I hope everyone has recovered from their post-Thanksgiving turkey hangover! Now I'd like to discuss with you another important event that takes place annually on December 1st (that's tomorrow if you don't have a calendar handy). That event is World AIDS Day, where the day is set aside as the one day out of the year where everyone on this big planet of ours takes time to support those who are currently living with AIDS, a disease that progresses from infection of HIV, and to honor and remember friends and family that have passed on from AIDS.
World AIDS Day is also a day to focus on fighting HIV and AIDS by raising and donating funds that are used to research medicines and vaccination possibilities. It's a day to learn and help educate others about how HIV is spread and contracted.
Since World AIDS Day began in 1998, each year has been focused on a theme to help generate interest in the cause. This year's theme is "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise - Leadership." I'm very happy and proud to have been a part of a group of eBay, Inc. employees who have stepped up with their own type of leadership to help raise and donate funds to various deserving Bay Area HIV/AIDS related programs and resources.
First, Curtis Thornhill, from eBay's Rent.com and President of the Board of Directors at the Billy DeFrank Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender (LGBT) Community Center here in San Jose, headed up a team of three eBay, Inc. employees who participated in the 2007 AIDS Lifecycle, which is is the official cycling event from San Francisco to Los Angeles benefiting the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. Each participant is required to raise $2,500 from sponsorships to ride in the AIDS Lifecycle event. Curtis was able to raise over $5,000 through his efforts and the matching contribution from the eBay Foundation, which generously agrees to match employee contributions to charitable causes.
Next, yours truly from 2004 - 2006 volunteered to organize and lead a group of eBay employees, along with their friends and family, to walk in the annual AIDS Walk - San Francisco. (This year I elected to just be a participant.) Walkers are encouraged to raise funds through sponsorships, just like the with the AIDS Lifecycle, and the eBay Foundation again matches all participating eBay employees' contributions. They also kick in a special grant of $2,500 when teams of 4 or more employees participate in the event. All of the money raised for AIDS Walk - San Francisco goes to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, which supports 42 different Bay Area HIV/AIDS organizations.
It's crunch time! This is last week of the regular season for the Community Fantasy Football team, and we're fighting to keep our season alive. Win, and we have a good shot of sneaking into the playoffs (although we need one of two other teams to lose). Lose, and the magical ride of this season is over. So it's only fitting that we're matched up against Rachel Makool (head of Community Development) and her Rachel9ers squad in this must-win contest.
We're off to a good start following solid performances last night by TE Jason Witten and the Dallas D, and an ok-but-not-terrible night from WR Donald Driver - and got even more help when Green Bay's D and WR James Jones, both of whom Rachel has, had off-nights. But we're far from a spot where we can breathe easy. As always, we need YOUR help to tell us who should start for our team this weekend. Vote for who should start at QB, at RB (alongside Steven Jackson) and at WR (with TJ Houshmandzadeh) by going to the Chatter discussion board and looking for the polls on the right-hand side. Just click on "More Polls" to see them all.
I can hardly believe there's only about a month left in this year -- how time flies! Well, tomorrow's Town Hall with Bill Cobb, President of eBay North America, at the helm will be your last chance this year to ask live questions to our senior execs. So think about what's on your mind, and call in your questions.
Bill and the Town hall panel will be taking your questions from 2:00 pm -- 3:30 pm (Pacific Time) tomorrow, November 29th. During the event, dial toll free -- 1-877-474-3302 -- to talk to them LIVE on the air! You can even email your question in advance at TownHall@ebay.com. Check out the Town Hall page for more details.
As usual, I'll be updating this post with photos during the event, so come back tomorrow at 2:00 pm (Pacific Time). Hope to "see" you there!
And we're off!! Here's Griff and Bill Cobb conferring a few minutes before the Town Hall began:
Click on the link below to see more pictures from the Town Hall. And if you want to listen to a recording of the Town Hall or to read a transcript, keep an eye on the Town Hall Archives page -- it should be up there in a few days.
The unpopulated, 13-acre town went for the winning bid of $3.8 million, giving its owner unfettered access to Albert's icehouse, grocery store, and orchards of pecans and peaches. No word though on whether it'll now be the backdrop for a new wave of "spaghetti westerns" (this was Ninad's joke - I take absolutely no credit/blame for it).
Okay, so I borrowed the title from the eBay Workhop on How to Increase Your Sales with Email Relationship Marketing that I attended last week. As I read through the workshop material presented by Lisa Suttora of whatdoisell.com, I came across a post from a member that reminded me of an auction that I recently won.
Member lingerieexposure4u posted, "My customers rarely take me up on my newsletter offers (both on eBay and off eBay). Sure, I get people to sign up, but they don't take me up on my offers (15% off next purchase, free shipping, etc.)."
Getting people to sign up for your newsletters is a good start, but maybe some buyers just need an extra personal touch to wow them and turn them into repeat customers. Which brings me to my own experience with relationship marketing -- as a buyer.
Wowed by the extra step and the thoughtfulness As I mentioned earlier, I recently won an auction on eBay, for a black and white blazer. When the package arrived, I could hardly wait to open it and try on my new blazer. WOW (and that's an understatement) was I pleasantly surprised when I finally removed the last piece of tape. First, I was delighted to find that the blazer I had bid on was just like it was described (and fit perfectly!). Then, adding to my delight was the fact that the seller had included a "Thank You" card. Inside the card was a free return shipping label to be used if the blazer didn't fit, a coupon for $10 off my next eBay purchase and a note from the seller, "Enjoy the $10 savings the next time you shop with us!" Can it get any better than this?
This was my first time bidding on an item from that seller, but let me tell you, I will definitely look at their auctions again when shopping on eBay. This seller's thoughtfulness and customer care will definitely turn me, the first time customer, into a repeat customer. So sellers, keep offering 15% off the next purchase (or whatever amount you the seller deem necessary), the free shipping, return postage and other customer care specialties you can think of. There's always a bidder just like me out there, expecting nothing more than the item they bid on, who will be wowed by the little extras and thoughtfulness that is packaged with their purchase.
OK, more later, I have some shopping to do so I can put my $10 coupon to good use!
I'll be the first to admit that when I'm doing my holiday shopping, I love a little extra incentive now and then. Well, some creative eBay Stores sellers have joined together to launch some rockin' deals for all us holiday shoppers - this should really get your keyboards click-click-clicking...
The Happy Holidays to You campaign runs from November 19th through December 3rd of this year. It allows buyers to easily find Stores which offer free shipping, gift wrapping, holiday items, stocking stuffers and more. You can even find listings which support a nonprofit cause through eBay Giving Works, which they are cleverly calling "gift it forward".
What's great about this is that it's easy to find these offers when you're shopping. You just have to type "HH2U" in the search box on eBay. (Santa's elves probably wish they had it that easy...) You can also check out the HH2U page to browse the different special offers from Stores owners, and there are lots to choose from. If you know of any other types of grassroots campaigns such as this, please let us know by sending an e-mail to chatterblog@ebay.com.
TYPESO! HH2U2!
(If you went "huh?", what it means is: "Thank You, Participating eBay Stores Owners! Happy Holidays to You Too!")
Most of us are probably still recovering from enjoying an enormous Thanksgiving meal spent with family and friends. Just like we're used to hearing from family that are far away, the "eBay family" also heard from one of its members -- only in this case, it was from the other side of the world!
On Thanksgiving day, we heard from an eBay member from afar. A thread was started on the Sports & Memorabilia discussion board by a U.S. Air Force Major currently serving in Afghanistan. He wished everyone a Happy Thanksgivng and mentioned that reading the eBay discussion forums sometimes helps the troops stationed there feel the support from those of us here at home. In true eBay Community fashion, many fellow eBay members responded with thanks, support and prayers for the troops serving overseas. As of the time of this writing, pledges of support and thanks have come from over a dozen states as well as the Canadian provinces. You can view the thread by clicking here. On behalf of the eBay family, many thanks to all the men and women serving our country.
The Chatter Blog team wishes everyone a happy, healthy, and safe Thanksgiving!
We also thought we'd let you know what we're thankful for:
Bev -- No matter what life throws at you, there is
always something to be thankful for. I'm thankful for the country in
which I live, my freedom and the opportunities that life has afforded
me. I'm thankful for my family and friends.
Laura -- I'm thankful for for our Chatter Blog readers...without them, we'd have to get real jobs.
Susan -- I'm thankful for the "4 Fs" of Thanksgiving: family, friends, food and football. (After last Sunday's Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens game, I am also thankful for Phil Dawson, but I'd have to change his first name to "Fill" for it to qualify as another F.)
Ninad -- I'm thankful for a 4-day weekend! I'm also very, very thankful I don't have to eat that enormous pumpkin in my lap.
Jeff -- I'm thankful for: The Green Bay Packers playing on Thursday morning instead of during dinner. Everyone who wrote in during the "Where's Griff?" game that said they thought he was the red-headed woman. The Holiday sandwich (turkey, cranberry and stuffing) being back at Erik's Delicafe.
My family who supports me, my friends who laugh with (or usually at)
me, and my coworkers who make each day great (as they wonder why they
still keep me around).
Brian -- I'm thankful for my fantastic friends and wonderful family, living in San Francisco, working for and being part of the eBay Community, baseball and the New York Yankees.
I love Thanksgiving football. My whole family is a bunch of Packer Backers (the byproduct of both parents being from Wisconsin), so I'm excited that I get to watch them again tomorrow morning. But the short week means that we need your votes NOW for who the Community Fantasy Football team should start this week. As usual, we're going to start a few players for sure (RB Steven Jackson, WR TJ Houshmandzadeh, assuming his injury isn't serious, TE Jason Witten, K Matt Stover, and the Dallas D), but need you to tell us who else should fill out our QB and other RB and WR positions. The Community team is currently on the outside of the playoffs looking in, so vote now by visiting the Chatter discussion board and looking for the poll on the right-hand side of the page. Click "More Polls" to see all of them.
Looking for a bigger place to live? Maybe a place with an extra bedroom, or an attached garage? Or something with its own icehouse, dance hall, and general store? Well, if that last choice is right up your alley, do we have the listing for you.
A gentleman named Bobby Cave has apparently spent hundreds of thousands of dollars restoring and cleaning up the 13-acre town of Albert in central Texas. Now the entire kit and kaboodle is for sale right here on eBay. No one lives there permanently (for now), so imagine all the things you could do...elect yourself Mayor, pretend you're the sole survivor of an earth-spanning disaster, whatever! Personally, I would probably use it as the site of the world's greatest game of Lazer Tag, but that's just me.
Mr. Cave definitely seems to have a sense of humor. He starts his listing description with this great line: "Usually when someone is awarded the keys to a city, it’s an honorary gesture. But the next person to get the keys to the city of Albert, Texas, really gets the keys to the city." He's also been quoted as saying it has "the cleanest public restrooms in Texas."
The town has gotten a ton of media attention as well. How much, you ask? The story even got picked up on the other side of the world, and was covered by the China Post! Bidding ends on November 23rd, so check it out.
I'm back with news about an extraordinarily exciting event called 7th on Sale. Started in 1990 by some of the famous and even some not-so-famous people in America's fashion world, 7th on Sale was created to feature designer-donated merchandise at dramatically prices. The funds raised from the sales of all 7th on Sale donated items were made available to community agencies set up to serve those affected with HIV/AIDS in New York City. That first year they raised a praise-worthy sum of $4.2 million.
The vision of these designers helped to form a non-profit organization called the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Foundation. Today, the (CFDA) Foundation, along with Vogue Magazine, and various other important names in the fashion industry, have extended the generosity gathered from the 7th on Sale events. Beneficiaries over the years have included dozens of worthy organizations, including AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA), Alpha Workshops, amfAR, Gay Men’s Health Crisis, God’s Love We Deliver, Greenhope Services for Women, Harlem United Community AIDS Center, HIV Law Project, and the Latino Commission on AIDS, among many, many others.
Co-Chairs of the 7th on Sale 2007 event, which include top designers like Kenneth Cole, Marc Jacobs, and Ralph Lauren along with model Kate Moss and women's clothing designer Diane Von Furstenberg, kicked off the begining of 7th on Sale 2007 by hosting a fabulous black-tie gala party. Held on the evening of November 15th at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York City, they were joined by many other celebrities and fashion trend setters to help celebrate all their efforts in fighting HIV/AIDS and to help find a cure.
Now, even members of the eBay Community have an opportunity to assist in attaining this year's fund raising goal, which is to double the $1.7 million raised in 2005. By purchasing any of the donated merchandise listed on eBay with eBay Giving Works, which includes cashmere sweaters, shoes, handbags, books and fragrance bottles signed by designers, celebrity-worn red carpet gowns, and much more, you too can help contribute. Just be sure to type in "7th on Sale" in Search to have an impressive wide array of items returned for you until December 6, 2007, which is when 7th on Sale 2007 draws to a close.
When asked to comment on this unique event, eBay CEO and President and 7th on Sale 2007 Co-Chair Meg Whitman, answered, "7th on Sale is an important, collaborative fund raising effort among many accomplished members of the fashion industry. We're proud to once again work with the CFDA and Vogue to bring 7th on Sale to the eBay marketplace so that our global audience can support this very important cause."
And by the way, World AIDS Day takes place on Saturday, December 1st. Why not purchase an item listed for 7th on Sale 2007 as a excellent way to recognize and support those living with HIV/AIDS and to remember those that have already passed on from this disease? Simply type "7th on Sale" in Search.
Good luck, happy searching, and thanks for bidding!
I believe I can safely say the holiday shopping season is upon us! Even though the garland and tinsel was up at the local department store before the pumpkins were carved, now is the time when holiday shopping really kicks into high gear. Whether your holiday shopping list fills 8 notebook pages (both sides) or just a sticky note, you probably appreciate a good deal when filling stockings and wrapping packages.
So, here are some tidings of savings and joy: If you shop with the eBay MasterCard between November 15th and December 15th this year, you can get 10% off your eBay purchases where the seller accepts PayPal (up to $25 back). The eBay MasterCard has a quick approval process, and when approved it's linked directly to your PayPal account. This means you don't even have to wait for the physical card to arrive to start shopping and saving on eBay. (Another cool optional feature: you can include your eBay user ID on your card!)
Check out the eBay MasterCard page for all the details...I'm off to shop!
You might remember last week the Community's Fantasy Football team took on my team, the Dawg Pound. Due in large part to a stellar performance from Terrell Owens, my team squeaked out a win by a mere 7 points. What does this mean? It means that this week, the Community team really needs a win if there is any hope of making the playoffs! The Community team is currently 3-7, and this week takes on an opponent that is 6-4.
The opponent is a formidable one, with a lineup that includes QB Kurt Warner, WR Chad Johnson, WR Andre Davis, WR Steve Smith, RB Chester Taylor, RB LaDainian Tomlinson, TE Vernon Davis, K Jason Hanson, and the Minnesota D. The Community team will be starting TE Jason Witten, K Matt Stover, and the Dallas D. The starting lineup at quarterback, running back and wide receiver is up to you! Come on, it's almost "win or go home" time and this week is crucial to keep playoff hopes alive! Check out the Chatter Discussion Board and let us know who should start at QB, RB and WR by voting in the polls on the right side of the page. As you know, "it's better when you win it'", so let's get a win this week!
Greetings from the eBay Vancouver office. Here in Vancouver, the vast majority of our employees are active on the eBay site, and like many of you, many of our employees have become big collectors.
I'd like to introduce you to Trevor Wong. Trevor works in our Trust & Safety Department. In his spare time, he is a big collector... of Nike Shoes! Watch the video below to view (part of) his collection, and to learn how he waited about a year and a half to find a pair of shoes that was in just the right condition and for the right price. He finally won it after what he calls "a gruelling auction." Way to shop victoriously, Trevor!
Something good happened in Washington, D.C. last week for everyone who loves eBay and the Internet.
President Bush signed into law the Internet Access Tax Moratorium. After more than a year of lobbying, both Houses of Congress passed this seven-year extension of the moratorium, the longest extension since its establishment in 1998.
Many of you shared with us your belief that Internet access should be tax-free. And we agree. Provisions of the Internet Access Tax Moratorium ensure, specifically, that stand-alone Internet services such as email and instant messaging cannot be subject to state and local taxation for the next seven years.
Preserving tax-free Internet access is vital to all of us as consumers. It is also especially important in fostering small business growth, including the hundreds of thousands of U.S. sellers who make all or part of their living on eBay. This victory will ensure the continued growth of Internet marketplaces like eBay and the U.S. economy as a whole. Of course, the Internet Access Tax Moratorium does not mean that large retailers and the states won’t push hard for Congress to adopt a distant state sales tax regime, but they will no longer be able to use the Moratorium as a way to achieve it.
A warm thank you and congratulations is owed to all the members in the eBay Community who have either written or called their Senators or House Representative to share their feelings regarding placing taxes on Internet usage. If you'd like to get involved and learn more about public policy issues of importance to the eBay Community, visit our Main Street website at http://www.ebaymainstreet.com/.
You’re filled with anticipation as you wait to
see whether you’re the winner. Looking good so far...
What's this? Some dastardly competitor is trying
to sneak in a last minute bid? “Take that!” you trumpet, as you enter a bid
with just one click.
The countdown hits 00:00:00—the listing has
ended and you’re the winner!
That eBay moment was made possible by eBay
Countdown. It’s a tool that works in conjunction with Internet Explorer or
Firefox to let you watch eBay auctions that are part of your My eBay activity.
For example, say you find that perfect Hot
Wheels Redline custom Corvette. You add it to your Watch list, where you eye it
over the next several days. After clearing a special spot for it in your
display case, you place a proxy bid. That’s the top price you’re willing to
pay. The current price is well under your proxy bid for now, but as others
nibble away at the listing, the price goes up. You’re not worried, because eBay
is placing bids for you on your behalf (and will continue to do so, as needed,
until your proxy bid price is met).
Days later, the listing is coming to an end. You’re
the high bidder. eBay Countdown shows you a timer that counts rapidly downward,
ticking off each second until the listing ends. While you’re waiting, you can
gaze at the bottom of the Countdown window to see pictures of other listings,
such as those in your Saved Searches. (I personally love that feature because I
can do some productive shopping while I’m waiting!) If you see that someone
places a bid that finally beats yours, you can quickly place another bid with
just one click: another great Countdown feature!
You should definitely give eBay Countdown a
whirl. If you’re into buying and love to win, I think you’ll really like it. Watch what Jeff Loui from our Buyer Experience team has to say about Countdown below.
Hey everybody. I hope you're all recovered from Halloween (and are getting the Thanksgiving turkey). It's time for another video for the Member Spotlight program. For the Member Spotlight, our goal is to highlight members who have unique, interesting, or inspiring eBay stories.
This edition of the Member Spotlight shines on danna.
She's certainly a busy eBay member and one who definitely believes in the "Pay It Forward" concept, as she talks about in her video.
danna has been an eBay member for over 10 years and since her kids have all grown up and gone on to college, she's become an eBay Education Specialist and Trading Assistant to help other "stay-at-home" moms learn how to sell on eBay.
Watch the video now and hear directly from danna as she tells this fantastic story about how her e-books were used in "paying it forward" from one of her buyers to another.
Hope you'll enjoy the video. Check back soon for our next Member Spotlight!
If you have a story you'd like us to consider for a future Member Spotlight, you can record your own video and host it on Youtube. You can submit your stories directly to chatterblog@ebay.com (our team) or directly to me at gianni@ebay.com.
Also, don't forget to subscribe to our RSS Feed, so you can get updates each time a new post goes up. All right, that's all for now....now send in your videos!
As the guy in charge of Trust & Safety messaging, you might say my job is an uphill battle. Safety messages are, to be blunt, boring. (This is also one of the reasons why we're making our Security Center friendlier and more inviting.)
Most serious content on the vitally important subject of password security (including eBay's Help page, I'll admit) reads like mom's admonishment to "eat your vegetables" or "clean up your room." We roll our eyes and inwardly groan, "Not another litany about passwords...I know, mom! I KNOW!!"
We often feel like the messages are for someone else. We might even feel a bit patronized by them. "Of COURSE I use strong passwords, duh! My passwords are NOT my birthday, my pet's name, my favorite sports team, or the word 'password123,' so what could possibly go wrong?" we say.
Well, plenty.
We can thank the University of Wyoming for taking the subject of password security out of the realm of broccoli and room cleaning. Evidently someone there knows how to grab the attention of the notoriously capricious student mind. Heck, introduce underwear into the conversation – that time-honored, giggle-inducing topic we learn to love in kindergarten – and you make even the most apathetic of users sit up and read. We all are kids at heart, after all.
How fast can someone guess your password? We all know that the bad guys behind phishing and identity theft scams are out to steal our passwords, but thinking that they're hunched over their computers trying out different combinations manually to arrive at our passwords is wrong.
These crooks write software programs that can "guess" passwords far more easily and quickly than you might think. Even desktop personal computers have now become powerful enough that they can process 100,000 encryption operations per second. And here's a sobering statistic: according to the University of Wyoming, if your password has 5 characters and uses only lower-case letters, it can be cracked in under 2 minutes. If it's 6 characters, it takes a bit longer, but it can still be cracked in under an hour!
The good news is that the longer and more complex your password is, the harder it gets for these rogue software programs to even come close to cracking it.
For instance, if you have an 8-character password that uses a combination of upper and lower case, it will take 17 years of computer processing to crack that password. If you add just one more character to your password, you're significantly upping the ante – the University of Wyoming says that it will take over 800 years to crack a 9 character password made up of upper and lower case letters. And if you throw numerals into the mix as well, the rogue programs will have to grind away even longer.
Is your password strong?
eBay has technology that detects whether your password is "strong" or not. If you have a password that our technology identifies as prone to being cracked by known patterns used by password-guessing tools, we present an additional layer of authentication to prevent your password from being broken. Remember how sometimes you see a combination of squiggly letters and numbers when you're signing in to your account? A password-guessing program can't recognize those characters, but a person – i.e. you – can. Despite this additional layer of protection, I'd still say that everyone should change their passwords often, at least every 30 to 60 days.
So here are some tips I urge you to use:
Read the University of Wyoming page and chuckle over the underwear references (or frown and say "Tsk! tsk!", if you're a mom).
Carefully read the serious information about creating a strong password.
Did Ben Roethlisberger ever get me off the hook last week. If he hadn't gone wild and thrown 5 touchdown passes on Monday night, my team would have gone down in flames to the Community Fantasy Football team. I told you guys to take it easy on me last week! But I'm asking that no such quarter be given this week, as we're taking on my colleague Susan. She's a huge Browns fan (her team is the aptly-named Dawg Pound), but more importantly, she's in first place in the league. This is our chance to knock her off her perch.
We have a winner (again)! Harry from Ohio was the second of three lucky people to win $50,000 in the eBay Sweepstakes!! Congratulations! We thought it would be great to learn a little more about Harry and the thrill of winning.
Tell us a little about yourself: I'm married to an amazing lady named Kimberly, we have been blessed with five awesome children. We are also proud grandparents. My wife and I are both involved in church ministry. I've been in public service for nearly thirty years, and looking forward to retiring soon. I enjoy spending time on the water. Among the things I've won have been personal electronics, music, and boat related things.
How long have you been an eBay member? I have been an eBay member since January 2002.
How did you discover the eBay Shop Victoriously game? I found it when signing in to eBay one day. I entered the game twice. I picked the car icon the first time and the boat icon the second time.
Have you seen the new "Shop Victoriously" TV ads? What do you think of them? The TV ads are quite clever, and are very nicely done.
What was your reaction when you won? It was like I was dreaming. It still feels that way.
Who was the first person you told? "Bear", a friend and co-worker.
How do you plan to spend your Grand Prize? Since the dust has settled a little, I plan on investing the money.
What was your greatest "win" when shopping on eBay? I've won several things. My favorite thing is my current phone, the LG Fusic, that I actually do eBay with.
What winning advice can you give to other eBay shoppers like yourself to assure they “Shop Victoriously” on eBay?Pay attention to feedback scores, ask questions if necessary, be patient.
Is there anything else you would like to share with us and/or the eBay Community? eBay is American capitalism at its finest. To God be the glory for all of His rich blessings! And oh yeah, GO BUCKS!!!
Live help
I hope everyone has recovered from their post-Thanksgiving turkey hangover! Now I'd like to discuss with you another important event that takes place annually on December 1st (that's tomorrow if you don't have a calendar handy). That event is World AIDS Day, where the day is set aside as the one day out of the year where everyone on this big planet of ours takes time to support those who are currently living with AIDS, a disease that progresses from infection of HIV, and to honor and remember friends and family that have passed on from AIDS. 
