Smaller eBay sellers who are eager to participate in the site's "Daily Deals" promotion are hard-pressed to learn how to participate. After receiving a number of inquiries and unable to find information published on eBay's website, we asked eBay's public relations department for information. We didn't fare much better than eBay sellers in learning exactly just how to get in on the action.

"eBay's Daily Deal program drives terrific value for buyers and great velocity for sellers," eBay spokesperson Johnna Hoff told us in an email. "To meet buyer demand for the featured deals, all participating sellers must meet minimum sales, volume and performance requirements. To help ensure these requirements are met - and therefore the best buyer experiences are offered through Daily Deals - all participating sellers are drawn from sellers with account managers, who monitor seller performance, communicate site policies, and deliver program updates."

Who exactly is entitled to an "account manager" these days? Hoff told us eBay considers this on an individual basis for qualified sellers as measured across several performance metrics. "The metrics span sales, buyer satisfaction and inventory, but I am not able to disclose specific thresholds or levels."

So sellers who have a large quantity of goods that they could sell for rock-bottom prices are out of luck if they want to inquire about selling on eBay Daily Deals unless they have an account manager, which is available only to certain sellers on an undisclosed basis.