eBay Radio Show 699E: October 10, 2017

Today —Tuesday, October 10, 2017 — eBay Radio is taking the day off in honor of Columbus Day.  Instead, please join Griff at 12:30pm PT live on Facebook.com/eBayForBusiness to meet eBay’s new Senior Vice President, Americas, Scott Cutler, and hear his commitment to sellers.

This Thursday, October 12, 2017, please tune into eBay Radio’s Ask Griff & Lee live at our regularly scheduled time, from 11am to 1pm PT.  We’ll be replaying Griff’s interview with Scott as part of the show, and of course, taking your calls as usual.  See you then!

p.s. And please mark your calendar for next Tuesday, October 17, 2017, when eBay Radio #700 will be live from 11am-2pm PT!

eBay Radio Guests: October 3, 2017 – Show 699

Our guests for eBay Radio Show #699 on October 3, 2017, are:

• Melissa Paz, eBay ID lazybreeze_deals: How I Use Promotions Manager to Get More Sales

• Suzanne A. Wells, eBay Coach and Top Rated Seller atlantagolfshop: 5 Mistakes Sellers Make – and How to Avoid Them

• Cindy Hallsted, Top Rated Seller pattycyn: 7 Ways to Inspire Q4 Sales

• Patty Whitlock, Top Rated Seller theshoppingmom2: Why I Love Seller Hub

• Louise Sanchez, Top Rated Seller herbscraftsgifts: How Promotions Manager Boosts My Sales

eBay Radio Guests: September 26, 2017 – Show 698

Our guests for eBay Radio Show #698 on September 26, 2017, are:

• Charlie Schilla, President, Supply Hut, and Top Rated Seller supplyhut: How I Went from Selling Out of My Bedroom to Shipping 800 Packages a Day
• Debbie Wieder, Top Rated Seller thebookkiosk: Get Out Your Crock-Pot — The Holiday Season is Already Here
• Liv Ellingsen, Product Manager, B2C Seller Marketing Levers, eBay: Changes to Markdown Manager in the 2017 Fall Seller Update
• Shari Smith, eBay ID gino4603: 8 Ways to Get Your Listings Found
• Lynn Dralle, Queen of Auctions, Ruler of the Queen’s Court and Top Rated Seller thequeenofauctions: The Queen’s Strategies for Q4 Success

2017 Fall Seller Update: Sell More with These New Initiatives

Bob Kupbens assured us during last Tuesday’s show that the 2017 Fall Seller Update is designed to help people find what they want on eBay. The goal is to help sellers create the right offers — and get your listings in front of more buyers. We encourage all of you to read the ENTIRE Seller Update at eBay.com/Fall2017 and learn how to implement these new initiatives to help you sell more this Fall. The update is broken into three major categories:

1. Listing Visibility

You’ll be able to increase exposure with eBay Guaranteed Delivery, Markdown Manager and Promotions Manager updates, bundles and lots, and eBay Questions & Answers…Q&A for short.

• eBay Guaranteed Delivery will offer buyers delivery times they can count on. It will also provide greater visibility for your items, because buyers will be able to filter items by delivery dates in their searches. eBay Guaranteed Delivery will be available to all buyers this Fall.
• Markdown Manager is now integrated into Promotions Manager to create a streamlined marketing tool. Starting this Fall, you’ll be able to mark down items and automatically create sale events of up to 45 days duration using the same convenient tool you already use to create Order Discounts and other promotions.
• Gain extra exposure for multiple-item listings with bundle and lot listings. A bundle is a combination of related items, while a lot is 2 or more of the same item.
• Give buyers information they need with Questions & Answers, a.k.a. Q&A.

2. Policy updates to improve performance

• Removal of off-eBay links, listings security, product identifier expansion, image guidelines, and eBay Catalog update
• Remove contact info and links that take buyers off eBay
• Secure your listings with https pages only on eBay
• Expanded requirement for product identifiers
• Image policy changes include removing watermarks from all eBay photos
• Matching new listings to the eBay catalog. Beginning in Spring 2018, when you create new listings or manage those that are already active on the site, your items will automatically be matched to products like yours in the eBay catalog. eBay will use the product identifiers you provide in your listings to find product matches for the item you’re selling

3. Returns

• • Easier returns for you and your buyers
  • Benefits of offering free returns with search options
  • Restocking fee no longer permitted with free returns
  • Automatic acceptance of returns beginning in October 2107

Read the entire 2017 Fall Seller Update at eBay.com/Fall2017.

eBay Radio Guests: September 19, 2017 – Show 697 – Fall Seller Update

Our guests for eBay Radio #697 (special Fall Seller Update show) on September 19, 2017, are:

Bob Kupbens, Vice President, B2C Seller Experience & Global Trust: 2017 Fall Seller Update Overview

Linda Cornelison, Senior Manager, Global Customer Trust: Updates to eBay’s Contact Information Policy

Chris Van Wagoner, Senior Manager, Structured Data: Updates to Structured Data (Product Identifiers, Watermarks, Catalog, Bundles and Lots)

Maria Lee, Senior Manager, Buyer & Seller Trust: Updates to eBay Returns

Greg Ross-Smith, Product Activation, Guaranteed Delivery: Updates to Guaranteed Delivery

Liv Ellingsen, Senior Product Manager, B2C Seller Marketing Levers: Updates to Markdown Manager

eBay Implementing Special Measures for Hurricane-impacted Sellers

In addition to seller protection efforts already announced, eBay is implementing special measures to help sellers impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma:

• eBay will waive insertion fees and Store subscription fees for all store levels for 3 months for all sellers.
• Once your business is up and running again, eBay will help you jump-start your cash flow with a $30 Promoted Listings credit for business sellers.
• To help you restock your shipping station, eBay will send you a $30 coupon for eBay-branded shipping supplies for business sellers.

eBay has set up a special email address, [email protected], and can help you with the offers above as well as the following issues:

• If you have an eBay store, but no direct internet access, eBay can place your store in temporary vacation mode, along with a message to your buyers that you are away.
• eBay can also take down any active listings on your behalf and place them in My eBay for relisting at a later time.

Please email eBay from the email address associated with your account, so they can quickly confirm your identity. You need not use this email address to receive these benefits; eBay is simply creating another channel for reaching their customer service team.

Meanwhile, eBay has emailed your buyers, asking for their patience and letting them know that you may not be able to fulfill orders at this time. As soon as you are able, please communicate with your buyers on the status of their orders.

eBay takes seriously our commitment to their selling and buying partners and wants to help impacted sellers get back on their feet as soon as possible. If you need customer service, please call 866-540-3229 or send email to [email protected]

For additional details and related announcements, visit eBay’s Announcement Board at http://announcements.ebay.com.

eBay Radio Guests: September 12, 2017 – Show 696

Our guests for eBay Radio SHow #696 on September 12, 2017, are:

Tim Chapman, Top Rated Seller mr.customerservice: Selling Strategies for Tough Times

Angie Cardona-Nelson, Co-Owner of eWaste Direct, Top Rated Seller angiesgreengosurplus and 2017 SHINE Awards Grand Prize Winner: Becoming eBay’s 2017 Small Business of the Year

Danna Crawford, CEO, PowerSellingMom Inc., and Top Rated Seller danna: When Weather Affects Your Business, Be Prepared!

Ciara Brown, Top Rated Seller thediamondhanger and 2017 SHINE Awards Winner: Winning eBay’s 2017 SHINE Award for Young Entrepreneur

Joe DeMarco, Top Rated Seller hubcapjoes: How to Increase Your Sales Using eBay Tools

Protection for Sellers Impacted by Hurricanes Harvey or Irma

Due to the severity of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, many eBayers may be affected. eBay will automatically apply Seller Protection to all impacted sellers. You will not receive defects for stockouts or unresolved cases with buyers, nor will your late shipment rate  be impacted.

If your merchandise has been damaged, or you will not be able to access it, eBay recommends ending any auctions and taking down any Buy It Now listings before they result in a sale. eBay will not charge a fee for ending listings early.

If you are an eBay Stores subscriber, place your store in vacation mode and extend your handling time on all items to when you can get back to business.

In addition, eBay is  implementing some special measures to help sellers impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. All of these protections will be applied automatically. You won’t need to call or email in to receive the following benefits:

• Waive store subscription and insertion fees. eBay will waive insertion fees and Store subscription fees for all store levels for three months for all impacted sellers.
• Free Promoted Listings. Once your business is up and running again, we’d like to help you jumpstart your cash flow with a $30 Promoted Listings credit for business sellers.
• Free Shipping supplies. To help get your shipping station restocked, we will send you a   $30 coupon for eBay branded shipping supplies for business sellers.

eBay can also help by placing your store in vacation mode, taking down your listings and saving them in My eBay, and emailing your buyers. If you need customer service, please call eBay at 866-540-3229, or send email to [email protected]

eBay Radio reminds you that Harvey and Irma have also impacted buyers. Please be patient with customers from the affected region.

For more details concerning hurricane-related eBay announcements, please visit the Announcements Board at http://announcements.ebay.com or from your Seller Hub Overview page.