Update to the Feedback Removal Policy, New Payment Methods and Other Important News – On January 08, 2009, Dinesh Lahti announced several key changes including an update to the Feedback Removal Policy to cover negative feedback received on cross border transactions, the announcement of 2 new payment methods, Moneybookers and Paymate, better Merchant Account integration and a Seller Checklist for complying with upcoming changes. Read the full announcement. The January Town Hall covered these announcements in more detail. Listen to the January eBay Town Hall replay.

New eBay Stores Experience – On January 13, 2009, Nick Donelson from the Seller Experience Team announced changes to eBay stores which include new storefront templates and enhancements to Stores search results. Read the full announcement.
Store owners should preview their store to see how they will be affected. Some custome store templates will need tweaking for the new format.

FAQ and User Guide Available for My eBay – On January 20th, 2009, eBay retired the old My eBay format. On January 21st, Renée from the My eBay team announced the FAQ and User Guide for the New My eBay. Read the Full Announcement.

Classical Music Catalogs on eBay and Half.com – On January 30th, 2009, Ram Rampalli from the catalog team announced the availability of the Classical Music Catalog which contains over 140,000 songs. Read the Full Announcement.

Thank you to all our customers, past present and future!

PartyVegetable Feedback 1000

Have Fun!
Mike

announcement

Feedback Forum

To help sellers protect their reputation, new measures have been put in place for Buyer accountability including;

• New Buyer Requirements
• New Seller Reporting Hub
• Enhanced Protection for Unpaid Item
• Proactively looking for abuse and taking action against it
• Communication reminder
• Removal of negative and neutral Feedback from suspended buyers

To get all the details, just follow the links above.

I will go into more detail on the Seller Reporting Hub in another post.

Have fun!
Mike

Next up is a webinar with Forrester research, something you definately do not want to miss, so go now to Worldwide Brands before its too late. They won’t be available forever.

Have Fun!
Mike

Have Fun!
Mike

If you are a regular listener to eBay Radio you probably have heard these but WS Radio has put together 50 eBay Selling Tips from 10 leading eBay experts all on one page.

You get 5 tips each from:

• Marsha Collier -Author of four “Dummies” series of books about eBay.
• Lynn Dralle – “The Queen of Auctions”
• Janelle Elms – “Visionaire” of the Online Success Institute and OSI Rock Stars“
• Mike Enos – Founder and creator of PlatinumPowerSeller.com and AuctionTNT.com
• Scott Greenwald – Co-President of Just Collect, Inc. (eBay ID: just_collect), the largest sports card and memorabilia consignment firm on eBay
• Adam Hersh – (Well, he’s no longer selling on eBay but his tips are still valid.)
• Debbie Levitt – President of AsWas, a full service consulting firm specializing in eBay and online sales
• Skip McGrath – Publisher of the Auction Seller’s Resource.
• Christopher Spencer – Executive Vice-President of the Chase Group and author of “The eBay Entrepreneur“
• Lisa Suttora – Founder & CEO of WhatDoISell.com & co-author of What to Sell on eBay and Where to Get It

When Andy spoke to the Education Specialists the day before eBay Live last year in Boston. The one thing I took and implemented right away was giving the customer something extra and unexpected. I began adding a little treat to each package I sent out.
Usually either a Tootsie Pop or 2 pieces of Bazooka Joe bubble gum. I get them at the dollar store and they cost less than 10 cents each. I started getting comments about them in my Feedback, so I kept it up. Until I ran out and kept forgetting to go back to the dollar store.

When eBay made the changes recently and tied PowerSeller Rewards to DSR ratings, I knew I needed to raise my Shipping and Handling score from 4.7 to 4.8 or above to get the 15% discount on fees. I went back to the dollar store and bought more Tootsie Pops. I also made a Thank You card template that I could attach to the Tootsie Pop and write a little note to the buyer. I have started getting comments again about the treat and the notes, so I can’t wait for the PowerSeller Dashboard to get here so I can see if my ratings have gone up enough for my 30 day score to be over 4.8.

What little things do you do for your customer? If you don’t do anything now, what can you think of to start doing to make yourself “Remarkable”.

Have Fun!
Mike

“Top 5 New Year’s Resolutions for Product Sourcing”

Now, the main problem with most resolutions is they are quickly forgotten. Whether it’s losing weight, quitting smoking, or starting a new business, most people do not follow through with their resolutions.
What’s the big difference between those who accomplish their resolutions and reach their goals and those who don’t?

ACTION.

You must take immediate and swift action as soon as you make a resolution.
So what about you? Will you take action? Will 2008 be your big breakthrough year? I hope so. And I want to do something ‘BIG’ to help you reach all of your business goals this year. If you take action today by listening to the audio and getting your lifetime membership to OneSource, you’ll get a special bonus video called…

“Importing From China”

Importing is a huge multi-billion dollar market and if you know how to take advantage of it, your profit margins could soar. Plus, you’ll be able to market unique products from different countries that aren’t readily available to your competitors. It gives you a huge unfair advantage.
Recently, Worldwide Brands spent thousands of dollars to fly to China and get an ‘insider’s viewpoint’ of the import/export business. It was eye-opening.
This on-location video will be available to OneSource members just for the month of January. They’re going to expand on the video and turn it into a full-blown course in the future, but right now, it’ll be available for you to see in the member’s area until January 31st.

So, if you’re already a member of OneSource, log-in and check it out. And if you’re not a member, take action right now and join OneSource today.

Start the new year off right. Get your wholesale product suppliers lined up. 2008 is going to be a great year for eCommerce business. Forrester Research states that online sales will reach an estimated $229.9 Billion dollars in 2008. It’s time to get your share. Make sure you take advantage of this opportunity.

Best Wishes for 2008!
Have Fun!
Mike

P.S. – Please keep in mind that the import/export suppliers you can use to get going immediately are right inside of OneSource. Log-in today and check them out.

“What?”, you say. “An online gift certificate? What is so unique about that? Millions of those were probably given this year.”

Well, it is not what it is that makes it unique but where it is from and how it is to be used.

The gift certificate is from Kiva.org and is used to make a $25 loan to an entrepreneur in an impoverished area of the world.
If you are not familiar with Kiva, they facilitate loans between individuals and small businesses in the developing world. By sponsoring a business, you can help the working poor on their way toward economic independence. During the term of the loan you can receive email updates from the business you sponsored and as the loan is repaid, you get your money back. By partnering with microfinance institutions around the world, Kiva has gained access to entrepreneurs in impoverished communities worldwide. Those partners choose qualified borrowers and upload the profiles to Kiva.org so you can lend to them.

I chose Joan Batuwadde’s group. Joan is a tailor in Kasubi, Uganda. She has requested the loan to buy more stock including thread and hopes to buy a new sewing machine. the other members of her group are; Sarah Nansamba, Sarah Nakazibwe, Farida Akello, Viola Kabajwisa, Esther Namubiru, Merab Namugga and Beatrice Nesigamye. The total loan for the group is $3050.00 and was funded in less than 8 hours. The group will make monthly payments over 1 year to repay the loan.

Unlike other lending sites, you do not earn interest on your loans through Kiva.
In this case it is not about making a profit, it is about making a difference.

If you would like to make a loan, or give a gift certifiate to someone and allow them to make the loan, visit www.kiva.org.