Poll: Who is to blame for sellers leaving Wagglepop en masse?

Alskling · 01-21-2007, 07:55 PM,

[quote author=FineThings4U link=topic=3775.msg40854#msg40854 date=1169405016]

Quote:It's up to you.

This is the quote that I have seen over and over again made by KaRay. If it is up to the seller, then will somebody please explain to me why a seller has to pay ten bucks a month (plus additional if you make up your mind to leave) to make KaRay's utopia succeed?

:wtf:
[/quote]

That question got me banned for life on WP. There's your answer.

thentavius · 01-21-2007, 08:51 PM,

I'd just like to repeat this here, for the sake of any newcomers.

What kind of company bills you for the month AFTER you're gone, as punishment for having closed your store?

Wagglepop.

Pay $9.95 a month for each month you're signed up. Then, pay $9.95 for the month AFTER you cancel. How ethical!

chiquita · 01-21-2007, 09:32 PM,

Regarding sellers doing all the work including advertising/marketing of their store on WP, the following post was made on OTWA during WP1.

Quote:: In this thread, http://www.freeauctionscripts.com/commun...e3534.html, they are talking about sellers doing their own advertising. Why in the world would anyone want to do MORE work for LESS money in sales? They are even talking about PAYING for advertising. If I had to do the extra work I would certainly choose to do it on my own website, not someone else's.

Again, this shows another standard trend. Bidville is a PRIME example of this method. For years the sellers had to do their own promotions, their own advertising, and even talked about everything from bumper stickers to print ads. Bidville management was non-existent, and made no effort on their own to provide advertising or marketing.

Today, the new Bidville managment isn't doing much better and they had over 4 million to-date to play around with and accomplish something. Nada. Sales are still below 1% STR.

Wagglepop is really promoting "stealing away" ebay buyers and sellers. That is the very foundation of their marketing plan, and using others to do it. Unethical at best.

This is exactly the same thing that is happening on WP2.
Smileyyellowbang

thentavius · 01-21-2007, 09:55 PM,

Just to echo this:

Quote:Wagglepop is really promoting "stealing away" ebay buyers and sellers. That is the very foundation of their marketing plan, and using others to do it. Unethical at best.

chiquita · 01-21-2007, 10:09 PM,

Failure to answer legitimate business questions and Ray asking for input from sellers but rejecting any ideas except his own are not new to WP2. In fact this is just one of many patterns of behavior that Ray is repeating with WP2

These quotes from OTWA during WP1 hits the nail on the head.

Quote:Business is business. The fanatics can pound their tamborines all day long about how great things are going to be, and say that no one has the right to question another business operation (wagglepop) but people question ebay everyday and they are a multiple-billion dollar operation. You are also putting your business TIME, EFFORT, and money into a brand new site with many questionable issues.

Quote:The complete hostility toward any questions is disturbing.

Quote:The site has nothing going for it to make it happen, and Ray can't deal with the slightest bit of criticism, he wants to micromanage everything, and he has not accepted any suggestions, rather he says he'll think about it and then announces why he is going to do it the way he planned. If that were truly because he had a better way, that would make sense, but he doesn't have the better way in all cases, and he is unable to see that through his own ego. Successful businesspeople want new ideas, and they have the sense to recognize them and implement them. Ray wants all the power, all the credit, all of everything. It's really no wonder he takes any little bit of criticism of the site personally, he has his own ego so far into it, it IS him.

Quote:: I think you will find, if you look over things objectively, that there are plenty of startups who do not get sent through the wringer like some others have...

Why is this?

Maybe they can answer a few questions without going apes**t. They aren't run by narcissistic creeps who blow sunshine up everyone's skirt and try to manipulate users, and often lie to them.

On the other hand, the ones who do go through the wringer are, startups that show themselves to be just as, or more greedy and deceitful and manipulative than eBay is... without having any of the upside eBay offers.

That "sunshine up the skirt narcissistic megalomaniac" thing up there wasn't Ray-specific, as it applies to Troy MacDonald and various other OAI messianic wannabes...

On the other hand, there is also the possibility of something much better, and I think THAT is what we are all looking and hoping to find, and from what I have seen here and elsewhere, and apparently what many others have seen as well... this ain't it.

Alskling · 01-21-2007, 10:10 PM,

[quote author=thentavius link=topic=3775.msg40861#msg40861 date=1169416530]
Just to echo this:

Quote:Wagglepop is really promoting "stealing away" ebay buyers and sellers. That is the very foundation of their marketing plan, and using others to do it. Unethical at best.

[/quote]

I think it is more accurate to say that WP is really promoting "stealing away" sellers -- period. Ray doesn't give a rat's ass about buyers. If sellers want buyers they'll have to lure them over themselves if they want to stay alive.

RiverRat · 01-21-2007, 10:33 PM,

[quote author=chiquita link=topic=3775.msg40860#msg40860 date=1169415167]
Regarding sellers doing all the work including advertising/marketing of their store on WP, the following post was made on OTWA during WP1.

Quote:: In this thread, http://www.freeauctionscripts.com/commun...e3534.html, they are talking about sellers doing their own advertising. Why in the world would anyone want to do MORE work for LESS money in sales? They are even talking about PAYING for advertising. If I had to do the extra work I would certainly choose to do it on my own website, not someone else's.

Again, this shows another standard trend. Bidville is a PRIME example of this method. For years the sellers had to do their own promotions, their own advertising, and even talked about everything from bumper stickers to print ads. Bidville management was non-existent, and made no effort on their own to provide advertising or marketing.

Today, the new Bidville managment isn't doing much better and they had over 4 million to-date to play around with and accomplish something. Nada. Sales are still below 1% STR.

Wagglepop is really promoting "stealing away" ebay buyers and sellers. That is the very foundation of their marketing plan, and using others to do it. Unethical at best.

This is exactly the same thing that is happening on WP2.
Smileyyellowbang

[/quote]

Yet another great example of "history repeats itself" and I don't doubt one bit, that the rest of WP1's history will eventually be repeated too.

Leopards don't change their spots and neither has Ray. He's no different than he was during WP1.

**amy** · 01-21-2007, 10:41 PM,

[quote author=FineThings4U link=topic=3775.msg40854#msg40854 date=1169405016]

Quote:It's up to you.

This is the quote that I have seen over and over again made by KaRay. If it is up to the seller, then will somebody please explain to me why a seller has to pay ten bucks a month (plus additional if you make up your mind to leave) to make KaRay's utopia succeed?

:wtf:
[/quote]

That question has been answered multiple times by the cheerleaders Cowcheer

: "you should think of Wagglepop as your web hosting provider. Wagglepop is a great deal for $10 monthly because they provide so much more than the average web host!" Puke

chiquita · 01-21-2007, 10:44 PM,

Is Ray now requiring phone verification for buyers and sellers? It was mentioned on PSU.
:blinkie:

Alskling · 01-21-2007, 10:51 PM,

WP Today for first Quarter 2007:

Quote:Moving into the new year, as a company we continue to work towards building our vision of what an online buying and selling community should be.

In doing so, we hope to continue to attract sellers for whom building a business on Wagglepop is about offering quality items and products, fair prices, excellent customer service, and building a customer base for the long-term in the spirit of creating a site and community that benefits both buyers and sellers equally.

Bolding mine.

Read the entire WP TODAY, and you will find NO MENTION WHATSOEVER of any program, feature, or plan to attract BUYERS.