FOR THE THRIFTY SEAMSTRESS

FOR THE THRIFTY SEAMSTRESS

For sewing bargains, check out my latest USe.Bid listings:

http://us.nine.ebid.net/perl/main.cgi?words=copperpenny22&mo=search&type=user

And we will be adding to this category daily, in addition to Wedgwood Jasperware, Pfaltzgraff Pottery, 50's Collectibles, Daga and Tiki items, and much, much more! Also check out our Timeshare Rentals for a great, cost-saving vacation.

You can save big on shipping costs with multiple orders shipped as one.

$3M eBay Bid is a Fake

Published: Sunday, February 24, 2008

$3 million eBay bid on record collection is fake

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH -- A winning bid of $3 million for a huge record collection offered on eBay was apparently a fraud.

A bidder had claimed he would shell out $3,002,150 for the collection of nearly 3 million vinyl albums, singles and CDs being sold by Paul Mawhinney, 68, of Ross Township.

An agent for the sale, J. Paul Henderson, said an eBay executive notified him Friday night that the bid was not legitimate and that the bidder's account had been suspended, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Mawhinney said he began collecting the records when he opened his record shop, Record Rama, in 1968. He closed it Thursday, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.

"I am legally blind," he said. "I had a couple of strokes a few years ago ... and it's time at my age to think about doing something else with my life."

Mawhinney said Saturday that he had already contacted six other bidders who had pledged more than $3 million on eBay and three others who approached him independently.

"It's still going to happen," he said.

GURUS DUMP EBAY

Reserve Not Met, Gurus Dump eBay
Joshua Lipton, data from Marketocracy 02.25.08, 6:05 PM ET

One name the gurus no longer want in their portfolios: eBay (nasdaq: EBAY - news - people ). Analysts who favor the stock point out that eBay is the No. 1 global e-commerce brand, with a presence in nearly 40 markets. And the company likes to give back to its shareholders: eBay has repurchased $3.2 billion worth of stock since July 2006 and may repurchase another $2.8 billion under current authorizations.

But analysts also point out concerns, noting, for instance, that growth has slowed down in the company's two largest markets: the U.S. and Germany. EBay also has to deal with competition from rivals like Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ), Yahoo! (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people ) and Amazon (nasdaq: AMZN - news - people ), and the recently announced decision of well-respected CEO Meg Whitman to step down.

EBay's shares have slipped about 18% in the past 12 months, well off the October high of $39. The M100 decided it was time to bail.

eBAY'S WOES WON'T END WITH SELLER'S BOYCOTT

SAN FRANCISCO -- A weeklong boycott against eBay's revised fee structure ends Monday. But some sellers on the auction site still may be holding a grudge, and that could have a lasting effect on the company.

Sellers initiated the boycott in retaliation against eBay's new fees, which took effect Feb. 20. Late last month, eBay announced that it would charge a smaller fee for sellers to list their items for auction. In turn, sellers would have to pay eBay a higher commission if they made a sale.
eBay touted the change as a benefit to sellers, but not all of them are happy. Some even claim they are paying more in fees now than they had before.

See entire article here:

http://www.thestreet.com/s/ebays-woes-wont-end-with-sellers-boycott/newsanalysis/techstockupdate/10404633.html?puc=googlefi

ATLANTA AREA GMRS

For the latest info on GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) in the Atlanta area, visit the KG4LNE mobile radio website at:

http://www.rtzaudio.com/kg4lne/atl-repeaters.asp

The Atlanta Area GMRS Repeater System is located in the metro Atlanta area. The system is comprised of repeaters owned and operated by WPRX486, WQFU865 and WPSD889. The Atlanta Area Repeater System is "open" to all licensed GMRS users and is generally accessed by using CTCSS a tone 141.3 Hz. All interested licensees who wish to use the system repeaters are required to obtain "permission" from the “Gate Keeper” prior to using the repeater(s). Contact information is provided on the website.

OUR NEW US.EBID.COM ESTORE IS OPEN!

We have just opened a new eStore at www.us.ebid.net !Check out our new listings at:
http://us.nine.ebid.net/perl/main.cgi?words=copperpenny22&mo=search&type=user

With the exception of our timeshare rentals, we do not list an item more than once on any of our eStores. So, when you visit our online stores, you will see new items on each site--no duplication.

PLUNDERHERE.COM REACHES 60,000 LISTINGS

www.Plunderhere.com Reaches 60,000 Listings

The Online Auction making the most noise right now has to be www.Plunderhere.com which has grown in listings since May 2007 from 20,000 listings to an impressive 62,000 listings in February 2008. In several independent polls on powersellers unite, usersconsistently vote Plunderhere.com either top or amongst the top of the alternative to eBay auction marketplaces.

Recent growth has come compliments of eBay upsetting a largepercentage of its user base and eBay sellers have been migrating to alternative selling venues in their thousands. Plunderhere is pleased to welcome these new sellers with open arms. If you need a place to sell your items and get noticed on a site receiving over 5 million hits per month then Plunderhere is for you. Users can enjoy outstanding customer support either through the admin or through the forums whereby experienced moderators and sellers are always on hand to support your needs.

Extensive external marketing is the key to succeeding online and Plunderhere achieves that by listing and promoting all auctions on many different places including Google, Yahoo, MSN, Bidhopper and Really Smart Deals. Free eStores and listings forever is the motto of the site so join today and get your items selling or simply drop by to enjoy the easy buying experience.

Article printed from AuctionPublicity.com: http://auctionpublicity.com
URL to article: http://auctionpublicity.com/2008/02/19/plunderherecom-reaches-60000-listings/

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
copperpenny22
Join me at:http://www.reallysmartdeals.com?r=58073
http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php
http://www.pheebay.com/forums
http://www.thecrabbyhost.com/forum/indix.php
http://www.myspace.com/pennyspantry
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EBAY BOYCOTT CONTINUES

The eBay boycott by sellers and buyers has suceeded in cutting down eBay's sales, so many are planning to keep up the good work - NO BUYING, SELLING, OR OTHER ACTIVITY this next week of March 3 - 9 as well.

The eBay boycott is working -This was the original message - with the dates now extended, and a new link to the eBay message board here -EBay buyers and sellers - Join the EBay strike - February 18 to March 9 - don't cross the virtual picket line! SPREAD THE WORD!

EBay has raised fees to its sellers and changed the terms.They are upset and are calling a strike - no buying, selling, orother activity from February 18 to 25! Help sellers and buyers - join the strike! EBay is a huge business which helps people to buy and sell on theinternet. It enables many individuals to earn a living or supplement their income with a small business they can run from home, whether homebound, a student, single parent, disabled, etc, etc. Medium sized businesses also use this venue. It benefits buyers and the environment by effectively recycling used goods, frequently at lower prices than are found elsewhere. It is a resource which should not be run for huge personal profits, yet it charges these small business people fees which are too large, as does its affiliate, PayPal, also a huge business.

Buyers are concerned that the strike message may not get out to enough people to make a difference - so do what you can to spread the word. Help this local economy to thrive and support all its members and clients.

A SELLER'S MESSAGE:I wanted to make you aware that I, and 1,000s of other eBay buyers and sellers are participating in a boycott of eBay from Feb. 18-25th. Many are leaving eBay for good. We are upset because eBay is raising Final Value Fees again (from 5.25% to 8.75% for auctions, from 10% to12% for stores) and because they are requiring sellers to leave ONLY positive feedback for all transactions, even if they were scammed by a buyer. Buyers will still be able to leave positive or negative feedback. I hope you will be able to join the boycott. To find outmore about it:http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000636290&start=0

You can also Google eBay boycott for more info.

A BUYER'S MESSAGE:Feb-14-08 9075 of 9081I am a buyer - my seller directed me here and to u-tube forinformation:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4MtVPuU9-Q (and others there) about the strike. I will absolutely support it, and tell anyone I know who uses eBay to tell their friends and maybe their sellers.I will sign the Petitions on Line:http://www.petitiononline.com/FVF/petition.html also http://www.petitiononline.com/ebayfee/petition.html

EBay is an important public service and should not be used for profiteering. The sellers and buyers need to have a say in how it is run.Good luck in getting the word out.I will try to get my local community radio station to carry a news item about this and will send a news item to my local Indy Media(online news source, anyone may post). Why not post to your local Indy Media?Go to http://www.IndyBay.org for a list of them.

A NEW MESSAGE with LINKS:The boycott seems to be working Report Feb-22-08
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?
messageID=2009434037&#2009434037(see attached graph)As a buyer, I have been well treated by most of my sellers, and upport their ability to make a reasonable profit. I also supporteBay's right to a reasonable profit, but it seems they are after megaprofits, and are taking too much from sellers and obstructing their ability for self defense against, in particular, scamming buyers..... I'm going to continue boycotting next week, as well.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?mes...
EBay auction counts 2/17-2/23by Mara Saturday Feb 23rd, 2008 11:25 PM. . . . . .* * * * ** * * * * * * * * * *

Note: Charts indicate eBay's listing totals dropped during the boycott week from 14,000,000 plus to 12,000,000 plus--about a 19%-20%decrease. Can the next boycott drop it another 19%-20%?
copperpenny22
Join me at:http://www.reallysmartdeals.com?r=58073
http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php
http://www.pheebay.com/forums
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http://www.myspace.com/pennyspantry
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tp://pennyspantry.blogspot.com

Just found this listing on tazbar for a jar of Vaseline and thought it might help you all to make up your mind about extending the eBay boycott.

"This essential relief for eBay sellers comprises of a jar ofVaseline petroleum jelly. Times when this will come in useful for eBay sellers include:
1) On receipt of unjustified negative feedback from a buyer. Bend over and apply Vaseline to the affected area.
2) On the day you receive your future eBay invoices. Bend over and apply Vaseline.
3) On the day your DSR falls below the reuired level to receive anydiscount to the new, even higher fees. Bend over and apply Vaseline.
4) On the days in future when you receive an email to say you have sold something on eBay but the payment will be held by Paypal for upto 21 days meaning you are expected to ship the item without knowing if you will eventually get paid or screwed. Bend over and apply Vaseline.
5) On the days you are contacted by someone saying you sold them an item using the 'second chance' system when in fact you didn't. Bend over and apply Vaseline.
6) On the days you wish you could use Google Checkout at 1.5% + 15p per transaction or even free when offset against Adwords use. Bend over and apply Vaseline.
7) On the days when you realise eBay's idea of 'best match' means your item is on page 13 of a search return despite ending in 5 minutes. Bend over and apply Vaseline.
8) On the days when you realise your relisting bill is just as high because your sell thru rate has dropped. Bend over and apply Vaseline.
9) On the days when you have to open yet another non-paying bidder complaint you cannot do anything to stop now. Bend over and apply Vaseline.
10) On the days when you wish you could check the feedback of thebuyer who just purchased your most expensive item for somereassurance. Bend over and apply Vaseline.
11) On the day you hear about fee cuts but realise this means final value fees rise from 5.25% to 7.5% in the UK and even 8.75% in theUS. Bend over and apply Vaseline.
12) On the day when you realise eBay has driven away the smaller users that used to buy from you. Bend over and apply Vaseline.
13) Every other day you are told being shafted by eBay is better than joining an alternative venue. Bend over and apply Vaseline."

______________________________________

copperpenny22
Join me at:http://www.reallysmartdeals.com?r=58073
http://www.powersellersunite.com/portal.php
http://www.pheebay.com/forums
http://www.thecrabbyhost.com/forum/indix.php
http://www.myspace.com/pennyspantry
http://www.squidoo.com/pennyspantry
http://pennyspantry.blogspot.com

BUY 42,000 RCI POINTS RESORT IN SUNNY FLORIDA

Buy this points resort for $900.00 plus closing costs and start planning your next vacation and many vacations to come!

Celebrity Resort Palm Coast
The Harbor Club201 Clubhouse Drive
Palm Coast, Florida 32137

42,000 Annual Floating Red Time RCI points can be used at The Harbor Club or at any available RCI resort. Points can be used in increments for more than one vacation time. Included is RCI Points Membership. You are purchasing a 2 bedroom unit; however, if you exchange through RCI, you have the option of choosing a 1 bedroom or a studio for less points. Points will be available in 2008, upon activation of your RCI Points Account. The 2008 maintenance fees have already been paid, and you will be expected to reimburse the owner for this amount. You will be billed separately by the management company for the annual Florida property taxes. There is no mortgage or other incumbrances on this deeded-for-life floating points account.

On-Site Amenities
Pool Tennis Exercise Equipment (Equipment available) Sauna Games Room Playground Handicapped Accessible

Unit Amenities
Whirlpool/Hot Tub (All Units) Telephone (All Units) Laundry (All Units) Kitchen (All Units, Full) Air Conditioning (All Units) Carpet (All Units) Washer/Dryer (All Units) Dishwasher (All Units) Microwave (All Units)

Check-in
Weeks: Saturday, Sunday Points: Saturday Check-in 16:00Check-out 10:00

At Celebrity Resorts Palm Coast, you'll enjoy beautiful views of the Intracoastal Waterway at your doorstep. Rent or bring a boat and explore all the area's bays, tributaries and spectacular estuaries. Tour historic St. Augustine, spend the day at the Daytona Speedway, or take a stroll through the World of Golf Hall of Fame. When you're ready to hit the links, you have easy access to world-class challenging courses. Or if tennis is more to your taste, you can choose from clay, hard and grass surface courts. Then unwind in the resort pool, as well as indoor and outdoor whirlpools and saunas.

Fees due at time of sale:
$900.00 Purchase Price
$400.00 Closing Fees
$50.00 Resort Transfer Fee
$199.00 RCI Account Transfer Fee
$596.53 2008 Annual Maintenance Fee

PAYMENTS WILL BE HELD IN TRUST BY THE CLOSING AGENCY UNTIL DEEDING IS COMPLETED. Deeding and Transfer Usually Takes Between 4 - 10 Weeks. All Closing is non-negotiable (Most costs including Deed preparation, Estoppel, Courier service etc. have been incurred). Please do your due diligence before bidding on any property.

Closing Agent is:
Timeshare Title, Inc.
P.O. Box 3175
Sharon, PA 16146
Toll Free: 866.347.1061

We accept Certified Money Order or Cashier's Check. Payment arrangements must be made within 3 days of auction closing. For additional information, email to douglasb@tds.net.

NEED A VACATION?

NEED A VACATION?

We have three weeks of timeshares available for rent. Your choice of a Winter Ski, Summer Beach, or a Quiet Mountain Retreat!

See all the info at:

http://www.plunderhere.com/auction/cgi-bin/auction/view?cmd=view&listingID=378333

http://www.plunderhere.com/auction/cgi-bin/auction/view?cmd=view&listingID=378406

http://www.plunderhere.com/auction/cgi-bin/auction/view?cmd=view&listingID=378409

As of 2/13/08, The top Auction/Market Place Sites in terms of number of listings are:

eBay 12,833,061
iOffer 2,257,306
Bidville 1,074,027
eCrater 935,997
CQout 597,787
us.ebid.net 484,286
uk.ebid.net 466,247
bluejay 308,377
OnlineAuction 237,294
ePier 174,265
SpecialistAuctions 119,871
tazbar 83,310
wagglepop 77,957
AuctionQuests 66,905
PlunderHere 55,530
HiBidder 44,382

Go here for updates on this list:http://www.powersellersunite.com/auctionsitewatch.php

The sentiments of alot of eBay users.

This quote is from the www.powersellersunite.com forum:

"There has been a lot of noise going around about an eBay Boycott Feb. 18th - 25th.

Sellers that survived the all the other eBay fee increases will remember that there was a boycott every time. I will be supporting the ebay boycott again because we need to show them all the angry sellers out there. Maybe if it weren’t for the past boycotts, ebay forum posts, blogs, and anti-ebay sites ebay would be raising fees every year instead of every couple. eBay did hear us on their 2005 fee increase when they raised store fees to $15 a month. After a lot of protest they gave all storeowners a free month. If you add up all the ebay stores that is a HUGE one time total savings for all storeowners.

This boycott will give sellers one week off ebay in which I encourage them to take the time to try out all the alternative auction sites available or start there own ecommerce store. Things are only going to get worse on ebay so this would be a good time to seek alternatives. Lets keep a close eye on the auction site count and make their listings drop during the boycott. "

AMAZON BEAT EBAY IN HOLIDAY TRAFFIC

January 14, 2008, 8:11 pm
Amazon Beat eBay in Holiday Traffic

The New York Times
By Brad Stone

For years, eBay ruled the e-commerce roost. Each holiday season, more visitors spent more time and looked at more pages on eBay.com than on any of its rivals, including Amazon.com. It made sense; eBay is a wide open forum for every kind of seller and item, while Amazon has traditionally pushed a selection of products through its network of physical warehouses.
But all that is now slowly changing. Amazon has opened its site to independent sellers, while eBay’s auction model is running into problems with fee-fatigued sellers and buyers wary of fraud and counterfeit items.

Now the latest audience figures from Nielsen Online confirm that the e-commerce traffic crown has changed heads. For the month of December, for the first time, more Americans clicked over to Amazon.com (59,624,000) than eBay (59,374,000).

Despite the slim margin between the two companies, eBay’s visitor count is particularly alarming. According to the Nielsen data, the number of visitors to eBay.com dropped 10 percent from December 2006 to December 2007.

Nielsen has not publicly distributed its December traffic data yet, but supplied the numbers to The New York Times upon request.

EBay.com still leads Amazon.com in the number of page views it gets and the amount of time users spend on the service. But those are not necessarily positive indicators—they could be interpreted as evidence that people are finding what they want more quickly on Amazon than on eBay.

Amazon deserves some credit for the reversal. According to Nielsen, traffic in the United States to Amazon.com jumped 18 percent from December 2006 to December 2007. Customers flocked to Amazon.com for the increased selection, the new digital music and video download stores, and what my colleague Joe Nocera praised last week as Amazon’s exemplary customer service.
But at the same time, some long-term problems at eBay are clearly at work here too. My colleague Saul Hansell wrote about some of these problems in a series of posts on Bits last month. They include poor customer service, rampant fraud and counterfeiting and an outmoded design. EBay has said in the past it is working hard to combat fraud and to improve the experience for both buyers and sellers.

An eBay spokesman declined to comment on anything related to fourth quarter performance, since it is reporting earnings next week.

Tomorrow - Tuesday, February 12th - is D-Day in Berkeley, as Move America Forward and dozens of other pro-troop groups launch their pushback against the Berkeley City Council (who are waging a ferocious campaign to kick the military out of that city).

Go here to sign a petition rebuking the Berkeley City Council for their outrageous behavior:

http://www.moveamericaforward.org/index.php/MAF/Petition/Berkeley2008/

Go here to sign a petition requesting Congress withhold all Federal funds from the City of Berkeley until they rescind their anti-military policy:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cutoffberkeleynow/

WORLDMARK'S KINGSTOWN REEF

February weather in Orlando is great, when you are trying to escape Ole Man Winter for a spell.

We have just returned from a week's timeshare stay at WorldMark's Kingstown Reef, located just across I-4 from the Disney complex. The accommodations were good and the location is perfect for an Orlando visit of a week or more. The 2-bedroom units apparently, at one time, were "lockouts"; but have been converted to a simple 2-bedroom configuration.

For those of you not familiar with "lockouts", a lockout is a 2-bedroom unit that has a separate entrance to the second, or guest, bedroom. It includes a mini kitchen and bath with the 2nd bedroom; so that the timeshare owner or guest can choose to use the master bedroom and its living quarters separate from the guest quarters, or they can be combined to accommodate 6 to 8 persons.

Timeshare bedrooms are configured in various ways from resort to resort. At Kingstown Reef, the master bedroom contains a king-size bed and the second bedroom has two double beds. And the usual queen-size pull-out sofa bed is present in the livingroom.

The resort has two spacious pools and two hot tubs and a BBQ and eating area. Our unit was located on the 5th floor and we had a good view of the pools and recreation areas.

RETURNING TROOPS ARE WELCOMED AT DWI

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2418225030246847892&hl=en

Our good friend, Reed, sent us this great video taken at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport!

We continue to be truly amazed at the hundreds of ways Americans find to show their support for the military men and women of our country.

Pass it on!

WINTER ON THE OUTER BANKS

Feb 1, 2008

Well, here we are at the Outer Banks Beach Club II, a timeshare resort complex at Kill Devil Hills, NC. I'm sure February is not the best time of year to enjoy this facility; but, then again, you don't have to worry about the "crowd"!

We arrived in the dead of night last Sunday, along with the wind and cold weather--30 degrees by my car's outside thermometer. The next morning, there were surfers out on the ocean's cold, angry waves. However, on Tuesday morning we were pleasantly surprised by the sun's appearance; and by afternoon, the sparse visitors to this oceanfront resort were walking around in their shirt sleeves. We are on the 3rd floor and have a magnificent view of the Atlantic Ocean, just beyond the high dunes that comprise the only object between us and the water's edge at high tide.

The Outer Banks Beach Club II is an RCI Gold Crown Resort. It is an older resort and less plush than some newer ones we have visited; but the accommodations are nice and the view is outstanding!

Tomorrow we will dig out the digital camera and take some shots of the ocean view.