eBay Seller Release 10.3
July 13th, 2010
Seller Release: 10.3
Announced: 13th July
Actioned: Q4 September
Today eBay have officially announced Seller Release 10.3. This release will be the last Seller release of the year. Most of the features below do not come into effect until September 2010. There are a lot of features that benefit both sellers and buyers, however they will cause more work for most sellers.
We have highlighted the major changes and useful information below:
PayPal Required for .it and .es.
eBay.it and eBay.es will have PayPal as a mandatory required payment method, bringing it inline with .co.uk and .com.
Item Condition for Vehicles
Listings in vehicle categories will now support the new Item Condition values & functionality (Read Our Blog Post about item Condition). Whilst this will not be mandatory until Q1 2011 it is good practice to apply this to your listings A.S.A.P as it will not only improve your search ranking but you may actually be penalised in search for not including the new item condition functionality.
If the thought of revising each one of your listings one by one is too much trouble why not try Froo! Bulk Revision and alter thousands of listings in bulk and take away the pain!
6 Categories to become an entirely Product Based Experiences
The product based experience (PBE) allows sellers to pull in standard information and stock photos.
You search for a product or type an EAN number/barcode and eBay returns useful information such as description and technical specifications.
Example:
The PBE will be fully adopted for the following Categories:
- Cell Phone,
- GPS,
- MP3 Players,
- Video Games Systems,
- CDs
- DVDs
The PBE catalogue information will not be mandatory however your listings will be penalised in search for not using this functionality. The PBE makes the listing process much faster, provides lots of correct information and reduces buyer questions. Frooition will be including this in future releases of the design management tool.
eBay to offer more payment methods
eBay are opening up the accepted payment methods to include Click and Buy as well as integrating merchant credit cards such as NoChex in the eBay checkout.
Changes to shipping to domestic regions
eBay have added more detailed to regional shipping. Sellers can now exclude specific regions from bidding or buying, change prices on a state/region level and alter shipping times. For example you charge a premium to ship to Hawaii or Northern Ireland through the eBay checkout.
Standardisation of Shipping
All shipping services will include a shipping time e.g. (Royal Mail 1st Class 2-3 days). This also applies to Selller’s Standard Rate, eBay are bringing in new levels to replace standard rate which will be:
Economy (6-9 days), Standard (3-5 days) and Overnight (24 hours).
This will affect anyone using GTC or automatic relisting rules/software.
How to word terms & conditions and avoid eBay/PayPal Disputes
July 2nd, 2010
Terms and Conditions are one of the hardest parts of online selling to get right. Ignorance of the law is no defense and there are two main pieces of legislation which all sellers need to abide by – the Electronic Commerce Regulations and Distance Selling Regulations and the Sale of Goods Act.
In general these pieces of legislation are intended to protect consumers, so unsurprisingly they appear weighted against merchants, however by following their guidelines it’s possible to limit your liabilities so it’s worth spending the time to become familiar with them.
There are four main things a buyer is concerned about when considering a purchase:
What does it cost?
What will the shipping cost?
Can I return the item if it’s not what I wanted?
Is there a warranty, what happens if something goes wrong?
The first two are easily solved – the price of the product is either the BUY IT NOW price or the winning bid on an auction. Shipping costs should be clearly entered for each country that you ship to and for each delivery service that you offer at the time of listing so that the buyer knows exactly what they’ll be paying.
Returns are something that no retailer likes, but online consumers don’t have the opportunity to examine the goods prior to purchase. The Distance Selling Regulations set out their right to examine the goods in their own home and return them for any (or no) reason. As the merchant you are obliged to offer a full refund including postage costs, but you can if you wish specify that the buyer pays the return carriage costs. You can also limit the period of returns to 7 working days from receipt of the goods but only if this is specified in your Terms and Conditions.
Warranties and the goods being fit for purpose are covered by the Sale of Goods Act, and in this case buyers have up to 6 months to request repair/replacement or refund. They are also covered up to 6 years but in that case it’s the buyers obligation to prove that the goods weren’t fit for purpose, for the first 6 months it’s the sellers responsibility to prove that they were of merchandisable quality, although of course manufacturers warranties cover many items for a year or more in any case.
There is nothing more off putting to consumers than rafts of small print, so it’s worth keeping your Terms and Conditions of sale out of your main listing template. On eBay this has been made easy as eBay provide separate sections for Returns Policy, Sellers Payment Instructions, Pricing and VAT, Shipping Costs and Terms and Conditions of Sale. If you use Froo templates they provide tabbed content boxes where you can add additional information for buyers if they wish to view it.
“There is nothing more off putting to consumers than rafts of small print, so it’s worth keeping your Terms and Conditions of sale out of your main listing template.”
Although from a legal standpoint it’s important to publish your terms and conditions in general buyers are more interested in knowing that if something goes wrong you are there to help them. Make sure that your full contact details are available including your name (or business name), your address, your email address and of course your phone number. Nothing is more effective in avoiding PayPal or eBay dispute than simply giving your buyer the opportunity to communicate.
This doesn’t just stop on your eBay listings or website, whenever you ship an item include an invoice with your contact details and/or a business card. If there is a problem and your buyer has your number to hand they are much more likely to telephone and give you the opportunity to assist than to log onto eBay to open a dispute.
In general the shorter your terms and conditions the more buyer friendly they are so as well as publishing your full terms and conditions it’s worth summarising them with a link to your Terms and Conditions on a separate page.
Ultimately your terms and conditions are there to protect you legally, and to ensure that buyers are provided with the information proscribed by law. In reality there are very few buyers who will invoke their legal rights – most simply want to receive their goods or if there is an issue to have the problem resolved. This means that your Terms and Conditions are there to protect you as the seller but like insurance hopefully they are something you will never have to use.
If you think like a buyer and act towards them as you would like a company to treat you, and especially if you give your customers the ability to contact you, almost all problem can be amicably resolved resulting in a happy customer without recourse to eBay or PayPal disputes.
How the UK Emergency Budget affects Online Merchants
June 24th, 2010
The emergency budget was almost certainly bad news for most of the country, and few will remain unaffected although it’s intended that those with the lowest earnings will be hit least. Reductions in child tax credits will be reduced or removed for the highest paid workers and change to income tax will also assist lower paid workers with no benefit to higher rate tax payers.
However the budget sets out a clear mandate for private businesses with measure to assist them, whilst there are no surprises that government spending in the public sector has been hit hard. There will be a two-year pay freeze for public sector workers earning more than £21,000, although the 1.7 million lower paid workers will get a flat £250 pay rise each year. Limits will be put on the salaries of the highest paid public sector workers.
The main changes that will affect online businesses are:
“The change that will affect most eBay and online traders and of course every single consumer in the country is the rise in VAT!”
VAT
Almost certainly the change that will affect most eBay and online traders and of course every single consumer in the country is the rise in VAT from 17.5% to 20% which will come into effect on 1st January 2011. There will be no changes to the current zero rate items such as food, children’s clothing and books. The reduced rate of 5% also remains unchanged.
It’s worth noting that this affects almost every purchase made in the country, including fuel where there were no duty changes. However it’s still well short of the maximum allowed by the EU which is 25% VAT.
Corporation Tax and Capital Allowances
The main rate of corporation tax will fall to 27% on 1 April 2011, with further 1% cuts in the following three years ending at 24% in 2014. The small profits rate of corporation tax will fall to 20% for 2011, rather than increasing to 22% as previously announced. This is a move which businesses will welcome and 24% corporation tax rate would be the lowest in the G7 unless other countries follow suit. The corporation tax is an indicator that the government is serious about competitiveness for the UK’s businesses.
There is a downside for investment though, capital allowances changes will reduce the rate at which businesses receive tax relief for investment in plant and machinery. However over time they will still be able to recoup cost, but over a longer period of time.
Income Tax
Lower paid workers will benefit from the £1000 raise to £7,475 before they start to pay Income Tax. The higher rates thresholds for tax and National Insurance will be reduced so higher paid earners won’t benefit. Employers will benefit from the employers National Insurance threshold (the point at which they pay N.I on employees earnings) rising by £21/week.
National Insurance Holiday for New Businesses
In certain parts of the country employers will not have to pay the first £5,000 of employer’s Class 1 National Insurance Contributions for the first 12 months of employment their first 10 employees. This will apply to most of the UK with the exception of London and the South East. However this does appear unfair to existing businesses that may be just about to take on their first employee as well of course those that live in the excluded areas.
Capital Gains
Basic rate taxpayers will pay Capital Gains Tax at a rate of 18% compared to 20% levels of income tax and the annual exemption of £10,100 will remain. Higher-rate taxpayers will pay Capital Gains Tax at a rate of 28% compared to levels of income tax at 40%. . Surprisingly the chancellor said that raising the higher rate above 28% would result in a fall in total revenues. This is better news that forecast as figure for Capital Gains of as much as 40% or 50% were predicted. This change lowers the incentive to extract profits from a company other than as Income, and will affect those who have built a successful business and wish to float them with a share issue or to simply sell them
However the 10% Capital gains tax rate for entrepreneurs, which currently applies to the first £2m of qualifying gains made over a lifetime, will be extended to the first £5m of lifetime gains.
Go Behind the scenes of eBay Devcon with Frooition!
June 11th, 2010Come with us on a journey behind the scenes at eBay DEVCON.

Click here to watch the video in full on eBayInc.com.
Social Media as a Marketing Opportunity
June 8th, 2010
As an eBay seller it’s easy to get caught up in the everyday graft of just keeping your operation running. You might be drowning in brown tape and jiffy bags and making sure you make it to the post office in time, but remember there’s a whole world out there.
eBay is a walled garden. It’s busy and has millions of buyers out there for you. But there is more to the internet than eBay. You can boost your eBay sales by marketing online. One of the most talked about opportunities is social media. That means sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace and other activities such as blogging.
Twitter has grown phenomenally in the past year or so and is now a mainstream website used by millions at home and abroad. If you’ve opened a newspaper in the past year you can’t have missed it. The same’s true of Facebook. Both Twitter and Facebook offer the best options to eBay sellers who want to have a go at social media.
Blogging is also a great opportunity. A blog is basically a website where you can write about anything you like and also publish other content such as videos and photos. Setting up a blog can be free and easy, depending on what service you choose. Open source software Wordpress comes highly recommended and is free: you just need to pay for the hosting and design.
If social media seems scary, you’re right to be cautious: time is your most valuable commodity and wasting any of that or getting behind in the essential tasks of running your business would be a bad thing. But by approaching social media with discipline and a clear idea of what you want to achieve, you can reap some benefits.
There are two key benefits of social media to an eBay seller: the first if traffic. Sites like Facebook and Twitter have a massive following with millions of visitors every day. It’s possible to get a little bit of that action and increase the number of people viewing your listings.
The second benefit, especially if you already have your own website, is a SEO (search engine optimization). Blogging, in particular, is a good way of building your site content and creating valuable inbound links to build the prominence of your site in web searches.
Here are a few ideas that you can try:
Build a Facebook fan page for your eBay sales. Even your granny is on Facebook these days so it’s a great audience to plug in to. Your easiest option is to build a Facebook fan page for your business including links to your shop and items you want to shift. One of the best ways to utilize Facebook is to offer discounts and deals exclusively to Facebook fans to tempt them.
Twitter and Tweets: Get started on Twitter and gradually build your network. Succeeding on Twitter can take time but the best way to attract attention is to provide links and information that other people find useful. That could be sharing news stories, your own content or making wry and amusing observations. You will also get a lot out of Twitter if you connect with people you admire and trust.
“And the good news is that Frooition can help as you take on social media!”
Blogging: Blogging is something that rewards you the more you do it. If you start a blog, write about things that really interest you. Establish yourself as an expert in your field and as someone who people turn to for insight and interesting comment If you’re not much of a writer, try a picture blog or video blog (vlog).
What you want to avoid, whether on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, when you’re or any other social network or blogging, is mistaking not working for networking. If you’re just jabbering away to your fellow sellers, friends or people who aren’t buying from you, it’s a total waste of time. You need to approach social media as a marketing channel. It should be fun but it does have a very serious purpose: promoting you, your sales and your business.
And the good news is that Frooition can help as you take on social media. It’s essential that your eBay brand is extended to your other online profiles. A consistent look and feel makes your buyers and customers feel reassured, makes you look good and inspires trust. Frooition can help you with bespoke design, expertise and plenty of past experience. Get in touch and we can help you extend your eBay brand so it includes social media.
Making the Most of your eBay About Me Page
June 1st, 2010
Lots of eBay sellers don’t even know about their About Me page. Even fewer actually take advantage of it and make sure it is working hard for them. Building a successful eBay profile is about using all the tools eBay makes available. If you’re not using your About me page, you’re missing a trick.
What IS an About me page?
It’s exactly what it says it says in the tin! A page for you to tell other eBayers about yourself, your business and the things you sell. You can make and edit your About Me page via My eBay. You don’t need any special skills but if you have some coding or design experience, so much the better.
Unusually for eBay, you can have a link on your About Me page that links to your personal website or blog but be careful. You are not allowed to link to commercial websites, promote off-eBay sales or link to items that are prohibited on eBay. You’re also not allowed to link to a search engine or site that aggregates the eBay sales of multiple sellers. eBay have a full list of what’s allowed and what’s not allowed on the About Me policy page.
About Me Page Benefits
“There are two significant benefits to building an About Me Page. The first is SEO. The second is branding.”
There are two significant benefits to building an About Me Page. The first is SEO (search engine optimization). The vast majority of your buyers will come to you via eBay’s search but some will find you via search engines such as Google. It’s well worth remembering that anything you can do to attract more buyers from search engines is good news for the bottom line. You can also link to your About Me Page from other sites as you like, to improve the ranking of your About Me page in Google.
The second benefit is with branding. Ensuring that everything you do looks good and alike and is clearly identifiable as your business is vital when it comes to attracting repeat buyers, inspiring trust and providing a first class buying experience. Don’t forget that Frooition can help you with design and implementation of your About Me page and make sure it looks great!
Five things to include in your About Me page:
The good news for sellers is an About Me page is very flexible and can easily be personalized using HTML. eBay can help you build a basic About Me page but to get the full impact, pull out all the stops and make it a fully integrated part of your eBay brand. Here is an example of a great About Me Page.
- Auto-generated components: eBay allows you to display your current sales, recent Feedback and even recent bids. So use the auto-generated elements to populate your About Me page easily.
- Pictures: You can include images and photos in your About Me page to bring it to life. You can host these images yourself, or eBay will do it for you.
- Words: To get the full SEO benefit of your About Me page make sure you have some text talking about your sales. Cram the text full of relevant keywords that will aid your findability on Google.
- Video: You can easily embed a video (hosted on Youtube, for instance) using HTML and that is certain to attract attention. It could be a showcase of your stock, a tour around your business or just you talking to camera about your business. It’s surprisingly easy to make a video, even with your digital camera.
- Your philosophy: In your item listings and also other eBay pages, you’ll talk about what you’re selling and how people pay and get a refund. An About Me Page offers the chance to be a bit less formal and more personal. Talk about why you got into eBay selling, spin a yarn about why you do it and how you like to trade.
How long will an About Me Page take?
Not long. And if you’re clever and reuse content like pictures and text that you already have elsewhere you could be up and running in a matter of minutes. If you want something more professional, it will take longer.
And the good news about your About Me page is that it’s a one-off job. There’s no need to constantly tweak and tinker: once it’s up and running you can just leave it be. Of course, if you change your brand or want to make changes, you can.



