It's here! Spring 2016 Seller Update

[readabouthorses]

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/sprupd16/index.html

[hollysfinds]

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@unknown-shopper wrote:

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@hollysfinds wrote:

It's nice that there is nothing particularly earth shattering in there this time.

 

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It all depends on your perspective. Ebay destroyed the vintage clothing categories and dumped all reproductions right in the middle of vintage, no differentiation - exact opposite of the responses they got when they asked about it in CSA.

Good thing etsy exists.

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Sorry - I did not notice that.  I didn't mean to be flippant where anyone is concerned. My apologies.

[twnpopcards]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

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@unscrupulousintangibility wrote:

The last thing I want is eBay branded Priority boxes.

We even cut the "eBay" off of the online labels.

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... plain brown (unprinted) boxes would be less expensive to manufacturer ... I know, have been in the packaging industry for over 30 years.  I would be interested to know the spec on the corrugated they plan on using for the boxes ... could be a weaker structure.  If anything, get the tape rolls printed instead.

On another note, is it wise to advertise your box is an eBay package?  Wouldn't that invite more tampering?

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i now use Stamps.com for shipping so no where on my package does Ebay's name show up and I definitely want to keep it that way.  Why make it obvious for those who walk up and steal packages from mailboxes and porches that this is an Ebay purchase.  Just makes it that much more enticing to take.

David

Twnpopcards

[gracieallen01]

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@prefontained wrote:

Just starting to read through, but this made me chuckle:

• We’ve heard from thousands of sellers who want to promote the eBay brand and grow their business on eBay. Shipping your items with the eBay logo on tape, boxes or mailers is a great way to drive consumer awareness about your eBay business and drive traffic back to eBay, which helps you and other eBay sellers. Sellers have also told us that the eBay logo creates an impression of value.

  And because eBay-branded shipping supplies are produced in large quantities, you can buy these premium-quality shipping materials at very competitive prices.

I guess they mean creates an impression of value that says "steal me"!

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"Sellers have also told us that the eBay logo creates an impression of value."

Yep, TWO.  Griff and Jeff - The Former 'Weakly-Chat Daring-Duo'.

[blackbird*singing]

I found all of the updates to lsitings as they pertain to mobile shoppers interesting... eBay is going to choose a small # of characters (I have to go back and look, but I think it was 250) to display from your listing.

Or you can customize the html yourself (manually) for all listings and choose your own text to display up to 800 characters. I think it was the FAQs section where they showed the html code to use.

And they will still keep the link to view the entire description. I think I'm going to have to change every listing to select the text I want shown, and the first line on every listing will be something like "if you're on a mobile app, please click the link to view the full item description."

They're also slowly going to force users of JavaScript and active coding to stop using it (switch to HTML or CSS) - and if seller's don't comply by the deadline they will start removing listings. I don't use active scripts, but I can just imagine all the people who don't read this update are going to come to the boards this summer furious at how all of their listings were removed without warning.

[mr_lincoln]

I am reading some of the Store listing increases and find this the most interesting so far.  They have upped the Auction Style listings from the lowest at 100 to 250 - 500 - 1000.  This supports the fact that they (eBay) must have kept data on the revenue generated by this type of listing format, or listened to Sellers who shared success with this selling format.  It also seems to point to eBay's core business from its early history that it is still a venue to come to in order to find the unique, rare, etc. item for sale.

NOW it makes sense to covert from the standard level to a Basic Store level ...

[penguins_dont_fly]

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@hollysfinds wrote:

Thanks for posting.

It's nice that there is nothing particularly earth shattering in there this time.

We can stop holding our breath now, at least until the Fall Update, lol.

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Depends ....

Anyone with active content (scrolling banners, etc) needs to heed this warning:

Remove active content for peak performance

The use of active content in listings, including JavaScript, Flash, plug-ins and form actions, inhibits purchases on mobile devices and can lead to abuse in the marketplace. Beginning with the Spring 2017 Seller Update, eBay will limit the use of active content in all new listings across all devices and it will not be rendered by default. By the Fall Seller Update 2017, we plan to remove or block listings with active content. We encourage you to limit your use of active content now. We will provide more information later this year about which functionality will be limited and provide the specific timing in early 2017. We also are working closely with our third-party partners in cases where they use active content on your item descriptions or stores.

[mr_lincoln]

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@twnpopcards wrote:

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

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@unscrupulousintangibility wrote:

The last thing I want is eBay branded Priority boxes.

We even cut the "eBay" off of the online labels.

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... plain brown (unprinted) boxes would be less expensive to manufacturer ... I know, have been in the packaging industry for over 30 years.  I would be interested to know the spec on the corrugated they plan on using for the boxes ... could be a weaker structure.  If anything, get the tape rolls printed instead.

On another note, is it wise to advertise your box is an eBay package?  Wouldn't that invite more tampering?

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i now use Stamps.com for shipping so no where on my package does Ebay's name show up and I definitely want to keep it that way.  Why make it obvious for those who walk up and steal packages from mailboxes and porches that this is an Ebay purchase.  Just makes it that much more enticing to take.

David

Twnpopcards

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Does Stamps.com have a feature to automatically upload the tracking info to eBay listings?

[gretchen92514]

"Store owners don't really have to worry about the increase.........because eBay is now in the SHIPPING SUPPLIES business??!!  Did I read that right?"

I say NO THANKS eBay. I buy pretty much all my shipping supplies from other well established eBay sellers who always provide great pricing and quick service. Shipping supplies is WHAT THEY DO!

And yes, when your package has been labeled as an eBay or Amazon item, it would seem to invite the possibility of theft.

I think those making policy decisions at eBay may be grossly overpaid, because there are many things that have not been properly thought out prior to implementation.

[hollysfinds]

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@penguins_dont_fly wrote:

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@hollysfinds wrote:

Thanks for posting.

It's nice that there is nothing particularly earth shattering in there this time.

We can stop holding our breath now, at least until the Fall Update, lol.

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Depends ....

Anyone with active content (scrolling banners, etc) needs to heed this warning:

Remove active content for peak performance

The use of active content in listings, including JavaScript, Flash, plug-ins and form actions, inhibits purchases on mobile devices and can lead to abuse in the marketplace. Beginning with the Spring 2017 Seller Update, eBay will limit the use of active content in all new listings across all devices and it will not be rendered by default. By the Fall Seller Update 2017, we plan to remove or block listings with active content. We encourage you to limit your use of active content now. We will provide more information later this year about which functionality will be limited and provide the specific timing in early 2017. We also are working closely with our third-party partners in cases where they use active content on your item descriptions or stores.

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I did apologize once already earlier in the thread - cut me a break please  

[chlerbie]

Their reason for the increase in store prices was because sellers had asked for more free allocations of listings. YES, with the operative word free, not another 100+ dollars a month for my Anchor Store.  Ouch.

[penguins_dont_fly]

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@chlerbie wrote:

Their reason for the increase in store prices was because sellers had asked for more free allocations of listings. YES, with the operative word free, not another 100+ dollars a month for my Anchor Store.  Ouch.

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Yabbut ... don't you feel special ... You are getting your own "dedicated customer service"

[llllady]

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@chlerbie wrote:

Their reason for the increase in store prices was because sellers had asked for more free allocations of listings. YES, with the operative word free, not another 100+ dollars a month for my Anchor Store.  Ouch.

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Will be interesting to see if this change puts the kibosh to their free listing promos.  Only time will tell.

[fern*wood]

 I guess the free listings is still stuck at 50 without a store.  Now I have to make up my mind whether to continue a store or hope for promos. 

[twnpopcards]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

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@twnpopcards wrote:

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

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@unscrupulousintangibility wrote:

The last thing I want is eBay branded Priority boxes.

We even cut the "eBay" off of the online labels.

---

... plain brown (unprinted) boxes would be less expensive to manufacturer ... I know, have been in the packaging industry for over 30 years.  I would be interested to know the spec on the corrugated they plan on using for the boxes ... could be a weaker structure.  If anything, get the tape rolls printed instead.

On another note, is it wise to advertise your box is an eBay package?  Wouldn't that invite more tampering?

---

i now use Stamps.com for shipping so no where on my package does Ebay's name show up and I definitely want to keep it that way.  Why make it obvious for those who walk up and steal packages from mailboxes and porches that this is an Ebay purchase.  Just makes it that much more enticing to take.

David

Twnpopcards

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Does Stamps.com have a feature to automatically upload the tracking info to eBay listings?

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@mr_lincoln

Yes, it takes care of everything.  I  run the batch file to download all the items I need to ship, add any other items I need to ship from other sources and then I print.  Once printed the tracking information is automatically uploaded to ebay and ebay sends out the notices like always.  

Also if you ask for the special Ebay account they will waive the $15.99 a month fee.  The account does not have all the bells and whistles but works just fine for me.  Also I like the fact I can print bulk labels numerous times throughout the day and then still only print 1 scan sheet at the end of that days shipping (or morning before the carrier comes).  I have found it to be glitch free overall and works great for me.

One glitch they do seem to be having on SOME Ebay accounts is with the International Shipping.  It seems to pick and choose which ones it allows to be printed.  Now this was a manually entered transaction so that could also be the cause, but I wanted to be straightforward with the evaluation.  They are currently working on a solution for this, but truthfully if you do much International shipping you probably get better rates through the Ebay shipping, especially if you are TRS+.

But outside of that, I love it and would not consider switching back.

David

Twnpopcards