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p2pnet news » Blog Archive » ‘eBay is going down’

Skype will be the downfall of eBay... Excerpt:-
With the above, and other factors, in mind, “eBay is going down,” says Blakenhorn unequivocally. “The collapse of its stock price may be followed by the collapse of the entire company. Certainly a fire sale is in the offing.”

Also a link to... Matt Stevensons blog - Update on eBay boob ups...

And my half-pennies worth...
eBay are truly losing the plot. I wholly recommend that you do not bother creating an account with eBay. You may still find the odd bargain, but eBay isn't what it used to be, it has certainly gotten too big for it's boots, and I can safely say I am avoiding it these days. The last 7 items that I first searched for on eBay I have found much cheaper on the following sites... Amazon.co.uk, play.com, dabs.co.uk. eBay is certainly not worth the trouble anymore, unless of course you want to chance purchasing something from China for really cheap, these are still good deals if you dont mind waiting for a while before you receive the items.

Bye Bye eBay, your customers are leaving you...

Why eBay is going downhill....

Quoted from Matt Stevenson's Blog on MySpace (and I wholly agree with every word).

I was reading my mates blogs on MySpace today and he has posted this EXCELLENT blog entry regarding why eBay has turned NASTY. All the comments here are made by Matt Stevenson, however I wholly agree with them. eBay has certainly turned into the nasty more expensive place to shop. Needless to say you can still find bargains, but only on items which are not commercially available. Those sorts of items can be bought on the overall cheaper from most other sites other than eBay. My advice is if you are looking for a bargain search eBay first, then do a comparison search on other sites such as play, amazon etc. You'll more than likely find the items cheaper on these other sites and mostly with fixed postage costs where you can't get stitched up... Now read att's wholly interesting blog entry below... Enjoy.

Ebay is crap for Buyers because...

Basically, in the early days of Ebay, it was a great place to not only pick up bargains, but also to find elusive hard to find items for reasonable prices. The range of sellers on ebay was quite varied, ranging from occasional sellers, to traders to collectors. However, the days of getting a bargain are pretty much gone on ebay now... Most sellers on ebay these days are companies / traders, rather than private sellers and collectors who have been pretty much priced out of using Ebay, or inconvenienced so much that it just aint' worth the effort anymore (see Ebay is crap for Sellers because.... below). As a result, most items listed these days are buy it now items and the prices of these are usually the same as, or more expensive than RRP on the item brand new.

Add on the postage for Ebay and it is simply not cost effective to buy most items from Ebay anymore. Ebay pitch and scream that they don't have so many buyers on Ebay due to the economic downturn (less expendable income to play with) but the hard reality is that there are less buyers on Ebay these days because it is crap! Period.

Case in point, I decided I wanted to get a copy of an old DVD. As it was an old DVD, and not a rarity, my first bet was to look on Ebay, and there were quite a few examples. For UK sellers, there were in all 9 copies of this item...but wait! All 9 were buy it now and were being sold by traders on Ebay, not private sellers/collectors. Plus the price of the item ranged from £5.99 up to around the £10 mark - plus postage costs. Hmmm.... I logged onto play.com and found the DVD...you can buy a brand new copy of this, for £4.99 delivered...yep, delivered...NO extra postage charges. I rest my case....needless to say, play.com got my order...

Ebay is also pretty crap for buyers due to the amount of lazy companies selling items on Ebay. Most of them sell hundreds of items a month on Ebay (just look at their feedback) and as a result, their "customer service" is lousy. More often than not, they send out the wrong items, send out items incredibly slowly....or both!

Plenty of other reasons...but let's move onto why Ebay is crap for Sellers...

Ebay is crap for Sellers because...

Ebay is crap for sellers (and by sellers here, I'm talking about private sellers / collectors such as myself, rather than companies selling on ebay).

Ebay is crap for sellers as there are so many unscurpulous buyers on Ebay....you think some of the sellers are devious....you should try selling! So many buyers trying to get something for nothing and holding you to ransom with their feedback ratings and comments - which often they mark you down for very unfairly (thus affecting your display and ordering in future search results)....and what do you have in return to protect you? Absolutely NOTHING....even Ebay doesn't give a shite... in fact all they seem to care about is the buyer (not really surprising seeing as they are losing them hand over fist).

This is even worse now with the new Ebay policy on buyer feedback. Ebay have now changed the site so that you can ONLY leave positive feedback for a buyer when they purchase one of your items. The choices are... leave positive feedback, or don't leave any feedback... that's it!

So, as usually is the case, as a seller, you list your item, get screwed around by the buyer who takes about 3 weeks to pay for the item... then leaves you negative feedback as you refused to send the item out until they had paid. BUT... you HAVE to leave THEM positive feedback! Yep... you heard it right!! All you can do in this instance is leave them no feedback and place a comment on their negative feedback about you... but the damage to your rating has already been done.

Ebay state that they have made this change to stop sellers apparently blackmailing buyers into forcing them to give them positive feedback, no matter how the transaction progresses, but holding the threat of negative feedback for the buyer over them. Seems that Ebay have just turned this around completely and placed the seller in a completely impossible position with regards to their ratings...now the SELLER is open to any blackmail and extra demands by the buyer as there is no way that the seller can comeback from this.

Well done Ebay... that was REAL clever...
Ebay is also crap for sellers as sellers are FORCED to give complete refunds to buyers if the item is lost. Case in point... I also used to send out my items to buyers via 1st class normal post (in an attempt to keep postage costs down for the buyer... I DON'T mark my postage up to cover costs like some other sellers!). However... what happens if the package is lost by Royal Mail I hear you ask? Yep... you guessed it... Ebay FORCES the seller to give the buyer a full and complete refund... and guess what, if they don't like it... Ebay just accesses your Paypal account behind your back and takes the money out of your account and / or charges your credit card and gives the buyer a refund now anyway (surely that is theft isn't it?) Ok, you might say that this is fair as the buyer never received their item... but how is this fair on the seller? It isn't his / her fault that the postal service lost the package is it? So... it leaves me with little choice other than make sure that ALL items I now sell are sent out by 1st class recorded / signed for delivery - in this instance, the seller has proof of postage if the package is lost and then doesn't not have to give money back to buyers if the package is lost through no fault of their own. It also stops the dirty tricks that some buyers pull whereby they actually receive their item, but still claim it never turned up to get their refund too... you would be surprised how often this happens Ebay!! Ok, so all items are now sent out by 1st class signed for... except as a result, you have to put your postage rates up to cover the extra postage charges now... which makes your item more expensive altogether and less competitive against other sellers. Also, buyers now complain because your postage rates are now "too high"... well, they don't have to bid on the item in this case do they? (you would be amazed at how many people bid and win items, and then complain about your postage rates - they WERE clearly stated in the auction before they placed a bid....if you think postage rates are too high, then DON'T BID you idiots!!!).

Anyway, I can honestly say that I will not be selling much of anything on Ebay from now on... recent underhand tactics by Ebay and quality of buyers has left me no option but to cease this activity as due to the points above, there is now no point because:

1. Profit made for my items, balanced against listing fees, paypal robbery (err, sorry paypal charges - remember, Ebay now forces you to list an item to be paid via paypal now.....hmmm...who did Ebay recently buy....oh yes...it was paypal wasn't it!!!), extra postal charges just don't make it worthwhile to list anything any more unless it is of any real value. I used to list a number of CDs and DVDs which were from my own private collection. All items were usually almost mint and all originals and all at low starting prices (usually only £0.99) and no reserve....due to Ebay changes, it is now no longer worth my time to bother doing this. Still, Ebay's loss are a gain for animals as now any such items get put in a bag and taken down to the animal shelter where they can sell them to make extra money to look after abandoned animals. I also get a better feeling of satisfaction, knowing my items are being used for a good cause.

2. Way too many devious buyers on Ebay, now holding sellers to ransom due to the changes in the feedback rule (nice one Ebay, way to encourage sellers to sell their items on your site!).

3. No cover for sellers on Ebay. All the rules are in favour of the buyer guys....simple as that. Good if it is an honest buyer who needs protection on a transaction...but, useless when it is a dishonest buyer who is trying to get something for nothing.

4. The Ebay seller helpline... you know the one...the phone number for "power" sellers which lets them speak to someone at Ebay to discuss a transaction and what a seller can do when they are being shafted by a buyer? Well, don't even bother...it is shite and a complete waste of your time....you will just get shafted by Ebay....after you've been shafted by the dishonest buyer.....form a orderly queue please....

Latest I've heard is that Ebay have also now purchase Skype (why?). Ebay's new initiative is that sellers add their Skype details onto their listing so that buyers can ring them up and ask them questions about the listing (Ebay obviously liked it so much... they bought the company)... only problem is that most sellers are not on the end of Skype to ask the question live anyway! So buyers have to do this novel thing called send an email....how quaint!
Could it be that lower buyers... disappearing (and incredibly p*ssed off) sellers on their site, coupled with their extra expenses incurred by purchasing things such as Skype is making it a little difficult for them financially? There are reports out there which suggest the very same... and some that predict that give it a couple of years and Ebay could even implode completely... here's hoping... maybe they would treat their sellers (i.e. bread and butter) with a little more respect if they had to start up again...

Matt Stevenson

Rising UK fuel prices - WHAT A JOKE! (Diesel, Petrol)

It's seems a never ending rise in petrol prices is crippling car users around the UK.

Now I don't know about you lot, but this is starting to wind me right up! The other day running on fumes on the M1 motorway, I had to stop and spend what little cash I had left in my pocket in putting some petrol in the car. Now usually I don't bother using motorway petrol stations as they tend to cost more, but for crying out loud, how on earth can it be justified charging £1.15 for a litre of fuel?

Once upon a time (less than 2 years ago) I used to be able to fill my 75 litre tank from empty with approximately £69 of petrol (at around £0.89p per litre). Now its costing me in excess of £80. Now I know you're probably saying to yourselves "well use public transport" well I would but I travel quite a bit for work, and train prices from London to Coventry are not the cheapest, infact even with fuel prices so high it is still cheaper to drive, apart from the fact that you are lucky to get a seat unless you pay the hiked prices for first class, which I am not happy doing personally. I like the comfort of my own car and space, and hate being crammed up with a load of other sardines (some of which tend to not have a wash in the morning... Personal hygene is just another one of my narks! But thats a different story for a different day!).

Anyway, whats going on, and why are we paying so much for fuel? Is this an attempt by the government to drive (excuse the pun) people off of the roads and into public transport?

We pay our road tax, car insurance, wear and tear of our our vehicles (and tax on top of all of that too), now we pay for driving in London (which doesn't bother me so much as I tend not to drive around London at peak times anyway), we pay for tolls, in fact "we pay" for everything to do with driving our cars, and then some more on top of that. Why then do we have to pay extra duty on fuel. It's getting out of hand in about 3 months fuel prices have increased in excess of 10pence per litre in some places. And yet I dont see much complaining going on!

Is there anything that can be done about this. One thing I do notice is that with increasing cost of fuel, expenses relating to driving for work related journeys have NOT increased to compensate (even slightly) for the hike in fuel prices.

What can be done?

Well it doesn't seem that much can be done. Now I'm all for a greener UK, and I do what I can to conserve energy, I dont drive a particularly huge car, certainly do not agree with 4x4's and gas guzzlers, but hey, unless you have a high powered job and, in excess of £1.07p per litre doesn't bother you, then it seems that us lower paid people are stuffed!

Some links regarding the above follow:-

• http://www.computerquoteinsurance.com/motoring-tips-and-guides/rising petrol-prices-and-what-to-do-about-them-nav12-49


• http://beginnings.blog.co.uk/2008/01/15/rising petrol_prices~3581531


• http://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/news/No end-in-sight-as.3651666.jp


• http://www.financialadvice.co.uk/news/3/householdbills/6196/Rising-petrol-prices do-not-put-off-drivers.html


• http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/petrolprice.html


• http://www.toluna.com/polls/38579/Are_you_concerned_with_rising petrol_prices

I'd like to say happy driving, but alas your bank manager might have somthing to say about it!

What a difference a sad event in someone's life makes

GEORGE CARLIN

A Message by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

If you don't send this to at least 8 people....Who cares?

George Carlin

Save Chase Farm Hospital - Sign the Petition

Hi all,

Please forward this to as many people as you can!

As many of you are aware we are awaiting the results of the planning appeal regarding further land sales on the Chase Farm Hospital site. The hospital trust would like to sell this land to build a further 279 housing units -mostly for private housing. Save Chase Farm and the people who use the hospital believe that this land is needed for the urgent development of Primary and Secondary healthcare for residents of Enfield, Barnet, Haringey and South Hertfordshire.
Highlands went this way, Chase Farm will follow.

There is a petition against the development of the land for private housing. At least we need to know the fate of the hospital before they turn any more of it into flats and houses.

Please take a few seconds to forward this to all of your address book... and a few seconds to sign the petition yourself at
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/chasefarmhsp/

Claud's Useful aStore - Powered by Amazon

Claud's Useful aStore

I've finally launched my aStore attached to my web site. I have a full range of my favorite stuff listed on there, and also a comprehensive search. This site is really recommended for UK customers only, and is powered by amazon.co.uk.

Treat yourself or someone else today!

"Claud's Useful aStore" is a place where you can find and purchase my favorite music and DVD's. Not only that... You can also treat your self to other things... Gifts and gadgets, Cameras, DVD players, watches and other gifts for friends and family or yourself.

You will also find a number of music production related items, books, DVD's and CD's mostly relating to playing the drums, learning drums, and percussion. I also list a large number of programming related books and software for learning and for reference.

Shop in confidence and security the aStore is powered by Amazon.co.uk, one of the biggest (if not the biggest) on-line store! Something for everyone!

Feed your passion...

Missing anything that you are looking for? Try using the comprehensive search at the top right of my aStore. You can search the Amazon categories there.

The first few categories are specific items that I enjoy in some way or another or use for learning and more. The "All ..." categories are a comprehensive list of the top selling items in each category. Browse or search for what you need!

Forget the plane, take the intercity spaceship - tech - 02 February 2008 - New Scientist Tech

Consumer Space Travel, no longer a thing of the past!

Well I know that I couldn't afford to travel on Virgin Galactic's ship, but hey you never know, when this takes off the prices will eventually drop to a manageable cost and an average Joe such as myself will be able to afford to see the spectacluar views of our mother earth from space. As the cost currently stands at the cost of an average small family home in the UK ($200,000 about £102,000 (depending on current exchange rates)) I think that only the privelaged (or Cash Loaded) can afford this at present.

Worth a read...

Forget the plane, take the intercity spaceship - tech - 02 February 2008 - New Scientist Tech: "Space tourism may be just one of the services Virgin Galactic ends up offering future customers. Last week it said its first tourist space vehicle (right) could also be used to launch satellites and make super-fast intercity trips."

READ MORE...

Time travel for beginners

I dont know about you, but I am fascinated with Quantum Physics, Time Travel, Time in general and the big question: WHY ARE WE HERE?

I don't begin to pretend that I understand any of it, but wish I did. All I know is that I can't see any reason how time travel would be possible. But apparently it may well be.

I found this particularly interesting page regarding Time Travel, it caught my eye by its title... for beginners... LOL I am still confused, but an interesting read none the less!

Time travel for beginners: "THE INTRIGUING notion that time might run backwards when the Universe collapses has run into difficulties. Raymond Laflamme, of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, has carried out a new calculation which suggests that the Universe cannot start out uniform, go through a cycle of expansion and collapse, and end up in a uniform state. It could start out disordered, expand, and then collapse back into disorder. But, since the COBE data show that our Universe was born in a smooth and uniform state, this symmetric possibility cannot be applied to the real Universe."

READ MORE...

Why 3D is about to break through - BBC Tech News

BBC NEWS Technology Why 3D is about to break through



For a long time 3D movies and TV shows have been a bit of a gimmick. They have been used to re-energise a tired franchise, help a film stand out at a crowded box office or to give TV viewers a glimpse of what the future might hold.

But many in the 3D production industry now say that future may be closer than ever before.

Film makers, technology companies and post-production outfits recently gathered at the historic Shepperton Studios to assess just how far 3D has come and where it goes next.

READ MORE...

Shape-shifting robot forms from magnetic swarm - tech - 29 January 2008 - New Scientist Tech

Shape-shifting robot forms from magnetic swarm - tech - 29 January 2008 - New Scientist Tech

Swarms of robots that use electromagnetic forces to cling together and assume different shapes are being developed by US researchers.
The grand goal is to create swarms of microscopic robots capable of morphing into virtually any form by clinging together.

Seth Goldstein, who leads the research project at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, in the US, admits this is still a distant prospect.

However, his team is using simulations to develop control strategies for futuristic shape-shifting, or "claytronic", robots, which they are testing on small groups of more primitive, pocket-sized machines.
These prototype robots use electromagnetic forces to manoeuvre themselves, communicate, and even share power.

READ MORE...

Rescuing Hug - Hugs save lives!

Although this is thought to be an urban legend (but the link below states that it is not!), it none the less reminds us of how important it is to remember to tell the ones you love that you love them, and every once and a while, follow that up with a hug!

I received this in an email, and; urban legend or not, it really made me think! (blimey thats twice in one month!)

The email reads...

This is a picture taken from and article called "The Rescuing Hug". The article details the first week of life of a set of twins. Apparently each were in their respective incubators, and one was not expected to live. A hospital nurse fought against the hospital rules and put the babies in the same incubator. When they were placed together, the healthier of the two threw an arm over her sister in an endearing embrace. The smaller baby's heart stabilized and her temperature rose to normal.

Let's not forget to embrace the ones we love. It can make a big difference!

Related link:-
http://growingyourbaby.blogspot.com/2007/04/rescuing-hug.html
Excerpt:-
Heidi and Paul Jackson's twin girls, Brielle and Kyrie, were born October 17, 1995, 12 weeks ahead of their due date. Standard hospital practice is to place preemie twins in separate incubators to reduce the risk of infection. that was done for the Jackson girls in the neonatal intensive care unit at The Medical Center of Central Massachusetts in Worcester.
Kyrie, the larger sister at two pounds, three ounces, quickly began gaining weight and calmly sleeping her newborn days away. But Brielle, who weighed only two pounds at birth, couldn't keep up with her. She had breathing and heart-rate problems. The oxygen level in her blood was low, and her weight gain was slow.

Largest asteroid to come near Earth in 22 years - space - 24 January 2008 - New Scientist Space

Largest asteroid to come near Earth in 22 years - space - 24 January 2008 - New Scientist Space: "The largest asteroid to come near the Earth in more than 20 years will make its closest approach on Tuesday, venturing as close as 1.4 times the distance to the Moon. Already, the first radar observations of the space rock reveal it may have formed from two separate asteroids that fell together and stuck."

Click the link above to read more about this...

New Scientist Short Sharp Science Blog: Synthetic life: watch this space

Synthetic Life: watch this space!

New Scientist Short Sharp Science Blog: Synthetic life: watch this space: "Chalk up another first for Craig Venter: a completely synthetic bacterial genome. Unveiled online by Science today, researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, Maryland, have stitched together the entire genome of the human parasite Mycoplasma genitalium from hundreds of fragments of artificial DNA, produced to order by gene-synthesis firms."

Teach your brain to stretch time - being-human - 04 February 2006 - New Scientist

Teach your brain to stretch time - being-human - 04 February 2006 - New Scientist: "MIKE HALL has taught himself to stretch time. He uses his powers to make him a better squash player. 'It's hard to describe, but it's a feeling of stillness, like I'm not trapped in sequential time any more,' he says. 'The ball still darts around, but it moves around the court at different speeds depending on the circumstances. It's like I've stepped out of linear time.'"

Read more by clicking the link above!

EBAUMSWORLD - Funny Pictures, Hilarious Videos, Flash Games and Jokes

EBAUMSWORLD - Funny Pictures, Hilarious Videos, Flash Games and Jokes

This site is totally hilarious! A must see, especially if you like Southpark!