Auctionbytes-NewsFlash, Number 1861 - August 26, 2008 - ISSN 1539-5065      Previous Story | | Next Story

By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes.com
August 26, 2008
Reading AuctionBytes: eBay Requires Return Policy Beginning Late October

eBay updated users and developers in recent days on a number of previously announced changes. The company told developers that policy enforcement for its new return policy requirement, announced in June, would begin in late October. A new field specifying who pays for return shipping would be available to developers in mid-September.

eBay is not requiring that sellers accept returns. However, eBay is requiring sellers to specify a return policy in listings. Sellers who choose to accept returns must specify the time period in which the item may be returned, how the seller will give the refund, and who will pay the return shipping cost. Sellers who choose not to accept returns must specify "No Returns Accepted" as their return policy.

According to eBay, research showed that "difficulty in returning items" was the top shopping barrier cited by buyers and that "only a very small percentage of sold items are actually returned."

eBay also told developers that enforcement of the requirement that sellers specify at least one domestic shipping service when listing an item began August 25th.And enforcement that sellers include a specified handling time in their listings begins in October.

According to a published FAQ about eBay's new policies, sellers are able to change all of listings at once using Turbo Lister or Selling Manager Pro. "Bulk editing for active items will be available in early September, and bulk editing for ended items will be available in mid-October."

In its post to developers about the closure of eBay Express on September 15, eBay said it was "taking the learnings and the best features from eBay Express and integrating those into the eBay site. eBay Express is not needed as a separate site anymore, so we are closing it as of 9/15."

eBay also updated all users on its Announcement Board on Monday about several other changes. eBay has made the beta version of "My eBay" available to all sellers. And eBay is modifying its "Matching Products" module, a feature of its new "finding" experience. The module appears at the top of search results when a high percentage of matching listings are for a specific product that was listed using Pre-Filled Item Information. eBay advised sellers to list with Pre-filled Item Information whenever possible in order to get visibility in the "Matching Products" module.