eBay Tips Newsletter August 2009
In this issue, we'll take a close look at some of the HUGE changes eBay recently announced as part of its recent Seller Update.
Finally! Some changes that are going to make it a lot easier for small home-based businesses to compete against the "big boys" and earn great money on eBay!
Keep reading to discover what these changes mean for you...
1. Our new 5-step "point-and-win" eBay success system is now available!
We're excited to announce that our online eBay training system, Insider Secrets to Selling on eBay 2009, is now available!
This new system teaches you everything you need to know to set up a lasting eBay business that will take you beyond "hobby seller" sales and into monthly profits you can depend on -- from a couple of thousand in extra income to $10,000 or more!
And right now we are offering our loyal Auction Tips subscribers the chance to test-drive our brand-new online eBay profits system for just $2.95!
For just a handful of coins you will get your hands on the eBay success system that many of our clients are using to generate profits of $10,000 a month and more!
To discover how you can use this easy 5-step system to start making money on eBay this week, click here now.
2. eBay's new DSR system favors the "little guy"
eBay is making big changes to the Detailed Seller Rating (DSR) system -- and these changes are going to level the playing field for mom-and-pop eBay businesses!
Instead looking at a seller's overall average DSR as they have on the past, eBay is now focusing on the number of 1- and 2-star ratings a seller gets.
According to eBay, low DSRs provide a more accurate measure of the quality of a seller's service. That's because buyers might have different ideas of what constitutes a "good" rating. Some buyers might think a 4 out of 5 is a good rating, but for eBay anything lower than a 4.3 average doesn't make the cut.
However, everyone can agree that a 1- or a 2-star rating means the buyer wasn't happy with his shopping experience.
So from now on, sellers will be encouraged to focus on avoiding 1- and 2-star ratings than on getting more 5s to increase their overall average. Starting in October, eBay will penalize sellers who have 1- or 2-star ratings for more than 3% of their transactions. The standards will become even more stringent in April 2010, when no more than 1% of 1- or 2-star ratings will be allowed.
What it means: It's going to be easier for small home-based eBay businesses that take the time to communicate with their customers and provide stellar service to compete against the corporate giants that sell a high volume of goods without paying much attention to their customer service.
And that is awesome news.
One other change to the DSR you should know about: from now on, only domestic DSRs will count toward a seller's ratings. Too many sellers have complained about getting low ratings on shipping and delivery due to circumstances beyond their control (e.g., customs duties and packages being held up at the border). By looking only at domestic DSRs, eBay hopes to eliminate this problem.
Your Seller Dashboard now has a tool that lets you see a monthly snapshot of how you measure up to the new "low DSR" requirement. In October, your standing will be updated daily -- so make sure you check it regularly to see how you're doing.
To see some examples that show exactly how eBay calculates low DSRs, click here now .
3. "Top-Rated Seller" status: A shortcut to success for top-notch customer service providers
When it comes to good service, it's not quantity that matters -- it's quality. eBay is finally recognizing this by adding a new tier to its PowerSeller system that rewards top sellers who offer stellar service to their customers. Starting in October, eBay's best customer service providers will be granted "eBay Top-Rated Seller" status and be rewarded with some seriously juicy perks.
And the great news is, it's easier to attain Top-Rated Seller status than you might think!
We'll tell you more about the Top-Rated Seller in a moment... But first, let's take a look at the changes that have been made to the PowerSeller program as a whole.
The PowerSeller System -- What's Changed?
In the past, the PowerSeller designation was all about quantity. You had to sell a minimum of 100 items per month or generate $1000 in sales for three consecutive months. To maintain your PowerSeller status, you had to meet the annual requirement of $12,000 in sales or 1,200 items sold for the prior twelve months. Finally, you had to have a Feedback rating of 100, with 98% of your feedback being positive.
All that's about to change in October. When the new program kicks in, PowerSellers will only need a minimum of 100 transactions in the past 12 months, and the dollar requirement will be only $3000 -- those are huge reductions!
And as you saw in the previous article, instead of looking at the overall average DSR, focus will shift to the number of 1- and 2-star ratings a seller gets. PowerSellers will lose their status if they have 1- and 2-star ratings on no more than 1% of all transactions with local buyers, and on no more than 2% for communication, shipping time, and shipping and handling charges.
For more info on the changes to the PowerSeller program, click here.
Now let's look at what you need to do to get that sweet discounts available only to Top-Rated Sellers...
Why You Need to Get Top-Rated Seller Status, STAT
Three words: 20% FVF Discount.
That's right... the huge Final Value Fees discount that previously was available only to PowerSellers who maintained a 4.9 DSR average will now be available to anyone who achieves Top-Rated Seller Status.
Not only that -- Top-Rated Sellers will be eligible for eBay's "Featured First" preferred listing option, the replacement for eBay's "Feature Plus," which will be phased out at the end of September. Only Top-Rated Sellers will be able to use Featured First, which means they will get increased exposure in the search listings.
(We'll talk more about "Featured First" listings next month -- so make sure you watch out for it!)
So how do you get these perks? Simple: provide truly excellent customer service.
In order to qualify as a Top-Rated Seller, you will need an average DSR of 4.5. That number will go up to 4.6 when the program ramps up to full gear in April 2010.
Plus, you'll also have to maintain a 0.5% percentage of 1- and 2-star ratings.
In other words, for every 200 transactions you can only have one 1- or 2-star rating -- otherwise you won't qualify.
That means you have to do everything in your power to make sure your customers all have a positive buying experience... which is something you should be working hard to ensure, anyway!
Beyond that, the Top-Rated Seller requirements are the same as those for PowerSeller status. Top-Rated Seller will have to have at least 100 transactions and $3,000 in sales in the past twelve months.
... and that's it!
Our in-house eBay specialists are really excited about this new program because they know their mentoring clients will easily be able to achieve Top-Rated Seller status right away. As our eBay specialist Carson Clark said, "Almost one hundred percent of my clients will qualify for this reward... the requirements are realistic and very easy to obtain from a full-time seller's perspective."
All you have to do is follow the best practices outlined in our Insider Secrets to eBay -- and you will get huge discounts and greater exposure in the search results as well.
To learn more about eBay's TRS status, click here.
4. eBay's new search formula focuses on quality
Even more great news for the "little guy": eBay's search results now give higher priority to listings that actually work. Best Match, eBay's default search algorithm now looks at Fixed Price listings in terms of the sales they make in relation to the number of impressions they get.
Listings that get more sales in relation to the number of times they are viewed will be placed higher in the listings.
... That means that if you know how to write a listing that does a great job of converting visitors into sales, then your listings will get ranked better in the search results.
Again, this is awesome news because it means that high-volume sellers won't be able to "fix" the results to favor their generic and often poorly performing listings over high-quality listings put out by smaller home-based businesses.
On top of that, single quantity and new Fixed Price listings are now being given a better chance to compete in the search results. Despite their lack of sales history, they will be appear in Best Match and be ranked according to the performance of similar listings. If they underperform then they will drop in the listings -- but at least they will have a chance to compete instead of getting buried right away.
And as always, auction-style listings will appear at the top of the Best Match results as they near their end time.
We'll have to wait to see what sellers think of these changes once they've been around for a while, but for now it seems like eBay's new search practices are giving a serious edge to small businesses -- and that should help bring eBay back to its roots as an online marketplace for "regular" people -- not just mega-companies.
For more information on eBay's new search policies, click here.
5. More great eBay search news: eBay introduces new Search Visibility tool
Here's yet another huge potential plus for sellers: eBay recently announced a new "Search Visibility" tool that will help you evaluate how your Fixed Price and auction-style listings are performing in search results. The tool will allow you to see how many listings there are for a particular item and will show your own listing's performance score. You'll be able to see exactly where your listing stands and compare the top listings with your own, so you can figure out how to replicate their success with your own listings.
We'll hold off judgment until we actually use the tool, but in theory it is an excellent idea. Sellers will be encouraged to provide better listings... buyers will be happier with their shopping experience and come back more often... and eBay will make more money!
6. Attention: UK eBayers -- Free Listing Promo
for VSLs!
If you sell clothing or home and garden products in the UK, then this one's for you -- eBay UK is offering free Variation-Style Listings for all of August and September. Two full months of free listings -- this could work out to a hefty saving for you!To learn more about Variation-Style Listings and how they can help lower costs and streamline your eBay business, click here.
Phew! We haven't written such a rousing "Yay eBay!" newsletter in a long time. But the changes eBay announced for the fall have the potential to be HUGE wins for home-based business owners. We're excited to see how these changes play out!
... What do YOU think about eBay's recent changes? Drop us a line at ebaynewsletter@marketingtips.com and let us know!
As always, thank you for reading this month's issue of Bidding Frenzy -- we hope you enjoyed it!
Until next month, happy eBaying...
| The team at IMC want to connect with you all OVER the Web! Here's where to
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