To all new TTers. Your Koolaid detox program has begun.
Quote:Received a PM from someone with really really negative Karma letting me know the 'truth' about WP.
I'm quite curious on the content of your PM. Care to share? I, for one, would love to hear the "truth" about WP.
Unique Visitors Update:
April traffic numbers from Compete:
wagglepop.com 47,219 -16.6%
April traffic from Quantcast
Uniques per Month 46,234 (down from 56,600 in March and 67,400 in February)
http://www.quantcast.com/wagglepop.com/traffic
WP's Flagship Banner Advertising information page states ad rates are based on Quantcast unique traffic numbers and yet the site has failed to lower the ad rates it charges advertisers to reflect the sharply lower traffic.
Quote:Category Flagship Banners use a "liquid" rate card based on overall site traffic independently reported by Quantcast (quantcast.com) each month. Specifically, the monthly advertising rate is determined by using the "Estimated Monthly U.S. Unique Visitors" statistic, closing on the 26th of the month prior as the rate base for the next month. At the time of this writing Wagglepop receives approximately 67,462 unique U.S. visitors per month.
http://www.wagglepop.com/bin/Help?cmd=view&pages=category_flagship
Based on Wagglepop's statements on the Flagship Banner info page, rates should have been lowered approximately 16% to $74.30 in April and May rates should be set at $60.63. If you bought advertising in April or May you were overcharged and have a valid basis for filing a complaint against Wagglepop for false advertising.ÂÂ
I just READ AGAIN this little tidbit buried in the recent "announcement" and find it very disturbing:
Quote:Access to the Wagglepop Marketplace will continue in the current "open" format at this time, but we will be introducing "closed" format over the next few months. The new format will require verifiable online selling references and/or upfront payment along with a few other requirements that will do much to attract what will serve all membership best - dedicated and trustworthy sellers. There may even be a short period where we will not accept new sellers into the Marketplace. Expect announcements as appropriate in the coming weeks and months.
bolding mine.
Anyone care to give a guess on what that will entail? Am I to infer that WP will only accept sellers who have already been selling on big sites like eBay and Amazon or have their own established web sites?
Can one not also infer that the present WP selling community is NOT composed of "dedicated and trustworthy" sellers, otherwise such draconian measures would not be necessary?
Is this not another way of saying "we will close the site to new sellers but with our new 'requirements' will open it to eBay sellers with a few thousand positive feedbacks and five star ratings to cough up (up front, with no return for unused portion of their fees) twice what it costs for an Ebay store front to join our dorky site with no traffic. Anyone less can f&*k off?"
Is not this announcement, along with the 300% increase in basic store fees another way of weeding out those selling home-made trinkets as a hobby or odds and ends to help with their kid's kidney transplant expenses without flat-out excommunicating them for bad behavior? Why, that's the majority of the existing seller base.
IS THIS NOT ABOUT POWER, GREED and ONE MAN'S DREAM OF E-GLORY?
CULT!!!!!!!!!!
 Â
Edited because I accidentally hit the "enter" with my new keyboard.
An exchange between 2 sellers on the WP boards that was posted after Ray went to bed last night and deleted by him the second he woke up this morning.
It's amazing how he's shaped that thread (with the help of his boinktard sheep cheerleaders) so it appears everyone is in favor of the fee hike.
seller 1 Wrote:I don't think this increase is better for me. I'm not selling enough to offset the FVF's being free. Mine has only been a very little bit or none at all in a month.
I guess sellers who have been here a while but didn't start out with a boom aren't wanted.
Why can't we keep the 9.95 just like it is now, and upgrade or even be forced to upgrade when the cost of FVF's come close or are consistently meeting the extra money to make this move worth while.
You are raising my fees a whole big bunch, for me and my kind anyway. I'm glad so many of you are doing enough business that this fee raise is good for you, but it isn't good for me and others who are struggling to get established. I may not be able to stay, and I'm sure a few others won't.
So if this takes place June 1st I guess I will be shutting my store down the day before and will look for less expensive places. That's why I came here. The price was right,
seller 2 Wrote:I'm a small seller. I had to transfer all my things fron Zshops when that was closed on the River.
I don't sell a whole lot but the $10 a month was priced right. Now I'm supposed to pay 2x more and frankly I don't see any advantage.
I don't have to pay any final fees--wow, that's--what? I suppose if I sold a lot it's be worth it, it's not for me.
I feel betrayed. I'm in a bind, I have no where else to list small items except here. So now what do I do!
I figured the price would go up, but not 30.00! I don't think it's right.
Plenty ticked off!!!!
seller 1 Wrote:Yep going to have to quit. I've sold around 25 dollars worth of stuff since I started here 1/30/08. I figurd it would take a year, maybe less to get established here. I've just sold this week the most merchandise I have in the time I've been here, but as you can see it isn't much.
So I'll be moving out by the end of the month. Dang, and I just paid for next month. But it was still at the $9+ cost
So if this goes thru, as I'm sure it is going to, I have to say bye bye.
seller 2 Wrote:I have to bookmark my store so I can access my catagories, Feedback is so hard to do--need a roadmap. Send an invoice and have to copy it right then because what you get in your email tells you nothing.
So now we get dumped on with high fees. Can you tell--I'm royally PO'd
I think we've been taken advantaged of because we small sellers have no where to go.
edit:
DB Wrote:I, for one, would love to hear the "truth" about WP.
Then read this
[quote author=sherrand link=topic=3775.msg69803#msg69803 date=1210129732]
[quote author=Platzki link=topic=3775.msg69801#msg69801 date=1210129216]
... as long as you use more whipped cream!!
[/quote]
I have the pressurized nozzle on hold with a spring-loaded elastic band as backup and a finger just itching to drop the load. Â
Ummmm....Payload...you know how it works. Â
Yummy - Tasty - Good!!!!!!  :easter1:
[/quote]
I knew I could count on you you naughtyÂ
:turkey2: Remember this? And another one gone and another one gone... The turkey move just perfect to that song!!!
:turkey2:Â Another one bites the dust!!
DB - Ray made that comment about not accepting new sellers as some type of forethought that he can use in the future. I'm not quite sure what he's got up his sleeve but if I had to guess, I would think it would have something to do with blaming the sellers for not stepping up and filling their shelves.
He is planning something... no one would keep sellers from joining a "selling" site. It's almost like he's trying to get it to fail to make it look like it was the sellers fault. I know I'm doing a lousy job of explaining what I mean, but I hope you see where I'm going with this.
There was mention made of this same thing over on the PSU board (link in previous post)... this post was worded better than mine but it's the same idea.
Quote:Another one bites the dust!!
seller #2 (and her store) in the quotes I just posted did bite the dust along with her posts this morning.
-----------------
Is this
showcase store  a real store? 8 items, total inventory value $10.  It's never had more than 12 items, $15 inventory in it.  Shipping is listed as $1 for every item. Why would anyone pay $39 monthly to list $10 worth of inventory?
edit: Shipping isn't $1 on every item -there's at least one item where it's only $0.41.
Platz,
If I get what you're saying, it could be that Ray's intent is to purposely sabotage his own site but refusing to accept new sellers (and the listings and buyers they might bring) so he has the perfect "It's not my fault" excuse to shut it down (or at least the "participation" part of it) on the grounds that his sellers were all lazy bums and didn't stock the shelves like good little cultist slaves. If so, that would give him an "out" to trash whatever seller base he has left after October (all the while pocketing the $30/mo minimum each from them in the meantime to help finance his dropshipping set-up) should his little dropshipping coalition with PS and FMG prove more lucrative and less trouble than dealing with a handful of sellers.
Hmm -- I see where this might be leading: WP the cheap-o dropship site, owned and managed by the holy trinity.
Quote:Quote from: DB
I, for one, would love to hear the "truth" about WP.
Then read this
My comment was one of "insert sarcasm". I'm simply curious what kind ofÂ
PS/User/FMG may have come up with to discredit us and glorify them.Â
Edited to add a parenthetical phrase.
Ray added a new feature last night :
A Popper Cheerleader Wrote:I also noticed that when I make a post on the boards this morning that there is a little check box to make sure you know that your post may be deleted if it contains any information that would be in violation with the WP Rules.... good thing to have right up front where posters are reminded!
Way to go, Wagglepop!
edit: the new checkbox
Quote:Yes, I have read and agree to the Board Participation Policy and all clarifications as a condition of my participation within the Wagglepop Community. I understand the high standards for participation and that my board privileges may be suspended or terminated without notice for violation of any part of the policy or any posted clarifications.
[quote author=Designers Bargains link=topic=3775.msg69816#msg69816 date=1210167074]
Platz,
If I get what you're saying, it could be that Ray's intent is to purposely sabotage his own site but refusing to accept new sellers (and the listings and buyers they might bring) so he has the perfect "It's not my fault" excuse to shut it down (or at least the "participation" part of it) on the grounds that his sellers were all lazy bums and didn't stock the shelves like good little cultist slaves. If so, that would give him an "out" to trash whatever seller base he has left after October (pocketing the $30/mo minimum each from them in the meantime to help finance his dropshipping set-up) should his little dropshipping coalition with PS and FMG prove more lucrative and less trouble than dealing with a handful of sellers.
Hmm -- I see where this might be leading: WP the cheap-o dropship site, owned and managed by the holy trinity.
Quote:Quote from: DB
I, for one, would love to hear the "truth" about WP.
Then read this
My comment was one of "insert sarcasm". I'm simply curious what kind ofÂ
PS/User/FMG may have come up with to discredit us and glorify them.Â
Edited to add a parenthetical phrase.
[/quote]
Sorry. Hit the wrong button again. This new keyboard my husband bought me with all these bells and whistles is taking some getting used to.