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Chri5123 |
 Posted - 03/25/2008 : 10:05:21
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Hi Guys,
Just a quick post to see what your views are on Ebay and the fact that they are stopping digital downloads on the 31st March.
I have used Ebay in the past for selling digital goods and it does work well in some targeted markets.
My question is now that the new policy is going to be put in place do you think it is still worth using Ebay to sell Digital goods (ie. by post etc...) or do you think it is dying a slow death?
Look forward to your views!
All the best
Chris |
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baronetta |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 10:11:13
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Wow, I was shocked a few minutes ago when I got an email about this.
Came right over here to get people's reactions.
I haven't really used eBay yet for digital sales, but I had it in my marketing plan. Guess that will change.
I wonder how this will effect their classified ads and if that avenue will also become useless for us.
Shifting sands...
~ Ziva
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Brian Cook |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 10:18:57
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I think with some creativity, this is
actually going to turn into a *goldmine*
for some people 
Find a way to use these Ebay changes to
your benefit and enjoy what may be a
lessening of competition (for the short
term at least!)
Brian |
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Kirk Ward |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 10:22:59
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quote : Originally posted by Brian CookI think with some creativity, this is actually going to turn into a *goldmine* for some people Find a way to use these Ebay changes to your benefit and enjoy what may be a lessening of competition (for the short term at least!) Brian
One piece of creativity I can think of is to start having your ebooks available as printed products, and at the delivery page have an add-on option of download delivery. That's the Amazon model. Heck, why not just move your digitals to Amazon ... they seem to be selling anything now. My wife just bought a kitchen mixer from them yesterday!
Kirk |
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ednri871 |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 10:26:06
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| Offer your products on CD, and ship them for $3 extra. It will weed out all the junk marketers and give everyone less competition in my opinion. When things change, we must innovate and come up with new ideas. Sometimes change can be a blessing in disguise. |
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shreekay85 |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 10:26:51
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you said it best Brian.Amateurs complain about problems,Pros find Opportunities.
theres this story on how there was a Gold Rush in America in the old days and people from all over America rushed to a particular place to mine for Gold.Very few made money or found Gold.
A Smart man made a KILLING selling Mining and Digging material to the masses who came.;)
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baronetta |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 10:32:41
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I was thinking that this would probably get rid of all of the crazies who are selling MRR ebooks for a buck and making it tough to sell a product that has real value for what it's worth.
In light of that, this is good news.
It will be very interesting to see how the pros, and those more experienced than I, come up with ways to make the best of this... I feel some new WSOs on the way already...
~ Ziva
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Chri5123 |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 10:32:49
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quote : Originally posted by Kirk Wardquote : Originally posted by Brian CookI think with some creativity, this is actually going to turn into a *goldmine* for some people Find a way to use these Ebay changes to your benefit and enjoy what may be a lessening of competition (for the short term at least!) Brian One piece of creativity I can think of is to start having your ebooks available as printed products, and at the delivery page have an add-on option of download delivery. That's the Amazon model. Heck, why not just move your digitals to Amazon ... they seem to be selling anything now. My wife just bought a kitchen mixer from them yesterday! Kirk
I agree with Kirk, I think Amazon or someone else will cash in on this!
Also I agree with the fact that all you need to do is find a way round it, and it is sure to get rid of some of the competition.
Chris |
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Joseph Ratliff |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 10:41:34
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Not only could the format of your e-book product change, as described above, but you could also change the approach of how you use Ebay to market your business. 
Ebay is just trying to filter out the 99 cent ebook downloads in my opinion.
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ballhogjoni |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 10:47:40
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I don't think this is a problem at all. This has already been suggested, but just take the ebook put it on cd and ship it to the person. This will actually raise the price which will raise the profits while eliminating all the spam marketers IE competition.
I think this is great news!!!  |
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espacecadet |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 10:52:49
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Joseph, if that were true the why didn't they just place a limit on how low the listing price could be on digital downloads? They give us the excuse that they are trying to get rid of sellers who sell cheap downloads just to boost their feedback, but I don't buy it.
Kind of hard to understand why eBay would want to throw away a good chunk of revenue like that, 'cause you know someone else will pick it up, like Amazon, as has been suggested above.
I think they are gambling that we'll all rush to place classified ads and be stupid enough to throw $9.95 a month at eBay for each ad. They are just getting greedy in my opinion and it's gonna turn around and bite them in the ass because they are pissing on their bread and butter. But it's their company and they can do what they want. So can I. I can take my business elsewhere!
Shreekay85, I'm gonna start selling blanks cds, pearl cases and mailer envelopes! Need some?
Allen Farlow |
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John Gottshall |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 12:19:41
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Yea it's not just about weeding out the $1.00 ebooks
and fixing the feedback system.
There is something else going on.
I think they're tired to two ebook sellers dominating
the ebay pulse page.
You know that's been some of the discussion between
the big wigs in all this.
John |
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marley |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 12:22:35
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| Might be less saturated than recent times will have to wait and see. |
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Chri5123 |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 12:27:16
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quote : Originally posted by John Gottshall
Yea it's not just about weeding out the $1.00 ebooks
and fixing the feedback system.
There is something else going on.
I think they're tired to two ebook sellers dominating
the ebay pulse page.
You know that's been some of the discussion between
the big wigs in all this.
John
I agree with this and also think they are clamping down on it as i bet they recieve alot of complaints about Ebook Downloads.
Especially as alot of the cheap ebooks are just copied content, not all of them but enough to cause problems!
Chris |
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John Hocking |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 12:27:40
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You can get your CD's created and shrink wraped at
http://www.kunaki.com for $1.75 each. No Minimum
It is just another cost of business.
Having a CD in the buyers hand is more tangible and
gives the opportunity to cross sell or upsell
other products.
You could even have other products on the CD and
they just have to go to website a purchase an activation
key or a password to unlock a zip file.
The trend I have seen at ebay lately is offering a low
bid to start but having a shipping of $20. I got one
that charged $15 for shipping and it only had about $3 in postage on
it.
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seobro |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 13:13:53
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Thanks for the link John.
Dropship is a big plus!
They should jump on bluray,
the screen is so sharp and clear on bluray
its XLent for learning videos. 
As for Ebay I have had nothing but headaches from the digital fleamarkety pawnshop.  |
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Valdor Kiebach |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 13:25:50
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quote : Originally posted by JohnHocking
The trend I have seen at ebay lately is offering a low
bid to start but having a shipping of $20. I got one
that charged $15 for shipping and it only had about $3 in postage on
it.
I think this is part of the reason for ebays decision, i read another announcment on ebay about shipping costs and that they are going to be including the shipping cost feedback into how the results are listed to cut down on overpriced shippers.
Since digital items have no shipping cost then the feedback will always be positive which throws the system out.
But hey, who knows, one thing is for sure its going to be a bummer for all those that have digital item ebay stores. |
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John Hocking |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 16:56:11
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quote : Originally posted by seobroThanks for the link John. Dropship is a big plus! They should jump on bluray, the screen is so sharp and clear on bluray its XLent for learning videos. As for Ebay I have had nothing but headaches from the digital fleamarkety pawnshop.
I don't know many computers that have drives that can read
blueray yet.
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Chri5123 |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 17:48:16
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quote : Originally posted by JohnHockingquote : Originally posted by seobroThanks for the link John. Dropship is a big plus! They should jump on bluray, the screen is so sharp and clear on bluray its XLent for learning videos. As for Ebay I have had nothing but headaches from the digital fleamarkety pawnshop. I don't know many computers that have drives that can read blueray yet.
I don't think many do yet but it won't be long!
Chris |
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Headhunting55 |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 17:51:01
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| When I got news of this Ebay development, I simply smiled and asked myself what some of the "pros" are gonna do to profit from this change. And it's true....there are those who will see this as a BIG opportunity, and I cannot WAIT to watch those minds at work! |
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Chiayee |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 18:03:28
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How can eBay be dead for internet marketers? It only make sense if you think all internet marketers do is selling ebooks or as they put it, digital products.
Just look at many others who sell on eBay. They sell CD, cars, posters, toys... etc etc, and they are all internet marketers.
CY |
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Steven Fullman |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 18:21:54
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It's only marketers who would call the
closing of a decent distribution channel
...an opportunity!
Well done for your attitude.
I reckon it's a bad idea, though.
eBay is essentially a self-policing site.
The feedback mechanism works.
So what if some people want to sell
stuff as a download for 99c?
Who cares?
I expect Craigslist will mop up all the
ex-eBay customers. Or some new startup.
You can't kill a successful model by
banning it from one website.
Steve
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Dennis Sim |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 18:42:14
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| You still can post digital products as classified ads. Or probably some folks turn the digital product into physical form to sell on ebay and upsell digital product. :) |
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| Topic |
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Is Ebay Dead For Internet Marketers?