Thursday, September 19, 2013

Coupon Flea Market - My Experience Trying To Sell On Their Site.

Drama. Here's the scoop for anyone thinking about signing up there to try and be a seller...

Back when eBay announced their coupon policy change back in mid-July, myself and many other couponers began looking for alternatives. Some suggested eCrater, some suggested webstore.com , some wanted to start their own sites, yada yada, and then a small group of sellers were advising to visit couponfleamarket.com.

To not limit my selling options, I contacted couponfleamarket.com at the Customer Service number on their website. On or around July 20,2013. I left a message on their voice mail indicating I was an eBay seller for over 13 years and had over 15,000 feedback with the same account. Their site requires a verification process of some kind in order to be a seller. Week goes by, nothing. I called and left another message the following week, still no reply. The phone number has an (863) are code, which is central Florida east of Tampa and west of Orlando. 

Finally about a month after the initial phone call, I received a phone call from a woman named Stacy with a (727) area code. That area code is primarily west of Tampa and located in the Clearwater/St. Petersburg area of the state. Weird but ok.

Played phone tag leaving messages back and forth, etc. Up until about a week ago.

During this time, frustrated by the lack of response to add an established and experienced seller to their site, of course I vented my frustrations with their lack of response on eBay forums and various postings on the internet. Oddly as I was receiving no phone call from them, other sellers were boasting about how wonderful it is and "they should get a small group of sellers together to monopolize coupon sales" and that "there are a lot of people on board with that idea" on couponfleamarket.com since the CIC is so eagerly shutting down virtually all avenues for sellers of legitimate coupons on the internet while fakes and frauds can still be located everywhere via pop ups and eBay. I've given up reporting them, they still sell coupons that are clearly fake en mass for massive amounts of money. I'll let the legality of that play itself out no matter what their feedback is.

Finally yesterday I get another phone call and another message from Stacy at couponfleamarket.com. I just missed the call and returned it promptly. She stated that after the eBay policy change they had over 500 applications for sellers, blah blah and that they were too busy and had a backlog.  Ok understandable. But what came out of her mouth next was quite quizzical at best.

"I'm flustered.....I'm flustered...I'm reading these things you are posting on the web and...."

I cut her off right there. The phone call was over. You mean to tell me you are "too busy" to add sellers to your site and manage  it but you have time to scour the internet looking at forums and posts made about the ridiculously slow response for a qualified seller? You have to be kidding me. 

What this screams to me is drama. When I was doing some research myself  about couponfleamarket.com I found that there were more than a few people indicating they had incidents of "drama" on that site from admin, customers and other sellers. I kind of blew it off  as some disgruntled people like there are on every line of business it seems. But no, really, it's that bad apparently. A quick look at the coupons for sale (not auction) there and their prices, format and shipping charges are absolutely through the roof in addition to being extremely difficult to navigate.

I logged off and won't be logging back in there again anytime soon.

That's my experience with couponfleamarket.com trying to become a seller there. Good luck to any of you trying to sell or purchase there. Oh and one more thing, make sure you don't speak your mind anywhere about it because apparently finding your postings is more important to them then actually running a business...that will probably get shut down sooner than later anyway by the CIC.



 



5 comments:

  1. Hi JD,

    I tripped over your post when I was looking for information on Coupon Flea Market. If you're still looking for a new home, check out our site - The Happy Couponer Marketplace at http://thehappycouponer.com/choose-your-shop No application necessary, just log in and start selling. And you won't find any drama here - we're all too busy clipping coupons :)

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  2. I just found this and you are full of poo. I'm a seller at CFM and I love it. They have a new developer who seems to add functionality daily. Listing there could not be easier. BTW Staci is a little crazy (think Italian).

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  3. Anonymous sounds like Staci, and you nailed it: She is far more worried about what people are saying than actually getting her site working. She has been telling her customers for years that "new" functionality is coming, but like the emperor's new clothes, only she has the power to see it, unless you are talking about changes that break something else. I don't know who she has running it, but she needs to fire the clown show and start over. Listing is easy? Listing is a P.I.T.A. You have to post one coupon lot at a time because the site is a hacked up mess. Staci doesn't need a new developer, what she needs a new owner/operator not named Staci who's not such a gifted drama vortex.

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    Replies
    1. For any of you sellers out there looking for a new home, check out The Happy Couponer Marketplace at http://marketplace.thehappycouponer.com/sell-your-coupons-online-at-the-happy-couponer-marketplace

      We welcome new coupon clippers and our site is very easy to use.

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  4. Yes It's Drama. If she doesn't like what I you have to say, You are OFF. She will not stand up for her sellers, as far as Charge Backs (Unauthorized) that she has information from the inside to Prove to PayPal that purchases are legitimate. Will not return seller emails if she doesn't want to give you an answer. If you are not in the click, you are screwed. Some sellers are out a total above $400 on One Customer Charge Back as Unauthorized. So you will have to defend yourself, unless you piss her off and she Removes You. And who sells a item in a Spreadsheet Form. Hard for buyers to even use. And leaves town with no one to answer her "help desk" emails... Save your self the headache...

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