| Jimmy’s Axe Page |
Racing axe on EBay 3/24/2010
If this is a returning or first visit to this page, I apologize for having little to offer. Racing axes and axes in general are a serious interest of mine and I find pleasure in using them. I enjoy learning old skills, putting old tools to use, and proving over and over that John Henry did beat the steam hammer.
Sadly, the only place to find the unusual pieces at reasonable prices is on the Ebay auction block. I will still say that much, that on Ebay you can find very good deals and many unusual blades. The problem with the page here is that a few months ago Ebay changed its advertising policy regarding affiliates and stopped paying commissions on sales through website ads such as those upon which I based my articles here and at HubPages. Instead of maybe paying me six percent commission on a $400 racing axe, Ebay decided to pay me between 13 cents and a dollar, and maybe not even that. I did study the material they sent me explaining how that was better for me and how the old system was unfair to Ebay, but having been a salesman professionally all I see is the standard corporation response to balancing labor cost against profit: reduce commission. That seemed like a heckuva reduction to me, but being a trusting sort I didn’t pull all my Ebay ads down as some website owners did. I kept two pages up and running just to see whether as Ebay indicated, the world would be rosy and pancakes would grow on trees.
The algorithm Ebay uses to calculate commissions appears to be something like zero times the day hell freezes over, because since the change in the rules I’ve earned about a buck and a half. Most of the sales I make for Ebay earn me nothing. So, reluctantly, I’m going with my gut on this one and deciding not to let Ebay exploit my site for free advertising.
One click away from freedom . . . . . ah! that feels better.
I feel your pain and am sad to see what was a lucrative partnership in both directions (and for sellers) have to fall by the wayside. I, too, would love to promote ads and make money for myself and the company, but it has to pay to make sense. I’m certainly not going to provide a major brand free advertising and valuable site space when I could take a risk on turning pennies into dollars by going with a lesser known company. Maybe one of these clever upstart young businesspersons will realize the great market potential inherent in our moderately well-known blogs and get us a simple system to find and cross-promote with sellers and advertisers. The little guys have to stick together.