I just signed up for AtomicMall and have looked closely at Bonanzle. If those in this thread are in any way representatives of their sites then it looks like AtomicMall gets my listings.

Unless there was some PM negotiating behind the scenes, seems to me that Sciencefare in post 58 changed the purpose of the contest from a listing contest to a sales contest. Patchdog, as OP, in post 74 reluctantly agreed to change the method of determining the winner. Until post 58 it was seller listings vs seller listings. Not site vs site. They could list on either site or both. The listing counts for each seller were to be added together. Then it changed again as Bobbi insisted on making it a Bonanzle vs AtomicMall contest.

Why can't Patchdog have his way as he originally envisioned it? His suggested eCrater vs BluJay contest of the past ended being bitter and the fanatics on both sides were trash talking each other. No way to encourage real competition for eBay. Perhaps he learned from that debacle to not emphasize the rivalry between the sites that would inevitably happen. Why does he have to submit to what others think is better? A listing contest is valid. A selling contest is also valid. Why can't one be for October and the other for November? Or two contests running at the same time?

If others want a sales contest it's easy to start your own thread and create your own. Not hijacking his idea.

Maybe some think that every contest has to be one they can most easily win so the rules need to change if it looks like other sellers will have an advantage. Right now sales dollar volume rules giving a seller of higher priced items already established on the sites the edge. That's fine if the contest was envisioned as such originally. The result is that this new criteria also shuts out the newbie to these two sites with lower value items. Maybe someday there can be a contest that they can win, too. Not if some posters here have their way.

It seems obvious to me that some are so partisan to their favorite site that, for them, cooperation between the two most exciting alternative sites is impossible even though they share a common goal. The fact is that eBay will always be the ruling bully unless the alternate site sellers agree not to brawl with each other.

pjrcoffee wrote (View Post): › I just signed up for AtomicMall and have looked closely at Bonanzle. If those in this thread are in any way representatives of their sites then it looks like AtomicMall gets my listings. Unless there was some PM negotiating behind the scenes, seems to me that Sciencefare in post 58 changed the purpose of the contest from a listing contest to a sales contest. Patchdog, as OP, in post 74 reluctantly agreed to change the method of determining the winner. Until post 58 it was seller listings vs seller listings. Not site vs site. They could list on either site or both. The listing counts for each seller were to be added together. Then it changed again as Bobbi insisted on making it a Bonanzle vs AtomicMall contest. Why can't Patchdog have his way as he originally envisioned it? His suggested eCrater vs BluJay contest of the past ended being bitter and the fanatics on both sides were trash talking each other. No way to encourage real competition for eBay. Perhaps he learned from that debacle to not emphasize the rivalry between the sites that would inevitably happen. Why does he have to submit to what others think is better? A listing contest is valid. A selling contest is also valid. Why can't one be for October and the other for November? Or two contests running at the same time? If others want a sales contest it's easy to start your own thread and create your own. Not hijacking his idea. Maybe some think that every contest has to be one they can most easily win so the rules need to change if it looks like other sellers will have an advantage. Right now sales dollar volume rules giving a seller of higher priced items already established on the sites the edge. That's fine if the contest was envisioned as such originally. The result is that this new criteria also shuts out the newbie to these two sites with lower value items. Maybe someday there can be a contest that they can win, too. Not if some posters here have their way. It seems obvious to me that some are so partisan to their favorite site that, for them, cooperation between the two most exciting alternative sites is impossible even though they share a common goal. The fact is that eBay will always be the ruling bully unless the alternate site sellers agree not to brawl with each other.

Very well said. And what is happening now is why I stayed away from involving myself in it. always causes problems.

"Then it changed again as Bobbi insisted on making it a Bonanzle vs AtomicMall contest"..... No, I don't think so and for a fellow Buckeye (although I live in AR) to make such a statement, that is totally incorrect and libelous, is extraordinary. Thanks!!!!

My support is unsolicited

Bobbi,

Would it hurt to give prizes only to those who agreed to participate beforehand? Announcing their store names would be clearly permitted because they agreed to participate. Would it hurt to combine a seller's sales from both sites to declare a winner given that many list on both? Would it hurt to mention the winning seller without comments about the sites they list on? That was not how the announcements of the winners I read were worded. Sometimes not even a mention of the winning seller's store name at all. Mike is right and you're not.

If the thread title said "October Seller Contest Bonanzle VS Atomic Mall" then you would be right in publicizing the winning seller's home site but that is not as it is actually worded. The key words are SELLER and & (instead of Vs). Seems like Mike indicated his willingness to cooperate only as long as the sellers were the only ones competing.

Ok since somebody wants to pull the libelous card, I did some copying of the posts and after each post I will put my own thoughts in it. Sorry for such a long post but somebody wants to force a hand so here it is…

Starts with the original idea…..

PatchDog wrote (View Post): › Just posted on a thread about a boycott of eBay for the month of October. Many of us who still have ties to eBay can not afford to do this but we can still contribute by building up . First, this is NOT a competition between the sites. I feel strongly and very good about both Atomic Mall and Bonanzle. These 2 sites are bringing something to the alternative industry that had been lacking for the last 2 years that I have been perusing these boards. Excitement and results. This is a competition between all sellers on both sites. If you sell on AM or B you are eligible for the contest. The winner is the one who does the most listing in their store for the month of October. If you have more than one store on a site or stores on both sites then you get the cumulative total of those listings for the month of October. So everyone who wants to join, just put your store link (or links here) and we'll have one person from each site do an initial tally and double tally of the total number of listings (I nominate Sciencefare from Atomic Mall, now we need to stick it to someone...ummm, I mean, get a representative from Bonanzle as well) at midnight on October 1st and the person with the most listings at midnight on October 31st wins. Any sales made during the month can be emailed to the official talliers for documentation so you are not penalized for making sales. (talliers doesnt sound right but using the title tallywhackers might get me in trouble). We can also have a second prize open to everyone who participates. Even if you are not the high lister, you still have an equal chance just for contributing. Like drawing a name from a hat or the web equivalent version of that.....there rae many people smarter than me who can figure out how to do that....maybe Mike and Mark can meet for Tacos and draw a name out of the hat...take pictures for posterity's sake..... OK, I will start it off with the donations.... To the 1st Prize Winner can pick any 2 neckties from my East Coast Wild store on AM and any 2 magnets from my Red Moon Auctions store on AM. (see links below for current selection). To the 2nd Prize Winner can pick any 1 necktie from my East Coast Wild store on AM and any 1 magnet from my Red Moon Auctions store on AM. Shipping is included of course. Who wants to participate and who wants to donate? Please post your responses here.

Notice it says NOT a competition between sites? Notice it says a Listing contest? Notice it says “everybody who wants to join” doesn’t that mean 1 would have to sign up to take part?
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sciencefare wrote (View Post): › PatchDog wrote (View Post): › (I nominate Sciencefare from Atomic Mall, now we need to stick it to someone...ummm, I mean, get a representative from Bonanzle as well) Man it's a good thing that folks can't see the arm twisting that went on with this. PatchDog wrote (View Post): › Who wants to participate and who wants to donate? Please post your responses here. I'll donate 1 Drinking Bird, 1 Hand Boiler, 1 small 3D Illusion, and 1 Beginner Web Hosting to the first prize winner pool of items. To the second prize winner pool of items, I'll contribute 1 Beginner Web Hosting and 1 Atomic Lava Lamp. I'd like to emphasize that this contest & drawing is open to all, and that you don't need huge amounts of inventory to participate because of the two-part nature of this. The second prize will be drawn/selected at random, so everyone has an equal chance of winning the second prize. IMPORTANT! - Anyone want to volunteer to keep track of all the donations to this contest that are already beginning to be submitted here? If so, make yourself known, and you'll be declared the official Donations Bean Counter!

opps rules changed already to “open to all”. I guess no more signing up for it huh.
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sciencefare wrote (View Post): › Sittingon20G wrote (View Post): › So is this for existing stores then? Just wondering if someone starts a new store and brings over eBay listings does that count? I've brought over all of my listings, but just thought if someone did with a few thousand items, I wouldn't have a chance. Since the contest/drawing begins on October 1st, 2008 (presumably at 12:01 AM), stores that exist at Atomic Mall or Bonanzle before, on, or after the start date would be eligible. Obviously, if someone was shooting for lots of listings, it would make sense to begin adding them as soon as possible after the start of the contest. It's important to note that listings that exist before the contest start date won't be counted. Listings that are added between the start and stop dates will be counted. The contest/drawing consists of two parts: The listing contest will award the first prize to the store(s) that list the most items between the beginning of the contest and the end of the contest. If you have a store at Bonanzle that you add 100 items to, and a store at Atomic Mall that you add 100 items to, your entry would be 200 items. Note - Duplicate listings won't count. The drawing portion of the contest is open to any seller at Atomic Mall or Bonanzle that lists at least 1 item between the beginning of the contest and contest end. The winner of the drawing will be determined by selecting a single store name from the pool of all entrants. Hope this helps a bit.

Notice this one say “existing stores on both sites and NOT sites themselves?
Notice it says “winner of the drawing will be determined by selecting a single store name from the pool of all entrants.”
Cool it it still SELLERS and not sites.

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sciencefare wrote (View Post): › arcanesanctuary wrote (View Post): › Question about this contest. Is it 3 contests in 1 or just one big contest? What I mean by the 3 in 1 is that there is a prize for the most listings on BON, a prize for most on AM and a prize for combined listed. Hey arcane! At this point in time, the contest/drawing looks like this: The contest/drawing provides a first prize for whomever has the greatest number of unique listings created at Atomic Mall, Bonanzle, or both, between October 1st, 12:01 AM and October 31st, 11:59 PM. Duplications do not count. The second prize consists of a random drawing of a single seller, selected from a list of all Atomic Mall and Bonanzle sellers who have at least one item listed during the contest duration. Dependent on contributions/donations received, there *may* be additional prize categories set-up.

hey it still says sellers and not sites.. go figure
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sciencefare wrote (View Post): › Angelsong777 wrote (View Post): › arcanesanctuary wrote (View Post): › Question about this contest. Is it 3 contests in 1 or just one big contest? What I mean by the 3 in 1 is that there is a prize for the most listings on BON, a prize for most on AM and a prize for combined listed. It is one big contest. Any listings you do on either site count. If you list the same items on both sites, they count twice. I'm pretty sure that's what Sciencefare was saying. After talking to my counterpart Bobbi85710 over at Bonanzle, it was determined that only unique listings would be counted. I apologize for any confusion about this. Because this whole contest idea was conceived just yesterday, getting folks all on the same page takes a little time, and some incorrect information was given out. Hopefully, we'll have this thing become clearer as it develops, and certainly before the contest period starts. Nothing is absolutely set in stone yet, so there could be changes that crop up in the coming days.

Ok still sellers and not sites but is made clear that only unique listings after 10-01-08 will count. So it is still a listing contest between sellers. All good so far.
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sciencefare wrote (View Post): › Hi all! This is a reminder of the contest that begins tomorrow. A separate thread may also be started: OctoberFest SellingFest All Atomic Mall and Bonanzle Sellers are invited to compete for prizes for the entire month of October. There will be weekly winners and one monthly prize winner. A member at either site will win. There is no special instructions or assignments. All you need to do is do what you do best and sell. And the basis of winning comes down to the highest sales dollars. Everyone has a chance. Remember you could be second in sales each week consistently even third and still take the monthly prize. The prize of the week will be announced on Saturday, prize winner on Sunday, prize shipped on Monday. On your mark, get set....go Prizes available will be announced later this week, early next week. Prizes consist of contributions/donations from Atomic Mall members and Bonanzle members. So far the list of prizes is small, so if you feel like throwing something into the prize pool, please leave a Private message for "Outwest4Less"!

Ahhh still just the sellers.. I love that part. BUT wait….. winner has the highest sales? I thought it was a listing contest?
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PatchDog wrote (View Post): › I had initially conceived a listing contest and brought forth the idea as I thought that it would benefit both sites but I have no problem with a sales contest instead....as long as the sites and their members both benefit from the exposure and I think they will. As I think about it, we always say what good are listing counts without sales? I also sell low cost items and cant compete with someone who sells higher end items but I will still do my best to make the sales. Now I have to figure out how best to contribute to the prizes. For the weekly winners, he or she will get a choice of any necktie and any magnet from my stores. The monthly winner will get any 4 neckties and any 4 magnets PLUS a spoof pair of eBay UPAY Boxer Shorts which is to be unveiled in about 1 week.

oh no the person who thought up the idea noticed it was changed to a sales contest instead of a listing contest… opps. Guess his contest got twisted somewhere.
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Bobbi85710 wrote (View Post): › Here we go with the info, Sciencefare I believe is still recuperating so I want to post this from your Atomic Mall winner & my discussions with her. Congrats & much admiration to: http://www.atomicmall.com/seller.php?id=10674>Electronics What a gal!!! Hi Bobbi, Now I'm kind of embarrassed. But in a good way (smile). Sure, you can copy and paste to the threads but you don't need to include my selling links. Thanks very much for the offer, though. Have a great day! Elisabeth -----Original Message----- Hi Elisabeth, That is amazing........would you mind if I copied this & pasted it on all 3 threads on PSU, minus your private info to show how wonderful and thoughtful you are? What a gem!!! You are a shining example of the new breed of sellers today. I would also like to include your direct selling links. Thanks, Bobbi -----Original Message----- Hi Bobbi, I go to Powersellers Unite almost every day because the site is so informative and I've learned so much from all the members over there. It's how I found out about Bonanzle and Atomic Mall. Like many I'm trying to add inventory to the two sites in hopes that another site or two or three even, can really become successful and compete with Ebay though I still sell over there. I'll give you my address but I have to admit, for myself I would prefer that the individuals who so generously offered to donate prizes not send anything to me. I state this because times are tough and it would be my preference they either sell their item to generate income or give it as a gift to someone more in need. Thanks so much for your email and I hope Sciencefare feels better soon, Elisabeth -----Original Message----- To: You were the winner of last week's sale contest between Atomic Mall & Bonanzle. And I might add you are rocking already towards the winner of the month...wow. Sciencefare has been ill and probably not contacted you. Mike told me who was the top winner so I want to get you physical address to mail out the silver pendant necklace to you. When he's up & running he may have more details or prize info. Thanks, Bobbi

oh no not again, the very first post making it a SITE v’s SITE contest. Atomic mall winner? I thought it would be just the selling winner is (insert persons name here). Ahhh even in the email to winner it is stated and I quote “You were the winner of last week's sale contest between Atomic Mall & Bonanzle”. So I guess somebody made it site v’s site huh instead of just a sellers selling contest?
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Bobbi85710 wrote (View Post): › This week's winner is on Bonanzle but I can't seem to contact them. 2nd place is also there and 3rd place is AM

Can you please give me the link to “Bonanzle” store so I can check out their products? Also can you give me a link to AM’s store link so I can check out their products. OH wait they don’t have stores because they are the SITES and not the sellers right?
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Bobbi85710 wrote (View Post): › We use the top sales for the previous week. I know all of Bonanzles but I always get your top seller. It's the top seller on whichever site. 1st week Atomic Mall seller, 2nd week it was a Bonanzle seller, this week it is a Bonanzle seller but I haven't been able to contact them for notification, so I can't post it. I just added the descending order of sales leaders so that everyone would know that the sites are being sold on..........

Here we go yet again with the sites instead of the sellers.
Should be week 1 winner is Joe “the plumber”
week 2 winner is Joe “six pack”
week 3 winner is Joe “the senator”
But nope it is Bonanzle and Atomic Mall sites named and not the sellers…. HUMMMM
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Bobbi85710 wrote (View Post): › The 3rd weekly winner for "October Seller Contest Bonanzle & Atomic Mall" is: http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/psaseattle I think they were a little leary of the honor and why. I forgot everyone recently registering would not know about it..................lol

Hey got 1 right, it is listed as the seller and not the site…..yeahhhhhh
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purple_reading_giraffe wrote (View Post): › Hey, Bobbi? What's the matter with advertising the sellers who have sold well? All of them? Instead of talking about what venue they list on? I think it would be great to post links to all their stores, and I'm not sure why you feel you must contact them first. I have a hard time believing any one of them might object to the free publicity, or have any kind of a "case" if they did. JM2C

oppsss… somebody is catching on to the sellers not being listed but just what site they are on.
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Bobbi85710 wrote (View Post): › The situation has developed into a tirade. I am currently creating a Blog of PMs to attach within here later so that everyone can view with one-click. I self Naru'd Ebay on July 5th of this year and now I have self Naru'd from AtomicMall last night without selling or buying 1 item ever.

Note to self… somebody thinks PM stands for “Public Message” and not “Private Message”. If that is the case that they wanted it to be public the why have that button to talk to each other 1 on 1? I have seen people who hate each other ask permisson to use PM’s first before posting. Guess this person decide they are better than that.
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Bobbi85710 wrote (View Post): › Angelsong777 wrote (View Post): › Hi Bobbi, Just my brief $0.02 here. I understand that you had to take on a lot of work for this contest, more than originally anticipated due to Sciencefare's illness, and I applaud and appreciate you for that. I do understand what Mike is trying to say, and this seems like an unfortunate situation involving miscommunication / misunderstanding between two fine people. Mike's position is also what I had understood the contest to be about. I thought that sellers participating in the contest as individuals could use either one or both sites (as I do) to sell as much as they could between the two sites. Although it wasn't a real problem for me, I didn't expect to see winners displayed quite as they were, as Mike pointed out. I can understand why he made a point of mentioning that, and can understand why it is more of an issue for him than for the rest of us who don't actually own one of the sites involved. This is just my opinion, and I mean no disrespect toward anyone. And Bobbi, I do realize that you got stuck with a challenging task and little help, and I recognize and appreciate that you've done the very best you could with everything. The title of this thread is: October Seller Contest Bonanzle & Atomic Mall The seller's selling (winning) location is placed on the announcement so everyone can see who is doing what right, to garner sales. This confirms a real and true picture......funny there were no complaints until after there was a confrontation regarding some graphs on the AM board over the weekend as I was made aware of by other concerned PSU members last night. btw the truest graph that is independent of particular site requests would be: http://trends.google.com/trends?q=atomic+mall%2C+bonanzle&hl=en I don't accept the fact that this just hit him all of a sudden.

They can not even see that they contridict themselves in this post. They state the “Seller Contest” but then in the very next sentence state they place the sites name so everybody can see who is doing what is right, sales? I still thought it was sellers in the contest and not sites?

Now on with the wrong in this post. She states “no complaints until after there was a confrontation regarding some graphs on the AM board over the weekend as I was made aware of by other concerned PSU members last night.”
Here is the graph posted on Bonanzle… notice the date
10/14/08 Bon. site blog
http://www.bonanzle.com/blogs/Slow___Oh_no___Say_it_ain_t_so__Joe_
Here is the graph posted in Am forums… also notice the date…
10/17/08 Am forum
http://atomicmall.proboards50.com/index.cgi?board=announcements&action=display&thread=683

So I think Bonanzle posted the graph first and yes it did start a confrontation. But AM didn’t post their graph till what 3 days AFTER bonanzle? Humm guess who has her facts wrong?

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PatchDog wrote (View Post): › I have been seeing these skirmishes and I have been trying to stay out of them and let them die but I am going to stick my nose in where I dont want to because I think this is getting out of hand and not in the spirit of what we were trying to accomplish....this is not site vs site but a SELLER competition.....in fact, it was my understanding that in order for a seller to be eligible for the competition, the seller must actively contact SF or Bobbi so that their stores can be included in this....it looks like sellers that have been winning werent even aware they were in a contest....the seller with the most sales be it from AM or B or a combination of sales from both sites is the winner and that seller should be "signing up" for the contest....this is about sellers who want to have some fun with this, the sites are only a platform for those sellers.....I think that sellers from both sites are happy with the results they are getting....any promoting of the sites can be done within the AM or B threads here on PSU....this shouldnt be a thing of of my site does better than yours....we have too much of that already and my hope has been that AM and B can stay out of that....anyone who is unsure about which site will give them more exposure can easily list identical items on both sites and wait a few days to see how they fare in the search engines.... Bobbi, I appreciate the hard work you have been doing as a tallywhacker and I have been very busy myself or I would have volunteered to help when SF went down.....I should have at least thought about asking for more volunteers to help and I am sorry about that....dlrane has volunteered to help and that should be fine.... All I am saying to everyone and to noone in particular is that we should keep this in perspective and not use this as a chance to promote our favorite venue....this isnt the place for that...we should also be a little bit thicker skinned and be very sure before we accuse someone of promoting a site here....

The creator once again stating he wanted a Seller vs seller competion not site vs site. Also stating it was supposed to be a SIGN UP contest, and not open to just anybody. You physically had to sign up.

He also thanks Bobbi for taking this on by herself since SF got ill.
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Bobbi85710 wrote (View Post): › PatchDog wrote (View Post): › I have been seeing these skirmishes and I have been trying to stay out of them and let them die but I am going to stick my nose in where I dont want to because I think this is getting out of hand and not in the spirit of what we were trying to accomplish....this is not site vs site but a SELLER competition.....in fact, it was my understanding that in order for a seller to be eligible for the competition, the seller must actively contact SF or Bobbi so that their stores can be included in this....it looks like sellers that have been winning werent even aware they were in a contest....the seller with the most sales be it from AM or B or a combination of sales from both sites is the winner and that seller should be "signing up" for the contest....this is about sellers who want to have some fun with this, the sites are only a platform for those sellers.....I think that sellers from both sites are happy with the results they are getting....any promoting of the sites can be done within the AM or B threads here on PSU....this shouldnt be a thing of of my site does better than yours....we have too much of that already and my hope has been that AM and B can stay out of that....anyone who is unsure about which site will give them more exposure can easily list identical items on both sites and wait a few days to see how they fare in the search engines.... Bobbi, I appreciate the hard work you have been doing as a tallywhacker and I have been very busy myself or I would have volunteered to help when SF went down.....I should have at least thought about asking for more volunteers to help and I am sorry about that....dlrane has volunteered to help and that should be fine.... All I am saying to everyone and to noone in particular is that we should keep this in perspective and not use this as a chance to promote our favorite venue....this isnt the place for that...we should also be a little bit thicker skinned and be very sure before we accuse someone of promoting a site here.... Concise & Precise as Always Patch

What am I reading this right? She agrees with what he said? Then why did see continue to use site names instead of sellers names? I just don’t get it.
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ShopShay_2007 wrote (View Post): › Bobbi85710 wrote (View Post): › sciencefare wrote (View Post): › Hi all! This is a reminder of the contest that begins tomorrow. A separate thread may also be started: OctoberFest SellingFest All Atomic Mall and Bonanzle Sellers are invited to compete for prizes for the entire month of October. There will be weekly winners and one monthly prize winner. A member at either site will win. There is no special instructions or assignments. All you need to do is do what you do best and sell. And the basis of winning comes down to the highest sales dollars. Everyone has a chance. Remember you could be second in sales each week consistently even third and still take the monthly prize. The prize of the week will be announced on Saturday, prize winner on Sunday, prize shipped on Monday. On your mark, get set....go Prizes available will be announced later this week, early next week. Prizes consist of contributions/donations from Atomic Mall members and Bonanzle members. So far the list of prizes is small, so if you feel like throwing something into the prize pool, please leave a Private message for "Outwest4Less"! This was the gist of it. see I missed that part. I do appreciate the fact that Bobbi has stood up and took it all on by herself when SF got ill. Imagine the stress in that combined with everything she already does. For that I to you for doing the best you can under the circumstances.

Oh look I even thank Bobbi for all her hard work.
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AtomicMall.com wrote (View Post): › Weeeeeell now.....this is interesting. As some might imagine, I have an opinion on all this as well. Let me begin by saying that I am not the least bit embarrassed by, nor do I regret, anything I stated in my private conversations with Bobbi. I only regret that she has decided to subject all the readers here to what should have been handled as a personal matter between two individuals. My desire was to spare the readers of this board from drama which was completely unrelated to them, and to engage Bobbi one-on-one, in an exchange where we could each have a free exchange of thoughts and opinions without outside influence. That's why I used the site's private message feature. I am extremely disappointed in her decision to take those private comments and place them into public view without my consent. She earlier expressed a desire to be treated in a professional manner, yet her actions in compromising this expectation of privacy purely out of spite and retaliation, seem to indicate that she is perhaps not deserving of such consideration. Anyone reading our previously private exchange can see that I did not personally attack her or use derogatory insults in any way. I merely disagreed with the manner in which she was representing the contest, and I expressed myself in an honest and forthright way. Instead of meeting me halfway to arrive at some kind of understanding, she immediately closed her account on our site and accused me of being "venomous", and attacking her. It wasn't quite the response I had expected from someone claiming to behave professionally. In my opinion these actions reveal much more about her character than mine. That's #1. #2: At the root of my concern with Bobbi's handling of the announcements was her apparent partisanship, and how it affected her presentation of the results. I understand she is excited about Bonanzle, and frankly there is a lot to be excited about. From all outward appearances it is a great site. The issue I had was that she was using a contest designed to be strictly a competition between sellers, and turning it into an AM vs. Bonanzle event. I'll use these quotes from her as an example of what I mean: Bobbi85710 > "BTW Bonanzle is ahead in the contest count 2 for 3......let's keep it up " Bobbi85710 > "3rd place is AM" Both comments are factually incorrect and misleading. Neither Bonanzle or Atomic Mall are contestants, so neither are capable of being in 3rd place, 1st place, or "ahead in the contest". This was my single, solitary concern, yet for some reason it was either ignored by Bobbi or met with contempt. When the contest idea was presented to me in the beginning, I made it clear that I was not interested in participating in a site vs. site event. I just think those types of things are somewhat garish, and don't really help either cause very much. Admittedly, it's just a personal feeling on my part. I was assured that it would be presented as a member vs. member event, which I was agreeable to, and which it IS currently advertised as: October Seller Contest Bonanzle & Atomic Mall NOT Site vs Site but all sellers on both sites. Bobbi then began representing the event as if it were a contest between the two sites, which no doubt confused some participants, as well as uninitiated outside observers. My only request was that she should probably just announce the actual winners (sellers), and not engage in partisan cheerleading. As someone entrusted with the official "scores" in a competitive event, I felt this type of behavior could have the effect of calling a contest's integrity into question. And for those wondering, I would react exactly the same way if a contest liaison from AM were carrying on in a similar fashion. I just don't think it's appropriate for individuals entrusted with contest results to be "rooting" for one side over the other, or misrepresenting the nature of the contest, regardless of how informal or "small" the contest might be, or which "side" is perceived to be ahead. For voicing this concern, I was accused of using "venom", and my private correspondence made public as a means of retaliation. Anyway, that brings us to now. I'll leave it to the readers to decide for themselves where they stand on the issue, but I did feel that since the expectation of privacy HAS in fact been breached by one side, that both sides should now be presented. Thanks, Mike

The owner of Atomic Mall responding to her out right publishing of their private (PM) messages. Which BTW he has every right to do.
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Bobbi85710 wrote (View Post): › I really am appalled that you would continue to act in an accusatory manner toward me to embellish your own site. What you are doing is unacceptable as a community business leader and showing a continual lack of "Best Practices". You initiated the entire episode with your many implications last night and I believe that what I have disclosed is nothing more than a self-centered egotist who is falling behind in the pack and wants all the attention he can garner. I have received so many supportive emails, PMs, IMs, phone calls with hearty thanks on what I have done without aid and then to be hypocritically berated by you initially on the forums, then through PMs that once I receive, they are mine to do with as I wish. You have made your own bed and you may now lay in it. Calling on Kudos is really infantile, and shows the length to which you have stooped. You also have failed to point out the exact location - The Bonanzle Thread that my encouraging comments were on........are you so paranoid that you visit it often to pick your battles?

WOW… she can’t stop. Yep you did expose something but I think you got it backwards.
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Bobbi85710 wrote (View Post): › You are no longer worthy of my attention, please find a new whipping post. You are not my boss, my husband, my father or even at this point a respectable professional. You thrive on conflict, that is quite evident and I will no longer play your games. Good Luck in your Future Endeavors while inquisitve Sellers look for places to set up shop. They have a pretty dicey view of your disposition, personality, and support. Bobbi J. Miller AtomicMall.com wrote (View Post): › Bobbi85710 wrote (View Post): › I really am appalled that you would continue to act in an accusatory manner toward me to embellish your own site. How is the desire to have a frank, private conversation with one individual "embellishing" my site? The only reason this conversation is public now is because you made it so. Quote: › What you are doing is unacceptable as a community business leader and showing a continual lack of "Best Practices". Please provide examples to substantiate both accusations. Quote: › I believe that what I have disclosed is nothing more than a self-centered egotist who is falling behind in the pack and wants all the attention he can garner. Once again, if it was attention I was trying to garner, I wouldn't have initiated the exchange in a private forum. Were you under the assumption that once made public, I would not contribute my side of the story? Quote: › I have received so many supportive emails, PMs, IMs, phone calls with hearty thanks on what I have done without aid and then to be hypocritically berated by you initially on the forums And you should be commended for your willingness to volunteer. I applaud that. But when your actions later serve to distort the original intent of the contest with partisan embellishment, I think it's unreasonable for you to expect that no one would voice a concern. That's all I was doing, as anyone can (now) see for themselves. Quote: › You have made your own bed and you may now lay in it. A reprimand perhaps more appropriate for someone who has done something wrong. I haven't. Quote: › Calling on Kudos is really infantile, and shows the length to which you have stooped. All I was really seeking was something along the lines of "ok Mike, I see your point and I'll try to present the contest results accurately and without taking sides". That would've taken 20 seconds of your time, one PM, and done. Instead you chose to ignore my simple request and escalate this to what it has become now. These were your choices, not mine. Quote: › You also have failed to point out the exact location - The Bonanzle Thread that my encouraging comments were on........are you so paranoid that you visit it often to pick your battles? No I'm not paranoid at all. Nor am I infantile. But it is interesting to note who began the accusatory name-calling. As for the "exact location" of your latest comment, it is here, in post #1246: http://www.powersellersunite.com/viewtopic.php?t=20762&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=1245 You originally wrote: "BTW Bonanzle is ahead in the contest count 2 for 3......let's keep it up " Then after our exchange, you edited it to read: "BTW Bonanzle sellers are ahead in the contest count 2 for 3......let's keep it up" Last edited by Bobbi85710 on Oct 2008, Wed 22, 2:13; edited 1 time in total By that, I can only assume you agree with the general premise of my complaint. If not, why did you edit your post?

She states “They have a pretty dicey view of your disposition, personality, and support”. That may be so, but that also goes for you Bobbi.
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And just for the record, the definition of Libel is

Libel involves someone's personal or business reputation being damaged by a false or defamatory statement that has been published. The law is the same whether the comments appear in written form or are broadcast on the radio or television, or appear online.

I think the libel person here is the one who published PRIVATE messages online for all to see and started this whole mess.

Now with my own thoughts. Bobbi, I respected you and valued your opinion on things. I have even asked you for help 1 time. BUT to publish PRIVATE MESSAGES like that is wrong and disrespectful. Then you go on and on after Mike defends himself to YOUR publishing of PM's. You attacked back. Well I can say I do truly thank you for doing the contest by yourself since SF got ill, BUT all respect for you has been lost and I bet I am not the only 1 who feels that way. Just like I am sure there will be some that feel that way about Mike. I know you will come back and respond negative to me and my post but I really do not care as you started it by threatening "Libel". I will not respond to you having to get the last word. I hope you continue to do well in your ventures.

This was a Free Contest.............. Stop.............. Go Vote........... Seriously...............

Use of http link does not designate an entire site it gives a direct view to a booth or store.

There's too much rummaging of sites and other threads that has created undue angst. No one seller had any complaints after Week 1, Week 2, or Week 3 until a site owner started having a tizzy.

Cutting and pasting the name of this thread for use in explanations is totally inline with the spirit of the contest. It is a validation.

The final contest requirements were openly posted prior to October 1st and have been followed. The two sites have provided the sales figures, the prizes have been sent, and winner's selling locations have been posted.

I think that Bobbi might have been a useful helper when she was representing only Bonanzle but when Sciencefair took ill she carried the recordkeeping for both sites. That new role put her in a position that requires one to be site neutral. Not so easy to do for a cheerleader for Bonanzle to pull off.

The record keeping required to keep track when it became a weekly prize award when the original intent was to make a listing count only once at the end overwhelmed her. Part of the "problem" was the great number of prizes which SEEMED to require yet another change of plans. Actually it would have been easier to just award all prizes at end with First prize, Second prize Third prize, Fourth prize, etc until all were awarded AT END. Could it be that Patchdog also thought about the difficulty to administer a complicated prize award process? I think so.

Patchdog had a good plan for a contest and was happy to even supply many of the prizes. The later posters took it upon themselves to "fix" what was not broken. Once it felt good to scrap Patchdog's original well-thought out plan for something "better", anything was possible. Confusion took over as the contest morphed into something far from the original.

Almost like Genesis where God created man and it was VERY good. Only six chapters later we move to Noah and God was ready to destroy the human race and start over. Was His plan flawed? No. The humans messed up what was originally VERY GOOD.

Patchdog is not quite the same as God in the analogy here but you can see how his original thoughts have been set aside and what resulted is what he tried very hard to avoid- a site war with the main Bonanzle cheerleader in charge by default with no thought that she had to respect the intent of the AtomicMall owner nor the OP. Her lack of impartiality even extends to her PSU signature.

Maybe for November it might be wise to use Patchdog's original plan. I can't tell you where the prizes will come from but his plan was a good one from the start. The prizes were not all that critical to its success anyway. I think the desire to make a "contest to end all contests" resulted in the rivalry already present to rear its ugly head.

If AM and B are not just flash in the pans then they will still exist next month. Maybe in the back of some peoples' minds is the thought that if they don't get huge before Christmas then they will fizzle like so many other sites have. Making this contest perhaps their one and only hope for them to rise to the top or fall by the wayside. I think not.

The old adage "too many cooks spoil the broth" seems to apply here.

Edited to spell Sciencefair correctly.

Actually, I think this whole thing should stop right here and now!!!

Anyone who views these threads and posts is getting a bad reflection about all sellers on both sites and the sites as well, which none of or either deserve.

I personally am very disappointed that professional sellers and (adults) can let the simple things get out of hand. Please, let's drop this and let it fade away, for the good of both seller communities.

dlrane wrote (View Post): › Actually, I think this whole thing should stop right here and now!!! Anyone who views these threads and posts is getting a bad reflection about all sellers on both sites and the sites as well, which none of or either deserve. I personally am very disappointed that professional sellers and (adults) can let the simple things get out of hand. Please, let's drop this and let it fade away, for the good of both seller communities.

Very noble and well thought out dlrane. I support your statements. Patchdog can do as he wishes with the thread and process.