Ebay Sucks - Continued

After my ebay fiasco several weeks ago (here), I got in touch with a friend, who is a VP at ebay, because I was really at wits end with this whole ordeal. He, in turn, had people from both ebay and paypal contact me about the issues I had with ebay fraud and their crappy customer support. I had two vastly different experiences with the paypal and ebay representatives that contacted me. Here's what transpired.

Paypal

I received a call from the office of the president of PayPal. We went through my entire ordeal, him interrupting me with apologies left and right. It was nice, maybe a little too nice, but hey, at least I was speaking with a real person at this point in time. While he assured me that ebay was doing something about my specific case, he couldn't tell me what they were doing. In addition, even though I had contacted the police and FBI myself - they still couldn't engage law enforcement on their end. It had to come from law enforcement. There were lots of useless reasons behind this. But it was apparent that it wasn't changing anytime soon.

While the call was cordial. I actually felt better after speaking to him. Not because anything was changing or going to change - but because he admitted that their situation certainly was in a less than perfect state.

According to this person, they are constantly revisiting their procedures for dealing with situations regarding fraud. And they're happy to take my advice into account. While it felt good to hear that, I just don't buy it. Nonetheless, he left me his phone number, asked me not to give it out (which I won't), and told me to get in touch again with any issues I had in the future. span style="font-weight:bold;">Ebay

I was expecting a similar discussion when ebay contacted me. Well, wrong again. Ebay, while courteous, kept our discussion to email. It was also a very defensive exchange rather than a how can we be helpful to our customers. In fact, several times in the email, the woman explained how and why ebay couldn't do anything about my situation. She said something along the lines of, well, since it wasn't ebay's servers that were compromised, and it was your account, there's nothing we can do. Some people who aren't computer literate may take that comment and say. Oh, ok. But I don't buy that. Just because ebay doesn't think their servers were compromised, certainly doesn't mean that. A simple password attack could have compromised the servers. Or, like old Unix servers, a password file may have been left encrypted somewhere for someone to hack. Whatever the case, she was dead wrong. For some background on Vladuz - a Romanian hacker who compromised ebay's site without them knowing... here.

She responded that she was wrong and babbled breathlessly for the rest of the email. I had already stopped listening. I just hope ebay doesn't stop listening to its customers.

I Hate EBay! For Real!

(Note: Yea, my ebay handle Silentwarrior is totally lame. But I opened this account in '99. So give me a break)

I was all sorts of fired up today. Firing on all cylinders. I even woke up at 7. I never wake up at seven. I don't think I've seen the 7 hour from this side of night since '85. Yea, my sleep was crappy, but that wasn't from a lack of it. It had everything to do with a guest staying over who decided it was cool to turn the washing machine on at 4:45am. "I didn't think it would make any noise". Um. Ok. That guest is banned. For being an idiot.

I start checking my email and low and behold there's an urgent message from ebay: eBay Registration Suspension: NonPayment. Oh no, not this again. Talk about a time drain. It's not like I don't have anything else to do with my time.

As you know, someone hacked into my ebay account and listed items for sale. They sold a ton of them and accrued quite a large amount in listing fees. Ebay said they would cancel all the fees. They didn't. I received a bill. Spent hours talking to their shitty customer support via chat (they have NO phone support) and they told me next billing cycle, all would be handled. I assumed the ten hours I spent on their silly little chat customer service meant they got their story right.

Well, after that email this morning, I logged in, and my account was locked. Shut down. Incapacitated. Now I was livid. I had spent, literally, hours upon hours on the chat program several days ago getting this resolved. They had sent me back and forth from billing to fraud so many different times that my head is still spinning (in a chat window too! And every time I was shuttled back and forth, I was queued up again, having to wait to speak, er, chat, with the next available idiot). When I would begin to raise my voice to tell them they had been doing this 6 times already...you know, by CAPITALIZING WHAT I WAS SAYING, they wouldn't answer me and they would just send me back and forth between fraud and billing. It was a nightmare. That's when I was finally assured next billing cycle the charges would be dropped...no problem.

So today I get on chat to resolve this. I'm so angry I can barely type. This is such a nuisance I don't even know what to say about it. But it makes me realize when a company just doesn't get it. I write a lot about companies not getting it. And while in good times, this can be ok, because everybody is happily spending money, it is not a sustainable practice, either when the economy turns or when alternatives begin to pop up. With eBay, it'll be more about competition than about the economy. It will be about customer backlash and their own mistakes. A big error they already made was dropping 3.5 billion dollars for Skype. Man. That was dumb. But another is alienating customers. Last year they made some changes to feedback ratings and listing fees which put the eBay community on the offensive. Customers left in droves. They held boycotts (great story). I hate eBay so much right now. But I'm sure I'll still use them for things. At least until the next auction site starts competing.

The worst part of this whole thing is that I can't even complain to ebay. I've sent emails...I get a canned response back. There's no phone number. No management on the chat program you can talk to. It's a nightmare! And their partner company, PayPal, is no different.

My Stolent eBay Identity!

I awoke on Friday and decided I wanted to check out my ebay account. It had been 8 months since the last time I had tried, unsuccesfully, to log in. Well, to no big surprise, I still couldn't login. I sent myself a password reminder. It never came to my email address. I tried to reset my password. No luck. All the info had apparently been changed.

A few hours later and several excruciating and painful online chat sessions with ebay fraud, I finally had my account back. Someone had been selling goods, about $5,000/month in goods, in my good name. I felt violated. For real. Someone had been impersonating me. Even responding to emails with my name. Damn. They had access to my paypal account too. Fortunately, they didn't steal anything. At least not my knowledge.

I would have expected eBay to have been all over this. Starting an investigation or whatnot. Who was I kidding? Why would someone like ebay want to pursue this and make their site safe? Besides the obvious reasons. Ebay actually said they couldn't pursue anything on my behalf. That I had to file a police report and then the police would have to work with them. Ok...so I'll just do that. That shouldn't be too hard.

Well, I called my local PD and they wouldn't even file a report. They basically said there was nothing they could do since there was no monetary loss. And thus, most people would have let the trail die. But not me.

Damn. I had this guy's IP address, which at the very least linked back to a Comcast ISP in New Hampshire (24.63.46.106) - because he tried to reset the password last night and it sent me the IP address where the reset originated from. I had this guy's name or alleged name: Seybou (or Seybuo) Hamidou. I had his PO Box in New york: PO Box 59, New York, NY 10113. I even had his credit card attached to my account. But I couldn't see anything but the last four digits: 2009. That's a lot of info.

I searched through all of the exchanged messages from my account over the last month (since that's all they keep). I found a few tracking numbers from UPS and the USPS. And I knew he had a Discover card.

With all this information, you'd think it would be easy. So I did some more research. I filed a complaint with the FTC and with IC3 (the FBI's identity theft complaint division). I also researched identity theft - and though I suffered no monetary loss, that didn't seem to matter. This is what I found:

Under federal criminal law, identity theft takes place when someone “knowingly
transfers, possesses or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification
of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, or in connection
with, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal law, or that
constitutes a felony under any applicable state or local law.” Under this definition, a name or Social Security number is considered a “means of identification.” So is a credit card number, cellular telephone electronicserial number, or any other piece of information that may be used alone or in conjunction with other information to identify a specific individual.


Now that I was equipped with some knowledge, I went back to the police department and filed a police report, which they finally took. Now I need to wait to hear from the detective and hopefully they'll actually do something. I'm not really holding out hope...so I'm working on tracking this dude down myself. You'd think that they'd make it easy to go after criminals. But it's not. With all the hoops I'm having to jump through and the research I'm having to do on my own, it's no wonder that most e-criminals never get caught. I mean, what the hell?

I'll keep you posted. I've included all the information I have on this guy. Feel free to track him down. If you live in NY. Stake that PO Box out. That would rule.

Surprise Surprise. The Results are In. Ebay and United Really Do Suck!

Two of my least favorite companies are in the news again. I'm happy to report that Glassdoor.com has just released their best and worst places to work. The usual suspects adorn the best places list (full list here). These lists are telling of the types of talent a company can recruit. While many great employees seek out "best places" to work, worst places not only push away prospective employees but also alienate their own. Treating your employees well is part of your total success equation (along with treating your customers well).

1) General Mills
2) Bain
3) Netflix
4) Adobe
5) Northwestern Mutual
6) Whole Foods
7) Google
8) SAP
9) Continental
10) NetApp

And... now for the worst places (full list here).

1) DHL Express (USA)
2) United Airlines
3) Reynolds and Reynolds
4) Farmers Group
5) Gibson Guitar
6) RadioShack
7) Rain Bird
8) CSAA Inter-Insurance Bureau
9) Office Depot
10) Compuware
47) Ebay

IP Baby Naming Rights for sale on Ebay! Seriously?

Ok, this is great. I was sent an email by my friend and actually had to confirm with him that this was legit. He's offering up baby naming rights for his next child, which is expected in late May. There are some rules to this, but they're pretty fair for the bidders. I have to say, knowing this guy, I was a bit surprised. He's a tax attorney in Massachusetts, with a very normal life. He lives in suburbia so I'm sure this will be big news there. But hey... if you can drum up support, I'm sure a company like GoDaddy or GoldenPalace.com would love to bid. After all, they've bid on toast that has a picture of the Virgin Mary before (here).

There have been others who have sold baby naming rights, for a song (here). That's just ridiculous.

Anywhere, here's what you get (link to the auction here):

1. The name must relate to a genuine for-profit business and must be for purposes of marketing in connection with the business.
2. The business must be a family- or child-oriented businesses, and the name chosen must relate to the business.
3. The name chosen must be appropriate for a baby boy, not a baby girl, and must be an appropriate name in an English-speaking country. By way of example, "General Electric" is an acceptable name. However, "Weirdo" is not acceptable, even if "Weirdo" means "General Electric" in some foreign language.
4. The winner will receive the following rights:
a. to choose the child's first and middle name,
b. the right to forty (40) hours per year of the child's time for marketing campaign purposes at no additional cost, other than reimbursement of travel and other out-of-pocket expenses;
c. in addition to the time set forth in the preceding paragraph, the right to have a representative present and to record (by video or audio) birthday parties, sporting events, and other normal childhood events.
d. the exclusive right to require the child to use products and/or services relating the relevant business (e.g., a certain brand of diapers or baby food);
e. the exclusive right to the baby's image and likeness, other than a reserved right for family and friends to use pictures of the little guy for normal family (non-marketing) purposes.
f. the right to a daily blog created by his parents for the purpose of memorializing the child's life, experiences, etc.
g. the right to change the child's name in the event of a merger, etc., of the relevant business, subject to the foregoing restrictions and limitations.
5. The agreement will cease on the child's eighteenth (18th) birthday.
6. Such additional rights and obligations as the parties agree to prior to closing the agreement.

All terms and conditions to be agreed to by the parties in good faith prior to any payment being due under this auction.
Ultrasound pictures can be provided upon request.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140312612135\

What does the economy mean for us entrepreneurs? Part II, post Sequioa's Doomsday call

So last night was a pretty scary night out there in the Valley. A foreshadow of the impending Halloween season. GigaOm reported on a special meeting that Sequoia Capital called for it's portfolio companies (see here). If you're faint of heart, don't read it. It certainly was, like its title suggests, a Doomsday warning. The sky is falling, earth is crumbling and burning, Satan has appeared, and the apocalypse is upon us. No company is going to survive! No entrepreneur can possibly make it. This is ten times as bad as the initial dotcom bubble.

Relax. Unless you're burning through your cash like it's nobodies business. Or not making money because you have no business model. Or don't have users. Or have no strategy. Then you can worry a bit. But then again, you shouldn't have made it this far anyway. Consider yourself lucky that you got away with as much as you did. Close shop and save the little money you had. Especially because your friends and family are going to need it.

While the people who made the remarks at Sequioa's meeting are incredibly bright and undoubtedly the leading investors and even leading thought leaders for VC in the Valley - they're also alarmists. If you're scared off by this rhetoric - get out of building a business. You shouldn't be an entrepreneur anyway.

Sure we're in for rough times. Who doesn't know that? Are we in a recession? Yes. Are we in for a depression? Maybe. Didn't I say a few days ago that $700B won't do much to cure our problems? Yes. Didn't I say months ago that we're in a tech bubble (here)? Yes. So listen to me know when I tell you what I told you yesterday. If you're building a business that's creating real "tangible" value for your consumers. That has a business model. That isn't a one off improvement. You can be fine. Just don't be stupid. Don't have launch parties to launch a product destined for failure. Don't hire people you don't need. Spend that money building something cool (by cool here, I don't mean Twitter for business). How long until Yammer hits the dead pool on Tech Crunch? How long until Facebook has to lay people off? Ebay already has. Who didn't see that coming (here, here)?

I've spent about $20,000 in the past year on Vyoo. It's not a lot. Sure it's taken longer than I'd ever imagine. And far longer because I can't pay anyone. But hell - I'm doing it because I love what I'm doing. I'm passionate about my company. And I want to start a great business. What better time to do this now that all of the other scaredy cats are running away?

What I'm Not Thankful For...

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, the next logical step is to post what I'm not thankful for. Actually, I was trying to wrap my head around writing a Euclidean Distance calculator for our algorithm when I decided to take a bathroom break. The seat was down on the toilet in the men's room. And yea, I know you don't want to hear it, but the person who used it last didn't need the seat down, but felt no need to put it up. So... I began to wonder why some people don't think about anyone but themselves.

So here are some of my pet peeves, in no particular order:

1) Leaving the toilet seat down and peeing all over it (this bathroom peeve includes people who don't wash their hands when using the restroom)
2) Not using a blinker (this is probably near the top of the list)
3) Not saying thank you
4) People who can never accept they're wrong
5) eBay ;)
6) Constant negativity (caveat: while I complain a lot on this blog - I assure you I pass along a good bit of positivity here and there)
7) Not taking out the trash (when it gets to the point of stinking)

Today's Google Post - Google AdSense is down... And Google Voice Arrives! I Already Love GoogleVoice!

I was just going to check my AdSense account because it's a great indicator of site traffic. And I get to see how many cents I earned today. I count in cents (single cents) though some days that's hard because I don't earn anything. Ahh, the life of a struggling blogger/entrepreneur.

Anyway... there's a point. AdSense is down. Never seen that before so thought I'd share it in case anyone else is wondering what's up?

More importantly. As a GrandCentral user, I got an email today that GrandCentral is migrating over to Google Voice. It instructed me to convert my account, which was nothing more than a simple GMail sign-in. And yes, you can change accounts, you don't need an existing Google account Very cool. It's still in beta, but should open up soon.

Here are the additional features they're offering now, from their email:

"In addition to the GrandCentral features you already know, we've added voicemail transcription, SMS support, conference calling, Goog411, enhanced spam protection and low-priced international calling. We have also integrated GrandCentral with your Google Account and your Google Contacts list."

Voicemail transcription? That rocks! I mean...this should kick some serious ass. I've started to use it a bit for a side business...which is very cool, because it keeps my personal number separate. You can see when a GrandCentral number is coming in since your GrandCentral number comes in on your caller id (for AT&T customers at least).

I feel like this is a big opportunity for people wanting additional numbers for businesses (now that phone numbers are portable, it doesn't do as much for regular users that don't care about the Google Voice features). As an entrepreneur/small business owner this is great for keeping things separate - and keeping restrictions on your business line (hours, messages, separate lines, etc). And for conference calling. And for free calling. And for free SMS. And for cheap international rates. I hope this integrates with GTalk soon. I can't imagine it not. And then I hope it kills Skype... because I hate anything owned by ebay.

Ok...so you can call anywhere in the US. And Google Voice will call that number and then ring yours. Free. You can use this for international calls (for a fee) and it will call your cell phone too. Bye bye Jajah. I used to use Jajah a ton when I was living in Hong Kong. If this works internationally, then they'll be in trouble soon. Google is really integrating all this awesomeness into their product. Of course with a ton of crap that gets filtered out when users don't start using it en masse.

Are Unions Good or Bad? It All Depends...

In my post about the government bailout of the auto industry, I made a crack about unions. I'm not a fan of unions. Let me explain.

My memories about unions start back in 4th grade (give or take). I remember reading about the Industrial Revolution in our history book and seeing the squalid conditions that workers had to endure in the little pictures accompanying that chapter. It sticks with me today. And every time I think about unions, the pictures come back. Long work hours, crappy living conditions, unfair labor practices. People stacked on top of each other in makeshift communal living. I couldn't really grasp what it was like during the days of the booming tanneries in Lynn (the town next to where I grew up) and Lowell, Massachusetts. It seemed dreadful. And finally, the workers began to unite. They protested, picketed, and finally unionized behind a central leadership to force changes in the industry. It worked. Albeit slowly. And it achieved its goals. And worked well during the Industrial Revolution and even beyond.

Today, things are a lot different. Unions have incredible power and leverage in their respective industries. They force labor issues often. France, a model of labor strife, has their transportation shut down intermittently. I was stuck on a train for 48 hours because of this back in 2001. Yes, I could get off, but the train wasn't moving. Shut down on the Spanish border because the French workers struck.

Now I ask you to take a look a little deeper into unions in the States. It's the larger unions I'm most concerned about. The airline and auto labor unions for example. Take a look at the auto union's wages above. There are stories littered across the web about forklift operators making over $100,000/yr (here). And you want me to feel bad for these people? When a union gets big enough it becomes a danger unto itself. With the clout of these unions, the automakers and airlines are at their beckon call. If the unions shut down their industries, this stands to bankrupt the very people they work for. These workers aren't clamoring for improved conditions to unbearable circumstances, but they're working towards higher pay, more benefits, and less labor. At what cost?

These unions are making American companies uncompetitive. You wonder why manufacturing is getting outsourced? Why would you wonder when a line worker is making $30/hr (a staggering $65/hr cost to the employer considering benefits). Or that forklift operator? You wonder why the airline industry is suffering and cutting benefits to the people paying for their services? Because their workers keep asking for more. Why can international airlines still serve food (and Continental airlines I might add), especially airlines from weaker economies (sure there are some where there is government intervention), but their workers aren't unionized.

Now here's a case where I think unions are still necessary - or at least some sort of organization: eBay sellers. Their sellers are getting raked over the coals and they have no recourse. Maybe they stop selling, but then their livelihood shuts down. Or how about doctors? They're prevented from striking, for obvious reasons, but they have very little voice in the changes that are occurring in their industry. Sure there are physician lobbies - but they don't work very well. Less care, less reimbursement, no recourse. That's what's been happening for the last 15 years. During the discussion to socialize medicine, it's interesting nobody talks about the current state of medicare and medicaid and the continual cutting of reimbursements to physicians. I guess your poor grandmother doesn't need that extra test ordered to save her life. And if she does, I guess doc should pay up.