Creative Compulsion

Over the last 6 months, eBay has made some major changes, with more changes expected in the coming months. How has this affected me? Honestly, not a whole lot. I still hear the occasional rumblings of a boycott and sometimes read forum posts about how evil eBay is. Maybe I just got lucky, or maybe I just don’t subscribe to any particular conspiracy theory or Chicken Little mentality.

Am I crazy about some of the changes? No. But here’s what I’ve done in response.

Fees
Back in February, eBay made several changes to it’s pricing structure. Essentially, front end fees went down and back end fees went up. I like to call it Amazonification. This was actually a good thing for me, particularly with respect to the free gallery change. I used gallery on everything prior to the changes, so my fees actually decreased monthly.

Rumor has it more fee changes are on the horizon. Insertion fees are expected to be decreased even more as a way to promote fixed price listings. This would also work well for me. I sell only FP and Store Inventory.

Feedback
Now this is the one that irritated me. As of May 19th, sellers were no longer able to leave anything but positive feedback for buyers. Honestly, I agree with the majority here, this was an ill-thought out policy change and creates just as many problems as it purports to fix.

Luckily, I haven’t had any negative or neutral feedback given to me since the change. What I have noticed, however, is a steady increase in the number of UPIs and in requests to return items. Seems eBay buyers suddenly believe that a purchase is actually a “try it before you buy it” trial.

Granted, this change could merely be a coincidence, but I don’t think so. It seems to me that buyers realize there’s nothing I can do if they don’t read my return policy and follow it. Mind you, I’ve always offered a VERY liberal policy - 30 days, Money Back Guarantee - no restocking fee.

I’ve accepted returns for any reason and, up until now, very few buyers have taken advantage of it. The only requirement I have is that the items be returned in like new condition with all original packaging. Pretty simple, eh?

Suddenly, I’m receiving returns for the dumbest of reasons (ie. I purchased a remote trainer and thought it was an electric fence… huh??). A couple of weeks ago, a customer insisted a bark collar I sold him was defective. He wanted to exchange for a new one. OK, send it on back.

What I received back was a muddy, chewed up mess that obviously was used and guess what? It worked perfectly. He flat out told me that if I didn’t exchange it, I could expect negative feedback. Is this the type of buyer eBay is hoping to attract?

In light of this, I’ve made several changes to my return policy. First of all, you open it and use it - it’s yours. If it’s defective? Guess what, there’s a warranty - use it. If you return it to me and your dog used it for a chew toy? You can pay to have it sent back to you, otherwise consider it a donation to my local animal rescue shelter.

I hate to be that way, I really do. I want my customers to be happy and go to great lengths to make sure they are thrilled with their purchase. After all, word of mouth is the best advertising. But, by the same token, I’m not Wal-Mart. I don’t do millions in business per day, and therefore I can’t bend over for people that can’t read or are just plain idjits.

Choice Listings
OK, this one I like. There are no longer restrictions on placing choices in your listing. Say I had a collar in 3 different sizes. I used to have to create three separate listings. No more. I can now list all three sizes, a definite savings in fees. The only trick with this is inventory management, but since I sell all repeatables, I don’t see this as becoming a major issue.

Links Policy
Yeah, this one is a blow. I’ve always included informational links in my listings. They led to more detailed product information on my website. Nothing for sale on the pages, but most buyers could easily browse the site and buy directly if they chose. No more links like that.

I also display Authorized Retailer logos for my products. They link to a statement I’m required to have by the manufacturers. I’ve been told that these will no longer be allowed. This is really stupid, IMHO.

First of all, I’m required by contract to provide this information. Second, isn’t instilling buyer confidence what eBay is aiming for? These logos assure my customers that they are purchasing from an authorized dealer which means their warranty is 100% valid. I really hope eBay revisits this decision.

Finally, a redo of my ME page is going to have to happen. I currently have a link to my website. Not pushy, just says “Visit us on the web”. That’s gotta go now, too. This isn’t a huge deal for me, as my logs show little traffic generated from that link, but all the same, I’m not thrilled. This is MY business and if eBay can post off-site links right on their search pages, I should be able to direct MY customers to MY off-site business.

While I’m not thrilled with all the changes, all in all, it hasn’t affected me too much and the initial shock of some of the change has worn off. I know that many sellers have been affected much more by all of this, and I truly feel for them.

As always, it’s a matter of adapting. If you’re able to adapt your business to remain profitable on eBay, then by all means, do so. I’ll be the first to say, when eBay is no longer profitable for me, I’ll be gone.

Good luck to all!

I admit it, I’ve been pretty lazy on the blog front lately. As expected (or at least I was hoping!), the kids going back to school and upcoming holidays have steadily pumped up sales on eBay and my sites - I’ve been hopping lately! Here in New York we’ve gone from record 80+ October temps to 46 degree blahs. Oh well, I suppose the cooler weather means more online shopping!

On the personal front, I’ve taken on (yet another) new hobby. Umm, did I mention I think I’m ADHD?? A few months ago, I tried using and then started making handmade soap. I did so strictly for personal use - I have super, super sensitive skin and almost every soap/detergent out there gives me red, itchy skin and sometimes hives. Yuck! So… I’ve been using handmade soap exclusively for about 6 months now. I’m telling ya, I swear by it! Not only has my skin been free of itchy flareups, it’s never been softer. I really don’t even need to use lotion anymore. Very, very cool! If you’re looking to try handmade soap, please visit my “net pal” Patty of PixieSoap.com. She has WONDERFULLY scented soaps that just feel good. She’s very reasonably priced and I promise, once you try handmade soap, you won’t go back to any other!

On the business front: WHEN is eBay going to learn that the holiday selling season is not the time to introduce new “glitchancements”? First of all, have you noticed the SYI form has changed? Yup, along with brand spanking new glitches! When trying to list new items yesterday with a custom weight, I received a message that my item weighed more than 150 lbs and I had to list shipping as Freight. HUH? The max weight I tried to list was 25 lbs. After emailing support, I was informed that this is a known issue, but there is a “workaround”. Gee… thanks. Here’s a thought - DON’T fix things that ain’t broke!

Next, we’ve been informed of a new multi-seller checkout system that eBay plans to introduce “by the end of this year”. Now, the checkout system does sound great - a bit more streamlined (read: easier for customers) while allowing payment to multiple sellers. But holy schmoly… why oh why would you attempt to introduce a major feature like this during, what is for many, the busiest shopping season of the year?

UGH… enough rant. I have to admit, while I wouldn’t consider myself an eBay cheerleader, overall I’ve been really happy with having a large portion of my business there. You would just think that a little more common sense (and perhaps a bit more bug-testing before roll outs) would prevail in a company the scale and size of eBay.

That’s all for today! Happy Fall and Happy eBaying!

I haven’t paid too much attention to the comment spam that my blog gets mainly due to the awesome plugin for Wordpress, Spam Karma 2. For whatever reason, I decided to go through the log today to see what spam has been left recently (actually, the reason is probably because the Wagglepopper’s have launched their latest spam campaign and got me thinking about it).

I noticed that the majority of the comments are referring to pharmaceuticals. Interesting. Well, sorry bot-boys, I don’t really have much use for Cialis. Tramadol sounds interesting, but my allergy to codeine is probably going to keep me from trying it any time soon. Viagara, well, same as Cialis - but I promise to visit your site if I change my mind. Ambien - got that already, but I will be visiting you soon to see if you can beat my pharmacy’s rates. Damn insurance company has issues with Ambien all of the sudden. All in all, I truly appreciate the time you took to initiate these bots to offer me several drugs that I can obtain on the DL. Your marketing strategy clearly works and I have actually decided to follow in your footsteps and try a little spamming of my own:

Buy from Creative Compulsion on Etsy. Now. Cheap. Low shipping. Discreet. Buy from Creative Compulsion on Etsy. Now. Cheap. Low shipping. Discreet. Buy from Creative Compulsion on Etsy. Now. Cheap. Low shipping. Discreet. Buy from Creative Compulsion on Etsy. Now. Cheap. Low shipping. Discreet.

Wow… somehow that was bizarrely therapeutic

So, I haven’t posted in a few days. I wasn’t being lazy… honest! It just seemed as though every time I tried to post last week, something else would come along that better deserved my attention. I did manage to post a few new things to my Etsy shop. I got a large package of Alexandrite Czech crystals and set out to make a few pretties…

Alexandrite, Tanzanite & Sterling Bracelet on Etsy

Alexandrite & Clear AB Earrings on Etsy

And this last one is a rosary bracelet I created for my mom:

See? I really was busy, lol.

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I’ve been taking pictures and getting a few items listed every day over on Etsy. Today I got two more items up - both pink - ugh, I’m turning into such a girl. Here they are (click the picture to see the listing!)

Swarovski Rose & Opal Crystal Bracelet

Pink Lemonade Swarovski & Seed Bead Anklet

Click here to visit my Etsy Shop!

Haha… seriously. I was messing around with my camera tonight. Since I opened my new Etsy shop, I’m forced to take pics again. I am SO bad with the lighting. I need a basic photography course or something. Anyhoo, I actually snapped one of myself that I found sharable. This is huge because I am just not photogenic, lol. Since my mom is bound and determined to “hook me up” (she is now sending me links to dating sites), I guess I needed a current pic anyway. Haha…

I’m wondering if tonight may mark the beginning of the end for Wagglepop (or WP2 as it’s been coined by some). I commented several months ago about my feelings regarding the site and things have only gotten worse since then. To recap some of the things that have happened (or not happened) up to this point:

1. InventoryDirect: What a flippin joke! Touted as a “powerful” tool by Karen of Wagglepop’s Customer Service, this great invention was nothing more than an Excel Spreadsheet. An unusable spreadsheet for most that have attempted to use it.
2. The Wagglepop Grand Opening Debacle: Again, whaaaat??? Karen said that staff estimated that traffic would triple. Sellers and buyers would be pouring in. She said “Fasten your seatbelts”. The only reason the poor sellers there needed a seatbelt was to prevent them from hitting the windshield when the Wagglepop Traffic Train came to a deadstop almost overnight. Rather than tripling, or even doubling, traffic, WP has been almost non-existent per the Alexa charts. Way to go, Karen and Ray!
3. Downtime: Recently, some significant downtime has been noted. People attempting to access the site were greeted with database errors. Karen suggested that it was Hop Interference. She even deleted a post that mentioned the database errors. Why? The SQL database crashed and there is NO engineering team on call to fix it. We wouldn’t want the Poppers to find out that WP “staff” consists of only one person now would we? At no time does Wagglepop ever take responsibility for problems. It’s always the user’s fault, their ISP’s fault, the user’s router’s fault. Never WP - ummm, yeah right.
4. Board Censorship: This has always been an issue but in recent weeks has become ridiculous. Honest questions and constructive criticism are obviously not allowed at WP. Cross that line and risk your account being suspended. Oh, and if they don’t like you, here is the kind of email you can expect to receive from WP staff:
   

   XXXXX,

   It’s not your specific post we find rude, it’s you.

   You’ll find I am quite a bit less tolerant than Karen as we move forward and
   any further emails on this issue will mark the start of a complete account
   review.

   Andrew P.
   WP Customer Care

   Great way to treat YOUR paying customers!

Tonight has been interesting over in Poopland as many of us (infiltrating, naysaying, morally bankrupt) miscreants have termed it.

Long standing members that at one time were huge WP cheerleaders are being terminated and banned for speaking out against the almighty Ray. Posts have been deleted right and left. Whole boards on the forums are being deleted. As BBH at Tulip Tools pointed out on the WP thread, this looks very similar to the beginning of the end of WP1.

So, grab some popcorn and a cold beverage. The next couple of days could prove to be very interesting over at Waggleflop.

During the summer, the Today Show hosts a “Summer Concert Series”. Today’s performance was by Blondie.

Now, I like Blondie, really I do. But the Blondie I remember when I was growing up in the 80s is not the same group in 2007. Specifically, Debbie Harry really needs to realize that a 62 year old prancing around on stage is just, well, not all that attractive. Don’t get me wrong - she really looks great for her age. The problem is, regardless of how fit she is, she is STILL almost 62 years old and it really shows. I was looking forward to hearing a couple of my favorites like “Call Me” and “One Way or Another”. Instead, I actually found myself repulsed by the performance. Not only were the vocals terrible, seeing a woman the same age as my mom trying to act like some kind of sex goddess….ewwwww!

I’m sorry, but when you hit a certain age, it’s time to stop trying to relive the glory days. Enjoy being a grandma or whatever it is that people enjoy doing in retirement but please stay off the stage!

I really don’t know. Love this song though. For you, hot.

How to save a life - The Fray

Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it’s just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you begin to wonder why you came

Read the rest of this entry »

This blog started years ago as my personal digital diary. Wasn’t always pretty, sometimes was entertaining but was always MY place to say what I thought, when and how I wanted. I got away from that for a time. I really got irritated one day to find my blog listed among many others on a site. The site was a ’study’ of sorts and inferred that personal blogs were arrogant because who really cared but the writer? I never thought of it as arrogant, but it stopped me from writing for a long time. Recently, I’ve asked myself why I write. Even though my day to day life involves auctions, my websites and online businesses, I am still ME. I’m not just an eBay ID or a domain name.

The domain itself, creativecompulsion.com, is highly personal. To those who experience it, no explanation is needed. Do a search on Google for the term and you’ll find it referenced over and over again. For those not blessed (or cursed) with it, it’s exactly as the name implies. An inner drive to create. It could be anything: drawings, jewelry, poetry, photographs, bouquets. Anything, everything - the inner compulsiveness doesn’t release you until you create. For me, its many of those things. I create jewelry and website templates. I love to draw and paint. Mainly, I write.

Why a blog? That part was simple to answer after I gave it some thought. The human connection. The blog makes my journal no less valuable, but adds an element that my private writing will never have: the ability to connect with others. As humans, we are naturally relational creatures. We won’t admit it but we stare at the train wrecks, we quietly cheer on the underdog, we love to tell secrets and gossip? We thrive on it. A personal blog provides that in a private, yet very public, way. I can’t begin to express the encouragement, friendship, and sense of kinship I’ve felt through the emails and comments my readers have sent as this piece of ‘net real estate has evolved over the years.

So is that arrogant? I think not. And personally speaking, I think I’ll be a bit more personal from now on.