eBay has once again announced a host of major changes to its site this year, leaving sellers to figure out how best to adapt their selling strategies in light of the changes.
In addition to changing the BIN Fixed-Price format fee and duration, eBay announced a new electronics-payments only policy prohibiting sellers from accepting checks and money orders. The policy states that beginning late October 2008, all items listed on eBay.com must be paid for using one of the following approved payment options: Direct credit or debit card payment via a merchant credit card account; PayPal; ProPay; or Payment on pick-up.
Overview of Changes on eBay.com
eBay's Buy It Now (BIN) Fixed-Price format is changing to a 30-day duration with a 35-cent listing fee and Final Value Fees that vary according to category.
Sellers are no longer able to accept paper payments - only merchant credit card accounts, ProPay, and PayPal will be acceptable, effective late October - see exceptions here.
eBay is suspending selling activity on accounts that fall to 4.3 in any of their Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs).
eBay is changing the mix of inventory on the site and will score fixed-price and auction listings separately in Best Match, but display them together on the search results pages
eBay will also create a new factor for its Best Match search algorithm for fixed-price listings only, called "Recent Sales." This will reward multiple-quantity listings that have had recent sales over single- and multiple-quantity listings with fewer or no recent sales.
eBay is putting limits on Shipping & Handling charges in the Media category, effective mid-October.
eBay will give incentives to sellers to offer free shipping in all categories. It will give items with free shipping more exposure in search, and will offer additional discounts on FVFs (Final Value Fees). The discount will apply to individual listings, so sellers can choose which listings, if any, on which to offer free shipping.
eBay is closing eBay Express.
AuctionBytes has compiled the following list of links where you can learn more about the changes to fees and policies affecting eBay sellers.
The August 19th Announcement
Here is a link to the announcement released at midnight, August 19th, and posted to the Announcement Board on August 20, 2008.
Overview Page
eBay set up an overview page with links to more information about the changes.
Forums
eBay set up a special forum to answer users' questions.
Town Hall Meeting
eBay hosted a Town Hall meeting on Friday, August 22, 2008, where users phoned in and asked eBay and PayPal executives questions. eBay makes available audio files shortly after such events.
Podcast Interview with Randy Smythe
Randy Smythe was one of the bloggers briefed by eBay about the announcement. Randy joined AuctionBytes Editor Ina Steiner in a Podcast interview to discuss the changes and what they mean to eBay sellers.
AuctionBytes Articles
"eBay Makes Major Announcement, Creates Core-Store Hybrid" can be found here.
"eBay Changes Search, Bans Checks & Money Orders," can be found here.
Changes in the UK
You can read about the changes eBay UK made on the UK Announcement Board.
The AuctionBytes Blog
AuctionBytes readers are weighing in with their comments and questions about the changes on the AuctionBytes Blog
Be sure and leave your comments too!
About the author:
Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and AuctionBytes.com and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). Follow her on Twitter at @auctionbytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com.
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