Another of eBay's Top Sellers Bites the Dust: Parrothead88, FB of 74,500 closes

[Anita]

Is vamp using a posting ID?  *Gasp*

[FLvamp]

Posting ID?  :-\  I'm lost.

This is my ID wherever I go ... should I use something else?

[bargainbloodhound]

[quote author=FLvamp link=topic=3718.msg15089#msg15089 date=1148675396]
Posting ID?   :-\  I'm lost.

This is my ID wherever I go ... should I use something else?
[/quote]

Anita was joking. 

[amy]

Welcome to the purple place FLvamp 

[Anita]

[quote author=FLvamp link=topic=3718.msg15089#msg15089 date=1148675396]
Posting ID?   :-\  I'm lost.

This is my ID wherever I go ... should I use something else?
[/quote]

I don't care what ID you use.  I was just being a smartasp. 

[iron_chick]

[quote author=Anita link=topic=3718.msg15141#msg15141 date=1148745115]

I was just being a smartasp. 
[/quote]

You??  Nah.  ;D

[thentavius]

More updates on the parrothead88 'vanishing,' for those interested.

The Wall Street Journal online posted an article which mentioned parrothead sometime around May 20th. The article was quoted on OTWA (I don't have the Wall Street Journal Online, so I can't verify if this content is accurate. Probaby is, though).

Article:

1:19 p.m.: While eBay may be winning high-court cases, the online auctioneer is losing some of its top sellers, which essentially function as small companies in their own right. The latest defection is Parrothead88, a seller since 1997 of shipping supplies including padded envelopes and bubble wrap, who had more than 75,000 positive feedback ratings. He became the first "Shooting Star" Power Seller in 1999, when he earned 10,000 feedback ratings and was featured in eBay's newsletter. According to AuctionBytes, the seller's name is John Hannon and he also operates Bargains Galore in Port Richey, Fla. But as of last Thursday, Mr. Hannon had stopped selling items on eBay, and the site said he was "no longer a registered user."

Bear Stearns analyst Robert Peck made note of departure in a recent report, but said it is unclear why Parrothead88 has stopped listing. In the past month, noted Ina Steiner on AuctionBytes, Parrothead88's buyers have been leaving "an unusual amount of negative ratings for the seller," including many that said they never received their orders. Ms. Steiner said there was "much speculation" about why Parrothead88 left eBay. "Some believe Hannon had sold his business to another company," she wrote. "Others speculate the seller may be having personal issues in his life. But everyone wants to know, what is happening with Parrothead88?"

Two other eBay Power Sellers, GlacierBayDVD and Sell2All, also have removed listings this year. Justin Post at Merrill Lynch said that eBay shares, down some 30% this year, "have been pressured recently by concerns that the domestic core auction business is losing its appeal with sellers in favor of stores." He cites a recent one-day promotion that increased listings on eBay by 6.7 million. "As demonstrated by the response to this promotion, eBay clearly has levers it can use to influence listing volumes, and sellers will shift listings to the most attractive channel."

Personally, I thought the first sentence was VERY insulting to everyone who sells on eBay professionally, but that's a whole other issue. Just shows how some people perceive eBay sellers...

As for parrothead, another member of OTWA (fraidycat) called his 727 number and got this message (paraphrased):

I called the local (727) number two days before (on the 16th), and got a recorded male voice. It said that as of 5/2 they were no longer accepting orders. It went on to say that it was May 16th, and that they expected to ship outstanding orders within the next 5 business days. They apologized but no further information was given.

[maggie777]

Two other eBay Power Sellers, GlacierBayDVD and Sell2All, also have removed listings this year.

Not by choice.  They went bankrupt.

[BellisimaJ.]

I don't care what ID you use.  I was just being a smartasp.

I've never seen you be a smartasp, Anita.

[thentavius]

Hey, FLVAMP!