My Feedback to eBay

Last month, my eBay account was, for lack of a better word, messed up. I was looking for an explanation of some overcharges ($15,) which didn't get paid, so eBay suspended my account. Fine, I thought, my expenses selling on eBay make it the most expensive way to sell Online. Learning that others were also experiencing eBay billing glitches made me feel a little better about the situation.

Then I noticed that, while eBay is diplomatic in discussing the meaning of the designation "no longer a registered user" when talking about what to do if you see that in your feedback list, its tone is vaguely sinister when mentioned in the context of a seller ID. No matter how great a person's feedback, when branded unregistered, customers are left to wonder exactly which of eBay's community protection policies were violated by the nefarious seller who is "no longer a registered user."

So, I decided to just pay the extra money for the three months of Seller's Assistant whatever. I'm not pleased about it, but maybe with the new selling tools eBay is introducing I'll try selling again on eBay. In the meantime, you can find Lobe Wonders here and our store items hosted on ePier by visiting www.tvjewelryoutlet.com or www.webwanderings.com.

Even though I paid by PayPal, and my account shows paid in full, eBay's site notes that it may take up to five days to apply my payment. Hopefully the e-mail I sent will reach a live person who might just apply some common sense and "un-suspend" me from eBay limbo-land. If they promise not to bill me for software I asked not to use, I might even try selling there again.

In the meantime, be assured that we're OK. Even though we're currently in exile, we still have great eBay feedback from our customers!

Picasa Launch Proves Success of Referral Marketing

When Google launched Picasa earlier this week, it placed a text link below its search box on the Google home page. Then, users started telling each other about it. I wrote a blog entry, told my current Customer Behavior class and e-mailed several friends about it.

Well, it looks like I wasn't the only one. In WebProNews, Chris Richardson reported that traffic to Picasa's site increased by 6000% from July 9th to July 16th due to the Google purchase and relaunch of the site. Richardson noted that, according to Hitwise, the site rose from a rank of 16,300 on July 9th to 313 on July 16th.

Meet Picasa - Latest free tool from Google Empowers Your Graphics

On Google's home page today, I noticed a new link leading to yet another cool, free utility from the folks who brought us (or bought us) Blogger.  Picasa is a photo management utility that will help you corral all those unruly jpegs and gifs on your hard drive, and turn them into a usable set of graphics that you can easily find, show and organize.  Digitally signed just yesterday by Google, the program installs quickly and cleanly, without including unwanted, nosy or intrusive code, then proceeds to put your graphics in their places.
 
Although it doesn't change the location of your picture files, Picasa shows them to you in an organized way, and even includes little goodies like a timeline function you can use to put them all in order.  The thumbnails also blow away the regular Windows interface's version, and even the PaintShop Pro Browse function that I normally use in terms of quality and ease of use.
 
Thanks, Google!
 
BTW, the marketing plan for this product is similar to that of gmail.  (I tell two friends, they tell two friends, etc.)

Prison for Martha - Stock Up 40%

After the news about an hour ago that Martha Stewart has been sentenced to a 5 month prison sentence, a 5 month house arrest and a $30,000 fine, shares of stock in her company, OmniMedia, had risen 40% as of 10:54 EDT.

In speaking to a crowd of onlookers after receiving the sentence, the minimum mandated by law, Martha Stewart thanked her supporters and apologized to her employees before pitching her magazine and products, telling the audience that she didn't mean to turn her comments into a sales pitch. "I am very, very sorry that it has come to this, that a small personal matter has been blown out of proportion..." Stewart said.

While advertisers have pulled out of Martha Stewart Living Magazine, readers appear to be unphased by Martha's legal troubles. K-Mart recently signed an agreement with her company to extend their partnership through 2009 and its stock is up 200% YTD. It's clear that Martha Stewart's ultimate customers have not abandoned their loyalty to her ideas, content and products.

Martha Stewart is expected to appeal the case based on several issues, including perjury by a key government witness and failure to address the gender-based motives for this arrest. Count Nine and an erroneous perception that Stewart was accused of stock manipulation by insider trading are also expected to play a role, as will new precedents set since Stewart's original conviction.

Ironically, had Martha not tried to work with government officials, the outcome might have been different. Thinking about the success of her company in providing jobs and enhancing the lifestyles of her customers, it's not surprising that those who read her magazine and watch her shows will stand by her.

Ultimately, the advertisers will need to return if the customers don't leave, or risk alienating them by their absence. Abandoning Martha when the chips are down if the consumers don't will hurt rather than help those advertisers who do pull out. It's clear that those who remain loyal to Martha agree that this case has been blown way out of proportion, and, if nothing else, doesn't affect Martha's expertise and talent at showing them how to create an elegant lifestyle.

This case has been blown out of proportion on so many levels, it's not surprising that fans remain loyal.
 
Another thing that has also puzzled me in this situation has been the whole series of events surrounding the ImClone product approval process that started this whole mess.  After shares plunged on the failure to win approval, the approval came at a later date and, of course they rebounded.   I wonder where that money trail would lead. Probably to someone who made much more than $30,000 on the deal. . .