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TAGnotes 30 Sep 2003 Vol 5 Number 13 Issue 452
  

The Auction Guild Notes Tue 30 Sep 2003 Part II
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TAGnotes Part 2, in two parts due to the amount of information
and changes in the last few weeks.
************************************************************

ebaY is changing the checkout emails including Send Invoice,
Request Total, and Checkout Complete emails.
*Adding HTML to emails, but will continue to support text emails
as well.
*Ability for buyers to reply back to the seller directly when using
the Reply To: button.
*Clearer content and guidance on what to do next within the
emails.
*Ability to provide custom messages within the emails.
To preview the emails go to -

Send Invoice
http://www.ebay.com/preview/email/send_invoice/
Request Total
http://pages.ebay.com/preview/email/request_invoice/
Checkout Complete
http://pages.ebay.com/preview/email/payment_status/

-----------
Some changes users can expect during the upcoming Holiday
"moratorium" period, in addition to those already on the
announcement board.

Changes in mid October.
* The addition of 1 day listings.
* An "easy to buy" promotion program focused on the electronics
categories. To be included listings will have to meet certain
criteria including offering checkout and/or PayPal for payment,
new items only etc. For more info go to -
www.ebay.com/selleasytobuy

Changes in mid November.
* Cross promotions for store sellers - This will allow sellers to
cross promote items of
any listing format either manually or automatically. ebaY will be
adding several pages to My ebaY for cross promotions.
* ebaY will be adding subtitles to listings. This will provide a
text preview of what the item is in search and listings. This includes
an additional 45 characters of text, and will appear under the item link
on the search item pages.

-----------
The Recently Viewed Items feature can be turned off in My ebaY
preferences. Users have found that this often does not hold, so
users may have to check and recheck their preferences, so that
when ebaY opts them back in for items they don't want, they can
opt out again.

-----------
PayPal has also ended the new account and referral bonus
program. PayPal will continue to offer bonuses under the
Merchant Referral Bonus Program.

-----------
PayPal has closed their stores directory to merchants outside of
the United States and Canada. Merchants outside of Canada
and the U.S. who are already registered for the directory will
continue to be listed in the PayPal Shops directory, but will be
able to modify their Shops' business information only by
contacting Customer Service.

-----------
To change your preferences in your PayPal business or premier
account, as to what types of payments you will accept from
buyers, follow these directions -
1.    Login to your PayPal account
2.    Click on the Profile subtab
3.    Click on the Payment Receiving Preferences link in the
'Selling Preferences' column
4.    Edit your Preferences

-----------
ebaY is changing the PayPal buyer protection plan, with the new
plan scheduled to be implemented in mid October. PayPal will
provide up to $500 on non-delivery or significantly not as
described - as in the seller clearly misrepresented the details of
the item in a way that affects its value or usability - on qualified
ebaY listings which are paid for with PayPal
For more info go to -
http://pages.ebay.com/paypal/pbp.html

To qualify to offer PayPal buyer protection plan, a sellers must -
*Have a U.S. or Canadian Verified PayPal Premier or Business
account in good standing
*Have at least 98% positive feedback on ebaY
*Have an ebaY feedback score of 50 or more
*Select PayPal as a payment option
This is only for ebaY items. Sellers must call PayPal to opt OUT
of this program, as it is automatically imposed if they meet the
other criteria.

PayPal Buyer Protection is only available for tangible goods
(items which can be shipped). All buyers worldwide are eligible
for coverage, provided the listing displays the PayPal Buyer
Protection shield, they use PayPal to pay the seller at the same
PayPal account used in the listing, and file their claim within 30
calendar days of payment. Buyers may only receive two PayPal
Buyer Protection claim awards per year.

This program will not replace ebaY’s current standard purchase
protection program. Rob Chesnut and the PayPal team will have
a workshop on Wed 15 Oct at 15:00 to 16:00 PT to learn more
about this program.

-----------
ebaY has added item specifics to Video Games, Books &
Magazines, Books, Manuscripts category within Antiques, and
the Technology Books category within Computers & Office.   It is
also available in the Tickets, Travel, Real Estate, Art,
Wristwatches, Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, Movies, and
Music categories.

For more info go to -
Item Specifics FAQ
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/item_specifics_faqs.html
Item Specifics Overview
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/item_specifics.html
Item Specifics Product Finder
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/item_specifics_pf.html
Item Specifics View Item Page Example
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/item_specifics_via.html

-----------
Possible future adjustments to ebaY item listing page -
http://snurl.com/2hra
Kenny@ebaY promised the following changes

1. Shipping notice at the top of the page. Text or an icon (TBD) at
the top of the page will indicate what countries a seller ships to.
2. PayPal notice at the top of the page. Text or an icon (TBD) at
the top of the page will indicate whether the seller accepts
PayPal.
3. Shipping warning. Bidders and buyers will be warned when
they attempt to purchase from a seller who does not ship to their
country. They will be asked to contact the buyer before continuing
with the transaction. This is not a block, but rather a very visible
warning.
4. Printer friendly version of the Item Page through a click link.
5. Clean up the status box and make it smaller. Group seller
tools together in one location.
6. Larger fonts on the Item Page. The smallest font ebaY will
use is the -1 size
7. More explanation of how proxy bidding works.
8. Display help messages appropriate for a user’s experience
level, based on the users feedback. This is to eliminate
situations where someone with a 500 feedback level sees
"Learn about bidding..." etc.
9. Change the Bidding and BIN confirmation pages to speed up
the bidding process and eliminate an alleged "security" issue
that required the "Click here to see the
seller's description" text on the current bid confirmation page.
10. Change the design of emails created during the bidding and
buying process
11. Update the “Mail This To A Friend” page
12. Update the design of the “Bid History” page
13. Update help content
14. Standardize error handling for erroneous user entries for
example, $a7.45 does not equal $7.45
15. Standardize comma and decimal handling
16. Display auction start time at the top of the page
17. Display the number of items being watched
18. Display the original quantity on multi-quantity listings
(Germany site only)

What is conspicuously missing is the 'payment methods
accepted' by the seller at the top of the page. The only payment
method ebaY will show at the top of the page is PayPal. This
should be anti-trust violation and sellers who are negatively
affected by this should file complaints with the Dept of Justice
and FTC, as both seem more willing to act, since they approved
ebaY's acquisition of PayPal based on what promises ebaY
made to avoid anti-trust issues.
Dept Of Justice - http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/contact/emailatr.htm
Write to - antit-@usdoj.gov
Federal Trade Commission - http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/antitrust.htm

-----------
ebaY is adding the optional immediate payment method for Buy
It Now and Stores items in all categories. Sellers who choose to
require immediate payment must have a PayPal Premier or
Business account. If the seller chooses to use this payment
option, buyers will see a notation next to the Buy It Now button
stating that the seller requires immediate payment. After clicking
the Buy It Now button, the buyer will be asked to complete
payment through PayPal, which handles credit cards, PayPal
funds, and other instant payment methods. Once the payment is
confirmed, the listing will officially end. Until a buyer completes
the payment, the listing will continue to run. Shipping and all
other costs must be provided when the item is listed so that
buyers know exactly what to pay without having to wait for seller
instruction.

To see a preview of this option go to -
http://www.ebay.com/ImmediatePayment-preview.html
For Frequently Asked Questions go to -
http://www.ebay.com/ImmediatePayment-faq.html

-----------
ebaY has changed the feedback solicitation policy -
http://snurl.com/2iub
which prohibits members from increasing their feedback by
attempting to buy or sell feedback itself. Beginning immediately,
the term “feedback” may no longer be included in a listing
title unless it specifically describes the item listed.

They also added -
http://snurl.com/2iud
which prohibits sellers from including in their listings any terms
and conditions that restrict or limit the ability of a member to
leave feedback.

-----------
ebaY has made another in their endless changes to the category
structure.   To provide feedback on categories go to -
http://pages.ebay.com/help/new/suggest.html

There are changes in -
BOOKS
BUSINESS & INDUSTRIAL with breakouts in Construction,
Electronic Components, Industrial Supply, MRO, Restaurant,
Retail Equipment & Supplies, Test Equipment, and Websites &
Businesses for Sale.
COLLECTIBLES breakouts in Animals, Breweriana, Beer,
Decorative Collectibles, Disneyana, Holiday, Seasonal, and
Pinbacks, Nodders, Lunchboxes.
ELECTRONICS & COMPUTERS breakouts in Cameras & Photo,
Car Audio & Video, Cell Phones & Plans, Gadgets & Other
Electronics, Home Audio & Video, and Portable Audio & Video,
and a major overhaul and realignment across Computers,
Networking, Printers, and Software categories. In the changes to
the Computers, Office and Networking Categories, ebaY will
introduce approx 300 new categories, and about 650 other
categories will be either moved or renamed. Several categories
that are currently underneath the Computers and Office Products
category will be moved up higher in the category structure. These
will become Level 2 categories and will include Computer
Monitors, Desktop PCs, Apple/Macintosh, Desktop PC Drives &
Components, Laptops, Office Products, and Printers & Printer
Supplies.
HOME Bedding, Wallpaper, Home Décor, Kitchen, Dining & Bar,
Lawn & Garden, and Tools.
JEWELRY & WATCHES breakouts in Fashion Jewelry and
Wholesale Lots.
POTTERY & GLASS realignments and breakouts throughout
Pottery & Glass.
SPECIALTY SERVICES new Specialty Services categories.
SPORTS breakouts in Baseball & Softball, Bowling, Climbing,
Football, Golf, and Skateboarding, and a realignment with new
breakouts across Sports Memorabilia.
TOYS & HOBBIES breakouts in Action Figures, Games, Models,
Kits, TV, Movie, Character Toys, and Wholesale Lots.

-----------
ebaY is making it easier to lose more money by saving listing
upgrade selections. Though ebaY has never presented any
independent proof to show that any of their item add ons actually
yield higher prices, they are making it easier to repeat the add
ons automatically . On the pictures and details page of the Sell
Your Item form, ebaY will provide a checkbox sellers can use to
apply chosen listing upgrades for subsequent item listings. The
checkbox will appear in the "Increase your item's visibility"
section of the page. The feature will work with the following
listing upgrades: Gallery, Gallery Featured, Bold, Highlight,
Featured Plus!, Home Page Featured, and Gift Services.

-----------
ebaY has added a pay link in the ebaY header. When buyers
click on this link, they will be taken to a new "Pay for Items You've
Won" page to find all the items they have purchased within the
last 30 days that are still awaiting payment. If checkout is
enabled or PayPal is offered, "Pay Now" buttons will appear
beside these items take buyers through the payment process. If
neither checkout nor PayPal has been used, the buyer will be
shown a "Pay for this item" link with instructions to contact the
seller to arrange payment.

To preview the changes to the header, click here.
http://pages.ebay.com/preview/homepage_pay_header.html
To preview the new "Pay for Items You've Won" page, click here.
http://pages.ebay.com/preview/pay_header.html
For additional information, please visit our FAQs.
http://pages.ebay.com/sell/pay_header.html
We hope the new "Pay" link in the header and the new "Items
You've Won" page will help guide new buyers through the
payment process, and make paying on eBay easier and faster
for everyone.

-----------
ebaY has added an ebaY Entertainment page at -
http://snurl.com/2iuf
This page, groups category links to music, movies, video
games, tickets, and entertainment memorabilia and
experiences.

As with other pages of this sort, it gives ebaY more places to sell
advertising. ebaY wanted to add books to this page, but book
sellers outrage and threats of mass departure caused ebaY to
temporarily back down on this. The addition of books to this
section is important for ebaY's Half.Com integration, so will
eventually happen no matter what sellers want or say.

-----------
In October, ebaY is moving the pre-filled information from
Half.Com to ebaY in the Books, Movies, Music, and Video
Games categories. Sellers can use ISBN and UPC codes, as
well as keywords, to pull up stock listing information on these
items. They can then select content, including stock photos, item
descriptions, and supplemental information (like song lists, film
descriptions, etc.) that is added to listings automatically.
Pre-Filled Item Information is completely optional. During the
listing process, sellers listing items in subcategories for which
this feature is available will get the choice to either use
Pre-Filled Item Information, or use the regular Sell Your Item form. In
addition, sellers who select this feature can pick and choose which
pieces of content to use in their listings: Features like stock photos,
descriptions, etc. can be used in place of, or in
conjunction with, custom photos, detailed item descriptions, and
other listing details.

For information about the Half.com transition go to -
http://half.ebay.com/include/transition_hub.html
You can preview pre-filled item info at -
http://www.ebay.com/Pre-filledItemInformation/preview/
Or FAQ's at - http://www.ebay.com/Pre-filledItemInformation/faqs

-----------
ebaY is running a promotion until 20 Nov 03, called "Imagine
What You’ll Find – Imagine What You’ll Win" promotion.
Partners such as Loews Theatres, Gameworks Restaurants, Premiere
Magazine, Electronic Gaming Monthly Magazine, GMR Magazine, Graceland,
E! Cable News, and Street Teams are distributing game cards with an
"Imagine Code" that you can enter for a chance to win one of eight
$5,000 weekly grand prizes or over 5,000 entertainment items. No game
card is necessary. You can also enter by going to
http://www.imagineandwin.com/
Rules - http://www.imagineandwin.com/rules.asp

-----------
ebaY buyers who have received a non-paying buyer (NPB) alert
who logs in within seven days of receiving the NPB alert, will now
get a pop up window when they sign in. The pop is designed to
remind deadbeat buyers that they need to complete the
transaction and pay for the item. The pop up will identify the item
that wasn't paid for, and provide guidance on how to pay or
contact the seller.

-----------
ebaY is running a new TV ad in an attempt to bring more users
to the site.

-----------
This links should help AOL and IE users speed up their access
to ebaY
http://quidnunc.net/~highpointe/block.htm
This link will give you information on protecting yourself from
ebaY scumware and redirects -   
http://quidnunc.net/~highpointe/redirect.htm
This link will provide you with codes to override ebaY scripts and
customize YOUR listing page.
http://tools.baconbuttie.co.uk/bbaboutme.htm

-----------
ebaY is trying out a new live auction format in association with
Bidspotters.com. Unfortunately, buyers are having lots of
problems with the functioning of this format. To start with, when
they try to bid they get error message from their SQL/php server
concerning a password overflow on their part which said their
server was not available and could not make the connection,
blocking them from bidding.

In addition, buyers reported winning auctions showing up under
their ID on the ebay.bidspotter.com site, that they did not bid on,
and auctions they did bid on not showing at all.   Auctions that
received no bids were showing as sold. None of the bidding or
buying info showed up in My ebaY. For a thread on the subject
go to -   http://snurl.com/2hzq

-----------
For those sellers who use Turbo Lister, and want to use their
own image hosting or a third party service, in order to trigger the
image icon the seller is required to include a URL to a clear,
spacer or dot gif in the URL field. There is currently no
equivalent check off box in Turbo Lister to trigger "The
description already contains a picture URL for my item".

-----------
Have an opinion of Meg Whitman's performance as CEO of
ebaY? Go to the Forbes CEO opinion site and express it -
http://www.forbes.com/2003/05/01/cx_ceointernetpoll.html

-----------
Account Theft Help Page is at -
http://snurl.com/1ful
Live Support Button to Trust and Safety -
http://snurl.com/18x2

-----------
It is NOT safe to use ebaY unprotected. All users should use
firewalls and scumware protection when swimming in the ebaY
pool - and in fact everywhere on the net.
For more information go to -   
http://www.quidnunc.net/~highpointe/scumware.htm
or - http://www.doxdesk.com/parasite/SubSearch.html

-----------
ebaY CONTACT Info
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic.html?pid=17

* * * * * * * * * *
Yahoo Auction/Stores/Classifieds/Small Biz (YA) - Yahoo has
added the capability to open items in a second page by clicking
on the double page icon next to the title.

Yahoo is running a jewelry showcase until 30 Oct 03. For more
info and to view items, go to -
http://snurl.com/2iuh

--------
Yahoo is adding and combining services to try and attract more
small businesses and Mom and Pop merchants with their
merchant solutions products. The service offers features such
as online payment processing, shopping carts and catalog
management. Yahoo will add these features into its existing web
hosting business, which offers Web site storage, publishing
tools and domain name registration. Yahoo will price the small
business introductory "starter" package at $39.95 a month with a
$50 set-up fee and a 1.5 percent charge for every sale. The
package includes its new e-commerce features, domain name
registration, 35 business e-mail accounts, 350MB of site
storage, 35GB of data transfer per month, design tools, credit
card processing, and 24-hour phone support.
http://news.com.com/2100-1038-5080606.html
http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/index.php

--------
Yahoo is now allowing users to submit items to start up to 30
days in advance. Though there is no extra fee for this service,
Yahoo will charge the listing fee when the item is listed, and the
charge will remain even if the seller cancels the auction before it
begins.

---------
As of 15 May Yahoo had 392,429 (+193421)
As of 18 Jun Yahoo had 191,208 (-2213)
As of 25 Jul Yahoo had 404,306 (+213098)
Yahoo Auction counts brought to you by
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/copper-maven/

---------
Yahoo Contact Information
http://www.auctionguild.com/generic.html?pid=38
http://.yahoo.com/

* * * * * * * * * *
OTHER TRADING SITES

GENERAL ITEM -
BidVille - http://www.bidville.com/
ePier - http://www.epier.com
iOffer - http://www.ioffer.com
SellYourItem - http://www.sellyouritem.com

NICHE SITES-
Eggbid - http://www.eggbid.com/
Just Beads - http://www.justbeads.com/
Just Glass - http://www.justglass.com/
Old and Sold - http://www.oldandsold.com/
Playle's - http://www.playle.com/main.html

* * * * * * * * * *
C2it is closing down their online money transfer service effective
9 Nov 2003. Account holders will not be able to conduct financial
transactions on the www.c2it.com website. C2it will cancel their
Debit Cards effective 9 Nov 03.   Users may continue to log on to
manage membership information and view statements until 22
Feb 04. Account holders with credit balances will receive a
check from C2it mailed on or around 18 Nov 03.
https://www.c2it.com/C2IT/Login

* * * * * * * * * *
Researcher, gfk-webgauge, has posted findings that show that
increasing numbers of internet users in Europe are using online
auctions to buy or sell items. 27 percent of e-consumers in
Germany (i.e. people who have made at least one purchase on
the Internet in the past six months), buy items from one of the
auction houses. Usage in the UK is at 8 percent. Usage has
gone from 10 percent in the winter of 2000/2001 to 16 percent in
the winter of 2001/2002. Participation in auctions of this type is
among the fastest growing sectors of e-commerce. In Germany,
69 per cent of those using online auctions are male and 83 per
cent are aged between 20 and 49.
Full articles is at -
http://www.mrons.com/drno/news1890.htm

* * * * * * * * * *
California has signed into law a tougher anti-SPAM law. To view
it, and the other SPAM law currently on the books go to -
http://www.spamlaws.com/state/index.html
(source NPR)

*************************************************************
Have any information for us? email us at
ta-@theauctionguild.com
TAG Subscribers often contribute information reported on in
TAGnotes. Visit their auctions or websites.

TAGassist Contributors

kathyseven - http://snurl.com/2iua

http://half.ebay.com/shops/shops.jsp?seller_id=557895

http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/www.pretties4u.com/

http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/deradler1/

http://www.antique-central.com

http://www.longlocks.com

http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/copper-maven/

http://www.ertl-family.com/ebay.html

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