Posts by Ted

Social networking and blogs more popular than email

You don't have to review the methodology...

...to know that this is completely flawed.

As someone already pointed out, this does not track non-web based email for a start.

Secondly, all "member communities" are lumped together. So it is not just social networking sites, but also blogging sites. Lump enough categories together and you could also claim that religious interest, knitting, motor racing, poetry and gun fetish sites etc *could* be bigger than webmail as well.

About as useful as a chocolate teapot.

eBay forces Aussies to use Paypal

Unbalanced - overly favours buyers

The fees do not worry me too much. They are just milking their cash cow, and the market can react accordingly. However, the move to compulsory PayPal is troubling. Like the removal of feedback on buyers, this is obviously all part of their plan to lure more people to buy stuff on eBay.

When all these measure are taken in their entirety, it has gone altogether too far. It all assumes that *only* sellers can be scammers. This position is totally unbalanced.

There are horror stories on some photography forums of people eBaying cameras or lenses worth several thousands of $ and receiving payment by PayPal. Then, after the goods are delivered, the buyer either complains to eBay/PayPal or reverses the payment via their credit card issuer (either one will do). The seller is loses the money, loses the valuable equipment and to add the final insult, is automatically branded a scammer.

Personally, I will sell stuff until the enforced use of PayPal in May in Australia. After that, I may consider buying stuff, but I will never sell anything again through eBay. Eventually, if enough sellers follow suit, there will be nothing to buy. Way to go, eBay.