Yes fall is
here and with it eBay’s fall seller update. It’s a laundry list of tweaks,
additions and a few features are getting the boot like Turbo Lister: we are
here to give you just the pertinent need to know facts about the changes.
Product identifiers- eBay is pushing hard on adding
product identifiers. Does not apply or NA will no longer be available in most
categories by late winter 2017. On the plus side here the range of acceptable
product identifiers will be expanding to include Amazon standard identification
numbers, google product identifiers and seller generated product identifiers.
Some of the reasoning behind this is to standardize listings and eliminate some
of the massive confusion created by lack of product identifiers. Have you ever
tried to do a price comparison with an eBay listing and another retail site? It
can be very frustrating even knowing if you are comparing the same item without
these identifiers.
Replacements and exchanges– item damaged or lost in transit and
don’t want to lose a sale for an item you have multiples of? Now not an issue
starting in October you will be able to offer under your return options money
back or replace and or money back and exchange hopefully reducing some of those
lost sales.
Active content is getting the axe!- What is active content and why are
they getting rid of it? Have you ever embedded a video in your listing to
demonstrate your item? Are your listings loaded with flash features? By June of
2017 these features will all be prohibited. The main reason behind this is the
explosion of mobile device usage many of these features are not compatible with
mobile devices sometimes slowing or preventing a detail page from loading hurting
your sales.
Turbo lister is out seller hub is in– Bad news for turbo lister users eBay
will be phasing out this feature by June of next year and in its place comes
the seller hub. This is the shiny new interface launched back in the summer
that takes the place of other site features like selling manager and adds some
new bells and whistles like business performance analytics.
Seller performance standards– eBay will extend a grace period of
three months to sellers who fall below standard in seller performance. Buyers
will be given detailed specifics on corrective measures that need to be taken
and selling limits will not be impacted during the grace period as long as your
performance shows improvement. This grace period will be extended on a month to
month basis as long as performance levels improve.
Category changes– although not earthshattering several
changes will be made to multiple categories of particular note is clothing, shoes & accessories
several new category additions such as swimwear, vests, bibs and slips and
petticoats.
Fee changes– Don’t panic! Unless you use the
reserve option on your auction listings this is going up to the greater of $3
or 4%. eBay Is not a fan of this feature because they claim it discourages
bidding so rather than discontinue they are raising the price to discourage its
use.
Keep your eye
on these changes and see how they will impact your business. It always pays off to get ready ahead of
time! Don’t procrastinate, start
getting ready now!