Changes coming soon to eBay.com.au (14/08/2012)

[CmtyGuide@ebay.com]

This thread is to discuss the Changes coming soon to eBay.com.au

These changes include:

Enhanced functionality for multi-variation listings

Show your item location to increase buyer confidence

Greater 'Item Condition' clarity for buyers

Share your listings through your social network

Changes to Basic and Featured Store subscriptions

Please be advised, off-topic and/or disruptive posts may be deleted.

[digital*ghost]

You'd really be surprised.

A number of my listings have Express post as an optiopn and buyers regulary take advantage of it.

The other day one of my buyers paid the extra $8.50 for express posting a $4.95 free post item.

If buyers need an item urgently for a special occasion they are prepared to pay whatever it costs to receive it before the weekend.

True, I guess I didn't think it likely as I've had a few enquiries but when I quote the price no one has taken it up; they either don't purchase or do and just go for standard. (That's for $2 post items, for clothing where the difference in cost is only about $4, they often go ahead with Express - about 1 in 100 purchases, but it's entirely possible more would select it if they didn't have to message me and ask if it's possible).

Maybe I'll add it as an option to some listings in the lead-up to Christmas and see what happens.

[extra-keen]

Hi,

My questions are all to do the the "top rated seller" system to be brought in and photographs:

1. Do all listings in a store have to offer free post to keep "top rated seller" status?

2. If so, how are sellers of very low value items which are often purchased in multiples to adjust that part of the postage which has to be added into the cost of the item? As it stands, "free post" does not work for low value items that are purchased in multiples, because all buyers know that "free post" really means the cost of postage & packaging & handling has been included in the cost of the item. Whch means that Australian sellers in this position are at a distinct disadvantage to their overseas counterparts.

I personally don't mind "free post", however it doesn't work for all items, and it certainly only works for about 20% of the items I sell in my ebay store.

2. Will the postage time star be revamped so that buyers know beyond doubt that the meaning of postage time - is time for seller to get item to post (not how long Australia Post took to deliver)?

3. Pictures: Will we have to completely replace all our existing photographs that don't comply with the new rules coming soon?

4. Will new listings only be required to comply with the new photo rules? Thus allowing listings with current photos to do there time without all the work involved with producing new photographs.

I'm sure I'll think of more later!

[b3llag1na]

I also need clarification on the photo size issue - will our GTC listing be cancelled after this is brought in if our photos don't fit the sizings?

.

Currently I use a hosting website to edit and store all my photos - simple and easy to use, I can crop and edit quickly and easily and uploading is very simple. Do ebay now want to store my photos on their site???

I'm really confised on this one.

[gemsweddingsupplies-online]

Can I please ask about the express post option for TRS.

I offer express post on all items except the lights with lithium batteries, as they must go by road transport. What happens with items like that which cannot be sent express?

[surfpopper]

Can anyone tell me , is ebay au eventually going to charge the same fees as the US? this is 13% for the 1st $50 CAN YOU IMAGINE PAYING 13% PLUS 2.9% PAYPAL!!! Plus of course your store fees and listing fees don't forget to take into acount the cost of unsold items every month.

[st.ashg88]

Your Absolutely Right, And I Find It Pethetic How These Changes Will Make Or "Force" Some People To Close Their Stores, My Fellings Go Out To The Little Man......X-(

[dickos-extreme]

Can anyone tell me , is ebay au eventually going to charge the same fees as the US? this is 13% for the 1st $50 CAN YOU IMAGINE PAYING 13% PLUS 2.9% PAYPAL!!! Plus of course your store fees and listing fees don't forget to take into acount the cost of unsold items every month.

I would be out of here. Sooooo fast.:O

It's hard enough here to make enough, especially with OS sellers getting such cheap postage to send to Australia.

I would not put it past eBay puting up FVF's then offering a discount if you maintain your TRS.

Perhaps this is why they are doing there best to make it almost impossable to retain our TRS.

So there will be no one with TRS to get the discount.

Just being cynical again, naughty me.

[magicmomentz]

Free Postage on any listing means ebay gets more in final value fees.

This is the whole point why ebay is encouraging free postage.

Just wait for the next announcement where all postage offered by any Australian seller, be it regular, express, registered or click and send will be incorporated into the Final Value Fee on the item to bring us in line with USA. 

In case anyone is not aware of this, USA members pay fees on item and postage to ebay as well as fees on item and postage to paypal.

September 2012 Category Changes

These improvements will help eBay.com.au better align with other international eBay sites, thus making it easier for buyers and sellers to trade on eBay regardless of where they are located. 

Really ebay, will they really?

I don't forget the June 2010 category changes that said the same thing.  Which was a total farce....

Toys and Hobbies - Character Toys in particular (which was my selling category).

You said the changes occurred then to align us with Overseas Sites.  You failed to mention that we were aligned originally, but you unaligned us with these changes. 

To this day we are still UNALIGNED.  Meaning we list on ebay Australia in a "Brand" sub-category you lumped us with and we ended up with NO VISIBILITY anywhere in the world.

I used to be a Power Seller (TRS these days) until you took away our sub-categories and I sold locally and internationally.  You killed me off as a Seller thanks to this unalignment of our categories, so much so that now I rarely list any item at all to sell as no buyer even knows where to find listings in Australia and they get taken to the sites internationally that DO HAVE THESE SUB-CATEGORIES.

I can sell on any other site anywhere in the world or here in Australia and I get the correct category, but not on ebay Australia.

So I wonder, and this is a specific question for a Pink to answer, Will you be reinstating our character toy sub-categories to align us with every other Overseas Ebay site or not?

Or are you going to continue to kill off Australian Character Toy Sellers with the current BRAND categories and do nothing to align us again?

Any of other changes ebay has announced do not affect me, as I am already gone as a Seller until ebay gives us back visibility in our respective categories.

Or here's a thought ebay, why don't you just copy every ebay category and sub-category for Sellers and Buyers alike from the USA onto ebay Australia and then, and only then, will we be lined up with international ebay Sites.

[barmeel]

Ebay  .. your corporate greed has NO bounds.  And the way you announced your plans to become even richer at the expense of the little guys was very deceptive.     I have already closed a store and my second one will follow soon !!   This could be the beginning of the end Ebay !!

[cheekiekids]

Wow i just finished reading everybodies posts and obviously im not the only one whos very upset about this. The second i read the changes I have advertised my store will be closing down, I also thought the same thing alot of people have been saying here about ebay getting rid of us little sellers and making it into something us little people cannot compete with.

Theyve used us for what they wanted us for in the beginning now we are getting kicked out.

I wont lie it hurts but I just cant afford the extra fees per month.

Its not fair

Its very upsetting

Goodbye and Good Luck

Greed is the inordinate desire to possess wealth, goods, or objects of abstract value with the intention to keep it for one's self, far beyond the dictates of basic survival and comfort. It is applied to a markedly high desire for and pursuit of wealth, status, and power.