Big Changes to eBay That Will Make You Really Happy
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cytech The world's biggest auction site is making some major changes, and you're gonna LOVE them. Whether you buy or sell on eBay, these are changes that will save you money and time. This is a prime example of what can happen with a company listens to its customers. The updates are scheduled to launch on April 19th. (See also: Secrets of Top eBay Sellers)
Free Listings Are Back, and They're Here to Stay
This is the biggest news for me, and it's better for everyone. Casual eBayers and sellers with eBay stores all benefit. As a casual eBayer, your listing is free, and you will only pay a tiny percentage of the final value fee. As a seller with a store, rates are reduced. Either way, when sellers pay less, buyers also pay less. Here's how it breaks down:
Free Auction-Style Listings and a Free Buy It Now Option
For casual sellers, this is a huge change. From April 19th (until further notice, it seems) you can list your auction-style items for free. You get up to 50 items per month, and you can add a free Buy It Now option to any or all of them. How does eBay make money? If the item sells, you pay a small percentage of the final value. And, starting July 6th, the fixed-price final value fees will be reduced and applied to the total amount of the sale. This includes shipping. Quite simply, from April 19th on, it's going to be a lot cheaper to sell anything on eBay!
Good News for eBay Store Owners
Although you don't get free insertions, the final value fee rates for both auction-style listings and fixed-price listings will be reduced and applied to the total amount of the sale. This starts July 6th, so you have a little longer to wait before the savings kick in.
20% Discounts for Top eBay Sellers Remain
The new rate structure will not affect your 20% incentive, and top-rated eBay sellers will continue to earn this killer discount on final-value fees. However, the 5% discount for PowerSellers who are not top-rated will end on June 1st.
Finally, the eBay Shopping Cart is Coming!
We all love getting deals on eBay. But how annoying is it to have to do separate transactions with every single vendor? Well, that's about to change. The eBay shopping cart will allow buyers to pay for items from multiple sellers, both auction and fixed price, in one easy checkout. Nice!
Plus, Even More eBay Upgrades
Improvements have been made to the whole shopping experience on eBay. There will be new ways to search for products, with even more options available to help you narrow your search or list your item. This is a much-needed improvement for clothing, shoes, and accessories, which now require mandatory item specifics. And if you buy or sell motor parts and accessories, new rules have been put in place to reduce buyer questions and build confidence.
The eBay site as a whole will be undergoing improvements to increase the confidence and trust of buyers everywhere, with particular attention on international eBay transactions. More information is available in eBay's Spring Seller Update, and you can keep on top of the many improvements coming to eBay on the blog eBay Ink.
Or, if you want a quick five-minute update, check this video out from Todd Lutwak, VP of Selling Experience for eBay.
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Why are eBay store owners (who pay to own that store) penalized by not getting free insertion fees for their first 50 listings??
Has any seller ever won a credit card charge back disagreement that involved PayPal? Please4 don't respond with chargebacks where the buyer admits they made a mistake - though I bet there are plenty of folks who had sellers admit it but they still lost.
Ebay needs to make changes in this economy. Since paypal is owned by them and sellers are required to have it (no more accepting of checks and money orders), I calculated the fees to the seller to be 20%. That's insane. I don't sell there much anymore. It's not worth it.
This should be a huge improvement. I personally prefer Amazon, and have used them for selling items the past 5 years. I dont want to pay listing fees on items that may never sell, or will sell for only a few bucks.
www.moneyistheroot.com
Bidfunshop.com has had free auction listings (even on autos & homes) but at a much lower final fee percentage and they also have no final fees on anything under $8.00 so why is it when a larger corporation runs a [temporary] special, everyone gets excited? How long will this special last? Just like the other blogger pointed out, why are the store owners excluded?
Finally! Free listing fees. April 19th can't come sooner.
Whoever publish that article must be a hired actor by ebay. Ebay is a lousy company when it comes to customer service and they discriminate against handicap and violate every laws of the anti-trust act. the only reason they are not shut down is because they buy their way in congress, which makes the US government no less corrupt than any other corrupt government in the world. I can guarantee you that if an honest anonymous survey is conducted among sellers on ebay, likely 95 percent or more will tell you how much they hate the system. It gets more and more paranoid every six months.
Quote "The eBay shopping cart will allow buyers to pay for items from multiple sellers, both auction and fixed price, in one easy checkout."
Who in the @#$% wants that? Lazy people? I've been using ebay for 11+ years and I'm tired of the "relearning" every 14 months. Love it or hate it, WHERE is the CHOICE to NOT do this. WHERE is the value of familiarity, keep it the way it was (it was fine the way it was). What is with the FORCING of "change" by these major software and web-based monopolies. It's asinine. STOP CHANGING THINGS!
When eBay began I was a huge user. They lost me when they began butting in to my transactions with the sellers -- which were 100% problem free. And when they cut off all payment options save the one they own, that was it. I would agree that most of these changes are positive, but they needed to make them since eBay sellers are abandoning the site in droves. But as a buyer, I'm not going back until they change the demand that I use PayPal.