Breaking News: Digital Delivery Banned on Ebay
Problem was, as eBay has quite rightly said, it allowed zillions of 1 cent ebook auctions to spring up, and a lot of them were pure garbage. (Funny, ebay saying that, as most of them were bought on ebay for 1 cent in the first place, then recycled.)
eBay says it was 'feedback manipulation' or something, people wanting quick transactions to build up some positive feedback.
So?
I don't see the harm in getting to 5 or 10 feedbacks as cheaply and quickly as possible. In fact I do that with all new accounts, you can't really do much until you get some good feedback going. And people who try and sustain this? They're the ones who always seem to drop off the map, that kind of thing isn't sustainable, you need at least a buck to cover your fees.
So as usual eBay has used a sledgehammer to get rid of a few pesky ants.
Does this affect my business? Well, yeah. Am I out of business, well, no. It's just another challenge, time to figure out how best to proceed with the task of making money. It sure was handy, having this automated system, (which quite frankly they should have charged for...), but maybe it's the kick up the bum, however small, to get back into some other marketing methods.
If you're familiar with me, you'll know I only use eBay to find customers, I don't consider myself to be in an eBay business, it's a media, just like broadcast fax or email. So instead of sending out an ebook, try putting it on a CD ROM, print it out and mail it, a real physical product has far more percieved value than anything electronic, the internet's just made it easier and cheaper to deliver information.
So here's a prediction for you: Direct Mail, that white papery stuff people used to send out before email, is going to make a serious comeback. (Not that it ever went away, you can tell the most successful business owners in that they use 'offline' marketing as well as 'online'.)
So when someone buys your report (sales letter) on eBay, print it out and send it to 'em...IN THE MAIL! Get it in their hands, help them sit down with a cup of coffe and READ IT. I'm fairly young, and a bit of a computer geek, but even I can't STAND reading too much stuff on a PC monitor. I ALWAYS print out ebooks and reports I want to read.
eBay says it was 'feedback manipulation' or something, people wanting quick transactions to build up some positive feedback.
So?
I don't see the harm in getting to 5 or 10 feedbacks as cheaply and quickly as possible. In fact I do that with all new accounts, you can't really do much until you get some good feedback going. And people who try and sustain this? They're the ones who always seem to drop off the map, that kind of thing isn't sustainable, you need at least a buck to cover your fees.
So as usual eBay has used a sledgehammer to get rid of a few pesky ants.
Does this affect my business? Well, yeah. Am I out of business, well, no. It's just another challenge, time to figure out how best to proceed with the task of making money. It sure was handy, having this automated system, (which quite frankly they should have charged for...), but maybe it's the kick up the bum, however small, to get back into some other marketing methods.
If you're familiar with me, you'll know I only use eBay to find customers, I don't consider myself to be in an eBay business, it's a media, just like broadcast fax or email. So instead of sending out an ebook, try putting it on a CD ROM, print it out and mail it, a real physical product has far more percieved value than anything electronic, the internet's just made it easier and cheaper to deliver information.
So here's a prediction for you: Direct Mail, that white papery stuff people used to send out before email, is going to make a serious comeback. (Not that it ever went away, you can tell the most successful business owners in that they use 'offline' marketing as well as 'online'.)
So when someone buys your report (sales letter) on eBay, print it out and send it to 'em...IN THE MAIL! Get it in their hands, help them sit down with a cup of coffe and READ IT. I'm fairly young, and a bit of a computer geek, but even I can't STAND reading too much stuff on a PC monitor. I ALWAYS print out ebooks and reports I want to read.