Comparing Zibbet to Etsy and Why The Etsy Testing should get me all riled up but doesn't much these days

I am writing this post remembering back to the day when I was a self titled "eBayaholic".....I lived every free moment I had buying selling and sharing on that site I once loved so dearly.
Flash forward to when John did this kind of stuff
In 2007, eBay's then soon to be named CEO John Donahoe complained about eBay "looking too much like a flea market." 

Prior to this change I could have seriously spent the rest of my spare time being happy at eBay and continually telling everyone I knew about how fab the place was.
But A.J.
(after John)
took the helm
people scattered all over the place and one venue that certainly benefited from that was Etsy.
I'll never forget how lucky I felt to have found that venue after the bull chit that had been pulled at eBay. 
Then what happened?  Well the venture capitalists came calling.... and Etsy....started changing.
I honestly don't remember what the 1st thing was that made me think WTH? how dare they? and prompted me to put the shop on vacay.  I soon got over it and do remember finding Zibbet later on because of over and over reseller issues and questions about where was Etsy really headed and then Rob was out and Chad was in and all of that stuff.  I missed a lot of it. 
After all I was happily promoting and believing in the new site I had found and was so patient just knowing that this was the place with the best integrity and intentions and where I wanted to grow my on-line business.  And I was happy to wait. (And promote and promote and promote in the meantime)
So flash forward to the October Etsy fall-out when they not only changed the feedback but also changed the definition of handmade......
This lead to a huge influx of new Zibbeters and I can't tell you how much I was truly excited that Zibbet was finally gonna take it to the next level! Whoo hooo! Let's go let's go let's go. I mean I was seriously gung ho and in let's get er done mode.
There was such an exodus that articles like these came about....

http://www.brw.com.au/p/entrepreneurs/how_zibbet_got_new_sellers_customers_6NsNxQaBZqg3410B3SqPKN

and I was kind of thinking to myself when I saw this article that I hadn't been hanging out in the zibbet forums much because not a whole heck of a lot was going on for a long time there....
but I was wondering who was the guy sitting next to  Jonathan in that pic?
Well.... if you have read my blog posts you might see that I finally found out who Andy was LOL!
but I would think that by
now ya'll by this point have noted the statement from that article linked above that quote
(yes quote) 
Zibbet is now targeting $1 million in revenue within the next 12 months and will next week officially launch a bid to raise $300,000 from Australian-based angel investors. 

Okay.....this and many many other reasons are now why I would not recommend for you dear on-line seller hoping to vend your wares... to abandon Etsy and place your egg in the Zibbet basket.
At this point it doesn't really matter what they have done or will do.
What does matter is that some of you out there in my position who are looking for another place to land because you are unhappy with Etsy changes and/or testing....

you might want to reconsider thinking about Zibbet as an option and save yourself some wasted time.  They have already noted that they were shopping the site to Angel investors (who evidently didn't take the bait by the way)
Bottom line is that if Zibbet finally ever does become successful.....
they will go down the VC funding path.
It has been well documented that they were already looking for it.

At the end of the day.... does Etsy doing another dad-gum test seem frustrating and does it piss me off sometimes/most of the time?
yes...and today I would have to say also no.
They have investors to answer to who are looking to make $ and to continually make improvements to the site.
I sometimes do picture those tech testers just pushing buttons to screw with peeps just because they can....
and yet at the same time I would say this...
when Etsy does a  test....
they are not testing whether or not you like the test...........
they in fact don't give a care whether or not you like the test.
and I know that now.
What does matter is this...
unless you plan on leaving for good......
it does not benefit you to waste any time feeling angst about whatever test they are currently performing.
Setting up your own stand alone and promoting that until the cows come home would in my opinion serve your time much better than fleeing to a site that promises you one thing but at the end of the day if they ever become successful will sell-out.
They were already shopping to sell-out before anyone wanted to commit to a real investment.
Unless you know of a proven venue other than your own stand alone to run to..... don't waste your time putting eggs in other baskets.
At this point in my life I don't have a lot of time to waste.... and although the friendships and relationships I made with people I met at Zibbet were worthwhile....
I would still say if you are looking in the long run to find a permanent place to land
Pasadena on Zibbet.
Just my opinion
and at the same time found a lot of fabulous peeps in my time there so I will always wish all those trying to sell something there the best!
Happy Memorial Day Weekend and peace ya'll!

Some bullies think they can control everything...but Joe can't keep the ice cream from melting

So here's just a little hypothetical story......

Joe owned an ice cream shop.
He really liked his ice cream shop
but turned out that he also liked 
to fool around with other things
on the side.
He had an affair with let's say
a lonely handmaiden
(just as an example)
Soon the news got out and people
started talking about Joe and what
he was doing. 
A lot of people stopped buying Joe's
ice cream and didn't want to have
anything to do with Joe anymore.
The word started spreading on social
media about what Joe and his handmaiden
had been up to behind closed doors.
People started feeling that they 
could not really trust Joe any longer
and were talking about it.
A lot more hash tagging his
business and well quite frankly 
Joe was very lucky that there were
no Yelp reviews so far about
all of his shenanigans.
And the people started joining
and reconnecting.....
Asking a lot of questions 
and even former enemies
realized that they were
actually friends once again
because even though they
didn't want to believe all of 
those rumors they had heard...
they were simply
tired of what Joe 
was telling them.
And Joe lost a lot of business because of it
and the lonely handmaiden also lost her JOE-job.

The handmaiden became very upset.
She started threatening people about how they
had interfered with her business and she 
came out of hiding and tried to
bully them to stop talking about the truth.
But in a land where free speech , screen shots , and
especially "Google cache" is king.
It seems like no matter what Joe and the handmaiden
are saying now will make much of a difference.
There is no law against telling the truth.
But we all know that
Sometimes bullies get a little carried away
with themselves. 
They get so used to controlling everything
that they lose sight of the fact when they have
already crossed the line and are in reality
the ones
who should stop doing what they are doing.
Or at least stop being so public about it.
They should crawl back into their hidey hole.
where they have much more control over
telling everyone else what to do.
And the last time we looked
"Hiding"
means exactly what the
Websters' Dictionary says it does.
hide ¹  (hīd)

v. hid (hĭd), hid·den (hĭd′n) or hid, hid·ing, hides

v.tr.

1. To put or keep out of sight; secrete.

2. To prevent the disclosure or recognition of; conceal: tried to hide the facts.

3. To cut off from sight; cover up: Clouds hid the stars.

4. To avert (one's gaze), especially in shame or grief.

v.intr.

1. To keep oneself out of sight.

2. To seek refuge.

In the meantime.....
Joe's ice cream continues to melt.
My what a slippery slope this fairy tale has become
indeed.
And rather sticky at this point as well.
Hypothetically speaking of course.
Fabulous Friday ahead shout out ya'll :=)

Google Ning and a #Zibbet closed forum

I'm sure some of ya'll have already considered this.
Surely you have. Maybe?
One of the aspects as far as we can tell about a closed Ning forum is that Google does not crawl it anymore.
One of the things I used to really like about the Ning Hub is that even though for the past several months there seemed to be fat chance of Google sightings of Zibbet items...... it seems I could still find Google images from items that had been posted in the Zibbet hub.  
Some people do Google searches keying in their shop name or exact titles or do not do it incognito (meaning that Google is going to show them what they have already been clicking on or are most likely going to want to see. ) In order to really see what others are seeing.....go incognito 
no.... I did not say GO commando! ....pull yer panties back up :=)
If Google is no longer crawling the Zibbet Hub is it useless to promote and show me your whatevers?  Well not exactly..... 
as long as there are several people sharing what you have shared there on other social media.... it has a chance of being crawled and hopefully linking back to your shop.  But up until they closed the Zibbet forums......
in my own opinion....
I always felt that posting pics in the Hub was your main chance of Google finding your Zibbet listings.  It seemed they were indeed crawling the Ning hub even while many found their listings on Zibbet were not showing up on Google.
And I am not saying that if you list something on another venue that you will easily get found on the front pages
but what I am saying is that if Google is not crawling a site.....
you might be better off spending your spare time promoting your items on the other social medias that Google is in fact crawling.
If you can figure out a better way to get more people in the Hub to share members' items.....
then the chance of selling will be much easier than it has proven to be for many. 
But until more members are there sharing lots of interesting listings.....
the last time I looked there are not a lot of buyers in the Community 
Well let me rephrase that.....
for some there...the only sales they have made so far were from Community members.
But isn't the object when you list your wares on the net to try and get them out there and seen in the Big world?
So....
I still think that at the end of the day.....
this closed type of situation absolutely benefits the CEO's and not the sellers.
They might be doing away with someone who might discourage a seller from buying a premium membership
but at the same time they do not seem to have a care that they have blocked potential new sellers and buyers from joining in on all of that fun in the first place.
Closing up the hub seems a bit drastic one would think
because
After all...they could have moderators who could very easily remove whatever posts are not to their liking.
They could even very easily remove people who say things they don't like being said
Jeeps they were already doing that quite well weren't they?
And everything that has already been crawled has been cached by Google so it will still be out there when people search.
But making a forum private means exactly that....
they have shut it off from some of your potential buyers.
It's nice to share with Community members what you have recently listed.....
but if the intention is to list and also sell something..
a closed Community kind of shuts off your chances of the item being seen unless it is shared elsewhere.
A lot.
And then some.
And then a lot more
Happy sharing.

Maybe they've finally figured out how to get Zibbet trending on Twitter!

First of all..... full disclosure.... I borrowed that title phrase from a friend of mine.....and it made me laugh but so ironic that you just couldn't make this chit up even if you tried kind of thang.
(I'd also add that this made me think of Kamikaze Zibbet Style)
Did the admins at Zibbet drop zeee bomb or pull the plug on the ship?
They sent someone in to say she was tired of being tag teamed picked on and mistreated...or whatever that was....
and fact is most people in the cyber world kind of look at this one as the pouncer and bouncer over there in the Z hub who tells everyone else about how vile and viperish they are acting.
whatever...
 the side bets are
#1-this Zibbet handmaiden has already served her purpose and people there are tired of what she keeps saying....
#2-Andy and Jon sent her in as a sacrifice for the venue to create some sort of NON drama about supposedly being "attacked" and now she really is outie there.
I mean I know all about Kamikaze Pilot situations so I'd say if she is really gone...that dive she took without the helmet deserves at least a couple of seconds of internet fame hey?
The night the lights went out in Georgia (insert Zibbet hub)...insert they hung an innocent man with (someone said they got hung but from the outside looking in appeared as though not so nicey was always in fact kind of hung on herself ) and yep....maybe had a secret kind of love thang obsession for the powers that be... but hey....pure speculation on that handmaiden obsession speculation that keeps circulating out here in cyber land.
So long story short.....
Because we all know how RUMORS get started over there and some really need to be taken with a grain of salt kind of thang...
anywhooo
they evidently closed the hub after shutting down the "rebuild thread"
What is it about this rebuild forever and ever question that continues to cause so dog gone much turmoil and angst over there ?  Well awhile ago (key phrase "awhile ago") someone said something about how they could have already rebuilt the elusive rebuild at this point. Seriously. They really could have.
And why beat around the bush?
Why close off a forum to all new people landing there?
Why do that kind of thing to sellers who are promoting that venue until their bush is blue and dragging? They have busted their bush promoting a venue and working on their shops and basically 
BOTTOM LINE BUSTING BUSH....
for what?
Oh bright idea....
CLEVER
(NOT)
anyone who googles Zibbet
now has to sign up 
when they land in the community to find out about it?
Damn cookie.....
beat my bush and shut the front door
the last time I looked the only people who would actually sign up for anything would actually want to view the "community" or whatever it was called before they would sign up to see anything at all.
Sellers just got another shot in the foot before they had a chance out of that rebuild gate jump start so many were still hoping for.
Placing more restrictions on a site that is already not being seen and where sellers are not getting sales because of little to no traffic?
Who thought this one up?
I would have to place my bet......
not on those 2 new site techs (they said they hired.)
Most people would realize that the way to get business is to make it as easy as possible for people to become acquainted with said venue.
And the day when Ceo's and what is left of the certain group of forum runners decide to get all pissy pants and say
"Boo hoo you have to be a member before you can see what is going on around here"
Damn.... that kind of stinks like more hidey holes and behind the scenes kind of things that in no way shape or form benefits the sellers there who are trying their darndest to sell their wares.
But the $79 or is it $89 now dollar question????
Who does it benefit?
Yep this kind of move (in my opinion) does indeed benefit the CEO's who are in the market of selling Premium seller accounts. And Ceo's who by the way do not currently benefit from Final Value Fee sales from Sellers there.
And some of those people out there who continually want to call some people vile and vipers and all of that spam....
for simply questioning the Zibbet plan and actions up until this point.
I still stick to my opinion and say that there never would have been a problem in the first place if people would have simply admitted their mistakes and been honest.
Seems that when that huge influx of sellers came last Fall and gave that Premium seller $ because they truly believed in the heart of the venue......
many of those experienced ones who could have truly brought the site to the next level...
bottom line
they came
they saw
they left
yep.... I said it awhile back
the momentum has indeed left the building.
But I will say this tonite
this recent "closed community" move
well.....it further kills any chance 
of more sellers 
or Buyers (GASP)
to land in the first place.
And tonite.....
yep they might have finally figured out how to get Zibbet trending on Twitter....
and it was because a bomb got dropped in the forums
not due to a Twitter bomb
gotta go clutch some more of my pearls peeps...
seriously best wishes to all sellers still doing their damndest to try and sell something there.


Jonathan Peacock (Zibbet's CEO)replied to HeirloomAngel (Angela)'sdiscussion Forum Visibility

"The Community Hub is currently closed to members only. Any Zibbet seller is welcome to become a member to view and participate in the forum (participation is not required).Any sellers that have been suspended from the community for misconduct will…"

More thoughts on how scammers sometimes make you a bit more jaded.

Sometimes I post when I am upset about things and I have told myself a few times that perhaps I should just never hit publish until I have "cooled" off so to speak. But in a lot of these situations writing about the issue or topic is my own sort of therapy.  No one is right all of the time and I have said it over and over and over.... I understand that everyone makes mistakes....I certainly have made more than a few.  However if you have a good heart and good intentions.... at the end of the day....
simply trying to be the best person that you can be at the time is what I try to base my life on.
I was telling a friend the other day that you don't always have to be nice.  You should be most of the time. But you don't always have to be.  And the reason is that life is not perfect and people are not perfect.
I wrote a post a couple of nites ago about how some people deal differently with what life tosses in their paths. And I don't walk in other people's shoes so I can only use my own
examples of what I have seen and my opinions regarding what I think.
So the post was about scammers and how they make people skeptical.
My morning that day had not started out untypical for most of my mornings these days.  In pain... stove up....feeling like I am walking on eggshells....but hey! I'm alive....I'm vertical and we're gonna live that day as though it might be my last.
On the drive to work I stop at the light and in the middle of the divider is a younger man on crutches with a "Hungry...need help" sign.
He has passed my first impression test..... he isn't smoking.
(I was a smoker for many years so I am not predjudiced against smokers)....but I have become a bit more jaded about handing out my hard earned money to people who say they are hungry but manage to somehow afford cigarettes. 
So I had $3 dollar bills and some change on the console rolled down the window and gave it to him and he gives me the "God Bless You" as I step on the gas and head to work.
Flash forward to lunch time and the Nephew got caught busy and couldn't do the lunch run so I ended up doing it. Keep in mind that this is only about the 2nd time this whole year that I have left the building to do a lunch run. 
I am a big believer in timing and paths.  I talk about it quite a bit.  So imagine my surprise as I am heading to Jack in the box and I happen to see this same young man who I had given money to that morning.....guess what he did?
He ran across the cross walk.... threw the crutches into the back of a pick up parked on the opposite side of the  street... and drove away in a pretty decent looking vehicle.
Well...shut the front door....bless my heart....Consider me scammed again. WTH....I was pretty mad but it was only a few bucks.  However....those 3 dollars could have bought me 3 of those bags of dollar mini cookies that Jack in the box has. Those suckers are pretty dang good :=)  And the dude on crutches that morning ran across that crosswalk later on that afternoon faster than I have been able to run in years.  He should have been the one giving me money LOL!
And I had this eerie feeling that someone had placed me at this time at that cross walk so that I could see how I had been scammed and to tell me to start thinking more with my head instead of my heart. And to start opening up my eyes a bit more and stop feeling so sorry for those who are able to help themselves.
So yep.... I am getting more jaded the older I get.  Does this mean that I will stop helping people when I can or that I will stop giving to people that I feel are truly in need if I am able to do so?  Of course not.
But it does mean that scammers out there make it harder for those in need to get help.  And for that I say shame on them.  Bottom feeders . bottom line.
The real point I was trying to make clear in my other ramble....most of all is about how I have come to believe that some people use their weaknesses as a means to look  for more excuses to be weaker...and other people have weaknesses that make them even stronger in the long run.
Me I'm just happy to be alive. I'm not gonna wake up every day finding reasons to be miserable.  I'm gonna find things to laugh about...and do everything I possibly can to enjoy the rest of my life.  Because the last time I looked....
you only have one of them.
And that's just how I roll.
You know another thing I've noticed lately?  It seems that people who constantly have to say things like "I'm not lying" when no one really called them a liar......seems to me they might be the ones constantly questioning themselves.  And maybe they aren't sure if they believe what they think they might believe.
That's my Rhonda Ramble and I'm stickin' to it :=)
Peace ya'll!  Hope you are having a great weekend.

The Junior Gardens Club of America vintage recycled pin button ring

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An old vintage button/pin/badge was placed inside an antique gold tone adjustable ring blank.
The button badge says "George Washington Chapter The Junior Garden clubs Of America Better Homes and Gardens."
The top of the ring is 3/4 " diameter.
Fun gift for that special gardener in your life!
Thank you for visiting http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheEclecticKinetric :=)
If you like vintage items please check out my other shop
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Who in this world is really disabled?

Well... here's my Rhonda ramble for the week as I have been thinking for a few days about disabilities and problems and about 
HOW
the things that break some people actually 
MAKE
others to be the best that they can be.
A dear friend and I were having a conversation awhile back and I told her that 
" Some people use their weaknesses to fall back on and other people develop a way to use their weaknesses to make them better people. "

and bottom line is that I know people in wheelchairs who have very good jobs. 
I know people who had terrible childhood's and yet... they used that as a driving force to become successful and in many cases 
RICH $ wise and life wise.

Some people seem to capitalize on any and every thing wrong in their life and want sympathy or expect everyone to help them because they have no clue how to help themselves.

I wouldn't consider myself the strongest person on the planet in no way shape or form.  I do know that with all of the physical ailments I currently have that I would qualify for a handicap license plate and could collect $ for disability.
But I do not want to stop living.  Knowing that I can still thrive is the thing that keeps me thriving.
Granted....when the small strokes happened awhile back.... I was very frustrated because I always knew that even though my body was letting me down I would always still have my mind to fall back on.
Well ....have yourself a couple of strokes and then ask yourself how confident you are on having your mind to fall back on LOL!
My point if I am making any point at all is that I am a firm believer that any one out there who can still think clearly and who does have at least half of a brain will never be truly disabled.
If you have the determination....you can thrive.
If you are looking for everyone to feel sorry for you then you will just keep finding more reasons why you think that people should feel sorry for you.
There is no excuse for expecting others to come to your rescue and to lie about your situation though if in fact you still have talents.  
Help when you really need it is indeed a godsend.
However....
Crying wolf and acting like your situation is worse than it actually is to me could really be the thing that ends up doing you in.
Bottom line....
I am not a fan of scammers.
Bottom line
I am still someone who gives money to strangers on the street  over and over even when my gut tells me not to.
But because there are so many scammers out there...
I often have doubts about people who say they need help.
Why?
I guess it comes from my upbringing and knowing that family first will always help those in need.
I recently saw this thread where someone was saying they need money so they would not have their energy shut off in their home.
Count me in as skeptical because 
they have family
they had a job advocating for the less fortunate
and there is a program in their county for help regarding utilities.
I'm not saying they did not need help.
I am saying that they had the means to help themselves.
And if they had been doing that in the first place instead of the "poor pitiful me" I think they would already be in a much better place than they are right now.
But people are different.
Some could be diagnosed with a disability and see that 90% of the people with this problem are leading productive lives and they would see this and chose to fight and be determined to conquer the situation and do everything they possibly could in order to retain a certain quality of life as they know it.
Others would immediately see themselves as part of the 10% before they are even actually there and simply lay down and get lazy and unmotivated and never ever will get better.
I guess my point is that a stranger on the street often gets my $ way before people on-line who start threads asking for money.
I'm not at all saying that people who do this do not deserve the money nor should they not get it.
I am saying that it is easier to give money to a stranger who says they are down on their luck than it is to give money to someone on line where you can research their past and also their present.
But at the end of the day.... I would say that whatever is in your heart at the moment you should go with.
I have always given to strangers because I feel that if I was ever in the situation where I had to walk up to someone and ask for a hand out that some angel out there would be on my shoulder to help me.
At the same time.... I am a firm believer that too many people out there do have the capabilities of helping themselves.  And if they can't they do have family who can give them the help that they temporarily need.
And if they still come out of that situation expecting that everyone else should give them something....
maybe they need to get a new need.
No one with a brain is disabled.
Think about it.
the possibilities are endless
especially in this dad gum cyber net day and age
Some people deserve help
others should concentrate on helping themselves
and thanking their lucky stars that they are alive and not suffering like so many other poor souls in this huge world we live in.
I only hope that those who try and do succeed at 
scamming  others...
well
I hope your situation does not soon 
get worse
because let's face it.....
if you are in the business of scamming people
your situation will get a lot worse
a whole lot worse
than it is right now
karma will get ya.
and the last time I looked
karma was alive and well and thriving.
and also has a very big brain :)