Insider’s Secrets to Selling on eBay

By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes.com
November 19, 2007

eBay sellers were outraged at the idea that eBay might force them to leave positive feedback under certain circumstances. Discussion began heating up over the weekend after sellers reported having received a survey from eBay on the topic of feedback. eBay often conducts surveys, but a few users posted online that they believed the controversial question indicated eBay had already made a decision to change the feedback system.

eBay asked survey recipients, "As a buyer, how would you prefer to receive Feedback?" They were given a choice of three responses: "I want sellers to leave me Feedback rating and comments as they do today"; "When I have quickly paid for my item, sellers can only leave me positive Feedback"; and "When I have quickly paid for my items, eBay will automatically leave me positive Feedback."

Speculation was rife on the eBay boards. "What do you think the reasoning is for this survey?" asked one user. "To remove the sellers option to leave NEGs for a buyer just because they paid for a transaction? Thats what appears to be in the minds them from the looks of this survey."

A reader wrote to AuctionBytes after taking the survey. She said it was her policy to leave positive feedback for buyers who pay immediately, but said she did not want eBay to make that decision for her.

The etiquette of leaving feedback has been debated for years, such as the question of who should leave feedback first - buyer or seller - and when. Those who leave feedback first often feel their trading partner then has the upper hand and can wield the threat of negative feedback as a weapon unless their demands - reasonable or not - are satisfied.

On a thread in eBay's Feedback board unrelated to the survey, sellers discussed the challenges of leaving feedback upon receipt of payment. One seller posted that she delays leaving feedback due to buyers who file chargebacks after a transaction (http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000469603&tstart=0&mod=1195428634289).

Another seller posted that it was not fear of chargebacks that made her change her feedback policy, but rather, "it was buyers realizing they already had their positive feedback and using that against me that made me start leaving it last."

Sellers pointed out that the only way eBay would know if buyers had paid for their items was if the buyers used PayPal. eBay offers an "Immediate Payment" option on fixed-price listings that requires payment through PayPal before a listing will officially end. eBay has been increasing its incentives to buyers to use PayPal, including limiting buyer protection to PayPal-funded transactions. A guarantee of a positive feedback rating would be another powerful incentive to using eBay's own payment service.

eBay has made very few adjustments to its feedback system over the years because it is such an important - and controversial - aspect of trading on the site. But 6 months ago, eBay rolled out a major change called "Feedback 2.0" (http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m05/i02/s02). The new system allows buyers to leave detailed ratings for sellers (DSRs) anonymously.

Interestingly, users were able to take the recent Feedback survey multiple times, making it susceptible to rigging and bringing into question the usefulness of its results (http://survey.ebay.com/survey/ebay/eby07030/us).

Discussion about the Feedback survey on eBay Stores board:
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?messageID=1010938940&forumID=21

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m11/i19/s01

Posted by eBay Guru at 09:08 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes.com
November 20, 2007

eBay launched a new site called BestofeBay that showcases the most popular, eccentric, interesting and unique listings on the auction site. When voting for their favorite auctions, users can add comments to the Best of eBay nominees to support their votes. The concept is similar to the Digg website that lets users submit content from anywhere on the web and vote on them, with the most popular ones showing up at the top of the lists.

The new eBay site, online at http://bestof.ebay.com, includes viral marketing elements; users can share their favorite auctions with friends through an "Email to a Friend" link at the bottom of each listing.

On Monday, the top featured auction was for a fake meal consisting of a knitted (with new wool) baked quiche ("looks fluffier and tastier than real scrambled eggs"), listed for sale by eBay Storeowner The Knitted Cafe.

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200711191341062.html

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m11/i20/s02

Posted by eBay Guru at 09:06 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

November 05, 2007 | 02:56PM PST/PT

Evan Liang
Hello...I'm Evan Liang with eBay's Buyer Experience team. With the busy holiday season rapidly approaching, I'm excited to announce that we're launching Guest Buying, a new feature that we believe will help increase the number of new buyers who purchase sellers' Fixed Price and Store Inventory listings.
Why Guest Buying?
We've done a lot of research about buying habits as the Internet has evolved, and have been told repeatedly that requiring new buyers to register before they have a chance to really interact with eBay is a barrier to them taking the plunge (this is the same reason we introduced My eBay for Guests awhile back).

Today many online buyers expect to be able to visit a site and simply purchase and pay for an item with minimum hassle. Introducing Guest Buying will help encourage more first purchases by new buyers.

Here's how it works:

Guest buyers will be able to use Buy It Now to purchase eligible Fixed Price and Store Inventory items.
Guest buyers need to complete their payment through PayPal before the item is theirs, similar to Immediate Payment.
Your current PayPal settings will apply – if you require buyers to pay with a confirmed address, your Guest Buyers will need to do so as well.
Which listings are eligible for Guest Buying?
Your listings will be eligible to be purchased by Guest Buyers if you meet the following criteria:

You must have a premier/business PayPal account in order to accept credit card payments.
Shipping costs must be specified on your listing.
You must qualify for the top tier of buyer protection of $2,000.
The item price must be less than $2,000.
You must use eBay's checkout system. Third-party checkout will not be supported at this time.
Can Guest Buyers leave feedback?
No – at least not until they register. eBay will encourage Guest Buyers to register once they make a purchase. Once they do, they'll be able to use all the same features and programs our current buyers do, such as Feedback, Buyer Protection, access to Customer Support, etc.

The Launch Plan
We're going to introduce Guest Buying slowly over the next few weeks. We're going to start by making it available in our Music, Books, DVDs & Movies, and Consumer Electronics categories in the next few days, and will add more categories shortly thereafter. Within a few weeks, Guest Buying should be available sitewide.

Sincerely,

Evan Liang
Buyer Experience

November 05, 2007 | 02:56PM PST/PT

Evan Liang
Hello...I'm Evan Liang with eBay's Buyer Experience team. With the busy holiday season rapidly approaching, I'm excited to announce that we're launching Guest Buying, a new feature that we believe will help increase the number of new buyers who purchase sellers' Fixed Price and Store Inventory listings.
Why Guest Buying?
We've done a lot of research about buying habits as the Internet has evolved, and have been told repeatedly that requiring new buyers to register before they have a chance to really interact with eBay is a barrier to them taking the plunge (this is the same reason we introduced My eBay for Guests awhile back).

Today many online buyers expect to be able to visit a site and simply purchase and pay for an item with minimum hassle. Introducing Guest Buying will help encourage more first purchases by new buyers.

Here's how it works:

Guest buyers will be able to use Buy It Now to purchase eligible Fixed Price and Store Inventory items.
Guest buyers need to complete their payment through PayPal before the item is theirs, similar to Immediate Payment.
Your current PayPal settings will apply – if you require buyers to pay with a confirmed address, your Guest Buyers will need to do so as well.
Which listings are eligible for Guest Buying?
Your listings will be eligible to be purchased by Guest Buyers if you meet the following criteria:

You must have a premier/business PayPal account in order to accept credit card payments.
Shipping costs must be specified on your listing.
You must qualify for the top tier of buyer protection of $2,000.
The item price must be less than $2,000.
You must use eBay's checkout system. Third-party checkout will not be supported at this time.
Can Guest Buyers leave feedback?
No – at least not until they register. eBay will encourage Guest Buyers to register once they make a purchase. Once they do, they'll be able to use all the same features and programs our current buyers do, such as Feedback, Buyer Protection, access to Customer Support, etc.

The Launch Plan
We're going to introduce Guest Buying slowly over the next few weeks. We're going to start by making it available in our Music, Books, DVDs & Movies, and Consumer Electronics categories in the next few days, and will add more categories shortly thereafter. Within a few weeks, Guest Buying should be available sitewide.

Sincerely,

Evan Liang
Buyer Experience

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200711051456292.html

Posted by eBay Guru at 10:11 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

November 06, 2007 | 02:15PM PST/PT

Sohil Gilani
Hi everyone...I'm back with more news about our Best Offer feature.
Sellers can already use our free Best Offer feature to accept offers from buyers on designated items, or to negotiate a mutually-acceptable price. In the next few days, we'll make Best Offer even more useful for sellers with a new "auto-accept" option. It works just like it sounds – sellers can set rules to automatically accept offers above a certain price for each of their items. Using this in combination with the "auto-decline" option will help you manage offers much more efficiently. You can even edit your auto-accept or auto-decline levels directly within your deal sheet at any time.

Learn about auto-accept at our workshop

My team is hosting a workshop on November 12th from 1-2p.m. PT where we'll be reviewing how you can use Best Offer and the new auto-accept feature to juice your holiday sales. Come join us, and bring your questions!

In the meantime, you can learn more about Best Offer on our information page.

Sincerely,

Sohil Gilani
Buyer Experience

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200711061415202.html

Posted by eBay Guru at 10:09 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

November 05, 2007 | 05:00PM PST/PT

Philipp Justus
Hello Sellers,
As you know, our "at least 33% off" insertion fees promotion ends today, and we hope you've enjoyed the savings. I'm pleased to let you know there is more good news in store that should help keep your holiday selling season jolly.

FREE Gallery for core listings
Starting tomorrow through December 12th, all your auction-style and fixed price listings will automatically get Gallery for FREE! That's right - you list with an image, and we'll do the rest!

We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words. Now you can show off your item right from the search results page - without spending a penny out of your own pocket. Check out all the details of the promo here.

Store Inventory Expansion - More Store Inventory listings, plus Gallery image exposure
Our Store sellers who use the Store Inventory listing format option will be pleased to know that - through mid-December - we are increasing the number of Store Inventory listings that display in the Store Inventory Expansion area in core search results. Now, when a buyer's keyword search returns fewer than 30 auction-style or fixed price listings, we will display up to 50 Store Inventory items (an increase from our current max of 30 listings.)

What's more - if those Store Inventory listings have Gallery images, we'll display those in the Store Inventory expansion area, too. (Store Inventory Gallery remains 1 cent and is not included as part of the Gallery promotion for auction-style and fixed price listings.)

Here's to a great holiday selling (and buying) season!

Sincerely,

Philipp Justus
Senior Vice President, Auctions

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200711051700292.html

Posted by eBay Guru at 10:06 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes.com
November 01, 2007

eBay launched eBay Gift Cards, available in stores and supermarkets nationwide in denominations of $25 and $50. Consumers can use the eBay Gift Cards on items where the eBay seller accepts PayPal, but cannot use them on eBay Express.

It's important to note that consumers who want to redeem the gift cards must have a PayPal account and link it to their bank account or credit card. One eBay member discussing the cards on the discussion board said, "I know there are some people (buyers) who refuse to use paypal, so I think they'd be awful po'd to get this as a gift." (http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?messageID=1010737376&forumID=21).

eBay said it will distribute over one million gift cards in more than 10,000 retail stores, including Kroger, Safeway, Vons, Dominick's, Fred Meyer and Ralphs, through distribution with the Blackhawk Network, the largest provider of third-party prepaid cards. Cards will be in stores year-round. Consumers who receive an eBay Gift Card and need help using it can call (866) 914-8078.

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200710311046462.html

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m11/i01/s03

Posted by eBay Guru at 01:40 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)