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The Great Escape Online Ticket Rip-off!

The Great Escape Online Ticket Rip-off!

Just went to bag my ticket online for the Great Escape festival in Brighton in May. It was great fun last year and the 2009 line-up is shaping up nicely. But I was astonished by the additional charges being applied to fans buying tickets online. £9.95 in postage and processing fees. It's ... Read more »
If Meg Whitman runs California like eBay...

If Meg Whitman runs California like eBay…

Meg Whitman announced today that she's seeking the Republican nomination in the 2010 California Gubernatorial election. A political ingénue, it's the first time she has sought public office but she has a distinguished business career behind her. Most notably as eBay CEO for the decade that saw it ... Read more »
British Retail Consortium doesn't like good news

British Retail Consortium doesn’t like good news

Stephen Robertson Director-General of the British Retail Consortium was the Eeyore of business yesterday as he spread doom and gloom across the media. Offered a chance by interviewers to say something positive, Robertson would effortlessly bridge and make a point even more dire than the one before. ... Read more »
eBay in 2009: Boom or Bust?

eBay in 2009: Boom or Bust?

Shouldn't eBay be recession-proof? eBay in Germany has been a phenomenal success over the past decade and for much of that time DE was in actual recession or not enjoying growth like the US and UK. (It's a shame the team that made that happen have been let go because I'm sure there were lessons to ... Read more »
eBay and the Recession Q&A

eBay and the Recession Q&A

Sometimes I get contacted by a journalist looking for a view or quote. Here's a Q&A I did earlier today. Do you agree? How do you think the recession will affect eBay businesses? eBay sellers are retailers and, as we've seen in the headlines, retail is one sector that is being affected by the ... Read more »
Some eBay Links... Christmas 2008, 2009 Predictions

Some eBay Links… Christmas 2008, 2009 Predictions

Here's some stuff I've been reading: The fourth quarter is critical for eBay. Rather like Woolworths that apparently used to make 90% of it's profits in December, 'the holiday season' is vital. It looks like eBay hasn't had the Q4 it must have hoped for. But we shan't know for sure until the ... Read more »
What has eBay UK ever done for us?

What has eBay UK ever done for us?

When Tamebay broke the story with details of eBay European streamlining and, specifically, the abolition of a UK-based team in the UK solely focussing on eBay.co.uk, I certainly didn't expect weeping and mourning. Customers shouldn't really, quite rightly, care about the staff of a ... Read more »
EmPwrOnline Links Page

EmPwrOnline Links Page

Eyes down. Look in. I've published page about EmPwrOnline where I've gathered together a slection of links regarding this company as per my previous post. I'm concerned that people are being mislead, attending these seminars and getting sucked in by the plausible (but incoorect) story they tell. ... Read more »
eBay Europe vs eBay.co.uk

eBay Europe vs eBay.co.uk

TameBay have confirmed what's been rumoured for some time: eBay offices across Europe will close, teams are merging, jobs will be lost and operations are being streamlined and centralised in London and Switzerland. eBay Inc. announced in October that circa 10% of jobs would be cut from a ... Read more »
Royal Mail Christmas Arrangements

Royal Mail Christmas Arrangements

Last December, according to the IMRG, 24 million parcels were not delivered first time round. For online buyers, especially those like me who have tiny, tiny letterboxes, this represents a major annoyance and a schlep down to the sorting office. That's why the Royal Mail is to be commended ... Read more »
eBay: Can 'diamonds' be forever?

eBay: Can ‘diamonds’ be forever?

eBay's level-playing field was one of the features that marked it aside from the competition and set it on course for phenomenal success. The level-playing field promised equality of opportunity rather than equality of outcome and the same fees and rules for all. If there were benefits or ... Read more »
Some eBay Links

Some eBay Links

Three articles in the Guardian are worth reading. Not least Tanya Cordrey's brief analysis of eBay's problems and her suggestion that eBay might ditch PayPal. Tanya is a former boss of mine from eBay and someone whose judgment I trust. Now she's at the Guardian, I hope she'll be writing more. At ... Read more »
Check out Picclick.com

Check out Picclick.com

I've been enjoying picclick.com. It's a shame they don't have a UK site (but they're working on it) and I'd hardly call it perfect (some of the image quality is shabby) but it's a fun way of dicing/slicing/enhancing the eBay search experience. Here's a search I did for Dr Who items that kept me ... Read more »
Not eBay's VAT Announcement

Not eBay’s VAT Announcement

Like many people (see TameBay), I'm staggered by eBay's breathtakingly arrogant post regarding VAT. You'll recall that the government announced Monday last that VAT would be reduced from 17.5% to 15% for 13 months starting Monday next. With customers firmly in mind, late Wednesday eBay made an ... Read more »