http://www.powersellersunite.com/ Powersellersunite.com News Feed en-us Copyright 2003, Power Sellers Unite PowerSellersUnite.com FrontNewsGeneral info@powersellersunite.com info@powersellersunite.com 60 Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:58:13 +0000 http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php?topic_id=22685 RedRoller, provider of an eBay compatible application, filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 last month, and accepted the resignations of Michael Tribolet, CEO, and Andrew Brooks, Principal Accounting Officer, Assistant Secretary and Treasurer of the company. The company provides on-demand, shipping comparison tools and said it would continue operations with no interruption of service.

Founder Bill Van Wyck said Friday that part of Tribolet's job had been to make sure the company was adequately funded. He said he found out about the financial situation in early August and began to actively raise money. "The problem is, with the financial meltdown that occurred in the banking industry, it made raising money that much more difficult."

When the company went public last November, it had closed on a $6 million round. "So the fact that the company ended up running out of cash and (Tribolet) had not made arrangements for financing for the business was really inexcusable on the side of the management team and the Board of Directors."
more.. link to news article]]> http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=22685 Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:27:55 +0000 http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php?topic_id=22670 eBay Layoffs - Executives To Get 4 Years Pay

Barrons is reporting that eBay's business is deteriorating and that the company is planning to layoff approximately 10% of its 15,000 employees. Many of "Meg Whitman People" are retiring. Rajiv Dutta, president of Paypal is gone and Bob Kagle, the Benchmark venture capitalist who has been on the Board from the beginning, stepped down from the Board in June, another indication that something major is happening.

The Independent Association of Online Merchants said that it would be interesting to compare the severance packages of "regular employees" and managers with those of eBay's top executives.

Like in many companies, eBay's has Golden Parachutes for its top executives. It appears from SEC filings that some top execs will receive two years' target cash compensation, defined as annual base salary plus target annual incentive bonus. That "bonus" is usually 100% of salary, so it would be like getting 4 years' worth of pay if they are laid off.

Meg Whitman, who has retired from the company will be on the payroll through the end of the year. Whitman also gets office space and IT and secretarial support for 3 more years and will be at on the Board at least until June 2010. Rajiv Dutta, who retired recently, is working with his replacement Lorrie Norrington on the transition until October 2008 and will subsequently act as a consultant through the end of the year.

Here's one example of a Golden ... ]]> http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=22670 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:53:02 +0000 http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php?topic_id=22620 A powerful and vocal group of large eBay merchants has blasted the e-commerce giant for changes it has implemented this year, saying they have done more harm than good.

The Professional eBay Sellers Alliance (PESA) on Tuesday published a scathing indictment of eBay, charging that most merchants have been hurt by recent modifications to the online marketplace.

Changes to the way buyers rate sellers, to eBay's fee structure for listings and to the search ranking functionality have been flawed and have led to a substantial deterioration of the marketplace for merchants, according to PESA.

In an interview Thursday, PESA Executive Director Jonathan Garriss reiterated the complaints. "The sentiment of most eBay sellers is that 2008 has been a very difficult year, and they're really nervous because they're not seeing any of the changes eBay is implementing improve their business," he said.

eBay didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
more.. link to news article]]> http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=22620 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 01:01:38 +0000 http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php?topic_id=22525 Related Stories

* eBay's new feedback policy: no real feedback
* Judge: eBay can use "Buy It Now," still owes $30 million
* eBay shrugs off strike by sellers, 13% drop in new listings
* eBay bans the auction of in-game items

Economists have known for years that people tend to overbid on items up for auction. But experts did not know the reason behind our seemingly irrational behavior. Economists and neuroscientists from New York University teamed up to study this classic economic problem, and they published their results Thursday in Science. Using brain imaging along with carefully constructed games, the paper's authors discovered a "fear of losing" may lie behind our propensity to overbid.

Researchers began by giving 15 people opportunities to win money in auction and lottery games, each time competing against another person. In the lottery games, participants decided whether to take part in different lottery rounds. Auction competitors, on the other hand, chose their bid before each round. During the games, scientists watched the responses of the subjects' ... ]]> http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=22525 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 01:01:05 +0000 http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php?topic_id=22524
A bidder, who bought the camera for £17 on the auction website, discovered photos of terror suspects, their names and fingerprints and even snaps of rocket launchers and missiles, The Sun newspaper reported.

The unsuspecting 28-year-old from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, only found the secret images when he downloaded his own holiday snaps from the Nikon Cool Pix device.

He told local police about the find and was shocked when Special Branch officers arrived at his home days later to seize his new purchase.

Officers have made five visits to his home in the last week to quiz him and his family, the paper reported.
more.. link to news article]]> http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=22524 Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:09:23 +0000 http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php?topic_id=22506 Earlier this month eBay rolled out a new version of its eBay Pulse portal that shows popular products and searches. New modules display the most popular searches in each of eBay's main categories, as well as the biggest movers. But after receiving feedback that users wanted to view the data in subcategories as provided by the old version, eBay said it would update the Pulse page and re-launch the portal early next year.
more.. link to news article]]> http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=22506 Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:06:27 +0000 http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php?topic_id=22505 eBay introduced a radical change to its Stores program in the UK this month after having introduced a similar program in Italy in April. Some AuctionBytes readers are now wondering if eBay might be planning to introduce similar changes to its Stores program in the US.

In Italy, and now in the UK, eBay eliminated Store inventory format - all sellers list in the Buy It Now (BIN) format for all fixed-priced listings (along with the change came a new 30-day duration option for BIN listings). But sellers are charged varying Insertion fees depending on whether they subscribe to a Stores plan or not.

There are several subscription plans for Stores (called "Negozi eBay" in Italy and "eBay Shops" in the UK). The more expensive the monthly subscription fee, the lower the Insertion fees, which favors high-volume sellers.
more.. link to news article]]> http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=22505 Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:21:14 +0000 http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php?topic_id=22356 Online auction site, eBid.net announced its official launch in the U.S., increasing its global presence to 18 territories across the US and Canada, UK, Africa, Asia and Australasia. To support the launch, eBid is investing in a PR and radio media campaign.

eBid provides a two-tier selling platform with the choice of zero subscription costs and minimal fee on sale, or subscription with zero final sale fee. In August, eBid recorded 1.3 million listings across the U.S. The company said revenues grew 45% month-on-month in August "predominately by attracting disgruntled eBay customers

more.. link to news article]]> http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=22356 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:11:01 +0000 http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php?topic_id=22262
Top 5 Paid and Organic Search Terms among All U.S. Websites
Rank Paid Terms Clicks Organic Terms Clicks
1 ebay 0.12% myspace 0.78%
2 ebay.com 0.02% craigslist 0.42%
3 home depot 0.02% myspace.com 0.29%
4 map quest 0.01% youtube 0.26%
5 people search 0.01% ebay 0.23%
Note - data is based on the percentage of paid and organic clicks
generated by all search terms within all industry Categories for a
four-week period ending Aug. 30, 2008 based off of the Hitwise
sample of U.S. Internet users.
Source: Hitwise

more.. link to news article]]> http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=22262 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:42:02 +0000 http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php?topic_id=22238
Meanwhile, eBay sent emails to users in New York last week advertising its Kijiji classified website. The email advertised Kijiji as "a great way to avoid the cost and hassle of shipping since all of our listings are local. Kijiji is easy to use and it's FREE!"

Lately, many small, long-time sellers believe eBay has tipped its "level playing field" as it tries to attract larger sellers - such as Buy.com - to sell on the site, leading one seller who received the Kijiji ad to question whether eBay's strategy is to drive smaller sellers into classifieds.

eBay owns other classifieds site, including Gumtree.com, LoQUo.com, Marktplaats, Mobile.de and Rent.com, and it has a minority investment in Craigslist.

WSJ Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122160173443544949.html?mod=googlenews_wsj]]> http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=22238 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:53:28 +0000 http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php?topic_id=22225 eBay issued a trading advisory to users on Monday about the effects of Hurricane Ike:

Hurricane Ike has affected many communities, especially in the Gulf Coast areas of Texas and Louisiana, disrupting power, communication and transportation lines. If you are involved in an eBay transaction with a member in one of these affected regions, this is a reminder that their ability to complete the transaction may be delayed, and we encourage you to be patient with them. Our thoughts go out to our affected Community members and their families in these areas.

Major shipping carriers posted updates on their websites about service disruptions in southern parts of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast of Texas:

USPS

FedEx

UPS

DHL

In addition, DHL said its Billing Department has been impacted by the storm as a result of evacuations

more.. link to news article]]> http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=22225 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:26:42 +0000 http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php?topic_id=22222 Amazon.com announced the launch of its Motorcycle & ATV Store, a single shopping destination for hundreds of thousands of motorcycle and ATV parts, accessories and protective gear. The store showcases a selection of more than 300,000 products from over 500 manufacturers, including top brands like Alpine Stars, Yamaha, Fox Racing, Harley Davidson, HJC, Joe Rocket, Kawasaki, Shoei, Suzuki and Tour Master.

more.. link to news article]]> http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=22222 Mon, 15 Sep 2008 23:32:22 +0000 http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php?topic_id=22212 Sellers upset with eBay's new ban on paper payments such as checks and money orders wondered what the US Postal Service (USPS) thought about the policy, since the ban extends to USPS postal money orders. So we asked. A USPS spokesperson provided AuctionBytes with a statement that it has been releasing to customers who ask about the change.

"Beginning in late October eBay will no longer allow checks or money orders as payment methods. Only approved electronic methods will be allowed. In January 2009, all accepted payment methods will be integrated into eBay Checkout. For buyers, this change means a more consistent and secure payment experience. For sellers, it means faster payment and fewer unpaid items. Visit www.ebay.com for more details.

"This is an eBay adopted policy that the U.S. Postal Service has no commitment, or control of, from eBay.

more.. link to news article]]> http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=22212 Fri, 12 Sep 2008 22:43:07 +0000 http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php?topic_id=22154 By opening its channels to a million outside sellers, Amazon has undercut the auction site and is winning the battle for Internet sales. Next up: A challenge to eBay's PayPal.



Since the dawn of Internet shopping, bargain hunters have reveled in the thrill of the hunt for deals at eBay (EBAY, news, msgs), the online equivalent of an auction house.

But the thrill is going, going, almost gone. And eBay's losses are Amazon.com's (AMZN, news, msgs) gains in this battle to sell the most stuff on the Internet -- a battle that is about to take a turn for the worse for eBay.

Busy shoppers are already skipping eBay's time-consuming auctions, which they might lose at the last second when a computerized shopping bot slips in a bid. Instead, they're opting for "everyday low prices" via the Internet and, in particular, at Amazon.



Amazon, once just an online bookstore, is easy to use, and it offers a range of products along with good prices and cheap shipping. You're more likely to find rare and obscure items via Amazon these days than ever before, as the retailer has opened its site to more than a million outside merchants. Those often small merchants might otherwise be setting up virtual eBay stores.

Now Amazon is taking aim at eBay's remaining jewel: its PayPal payment system. With Amazon already stealing potential sellers as well as buyers, trouble with PayPal would be another huge hit to eBay. And for investors, that ma ... ]]> http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=22154 Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:09:14 +0000 http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php?topic_id=22150 Online retailer Amazon.com will start selling wine produced in the U.S. by early October making it available to its domestic customers.

Napa Valley Vintners, a nonprofit organization representing more than 300 vintners in California, has started workshops for wineries that want to sell their wine on Amazon, according to Terry Hall, communications director for the group.

"They have been working for a while on this wine project. Now they are signing up the wineries," Hall told Reuters. "They're fast-tracking it right now."

Amazon will sell wine in about 26 states and wine sold on the site will come from all areas of the country.

In 2007 total U.S. wine sales were between $30 billion and $32 billion, according to Barbara Insel, president of Stonebridge Research Group, a company focused on the wine industry.

more.. link to news article]]> http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=22150