Power Sellers Unite

elgato · Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Posts: 17237 Location: Texas

MO is right. Ebay is doing the same thing:

http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=39270

elpereles · Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Posts: 1478 Location: Puerto Rico

Yeah, it is to bad that eCrater ended like the others with a lie. But I don't have problem the site is still free.

The Ads/banners are in the eCrater page and aren't inside your personal store unless you didn't accept PayPal or Google Checkout. Also eCrater have the option to sellers that have PP or GCO to add the Google Ads/banner and get some money of the ads from Google.

If you don't believe just check my store link and try to find some ad/banner.

FernFossils.com · Joined: 28 Jul 2011 Posts: 4

eBay has had ads for awhile, but I never noticed competing sellers on them(keyword driven ads)...except for completed listings but I think you can turn them off(then your listings arent shown on other sellers completed listings). At least thats the way it used to go.

grannyscrafts1912 · Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 5:02 pm Post subject:

I don't have the ads. Thats because I didn't sign up for them. this is the store owners option.

quicksrt · Joined: 26 Oct 2009 Posts: 401

I just got a hundred dollar order today!!! My biggest order yet. I sell so little on Ec that any sale is an event. But this person really liked my combined shipping for .50 each additional item. This is better than my ebay combined.

Aug. is the slowest month of the year for me on Amazon, so this really helps me out.

caljackscollectibles · Joined: 08 Feb 2011 Posts: 250 Location: California

elpereles wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")
Yeah, it is to bad that eCrater ended like the others with a lie. But I don't have problem the site is still free.

The Ads/banners are in the eCrater page and aren't inside your personal store unless you didn't accept PayPal or Google Checkout. Also eCrater have the option to sellers that have PP or GCO to add the Google Ads/banner and get some money of the ads from Google.

If you don't believe just check my store link and try to find some ad/banner.

I don't understand your comment about the lie. How do you feel eCrater lied?

elpereles · Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Posts: 1478 Location: Puerto Rico

caljackscollectibles, I feel disappointed with the contradiction. For that reason I never put my hands on fire for any site. But it is interesting to see that a owner of a site will share their Google Ads revenue with the sellers.

I use Adblock in Mozilla. So I need to disable it to see the Ads in the site.

For now eCrater has only the ads by default in their principal page search and in any item from stores that don't have PayPal or Google Checkout.

I was looking some sites. Bonz is still free from ads. Blujay is a mess. I remember see some ads over there in the item pages, but now are everywhere.

JaBek1 · Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 36 Location: Ocoee, Florida USA

I was surprised to see Google Ads on two of my product pages. It appears that they've come up with a scheme that if you fall under a list of things they have decided on you will get a bunch of Google ads on your product page. I counted eight on one of mine.

Supposedly in one listing the picture was too small so they decided that the listing should have ads put in it from off site competitors. I believe it can't be smaller than 250x250. Funny thing was, the smallest pic I had was on the listing was 275x300.

The other was a listing for a novelty/gag gift item. I listed in the MISC global category because they don't have one for those types of gifts in their Flowers & Gifts category. They also have no sub-category in the MISC category so I just had to list it in "main-MISC." This too seems to trigger the Google Ad response. I requested that the eCRATER team include the appropriate sub-category, but from the red letter warning on the contact us page, it appears that they reserve the right to ignore questions at their discretion. I'll just have to wait to see if I get a reply.

RgrGTI · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 30

JaBek1 wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")I was surprised to see Google Ads on two of my product pages. It appears that they've come up with a scheme that if you fall under a list of things they have decided on you will get a bunch of Google ads on your product page.
The "scheme" has been in place since at least April 2009...is easily accessible information that can be read by all sellers and customers...and is a relatively gentle stick to get sellers to follow fair, sane, non-obtrusive rules, such as listing items in proper categories, posting reasonably sized photos, and keeping the store updated at least every 60 days.

If you were having a problem with photo sizes or categorization that you could not resolve, the professional way to handle that would be to contact eCrater admin, which has a small but responsive staff. You can also request additional categories/subcategories in the appropriate Suggestions forum on eCrater.

elpereles · Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Posts: 1478 Location: Puerto Rico

JaBek1, about the photo size. It is being for long time the rule that if you photo is little. By default eCrater will add a Google Ad under it.

RgrGTI is correct. It is a way to make sellers follow their rules.

My recommendation if you don't use stock photos. It isn't reason to have little photos in the items.

JaBek1 · Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 36 Location: Ocoee, Florida USA

RgrGTI wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")JaBek1 wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")I was surprised to see Google Ads on two of my product pages. It appears that they've come up with a scheme that if you fall under a list of things they have decided on you will get a bunch of Google ads on your product page.
The "scheme" has been in place since at least April 2009...is easily accessible information that can be read by all sellers and customers...and is a relatively gentle stick to get sellers to follow fair, sane, non-obtrusive rules, such as listing items in proper categories, posting reasonably sized photos, and keeping the store updated at least every 60 days.

If you were having a problem with photo sizes or categorization that you could not resolve, the professional way to handle that would be to contact eCrater admin, which has a small but responsive staff. You can also request additional categories/subcategories in the appropriate Suggestions forum on eCrater.

Unfortunately, the use of the word "scheme" was probably a poor choice on my part. I spend too much time on UK forums, I suppose, where every plan seems to be referred to as a scheme.

I did send a message to the eCRATER team regarding a request for the addition of an appropriate sub-category in their global categories. Am awaiting a reply.

With regard to the picture size issue, although the smallest of the images uploaded to the site was 275x300 I suppose it is possible that it somehow was re-sized to below the 250x250 pixels required. Anyway, simply replacing them appears to have corrected that problem.

I think the major issue I took with insertion of the ads was the fact that they included links to off site sellers of the same type merchandise. Providing links to a gift shop site on a product page in the gift & souvenir department of a seller's store didn't set well. The fact that the links were placed both directly above and below the links to my other listings didn't impress me either.

RgrGTI · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 30

JaBek1 wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")I think the major issue I took with insertion of the ads was the fact that they included links to off site sellers of the same type merchandise.
If the penalty weren't unpalatable, it wouldn't be a penalty. All a seller needs to do to avoid a penalty is follow a few simple rules.

JaBek1 · Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 36 Location: Ocoee, Florida USA

elpereles wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")JaBek1, about the photo size. It is being for long time the rule that if you photo is little. By default eCrater will add a Google Ad under it.

RgrGTI is correct. It is a way to make sellers follow their rules.

My recommendation if you don't use stock photos. It isn't reason to have little photos in the items.

While I have no objection to eCRATER or any other site enforcing their rules, I do believe that the use of discussion forums, which may or may not be visited by a member, is the best way to notify people of rules or policy changes. Those types of things need to be communicated to sellers directly thru the seller's administration page or by email.

By the way, we don't use stock photographs. The size of the image used is chosen to speed of loading & ease of viewing by the potential viewers of the page.

JaBek1 · Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 36 Location: Ocoee, Florida USA

RgrGTI wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")JaBek1 wrote (View Post): › docWrite("quote")I think the major issue I took with insertion of the ads was the fact that they included links to off site sellers of the same type merchandise.
If the penalty weren't unpalatable, it wouldn't be a penalty. All a seller needs to do to avoid a penalty is follow a few simple rules.

Of course, you are correct. However, when following one rule that conflicts with another puts one in a no win situation, perhaps the it is best to simply walk away from the game.