[meteorite-list] OT eBay (was AD Time to get back to work)

From: Mexicodoug <mexicodoug_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:06:54 -0400
Message-ID: <8CC0E8E5BFC2D64-236C-22E5A_at_webmail-m074.sysops.aol.com>

Hi Mike,

Oh, did I ? Like Walmart/Costco, ExxonMobil/Shell, General Motors/Ford,
General Electric/Philips, HP/Dell, Home Depot/Lowe's, Boeing/Airbus,
Motorola/Nokia don't have viable competitors, if they are not on the
rocks themselves?

Here is the Fortune 500 list:

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2008/full_list/

I just went through the Fortune 100 companies. Only #44 comes close to
having no significant competitor and a grip on its customer base that
looks, smells and tastes like a monopoly to all involved. It's
Microsoft, with 93% OS market share and 67% market share for web
browsers. It was fined a few billion dollars, you might recall. eBay
knows its days are limited in an efficient market, that is why their
future as PayPal is being shoved down ("leveraged") everyone's throat
and they are being anti-competitive with Google, etc. Then the only
other companies that fit the bill are regional utility companies -
heavily government regulated. EBay is just as much a utility as your
Internet and phone lines. Lucky for us they are greedy which is already
leading to losses in China, Japan, and even in the home market.

The Reserve Bank of Australia had it right:

"Clearly, the public benefits are exaggerated or illusory?and will be
outweighed by those anti-competitive effects as competition will be
restricted, innovation and development will be constrained, new entry
will be discouraged, and PayPal will=2
0be able to increase fees and
charges to eBay users. It is also ironic that a site that prides itself
on providing its users with the opportunity of shopping around for the
best deals and prices, wishes to mandate that its users must use eBay?s
own payment service and pay whatever fees and charges PayPal chooses to
levy,?

But then again, the Australians sold New Zealand on eBay ...

For eBay, only Taobao (Chinese), Amazon and Yahoo seem to have a
chance. Currently eBay is estimated to have 95% of the online auctions
market an the sellers are doing all the work. 'Nuff Said!

BTW 33% off listing fees until October 11 on eBay ... watch out for the
stampede :-) ... time to catch a falling star.com

Best wishes,
Doug




-----Original Message-----
From: Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike at gmail.com>
To: Mexicodoug <mexicodoug at aim.com>
Cc: nwa482 at comcast.net; meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Sent: Mon, Sep 28, 2009 11:25 am
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] OT eBay (was AD Time to get back to work)



Hi Doug, Jim and List,

"Now I won't get too started on why government should regulate eBay's
monopolistic and bloated fees just as they regulate pawn shops gouging
and credit interest rates for consumer protection - it makes sense
until eBay is forced to be broken up just like AT&T was: to everyone's
benefit, it is too much power in the hands of two few billionaires
suckling their c
ash cow on our backs for too long."

Wow, Doug just described 75% of corporate America and 95% of Fortune
500 companies. LOL

Best regards and clear skies,

MikeG


On 9/28/09, Mexicodoug <mexicodoug at aim.com> wrote:
> "Or...... they are just saving up money from cashing in all their
empty
> beer cans. Case in Point........ Sikhote-alin stamp Buy It Now for
$20-
> and I have 9 of the left. It has 3 watchers: BTW the auction has had
> only 25 hits since I loaded it !"
>
> Hi Jim
>
> You're right: that is a case-in-point. But if Jughaid is saving
> aluminum cans to cash in, he's likely to be a way more decisive buyer
> than what you've described - the can collectors get my respects for
> being hard working and thanks for cleaning up the environment.
>
> I would say with 99% certainty that these case-in-point "The Watchers"
> are your direct competitors on the stamps. I'd also say with 95%
> certainty that you already knew that ... and just posted to let them
> know they are ubiquitously annoying Taters. And with 75% certainty you
> could guess exactly who the young 'uns are !
>
> The Sikhote-Alin stamps you are selling are actually really cool and
> the brochure that comes with them adds a lot of value IMO. But while
> browsing some of your other auctions, I think the exquisitely
patterned
> Esquel slice among others is blinding us to the facts of life on eBay.
> So why even
 take the time to list minor items if other stuff you have
> is leagues above them - everyone has their needs and priorities ...
>
> Rant: eBay is a cruel mutation of a classified ad, where eBay Inc.
> learned to be unethical and call it an "auction" so they can fool
>
> people into taking a percent of the sale, rather than a simple
> insertion fee for screwing the seller (since when did newspapers worry
> about the final sale price - printing costs are the same).
>
> In fact eBay is not an auction in the sense of Blood's "English
> Auction" at all, since there are no auctioneers doing any work or
> having any responsibility to Sellers, especially busting their butt
> promoting the larger items to earn their fees; An auctioneer for the
> Seller is typically under a consignment relationship - contradicting
> eBay's case. For those complaining about Watchers being useless to
> Sellers, check your basic assumptions. Watching is a tool for BUYERS,
> not Sellers. It is not meant to be especially useful to Sellers.
>
> In a real auction, it may well be unethical to start the bidding and
> then pull the item. But in a classified ad, the Seller has no
> obligation to sell the item: no surprise - this is eBay, love it or
> leave it - the Seller actually has no obligation (bids or not: not
> something in anyone's interests to publicize) to sell and like the
> newspaper could care less what happens: eBay.
>
> So
actually the power of the Seller is the power to sell only when
> convenient, and the disadvantage of the Buyer is that eBay commits him
> to pay unless the Seller allows the contrary. If you look at eBay in
> these terms, the protections need to be structured around the buyer.
> Whatever your opinion,20it is wrong to confuse eBay with most common
> auctions just because they call them "auctions". During (live)
"English
> auctions", the auction most of us assume when hearing of "an auction",
> there is no "sniping", and other eBay self-crafted academic auction
> crap, the auctioneer simply starts do I hear.... do I hear.... do I
> hear.... once ... twice .... sold cycles until he is satisfied
everyone
> had plenty of time to bid and works for the benefit of the Seller.
>
> Now I won't get too started on why government should regulate eBay's
> monopolistic and bloated fees just as they regulate pawn shops gouging
> and credit interest rates for consumer protection - it makes sense
> until eBay is forced to be broken up just like AT&T was: to everyone's
> benefit, it is too much power in the hands of two few billionaires
> suckling their cash cow on our backs for too long. What we need is a
> Linux version of eBay linking many independent auction sites in a
> Bit-torrent fashion ... where independent escrow companies have equal
> access to process buyer commitments. That would introduce the
> competition where it is needed a
nd online selling fees will plummet in
> consumers favor and finish eBay as effectively as AOL died.
>
> http://joshreads.com/images/08/12/i081223bgss.jpg
> (meteorite impacts?)
>
> Best wishes,
> Doug
>
> PS - Everyone could humor Jim by watching this auction
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200387668267 !
>
> PPS - Mike Miller'
> s point about "spousal" consent was hilariously true
> ... (Loweezy could spend hours gossiping with Elviney: Has any woman
on
> the list -or in the known universe- ever had her husband deny
> permission when she wanted to buy herself a meteorite?)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jim Strope <nwa482 at comcast.net>
> To: Mexicodoug <mexicodoug at aim.com>
> Cc: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Sent: Sun, Sep 27, 2009 7:47 pm
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] AD... Time to get back to work
>
> Or...... they are just saving up money from cashing in all their empty
> beer cans.
>
> Case in Point........ Sikhote-alin stamp Buy It Now for $20- and I
> have 9 of the left. It has 3 watchers: BTW the auction has had only
> 25 hits since I loaded it !
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200387668267
>
> Jim Strope
> http://www.catchafallingstar.com/
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mexicodoug" <mexicodoug at aim.com>
> To: nwa482 at comcast.net, meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2009 11:12:49 AM GMT -08:00 US/C
anada
> Pacific
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] AD... Time to get back to work
>
> "I have a question that has puzzled me for some time....... On a cheap
> item, $20- buy it now, why would anyone bother to watch it? "
>
> Hello Jim !
>
> Maybe the IRS.
>
> $20 is more money than 2/3 's of the current eBay prices in the
> collectibles category.
>
> Maybe they debate between (grocery=2
> 0shopping and cooking a romantic home
> cooked steak dinner for two), or (some old rock or 40-kopeck (USD
> $0.01) postage stamp).... so they put it on a watch list so it doesn't
> get lost.
>
> Or maybe long on bids and with a fixed perk budget. Losing other
> auctions, he would pounce on the $20 thingy.
>
> Maybe she is 11 years old and $20 is her week's allowance and she is
> waiting for her "paycheck". Or ditto, retired, fixed income,
unemployed.
>
> Do you happen to have several of the same items for $20? Maybe one of
> your competitors thinks $10 has been the standard for whatever the
item
> is, and he may be thinking, let's see how quickly Jim sells these at
> $20 !
>
> My money is on the latter,
>
> Kindest wishes,
> Doug
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jim Strope <nwa482 at comcast.net>
> To: Meteorite Central <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Sun, Sep 27, 2009 11:51 am
> Subject: [meteorite-list] AD... Time to get back to w
ork
>
>
>
> After playing all summer, I find that I must get back to work. So I
> have
> started listing on ebay again. All items so far are buy it now
listings
> with
> some of them accepting reasonable offers. Noteable items are a
complete
> Portales Valley Stone, nice Esquel slices, complete Millbillillie,
> Gibeon,
> Planetaries etc, Link is below:
>
>
http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=catchafallingstar.com
>
> I have a question that has puzzled me for some time....... On a cheap
> it
> em,
> $20- buy it now, why would anyone bother to watch it? It is only $20-
> and not
> an auction where you would want to know where it ended or wanted to
bid
> at the
> last minuite? What is the logic behind cluttering your watched item
> list with
> this kind of cheap item?
>
> Good luck to all as I have some exceptional items offered and plan on
> adding
> more in the next few days.
>
> Jim Strope
>
> http://www.catchafallingstar.com/
> ______________________________________________
> http://www.meteoritecentral.com
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________
> http://www.meteoritecentral.com
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>

--
.........................................
................
Michael Gilmer (Florida, USA)
Member of the Meteoritical Society.
Website - http://www.galactic-stone.com
FaceBook - http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/fine_meteorites_4_sale
Twitter - Twitter - http://twitter.com/GalacticStone
eBay - http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/maypickle
..........................................................

Received on Mon 28 Sep 2009 04:06:54 PM PDT