Buy your wedding on eBay (Including your bride)

Many thousands of people shop for special events on eBay, none more so than couples getting married. What's not so usual is buying your bride on eBay, which is pretty much what happened with David Jones and Cheryl Pipes.

David was bidding on some ornamental birds and ended up with more than he bargained for when he fell for the seller. I know eBay often say "You can buy just about anything on eBay", but to bid on a china owl and eagle with a bride thrown in for free is taking it just a tad too far!

Cheryl, 45, said: "I never thought I would find someone I've spent the past 45 years looking for on eBay.

Bid for the contents of the tuck bin

The People (part of Mirror Group Newspapers) are the latest to cash in on the craze of running bizarre auctions for charity.

Up for sale are a Strong used PG tips teabag, One used 3A Duracell battery, One Peanut - dry roasted, A packet of cheesy Quavers with one crisp and One After Eight Wrapper, Chocolate already eaten.

Sadly they show the normal sensationalist attitude of the tabloids and appear oblivious to eBay for Charity and Missionfish - they probably don't expect to raise enough to go to the effort of signing up! They've used a virgin account with no feedback and no information to link the auctions to the newspaper which does make the charity claim appear dubious to the casual browser. It's worth noting that when the charity card is played it's better to be transparent with plenty of information rather than leave bidders wondering. A link to the article on The People website wouldn't have gone amiss.

IQ? Check out your TQ (Technology Quotient)

PayPal Surveyed 1000 adults and found them worryingly oblivious to the latest technology and gadgets. One in three UK adults are still grappling with the complexities of programming their video recorder whereas toddlers seem to be pre-programmed at birth to press a few buttons and play their teletubbies tape. When you move to DVD recorders close to four in five adults are baffled by the controls.

Mobile phones are another no go area with most adults settling for the ability to make phone calls, send text messages, use the camera and surprisingly the mobile is the modern alarm clock!

Neil Edwards, of online payments service PayPal, which commissioned the survey of 1,000 adults, said: "It's a worrying sign for Britain that so many of us are baffled and, therefore, turned off by technology.

Following the survey PayPal have set up a new website where you can test your "TQ". A baffling array of multiple choice answers will answer the question "What is your TQ?".

When you complete the test you'll automatically be entered into a draw for a Video iPod. The big question if you win, is will you be able to figure out how to use it?

Berkshire radio DJ's are toast

Foxy and Tom (John Fox and Tom Rhys), two breakfast show DJ's on commercial radio station 2-TEN FM are auctioning classic "miracle" toast on eBay. The auction in aid of the 2-TEN FM Kids raises money to help improve the lives of young people within the 2-TEN FM broadcast area. (Berkshire and North Hampshire). In the last two years over £75,000 has been raised and distributed to community projects ranging from the Octopus Toy Lending Library to the Thames Valley Vikings Wheelchair Basketball Club.

Not only can you bid for the toast but you can also vote on the 2-TEN FM website on which is the better likeness - Tom's toast or Foxy's toast! It's great to see eBay being used for fun, as well as raising awareness of charities in local communities.

Parlez vous rubbish?

If you've ever thought that eBay talked nonsense, here's some definitive proof from the French announcements board. With yesterday's Feedback 2.0 announcement posted at 5.35pm, pulled immediately and posted again at 5.46pm, someone at eBay really ought to figure out how their announcements' feed works.

Hot desk

I *know* that the point of this desk is to allow differently-abled operators to use a computer. But I defy anyone not to think it would be cool to not need to get out of bed to check their auctions.

Moving right along: Feedback 3.0?

Instead of encouraging whinging and overcomplicating the one thing that actually worked on eBay, how about doing something a bit more fun with feedback? Letting your buyers record a message and post a picture of them wearing the new shirt/jewellery/car they bought off you would actually encourage some positivity around the place. And goodness knows, we could do with that at the moment.

impeachbush.com web address on eBay today

With exactly two years of his presidency left there could be trouble ahead for George W Bush. The domain name www.impeachbush.com is up for sale on eBay and ends later today. Anyone wishing to avail themselves of the domain will need deep pockets, the auction is currently standing at $25200 (About £12700).

eBay shutting down? It's a hoax

A new hoax email is doing the rounds phishing for user names and passwords. Normally we'd ignore these but this one has an amusing twist and shows the hackers have a sense of humour.

The email states that eBay has decided to close because of "repeated abuses on our company". It then invites you to vote, asking if you agree or disagree with the decision. It goes on to say that if 50 per cent or more or respondents want eBay to remain open, it will. From then on it's the normal link to a phishing site which looks like eBay but is a attempt to convince you to enter your eBay user name and password in order to vote.

You have to question how many people would be gullible enough to think eBay would poll users on a decision such as shutting the site down, but doubtless they'll try to vote anyway. We expect eBay to get the phishing site closed down pronto and to update the eBay toolbar to warn users they're not on the eBay site.

Vote to scrap the hideous green wallpaper

Following on from eBay India's Dream House, eBay.com and Family Circle are running a Small Spaces contest. There are four finalists and it's time to cast your vote for which should be the winner.

Really in my view, there is no competition - it has to be contestant number four who have transformed their rather dated looking hall way into a classic but modern and welcoming space. Gone is the hideous green wallpaper and in comes a warm Beige Two-Tone Stripe complemented with Victorian accessorisation.

You can see all four finalist's designs on the competition website, but make sure you vote soon as the competition ends on 22nd January!

Melissa Lamb sold box in a box on eBay

But not just any box, this one was the star of "My box in a box" inspired from the Timberlake and Samberg sketch screened on NBC just before Christmas. Leah Kauffman conceived the idea and contacted Melissa Lamb through a craigslist advert who co-wrote and performed in the video (Craigslist is part owned by eBay).

The auction closed at $1525 with $1000 going to Philabundance and the balance going to Save the Music.

Z-listings

Sophie Ellis Bextor says she's addicted to eBay. "I can't help myself. I always feel I'm one click away from the perfect new dress. I'll search for anything that comes into my head. I've bought some unusual stuff like a pinball machine."

Old news is no news

ebaypaypalblog reported the opening of Paypal's new UK office and a reduction in the withdrawl fee for amounts under £50, quoting a Paypal spokesperson's statement that this would increase trust and comfort for UK buyers. Such a great story was picked up by both auctionforums.org and eBayyer (lacking permalinks, scroll down to 5th January post, identical to source). The only problem? The story actually dates from October 2003. Oops :-)

All you need is Skype

With Valentine's Day not so very far away, Skype want to hear from you if video calling has kept you and your loved one together. If you'd like to be part of a cheesy romantic Valentine's promotion, send them an email (not a Skype text then?!).

Every move you make

I've always resisted the idea of a web cam for use with Skype. I mean, who wants to have to put make-up on just to make a phone call? But after Ryan's piece of genius in The Chatter about using two Skype accounts and a web cam to help house train his dog, I think I may have to reconsider. This has so many possibilities, from security monitoring when you're away from home to keeping an eye on your kids in the next room, I think I'll get myself a web cam now.

Bidding hello to 2007

"Who can say what we'll find, what lies waiting down the line" sang Abba. Well, in a rush of New Year's Eve wine crystal-ball gazing, here are our predictions for 2007 on eBay:

1. SIF FVFs will be reduced (though not back to their pre-August 2006 rates). This year's emphasis on 'core listings' will be deemed a success, so much so that shop/store listings will need a little loving to encourage them back.


2. Shop subscription fees will be increased to compensate for the above. Big sellers will love it, small sellers will complain that eBay are trying to put them out of business (as usual).


3. As eBay's management rediscover their love for Shops/Stores, eBay Express will be quietly sidelined, ready for abandonment in 2008.


4. There will be new feedback stars for 25, 2500 and 500,000 - because even Jay and Marie have to have something to aim for, right? ;-)


5. Feedback ranking will happen. Sellers hate it, disgruntled buyers will love it, but eBay *will* bring in Amazon-style 1-5 feedback scores for various aspects of transactions from accuracy of description to speed of delivery.


6. Turbo Lister will release a Pro version. eBay's free software will finally grow up, with a ultra-stable, pay-for version incorporating most of the auction management features of SMP, plus inventory, sales and traffic analysis and basic accounting features all in one package.


7. Amazon will start taking Paypal.


8. There will be increased cooperation between tax offices and eBay, so don't wait until *they* contact *you*.


9. Meg will quit.


10. I will go to eBay Live and cry because, at that moment anyway, I love eBay so much. *blush*
    

Happy New Year :-)

Genius Skype MSN Yahoo Messenger VOIP mouse

The new Genius Navigator 380 mouse can combine Skype, MSN, Yahoo, Googletalk, QQ and AIM into one window and flip open to become a VOIP phone. Imagine sitting at your desk, clicking to initiate a Skype call and then flipping your mouse open into a phone handset to talk!



The mouse opens like a clamshell mobile phone and combines multiple instant messenger clients into one application. Seven buttons in Navigator 380 are for the phone functions: Phone on/off, List up/down, Volume up/down and OK for call up the IM window.

For those longing for one application to combine interoperability for all their IM clients this has got to be a must have!

eBay listings

The end of the year is a time for writing random lists of stuff, and far be it from us to break with tradition. Here's a list of some of our favourite lists from the last few days:

Bayraider.tv bring us their top thirty celebrity auctions of 2006: some astonishing tat there.

eBay didn't quite make law blogger Eric Goldman's top ten cyberlaw developments of the year, but the eBay v. MercExchange case did make the runner's up list.

Jaanus from Skype give us his highlights of 2006, which has certainly been an amazing year for Skype.

Brad Schepp's top ten resources for eBay sellers is a brilliant exercise in looking like you're giving away 'Powerseller secrets' without actually saying anything useful at all. Anyone thinking of writing a book on their eBay experiences next year might want to note this technique.

For the geeks among us, the Board of Wisdom has the top ten geek sayings: "I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the source code."

And finally, Wired's wild predictions for 2007... call those wild? Check in over the weekend for TameBay's predictions for the next year: you'll have read it here first.

What to do when the decorations come down

So the Christmas break is over and it's back to work tomorrow for some. The decorations that looked so fantastic will be coming down soon and suddenly the house will look bare. What better than to start planning home improvements for the spring?

eBay india have gone one better, celebrity Mandira Bedi has decorated all rooms of her own brand new house with items bought only from the eBay India site in just two weeks. 103 items were bought on eBay India from 28 sellers located in 15 cities across the length and breadth of the country. Rajan Mehra, Country Manager, eBay India, stated

eBay Dream House is a concept to showcase the wide range of products available at all price points to do up a house of your choice. We felt Mandira would be the perfect choice to take up the challenge of donning an interior decorator hat and buying products from eBay to decorate her home. Mandira has delighted us with her enthusiasm and time invested on searching and shopping for the perfect items for her new home.

You can buy pretty much everything on eBay from a heated towel rail to the kitchen sink. All the furniture, lighting, ornaments and art for the walls. The great think about buying on eBay is that you can buy everything from the comfort of your armchair. Mandra said "I never knew eBay had such great home décor items... once I discovered the choices and started shopping I just couldn't stop..." eBay is the perfect place to start shopping for the new year!

Reasons to be self-employed, #122606

In case you thought you were missing a great big Chrismtas bonus, Slate has some news for you about the shocking level of Scrooginess amongst bosses. My favourite has to be the one British example from their list:

"During my time with the company as a consumer electronic service engineer, the annual Christmas bonus given to all employees was a bag of potatoes," [writes an employee of a Grimsby electronics retailer]. Apparently a relative of the boss owned a potato farm.