eBay sellers welcome to an Early Seller Update for 2019.
There’s a lot of good news in the update plus two BIG changes. The overall theme to sellers is “Get it sold.” However, as always, eBay giveth, but eBay also taketh away. To begin, grab my complimentary tip sheet to remove the guessing of what impacts you and your eBay business.
So, let’s start with what eBay gives sellers.
Beginning in November 2018, a limited number of sellers could send “Offers to watchers” for items listed with Best Offer. As of today, items no longer need to be listed with Best Offer in order for you to send an offer, and “Offers to Buyers” is being rolled out to all sellers in Seller Hub.
Sellers can send Offers To Watchers, regardless of whether the item is a Best Offer Listing!
My experience so far is that about 1 out of 10 buyers accept my offer. Yet you, the seller, are in charge. YOU send the offer and set the price. This function is rolling out during the month of March, What your seller hub!
Improvements to Seller Hub are good news, too.
On your “Active Listings” page, hover over Price, Quantity or Custom Label, then click on the pencil icon to edit that field. This new functionality has been in beta and is rolling out sitewide, saving you precious time. Well done, eBay!
Get all the details in this video, eBay Gives And eBay Takes Away.
Starting in March, you’ll also be able to download Order Reports from your Manage Orders page as a CSV (Excel) file, including a new field showing sales tax collected and remitted on your behalf by eBay.
Furthermore, massive Inventory updates are going live.
eBay is still emphasizing product-based shopping, but with a focus on item specifics rather than listing via the catalog. This is a HUGE change for the eBay platform. heads up sellers. This means eBay is laser focused on Item Specifics for Product Based shopping. Item Specifics are now more important than ever for eBay and Google search!
With the change in catalog listing one Bay, your item specifics matter!
In March, for Electronics, Home & Garden, Health & Beauty, and Musical Instruments, the current “New – Other” item condition will become “Open Box”. In the Business & Industrial category, “New – Other” will become “Used – Like New”. This clarification helps both buyers and sellers.
Now for some GREAT news: From the Basic level on up, store subscribers will soon get a complimentary subscription to Terapeak!
So, here’s what eBay is taking away: Good ‘Til Canceled (GTC) will now be the only duration option for fixed price listings. For auction listings, 3-, 5-, 7-, and 10-day durations are still available.
The reason for this change basically boils down to SEO. It can take up to 30 days for items to be indexed by Google and other search engines. Short-term listings may not be picked up.
There are other disadvantages. Short-term listings can lead to buyer frustration when a shopper finds a listing that interests them, but it’s gone when they go back for a second look.
Additionally, links in your social media posts for short-term listings go dead — and if a buyer clicks on that link, eBay will redirect them to another active listing!
If you still prefer short-term listings, you have 2 choices:
- Every 30 days or so, end your GTC listing, tweak it, and relist.
- Keep your GTC listing live, and simply revise it.
The second option keeps social media links live and retains views, watchers, and sales history. The latter gives you a boost in search every time another multi-quantity and/or multi-variation item sells.
In closing, the bottom line is, eBay is giving sellers more data and tools for driving conversion, but less listing options.
As with all seller updates, read the entire Early Seller Update. My complimentary tip sheet, eBay Gives & eBay Takes Away, will guide you through the nuances. If you prefer video, enjoy my YouTube.
Now you’re equipped to make the best choices for your sales and business!
