As anticipated, eBay announced "Feedback 2.0," an improvement to its online reputation system that allows trading partners to rate each other on individual transactions. eBay also announced it would require all newly registered sellers to accept PayPal or a merchant credit card when selling in the US and Canada. eBay announced the new policies at a meeting it hosted for 250 of its top US sellers called the eCommerce Forum.

eBay will launch Feedback 2.0 in pilot markets outside the US over next month. The new system will allow buyers to rate transactions on item description, communication, shipping time, and shipping & handling charges. eBay will also archive all but the last 24 months of users' feedback history. Members' total scores will remain, but the percent will be based only on the last 2 years of activity.

Feedback 2.0 system will be rolled out in France, Italy, the UK, Australia, Poland and India. eBay said the system might be changed as they go along as it is tested, and before it is rolled out to eBay's largest sites - the US and Germany.

eBay also announced a new "Safe Payment Requirement" that requires newly registered sellers to accept PayPal or a merchant credit card in order to list items on the US and Canadian sites. "We know that PayPal is the safest way to pay on eBay, and we want to make sure our buyers have this option with new sellers," eBay North America President Bill Cobb said in his announcement on the eBay boards. Existing sellers will not be affected by the new requirement.

The Safe Payment Requirement follows eBay's recent policy announcement that limits Buyer Protection to PayPal-funded transactions only, while doubling its PayPal Buyer Protection (http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m01/i10/s01).

Bill Cobb's keynote address can be viewed in an online video on eBay. In addition to announcements about Feedback 2.0 and the Safe Payment Requirement, he addressed additional issues. Cobb said eBay Express is on a faster trajectory than eBay Stores or Half.com. "We've only scratched the surface of eBay Express, we are committed to nurturing and growing eBay Express."

He also reviewed some recent policies and features in his keynote address, such as eBay's anti-counterfeiting initiative and Safeguarding Member IDs (SMI) policy, and he discussed eBay's focus on simplifying the buying experience and the attention eBay will be paying to the "fun" factor on the site.

When asked Wednesday evening how attendees of the eCommerce Forum had received the news, eBay's Senior Vice President of Trust & Safety Rob Chesnut said the reception from everyone he spoke to was overwhelmingly positive on every new initiative, including the SMI policy and the new feedback system, which they are very excited about. "They feel we need to promote our best sellers and protect our buyers," he said.

AuctionBytes asked if eBay had any metrics to share about the effect of the Safeguarding Member IDs policy on bidding behavior on sites where the new policy is already in place. eBay spokesperson Brad Williams said, "We're in our blackout period before earnings and it could be considered material. What I would say is that we've tested this in the UK and in Australia, and on eBay Motors in the US, and suffice to say we wouldn't have rolled it out further if we had seen any concerning data come back - and you better believe we're gathering a lot of data on this."

Bill Cobb outlined in his announcement board post eBay's three high-level priorities for 2007:

• Reinvest in eBay's core by simplifying the site, improving finding, and accentuating the things that make eBay fun and unique.
• Take a more proactive approach to Trust & Safety to protect our members from fraud.
• Improve the buyer experience on the site by holding sellers to higher minimum standards

Bill Cobb's Webcast in video format:
http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=37388

Bill Cobb's Announcement Board post:
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200701171455042.html