Hi everyone...this is Bill Cobb, President of eBay North America. I'd like to invite you to our next Town Hall event on Thursday, November 30, 2006 from 7:00pm to 8:30pm Eastern time. I've asked leaders from Trust & Safety, Customer Support, Shipping, Advanced Solutions (including eBay Stores), eBay Product, and PayPal to join me in answering your questions.

Also, this is our last Town Hall of 2006, and we’re trying something new!

Phone in your question on the air
If you have a question for me or one of the other leaders on our panel, you'll be able to call us at our toll-free number – 1-877-474-3302 - and ask us your question on the air! We'll be broadcasting LIVE via Internet radio with the help of our friends at wsRadio (the same folks that produce Griff's eBay Radio show). As always, you'll be able to listen in via Windows Media Player or Real Player.

If you’d prefer to type us your question, you can post your question to our new Town Hall forum. We'll be answering some of the questions posted there, as well. We'll also take questions submitted to us by listeners live during the event.

So, I hope you’ll join us to let us know what's on your minds and to hear what other Community members have to say. Visit www.ebay.com/townhall for more information.

Sincerely,

Bill Cobb
President, eBay North America

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Hi everyone...this is Bill Cobb, President of eBay North America. I'm here to invite you to our next Town Hall event on Thursday, November 30, 2006 at 7:00 PM ET. He'll be joined by other leaders around eBay as they answer your questions during this open-topic Town Hall.

I invite you to submit your questions in advance through our Town Hall page at www.ebay.com/townhall. We'll also take questions submitted to us by listeners live during the event.

You can listen to the audio of this Town Hall through Windows Media Player or through Real Player. Details on how to download and install the latest versions of both of these are available on our Town Hall page.

I hope you can join us on Thursday, November 30th at 7:00 PM ET.

Sincerely,

Bill Cobb
President, eBay North America

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Who is eligible? Any Canadian resident eBay member who has never listed any item for sale as well as those who have tried selling on eBay and never been successful. Only your first five listings will be eligible.

What is excluded? Motors Vehicles, Stores Inventory Listings, Business and Industrial Capital Equipment and Real Estate Ad Format listings will not be included in this promotion. The feature fee for the Value Pack feature bundle (which includes Gallery) will remain unchanged. The promotional rate does not apply to listings that start before the promotional period, but are then revised between November 27 and December 3, 2006. The promotional rate also does not apply to listings created during the promotion November 27 and December 3, 2006, but scheduled to start after the promotion ends.

Click here to learn more.

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Bryan Ward

I'm excited to kick off the eBay Holiday Dreams Sweepstakes, running November 24 – December 3. Enter and you could win an amazing, one-of-a-kind trip to Disneyland® Resort or Walt Disney World® Resort, where you could spend a night in the Cinderella Castle Suite, get treated like a VIP in the Mickey Mouse Penthouse, and much more! There’ll be one Grand Prize winner every day!

For an automatic entry into our daily prize drawing, register to participate, and then win an auction-style listing or purchase an item using Buy It Now on eBay.com, eBay Motors, or eBay.ca (including our new French-language site). Store Inventory items purchased from eBay Stores qualify, too!

Now here's an extra treat for your stocking: For up to five more entries into a day's prize drawing, find Hidden Mickey. Every day we'll feature a new picture of a Disney theme park with four Hidden Mickey shapes located throughout the picture. Find the Hidden Mickeys and select their location from the pull-down menus. Every Hidden Mickey you correctly find will earn you another entry into that day's drawing. For a fifth entry, correctly identify the Disney park location pictured. Some of the Hidden Mickeys are tough to see, so look closely!

eBay Holiday Dreams Sweepstakes starts Friday, November 24th, so get in the holiday spirit — shop, buy and you could win!

Sincerely,

Bryan Ward
eBay Marketing

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Hi...it's Ira Grossman from eBay Canada's Community team. In case you missed it last week, Bill Onderdonk from PayPal announced the PayPal Holiday Buyer Rebate Promotion that was kicked off just in time for the holidays (click here for announcement).

From November 23rd through December 31st, PayPal is offering a cash rebate of $20 off a single purchase of $50 or more to ebay.com & ebay.ca buyers who pay with PayPal through eBay Checkout. Consumers can sign up for this incentive by November 22, 2006. To sign up and get more details about this offer go to PayPal Holiday page.

Sincerely,

Ira

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Hi

Due to technical difficulties with our email delivery system, many Canadian users did not receive an email about November 20th's 10 cent listing day plus free Buy It Now on eBay.ca. We'd like to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

To make up for this, we'd like to tell you about some terrific promotions happening in the next 48 hours:

1. As you may know, eBay.com is offering a pricing promotion on Tuesday, November 21. List all the fixed price and auction-style listings you want for just 20 cents each! Click here for more details. Please note the discounted rate is available for all users, but only available for listings created on eBay.com.

2. We're repeating our 10 cent listing day plus free Buy It Now promotion on eBay.ca on Wednesday, November 22. Click here for details. Please note this offer is available only for Canadian residents who list on eBay.ca on November 22. If you listed on Monday, November 20, don't worry - you still got the special 10 cent listing plus free Buy It Now for any eligible listings made on eBay.ca on that day.

Get your listings up on eBay in time for some of the biggest shopping days of the year!

Thanks and happy listings,

The eBay Team

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How Does it Work? Insertion fees for Auction Format, Auction with Buy It Now feature upgrade & Fixed Price listings will be revised on eBay.ca only PLUS Buy It Now feature upgrade will be free. Please note the exclusions below. Listings created prior to the promotion and scheduled to start during the promotional period of November 20, 2006 will be eligible for the promotional fee. The reduced fees for this promotion will be immediately reflected on the site.

Who is included? All Canadian resident users who list their items in Auction Format, Auction Format with Buy It Now feature Upgrade or Fixed Price on eBay.ca will be eligible for the promotion. Please note the exclusions below. Items 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.

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 revised during the promotional period. The promotional rate also does not apply to listings created during the November 20, 2006 promotion, but scheduled to start after the promotion ends.

Click here to read more.

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1. The item must be in your possession at the time of listing.
2. The listing must include a unique photograph of the item in your possession.
3. Your User ID must be clearly displayed within the photograph (watermarks will not be accepted).
4. The listing must include a clear, readable copy of the sales receipt(s) or other proof of purchase. For your protection please black out any personal information.
5. If multiple quantities are being listed, all consoles must be included in one unique photograph. The same photograph must be used in each listing.

Sellers will also be notified of these requirements during the listing process when using the Sell Your Item form, and buyers will be reminded of them when placing a bid.

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	***Original: Listing Policy Clarification: PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii Pre-Sales***
	07 November, 2006 | 10:49 Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii Pre-Sales. These highly-anticipated video game consoles will be in extremely short supply during their initial launch. During the launch of the similarly-released Microsoft Xbox 360, we saw a high number of well-intentioned sellers unable to meet their pre-sale obligations to buyers due to restricted supply, as well as an increase in fraudulent listings for these items. To prevent similar problems with these latest releases, the following restrictions have been placed on pre-sales for the PS3 and the Wii: Only one of each console can be listed per eBay account prior to the launch of the console (PS3 is expected to be available on 11/17/06, Wii on 11/19/06). The seller must only accept payment through PayPal, and have at least 50 feedback with a 98% or greater positive rating so that they qualify for PayPal Buyer Protection. The pre-sale item must be listed in the 3, 5, 7 or 10-day formats, and cannot use Buy It Now. The listing must include a photo of your pre-order receipt in the description.
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Some members may have been experiencing slowness and intermittent errors when trying to sign in, or when using My eBay or various other site features.

These issues have been resolved, and we greatly appreciate your patience.

We apologize for any inconvenience these issues may have caused.

Regards,

Lilybean

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Some members may be experiencing slowness and intermittent errors when trying to sign in, or when using My eBay or various other site features.

We're aware of these issues and are working to fix them as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.

Regards,

Lilybean

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Hi, this is Sonia again. I'm sorry to say we've run into some unexpected product-related issues while testing the Anonymous Email Forwarding feature. These issues could cause complications for buyers and sellers that choose to use this feature to communicate with each other. Bearing in mind that the ability to communicate with your buyers and sellers is critical on eBay especially during the holidays, we have decided to wait to launch this feature.

I'll be back after the holiday season with more details, so please stay tuned.

Sincerely,
Sonia Wong
Director, Product Management

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	***Original: Coming Soon: Alternative to “Use the Yellow Button” – Anonymous Email Forwarding***
	17 October, 2006 | 16:54 Sonia Wong Hi, I'm Sonia Wong with eBay's Product Management team. We've been working on a way for you to respond to emails sent to you through eBay's systems (such as Ask Seller A Question) from your own email client, while still protecting the privacy of email addresses. Currently, when an email is sent to you through eBay's system -- and the sender has chosen to hide their email address -- you cannot respond directly from your email client. Instead, you are directed to "Use The Yellow Button" within the body of the email, which takes you to a Reply form within My Messages. We've heard from members that this can be confusing and inefficient, especially when you have a large volume of emails to answer. To make responding to your eBay email easier, we've developed Anonymous Email Forwarding. This change will allow you to respond to email from your own email client, while still protecting the sender's privacy. This feature will launch near the end of the month. Here's how Anonymous Email Forwarding works: When a member sends you a message through eBay and has chosen to hide their email address, we'll create anonymous email addresses for both you and the sender. You can then reply to emails directly from your email client just like you do for any email. When your response comes back into our systems, our system will forward it to the appropriate recipient. The anonymous email forwarding service will help members communicate easily with one another while preserving the privacy of your email addresses. Of course, you can still use My Messages to respond, if you prefer. For more details about Anonymous Email Forwarding, please see our information page. Sincerely, Sonia Wong Director, Product Management
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How Does it Work? Insertion fees for Fixed Price listings will be revised on eBay.ca. Please note the exclusions below. Listings created prior to the promotion and scheduled to start during the promotional period of November 8, 2006 will be eligible for the promotional fee. The reduced fees for this promotion will be immediately reflected on the site.

Who is included? All Canadian resident users who list their items in Fixed Price on eBay.ca will be eligible for the promotion. Please note the exclusions below. Items 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.

What is excluded? Auction-style listings, Auction-style listings with Buy It Now feature upgrade, Motors vehicles, Motors Parts & Accessories, 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 revised during the promotional period. The promotional rate also does not apply to listings created during the promotion November 8, 2006, but scheduled to start after the promotion ends.

Click here to read more.

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Hi...I'm Matt Carey, eBay's Chief Technology Officer. I joined eBay last February after working in information technology for 20 years. My organization is dedicated to providing the eBay Community with the most efficient and reliable online marketplace possible. As technology advances and your needs get more complex, it’s our job to make sure we're delivering features and other site updates that are state-of-the-art in terms of safety, stability, and usability.

One key technology dependency for eBay is how Community members access our site. Back in 1995 when eBay started, most people were using slow dial-up connections. Slower speeds required us to minimize the amount of data we transmitted, which had big implications for our members. Today, more than 80% of US eBay members -- and over 73% of eBay members around the world -- use high-speed connections, and those numbers continue to grow. These faster connection speeds have enabled us to provide a much richer site experience.

We're similarly impacted by the browser technology our members use. Fortunately, today over 95% of our members use up-to-date browsers to access the Internet, including the more current versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari. However, the remaining 5% are still using antiquated browser software or non-standard browsers that have very low usage. Supporting this software has an increasing number of direct and indirect costs to eBay and the Community. And, these browsers can cause safety issues (e.g., when they’re not updated with the latest security technology).

Today, every update we launch must be developed to support the many old and uncommon browsers in use, in addition to current mainstream browsers. This means we spend a significant amount of development resources to support a very small fraction of our users. It also means that we’re limited in the types of features and enhancements we can deliver, which restricts the capabilities our Community members have on eBay.

In keeping with overall industry trends, we're going to adopt new web browser support guidelines for the new features that we develop. For the Community, this means that after November 7th, members using certain outdated versions of browsers, or browsers with very low adoption rates, may experience site issues or errors as we introduce new features or make other site changes. (Read our Web Browser Recommendations for Using eBay Help page to see a list of browsers and versions we recommend.)

Instituting these guidelines will provide several benefits for members and eBay alike:

• Using current browser technology means that you have the latest browser security features that help protect you and the whole Community against phishing and other types of internet fraud.
• You will receive the optimum site experience. Using old browsers can cause performance issues or other errors or problems on the site.
• Streamlining which browsers we support will enable eBay to respond more rapidly to deliver features that better meet the Community’s needs.

Upgrade Early for the Optimum Experience
We want to make sure we offer members the support they need to upgrade their browsers before they encounter a site issue. In the next few days, we will start providing education and on-site help when members sign in with browsers that will not be supported in the future. For more information about browsers we support, please see our Web Browser Recommendations for Using eBay Help page.

Please note: There will be no immediate change for members using browsers that aren't on our recommended browser list. While our guidelines will go into effect on November 7th, members may still use unsupported browsers. However, over time, if you're using a browser that isn’t on our recommended list, you could experience errors and other issues.

Sincerely,

Matt Carey
Chief Technology Officer
eBay Marketplaces

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Hi everyone, this is Don Albert, from the Skype North America team. As you probably know, in June we introduced the option for sellers in select test categories to put Skype buttons on their listings. Buyers and sellers alike have really enjoyed the opportunity to resolve questions quickly and easily, while also improving trust in the process.

As a result we are expanding to include more categories. Starting today Skype will be available to add to listings in Motorcycles, Special Vehicles, Cell Phones & Portable Electronics, Camera & Photo, Baby, Travel, and additional areas of Collectables. A complete list of all eligible categories can be seen here.

How to add Skype
When you use the Sell Your Item form to list in one of these categories, you'll be able to choose to add either a Chat or Voice button (or both) to your listings. Buyers just need to click on the buttons, register for Skype (if they haven't already done so), and then send their message. It's fast, it's easy, and it's free.

To learn more about adding Skype to your listings, click here. We also invite you to join our Skype discussion board.

Sincerely,

Don Albert
Vice President and GM, Skype North America

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As Brian Burke announced a couple of weeks ago, we're restricting the use of Private Feedback on eBay. Effective today, members with private feedback may no longer create new listings. Members who wish to make their Feedback profiles private can still do so – however, they will only be able to bid on items and must cancel their existing listings. Members with private feedback profiles cannot create new listings.

For more details, please see Brian's original announcement below.

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	***Original: Restricted Use of Private Feedback***
	02 October, 2006 | 21:30 Brian Burke Hi... I'm Brian Burke, Senior Marketplace Policy Manager for Feedback. Feedback is the cornerstone of trust on the eBay marketplace. A seller's Feedback provides buyers the opportunity to make informed decisions about their bids and purchases. It helps instill buyer confidence, and it helps protect the marketplace against fraud. We believe that buyers should have access to a seller's complete Feedback record before choosing to trade with that seller. For this reason we are restricting selling activities for members who have private Feedback. This is a global change and will affect all eBay sites. The expected date of this change is October 26, 2006. What will change Members who have private Feedback profiles will no longer be allowed to list items after this change goes into effect. Only members with public Feedback profiles will be permitted to list items. Any items listed before the change will not be impacted. However, they may not be re-listed by sellers who keep their Feedback profiles private. Members who wish to make their Feedback profiles private can still do so. However, they must cancel any existing listings, and they will not be allowed to create new listings as long as their Feedback is private. It's easy to make your Feedback profile public – just sign in and click on the "Make my profile public" option. Why we're making this change eBay offers the ability for members to make their Feedback private as an option when they have significant concerns about a comment. They can hide their comments in this way until they are able to resolve the issue. (Read about Mutual Feedback Withdrawal). Buyers should have all the information available about their prospective sellers' past trading histories. This helps them make knowledgeable choices about doing business with that seller. Prohibiting members with private Feedback profiles from listing items will ensure we help maintain a safe and well-lit marketplace. Whether you're a buyer or a seller, your Feedback Profile is a valuable asset that helps earn the trust of other eBay members. We strongly encourage members to keep their Feedback profiles public so everyone in the marketplace can benefit from the Feedback other eBay Community members have left them. Sincerely, Brian Burke
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