I managed to miss the whole fun of it, got busy with other projects when I got back and never realized that my RSS feed was kaput.

At least a warning or an email from Google would have been nice but I’m still waiting.

So today when I clicked on my RSS feed by chance, I was shocked to discover a 404 error.

Ahhh so that is why people were asking how to subscribe to my RSS feed and I was wondering why when the links were all over the place.

Ow! That is all I can say when I think of all those people who might have subscribed.

And now thanks to migrating to Google, my RSS feed subscriber count is back to the (in this case) not so happy figure of 1.

If you are like me and missed the whole Google-Feedburner issue altogether, make sure to check your RSS feeds asap. And once you migrate, don’t bother looking around Google Feedburner for a link to your feed … they will email it to you. For the life of me I still cannot find it at the site. Anyone else?

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Post from: ErumMunir.com.
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Old Feedburner Links Gone!!

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First Discrepancy
The first time I added the item, I had a bidder who had four positive feedback points. What was weird was that all the four comments were completely negative. I was wondering what was wrong with the sellers. According to all four of them the guy was scamming and still the feedback rating was positive.

Disappearing Act Number One
Next when my item sold, the buyer just disappeared. It was only when I mentioned that I will open an unpaid items dispute that he contacted Ebay and told them his account was misused. Talk about convenient.

My entire auction was canceled so I could not leave the buyer negative feedback. Not to mention my option of second chance offer was also gone.

Disappearing Act Number Two
Thinking this was a one time thing, I put the item up for auction again. Guess what? Another unresponsive bidder. Three days passed without as much as even a message. Forget the payment.

This time I figured no warnings. Lets just leave negative feedback and send in an unpaid items complaint.

And that is when it hit me hard!

There is no negative feedback option for buyers, anymore.

Apparently they can scam you like mad, disappear on you and you cannot do a single thing about it. And the reasoning Ebay gives is so buyers leave honest feedback for sellers without fear of retaliation.

I have never heard more crap in my life.

What about seller’s protection? What about our rights as a seller and our right to see if a buyer is trustworthy? If this is the kind of attitude Ebay has towards its sellers then I am out of there.

No wonder all these scammers have cropped. No wonder bidders no longer have a problem with running away. So much for the bidding being a contract when there is no one enforcing the rules.

Oh yes there is the unpaid items dispute but you can only open that after 7 days. I wait 7 days, open a dispute, wait another 5 days to see if the buyer responds, then Ebay spends another 3 days trying to contact them and then they finally bother adding an unpaid item strike to the buyer’s account. And by the time all is said and done, my next bidder whom I could have offered a second chance offer has bought the item elsewhere.

In other words, that isn’t really much of an option.

Ebay had it so good with their feedback system. And now they have gone and completely destroyed it. It is completely unbelievable!

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Post from: ErumMunir.com.
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Goodbye EBAY After Your New Feedback Policies!

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What this means is you can sign up and get unlimited free two day shipping on Amazon products. And you can upgrade to one day shipping for only $3.99.

I was offered this deal a while back and took advantage of it asap. Now’s your chance.

If you don’t like it, just cancel within 30 days. In the meanwhile enjoy the luxury of free shipping with two day delivery.

There is nothing to lose. Only dollars to save. So go for it.

Try Amazon Prime right now with no obligations!

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Post from: ErumMunir.com.
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Not To Be Missed – FREE Two Day Shipping At Amazon!

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I received an email via my design website DotsnDashes.

The email was sent using my contact form. Now I get many different emails via that medium. Some ask for quotes, others for link building, some for information and so on. On average, they are normal emails, some casual, some formal but none bordering on rudeness. However, the one I received yesterday was a tiny bit different.

I’ll be able to explain more effectively if I show you how it starts:

Starting off with a suggestion, (should have done it with Salam though).. you should think about giving the entry tabs on this page a border (or shadow), talking about the contact form, because its kinda hard on the eyes to figure out where to click and start writing. I’m pointing out such a small thing, but probably that’s because I think every thing else I saw neat as a new pin.

Seriously that is exactly how it started.

My reactions was:

Who is this person?
What is his problem?
Where is he coming from?

I don’t mind criticism although I prefer to receive solicited one. What got to me was the tone and the way in which it was given. Had this person started off with introducing themselves and then gone on to add: ‘Oh btw I had a hard time filling the contact form…’, I would have been more receptive.

So what are the lessons here?

1. Always be polite especialy if you are sending an unsolicited message and especially if it contains criticism that was unasked for.
2. Introduce yourself before going into criticism attack with your first line. Introduction first. Criticism later. Even then think twice about what needs to be said and how. If someone did not ask for it they are not going to take it well. At the very least their perception of you is not going to be a good one. Wrong start in other words.
3. Remember that your opinion is just that and not facts hard set in stone. For example this guy thinks the tabs at my site will look better if they had a drop shadow. I disagree completely. Neither of us is wrong, it is just different design decisions. On the other hand, his concern over the contact form is more valid. Had he just stuck to that, he would solidified his position.

After his first para, the guy introduced himself and asked for advice over payment processors. I promptly sent him affiliate links for two of them. I figured that was the least he deserved

What About You?

So what about you? Are you like this person? Do you write emails without thinking them through?

Or are you at the other end of the stick and have received such queries?

Do share. One can learn something from everything.

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Post from: ErumMunir.com.
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What is Your Communication Style?

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However, this is a question you are forced to face the moment your net dies on you. In my case it was my phone line. Since I have a DSL connection, that is pretty much the same thing. What makes matters worse is the company I have my phone line and DSL connection from chose this very moment to be a chaotic mess. In other words, I cannot get someone to get my phone line and DSL connection back up.

Three full days without the Internet. Let me tell you it wasn’t fun. It is sad but I cannot remember what I used to do in the pre-Internet era. How did I spend my day? How did I pass my time?

Since I work from home and all my work is Internet related, my entire work world revolves around having a stable Internet connection. So living without the Internet wasn’t very pleasant.

Anyway the good news is I now have a wireless connection so no more dependency on the phone line. And that feels great! It is good to be back

So what do you think your life will be like if you lost your Internet connection for three days?

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Can You Live Without The Internet?

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If you have never participated in a giveaway, let me tell you this is one of the best ways to increase your subscriber base. And some of the products you get to download are fabulous – some even come with PLR and MRR rights so you can do whatever you want with them.

The only catch here is that in order to build your list you have to offer some kind of a gift to entice them to join. Once they have subscribed to your list, they will receive your free gift. True some people may just join for the gift and unsub asap. But by experience I would say most of them stay. After that it is up to the quality of your content to keep them on the list.

So here are 3 of the JV Giveaways I am currently participating in. Go add your gifts here asap and start building your list. Some of these sites are going to be getting massive traffic soon so you don’t want to miss out on that.

If you don’t want to offer a gift, you can still download the free gifts.

1. Giveaway Manager
   Add your gift | Download free gifts
2. 117 Work At Home Gifts
   Add your gift | Download free gifts
3. Big Thanksgiving Giveaway
   Add your gift | Download free gifts
4. The Ultimate Giveaway 3
   Add your gift

I’m sure you are wondering why these links look suspiciously like affiliate links. These are basically tracking links so the giveaway site owners can make sure that everyone is participating to make the event a success. More traffic means more gifts and more subscribers for everyone. So we all have to play a part.

In other words you even have to work at giving things away for free

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Free Products and Free List Building

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