Bill Cobb

Hi everyone...I hope you can join me and a panel of eBay leaders for today's Town Hall event from 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET. To join the event, please go to the Town Hall page.

Sincerely,

Bill Cobb
President, eBay North America

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	***Original: Submit your question for the eBay Town Hall Event with Bill Cobb – Wednesday, March 29th***
	24 March, 2006 | 16:38 Bill Cobb Hi everyone...Please save the date for my next Town Hall event on Wednesday, March 29th, at 1:00 pm EST. This will be a general Town Hall, so I'll be opening up the floor to all topics. Joining me to answer your questions will be leaders from our Product, Marketing, Trust & Safety, and PayPal departments. As always, we look forward to hearing what's on your mind. Please visit our Town Hall page to send us a question or comment in advance. Sincerely, Bill Cobb President, eBay North America
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Hi everyone. As you may know, we recently implemented an expansion of item search results to include all Store Inventory listings. Our intent was to provide more exposure for these listings while improving buyers’ shopping experience by showing more listings in search results.

In the few weeks since we launched this new feature, it’s become clear to us that it’s had some unintended consequences. Many buyers have found that their searches are now producing too many results, and that search results overall are sometimes less relevant than they used to be. In addition, Auction-Style and Fixed Price listings are harder to find for buyers, so sellers of these items have unintentionally been put at a disadvantage.

We strive to deliver the best buying experience on the eBay marketplace. Therefore, we’re going to discontinue this feature while we further test and refine it. Given the unintended consequences we’ve seen, we want to take more time to optimize this feature and ensure a healthy balance between Auction-Style, Fixed Price and Store Inventory listings on eBay. This is in the interests of both buyers and sellers.

We plan to make this change within the next couple of weeks – it will take several days to fully launch across the site. Essentially, we will make search the way it was in early February, with up to 30 Store Inventory listings appearing when there are 30 or fewer Auction-Style or Fixed Price listings in a buyer’s search results. Buyers who wish to broaden their search results with all Store Inventory listings, will still be able to do so by selecting a box in the Search Options area on the search results page.

This change will affect eBay.com, eBay Motors and eBay.ca. More details on the change can be found in our FAQ.

I’ll be joining Bill Cobb for our Community Town Hall tomorrow, Wednesday, March 29, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time, and we’ll be happy to take any questions you may have about this decision (you can submit questions here). In addition, my team and I will be hosting a Brown Bag Lunch for Stores sellers on Thursday, March 30 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, and we’ll be happy to answer questions and provide more details.

Also, on Thursday, March 30 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Jordan Banks, eBay Canada’s Managing Director, will be on the Canada Town Square discussion board for a general discussion and question and answer session.

We think this is the right decision to maintain a healthy balance in the eBay marketplace. Thanks in advance for your understanding and flexibility.

Sincerely,

Chris Tsakalakis
Vice President, Advanced Solutions

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	***Original: From Chris Tsakalakis – Update on Store Inventory Listings in Search Results ***
	28 March, 2006 | 16:03 Chris Tsakalakis Hi everyone. As you may know, we recently implemented an expansion of item search results to include all Store Inventory listings. Our intent was to provide more exposure for these listings while improving buyers’ shopping experience by showing more listings in search results. In the few weeks since we launched this new feature, it’s become clear to us that it’s had some unintended consequences. Many buyers have found that their searches are now producing too many results, and that search results overall are sometimes less relevant than they used to be. In addition, Auction-Style and Fixed Price listings are harder to find for buyers, so sellers of these items have unintentionally been put at a disadvantage. We strive to deliver the best buying experience on the eBay marketplace. Therefore, we’re going to discontinue this feature while we further test and refine it. Given the unintended consequences we’ve seen, we want to take more time to optimize this feature and ensure a healthy balance between Auction-Style, Fixed Price and Store Inventory listings on eBay. This is in the interests of both buyers and sellers. We plan to make this change within the next couple of weeks – it will take several days to fully launch across the site. Essentially, we will make search the way it was in early February, with up to 30 Store Inventory listings appearing when there are 30 or fewer Auction-Style or Fixed Price listings in a buyer’s search results. Buyers who wish to broaden their search results with all Store Inventory listings, will still be able to do so by selecting a box in the Search Options area on the search results page. This change will affect eBay.com, eBay Motors and eBay.ca. More details on the change can be found in our FAQ. I’ll be joining Bill Cobb for our Community Town Hall tomorrow, Wednesday, March 29, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time, and we’ll be happy to take any questions you may have about this decision (you can submit questions here). In addition, my team and I will be hosting a Brown Bag Lunch for Stores sellers on Thursday, March 30 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, and we’ll be happy to answer questions and provide more details. Also, on Thursday, March 30 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Jordan Banks, eBay Canada’s Managing Director, will be on the Canada Town Square discussion board for a general discussion and question and answer session. We think this is the right decision to maintain a healthy balance in the eBay marketplace. Thanks in advance for your understanding and flexibility. Sincerely, Chris Tsakalakis Vice President, Advanced Solutions
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Scott Loper

Elliot Shmukler

Here's a rundown of what you'll see in the next few days:

"Meet The Seller” Section - We’re renaming the Seller Information area on the item page to "Meet The Seller." Most of the information will remain the same, except for a few visual changes to make it easier to read.

New "Buy Safely" area - Directly below Meet The Seller will be a Buy Safely section. Buyers expect to find trust-related information in one place, so here we'll list the seller's feedback information, any applicable protection programs (such as whether the listing qualifies for PayPal Buyer Protection), and the seller's return policy, if specified.

Shipping Information Higher on the Page - To make it easier to quickly determine the total cost of the item, we're moving the shipping information up on the page, closer to the current item price.

Relocated Links - The Watch This Item and Email to a Friend links will be moved into the center of the "blue" section. They’ll still work exactly as they do today – they're just in a different location.

Show/Hide Additional Listing Details - Additional listing details, such as the Starting Time and Duration, have been moved underneath the Watch This Item and Email to a Friend links. These will be hidden by default, but you can easily choose to display them if you wish. Plus, your choice will be "sticky," meaning that these will display (or stay hidden) as you move from item to item.

View the Changes in Advance
To become familiar with the new page layout, we encourage you to check out this screenshot so you can see exactly how it will look.

Sincerely,

Elliot Shmukler and Scott Loper
eBay Buyer Product Team

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Chung Cheong

Hi, this is Chung Cheong from the eBay Express team. We’re getting closer to launching eBay Express! As you've probably heard by now, eBay Express will be a new specialty site that delivers a more conventional shopping experience for buyers. Most of the items on eBay Express will be new items at fixed prices.

Since Bill Cobb first announced that eBay Express would be coming this spring, the eBay Express team has been gathering input from members. I'd like to update you on a few points that answer some of the top questions we've received.

Support for Sellers Using Checkout Redirect
If you currently use Checkout Redirect through eBay's API, you need to also use the new Checkout Integration API to have your listings be eligible for eBay Express (assuming you meet the other seller and item eligibility criteria). Buyers who purchase your items through eBay Express will go through the standard checkout process on eBay Express, instead of your custom process. Of course, if they buy from you on eBay.com, they'll be redirected to your custom checkout process as usual.

For more details, check out this post on our Developers Program blog. If you use a third-party service for your checkout process, please contact them to make sure they'll support this feature when it launches in early April.

Limited Canadian Support on eBay Express
Many Canadian sellers have asked whether they will be able to sell items through eBay Express at launch. You will, under certain conditions. If your item is physically located in and shipped from the United States, and your listing is on eBay.com, it will be eligible (again assuming you meet the other seller and item eligibility criteria).

Opt-Out Preference for eBay Express
eBay Express is designed so that sellers whose items qualify will automatically get this additional exposure by default. For sellers who would rather not receive this exposure, we've added an Opt-Out preference in My eBay. Go to your Selling Preferences within My eBay to remove your listings from eBay Express. If you opt out after eBay Express launches, your listings will disappear within a few hours. Also, you can always choose to opt in again later. (Please note that it may take up to 2 weeks for your items to appear in eBay Express after you have opted back in.)

To learn more about the categories that will be supported on eBay Express at launch, please refer to our earlier announcement. Also, as you prepare your listings for inclusion, make sure to check out our seller checklist here and review our updated FAQs.

Sincerely,

Chung Cheong
eBay Express Team

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When is it? It all starts Monday, March 20, 2006 at 00:00:01 EST (12:00 AM plus one second on March 20, 2006) and ends Sunday, March 26, 2006 23:59:59 EST (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).

Who is included? This promotion is only open to residents of Canada. Listings must be in Canadian dollars and must be made on the Canadian Motors site in either Auction or Fixed Price format. Listings created prior to the promotion and scheduled to start during the promotional period of March 20-26, 2006 will be eligible for the promotional fee. Items that are re-listed that match the above eligibility will qualify for the promotion.

What is excluded? Users who are not residents of Canada will be excluded from this promotion. Listings created in a currency other than Canadian dollars or that are listed on a site other than the Canadian Motors site will be excluded. Listings in a category other than Motors Vehicles (such as Vehicle Parts & Accessories, Powersport Vehicles under 50cc, Business and Industrial Capital Equipment, Store Inventory Format and Real Estate Ad Format listings) will not be included in this promotion. The promotional rate does not apply to listings created prior to the promotional period and later revised during the promotional period. The promotional rate does not apply to listings created during the promotion March 20-26, 2006, but scheduled to start after the promotion ends.

Learn more about the Free Listing Week for Motors Vehicles.

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From 10:16 EST to 12:30 EST, members may have experienced slowness and occasional errors when attempting to leave feedback for others. This issue has now been resolved.

Thank you for your patience.

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	***Original: Site Issue: Feedback***
	14 March, 2006 | 12:42 We are aware that some users may be experiencing errors when attempting to leave feedback for other members. We are aware of the issue and are working to fix it as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience, eBay
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Did you know that March is Fraud Prevention Month in Canada?

As a proud supporter of this initiative, eBay Canada will be hosting an eBay & PayPal Workshop on Thursday, March 16 at 2:00 pm EST.

Join members from the eBay and PayPal Trust & Safety teams to learn more about what you can do to recognize fraud, report it and stop it.

If you are unable to attend, please click here to leave your questions in advance of the workshop so that they can be answered.

Hope you can join us!

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When is it? It all starts Thursday, March 9, 2006 at 00:00:01 EST (12:00 AM plus one second on March 9, 2006) and ends that same day Thursday, March 9, 2006 23:59:59 EST (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds.

Who is included? All Canadian resident users who list their items on eBay.ca, eBay.com or eBay Motors will be eligible for the promotion. Listings created prior to the promotion and scheduled to start during the promotional period of March 9, 2006 will be eligible for the promotional fee. Items that are re-listed that match the above eligibility will qualify for the promotion. Items listed in two categories will receive the promotional fee for each item. Canadian residents who registered on other eBay sites will still be eligible, provided your registered address is Canadian.

What is excluded? Motors vehicles, Business and Industrial Capital Equipment, Store Inventory Format and Real Estate Ad Format listings will not be included in this promotion. The promotional rate does not apply to listings created prior to the promotional period and later revised during the promotional period. The promotional rate does not apply to listings created during the promotion March 9, 2006, but scheduled to start after the promotion ends.

For more details, including detailed eligibility and exclusions, click here.
For a general FAQ on seller promotions, click here.

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We have decided to discontinue the eBay Anything Points program on the Canadian eBay site (www.ebay.ca). This decision was made after receiving input from Canadian members and evaluating the benefit to the Community. We believe this decision will allow us to devote our energy to making eBay Canada an even greater marketplace for our buyers and sellers. As you may know, this program has already been discontinued in the U.S.

The process of transitioning certain features and functionality related to the eBay Anything Points program will begin immediately and continue over the next few months. Members will have until May 31, 2006 to earn eBay Anything Points, and can redeem Points until November 30, 2006. All Points that have not been used by November 30, 2006 will become invalid. If you have not yet signed up for an eBay Anything Points account, click here to do so.

MBNA will replace your eBay Credit Card with a non-eBay credit card upon expiration of your card, or June 30, 2006 (whichever comes first). For more information about your eBay Anything Points credit card, please contact MBNA at 1-888-876-6262.

For more information regarding the phase-out of the eBay Anything Points program, please see the Anything Points home page at http://pages.ebay.ca/anythingpoints/index.html.

eBay Anything Points must be used in conjunction with a valid PayPal account and in accordance with the eBay Anything Points Loyalty Program Terms and Conditions available at http://pages.ebay.ca/anythingpoints/terms/index.html.

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For Canadian-registered members with items located in the US, we are pleased to announce that you will be able to list your items on eBay Express when it launches this spring. We are now finalizing our planning and development work on eBay Express and we’ll have more details to share in the months ahead.

The Canadian Community has expressed great interest towards eBay Express and this is the first step in testing a cross-border version of eBay Express. For Canadian buyers and sellers who are not able to use eBay Express at launch, we will be watching its progress very closely and relying on feedback from you, and others in the eBay community, as well as our own analysis, to determine if we will expand eBay Express to the rest of the Canadian marketplace. As promised earlier, we will share our findings with you in the weeks and months ahead.

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