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View Full Version : Ebay Slapped me around a little



Michael Morgan
08-02-2007, 4:04 PM
I listed 600 Board Feet of all clear basswood on ebay last night. Since not to many people search for basswood I did the old (600b.f. of 4/4 basswood lumber not cherry or walnut) I was unaware that is spamming. I had several bids in the first few hours then woke up this morning to find a e-mail from e-bay saying they removed my listing and thats a big no no.:eek:

glenn bradley
08-02-2007, 4:15 PM
I wasn't aware there were groups lobbying for cherry and walnut lumber's equal rights. I don't get the infraction(?).

Michael Morgan
08-02-2007, 4:33 PM
Tonight I am going to relist it as "602 B.F. 4/4 Basswood,Walnut, and Cherry". Then in the description I will clearly state that the auction is for 600 feet of basswood, 1 b.f. of cherry and 1 b.f. of walnut. My little way of sticking it to da man;)

Justin McCurdy
08-02-2007, 4:33 PM
They have a problem with saying not _____ . They only want you to list what your problem is, not what it is not. I didn't know that there was a problem with this either until a couple of years ago when I did something similar. I had to change the name on the auction.

Joe Pelonio
08-02-2007, 4:40 PM
That policy was a reaction to complaints, a lot of people were doin that and it confused people:rolleyes:

Here's the policy:

"Keyword spamming occurs when members place brand names or other inappropriate keywords in a title or description for the purpose of gaining attention or diverting members to a listing. Keyword spamming in listings is not permitted on eBay. The searchable text sellers place in listings must be directly relevant to the item being sold.
Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:

Listing cancellation
Limits on account privileges
Account suspension
Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
Loss of PowerSeller status"

Ted Miller
08-02-2007, 4:46 PM
Mike, Ebay could care less, I bet some fool who thinks he is a "wood guru" turned in the post so ebay then deleted it.

Just repost it as "600 bf Bass wood lumber" that way when someone types in lumber, wood or bf, they will get the listing...

Michael Morgan
08-02-2007, 4:49 PM
Joe I actually understand them having a problem using "Brand Names" for something that is not. But lumber???? I will see if my "stickin it to da man solution" will fly.:)

Joe Pelonio
08-02-2007, 5:04 PM
What they are objecting to is "not ...."

I ran into that a lot when looking for classic car parts. People would put something like 1968 Pontiac Tempest Dash not camaro or mustang" and people with a camaro or mustang would write to e-bay because it gives them all the extra listings that have nothing to do with what they put into the search.

John Shuk
08-02-2007, 9:40 PM
Joe I actually understand them having a problem using "Brand Names" for something that is not. But lumber???? I will see if my "stickin it to da man solution" will fly.:)

I can see the problem with it. As a consumer I don't want to have to wade through listings like yours if I'm looking for Cherry lumber. It gets kind of old and I tend to give up if there are too many listings to go through trying to find what I am looking for.

Michael Morgan
08-02-2007, 9:57 PM
I knew it was you John! You know the one that reported my listing to ebay:D Just so you know if you search for cherry on ebay tonight you will find a listing with 600B.F. of basswood, 1 board foot of cherry, and 1 Board foot of walnut. You will be shocked at the beauty of the basswood and the many use you have for it. You will buy it and thank me for my creative marketing tactic that provided you with a product that you didn't think you needed.;)

You know I'm joking, Right?

mark page
08-02-2007, 10:05 PM
Michael,

The listing for 602 bf will be ok and fly in ebay's eyes. No problems with them listing it that way. Just have to sell it all as the listed package though, as there is no way to separate them in one auction.

Roger Bell
08-02-2007, 10:06 PM
I agree with Mr Shuk. As a buyer, I want to know what the seller has for sale with no silly, cute, facile gimmicks and, to be blunt...no BS. I do not want to know what the seller does NOT have for sale, nor am I amused by such gimmicks designed simply to gain my attention and then, once having it, to waste my time. When I search for cherry, I want valid, good faith offerings for cherry.........not basswood, not cottonwood, not deadwood, not Hollywood, not parts for a 1968 Mustang. Anything less IS tantamount to spamming and should be treated as such.

Kudos to ebay for establishing some reasonable marketplace guidelines and in at least making the appearance of enforcing them. High time. It has been a long standing problem, among a multitude of others.

One could always relist, but again, by offering 1 bf of cherry etc. is not "sticking it to the Man" but is instead, once again, deploying a gimmick to gain my attention and then, once having it, to waste my time by spamming me with nonsense.

"The Man" is not affected by this, but the potential buyers of (in this case) cherry are. And enough of them have stepped forward and have demanded, from ebay, some rules to insure minimal integrity in listing.

I appreciate good faith and integrity. Nothing more. But nothing less.

Michael Morgan
08-02-2007, 10:44 PM
Mr. Bell,
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. One of my biggest faults is thinking that the majority of people are like me (Kinda laid back) You have made me realize that not all people are like that. I honestly had no idea that a woodworker looking for cherry on ebay could possibly become upset with a listing such as mine. I am not being sarcastic in anyway when I say I apologize to all serious people. You sir, Have a great evening.

Steven Triggs
08-02-2007, 11:02 PM
I am not being sarcastic in anyway when I say I apologize to all serious people. You sir, Have a great evening.

It is impossible to interpret someone's tone in a forum, but it certainly seems like you are being sarcastic, and mocking him.

I'm pretty laid back, and rarely very "serious", but I have to agree that "not xyz" listings are very annoying. It is very frustrating when you are searching for something and you have to wade through 10 irrelevant listings for every 1 relevant listing because of titles that are written this way.

Brent Dowell
08-03-2007, 12:48 AM
As a shot at bringing us all together, computer search engines are just not that laid back (or smart).

As a fairly laid back dude, If I was looking for basswood (wow, 600bf!) I'm hoping that entering basswood into the search would find me that awesome bundle of fine carving wood.

If I was looking for Cherry, and happened to see this pop up, I'd be a little frustrated, because, heck, I'm looking to build a nice looking cherry bookcase, not to make 600,000 finely carved fishing lures..... :D

I wouldn't take it so hard, it's just Ebay trying to make things better for everyone.

Don't even ask me about searching for parts for my 1946 chevy fleetmaster. With the way folks pad the descriptions, it's a nightmare to figure out if it's worth paying the sniper to win the auction for me :eek:

Steve Clardy
08-03-2007, 11:00 AM
I agree with Mr Shuk. As a buyer, I want to know what the seller has for sale with no silly, cute, facile gimmicks and, to be blunt...no BS. I do not want to know what the seller does NOT have for sale, nor am I amused by such gimmicks designed simply to gain my attention and then, once having it, to waste my time. When I search for cherry, I want valid, good faith offerings for cherry.........not basswood, not cottonwood, not deadwood, not Hollywood, not parts for a 1968 Mustang. Anything less IS tantamount to spamming and should be treated as such.

Kudos to ebay for establishing some reasonable marketplace guidelines and in at least making the appearance of enforcing them. High time. It has been a long standing problem, among a multitude of others.

One could always relist, but again, by offering 1 bf of cherry etc. is not "sticking it to the Man" but is instead, once again, deploying a gimmick to gain my attention and then, once having it, to waste my time by spamming me with nonsense.

"The Man" is not affected by this, but the potential buyers of (in this case) cherry are. And enough of them have stepped forward and have demanded, from ebay, some rules to insure minimal integrity in listing.

I appreciate good faith and integrity. Nothing more. But nothing less.

Here here. Well said.;)

I don't usually get upset, but it sure is irritating when I do a search for Porter Cable, and half of the listings are China made drills and Dewalt stuff.

John Shuk
08-03-2007, 3:05 PM
I knew it was you John! You know the one that reported my listing to ebay:D Just so you know if you search for cherry on ebay tonight you will find a listing with 600B.F. of basswood, 1 board foot of cherry, and 1 Board foot of walnut. You will be shocked at the beauty of the basswood and the many use you have for it. You will buy it and thank me for my creative marketing tactic that provided you with a product that you didn't think you needed.;)

You know I'm joking, Right?

Mike,
Of course I know you're joking. I definately didn't want to come off as attacking you cause I'm not.
The problem on EBAY is not when one or two people use a tactic to get a little more traffic. It is the stampede that follows using the same head fake that gums up the works.
I remember watching a documentary on EBAY and the founder created it as an attempt to make an "Efficient Marketplace". To be true to that goal there is probably a bunch of rule making they need to do there.

Brian Elfert
08-04-2007, 6:47 PM
I get sick of all the people who do the not thing on Ebay. If I am looking for a part for my MCI bus a part from a Prevost will NOT work!

Is someone looking for a particular species of wood likely to buy another?

Jason Roehl
08-04-2007, 7:18 PM
Now some of you are assuming that nobody "window shops" on the internet. I believe that is what Mr. Morgan is trying to accomplish--give people the opportunity to window shop. Let's say I am about to build a cherry hope chest or something and I run across some beautiful basswood because his "stick it to da man" listing came up. Maybe if I had the disposable income for that basswood, I would, spur of the moment, decide to build something out of that as well and bid on the auction. It does happen....

I applaud your creativity in getting around "da man", Mike.