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Meg Whitman, eBay's President & CEO, announced that in the fall, eBay PowerSellers would be able to purchase health insurance through Physician's Mutual Insurance Company. PowerSellers are eBay's top sellers, who must sell a minimum of $2,000 in Gross Merchandise Sales every month. Sellers must enroll in the program and maintain a certain positive feedback ratio. Whitman said eBay would lower the threshold to $1,000/month, allowing more sellers to apply for the PowerSeller program.
A spokesperson for Physician's Mutual Insurance Company told me on Monday that the company does not have a written agreement with eBay. "We have just been discussing opportunities with eBay, there is no formal contract at this time," said Deb Walton.
eBay spokesperson Kevin Pursglove confirmed Walton's statement. "We continue discussing the package with Physician's Mutual, but there's still a great deal of work to do before we make any formal announcement, still planned for the Fall."
I asked Pursglove for some statistics to get an idea of the numbers of eBay sellers that would be eligible for the plan. There are approximately 35,000-50,000 sellers currently enrolled in the PowerSellers program. A similar amount meet the criteria but have not enrolled. Pursglove estimates that with the new lowered threshold, another 100,000 - 115,000 sellers could meet the PowerSellers criteria.
Does it make sense for eBay sellers to sign up with eBay for health insurance? It depends on the details of the program, but also on a person's comfort level in being even more dependent on eBay for their livelihood. Some are concerned that if their sales drop in a given month, they would become ineligible for health insurance that month. It seems likely to me that there would be a certain grace period. However, to maintain PowerSeller status, you must also maintain a certain feedback ratio. And what if a PowerSeller is NARU'd (suspended) for violations?
I recently received a letter from an eBay seller who was suspended for suspected shill bidding. eBay removed all her auctions AND storefront items. From what I can gather, eBay's new shill-bidding detection system warned eBay that she was or was possibly a shill bidder. She couldn't get through to eBay for days, and eBay couldn't reach her because her phone number had changed.
The seller finally cleared up the problem (she was able to show that she had paid the other user via PayPal and was indeed a different person!). But nevertheless, she had lost a significant amount of money from lost sales. When she first wrote me, she was devastated; a major portion of her income is derived from eBay sales, and she was worried about how she would pay her bills for the month. Ask this seller if she wants to be dependent on eBay for her health insurance as well, and I bet she'll say NO!
So what's a small seller to do about health insurance? One of the best values around is offered through the Chamber of Commerce http://www.chamberofcommerce.com. Contact local Chambers in your area and ask for their health insurance offerings. You can then contact the insurance agents yourself and get quotes. You give them your date-of-birth, zip code and type of plan desired, and they will supply you with quotes. You can have them send you the plan description so you can compare the offerings. (With the cost of prescriptions going through the roof, it's nice to have a plan that covers prescriptions, too.) Be aware that some insurance programs offer a "partner" plan in addition to a single or family plan, which is great if you are married and with no dependents. Unfortunately, the older you are, the more expensive insurance costs.
There is a fee for joining the Chamber of Commerce, but you also get other benefits from belonging to this organization of business owners. But be aware that you may be required to send the insurance company proof that you are a business. A Schedule C (for U.S. taxpayers) or a "DBA" (doing business as) certificate may suffice.
It pays to shop around for health insurance, and make sure you read articles about the issue. It's one of the most important business decisions you can make, and you should do your homework carefully, BEFORE you do anything drastic like quitting your job.
If eBay can offer insurance for significantly less than the Chamber of Commerce or other plans out there, then it's something worth considering. But let's make sure we read the fine print!
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