Advanced Notice From eBay Regarding Upcoming Changes

Finally!  It’s great to hear that eBay is going to give a little bit of heads up regarding any changes and/or anything new pertaining to eBay going forward.  They are going to begin grouping changes into two or three major releases per year, with at least 60 days advance notice.  That’s so much more organized than being blind sided one week that a major update is going to take place in less than a week.

The spring release is set up to deliver three things for our sellers:

  1. Easier, more visual shopping, plus buyer incentives to drive more sales
  2. Key information to set buyer expectations and help reduce your costs
  3. Other updates to make selling on eBay more efficient

Get more details on all these updates.

Read the full announcement here:

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200904140931252.html

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Tough Question Tuesday: Should I List On eBay For Other People?

Q:  Should I List On eBay For Other People?

I have recently been approached about doing some ebay listing for people.  I know you did this some time ago and then stopped.  Can you give me the pros and cons of this, in your opinion, and what someone would charge for something like this.
 
Also, with the economy the way it is, I’m even wondering if it would be a great idea to promote this as a possible increase of making some income.  I mean people these days are always looking for extra money and nothing better then cleaning out the closets, cellar and having someone sell it on EBAY for you.
 
Your thoughts of this and thoughts on prices?

Awesome question, Debbie!

A:  I would definitely consider it.  You have to take into consideration fee’s and your time.  Back when I used to consign for people, I would charge 20% – but that’s about 5 years ago now so the percentage you will charge, may be higher considering the changes in eBay since then. 

Another thing to consider is to just buy the inventory outright for a set price.  That was much, much easier and not as much pressure to sell everything.
 
When setting your pricing, take a look at what surrounding consignment shops are getting.  Search Craigslist for clothing.  Just recently, I met up with another eBay selling mom who has a maternity store on eBay.  I kept her contact information, and will be in touch with her everytime I come across some maternity inventory to sell.  She pays $2 a piece for used maternity and up to $6 a piece for new (depending on the brand).

Most of the time people are just so happy to get rid of things & they don’t mind what you give them for it.

I hope that helps a little!

 Little Baby Of Mine eBay Store 

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Beta launch of eBay Bucks rewards program!

How Sweet is this?  Not only can you shop eBay through BigCrumbs.com for some extra cash back - now eBay is adding a new reason to check eBay first. eBay launched a beta version of eBay Bucks, a new program that rewards buyers for their eBay purchases.

Check out the full announcement here:

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200903301003412.html

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Tough Question Tuesday: How Many Auctions Should I Run Each Week?

Q:  How many auctions should I run?

A:  Well, this could vary for everyone. Run as many as you can keep up with. If you know that you can handle 30 a week – go for it! You will get a feel for what you can do and also how you can control your income. I knew that when I was soley doing auctions, I NEEDED to run 100 a month. Everyone has their goals. Start out small to get a feel for it.  If you primarily want to sell from your store, then that’s fine as well. 

eBay is forever changing, and adapting to what works at that time is key.

 

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Removal of the maximum of 10 listings per page per seller

Did you see the latest about Best Match?

eBay will be displaying all listings in search according to their Best Match sort order, even when they’re from the same seller. Since July of last year, we’ve been showing a maximum of 10 listings per page, whether Fixed Price or Auction-style, from any one seller. Now that a track record of recent sales is a key factor in the sort order for Fixed Price, most sellers are consolidating their listings into fewer low-cost multi-quantity listings. This has proven to be the right strategy for sellers and a great shopping experience for buyers.

You can check out the full announcement here:

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200903171113332.html

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