August 2008 Archives

This week eBay UK announced that it would no longer be possible to list BINs (Buy it Now) at £1 or less. For many sellers, especially those who list a huge amount of inventory using SIF for less than 99p, this will mean a change to how they list their items. Sellers who list a lot of low value items will be impacted. Categories likely to be hit include Crafts, Book, Stamps and Collectables.

For instance, it has been a long advised practice for sellers to list the bulk of their lines at 99p and less in their eBay Shops and direct buyers to their full selection using Auctions and BINs. These listings on the core site would effectively act as signposts.

From 24th September, as a result of these changes, listing items at less than 99p won’t be permissible. But all is not lost. Here are some ideas from vzaar:

- If you sell fixed price items under 99p a pop, consider batching them up so that the purchase price (taking into account margins) exceeds a quid.

- Bundle in postage costs. Buyers love Free P&P. So include the postage costs with your sales to ensure that the BIN price exceeds 99p.

Maybe you have other bright ideas? Let me know.

There's something for everyone on vzaar this week.

This great video shows off this macho pressure washer brilliantly.

This video, just a few secons long, shows off this exquisite ring better than a hundred pictures.

It's impossible not to love Tickle Me Elmo.

At last week’s Channel Advisor Insight event I attended, it became clear to me that video used in eBay listings to communicate to buyers can boost eBay sellers Detailed Seller Ratings.

How so you might ask?

Video I think we can all agree is a good way to communicate and we know that eBay rewards sellers with high DSRs. It really governs your search rating and other criteria to give your listings exposure. So here's where video comes in. If you have information which buyers need to know, so that their expectation of the transaction is inline with what actually happens, then use video to communicate.

Buyers are more likely to give you top marks if the buying experience is in keeping with their expectations. You can also use video to let buyers know how important this grade is to you. Channel Advisor, in one of their presentations highlighting the benefits of a high DSR and how to achieve this, had at least 12 points but the single most important point highlighted was communicate, communicate, communicate!.

So I have set out to prove this claim with the help of Al from Cablestar* an eBay PowerSeller with 1000’s of listings. vzaar helped Al produce a video in which the presenter in the video highlights key messages about the transaction from payment methods and discounts to shipping information.

This video has been embedded into his Frooition template which means it will automatically appear in every one of his eBay listings. We are going to see if this has any effect on his DSRs using www.dsrwatch.com. I'll be sure to post the results here in the next 2 to 3 months.

Here is **Cablestar’s** current DSR. It will be interesting to see if we can get the shipping time and handling charges category up.

and here is the video Cablestar* are running on all of their eBay listings....

When it comes to eBay, change is the only constant. This year, so far,we've seen changes to fees, feedback, listing policies and now Shops,selling formats and fees (again) in what represents a huge shift in how the marketplace works. Of course, there's been plenty of good news, but from the conversations we've been having at vzaar HQ with sellers big and small. We know a lot of eBay sellers have struggled to keep up with the avalanche of announcements. eBay sellers are busy people.

So whether you're taking a well-earned break or already neck deep preparing for Christmas, here's the vzaar 5 minute guide to yesterday's announcements.

- From 24th September, Gallery is free. It's been a penny for most of the summer but before that it was 15p. Make sure you're getting your freebie.

- SIF is dead. If your listing strategy depends on driving traffic to your cheaper Shop (SIF) listings using auctions and Buy it Nows as signposts, then you'll need to rethink. BINs, regardless of value and multiples, will cost a flat 40p. What do you need to do to take advantage of this?

- Monthly Shops subscriptions are going up: basic Shop £6 to £14.95, featured Shop from £30 to £49.95 and anchor Shop from £300 to £349.95. But a new Shop perk will be reductions to the flat 40p: 20p for a basic Shop, 5p for a featured shop and 1p for an anchor Shop.

- BINs will not be visible internationally from 24th September. Do you depend on BIN buyers from abroad for some of your sales? Consider switching to internationally visible auctions as a way of attracting foreign buyers.

For a full digest of the changes, check out Tamebay.

This aeroplane made from fizzy drinks cans shows that recycling is really taking off.

I'm not sure why a car might need a siren that makes a horse noise. But just in case, we've got one.

Following on from our positive reception at eBay Live we were invited to join Dan Trunk of Auction-Tutor on his weekly podcast. Never one to turn down a chance to address the eBay masses, our man Dan Wilson put his hand up the highest and got the plumb role of joining the transatlantic interview at 11pm UK time! The topic of discussion for the Two Dannies was eBay and Video in your Listings which you can listen to by clicking on the button below.

For a small start-up opportunities to market your service are always gratefully received so a big thank you to Dan. We're really pleased that we got the chance to share the vzaar story with a host of eBay listeners and to make new friends in the eBay-sphere but sometimes, just sometimes, someone can say it better than you ever could so we leave it to Dan Trunk to summarise us...

On Thursday 7th August 2008, all eBay.co.uk Insertion Fees are half price for any listing using the Auction-style, Auction-with-Buy It Now or Buy It Now Only (Fixed Price) formats in eligible categories. As always, there are a whole host of Ts & Cs which you can check out here.

Lots of sellers worry that their items get lost in the cheap listings maelstrom. More sellers list more items. Conversion rates suffer and for some it can be a bane rather than a boon. Here are some tips for getting the most out of this Thursday's CLD:

- Try using 5, 3, and 1 day listings. Most people want to make the most out of the promotion and put their items up for 10 days, or 7. Items get the most visibility in their closing hours, so shorter durations can mean you have less competition.

- Have a clear out. Have you got stock that isn't moving? Put it on eBay at rock bottom prices using the lower fees and try and shift it. Storing and maintaining stock costs money and some times it can make real sense to just get rid. You'll need all that valuable space in anticipation of the christmas rush.

- Experiment. The insertion fee reduction is a good chance to experiement with less risk. Have you considered testing out some sales with Free P&P?

- Pray for rain. August is a quiet month on eBay for many sellers and if the sun's out, it can be even quieter. So when it comes to eBay sales, the rain is a good thing.