of Chuck Taylor's, it can possibly get you a 4GB USB stick on Black Friday. What ceases to amaze me, is that we live in a country of super capitalism [as of today at least] and you see it everywhere you go. The guy selling fruit on the freeway exit, the man selling roses at 2am and these $20 full body massages popping up everywhere in the Bay Area. That is right. $20. One hour. Full body. Let's be honest, is the masseuse a trained professional? Probably not. Has s/he received any training? Maybe read a 2 fold pamphlet on the way to work. But just having someone pamper you for an hour for a mere Hamilton is totally unheard of. Even at the Holistic Institute, one hour massages run $40. From my experience, eastern and western style massages vary greatly. The Chinese places are always trying to “hurt” me and in return convincing me “no pain no gain.” While the more traditional westernized places place you in a room and make you feel like you are the last soul on this planet. This is when a famous saying comes into mind: “You pay for what you get.”

But is that statement true across all boards?

I paid eBay and Paypal a whole CRAP load of money. In my prime I was a Gold PowerSeller and last month I was a Silver PowerSeller. Their fees are higher than anyone else’s on the internet, but does the service that they provide warrant that? To a certain degree: Yes. They know where they stand in the online marketplace and are abusing their status. They know they can bully sellers around for the time being, but will they realize when they won’t be able to anymore? Will it be too late by the time they realize they are losing the reason why their company’s name is now a verb, noun, adjective and icon.

Wigix update: I have been scoping out some stuff to buy. I am going to purchase a small ticket item and blog about the experience once it arrives. I have also been so busy and not been able to post my item for sale. Those will both done this week! Thanks for your patience.

Detention? eBay Suspensions based on what?

2008-10-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

Disappointment. What does that mean to us? Usually it is when one sets their goals at point X, but the result [Z] ends up being Z = X – Y [where Z is less than X] is how an utilitarian would see the situation. There are two ways to fix this equation so disappointment will never occur. We can decrease X so that there is less of a chance of being less than Z, in result lowering our expectations. Or we can decrease Y to a point where it does not exist, in process making the right decisions every step of the way.

Last night, my basketball team lost our weekly game 88-18. That is a 70 point differential. Our team has never scored 70 points combined in any two games. After the game, the team was really down and frustrated. I would have been a year ago too, but I asked everyone to take a step back and reevaluate the situation. I pointed out that their smallest guy in their starting lineup is the same size as our center and with that stipulation we should have lowered our X [expectations]. Let’s try this utilitarian model out:

X = points we would win or lose by
Y = actual point difference

Before the game started, X would have been a fair number that we would expect to win by [insight: our team has not won a game in 3 seasons], but in our case it was -20. If we only lost by 20 points, it would have been success in my eyes. Y was -70, because we got full court pressed before the first inbound even occurred. So let’s plug and chug:

X = -20
Y = -70
Z < -20 -70
Z = -90
Z [-90] is less than X [-20]

Statement is true. We have a situation where disappointment occurs.

Our two solutions to prevent disappointment are pretty clear in this case. We could expect to lose by more than 20 points thus decreasing X or we could have played better also decreasing Y. This model can be applied to any event in life, not just sports. If frustration and disappointment plagues your life, maybe it is time to lower your expectations, or STEP UP.

With eBay’s new policies attempting to make the marketplace better for buyers, I have had no choice but to lower my expectations AND making better decisions regarding my online sales. eBay has implemented a new DSR [Detailed Seller Rating] system where buyers rate the seller on 4 criteria, if any one of your four ratings are under the eBay “average,” eBay will suspend your account and take away your PowerSeller status without an explanation. Now this might sound fair on paper, because who would want a below average seller on their marketplace. But we need to think about how an average is determined; you take the summation of the whole group and divide it by the number of samples. So, with this simple mathematical formula, HALF of all users are under the average. That is what averages tell us right? Where the middle is.

I know that this cannot be how the new system works, because that would be ludicrous. But I got this information directly from my FORMER PowerSeller rep during one of our heated calls. I know he is literate because he has been reading off of a pdf to me for the past 10 years. I tried repeatedly for him to really think of what he is telling me and how it makes no sense and how he should ask his direct supervisor about the new policies. Every time he came back to the phone, the answer was: Your DSR ratings are under the average.

In reality, eBay has set the acceptable level for DSR’s at 4.4, this in result punishes sellers for getting 4’s, which are said to reflect “good” service and just not “very good” service. Thus for every four times a seller gets a 4, s/he has to make sure they get six 5’s. This is not a very settling feeling to live with when this system really has no check or balance. The buyer now has all of the power in the world as there are no repercussions for their actions. This system is not only a joke, but cannot be a long term solution to eBay’s attempt of improving buying experience; because pretty soon there will be nothing left to buy.

By the way, I submitted my first page to Wigix. I hope it is approved soon and I can have an item for sale!

eBay Alternative: Free Listings at Wigix.com

2008-10-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

Why do I love public transportation? Because it reminds me that this world isn't only populated with NFL linemen turned dancers, 16 year old divas having parties twice the net worth of my 401[k] and 15 guys chasing one foxy lady [ok, this exists everywhere]. I love and embrace all of the different characters that I sit next to, run into, wave to, listen to and sometimes walk away from. They help me get a real grasp of life and realize that my double booked Saturday is not a real problem compared to the fact that they are carrying everything they own in the plastic bag issued to them by Elmwood Correction Facility. Yes, I will admit that I hate it when the smoking man sits down next to me as he just doubled my dry cleaning bill for this week. Everyone needs to be in touch with the society they live in, the farther they remove themselves the faster they will fall when chaos comes.

John Donahoe, you can have my high value Bart EZ Rider Card and see what the world outside of eBay looks like.

Can all this hype be true? I Google eBay killer, eBay competitor, eBay alternative and such. What do I find? 5 letters that keep on showing up: Wigix. Either they are doing a great job with their SEO or this might be the next legit attempt to dethrone a king. I guess the only way to find out is to try it first hand. I noticed that there are no fees at Wigix for all transactions under $25, so that is where I am going to start. There are also no fees to list anything. I will post a couple of items up and keep everyone updated.

Left in the Dark: Alternatives to eBay.

2008-10-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

Things have a fun way of working themselves out.

I had to leave work a bit early today to get in a $20 massage [more on this to come] with my dad before our dinner. So I decided to wake up at 6am and jump on an earlier train to Oakland. I make it to Bart and miss the train as I am walking through the ticket gate...no big deal. I stand there and listen to Lil' Wayne tell me about how he is a Duffel Bag Boy. I get to my office and do what I do every morning: boot up my laptop [which has 1GB of ram and is slow, thus explaining why I do this first], empty my pockets [phone/keys/mp3 player], get my morning protein [1 part Cocoa Kashi, 3 parts Heart to Heart Kashi and 4 parts non fat milk]. But since I got up earlier than usual, my body wasn't up to speed with my day and I felt a sudden urge to use the bathroom.

As I walk out of the office I notice all of the lights going out and my laptop shutting off, but I thought nothing of it because there was tons of light from the window [which is directly in front of my desk btw]. I walk down the hall and see people opening their doors and complaining about a power outage and I continued to ignore this as my main goal was to get to the Men's room. As I open the door to the bathroom, the facilities gentlemen mentioned to me that it was going to be dark as night in there. Again, I ignored that fact and made my way to the handicap stall [it is the biggest and most comfortable]. Now I have a problem, I emptied my pockets and do not have my cell phone to use as an emergency flash light and it really is PITCH DARK. I decide at this point to pick a couple of senses to use...I decide "smell" and "taste" are definitely out the door, so I am now relying on touch and my sixth sense: memory. I also decide it is probably smarter to use my Rockports than my hands to feel around the bathroom. I finally make it to the porcelain seat, wipe it down and all my immediate problems become solved.

This morning felt like my career as an online merchant. I have always sold on eBay, but this past month when my account got "suspended" due to their new policies, I went out and searched for new avenues to push my product. It made me realize sight wasn't the only powerful sense I had. I will be 100% honest and admit that I do continue to sell on eBay, but am actively trying to figure out the perfect marketplace.

I have come across these alternatives:

Amazon.com: Seems to be the leader of the pack right now. Most people have reported a larger margin on Amazon as the buyers are not in the same position as most eBayers, who are trying to find a steal. People coming to Amazon are expecting more of a retail experience, thus some of their return policies are heavily favor the buyer.

UBid.com: Have pushed their site via TV ads and gained some traction this past year. They have NO listing fees, which is awesome for a seller who wants to try a new site out. All of the payments go through UBid, which does make things safer for the seller, but at the same time might take up to 2 weeks to clear.

eBid.com: Have distinctly position themselves as the 2nd largest auction site in the UK. They are also present in other countries, such as: US, Canada, Australia and more. Their site has been a little slow in the past, but seems to be picking up. Their biggest selling point: NO FEES. So it never hurts to have your items listed here.

Wigix.com: This is by far the newest concept, it seems to be a hybrid of a couple Web 1.0 sites. Once the catalog is loaded and running properly, it will function as a Price Grabber-esque site and provide the market clearing price for all SKU-able items. It will also act as a Wiki for products. Last but not least, it will be a marketplace for people to shop. I am going to give them a shot.