Hurricane Katrina Donations Could be Many Millions More - EBay Sellers Try in Vain to Help

Yesterday I saw a mention in someone's email ezine about a kind person who had an eBay auction with the proceeds going 100% to help victims of the horrible Hurricane Katrina.

It struck a chord with me because I had wanted to set up something similar, but found that the "eBay Giving Works" charity program seems to be terribly flawed for us small sellers. I had researched it the day before, eBay goes through Mission Fish to handle the administrative tasks and distribution.

Here in a nutshell is how I understand it works. You set up an eBay auction and pledge a percentage of the proceeds to go to a charity. You pick the one you like. If the auction sells, the buyer pays you, and Mission Fish charges your credit card, taking out $3.00 per transaction for their fees, plus 3% to cover credit card fees. That's reasonable, they need to cover their overhead and payroll expenses. Then Mission Fish sends the balance to the charity.

The minimum donation per item has to be $10.00. Again, so far so good, I can understand that.

Now, I noticed in the auction that I visited that the seller had set up a dutch auction, with 1000 "lots" available, each for $1.00 each, with the proceeds going 100% to her favorite charity that would get food to the Katrina victims. I was about to place a bid for several $1.00 lots (a dutch auction lets you "win" as many of the item as you like, all at the same price).

Then it hit me, why couldn't I do the same kind of dutch auction, maybe she had found the way to get around the $10.00 per item restriction, and found that it was a minimum $10.00 per auction. It would only make sense that it would work that way, since Mission Fish charges the seller's credit card, if all 1000 lots sold, that would be $1000 for the charity, Mission Fish would take $3.00 plus 3%, the seller would collect (hopefully) the $1000 from the buyers, and all she would be on the hook for would be the eBay fees. Those fees, plus her hard work, would be her personal contribution.

So I went back to eBay and Mission Fish and researched the deal again. I found out that sure enough, in a multiple item auction, Mission Fish requires a $10.00 donation from the seller for EVERY ITEM that sells in a multiple-item auction (dutch auction).

So, if the seller had 1000 lots at $1.00 each, and they all sold, Mission Fish would have charged her credit card on file for $10.00 for each lot, a total of $10,000.00! And they would have taken their $3.00 + 3% fee for each of those 1000 lots, more than $3,000.00 for their trouble!

At that point, I realized the seller either had deep pockets and was matching contributions 10 to 1, or she misunderstood what would happen to her. I sent her an email, and to end a long story, she indeed misunderstood, was obviously fairly upset at the prospect of paying $10,000, and ended the auction early.

Now, I'd like my readers to do one of two things. If you think that eBay and Mission Fish are mishandling the charity program, as I do, please contact one or both and point them to this blog entry, or just write your own letter with your thoughts.

You can contact Mission Fish here:
http://www.missionfish.org/Help/contactus.jsp

eBay is always more difficult to contact, but you can try starting here:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/contact_us/_base/index.html

The other thing you could do is support the eBay seller's cause, she had to end the auction but she took the trouble to set up a web page for donations, you can access and support it here:
http://www.flipidy.com/secondharvest.htm

Perhaps with enough pressure on Mission Fish, they'll get together with eBay and allow dutch auctions to be counted as a single donation, instead of multiple individual items, and encourage more charity in the future.

For those with homes, families, relatives or friends in the devasted area, my hearts and prayers go out to you. I hope this information will in some small way help someone somewhere.

Dennis Becker is author of a regular blog about different ways of earning money on the Internet, titled appropriately enough "Success On The Internet".

---

Get More for Your Money Shopping for Designer Shoes on eBay

The worlds online market place.In just a few short years... Read More

Image Hosting For Online Auctions

Use eBay picture service or host your own photos?If you... Read More

eBay After Sales - as Important as the Listing Itself

Your eBay listing has finished and you have made a... Read More

Killer Tips To Succeed With eBay Auction

For just a moment, try to comprehend the power of... Read More

From Ebay Zero to Power-Selling Hero: How To Learn New Tricks Without Spending

The Internet is the fastest-changing marketplace on earth. Million-dollar ideas... Read More

From Ebay Zero to Power-Selling Hero: Don?t Be That Random Ebay Guy

If I could convey only one concept to someone who... Read More

From Ebay Zero To Power-Selling Hero: What It Takes

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be "the... Read More

How To Sell On Ebay: The Money Is In The Back-End

Many people who sell on Ebay completely neglect the follow-up... Read More

Joint Venture For eBay Success Too!

Whether you're succeeding in your online auction attempts, just getting... Read More

eBay is the Greatest Opportunity YOU Have to Create a Career Online

eBay's being spoken about everywhere these days. At work, school,... Read More

Finding Products to Sell on eBay

Do you know how many people in US are earning... Read More

How To Stop Ebay Buyers From Sniping Your Auction For Less Than Its True Value

There are many savvy eBay buyers who use automated bidding... Read More

When It Comes To eBay, Don?t Follow The Herd

Q: I want to start an online business. Since I... Read More

Top 10 Free Online Wholesale Resources

By the time that a product has made it to... Read More

eBay Gold

Internet auctions are relatively new having been around since the... Read More

Before You Sell On Ebay, Take The Most Important Step

If you want to earn a full-time income selling on... Read More

Start Selling On eBay - Getting Started On The Right Foot

You've started your own eBay business and, even though it's... Read More

Auction Image Hosting for Ebay Auctions: Free Single Most Recommended Tip

It is a well known fact that the more pictures... Read More

eBay: What Should I Sell?

There is an art to picking profitable products. It's not... Read More

8 Collectible Dolls That Sell Well on eBay

From the beginning, eBay's primary growth came from the collectibles... Read More

What To Do After Your eBay Auction Closes

So your auction closes. Now what?Hopefully you made a sale... Read More

How To Write a Traffic Pulling eBay Auction Title

Selling an item on eBay should be simple but it... Read More

E Bay.com HTML Auction Templates: Which is Best for Ebay Selling?

There are a plenty of free e bay.com free auction... Read More

Mr. Rich vs. Mr. Job: How to Start a Dropship Business on eBay

Mr. Asset vs. Mr. Job....Discover the Secret Formula of the... Read More

Sell Your Items at Cost and Make a Fortune on eBay!

Like all ebay sellers I wanted to sell all of... Read More

eBay and Dropshipping - A Perfect Fit!

eBay and Dropshipping go together like a hand in a... Read More

How Pop-Culture Collectibles Can Increase Your Online Auction Profits

How Pop Culture collectibles can increase your Online Auction profitsWith... Read More

Taxing eBay Part Deux

When my column on paying income tax on eBay profits... Read More

The Effects of eBay on American Merchandising

With one brilliantly simple idea, eBay was born just a... Read More

What to Sell on eBay - 7 REAL Tips for Finding Successful Products

This question has become one for the ages. There are... Read More

3 Unusual Formats For Auctions on EBay

eBay users are accustomed to only two "standard" formats for... Read More

Just The Ticket - How To Make Hundreds Per Day As A Ticket Broker On eBay!

It should be simple - your favourite team/band/theatre play is... Read More

Rent A Coder & Other Service Auctions

You may be in the market for a new website.... Read More