Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I get these all the time at my Teddy Bear Hugs site. It is possible that they are genuine but ever since I responded to one and sent a bear, I have been inundated with requests which I am having to turn down. It seems like I was put on some kind of list of people who would help for things like this so I would treat it with caution.

With best wishes.

Steven

Oh I meant to say, about the [INVALID] sites which look like they are linking to you... it is just a way for website owners to click the link to their site from the stats then they see that you have arrived there from your stats package and go and see if they can gain access to them. It also registers a hit on their website and sometimes launches popup ads etc which make them money. They are not actually linking to your site though, they are just using a script to make it look like that in your stats.

Best thing to do is ignore them entirely.

With best wishes.

Steven

In the case of the site which was "set up for snooping", would it be whois.sc? If so, this is nothing to worry about, the chances are it was someone seeing if the website was registered and who to, rather than actually trying to dig up information on you personally. I have been offered money for domain names that I own after that site has shown up in my stats so I think it is probably someone who thinks it is a good name. I believe that when registering a domain in the UK you can also opt out of the public WHOIS record so that is what I would do if you are still worried about people being able to access that information.

With best wishes.

Steven

Feel free to add your website to Teddy Links.

Hi Cat

I can see it no problems, I'm in Scotland. Not sure if the problems are location based. It might be that your webhost is having problems with their link to another part of the world or something but people within the uk can see it. *guessing*

Edit: Scratch that idea, Doodlebears can't see it from within the UK!

Best wishes.

Steven

Hehe I think I could do with a move there myself from cold, wet Scotland! I hope you love it there Kim and that it turns out to be a great move for you!

If it is a member who has just joined, the chances are that it is someone doing it automatically. I have heard of hackers writing computer programs which seek out and join forums then spam them. I guess they then sit back and wait to see if anyone buys any of the things they are selling... which some people must do or they wouldn't do it surely!   

I wont say poor you but I will say i am thinking of you and sending warm wishes your way. *hugs*

Steven

Speaking with my internet marketing hat on:

You could always open an ebay store and list the unsold bears there. Then in any new auctions you link to the items in your store too so you get more than one bite at the cherry. ie if they don't buy the item they clicked into the auction for, they see more of your work and may buy one of the other pieces which is in the store.

You also need to look at time of day you list the auction. For example if you are targetting the US market you would list the auction so it would end at a time that is good for people there, say 7 or 8 pm as people will nearly all be home from work then and that is peak use time for the net. If it ends between 9 and 5 pm it is likely to miss out the audience who have full time jobs without net access.

You can also look at listing things with a buy it now price so if the first bidder really wants it, they can choose to pay the asking price as opposed to bidding for it. Remember to include website details in your ebay profile and a newsletter sign up form. That way if you get people signing up to your newsletter you can send them the link to any new auctions you have. Repeat customers are great. :)

Just a few tips. :)

Warmest wishes.

Steven

I'm another person who does random acts of kindness and I agree that it is often treated with suspicion. I'm a firm believer in karma and believe that you will get back what you put into life.  

Steven

Absolutely!  :bday: I can link to the teddy tag page.

Warmest wishes.

Steven

Hi folks

I was wondering whether anyone used blogs to promote their teddy bear making as I was thinking of including a blogs category on Teddy Links. :)

Steven

This is wonderful news, huge congratulations SueAnn!   :hug:

"God may have created man before woman, but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece."

Robert Burns, the famous Scottish poet said something very similar to that "His Apprentice hand he tried on man an' then he made the lassies".

Loved the jokes, here's another!

Jack was engaged to be married to Jill.

The day before the wedding, his father sat him down for a little
fireside chat. "Jack, let me tell you something. On my wedding night in
our honeymoon suite, I took off my trousers and handed them to your mother
and said, "Here try these on. So she did and then told me, "These are
too big. I can't wear them." So I told her, 'Exactly. I wear the trousers
in this family and always will.' Ever since that night we have never had
any problems.

Jack thinks that this might be a good thing to try, so on his wedding
night Jack takes off his trousers and says to Jill, "Here try these on."
She does and says, "These are too large; they don't fit me."

Following the script, Jack then says, "Exactly, I wear the trousers in this
family and I always will, and I don't want you to ever forget that." In
response, Jill takes off her panties and hands them to Jack and says,
"Here, you try on mine." He does and says, "I can't get into your panties."

She replies, "Exactly. And if you don't change your attitude, you never will!"

Steven 

Maybe the examples you posted should be titled "reasons men don't babysit TWICE!" lol

I'm not bad with kids actually, would love to settle down with the right girl and have kids someday. Until then though, being proud uncle to my Sister's adorable little guy is loads of fun! I love that kid so much.

Steven

I'm 27 but act a lot younger sometimes, well most of the time really. :P

Steven

Wow Veronica! IS that a photo of where you live?

I'm not so keen on the shovelling side of things, i'm more into the watching it snow than dealing with the consequences, lol! :)

:hug:

Steven

We had loads of it in Scotland! I loooooove snow so much, I could sit and watch it fall all day. Pity it is all but gone now though.

Steven

Hi Kat

I don't suppose it is available through ebay? :)

Steven

spoof@paypal.com works just like spoof@ebay.com 

If you are ever in any doubt about an email just forward it to that address and they will tell you whether it is genuine. Another thing to do is move the mouse over the link in the email and at the bottom of the screen you will see the actual address you will get sent to. If it isn't the same one they are claiming it is, don't visit it. :)

Warmest wishes.

Steven

My advice would be to log in and change the password immediately. You are most likely not suspended, it will be fraudsters trying to get account details by pretending that the email has come from ebay. A sure way to test is to forward the email to spoof@ebay.com and they will reply to you, letting you know whether it did indeed come from them. A good rule of thumb is "does the email ask me to log in or give my account details?" if so, it is not from eBay because they have these details on file and don't need to ask. Another good thing to ask is "does the email include my ebay username anywhere?" If so, it is more likely it is from ebay. Any email "from" them which does not include your username is a fake.

I hope that helps. :)

Steven