EBay Courts 'Power Sellers'

by Catherine Holahan

New management at eBay (EBAY) wants to send the message that it's listening to users' complaints. It did that Jan. 29 by announcing sweeping changes to what it charges people who sell items through the e-commerce giant. But if there's a subtext to the message, it's that eBay's listening to some users more than others.

The changes clearly favor larger merchants who sell higher value goods at set prices, as opposed to merchants who use an auction arrangement. The new fee structure reduces up-front fees up to 25% for listing items in an auction, but up to 50% on store items, which have fixed sale prices. Meanwhile, smaller merchants who sell goods priced at $100 or less will see fee increases. New fees on the final sale of an item decrease as the item price increases. EBay is also offering Power Sellers, the name eBay gives its highest rated, most prolific sellers, a discount of up to 15% on the final value fee.

source artcle - Business Week

Ebay to Cut Listing Fees

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — EBay Inc. said Tuesday it will cut by up to 50 percent the fees it charges sellers to list their goods online, in an effort to boost listings and keep pace with other burgeoning e-commerce sites.

To balance the fee cut, the company plans to increase its commission on items that do sell — a method eBay says sellers prefer because it lowers their risk if items do not sell.

EBay will also increase fees on some items, including auctioned goods selling for less than $25. EBay’s fee for those transactions will rise 67 percent, to 8.75 percent of the final sale price.

source - quickfw.com

Ebay CEO Whitman Retiring?

According to an article in todays Wall Street Journal, Ebay.com's Chief Executive Office Meg Whitman is preparing to retire.

It is believed that Whitmans decision could come within weeks and that John Donahoe, the head of eBay's auction business unit is the leading contender to replace her. Donahoe joined Ebay in 2005.

Whitman, one of the most powerful businesswomen in the country, has been quoted in the past as saying she would stay no more than 10 years on the job. Ms Whitman joined Ebay as president and CEO in early 1998.

There has been no official confirmation from Ebay.com at this time regarding Whitman's plans.

Ebay.com Discount Listing Day Wednesday 1-16-08

Ebay.com is holding a one day only listing discount day on Wednesday Jan. 16, 2008 in which Auction-style and Fixed Price listing fees are reduced to 20 cents.

The promotion does not apply to: eBay Motors listings, International, Live Auction, Professional Services, Real Estate, Ad Format, Store Inventory listings and a number of business and industrial categories.

Ebay Makes Minor Change to Stores Search

Ebay has made some minor changes to stores secrch function which may add a small degree of benefit to sellers.

After a buyer conducts a search on the main Ebay.com platform, if they click on Stores link in the global header they will be taken to results of their search with store sellers only listings.

Prior to this change, with or without search buyers would be taken to the stores main hub when clicking on the link. They would then need to enter their search term again.

Ebay Canada Discount Listing Day 1/9/08

Ebay Canada is holding a one day listing fee sale on Wednesday, January. All Insertion fees for Auction Format & Fixed Price listings will be reduced 10 cents on this date. Promotion is for Canadian residents only and effective on eBay.ca only. Listings eligible for the reduced 10 cent insertion fee can get an additional 25% off Final Value Fees (up to a maximum FVF discount of $1.25 per listing) when a Canada Post or UPS shipping label is printed online through PayPal between January 9, 2008 00:00:01 ET and January 26, 2008 03:00:01 ET.

Listing promotion does not apply to the following categories: Buy It Now feature upgrade, Motors vehicles, Business and Industrial Capital Equipment, Store Inventory Format, Real Estate Auction Format listings and Real Estate Ad Format listings will not be included in this promotion. All Multiple Item Auctions (Dutch Auction, Fixed Price listings & Lot listings) are not eligible for the 25% off Final Value Fee discount.

Bidpay No Longer a Payment Option for Online Auctions

BidPay.com Inc., which operated as an option for online auction payment processing, is no longer in business.

CyberSource has cited financial losses and unsuccessful attempts to enter agreements for strategic alliances and investments in deciding to shut down operations effective December 31. Cybersource will take an expected one-time charge related to the shutdown ranging from $1.7 million to $2.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.

The service which was launched in 1999 served more than 4 million customers according to Cybersource.

source

DSI Releases Electronic Reporting Application for Insuring eBay Shipments

Tarzana, CA (PRWEB) ...DSI Insurance, a leading provider of private shipping insurance, has announced the first release of their eReport suite of software reporting applications, DSI eReport for eBay, which allows eBay users to electronically report insured shipment information via end-to-end API integration.

DSI offers alternative shipping insurance coverage for items shipped via the major shipping carriers. Many DSI policy holders sell and fulfill merchandise online and require full service shipping insurance coverage. The challenge for DSI customers that sell via the eBay marketplace is to report their shipments that require coverage. "We realized that the actual reporting of shipments for coverage is the only overhead involved with insuring shipments with us," said Ariel Shmorak, Vice President of DSI. "Our solution was to develop a suite of software programs that does most of the work for you; enabling electronic reporting without the need to manually report shipments."

Further information is here

Promotion for First Time Ebay Sellers

Ebay is holding a promotion for first time sellers from January 3 - 9, 2008. During this period fist time sellers may list up to three auction style or fixed price listings with gallery upgrade at no charge. To qualify, sellers must not have sold on eBay before, and must list the three items during the promotional period (January 3-9, 2008).

This promotion does not apply to all eBay Motors listings (including Parts & Accessories, Passenger Vehicles, Motorcycles, Power Sports, and Other Vehicles), or to International, Live Auction, Real Estate, Ad Format, Professional Services, and Store Inventory listings.

http://pages.ebay.com/promo/firstlist2008/

UPS Rate Increase in Effect

Just a reminder for those Ebay sellers shipping with United Parcel Service. New rate increases for their services take effect December 31, 2007. According to the UPS website, rate changes are as follows:

* UPS Ground and UPS Standard to Canada services have increased 4.9%.

* Air and International express services have increased a net 4.9% through a combination of a 6.9% increase in rates and a 2% reduction in the air and international fuel surcharge.

New rates *should* now be reflected in the Ebay shipping calculator and the PayPal Label Printing Solution. The UPS rate increase press release is here