Gee, Do You Think This is Spam?

From the Gee, Do You Think This is Spam department:

- A "cristmus offer" from "Linen n Things" (note, not Linens n Things)

eBay and the Knot? Gossip and Tidbits

Some tidbits for Bidbits...I was talking to my friend Paul Rapa the other day; he's a commodities analyst  and follows eBay closely. He was at a sort of "mini eBay Live" they had in Manhattan a while back, where reps from PayPal and eBay were on hand to answer questions.

At the event, Paul had offered his opinion that eBay buy Drugstore.com and TheKnot. The latter, he notes, is profitable, growing, and can be had for 500 million. "Not bad for eBay and it is the #1 Wedding site."

Who is writing this mysterious blog?  www.onlyebay.blogspot.com. Paul also clued me into this. It's very good, just about daily posts on eBay and its business. Or businesses, multiple, I should say. Check it out. I'll be adding it to juliasauctionlinks.com under Blogs.

eBay stock..Paul feels the stock is undervalued and should be trading at $50, mentioning PayPal just signed a deal with Mastercard where you can pay anywhere anytime. If you own eBay stock, you can feel good about paying PayPal and eBay fees. Well, at least better about it.

One of the most annoying things I encounter vis a vis PayPal is all the ridiculous, numerous spoof emails. I know to mouse over the links and see the crazy urls that come up, but do other people? I've said before and I'll say again, I think PayPal needs to do a better job educating people as to using mouseovers to avoid clicking into spoof emails. Or maybe just an email education program to not click through PayPal links at all..only use emails as fyi's, and go to the site to login and do business. I haven't thought that one through though.

StumbleUpon is growing..closing in on 4 million users..Paul makes the point that it is rarely mentioned. We'll see if this changes. I must confess I haven't been good about stumbling, though I've wanted to.

Enough dishing for one day.

Holiday buying on eBay and Getitnext

We're knee-deep in the holiday buying season, and it's only a few days past Thanksgiving. I've noticed an uptick in many of my eBay auctions, which I think is a trickle-down effect from more buyers overall trolling the site, so if you have stuff you've been waiting to sell, get it up there.

Buyers...what to buy on eBay vs.  Stores? In my household one of the most sought-after items is the Xbox 360 console. Video games and systems are often on the top of the list. My advice is to thoroughly vet the seller, go for the highest feedback possible -- 100%, preferably, and if there is no return policy specified, use the Ask Seller a Question feature to see if they have one...it doesn't hurt to see how fast they get back to you..not to mention if they ever get back to you.

One site that aims to make eBay shopping simpler and to cut down on the clutter is Getitnext, at getitnext.com. Coincidentally, the Nintendo Wii was the featured hot item on the home page when I visited it this morning.

There are also tabs for Find a Deal - auctions with 0 bids and less than 4 hours remaining; and Bulk Deals, Lots, Multiples, and wholesale, as well as Buy It Now items.

I've just started playing with this but I think it can be a fun add-on to the whole eBay shopping experience.

Check out my free newsletter site, Yardsalers.net, for more holiday selling, shopping and shipping tips.

Happy and profitable holidays, all!