10 Counts Of Wire Fraud

The matter is obviously still ongoing but in short Shawn was accused of cookie stuffing, a technique that is considered illegal and more so immoral. Adding to the problems the FBI in July 2010 indicted him on 10 counts of wire fraud and criminal forfeiture.

This is a guy who was not only at one piont making over $1,000,000 per month from the eBay affiliate program but was even featured in Wired magazine for his courageous stand and victory against the RIAA just 2 years prior. This guy was hailed as a hero and to many he’s a role model for internet success. So what exactly is going on here!

Shawn’s Comments

For many this issue is old and forgotten but Shawn recently posted his own view and perspective on the whole clash and it’s in an interesting read to say the least. I’ve always been a Shawn Hogan supporter but after reading his own account taken from his blog, I have to say some serious questions come to mind.

For example buying the affiliate manager a $50,000 car and other accessories is not normal in any circle. It’s always going to look like a bribe especially when you’re insisting you were doing things illegally in the first place. And yes that’s even if you claim eBay was asking you to do things illegally which also sounds even more bizarre.

During the lengthy account another problem area for me is his insistance that he wanted to get out. He kept saying that he felt pressurized into staying with the program but for a guy who many respected for standing up to the bullies (e.g. RIAA case) why would he be bullied into staying on a program which he was free to leave at any time. Maybe the real reason was simply that turning down the millions of dollars he was making was simply too difficult to do.

Make Up Your Own Mind

Other questions have come to mind but for now I will keep silent on them. For now take a read of his own blog account and come to your own conclusions.

On a parting note however, I will say is that this whole fiasco is no laughing matter for eBay or Shawn as both sides stand to lose a lot of money and reputation. If found guilty it could mean serious fines and for Shawn that could even extend to some serious prison time.

A couple of highlights on the announcement.  No more average DSR’s.  They’ll be using a more seller friendly count of the low (1′s and 2′s) star ratings.  Also, some changes to the requirements for PowerSeller status that should make it a bit easier to get in.

I’ll save you the in depth look here, as there will be plenty of that going around the blogs in the coming days, but if you really need to have a bit of analysis you can take a look at what Scot Wingo thinks of all the changes over at eBay Strategies.

From the Announcement:

Hello everyone…I’d like to share some news regarding fee changes for eBay-hosted pictures that we’re making in the Collectibles, Art, Antiques and Pottery & Glass categories. The first eBay-hosted picture in an item is already free.

Effective February 18, 2009, we are making all additional pictures, Picture Pack and Gallery Plus FREE for listings in all four categories on the US site (www.ebay.com). This includes all formats and all durations.

That’s pretty cool. You can read the rest of the announcement where they go into a little detail on why they are doing it, but it’s a pretty nice step in a good direction for sellers. At least, sellers in those categories. At a guess, this is likely a test and if it goes well, might be rolled out to more categories further down the line.

Amazon usually puts out a pretty good list, and this year is no exception.  You can see the Amazon Hot Holiday Toy List.  There’s plenty of good ideas out there if you want to look for them.  I see the seemingly ever popular Elmo toys.  Thomas the Tank Engine and some Bob the Builder too.  And as usual, there’s a plethora of noise making toys.  Why kids like those so much is beyond me, but I’m beginning to think it’s mostly to annoy their parents.

Another good use for lists like the Amazon Toy List, if you haven’t figured it out already, is to scout for merchandise to try and sell somewhere.  eBay perhaps.  The lists aren’t always 100% spot on, but they are usually good for a few steady sellers and one or two hot ones.

The Code is: CHOLIDAYNOV2008

It will give you 10% off up to $100 and is effective from now until November 30, 2008.

If you got it in your eBay account or your email, now is a good time to take advantage of the program and pick up some Christmas gifts early. Every little bit of savings is going to help this holiday season. Hopefully, there will be a eBay/Paypal coupon code for December and the Holiday season 2008.

The Code is: CFALLSAVINGS10P

It will give you 10% off up to $100 and is effective from now until October 30, 2008. I sometimes wish that they would release some eBay Coupons that are a little more universal. I don’t have a problem with them rewarding their good users, but throwing out a generic eBay Coupon or PayPal Coupon every now and then certainly wouldn’t hurt. Make it something cheap 1% or 2% maybe.

From the press release:

Terapeak, an eBay Certified Provider,
today announced that Marketplace Research by Terapeak is being offered as an
alternative for eBay Marketplace Research, which eBay plans to retire as of
September 15th, 2008. Available to all existing eBay Marketplace Research
subscribers, and to all eBay users going forward, the tool will be
accessible from the eBay website, and Terapeak will provide dedicated
customer support.

Fred Speckeen, CEO of Terapeak/AERS, says, “The transfer of research
responsibilities to Terapeak reflects our longstanding business relationship
with eBay, and our company’s commitment to providing the best market
research product possible. Although most eBay sellers know us for our
Terapeak product, AERS was the first licensee of eBay data, and also
provides e-commerce analytics based on eBay data to the larger Fortune 1000
community. We are proud and excited to be invited to offer Terapeak as an
alternative to eBay Marketplace Research.”

I’ve long thought that the Terapeak engine was much better than the marketplace research engine. This should be an interesting change however. Might take a few times around for users to get used to the software as well as differences in prices and such.

The coupon code that you’ll need at checkout is: CJUNE0810P

Again, it expires on June 30,2008 and has a maximum discount of $100

If you didn’t get an email from eBay, it may not work, but it’s still worth a try in case it didn’t get to your email box. As far as I know it will only work for those that it was sent to, but again, give it a try and see.

After you’ve made purchases and it’s been credited to your eBayBucks account, you can then use those eBaybucks in the same way that you would an eBay coupon or Paypal Coupon. The program could end up being a pretty good deal for some buyers that do most of their purchasing on the auction giant.

We should begin hearing more about this program now that it’s being rolled out, but don’t expect any concrete facts about it until (if) they roll it out to all users. If they decide it’s not worth it, or not profitable, then it will most likely get shuttered and we’ll never hear about it again.

So, will you be participating? I normally don’t participate in things like this, but I believe I will this time around. I’m running a little low on inventory anyways, so the extra week will give me plenty of time to get my inventory levels up to normal. I’m no powerseller, so my not listing isn’t going to make a big difference. All of us together though can make a small dent in eBay this month. Certainly not enough to make a difference in the fees or feedback change, but enough to make eBay notice a little more.

I’m also working on taking the time that I would have used to list items for the coming week, and using it to revisit some alternatives to eBay that are worth checking out. Some I’ve used and use, others that I’m only thinking about. Keep an eye out this week for several of those.