PEACE - Positive Ecommerce Auction Coalition Exchange

[LadyBugAngel]

Hello Fellow Auction Site Owners.

In our recent endeavor to make sure that our industry thrives and grows, we have come up with a Coalition group. Positive Ecommerce Auction Coalition Exchange or otherwise known as PEACE. PEACE is a group of site owners that come together to help each other. We do that by cross- promotions, information exchange and just general overall support.

Becoming a members gives you more exposure on many sites as well as support group. We exchange information and give and receive help when needed. This can only be a win/win situation for all.

We can see this growing into something even bigger in the future. And look forward to seeing all auction site owners getting involved. There is a catch. All sites must agree to the rules of the group. We have the rules in place to help guide us and keep us on the positive side of things. We want to grow our businesses not bring them down. As a member you have equal input on how the group operates.


This site is a new site and was just launched. It is in the growing stages so if you are interested in joining please goto the site and check it out for yourself.

LINK REMOVED PER FORUM GUIDELINES - PM LADYBUGANGEL FOR DETAILS.  - Thanks! TTW

[The Tavern Wench]

This site is a new site and was just launched. It is in the growing stages so if you are interested in joining please goto the site and check it out for yourself.

I went to the site as you suggested, however it appears to be a "Gated" community and you have to be registered to access the forums....so I couldn't check it out for myself.  

As you may or may not know, we (meaning The Crabby Host Forum owners) do not advocate, encourage or allow the advertisement/promotion of Gated Communities. See Forum Rules Here


That being said, the information on the Introduction page suggests this is a "Support Group" for Auction Site owners only.  If so, I have a few questions to ask if I may in order to determine if this topic merits an open discussion or if it should be removed as per our forum rules. 


1) Why do Auction Site owners "need" a Support Group?

2) Is this the same setup as the Unity idea PheeBay was promoting not so long ago?

3) Why do Auction Site owners need to be positive ALL the time?

4) Will there be a consideration in the near future for online sellers (your customers) to be given unfettered access to this forum and the opportunity to offer their input in regards to issues pertaining to the future of alternative auction venues?

Thanks in advance for your responses. 

[LadyBugAngel]

Hi Tavern,

Sorry for delay on getting back to you on this I was doing turkey time.

Ya know I do remember after you mentioned it that awhile back I read not to do closed forums and forgot.... But I am not advertising the forum I am advertising PEACE Membership.

If you feel this should be deleted by all means please delete as I didn't mean to violate any rules.

Answer to your questions:
1) Why do Auction Site owners "need" a Support Group?
Why would auction site owners NOT need support.  Someone to ask questions to and exchange tips etc, give ideas and what not.  A place to go and put out questions to others that have had things and failed or succeeded and get input on many issues.   Why would you NOT want that?

2) Is this the same setup as the Unity idea PheeBay was promoting not so long ago?
This is different than any other unity out there.  This is not only unity but a calm among site owners to feel they have a place to go and share ideas and network with others to cross promote.  This in no way has any connection with Pheebay.

3) Why do Auction Site owners need to be positive ALL the time?
As a businessowner and customer service rep to out members, there are postive ways to handle every situation.  No need to be rude or mean to anyone.. WHY WOULD YOU NOT WANT TO BE POSITIVE????

4) Will there be a consideration in the near future for online sellers (your customers) to be given unfettered access to this forum and the opportunity to offer their input in regards to issues pertaining to the future of alternative auction venues?
Yes this is already being discussed among the members of PEACE.  We want sellers input and are always open to it. 

[The Tavern Wench]

Hi Tavern,

Sorry for delay on getting back to you on this I was doing turkey time.

Ya know I do remember after you mentioned it that awhile back I read not to do closed forums and forgot.... But I am not advertising the forum I am advertising PEACE Membership.

If you feel this should be deleted by all means please delete as I didn't mean to violate any rules.

I understand the "Turkey time" completely.


What we are going to do is leave the thread in place for our other Auction Site Members to view, as they too may have missed it due to the Holiday, but we are going to have to 'kill' the links so as to stay within our forum rules.

If any of the other Auction Site owners are interested, they can just drop you a PM for the details.  Thanks for understanding.   

[The Bar Keep]

Hi LadyBugAngel,

Interesting idea you have there but as deb stated it is a closed forum for the general public and as we are against gated communities for obvious reasons, I can understand why you would want this gated to a certain degree. I do think "positive thinking" is a good thing however real life businesses and situations don't always leave you with a positive taste in your mouth. So that standard, in my opinion, is set very high. I base my opinions of alternative auction sites on facts. Now those facts don't always portray a positive outlook on the site in question, so what I am saying is, you can paint a pretty picture to your customers but at the end of the day it's the facts that narrate the story behind that picture.

I do see a potential of profound mistrust, of a forum like the one you have started, by online alternative style sellers. My reasons are as follows. We all know of the forum wars of the past and present. As it is now do you think that the mistrust of alternative auction sites owners by the sellers is going away anytime soon? IMO it won't and having a gated forum for those owners and owners only will only create even more suspicion or mistrust.

I again repeat that I can see reasons for a forum like this but at the same time I look at the whole picture. This peace forum could be construed as a union. What is there to prevent sellers from doing the same thing and instead of allowing owners, just allow the sellers? Potentially if that happens it will put alternative sites that much further behind.

Just thinking outloud and I look forward to further discusion of this.


Joe - The Bar Keep

[LadyBugAngel]

While you are certainly entitled to your opinions.

As of right now the members of PEACE are thrilled and overjoyed with the whole concept and the so called gated community.

We appreciate the input but the overall vote on how it is run is for the members to decide on how it is done.  And right now they are very happy with the gated community.  Just because it is gated doesn't mean it is a secret hide out for bashing or anything that is implied in the responses here.  It is purely business reasons, and something I WILL NOT argue about here. 

Basically it boils down to what the members of PEACE want and the whole reason it was created was to stay away from forum wars and return our focus back to our sites and promoting our sites. 

[The Bar Keep]

We appreciate the input but the overall vote on how it is run is for the members to decide on how it is done.  And right now they are very happy with the gated community.  Just because it is gated doesn't mean it is a secret hide out for bashing or anything that is implied in the responses here.  It is purely business reasons, and something I WILL NOT argue about here. 

As I said before I can see a need to have this type of forum "PEACE" gated but, at the same time it seems the advertising of this new forum has been limited to the sellers forums. Why advertise it to sellers instead of contacting the auction site owners directly. To me by doing this the questions of what will be discussed is the only logical response from online sellers. Switch the situation around and suppose somebody started a sellers only forum and they advertised it solely or what seems like solely in the forums run by auction sites. Would the auction site owners NOT be curious as to what their sellers will be discussing in that type of forum? Sorry there is always a night and a day, rain and sunshine, good and bad as well as positives and negatives. To think that any of those pairs will succeed without the other is, well lets call it wishful thinking.

Basically it boils down to what the members of PEACE want and the whole reason it was created was to stay away from forum wars and return our focus back to our sites and promoting our sites. 

I disagree wholeheartedly. To me it boils down to what buyers and sellers want online. Show me where the MAJORITY of buyers and sellers want a support group for auction site owners and I will be a believer.

LadyBugAngel,

I know your intentions are good intentions however, these are my opinions and I will not withhold my opinions. As I stated to you in a PM on another matter, I base everything I do on facts. Verification is always key in situations like this. A suggestion since you have chosen to advertise this new forum to people who at this time can NOT become members. Provide some form of verification to the sellers as to what is being discussed or allow a sellers liaison/advocate group to participate as members of the said forum. JMHO so everything is verified to the customers of this new forum's membership.


Joe - The Bar Keep

[TJR Stores]

Well. To start...

IWAC got its invitation.

BUT after reading this post which is a response to a reference to Kool-Aide.....



I decided to look further into the true meaning of Kool - Aide most importantly Grape fav.

 After I found out what it meant and what Grape Fav Kool-Aide was referring to, I must say i was shocked, disgusted and deeply saddened that anyone would refer to a PEACE programme in this way.

 If the founders of PEACE do not know what it means then they should find out and fast...
and if they do know then thats just sick!

 Me and Julie have a duty to our membership and their customers (Buyers).

That duty is a simple one..
1) Keep them safe at all times
2) Help them grow as sellers and help to increase sales and profit.

We will in no way put theirs or our integrity and safety at risk.

Therefore you can take this as our rejection to your group.

IWAC is a leader not a follower.

[The Bar Keep]

I decided to look further into the true meaning of Kool - Aide most importantly Grape fav.

 After I found out what it meant and what Grape Fav Kool-Aide was referring to, I must say i was shocked, disgusted and deeply saddened that anyone would refer to a PEACE programme in this way.

For those of you who may be unclear on the connotation of Kool-Aide when it is referred to in forums please see the link below.


The True Meaning Behind "Drinking The Kool-Aid"

[The Tavern Wench]

Just a FYI...

To Date these are the Auction Sites showing as Members of PEACE:

YourHighBid
UBidRight
My Safe Bid
Angelic Arena
Buddys Auctions
GB Auctions
Auctions World Wide
WeBidz
HiBidder

[chiquita]

Grape Kool-Aid, drink the kool-aid are used interchangably with cults, and/or referring to others as blind followers. Interesting choice of words, that speak volumes.

Let me put it into context. There is a phenomena that occurs in groups of people both in business and personal settings.
The phenomena is called group think. Group think is something that everyone needs to be aware of.

Groupthink is a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas. During Groupthink, members of the group avoid promoting viewpoints outside the comfort zone of consensus thinking. A variety of motives for this may exist such as a desire to avoid being seen as foolish, or a desire to avoid embarrassing or angering other members of the group. Groupthink may cause groups to make hasty, irrational decisions, where individual doubts are set aside, for fear of upsetting the group’s balance.

In order to make groupthink testable, Irving Janis devised eight symptoms that are indicative of groupthink (1977).

   1. Illusions of invulnerability creating excessive optimism and encouraging risk taking.
   2. Rationalising warnings that might challenge the group's assumptions.
   3. Unquestioned belief in the morality of the group, causing members to ignore the consequences of their actions.
   4. Stereotyping those who are opposed to the group as weak, evil or stupid.
   5. Direct pressure to conform placed on any member who questions the group, couched in terms of "disloyalty".
   6. Self censorship of ideas that deviate from the apparent group consensus.
   7. Illusions of unanimity among group members, silence is viewed as agreement.
   8. Mindguards — self-appointed members who shield the group from dissenting information.

Now having a gated, by membership only group be it online or in RL the problems listed above have a greater chance of happening the more exclusive the group is. Also the more homogeneous the group, the risk increases.

The more open ended a group/forum etc... is the less likely group think occurs because the members have the ability to voice dissent, criticize, and question ideas/opinions that need challenging. The more closed off the group, the less likely people will be to speak up, and when they do object they are ostracized and publicly shamed for doing so.

Pot Stirring so often misidentified and used to label others really is someone who is not under the spell of the group, who thinks critically, and questions information without accepting the "groups" opinion outright without testing out the theories/ideas of others.

Hiding behind a veil of secrecy will only increase the controversy, presenting to the world that membership is only for those "deemed worthy"

Look at what happened to PESA. Exclusivity for membership, internal conflict and fighting among board members, which led to defectors of the group who then started another group. Powersellers with attitude who couldn't even get along, and excluded membership to millions of sellers based on their rules.

[2boysandtoys]

I am not blond (just thought I'd interject that) - but I honestly had not known the 'meaning' of the kool-aid references.  I knew it was relative to 'cult thinking' but had not tied it to 'the above'.

I may be entirely wrong, but I seriously do not think that Bonnie and LadyBugAngel intended to align this with that.  I am - in fact sure - as I know them from previous times. 

I've remained quiet about the PEACE effort, as I had initial red flags about it, but figured if someone wanted opinions from sellers, they would ask.  I do agree with Chiquita - groupthink can and will usually destroy a well-intentioned group.  You need all input, from all types - which is why most organizations work with a team approach.  We all know some teams are better than others, and some team members are better than others.  BUT - when you can truly 'lead' and 'tap' each member of the group, you get the absolute best results.

Rob - I can't speak for Jim and do not know what he replied to.  I could speculate, but I've found him and his writings to be unworthy of my mental time.  He's got some part of his mind that assumes everything has a hidden agenda - and I do not process that way.  But, I am reasonably confident that the owners of YourHighBid did not intend any alignment with the above.

I think I support the intended mission of PEACE, but with it being closed, and the invite reasonably generic and no published mission statement - can't say for sure.  I can say that without input from Customers, which are the sellers, the group will not be able to tackle real issues or brainstorm 'real opportunities'. 

I would recommend that in order to be a member, sites should be Customer-Focused.  I could speak of one outloud that has proven time and time again to not place Customer needs in front of ego, and personal choice/gain. 

I wish all the best of luck.  I hope PEACE is all that it can be - which I don't know - since it's gated (which....I do not support private business forums as a general rule).   

[Mojavelyn]

I'll not be joining either.

[The Tavern Wench]

Rob - I can't speak for Jim and do not know what he replied to.  I could speculate, but I've found him and his writings to be unworthy of my mental time.  He's got some part of his mind that assumes everything has a hidden agenda - and I do not process that way.  But, I am reasonably confident that the owners of YourHighBid did not intend any alignment with the above.

I saw the exchange Rob was referring to between Jim and Bonnie.  [Paraphrasing] Jim was essentially agreeing to the idea of the PEACE group and said that drinking "Kool-aid" was always better than "Bitters". 

Just thought it might help if I clarified a bit what Rob saw/read and why it upset him.

[2boysandtoys]

I'm really 'not blond' - gosh....I seem to be saying that more than usual lately...

What in the world are 'bitters'?  Was that intended to be a real beverage or a suggested state of mind?

Now you see why I could not join pheeebay?  I can't follow the lingo...