improvstone wrote:

I have to disagree.  Paypal seem to have still got their way (for the moment).  Every Aussie auction now has to have Paypal as an option and as a seller you are not allowed to even suggest you prefer another option.

Now the use of paypal is at the discretion of the buyer and not the seller.

This issue still hasn't played itself out ....

Good point. Are there any serious alternatives to Ebay yet that have an international network?

Items with high shipping costs may be less likely to sell and may get less visibility in search results.

Mark that bold part if you're a seller - they are cutting you out of the equation. They said they want free shipping -- they meant it.

Hey Mike - You've been told! Don't do it again! In fact, I'd like to make a helpful suggestion to make your life easier - how about free shipping? Oh go on! Volunteer, that way it won't have to be made compulsory further down the line.

Badmike wrote:
Well Europe yes, but France in particular.  They have limits on how many foreign items are allowed to be sold, as well as lists on foreign movies, music, books, etc that area allowed in (there is a quota system in place).  Interestingly, they put NO limit on tourists to their country because of course we spend our filthy american money when we get there for overpriced crap at sidewalk cafes served with glacial slowness....

Mike B.

Do we have any French Acaeum members?

red_bus wrote:
Do we have any French Acaeum members?

 

At least two I believe that post regularly....

I still don't see why cultural quotas  like these have to be inforced. I know I'm spoiled by living in America, where we not only welcome every culture on earth but steal their language, food, architecture, customs and basketball players...but is French culture really on that fragile a footing that it has to have government watchdogs make sure too many Bon Jovi CDs don't get sold?

Mike B.

Bon Jovi CD's shouldn't be allowed in ANY country. They fall under the guidelines for Infectious Diseases; too much chance of them spreading to the general populace.

jasonw1239 wrote:Mike,
It is not just France. Canada has laws to protect "Canadian Culture".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_content

That link is mainly for music, movies and television.

We also have laws for the import of magazines. American publishers have circumvented that by printing a Canadian edition of each of their issues.

So the Time magazine that lands on your newsstands is completely different from the Canadian version.

We keep seeing endless reruns of shows like Stargate because it was filmed in Canada. Back in the 1990's for awhile, on our local channels I think X-files was on every night of the week because it also filmed in Canada.

'

This part cracked me up....

Some musicians and critics charge that radio stations tend to fulfil their Canadian content quotas by playing "safe" choices, i.e. well-established artists such as Shania Twain, The Tragically Hip or Bryan Adams, to the exclusion of emerging artists. In fact, artists who are not established are sometimes forced to build an audience outside Canada before Canadian radio will play them, the very thing the Canadian content rules were designed to remedy.

I always wondered why The Tragically Hip sold so many millions of records, because they blow harder than a monsoon.  It all makes sense now.....!

Canada needs to toss out this protectionism, they don't need it, and frankly showing shows like "X-Files" and "Stargate" don't improve or help Canadian culture one bit. I'm amazed in this world where the internet is ubiquitous anyone even thinks this will work anymore...

I was amused by the references to a horrific sitcom called "The Trouble with Tracy" made to fill Canadian content guidelines.....any of you north of the border seen an episode? Was it really the worst sitcom of all time?  

Mike B.

Mercenary_Roadie wrote:Has everybody else noticed that eBay is backtracking on many of their policy changes.

The latest is the links policy. The have scrapped the new policy and reinstated the old one.

I wish they'd scrap this feedback policy. What is the purpose of leaving buyers feedback? It can only be positive.

What I'd want to see is a list of how many times a buyer didn't pay or payed late or what kind of feedback they leave.

Mercenary_Roadie wrote:Has everybody else noticed that eBay is backtracking on many of their policy changes.

The latest is the links policy. The have scrapped the new policy and reinstated the old one.

I think I noted this elsewhere, but Ebay's stock is in the toilet right now.  It's dropped $20 a share from their high of last year, and has dropped $10 in the last month.    They have had a low recently and flirted with their all time low on Friday before it rallied.  I think upper management has concluded that with the shape of the economy now is not the time for wholesale changes.  On top of that Ebay live was held recently and I suspect Ebay bigwigs took an earful from pissed off sellers who attended the conference.

Even more interesting, Ebay cancelled their annual Ebay Live in 2009 after the 2008 conference....either costs are getting them down, or they suspected even more vocal and disgruntled sellers next year.By all the accounts I've read, this year's Ebay live was a bonafide disaster, with tons of empty seats, unfilled seminars, and cavernous exhibit halls with only glum vendors walking around with no one to talk to.  If you want a giggle, go to You Tube and put in Ebay Live 2008 to see some of the most unintentionally funny sights ever.......

I think it was Xax who said it.....the 2008 decisions from ebay will go down in history and be taught in future business economics and development courses as a blueprint for how to destroy a thriving business. They have come as close to killing the goose that laid the golden egg as anyone since New Coke.

EDIT:  I just watched a few more....wow. The Ebay reps get hammered by pissed off sellers....I actually started to feel sorry for the unfortunate reps that got sent out into the lions den to get chewed up and spit out.  Sad

Mike B.