I had wondered on Wednesday whether there was a place in My eBay where I could keep track of the eBay Bucks. I was unable to find anything. I finally noticed it on Thursday. I do not know whether it was there on Wednesday, and I failed to see it, or whether eBay added it on Thursday.
A link to the eBay Bucks portion of My eBay appears in the left sidebar of My eBay under buying activity. I assume that the link is not there for people who are not opted into the beta program. When I click on that link, this is what I see:
Click on the image to view a larger version. The page tells me that I have $2.22 in eBay Bucks and also breaks down the transactions and how much I earned for each transaction. It also tells me how many days I have left before I receive my first coupon.
This is the best eBay-related thing that has happened to me in a very long time. I like it a lot. I still consider eBay the best source for series books, and I still have eBay's advanced search page set as my homepage on my computer. I like the idea that I will be rewarded for my eBay purchases. Everything I purchase is something that I want and getting a coupon based on my buying activity really is a reward. As long as the program works the way it is supposed to, this is going to be awesome.
I expect that the program will have a few glitches since it is in beta. Apparently the program was developed and tested last year, and now this is the second run-through of it. More people will get opted into the program as time passes. EBay has given no idea of the time frame as far as I know.
I see absolutely nothing bad in this program. While I have disliked some of eBay's recent decisions, I do not hate eBay. I still see good in it. Others, however, spew their hatred so vociferously that they appear to be irrational about it. I really wonder what is wrong with those people. Just read the comments that have been posted to Ina Steiner's blog and the comments on this eBay message thread regarding the eBay Bucks program. Some of these people state that they do buy but that they refuse to join the program, even if invited. ??? Okay, hurt yourselves. If a company offers me coupons for doing what I normally do, I'll take them.
I would still feel this way even if I had not received an invite. When I read about the program on Monday I did not expect an invite but I thought that it sounded like a good idea. Everyone will be able to participate in this program once eBay makes it available for everyone.
The people who hate eBay will actually help eBay if they do not opt into the program. By not opting in, they will save eBay money. Is that really what they want?
3 comments:
Hi,
You might want to follow the comments on the blog associated with the article you posted. They are interesting.
Seemingly many believe that the Ebay bucks program is to cater to the mega sellers.
I avoid the mega sellers for several reasons although I ought not ever buy from them, I do upon occasion.
First and foremost, you cannot even count on them to get you the right item. They do not respond to emails. And why make the mega rich richer? I'd prefer to pay a little more and purchase from someone who is trying to satisfy the customer.
The CEO has gone on the record saying he wanted to make ebay like a shopping mall.
So my contention has always been that there has been one ruse after another to run the small and medium sellers out. And Ebay has certainly succeeded in doing just that.
I do not even bother trying for Power Seller although I had it fairly constantly before but now that there are monetary incentives involved I somehow never qualify although my goofy dsr's are rather stellar?
Many sellers believe they are manipulating the figures. I certainly do. I looked at my dashboard one time which somehow did not coincide with my posted ratings. But I am hardly surprised.
I just felt rather aggravated with myself for even looking. The DRS's I can barely avoid seeing.
I try not to pay any attention to their antics as they infuriate me.
Katie
Seemingly many believe that the Ebay bucks program is to cater to the mega sellers.
They do, and I disagree with that point of view. My purchases this week have not been from mega sellers. I never buy from the mega sellers. My eBay Bucks will benefit only people who offer quality vintage series books, and those people are never the mega sellers. I have most of the mega sellers blocked from my search results.
Sure, the mega sellers will benefit from the program, but all sellers will benefit in some fashion. The mega sellers do get better placement in searches, but we can do nothing about that.
Actually, nobody except for me will benefit from my eBay Bucks. I have no intention of buying anything that I would not normally buy, so this is a reward and not an incentive to buy.
EBay has the Bucks program mentioned on every single listing page for those of us who are opted into the program. The eBay Bucks are no more noticeable for the big sellers than they are for the small sellers.
By the way, I am not going to be surprised if I get flamed for this blog entry. My eBay posts seem to attract the "drive-by" attacks, and calling a bunch of people "irrational" is likely to bring it on. At least they have to use their Google accounts to do it...
Also, one person on the eBay message board stated that if buyers see this program as something that benefits them for their current buying habits, then the program has already failed. I see the program has something that benefits me for what I already buy, but I do not necessarily think like most people.
I am someone who is never swayed by commercials. I do not buy name brand products just because I see the commercials. The name brand products are more expensive, and I buy generic unless I have a reason why I prefer the quality of the name brand products.
EBay sends me pointless promotions at times, like the recent one where I could list a cell phone for free. I would never list a cell phone on eBay due to the high fraud rate, so that promotion had no effect on me. I ignore promotions when they do not benefit me.
Even though I will not buying anything that I would not normally buy, some people will buy more items because of the bucks program. Different people will react in different ways.
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