the seller sourcebook blog

The New eBay Shop Is Open!

SSB — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:18:26 -0700

Want merchandise that has eBay's logo on it? The new redesigned eBay Shop is open! You can purchased pens, business ...

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SSB — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:21:52 -0700

eBay is offering you 25¢ insertion fees on Fixed Price listings only from July 16-29. As eBay states below, if ...

eBay AU Offering Free Insertion Fees for 99c Start Price Listings 12-21 July 2008

SSB — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:21:28 -0700

eBay Australia is offering free insertion fees for auction style with a starting price of 99c or less. This ...

PayPal Claims Now in eBay Dispute Console

SSB — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 05:50:19 -0700

To make tracking your disputes more convenient, eBay is now including PayPal claims in your eBay Dispute Console. Here are the ...

eBay UK: 5 Pence Listing Fee One Day Only! Tues 8 July 08

SSB — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:51:59 -0700

For one entire day, eBay UK will be offering a 5 pence insertion fee per item listed. This special is ...

Turbo Lister 6.5 or Higher Required by August UPDATE Now!

SSB — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 06:16:33 -0700

eBay is implementing a new "authentication and authorization" login process. This process is being added to Turbo Lister, and starting ...

Garage Sales Anyone? High Profit Garage Sale Secrets and Techniques Just Like eBay Pros

SSB — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:32:58 -0700

It's garage sale season again! Let Sherah Taylor of Auction Moms show you how to scour garage sales with eBay profits in mind. Discover the ultimate garage sale techniques and secrets and how to find the high profit items just like the Ebay pro's.

From Sherah Taylor, author of Secrets of Garage Sale Bargains:

Learn How To Take Great Digital Photos! Don't Lose Money Because of Poor Auction Photos

SSB — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:06:37 -0700

Have you skipped an auction because the photo of the item for sale was dark? Blurry? Too small? Took to long to load? or was photographed on someone's hard wood floor? Unattrative, poorly taken photos are a major incentive for buyers to skip past your auction and pay a visit to your competition. Learn from an eBay pro, how to avoid common digital photo mistakes.

Slow Summer Sales? Here's How To Find Toys To Sell On eBay This Summer!

SSB — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:30:49 -0700

Jenni Hunt is releasing the 2008 Summer Toy Guide to help you profit selling toys on eBay!

Toys are one of the few items that sell well the entire year on ebay...The trick is knowing what toys will sell for profit!

That's where Jenni Hunt's 2008 Summer Toy Guide comes in!

New! Hot Item Finder - Instantly Extract Hot Items from eBay

SSB — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:50:32 -0700

So... what is Hot Item Finder and how can it benefit you?

Your success on eBay depends on having items to sell that buyers want. Hot Item finder is for newbies and seasoned sellers alike.

eBay AU: Free Insertion Fees for Items Starting at $9.99 or Less

SSB — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:45:47 -0700

eBay Australia is offering free insertion fees on auction items with starting at $9.99 or less. This special will be ...

eBay US & Motors Try Gallery Plus from June 24-26

SSB — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:42:44 -0700

For eBay US and eBay Motors sellers, try the Gallery Plus listing upgrade for just 10cents! Three days only 6/24-26. ...

eBay MasterCard "Look What I Found" Photo Contest

SSB — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:08:01 -0700

Through July 20th, share a photo of something special you purchased on or off eBay using your eBay MasterCard and ...

eBay Live! Keynote Address Streaming Webcast on June 20

SSB — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:55:11 -0700

Hi everyone...It's Monique again. My bags are packed and I'm headed for Chicago to make final preparations for our attendees ...

Excessive Lead in Children's Place Camo Pajamas

SSB — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:53:43 -0700

The CPSC has recalled, among other things, Children's Place camouflage pajama sets due to the screen print containing excessive amounts ...

eBay Adds Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle Showroom

SSB — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:58:14 -0700

Buyers shopping for Lexus, General Motors or Chrysler Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicles, now have a showroom just for them on ...

Now Watch Up to 200 Items in My eBay

SSB — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:37:18 -0700

Ever have to delete items you are watching out of My eBay because you reached your limit? As sellers, when ...

eBay Makes Changes to Image Uploader

SSB — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:47:16 -0700

If you use eBay image hosting or upload your own gallery photo through the SYI form on eBay, here are ...

16 Days Until eBay Live!

SSB — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:19:48 -0700

eBay Live 2008 in Chicago, IL, is just 16 days away! There will be giveaways, keynote speakers, networking opportunities, and ...

eBay AU: 1/2 Price Insertion Fee Sale

SSB — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 19:53:00 -0700

eBay Australia is having a 1/2 Price Insertion Fee sale. It ends on 3 June 2008. Here are the details:...

eBay Answers Some Common Questions on New Feedback System

SSB — Fri, 23 May 2008 11:25:36 -0700

eBay is answering some of the most common questions that have come in over the past few days regarding the ...

Offer Free Shipping and Get 15% off your Final Value Fees from May 23-June 1

SSB — Fri, 23 May 2008 11:21:50 -0700

eBay is offering 15% off your Final Value Fees if you offer Free Shipping to your buyers. Here's the announcement:...

eBay Trust and Safety Changes NEW!

SSB — Wed, 21 May 2008 07:48:19 -0700

eBay is making additional changes to offer more choices and selection to buyers as well as add "flexibility, convenience and cost-savings" ...

New Sign-In Process for TurboLister

SSB — Wed, 21 May 2008 06:55:42 -0700

In line with eBay's new Trusted Selling with Identity Confirmation initiative, the latest Turbo Lister Update requires a safety ...

Help Emma Fund a Cure for Ulcerative Colits and Crohn's Disease

SSB — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:39:53 -0700

Help Emma raise money to cure and prevent Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis! Emma has been fighting ulcerative colitis ...

New Feedback Changes Are in Effect Monday, May 19, 2008

SSB — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:14:08 -0700

The significant changes the eBay's Feedback system go into effect Monday, May 19, 2008, most notably, that sellers are no longer ...

New Changes Coming to My eBay BETA

SSB — Tue, 20 May 2008 07:00:00 -0700

Based, in part, on the feedback from users, eBay will be making more changes to "My eBay Beta, so it's ...

eBay Testing the eBay Bucks Reward Program

SSB — Sun, 18 May 2008 22:00:00 -0700

eBay is now testing the "eBay Bucks Reward Program" with select eBay shoppers. For this trial period, enrolled shoppers earn ...

AVG Free Anti-Virus Released New Version - Users Must Update

SSB — Mon, 12 May 2008 07:00:00 -0700

AVG Free is a very popular and reliable anti-virus program (you can also purchase a paid version with more features. AVG Free has released a new version, so you can't get security/virus updates for the old version anymore.

You must download this new version, but they make the link for the Free version a little difficult to find. It almost appears that you have to pay for it, but if you look closely, you'll see the link tucked at the bottom of the page.

Here is where you go to download the new version:

http://www.grisoft.com/ww.93825.tpl-mcr1

Because of so many users downloading the new AVG Free version, it might be slow downloading the update, and you might have to try to download a few times.

eBay About to Rollout Major Feedback Changes

SSB — Sun, 11 May 2008 21:00:00 -0700

eBay is getting ready to rollout the new feedback changes. Most noteably, sellers may not leave negative feedback for buyers. eBay has also announced a wait period before a buyer can leave negative feedback; however, this applies only to certain powersellers. Here is the announcement:

Hello everyone...as we announced back in January [http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200801290559182.html], we're making some bold changes to how Feedback on eBay works. As we get closer to our launch, I wanted to review the changes we've discussed and provide some additional detail and updates.

As a recap, here's what we announced in January that is scheduled to launch the week of May 19th in North America (which includes eBay.com in the US, as well as eBay.ca and eBay.cafr in Canada):

-Sellers may only leave positive feedback for buyers
-We will remove negative and neutral Feedback if a member becomes suspended
-Members can leave Feedback up to 60 days after a transaction (down from 90)
-We will remove Feedback when a buyer fails to respond to the unpaid item process.
-Members will receive credit for weekly repeat Feedback (going back to 1996)
-We will base the Positive Feedback Percentage on the past 12 months of activity (and include neutral Feedback in the calculation)
-The PowerSeller Program will use the same calculation method described above to determine eligibility for the PS Program for the Positive Feedback percentage requirement of 98% positive.

Next I'd like to share some additional detail beyond what we discussed in the original post:

-In January we mentioned that we'd block buyers from leaving negative or neutral Feedback for 3 days for sellers "with a track record." Since January, we've made the decision to increase the wait period to 7 days and define "track record" as active PowerSellers who have been on eBay for at least 12 months.

We studied the factors that increased risk to buyers the most and found there are three: a) a seller's Positive Feedback percentage and DSRs, b) the volume of a seller's Feedback – both in total and on an ongoing basis and c) length of time a seller has been on site.

We selected PowerSellers who have been on eBay at least 12 months in order to minimize risk to buyers, because:

a. PowerSellers have to meet quality thresholds for both conventional Feedback and, starting in July, for Detailed Seller Ratings

b. PowerSellers have to meet volume requirements – both in total and on an ongoing basis

c. One year on-site proved to be an important predictor of lower risk

All three factors prove important to predicting the risk to buyers – removing any one of them would increase risk to a level we are not currently comfortable with at this time.

We will watch all aspects of the new Feedback system very carefully, studying how the marketplace responds and we will make changes as we see appropriate.

-We mentioned that we'd be aligning the Mutual Feedback Withdrawal process with the new system. After much consideration, we've made the decision to remove the Mutual Feedback Withdrawal process. The reason is that – under the new rules - it opens sellers up to extortion. As part of this decision, Mutual Agreement from third-party Feedback mediation services, such as SquareTrade, will also no longer be accepted.

Over the last several months, we've had many conversations with our customers – both buyers and sellers – and we've had the opportunity to consider ways we can address some of the top concerns we've heard. Based on the input we've received from you, I want to share some additional modifications we're making:

-We are adding language in the leave Feedback flow for buyers who are in a cross-border transaction that reminds them that international transactions usually take longer to complete.

-We've improved the interstitial page that all buyers see before leaving negative or neutral Feedback; the updated page offers a stronger message to buyers about the need to communicate with the seller, to allow enough time for the transaction to complete, and to keep Feedback factual.

-And later this month...

-In addition to expanding the 3-day block to 7 days, we are introducing a new Buyer Requirement that will allow sellers to block buyers who have been reported by other sellers for eBay buying policy violations (such as Feedback abuse, or email threats).

-We're expanding the scope of the existing Buyer Requirement for unpaid items, so that it supports more comprehensive blocking of buyers who have a history of non-payment.

-We've improved the process that sellers use to report buyers for policy violations.

-Detailed Seller Ratings will be coming to Half in the next couple months. Watch for more information on this via email and on the Half discussion forum in the next couple of weeks.

As you can see, these changes represent a huge investment in transforming the way Feedback works, so that it better serves today's marketplace. Ultimately, the goal is to restore trust and transparency and improve the buying experience, while offering needed checks and balances that ensure our sellers who provide excellent service benefit.

Sincerely,

Brian Burke
Director, Global Feedback Policy