From eBay.com – January 4, 2018

The Good News: eBay Has Negotiated Lower Rates for Sellers

eBay has been able to negotiate with the USPS on behalf of sellers and secure a significant discount for eBay labels. While this still means a slight increase in the average cost of shipping an item using USPS, sellers who use eBay labels can save up to 25% on First Class Package Service and up to 24% on Priority Mail*. Plus, tracking is automatically uploaded, so you can print a shipping label from anywhere.  You can even schedule free pick-ups.

*Compared to USPS retail rates. Negotiated Commercial Plus pricing is available via eBay Labels to all eBay Top-rated sellers and sellers with an average of 300 or more transactions per month.

Read the entire announcement here:  https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/USPS-Shipping-Rates-are-Changing-and-eBay-Has-Negotiated/ba-p/27939005

If you are thinking of adding an independent web store to your business, this sounds like a terrific new addition by Shopify!

https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/13/shopify-adding-ebay-as-a-sales-channel-for-merchants/

If you’d like to have your own online store but aren’t sure how to get it done, contact me.  My web development rates are low and I can get you set up in just a few weeks!

A new initiative from eBay to make their/our marketplace more competitive – Guaranteed Delivery.

Guaranteed delivery dates on eBay.

Coming later this summer, eBay buyers will see a guaranteed delivery date of 3 days or less on millions of eligible listings. Sellers who qualify will have the tools they need to guarantee delivery by a specified date. And buyers will love that their item arrives when they want it to.

No subscription fees. No complicated processes. It just delivers. Guaranteed.

In the March 20, 2017 article published on cnbc.com, they quote eBay’s announcement and how eBay is trying to compete with Amazon Prime and Wal-Mart**. “Today’s shoppers expect fast delivery and want to know exactly when their purchases will arrive,” the company wrote in Monday’s press release. (Source: EBay is taking on Amazon Prime and Wal-Mart in guaranteed delivery, free shipping)

Panic generally ensues after something is posted regarding “free” shipping or more stringent shipping rules.  It’s easy to see why, too.  Margins are thin for sellers who list brand new items on eBay and Amazon.  Sellers of one-of-a-kind or rarer items have less of a problem as they can set their prices to cover shipping, but competition is getting tougher for all of us.

I’d like to offer my perspective on this announcement:  it’s probably NOT going to change anything for most of us.

USPS Priority Mail already offers 2-day shipping with delivery confirmation and many of us already use it when we print our labels directly from eBay/Paypal. Continue or start shipping within one day and you’ll be meeting the 3-day guaranteed expectation.

I reserve the right to revisit this after the actual particulars of guaranteed delivery program are announced, but for now I don’t see this as a deal-breaker for sellers.

Sign up for eBay’s updates on offering guaranteed delivery at http://cc.ebay.com/guaranteed-delivery/

*Retail Arbitrage: the method of sourcing inventory from retail stores in order to sell it through eBay or Amazon at a higher price.

**Read more about Wal-Mart’s recent merchant platform expansion here: https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2016/04/14/walmartcom-invites-more-merchants-sell-its-marketplace/

The eBay Seller Hub is a BIG improvement and I urge you to opt-in now that is available to all U.S. sellers.  It will take a little while to get used to it but you will love it.  Here is a link to the eBay announcement and video:

http://announcements.ebay.com/2016/08/great-news-ebay-seller-hub-now-available-to-all-u-s-sellers/

http://ebay.yourbrandlive.com/c/sellerhub-june-2016/

eBay OPEN also had some terrific workshops on using Seller Hub – I learned a lot! Go to the eBay OPEN event page at http://www.ebayopen2016.com/. You’ll need to sign-in to see the workshops.

Ok, eBay sellers! It’s time to pull out all the stops, list like crazy and pay for your tickets to eBay Live!

Event dates:  July 26-29, 2016

Venue: The Venetian Hotel in Fabulous Las Vegas!  Right on the strip and a very nice place to stay.

NEW DETAILS JUST RELEASED
• Choose from over 20 WORKSHOPS that will help grow your business
• EXPO FLOOR with your favorite listing tools, shipping providers, and other key eBay partners
• Have fun in the COMMUNITY VILLAGE where you can mingle with and hear from your peers on successful selling
• Customer Service pavilion dedicated to answering YOUR questions
• Meet eBay experts, employees, executives and GRIFF!
• And one great PARTY

Who is going?  I know I am!

https://youtu.be/TnqAwMgyksY

http://www.cnet.com/news/ebay-buying-twice-in-hopes-of-bringing-back-amateur-sellers/