Also, be sure to check out our exclusive video interviews regarding the changes:
** eBay Seller video interview regarding the eBay Seller Update for Spring, 2012.
** eBay Ink video interview with Griff and MJ of eBay Marketplaces.

Cheers,
RBH

Free Pictures
** Starting in July, all sellers get FREE pictures — 12 per listing — including free zoom and enlarge.

eBay Top-rated Seller updates
** Starting in June, to be eligible for Top-rated seller status, tracking information needs to be uploaded to eBay within your stated handling time on 90% of transactions with US buyers. Start uploading tracking information by May 1 to make sure you qualify by June 20.
** Starting June 1, those listings from Top-rated sellers that include 1-day handling and a 14-day or longer return policy with a money-back option will get the greatest average boost in exposure and 20% final value fee discounts. Listings that don’t include these services will continue to get some boost in Best Match and the Top-rated seller badge, but not the 20% discount or greatest average boost.
** From March 1 through May 31, Top-rated sellers will get a bonus 5% discount off final value fees—along with their current 20% discount—for all listings with 1-day handling and a minimum 14-day return window with money-back option.
** The annual sales requirement for Top-rated sellers will be lowered to $1,000 (from $3,000).

New Seller Protections
** Get an automatic 5-star Communications rating for transactions where you offer same-day or 1-day handling, upload tracking information by the end of the next business day, and there is no communication between you and the buyer.
** Feedback left by a buyer with an unpaid item recorded for the transaction will be automatically removed from your record.
** Earlier this year, eBay started displaying an automatic message on the item page to buyers outside the US regarding customs-related delays and duties. Now any Feedback from international buyers that only references customs issues is eligible for removal.

Helpful Links
There’s a lot more going on, so please check out the below links to find out how this effects your business.
** Get details on the 2012 Spring Seller Update.
** Use the Seller Checklist to stay on top of important dates.
** Update your listings quickly and efficiently and bulk editing tools.
** Visit the special 48-hour discussion board devoted to the announcement.
** Join the Town Hall meeting on Wednesday, February 29 starting at 3:30pm PST.

Helpful Links
** Get details on the 2012 Spring Seller Update.
** Use the Seller Checklist to stay on top of important dates.
** Update your listings quickly and efficiently and bulk editing tools.
** Visit the special 48-hour discussion board devoted to the announcement.
** Join the Town Hall meeting on Wednesday, February 29 starting at 3:30pm PST.

At first glance to me, there didn’t seem to be any shock here; NFL, Twilight, Glee, iPad, etc. all seem to be obvious cultural winners. However, seeing Sade come in at the #7 spot – ahead of Justin Bieber (#8) – came as a pleasant surprise. Nice to see an artist that came out when I was a teenager pip the current teen heartthrob at the post.

For more stats and figures, check out the eBay “Top Shopped” for 2011 media alert. For now, I’ll leave you with this little tidbit regarding eBay Mobile:

Top Three Most Expensive Cross-Category Purchases on eBay Mobile:
** Motors | Mercedes-Benz : S-Class: $212,685
** Fashion | Hermes Blue Sapphire Ostrich Birkin Bag: $19,975
** Collectibles | 1933 Goudey – Babe Ruth #53 PSA Baseball Card: $19,500

Cheers,
RBH

The key updates are as follows:
** Starting in the first week of September, sellers will have the opportunity to use 25 extra characters in their title to draw more buyers to their listings. The maximum number of characters will be increased from 55 to 80.
** Buyer Protection cases won’t be included in a seller’s count of opened cases unless the buyer contacts the seller first. Starting in late August, if the buyer doesn’t contact a seller before opening a Buyer Protection case and the seller acts quickly to resolve it, the case won’t be included in a seller’s performance rating.
** Starting October 1, sellers will not be able to submit a new listing or re-listing if “an email address or link that doesn’t help buyers transact safely and efficiently on eBay is included in the listing.”
** Starting in late August, a seller can specify “Money back or exchange” as a refund option and next year, the 3- and 7-day returns options will no longer be available and a cash refund option will be required for all returns. Sellers will still be able to specify “no returns” as a policy.
** Starting in September, buyers will see all tickets offered for an event on a single event page—including tickets available on StubHub—with handy access to a venue seat map. A new tickets catalog, coming in August, will help sellers specify more key details about their tickets and the event and make listing faster and easier.
** Enhanced catalog-based shopping for GPS devices. Starting September 15, when there’s no match in the eBay catalog, sellers will be required to add the product to complete the listing. A new tool for adding products in this category makes it fast and easy.

You can also see if your listings are impacted by the changes made to categories and item specifics.

Get tools and tips to make editing listings faster and easier.

See the Seller Checklist for more information about how the updates.

Learn more from other sellers and eBay staff in the seller update discussion forum.

Thoughts on the update? Let me know. If you have specific questions about the news, feel free to leave it in the comments section and I can put together a follow-up post with a video interview asking those questions to the appropriate folks.

Cheers,
RBH

The stockholders of GSI approved the adoption of the merger agreement with eBay at the special meeting of stockholders held this past Friday and the merger became effective later that day.

eBay acquired all of the outstanding shares of GSI’s stock for $29.25 per share in cash, or total consideration of approximately $2.4 billion. GSI Commerce will operate as a separate business unit led by Chris Saridakis as its newly appointed president who will report directly to eBay CEO and President, John Donahoe.

Be sure to add the GSI Commerce blog to your blog roll (if you haven’t done so already) and follow along on Twitter @GSICommerce.

Cheers!
RBH

Original post 3/28/11
eBay just announced that it has agreed to acquire GSI Commerce, a leading provider of online commerce solutions and interactive marketing services, for $29.25 a share, or total consideration of approximately $2.4 billion. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011.

As some of you know I am currently traveling for work so am unable to provide you with a “Behind the Scenes” Ink video interview at this time but will be sure to put one together when I’m back in the office to find out more info beyond the press release.

In the meantime, eBay will host a conference call at 8am PT today to discuss the announcement. A live webcast of the conference call, complete with slide presentation, can be accessed out our IR site: http://investor.ebayinc.com. You can also check out the eBay to acquire GSI Commerce press release and our Changing Shopping website for more info as to how this fits into eBay’s overall business strategy and what it means for all buyers and sellers.

Important to note that eBay will divest 100% of GSI’s sports licensing businesses and 70% of ShopRunner and Rue La La.

eBay believes these businesses are not core to eBay’s long-term growth strategy. These assets will be sold to a newly formed holding company, which will be led by GSI founder and CEO Michael Rubin. GSI will be managed as a separate business unit of eBay, led by Chris Saridakis.

I’m really looking forward to meeting some of the team over there (I’ve worked very closely with at least one person in the past already) and am excited to get the opportunity to share and leverage social and digital media strategies already in place with both companies.

I’ll update as I get more info.

Cheers,
RBH

* Pay no Insertion Fees when you list or relist your items using the eBay Catalog (through January 15, 2011).

* List Auction-style video games for only 25¢ Insertion Fees (through February 28, 2011).

* Fixed Price Insertion Fees only 5¢ for items listed with Product Details (through June 30, 2011).

For more details, check out the full eBay Announcement board post.

Cheers,
RBH

Find complete details on the information page.

I’m still snapping up presents for family and friends as we head into this weekend. My personal goal of (finally) hitting 100 Feedback score at 100% positive by the New Year is still in sight. My personal goal for 2011 is to at least double that in one year. This will involve a lot more selling too. Looking forward to it.

For now, take advantage of the low insertion fees and find out about more promotions by checking yesterday’s eBay Holiday blog post.

Cheers,
RBH

The following video breaks it all down:

You can follow eBay Group Gifts on Twitter: @ebaygroupgifts.
Share stories about group gifts using the hashtag #groupgifts
Check out eBay Group Gifts on Facebook: http://facebook.com/ebay

The following FAQ should prove helpful too:

Can I buy anything on eBay as a group gift?
You can only select Buy It Now items for group giving. This ensures that you and your fellow gift givers know the total amount you’ll need to raise to buy your gift.
Do I need to have a PayPal account to set up a group gift?
Yes, the funds contributed for the gift will be sent to your PayPal account. Once your gift goal amount is met, then the funds are transferred from PayPal to pay for the gift.
Is a PayPal account required to contribute money to the gift?
No, contributors can chip in money with a credit or debit card without needing to use or create a PayPal account. However, after contributing money, a PayPal account will be created for them to receive refunds if the gift is cancelled.
What will happen if our gift sells out or expires before we raise enough money to buy it?
You will be given the option to either find a similar item on eBay to replace it, or issue a refund to your fellow contributors.

Cheers,
RBH

I managed to sit down with him for a few minutes and chat about his new role and to find out what makes the man tick… Here are 8 minutes with… Neal Sample.

Cheers!
RBH

eBay today announced that Richelle Parham is joining the company as CMO for eBay North America. She will report to Christopher Payne, head of eBay North America.

Richelle joins eBay from VISA, Inc., where she most recently served as head of Global Marketing Innovation and Initiatives. Previously, she led Global Marketing Services for VISA with responsibilities for marketing performance management, sponsorships, and loyalty marketing. Prior to VISA, Richelle spent 13 years at Digitas, Inc., a world leading marketing agency, where she held a variety of senior leadership roles, including Senior Vice President and General Manager of the agency’s Chicago office.

Richelle doesn’t technically start until early next month, but I managed to grab her for a few minutes this afternon as she was being introduced to folks here at eBay HQ and, always armed with my trusty Flipcam, we ducked into John Donahoe’s conference room and I was able to ask her a few get-to-know-you questions on camera…

Cheers,
RBH