People It Is Time To Stop The Insanity!
There Is No ATM In Your Computer
I have written on this subject before, yet it seems that my inbox has been flooded in the past 6 months or so with promises to make me rich! From Amazon to Google, Craigslist to eBay, I can make thousands (at least) if I just follow their system. Of course these “SYSTEMS” cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.
This morning I got another offer! The website is even called Auction Cash Machine! What possibilities this must hold! Can you imagine my EXCITEMENT?
In the economic climate of today, tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of individuals and small business owners are seeking alternative ways to generate income. I can only wonder how they contain themselves when they receive these offers! A recent Google Alert came across my desk that did my heart good. Apparently California has taken one of these so called systems to task over their claims of financial independence once you “buy” into their system. Stores Online and it’s parent company Imergent Inc., have agreed to repay customers that have filed complaints. In full disclosure, I have attended one of Stores Online free seminars. In my opinion it is nothing more and nothing less than a SCAM!
While these are just two of the companies making totally ridiculous claims, make no mistake, there are hundreds more out there just like them.
We Must Stop The Insanity!
It is time for sites like Amazon, eBay, Google, and Craigslist to help put an end to this madness! The aforementioned sites MUST undertake an agressive public campaign to completely disassociate themselves from these types of offers.
In my opinion, they must use everything in their arsenals to condem these programs for what they really are! JUNK!
There are no “systems” to make you RICH! Hard work, dedication and research are required to run a sucessful business. Unless of course you work on Wall St. (I couldn’t resist that)
If you are considering attending one of these seminars or buying a CD or DVD that promises you untold riches, do me one favor please. DON’T!
Alternatives
There are alternatives. There are honest, giving people on the internet that are willing to help! Join internet groups, listen to FREE podcasts, and finally do your research. Before you spend any money, before you invest your time, search the internet for what people are saying about the company you are thinking of utilizing.
I have long been an advocate of mentors, educational seminars and conferences. But do your research and find the one that meets your needs. Talk with former attendees and get their opinions on the usefulness of the program. If you choose individual trainers or mentors ask for references.
In my opinion, these get rich quick scams are in the same class as Bernie Madoff! They are thieves praying on people struggling to make a living.
Small Ecommerce Business Get’s The One Two Punch From Google And eBay In One Day
eBay Analyst Day
Much has already been and more will be written about the first eBay Analyst Day held in 3 years. eBay executives did their best to put on their smiley faces in an attempt to encourage the folks from Wall Street. I will not attempt to regurgatate most of what is already out there, however here are two things that I took away from the event:
- PayPal is the leading money maker of the company. Some of you will remember I wrote about this last August in a blog post. One of the things I found almost laughable was the talking point eBay made that PayPal’s integration into the eBay platform had risen several percentage points over the past 6 months. Of course it did! eBay made it almost (this is as close as I can come to saying Monopoly) mandatory. Who were they really trying to kid?
- eBay will now be focusing on the “Secondary Marketplace”. First this is not a term that has been used before that I am aware of. What it really means is the liquidation marketplace. Out of season or end of live product. It was said, and I paraphrase here, “We are interested in attracting those businesses that have stuff in warehouses that they need to dispose of”. This certainly does not seem to include the small sellers that have one of’s.
While eBay continues to state that they embarce the small seller, in my opinion the only reason for this is the increased search engine visibility they receive by “allowing” these sellers on the site. Once buyers are on the site they are directed to the sellers that eBay wants them to see, not necessarily what the buyer wants to see.
eBay told analysts that 2009 would be very difficult on the eBay site, only slightly better in 2010 and incrementally better in 2011 IF the economy improves. eBay also said that it’s focus is now on the current customers and less on attracting new buyers.
Bottom line is lower volume sellers are in for a tough couple of years based on the current direction of the company.
For complete analysis of the eBay Analyst event check out http://www.ebaystrategies.blogs.com by Scot Wingo CEO of Channeladvisor.com
Google announced yesterday, during the eBay Analyst event (maybe to hope to sneak it out there with little attention????) that effective in May 2009 there would be a significant increase in fees for those merchants using Google Checkout.
Again, the small seller takes it on the chin with these fee increases.
Colderice did a fee increase comparison on his blog, and I think it brings home the point very well.
Every company needs to make a profit. I do not blame either eBay or Google for making these moves. They need to do what they think will improve their position in the marketplace and ultimately their bottom lines. This is what their stockholders expect.
All users of either eBay or Google need to decide whether their businesses can adapt to the changes or not. If not, the answer is simple. Change your marketing strategies to other venues or payment options.
Auctiva Corrects Trojan Problem
After receiving a report on Twitter, I was able to confirm that Google and FireFox have cleared Auctiva.com of the threat warnings they have been reporting.
This is great news. Auctiva offers a good product and service, they just need to work on their communication a little better.
Auctiva Trojan Troubles Compounded By Suggestion To Turn Off Security Warnings
What Is Auctiva Thinking????
According to forum posts the 3rd party eBay solution provider Auctiva.com suffered an attack on their servers last Friday afternoon. This attack apparently allowed the insertion of Trojan scripts on some of Auctiva’s 200+ servers. This malware or whatever it is apparently took buyers or viewers of items listed with the Auctiva software to Asian sites. Google has marked Auctiva with the following warning: This site may harm your computer” based on this infection and FireFox browser users receive a warning as well.
Colderice.com reported on this issue and it’s widespread implications. Today Auctionbytes posted an article quoting Jeff Schlicht President of Auctiva who said the affected servers have been removed from service and the site is safe, yet Google and Firefox are still showing the warnings.
Who Do We Believe
Schlicht says that it will take some time (unknown how long) for Google to re-spider the site. While all this is going on, the Auctiva forum posted a work around to the FireFox warning by recommending to Auctiva users :
Update - If you are using the Firefox browser and are unable to use your account because you are receiving a warning stating the Auctiva is an “attack site”, you should be able to workaround it by selecting “Options” from the “Tools” menu and disabling the “tell me if the site I’m visiting is a suspected attack site” setting under the “Security” tab.
Now I am not an internet security expert but to me and many others who have read this it sure appears to be a very dangerous action to take. The entire incident has raised concern from sellers and buyers alike.
I don’t know who to believe, Google or Auctiva. What I do know is that recommending that users disable security settings is not the most intelligent thing Auctiva could do in this situation.
As of the time of this post, requests for comment from both Auctiva and eBay have gone unanswered.
UPDATE: 7:30 PM ET 2/22/09
John “Colderice” Lawson is reporting that the eBay Daily Deals which features items submitted through Auctiva are now showing the danger warnings as mentioned above.
As I stated above requests for comment from both eBay and Auctiva have still gone unanswered.
eBay To Offer Sellers AdCommerce To Promote Their Own Listings?????
What is eBay Thinking?
Today eBay announced their newly planned eBay AdCommerce program for German and US sites. Their plan as outlined in the announcement will allow eBay sellers the opportunity to bid on the reported 4 billion keywords in their database. Based on how MUCH sellers are willing to pay per click will determine whether your ad will appear at the bottom of the search page.
eBay Has Been Selling Advertising For Years
eBay has been selling advertising on search pages for years. This has caused significant concern amongst sellers for the entire time. Now eBay is apparently telling sellers that paying for listings is not enough to get attention to their listings. Now in order to be visible eBay wants sellers to pay more money to attract more buyers. According to the announcement from Caroline Malifaud of eBay’s advertising team, these ads will be text type with a small logo and can only link to specific items or eBay Stores. Here is the link to the AdCommerce Info Page.
Why would eBay sell advertising to 3rd party companies linking to competing websites drawing buyers away from sellers listing and not allow sellers to create ad campaigns to their own websites? It would seem that eBay’s links policy is for everybody else but eBay itself.
OLA-Radio August 14, 2008
OLA-Radio August 14, 2008
This weeks program focuses on keywords for listings to ensure search engine optimization.
August 9th, 2008 ebay & Beyond: Basics To Business
This week we discuss the recent policy changes on eBay, the onlineauction.com upgrades and the debut of Amazon checkout.
In addition we discuss marketing strategies, computer safety, and blogging.
[podcast]http://www.ecommerce-marketing-radio-network.com/Podcasts/08-09-08.mp3[/podcast]
OLA-Radio Premiere Is A Great Success
The premiere of OLA-Radio was a great success judging by the response of listeners. The chat board was full of users, and a number of questions were presented to guest Chris Fain, CEO of Onlineauction.com.
As Onlineauction.com gears up after the major relaunch of the site with new features and improved usability, members are ramping up thier listings and promoting the site as the true online auction venue. Fain discussed the improvements to the site that have been made and what is planned for the future. Fain outlined plans for webinars and other educational events aimed at improving sell thru rates, as well as advertising concepts on google and other venues. Chris said he realizes that the site is not where it needs to be, but with the recent and planned improvements, the site would become the premiere online auction venue.
Members Leading the Way
Fain said that he and the executives of OLA are extemely proud of the huge support the members are showing to the site. He thanked all the members for their support and help in defining bugs in the new release. Our members have provided the input we needed to ensure the improvements we have made meet their needs Fain said.
Members have conducted several site promotion sales over the past few months, and continue to promote the site with advertising in various venues, blogs and other websites.
Future Programs
The OLA-Radio program will air every Thursday evening 9-10 PM ET on the internet from www,ola-radio.com as part of the eCommerce Marketing Radio Network. Future programs will feature staff members of OLA as well as internet marketing experts and of course users of the site. The program will focus on how to improve sales results, better listings and ways to market the site.
Hosts Dave White and Sparky will lead the discussions and feature special auctions and spotlight memebers.
What Listeners Said
Several members and listeners have already written blogs regarding the program. Scott Pooler, author of the Trading Assistant Journal blog gives his take on the program and gives his insight on the site. OLA member Grouchow posted his comments on his blog as did member Callmemomo.
Glitches
While the program was a great success, it was not without glitches. About 10 minutes into the broadcast a power surge (severe thunderstorms were in the area) knocked the program off the internet for about 5 minutes. Dave & Sparky were able to get the program back up and the program continued without further problems.
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