On Friday afternoon I learned of a security lapse that exposed eBay seller information. You can read the full story on the AuctionBytes blog. The incident reminded me of the importance of following best-practices when it comes to security.
We all know by now (I hope) never to trust any emails that include a link to a sign-in page. Always go to a website and sign-in directly.
The lesson with this latest security lapse is that information you provided to website services years ago may be vulnerable. It may be a good idea to cancel old credit cards and start off with new ones. The challenge with that, however, is to update all your current subscription services - otherwise, they might suspend your account if your credit card is no longer valid!
And of course, never use the same passwords for multiple services. Last month, we ran an article in Newsflash about password security written by Internet Business Skills founder Allison Hartsoe. The article contains excellent advice, and I urge you to read the article and make sure you make changes to keep your accounts safe: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m01/i01/s02
We recently got a glimpse into eBay's goals for 2007 with a report from CitiGroup analyst Mark Mahaney (http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m02/i07/s01). eBay's message for analysts is that it will enhance "revenue per listing" by removing unproductive listings; driving higher conversion rates; and generating higher average selling prices. Much discussion was generated by users about the report, particularly what eBay meant by "removing unproductive listings."
Mahaney also wrote that eBay's primary focus in 2007 is on improving the user experience by focusing on search/findability, reducing excessive shipping costs and continuing to implement Trust & Safety initiatives.
Other messaging about eBay's direction for the new year is contained in the transcript of eBay's January 25th Town Hall meeting. President of eBay North America, Bill Cobb said in part, "what we need to do is really focus on improving the buying experience, and auctions are part of that. And we need to make this site simpler, easier to use and more fun, and that's what we're going to be doing a lot of work on this year" (http://pages.ebay.com/townhall/archives.html). (Note that the next Town Hall meeting will be held on Thursday.)
We'll be keeping an eye on what this means for sellers and expect to see some new functionality and features as well as more policy changes. You can stay on top of news by subscribing to the AuctionBytes Newsflash newsletter. Articles are published to our site daily, and sent out via text email three times a week. News from other auction sites and services are also included in our coverage.
If you've been to AuctionBytes.com lately, you'll notice a new look on the website. We hope you'll find it easier-to-read. We've left the links in the left column in their original position, but we've moved the search box to the top of the page, for easier access. Daily Newsflash articles remain at the top of the home page, followed by articles from this newsletter. And as always, you'll find links to useful charts and information on the left column under "Cool Tools." Enjoy!
Thanks for reading.
About the author:
Ina Steiner is Editor of AuctionBytes.com and author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). She has a background in marketing and research in the high-tech and publishing fields. If you have story ideas, comments or questions, send them to ina@auctionbytes.com.
