Wagglepop 2: Deja Vu as Auction Site That Left Sellers Stranded Reopens

[RiverRat]

[quote author=sherrand link=topic=3775.msg53810#msg53810 date=1179519878]

WHICH IS IT YOU TWO-FACED BOINKARD!!!   

And do you honestly expect us to believe that you get all these emails from potential buyers - the same buyers that can't be bothered to leave feedback most of the time?  Does a buyer have to qualify as Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde to purchase?  Geez but that one is a whopper!   


[/quote]


:blinkie: 

If I was a WP Seller, it would royally p*ss me off to have my intelligence insulted in this manner. 
Does Ray really think his sellers are stupid enough to believe this line of crap? 

[witheyeswideopen]

Hi everyone, just thought I'd pop in and let you all know M&M's Treasures on Wagglepop is officially closed. I emailed asking for it to be closed, expecting all kinds of problems. Luckily, they did not give me the crap I have heard other sellers were getting! My store was closed in a matter of an hour.
I can completely understand the sensitivity about the food issue. I have been on both sides of the fence. I did Weight Watchers a few years back, losing from 210 lbs to 140 lbs. I kept it off for about three years with no problem. Then I injured my back and was out of work. Not having much money coming in, I was forced to but less expensive foods, which are always higher in calories. I also had to give up Weight Lifting which was a big help in losing and maintaining my Weight Loss. Now that I am getting a Workers Comp check, I can afford my "special" foods again, and am back on Weight Watchers again. I started this time at 185. Right now I am at 168. I use Splenda rather than Sweet n Low, because I prefer the taste. I have taken my own salad dressings and sweeteners to resteraunts and always get the "Mama, do you have to do that?" from the kids. The hubby also has been know to say "Well, don't you have flex points you can use this one time?". Even my dad has said "We could have just fed you off the side of the road if all you are going to eat is grass". It gets very exasperating to say the least!

[FineThings4U]

900 + sellers came together to sell on a venue with a friendly (at the time) community with excellent customer care.  We all came for our own personal reasons.  We worked like dogs.  Some of us (myself included) spammed other sites to promote the place we thought was going to grow over time.

Slowly, we all began to see what caused the closure of WP1, although many of us didn't realize it at the time.  Ray's ego.

I feel fortunate to have been there at a time when it was fun and exciting.  I learned loads about logos, templates, categories, meta tags, feeds and so much more.  I learned all of my lessons and then moved on.

I would like to support some of the sellers at WP, but I just cannot bring myself to give Ray another penny.  Most are very fine, hardworking folks with great products and wonderful ideas.

As I step off the old soapbox, I am truly glad that I am able to laugh and share ideas with many former poppers and some current poppers here at TT.

[chiquita]

Good post Platzki,

I do believe Ray counted on the exodus of ticked off sellers from Ebay. In fact I believe he was counting on it, and that Ebay's moves which continue to cause sellers to leave is Ray's marketing plan.

Ray has never planned for or done anything to attract buyers to his site or to brand WP. He never will.

Where do you think WP would be today if there wasn't a forum? If the only thing you judged the site by were your sales, and not getting caught up in Ray's hoopla on the forum. It would then be strictly a business decision without emotion. If the only communication with the site were done via email, how long do you think people would stay? Now they might have found each other at an off site venue like PSU, or elsewhere, but Ray's total control over that forum is a big part of the problem. He uses the forum to control information, spin the truth, and chastise the members. The members are trying to be supportive, but others have developed clicks and been rude to other sellers. The collective mindset is created and maintained on the forum. There have been many more stores close on WP than people who post. I suspect that many never visited the forums, and simply closed up due to lack of sales period,not from naysayers, and not from cheerleaders.

[youroverheadbin]

Fine... 
Platz... 
Banana... 

All of you posted well thought out words. True words.

Here's a partial post from today that might make you gag a little, especially DB (BTW where are you???):

xxx  06 May 2007 13:38     

I had a close encounter and Karen responded very quickly. It turned out to be just a new member that was not familiar with PayPal.

Since wagglepop is a trust based community, I understand that to mean each situation will be dealt with individualy and as it occurs. I am perfectly happy with that.

Selling on line, just like any business, has it's risks. I personally like the fact that Customer Care here will intervene only when requested to. I feel I should be the one to handle my business MY WAY and not depend on someone else - who may have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed that day - to make decisions for me.

later

Regarding the line I bolded:

Lies all lies. KaRay has intercepted private PMs on WP and also contacted customers/buyers directly without the seller's knowledge. Examples of both poor practices and devious conduct are evidenced and documented in this thread. 

I think you are down on quota KaRay; 

[Karma]

[quote author=sherrand link=topic=3775.msg53810#msg53810 date=1179519878]

wagglepopCC1   03 May 2007 18:35       


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,

As much as we would like to, it's simply not possible to watch all of the individual boards at all times looking for questions.

The absolute best way for any member to get answers to questions is first through the Help Center, and secondly direct through Customer Care.

The boards are intended more for questions of a general nature, and member interaction in a friendly and conversational environment, but not intended as a Customer Care contact point in design and nature.

If a question needs an answer from staff, always send it directly to Customer Care.

We're usually pretty quick

Karen - WP Customer Care

Today the subject of this buyer was brought up again by the same popper who alerted the sellers to check their orders. This time the response from CC1 was:

wagglepopCC1   18 May 2007 18:00       


Hello Members,

I just thought it might be important to clarify something posted in this thread regarding management of the Community boards.

We try to monitor each and every board and near every post to the very best of our abilities, but as Advanced Selling board is by far the most active, it naturally receives more attention.

Also, the vast majority of buyer questions are actually sent to us directly in Customer Care in addition to being posted on the boards, so we generally will answer them via that email communication and not the board post, when redundant.

So, what appears to be an unanswered post has, in most cases, already been answered via Customer Care.

I thought it was important to set the record straight on that point, as it seems to be a general misconception and we work very hard to make sure that all members get the help they need when they need it

Karen - WP Customer Care

WHICH IS IT YOU TWO-FACED BOINKARD!!!   

And do you honestly expect us to believe that you get all these emails from potential buyers - the same buyers that can't be bothered to leave feedback most of the time?  Does a buyer have to qualify as Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde to purchase?  Geez but that one is a whopper!   


[/quote]

So true, so true.

The funny thing is, more than 3 times people have asked the question : "Can there be a link somewhere else?"

It still hasn't been answered.

Does anyone stop to ask mmmm.... "my question isn't answered but here is this immediate posting in defense of oneself".

Why feel defensive? It is the sellers responsibility to look for potential customers, remember, WP doesn't sell anything. (but space)

The issue with the buyer appears to be given as examples of WHY such a question should be answered with a yes or no.

We all know no one in CS took care of that buyer, the seller came on the boards themselves a few days later.

There was a member who even came in to do a 2nd post on that thread offering ideas, still no response.

I hope some are viewing it for what it is. Someone who doesn't really care.

[The Pet Guy]

We; FH and I are trying to promot our sites. We are getting a lot of advice from some very nice people. I seem to get confused when doing this type of thing. My skills are lacking when it comes to the internet. It’s like it is easy for a rocket scientist to do brain surgery because they know how. I don’t know how to do these types of things. Apparently I don’t even know what a rocket scientist does. 

[Platzki]

[quote author=sherrand link=topic=3775.msg53820#msg53820 date=1179527724]
Fine... 
Platz... 
Banana... 

All of you posted well thought out words. True words.

Here's a partial post from today that might make you gag a little, especially DB (BTW where are you???):

xxx  06 May 2007 13:38       

I had a close encounter and Karen responded very quickly. It turned out to be just a new member that was not familiar with PayPal.

Since wagglepop is a trust based community, I understand that to mean each situation will be dealt with individualy and as it occurs. I am perfectly happy with that.

Selling on line, just like any business, has it's risks. I personally like the fact that Customer Care here will intervene only when requested to. I feel I should be the one to handle my business MY WAY and not depend on someone else - who may have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed that day - to make decisions for me.

later

Regarding the line I bolded:

Lies all lies. KaRay has intercepted private PMs on WP and also contacted customers/buyers directly without the seller's knowledge. Examples of both poor practices and devious conduct are evidenced and documented in this thread. 

I think you are down on quota KaRay;   


[/quote]

Well... giving this poster the benefit of the doubt, maybe it's not a lie... just a lack of knowledge of past customer care actions and intervening when they were definitely NOT asked to...

I agree... I'm sure DB will have something to say about this one...

[youroverheadbin]

Is there a pattern here?

No stores have left today. Ergo no new stores have appeared.  Yesterday a few stores left and viola, a few new stores appeared to bulk the count back up. This is not the first time I've noted this coincidence. Has anyone else picked up on it?

Once would be a coincidence, 2, 3, 4, 5 times as I've witnessed it becomes something else.

My take; the last 3 pages of stores are KaRay originals, hijacked or parked. Most of them are probably not generating revenue for WP. If it wasn't so pathetic it would be funny. 

[jojo-p]

[quote author=sherrand link=topic=3775.msg53827#msg53827 date=1179532081]
Is there a pattern here?

No stores have left today. Ergo no new stores have appeared.  Yesterday a few stores left and viola, a few new stores appeared to bulk the count back up. This is not the first time I've noted this coincidence. Has anyone else picked up on it?

Once would be a coincidence, 2, 3, 4, 5 times as I've witnessed it becomes something else.

My take; the last 3 pages of stores are KaRay originals, hijacked or parked. Most of them are probably not generating revenue for WP. If it wasn't so pathetic it would be funny.   
[/quote]


You are absolutely correct - I've noticed that too.  If a person didn't check the count a few times a day, it would look (on the surface) like the store list is stable and consistent.   But... it's not!

JoJo