Following today’s Propworx Iron Man auction and the entertainment memorabilia event held by Heritage Auction Galleries last week, I thought it might be interesting to revisit the state of online auction remote bidding services active in the marketplace today. While there are a few options available, there are still some distinct differences in the quality and features of each service: Auction Network, iCollector, LiveAuctioneers, and Heritage Live. [Read more…]
In support of their Summer Sale in Las Vegas June 26-27, Julien’s Auctions has today announced their “Julien’s Live” online bidding service. Julien’s Auctions has historically used the excellent Auction Network in support of their live auction events, so this marks a change of bringing online bidding in-house, as we have seen with other auction houses such as Heritage Auction Galleries and Christie’s. [Read more…]
As an update to eBay’s frequent and ongoing policy changes to a “PayPal Only” payment system, details regarding previously announced changes that further integrate PayPal into parent company eBay have been further clarified. Such changes include the elimination of checks and money orders under most circumstances. [Read more…]
As part of the continuing coverage of developments related to eBay’s “PayPal Only” business model objectives, eBay President Lorrie Norrington announced a number of policy updates. Some of these updates include the elimination of checks and money orders as a payment option (with the exception of “pick-up” transactions), which leaves users with very limited “electronic” options: credit cards, ProPay, and PayPal. [Read more…]
eBay has published a statement on its Australian auction site (ebay.com.au) and e-mailed those members with a policy update in response to the ACCC actions reported on last week. It appears that the debate has now been framed as “anti-competitive” by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, with eBay’s retort to the ACCC’s objection as one that “undermines online consumer protection”. eBay has delayed it’s previously announced plans by one month. [Read more…]
As reported last month (see “PayPal Only” eBay Developments In The News), eBay announced that, beginning mid-June, PayPal would be the only method of payment permitted on eBay transactions taking place in Australia. This move by eBay appears to have been setback by a notice filed by the ACCC. [Read more…]
Thanks to a tip from a reader of yesterday’s article (see “More eBay Policy Developments Regarding PayPal“), I looked a little more into the Google-related developments with eBay’s policy changes in Australia (see ““PayPal Only” eBay Developments In The News“).
This article on AuctionBytes – “Oops! Google Outed in Objection to eBay Oz Policy” – reports that one of their readers, in reviewing the file properties of an anonymous filing to the regulatory agency in Australia (currently reviewing the “PayPal-only” policy proposed by eBay), found that evidence suggests it was drafted by Google. [Read more…]
As reported in late September and early November, hobbyists spanning several online discussion forums (primarily The Movie Prop Forum and the Star Trek Props, Costumes & Auctions Forum) had been outspoken about a variety of customer service complaints with It’s a Wrap and their handling of the official CBS ~ Paramount Television Star Trek auctions.
In monitoring the discussion forums and talking with collectors privately, it seems as though It’s A Wrap has turned things around significantly. I have learned from many collectors that customer service has improved significantly, auction wins have been delivered quickly/timely, and there seems to be much more positive buzz about the weekly auction events. I hope for both It’s A Wrap and their customers that these trends continue. [Read more…]