Cheers,
RBH

Now, click on the following media file to listen to a conversation between Randy Smythe of Buy.com & John Lawson of ColderICE.com.

THE CONVERSATION

Sure, they’re are some moments in the discussion that are less than positive when referencing the eBay Marketplace. But I feel that the themes and analogies given in the discussion are vital whether you’re just getting started selling online or have been doing it for over a decade. I particularly liked the music industry analogy from Randy and the baseball analogy from John. Good, insightful stuff all round.

Looking forward to catching up with them both down in Atlanta next Friday.

The full blog post is HERE.

Cheers,
RBH

Improvements to the process when you open an unpaid item claim manually

* If a buyer doesn’t pay and you cancel the transaction, the buyer will no longer be able to pay for the item.
* If you open an unpaid item case, it will be closed automatically when the buyer pays using a safe electronic payment method such as PayPal or Moneybookers.

The new Unpaid Item Assistant is expected to be available to all sellers by the end of March.

You can read all about the Unpaid Item Assistant HERE.

You can read the full post HERE.

Cheers,
RBH

RecycleBank rewards people for positive green actions (currently the recycling of trash and electronics) and seeks to create a greener economy with key partners across the U.S. In just five years, the model has proven its success; on average, recycling volumes increase two-to-five times and members across the country earn hundreds of dollars in reward value. RecycleBank has programs in hundreds of cities around the country, reaching over one million consumers.

By teaming up with eBay, the RecycleBank program brings consumers online, offering 50 RecycleBank Points for joining eBay’s Green Team. Additionally, RecycleBank members will be able to use their RecycleBank Points for discounts on eBay purchases.

“RecycleBank has always been rewarding more responsible environmental behavior like recycling for households across America. Working with eBay on an initiative to promote reuse and reward you for that behavior becomes a natural progression of our business,” said Morley Ivers, Chief Rewards Officer, at RecycleBank. “Together, we look forward to amassing a movement of people committed to reusing and recycling.”

I asked Morley if he would take part in our series of “5 Minutes with…” features here on Ink and he obliged. Here you go…

Full Name: Morley Ivers
Nickname: RED (the term was coined by Suze Orman)
Official Title: Chief Rewards Officer (a title only a mother could love)
What You Really Do: I manage a team of very smart and passionate people who execute the strategy, operations, partnership development and account management for RecycleBank – the world’s premier green loyalty program that motivates consumers to recycle and to take environmentally preferred actions
Education/Schooling: I studied business at The Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario in Canada
Interests: Spending quality time with my wife and son; great food, travel and maximizing the utility of my loyalty points portfolio
Favorite Quote: “Good, Fast or Cheap….pick two”
Most memorable eBay experience: Snagging first row tickets to a Dave Matthews Band Concert from a seller in Boston who used his loyalty access with DMB to get seats to the concert in Toronto
Most recent eBay purchase/sale: A water filter for my fridge
Favorite Albums: Counting Crows, Dave Matthews Band, Bob Marley, Nickleback
Favorite Movies: The Bourne Series
What You Wanted to Be Growing Up: An entrepreneur that changed the world

Fill in the blanks:
I should have got more sleep yesterday
I wish that I had more hours in the day
The first thing I do when I get to work is redeem my Odwalla RecycleBank Reward for an OJ

Also, I saw that eBay commissioned proprietary research last month that measured the carbon savings of specific items available on eBay.com and got some neat little facts back:

• Choosing a new-to-you blender saves 95% of the CO2 needed to produce a new one
• Selecting a refurbished smart phone saves the energy equivalent of driving 186 miles
• Choosing a classic, previously loved watch saves the energy equivalent of 39 days of refrigerator use

“Thousands of eBay sellers have built successful businesses by recycling, reusing and re-selling products that already exists and may otherwise have ended up in landfills,” said Amy Skoczlas Cole, Director of the eBay Green Team. “Our relationship with RecycleBank offers an innovative way to encourage and reward green-conscious consumers who are looking for more sustainable ways to shop.”

Cheers,
RBH

Here, he talks about the first few hours of reaction to the eBay Seller Release of earlier today…

Cheers,
RBH

Lynda gives an overview of the eBay Buyer Protection announcement…

Lynda discusses how the program differs from PayPal Buyer Protection and how this differs from last year’s initial launch…

Lynda talks about how this will benefit both buyers & sellers on eBay…

Cheers,
RBH

Part 1: Dinesh Lathi, VP of Buyer & Seller Experience for eBay, sits down with eBay Ink blogger RBH to answer some questions. Here he explains what he believes to be the top three messages coming out of today’s Seller Release…

Part 2: Dinesh addresses smaller sellers in the eBay marketplace and the new zero Insertion Fee pricing for auctions starting under $1…

Part 3: Dinesh talks about eBay’s “level playing field” and how it still applies with the Seller Release news of January 2010…

Part 4: Here, I ask Dinesh why the focus on Auctions again (e.g. zero up-front Insertion Fees), even though we’ve been emphasizing Fixed Price in the last year and a half. Dinesh also talks about why some up-front insertion fees remain…

Part 5: Dinesh addresses the concern some smaller sellers may have with regard to their ranking in search coming out of the changes made in the Seller Release announcement…

Part 6: I ask Dinesh about Best Match…

Part 7: Dinesh talks about what this news will mean for buyers and sellers and for the eBay Marketplace as a whole…

In addition to feedback regarding the news itself, I’m interested to hear if you find this new format of interviewing helpful. I’m trying to evolve the video integration here on Ink to accompany trends and news that I cover. Let me know.

Cheers,
RBH

Here’s a look at what’s new for sellers and buyers:

New standard rates
…
For sellers who list items occasionally, new “eBay Everyday” rates are available. Auction-style listings with a start price of 99 cents or less will be free (with no insertion fees for up to 100 listings per month). When an item sells, the seller will pay a flat final value fee of 9% of the sale price — and never more than $50. If an item doesn’t sell, the seller pays nothing.

New Stores subscription packages…
For sellers who list often, new “eBay Stores” subscription rates offer insertion fees as low as 3 cents per listing for 30 days — a 90% reduction over current rates. Larger volume sellers with this “3-cent store” premium rate can move thousands of items at high velocity with full search exposure.

Subscription rates offer basic, anchor and premium store pricing options, depending on the size of a seller’s business. With the new pricing a seller with 250 listings per month would save $80 or $960 a year in insertion fees. With these changes eBay’s current store inventory format will no longer have separate search functionality from core fixed-price listings.

With the new eBay Stores rate package, all fixed priced inventory on eBay will have exposure through eBay’s core search functionality, increasing visibility for sellers and improving the search experience for buyers.

“Moving to one Fixed-Price listing format is another benefit sellers will soon experience,” said Dinesh Lathi, vice president, Seller and Buyer Experience. “Store Inventory Format listings automatically will become regular Fixed-Price listings, with the same duration. They’ll also renew at the new rates, and appear in ‘Search results’ with all other listings.”

Sellers who want to determine which pricing option will work best for their listings when the changes take place in March can use eBay’s Fee Illustrator: http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/FeeIllustrator2010.html.

Buyer Protection Program…

“We’re also making a big move to bring buyers and keep them with us through our new eBay Buyer Protection Program,” Lathi explains. “All over eBay, the message to buyers will be loud and clear: buy on eBay with the confidence, satisfaction, and quick response you expect from a trusted retailer.”

Boosting seller efficiency…

*** Sellers in eBay Motors Parts & Accessories will be able to create one listing with a complete list of compatible vehicles.

*** The ability to list multiple variations of a product in one Fixed Price listing in many more categories.

*** Return policy and handling time will be required for new listings and re-listings in eBay Motors Parts & Accessories in June — editing tools make updating listings easy.

***Category and Item Specifics changes are also coming with the rest of these updates.

Additional Resources…

*** A dedicated website regarding the Seller Release.
*** Take part in the upcoming webinar on Thursday, Jan. 28.
*** Join Dinesh and other leaders from eBay and PayPal in a Town Hall meeting on Thursday, Jan. 29. Check the Announcement Board for more details.
***Talk with eBay staff members during the next two days on a special discussion board set up for this purpose.

Twitter…

For those of you on Twitter, follow the #eBaySR (eBay Seller Release) hashtag for all discussion around today’s news.

I’ll be updating this post and providing video interviews with additional background information in the near future.

Cheers,
RBH