FP30 eBay Listing Format Fixed Price 30 Days – Velocity and IT Dilemma

Surprise

I was surprised after a presentation I gave at the Product Sellers Seminar with a question from an eBay seller who did not know anything about the new fixed price 30 day format on eBay. The persons question was not a surprise, the fact that anyone who has an eBay account and did not get a notice or a phone call about the FP30 program was my quandary. 

Here I thought everyone knew...

OK - for those of you who did not know about this change ( I know, another change at eBay - groan in unison), here is eBay's explanation of the program.

Fixed Price - 30 Days

Starting September 16, we are lowering the listing fee for all items sold via the fixed price format to only 35 cents, and a special rate of only 5 cents through the end of the year for Buy It Now™ fixed price listings in the Media categories (Books, Video Games, Music and DVDs/Movies) using pre-filled item information. (See our new Fixed Price fee structure here.)

Accordingly, we are shifting the majority of our costs for most categories to the back end (final value fees), which you only pay if you're successful in selling an item. In extremely competitive e-commerce categories such as Consumer Electronics, Cameras and Computers, we're decreasing final value fees. This means we're giving you an even bigger incentive to list these types of items on eBay.

In addition to the pricing change, we're extending the listing duration of all Buy It Now™ fixed price listings to 30 days, up from seven with an option for automatic renewal. For sellers whose items that may take longer to sell, this change will be a huge cost reduction and time saver. Taken together, these two big changes – 35 cents for up to 30 days - represent a 70 percent reduction in listing fees on fixed price items

My original take on Fixed price 30 days is that its a good thing but as with all things eBay - it depends...

Depends upon: Continue reading “FP30 eBay Listing Format Fixed Price 30 Days – Velocity and IT Dilemma” »

Dinesh @ eBay Says Fixed Price 30 Days is Good To Go

Ok eBay sellers.... Time to load up on your fixed price 30 day options... Got your strategy set? Ready to start raking in that 30 day fixed price profit potential? Think it will improve your business or eBay's business?

Time will tell, but here it is and it's here to stay.... (At least we think it is)

September 15, 2008 | 03:20PM PST/PT

Dinesh Lathi

Hi everyone. I'm here with a reminder that the new pricing structure for Fixed Price listings, as announced by Lorrie on August 20th, goes into effect at midnight Pacific time tonight. That means that sellers will be able to start taking advantage of the new 30-day duration for Fixed Price listings for the new low Insertion Fee of 35 cents, and just 15 cents in Books, Movies & DVDs, Music, and Video Games.Also starting at midnight, and good through the end of the year, our special holiday promotion goes into effect for Books, Movies & DVDs, Music, and Video Games: Fixed Price Insertion Fees are just 5 cents when you use Pre-filled Item Information (see details here).

If you haven't already, make sure you've reviewed all of the information pages we've provided to learn more about the other changes she introduced: "recent sales" as a factor in Best Match search results for Fixed Price listings (which may take a few days to roll out across the entire site), new maximum shipping and handling charges in Books, Movies & DVDs, Music, and Video Games, our paperless payments policy, our seller standards, and more.

In addition, check out the Seller Checklist, which will help you stay on top of when various policies and features will take effect, and provide updates on the availability of tools for bulk-editing your listings. A few key upcoming dates:

  • Starting October 1st and through the end of the year, sellers will get a free Subtitle listing upgrade, and eligible PowerSellers will get double their Final Value Fee discounts for items sold with free shipping.
  • By October 5th, make sure your first domestic shipping option in your Books, Movies & DVDs, Music and Video Games listings is within the new maximum charges.
  • On October 20th, our paperless payments policy will begin, and checks and money orders will no longer be allowed as payment methods.
  • Also by late October, you'll need to specify your handling time and return policy in your listings.

As we did on August 20th, we'll be answering your questions about these changes on our special discussion forum on September 16th from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT.

Sincerely,

Dinesh Lathi
VP, Seller Experience

eBay Estimator BACK – Best Match Survival – Optimize Your eBay Listing Title's BayEstimate

The eBay Estimator Title Tool is Back!

eBay Research has relaunched the eBay Estimator and given the tool a new Title:

Optimize Your eBay Listing Title's BayEstimate

BayEstimate? Guess the name is as good as any...

I have not had much of a chance to check out the newly revised version of the title tool. I felt it was important to tell my readers it has returned!

Some initial thoughts:

  • The tool is slightly more graphical
  • It seems to retain functionality without giving actual percentile ratings per keyword
  • Keywords Buyers Like/Dislike scale gives good suggestions for crafting titles
  • Category Suggestions provided - useful in my book

What do you think?

If you have any comments about the new tool, please leave them below - Quirks, usefulness, better, not as good?

Thanks to eBay and PeSA for working with eBay on the back channels so this tool could be returned to the sellers who need it as a survival device during the "Best Match"  era. 

I just hope it works...