Onward To 2013!

Well,  it's almost 2013. I want to wish everyone a happy holiday season  and a great 2013. I have started selling again on eBay and Bonanza after being absent for awhile.  If an item doesn't sell in an eBay auction, it may be listed on Bonanza, and vice versa.

I will return soon to photographing local events and people I find interesting. In the meantime, I have lots of items to list.

Happy 2012!

I'm back and I'm selling on Bonanza. If you click on the pics at the top of the page. They will take you to my booth. I am listing a variety of items from vintage Mexican and Native American jewelry and art to clothing such as sweaters and footware.

Navajo Turquoise Cuff Bracelet

I have the most beautiful signed Navajo Turquoise cuff bracelet that I just added to my eBay listings. I obtained it in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Yes, I did quit selling on eBay for awhile. The listing fees ate up my profits, but it appears that the listing fees have been reduced there, so I'm listing a few things right now, to see how it goes. I am going to be adding more items to my Bonanzle booth in the next few days.

Lithebast Goes Bonanza

Well, I did it. I listed my first item on Bonanza. It is a beautiful Bates queen size matelasse bedspread. I will be listing more items during the next month. Look for vintage Mexican jewelry and vintage textiles.

I still have a presence on eBay, but I probably won't be listing there as much.

PayPal Drawing Money From Bank Account Instead of Credit Card

I never thought that I would have to write about this, but here I am. Last week I bought something online and I paid with a credit card through PayPal. At least, that’s what I thought, until the credit union told me that I had an overdraft in my account that is connected to PayPal.

What happened was that PayPal had taken the funds from my bank account instead of the credit card. This situation has happened to others too, who have both a credit card and bank account connected to a PayPal account.See this link to a discussion on eBay's PayPal forum.
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I emailed PayPal support and told them about the problem,but no relief was offered. Then I decided to look at eBay's PayPal forum to see if anyone else was having the same problem. They were.Someone posted PayPal's telephone numbers, and I called a representative.

1-888-221-1161 (Toll Free for Premier/Business Accounts)
1-888-204-4481 (Toll Free for Premier/Business Accounts)
1-402-935-7733 (Personal Accounts)
1-402-935-2050 (Personal Accounts)

The customer representative admitted no wrongdoing on the part of PayPal, but gave me a one-time customer courtesy payment of $25 to repay the insufficient funds charge that the credit union had charged me.

Charging a bank account instead of a credit card appears to me to be violating PayPal's 2006 agreement.In September, 2006, the Texas State Attorney along with 27 other states reached an agreement with PayPal to improve customer service.

"Among users’ chief grievances addressed by the attorneys general is PayPal’s failure to clearly disclose the consumer’s funding source for a given transaction. Consumers complained that the company did not clearly disclose the funding source for each purchase, and thereby withdrew money from a consumer’s bank account, even if users submitted their credit card information when signing up. As a result, many consumers learned that money had been withdrawn from their bank accounts only when they received their monthly bank statements, even though their intention had been to use a credit card."

At present,the only solutions to prevent a similar scenario is for a buyer to open an account that just links to a credit card and not to both a credit card and bank account. The PayPal representative also suggested that I could also remove my bank information from my existing account before I paid, and then add it back later when I wanted to receive payments. Still, inconvenient.I think I prefer the first solution of separate accounts.

At Texas State Capitol Rotunda, Memorial Day

Lithebast went to the Texas State Capitol on Memorial Day to listen to the Austin Chord Rangers, a men's barbershop choral group and to take photos. I took the bus downtown, and I was delighted with the excellent service.


I met an enchanting veteran from Louisiana, VFW Post 5735, who knew how to pour on the charm! He looks great in his orange shirt and cap.


These ladies look patriotic in red. The woman on the right is a member of the illustrious Red Hat Society and the woman on the left is the wife of an officer in Austin Chord Rangers.


The Tejanos-In-Action Veterans Color Guard presented the flag. This is a photo taken shortly after the event and includes family members.

Leadership & Changes at eBay

Generally, whenever a new leader takes over an organization, he/she also implements new policies and procedures. It’s called “ making your mark”. This usually causes those affected by the changes to scramble and adjust or in some cases, leave the organization.

Thus it is not surprising that sweeping changes are accompanying John Donahoe, who will officially take over as eBay’s new CEO on March 31. Nor is it surprising that many dislike the changes that are being implemented.

Some of the most controversial changes involve the new final value fee (FVF) increases, detailed seller ratings (DSR), and eliminating seller feedback for buyers.

EBay buried the final value fee (FVF) increases under the news that gallery photo fees would be eliminated and that insertion fees at certain levels would be reduced. However, after doing the math, many eBay sellers learned that their costs of doing business on eBay would increase, and that their ability to be seen in eBay’s searches would be affected by the detailed seller ratings (DSR) left by buyers. While at the same time, eBay would be eliminating sellers’ options to leave neutral or negative feedback or ratings for buyers or transactions.

The Deutsche Bank teleconference with the Internet Merchants Association (IMA) on February 6, 2008, was particularly enlightening about eBay’s changes. Ben Mandell, Vice-President of the IMA, predicted that many eBay sellers would see their DSR numbers decline and consequently their visibility on eBay decrease as newly enboldened buyers leave lower ratings for them. Mandell said that he thought that the ratings for eBay sellers would not exceed the ratings of the top rated department stores in the American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). In 2007, The ACSI ranked Kohl’s at 79% satisfaction and Nordstrom at 80% satisfaction.

All of these changes mean that eBay sellers have or are looking at other sites including setting up their own.