Once upon a time, there was a fledgling auction site called eBay

Once upon a time, there was a fledgling auction site called eBay. The site became popular very rapidly because of a number of reasons...mainly, because you could sell just about anything and have fun in the process. Ebay insisted that it was simply providing a place where a buyer and seller could come together and make a deal on just about anything. If there was a problem, well they couldn't get involved..it wasn't that type of site.

It soon became apparent that eBay had very little competition out there in the online world. It became apparent to eBay also, because soon the rules began to change. Changes happened slowly at first, and then accelerated rapidly. As change occurred, so too did the amount of money eBay charged to do business on the site. People began to see what was happening, eventually, but it was too late. Today eBay is the overlord of the online auction world. They call the shots...they charge the fees. Don't like it? Go somewhere else...and many people did. But the fact remains that no one generates buying traffic like eBay.

Now let's take a quick look at another online giant, Google. Google seems to have partaken of the same cool aid as eBay. Like eBay, it appears Google is getting too big for its britches. It's the only game in town at the moment, and therefore you'll play by their rules..or you will "disappear" altogether from the internet market place.

The implementation of this latest requirement of "unique product identifiers" is going to cost sellers hours and hours of labor trying to get compliant. If for some reason you "get it wrong", they'll tell you, but you won't get the details. You'll have to figure it out for yourself. Oh you can always file an "exemption", but no one really knows what that means. An exemption for each item? An exemption to cover your entire feed? There's still some debate about that, apparently.

I've been reading the forums on other sites, and the good folks who have literally thousands of items apparently have to change each one individually. Personally, I don't think it's worth it.

I don't think I have many items that need product identifiers. I sell mostly collectibles, which I understand are exempt. Question is, do I have to file for that exemption, or do I have to do anything at all? I've been reading some debate over that point also.

Bottom line for me is this...as I add items for sale; I'll add product identifiers when I can. I have no intention of spending hours and hours trying to research items to find their identifiers, if indeed they have any in the first place. Last time I looked, there were other search engines out there that, as far as I know, are not making folks jump through these hoops. So I'll continue to submit to Bing and the like, and let Google crawl over my site for the organic feed. But for a seller like me, a part timer, I just don't have the time or the inclination. Sorry eBa....I mean Google.

Open for Business on Addoway!

My new store is open for business on Addoway.  Addoway is just over a year old, and already it's generating quite a buzz.  I have about 40 items for sale in the new store.  More to come in the coming months.  Please drop by and browse a bit.  I think you'll like what you see!

My New Store Opening Sometime This Week

I'm extremely excited to announce that I will be opening my new store on Addoway sometime next weekend. I'm in the process of organizing at the moment, but I should have some very nice collectibles for sale by next Saturday afternoon, hopefully before that, if possible.

Although there's not much there yet, please feel free to visit my new location on Addoway by clicking here.

With the opening of this store, I will be giving my customers more of a choice as to where they would like to shop. My Bonanza store isn't going anywhere, of course, and each store will have slightly different items. I haven't decided which store will have what items just yet. We'll see how things go before I make that determination. Stay tuned.