World AIDS Day: Stop AIDS, Keep the Promise - Leadership.

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 Do or Die - We Need YOUR Help to Get Into the Playoffs

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.

In case you want to follow along this weekend, Rachel is also starting QB David Garrard, RB Frank Gore, RB Edgerrin James, WR Plaxico Burress, WR Joey Galloway, TE Chris Cooley, and K David Akers. It's the playoffs or bust -vote now!

Don't Miss The Last Town Hall of 2007

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 Texas Town Turns Italian

The sale of Albert, Texas, which I recently wrote about, obviously captured the world's attention. Not only was the auction picked up by papers as far away as China, but it ended up selling to a buyer in Italy!

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).

How to Increase Your Sales with Email Relationship Marketing

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!

 

Happy Holidays to You - From eBay Stores!

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!")

eBay Community Sends Happy Holiday Wishes to Troops Overseas

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.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Chatter Blog Team

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.

We'll be back after the Thanksgiving weekend.

Thanksgiving Fantasy Football - Help Us Avoid the Turkeys

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.

We're going up against the Frisco Fighters, run by a San Francisco loyalist in our HR department. He's throwing out a lineup of QB Matt Hasselbeck, RB Clinton Portis, RB Joseph Addai, WR Greg Jennings, WR Lee Evans, WR Andre Johnson, TE Kellen Winslow, K Shayne Graham, and the Pittsburgh D, so they're a formidable squad. But help us choose our lineup wisely, and get us back in the playoff hunt!

Need Some Extra Space? Buy This Texas Town!

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.