Sarah Brubacher

Hi.. This is Sarah Brubacher of eBay's Global Policy team in Trust & Safety. We’re making a change to our Fee Circumvention policy to clarify that auction extensions are not allowed on the eBay marketplace. Third-party auction extender tools allow sellers to automatically extend auction-style listings beyond their stipulated duration. Auction extensions using these tools or done manually are banned.

Why we’re making this change
Auction extensions, whether automatic or manual, disrupt normal bidding patterns and create a negative buyer experience. For instance, buyers who enjoy bidding in the last moments of an auction are unfairly disrupted when listings are inappropriately extended. These tools also “un-level” the playing field between sellers by unfairly extending the length of time a listing is available on the site. Not only do these listings remain active longer than intended, many buyers look for items that have been newly listed, so these listings have an added unfair advantage.

In special circumstances, such as covered by our Outage Policy, eBay reserves the right to extend all eligible auctions.

For more information on this policy clarification, please read eBay’s Fee Circumvention policy. For information about our other policies, please review eBay’s Rules and Policies and Rules for Sellers. You can visit these pages by clicking on Help at the top of most eBay pages.

Sincerely,

Sarah Brubacher
Global Trust & Safety Policy Team

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Ira Grossman

Hi, this is Ira Grossman from eBay's Shipping team. I wanted to let you know about the next Canada Post information session, so please save the date and time.

Topic: Introduction of Light Packet™ on the eBay shipping platform and the eBay-exclusive Light Packet U.S.A. $2.99 introductory rate offer (for 100-250g shipments).

Host: eBay Canada and Canada Post
Date: Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Time: 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm ET (10:00 am to 11:00 am PT)
Location: Canada Town Square Board

Description: Please join Sebastien from Canada Post who will be accompanied by Canada Post’s Hugh Grandy - Assistant Manager, International Product Management - and John Swettenham - General Manager, Marketing, Strategy and Planning, as they discuss Light Packet’s new availability on eBay’s online shipping tool and the limited-time, $2.99 introductory rate for Light Packet U.S.A. shipments (100-250g only).

You can submit your questions here in advance of the session. We will also answer questions you submit to us live during the session.

These sessions are a great way for the leadership teams at Canada Post and eBay Canada to hear what's on your shipping minds. We encourage you to participate.

I hope you'll join us on Wednesday, January 31st.

Regards,

Ira Grossman
Manager, Shipping

™ Trademark of Canada Post Corporation

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Last August, eBay announced an agreement with Google which allows select international market sites (including eBay Canada) to display Google text ads on Search results. (Please read our previous announcement.) Soon, we’ll begin a testing period in which our teams will be experimenting with the display of Google text ads on certain Search results pages to learn what works best for the eBay marketplace.

While eBay has vast amounts of inventory, there are still many instances when a Search query will not return with any relevant listings. We’ll be testing ad placements at the bottom of these null search results pages, as a way to improve the buyer experience in these situations. We’ll also be testing other placements on a limited number of other search results pages, too, when we know there is a high likelihood that the search will not result in a bid or purchase.

As a result of a similar agreement between Yahoo! and eBay.com in the US, our teams have done a significant amount of testing and analysis with text ads over the last several months. We will be leveraging what we’ve learned as we begin to test with Google ads. Our number one concern is ensuring that the changes we make are right for our sellers and buyers. As we test, we’ll be monitoring the impact of any changes carefully, as well as listening to your input.

Testing with shopping.com ads, too
As you might be already aware, several sites including DE, UK, FR, AT, and AU have been running similar tests with ads for shopping.com, eBay’s own price comparison site. Preliminary results are very encouraging and we will likely extend this test over the course of February. Over the next few weeks, you may see either Google or Shopping.com ads on the site as we continue our testing.

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Bill Cobb

Hi everyone...this is Bill Cobb, President, Marketplaces North America. I'd like to invite you to our next Town Hall event on Thursday, January 25, 2007 from 4:00pm to 5:00pm Pacific time. I've asked some of our Town Hall regulars to join me in answering your questions live on the air.

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 – 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.

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, Marketplaces North America

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When is it? Starting Sunday, January 21, 2007 at 00:00:01 ET (one second after midnight on January 21, 2007) and ending Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 23:59:59 ET (one second before midnight on January 27, 2007).

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

What is excluded? Motors Vehicles, Store Inventory Listings, Business and Industrial Capital Equipment, Real Estate Auction Format listings 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 January 21 to January 27, 2007. The promotional rate also does not apply to listings created during the promotion January 21 to January 27, 2007, but scheduled to start after the promotion ends.

Click here to learn more.

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Ira Grossman

Hi, this is Ira Grossman from eBay's Shipping team. I’m pleased to let you know you can now purchase and print Light Packet shipping labels right from My eBay or PayPal, making it quicker, and easier for you to mail DVDs, CDs, and other small, lightweight items (weighing up to 500 grams) to the U.S.A. and international destinations.

Now, you can simply drop off your Light Packet shipments at the nearest Canada Post street letterbox or Post Office!

In addition to the new Light Packet online label printing feature, Canada Post is launching an eBay-exclusive, limited-time 20% discount for Light Packet U.S.A. shipments in the 100-250g weight range. The $2.99 introductory rate (regularly $3.74) will only be available until April 15, 2007.

For more information about Printing Shipping Labels on eBay, please see our information page.

For more information on Canada Post’s Light Packet U.S.A. service, please visit the Canada Post Web site at http://www.canadapost.ca/offerings/light_packet/us/about-e.asp

For more information on Canada Post’s Light Packet International service, please visit the Canada Post Web site at http://www.canadapost.ca/offerings/light_packet/int/about-e.asp.

Sincerely,

Ira Grossman
Manager, Shipping

™ Trademark of Canada Post Corporation

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	***Original: Coming Soon: Light Packet™ added to eBay Shipping Tool, 20% introductory discount ***
	05 January, 2007 | 13:12 Ira Grossman Hi, this is Ira Grossman from eBay's Shipping team. You may recall that back in September 2006, we began a course of action towards improving shipping services and pricing for Canadian sellers, including the ability to print Canada Post Light Packet™ shipping labels on eBay. I'm pleased to let you know you can now purchase and print Light Packet shipping labels directly from My eBay or PayPal. We, and the folks at Canada Post, are excited about this new offering, making it quicker, easier and more convenient for you to mail DVDs, CDs, and other small, lightweight items (weighing up to 500 grams) to the U.S. and international destinations. The eBay shipping tool combines pre-filled address labels with customs forms into one document, and it enables you to simply drop off your shipment at the nearest Canada Post street letterbox or Post Office. Along with the new service offering, Canada Post is launching an eBay-exclusive, limited-time 20% discount for Light Packet U.S.A. shipments in the 100-250g weight range. The $2.99 introductory rate (regularly $3.74) will only be available until April 15, 2007 (see online Light Packet rates below). CATEGORY PRICES (C$) 0-100 g 100-250 g 250-500 g Light Packet U.S.A. 1.78 2.99* 5.98 Light Packet International 3.49 6.98 11.98 * $2.99 rate only available until April 15, 2007, on Light Packet U.S.A. service for the 100-250g weight level Please note the following Light Packet specifications: Maximum dimensions: 380mm x 270mm x 20mm; Maximum weight: 500 grams; Delivery Confirmation and insurance coverage is not included; Delivery times are equivalent to Canada Post's USA and International Letter-post; customers can expect their package to be delivered in 4-6 business days to the USA, and 4-7 business days to International destinations; All small packages leaving Canada require applicable customs documentation, and it is the seller's responsibility to ensure all appropriate documentation is included. For more information on Canada Post's Light Packet service, please click here or visit the Canada Post web site at http://www.canadapost.ca/offerings/light_packet/us/about-e.asp. I wish you a happy and successful selling year in 2007. Sincerely, Ira Grossman Manager, Shipping ™ Trademark of Canada Post Corporation
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Bill Cobb

Today I talked about the state of eBay and our 2007 priorities with a number of North American sellers who joined us in California. We also made my remarks available by recorded webcast, which I invite you to listen to by clicking 2007 eBay eCommerce Keynote from Bill Cobb.

We all know that the internet continues to evolve and become more competitive. There are many more choices for buyers who want to shop online than ever before. We’ve done in-depth research to help us understand online buyers today – and as you might expect, their expectations are growing. Across the web, the buying experience is improving quickly. That’s a good thing – it assures the continued growth of e-commerce, and it raises the bar for eBay and our sellers.

We have the opportunity in 2007 to make significant improvements to the buyer experience on eBay. We’ll do it by focusing on these high-level priorities over the next year:

• Reinvest in eBay’s core by simplifying the site, improving finding, and accentuating the things that make eBay fun and unique.
  
  
• Take a more proactive approach to Trust & Safety to protect our members from fraud.
  
  
• Improve the buyer experience on the site by holding sellers to higher minimum standards.
  
  

Reinvesting in eBay’s Core
eBay is about more than just buying stuff -- eBay is about finding items you won’t find anywhere else and buying them in a way that’s fun and engaging. As e-commerce becomes more crowded and competitive, eBay’s unique differentiation will become even more important. So we’re investing in core auctions and the buying experience in general.

Take finding, for example – we’re going to make it easier for buyers to find what they’re looking for on the site. We’ll also be doing things to emphasize the thrill of winning a great deal – the kick of transacting online with others who share your passions – the excitement of finding new things and connecting with people all over the world. This is the DNA that defines eBay.

Throughout 2007 we’ll be making changes like these that allow us to test and fine-tune new innovations without disruption to the marketplace. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

A More Proactive Approach to Trust & Safety
It’s no secret that online criminals who target sites like eBay and PayPal have grown in number and sophistication over time. You’ve read several recent messages from my friend Rob Chesnut, eBay’s Senior Vice President of Global Trust & Safety, about Safeguarding Member IDs, which protects bidder User IDs on high-end items from fake Second Chance Offers and other malicious email, and Buyer Protection which encourages safe payments, and eliminates coverage for unsafe payment methods.

These changes represent a shift in our philosophy on protecting eBay members. Where we’ve historically put an emphasis on transparency and free choice, today the security threats are more complex, and we’re more actively protecting our buyers from fraud, as well as other bad experiences on eBay.

Aside from these visible changes, we’ve also been busy behind the scenes. One big issue we’ve fought on eBay since the early days is counterfeits. Make no mistake – counterfeits are illegal and not welcome on eBay. As a buyer, wondering if you are going to get a counterfeit item on eBay is a terrible experience. And, our legitimate sellers know how counterfeits hurt the marketplace for everyone.

We’ve cooperated with copyright and trademark owners via our VeRO program to bring down counterfeit listings for years, but recently we put stricter measures in place to further safeguard the buyer experience. For some items reportedly favored by counterfeiters, we’ve started requiring additional seller verification, we’ve eliminated the ability to list these items with 1 or 3-day auction durations, and we’ve put in additional restrictions for people selling these items cross-border. (Read our FAQs for more details)

So far, these efforts appear to be paying off with minimal disruption to our legitimate sellers.

Holding sellers to higher minimum standards
Another way we improve the buyer experience is to adjust the standards to which we hold sellers on eBay. It’s a fact that the majority of bad buyer experiences result from circumstances controlled by sellers. Buyers are less likely to return to the site after having a frustrating experience -- like finding the shipping & handling charges are excessive, receiving an item that is not as described, or experiencing poor customer service.

It’s clear we have a shared responsibility with our sellers to make sure our buyers have satisfactory experiences. Historically, eBay’s philosophy has been to allow practically anyone to sell, with few restrictions. Going forward, we’ll apply higher minimum standards for selling on the site. These changes will improve the marketplace for the vast majority of sellers who deliver a good customer experience. Here are some other ways we’re addressing this issue:

• Private Feedback & Cross-Border Trade Requirements -- Last fall we eliminated the ability for sellers to make their feedback private. We’ve also raised the bar for sellers who want to sell cross-border. To list outside one's home registration site, sellers must establish their identity by becoming PayPal Verified (sellers with established track records will not be affected by this requirement.) (Read FAQs for more details.)
  
  
• Safe Payment Requirement for New Sellers -- Today I announced that we’ll be requiring all newly registered sellers to accept PayPal or a merchant credit card. We know that PayPal is the safest way to pay on eBay, and we want to make sure our buyers have this option with new sellers. (Existing sellers will not be affected by this requirement. Read FAQs for more details.)
  
  
• Feedback 2.0 -- eBay pioneered online reputation systems with the feedback system back in the ‘90s – and since then, our members have loved to debate its merits. The fact is, it’s a great system, but it needs some refinement to keep pace with our marketplace. Today I announced Feedback 2.0, which we’ll be launching in pilot markets next month. Feedback 2.0 will add a new dimension to the current system, allowing buyers to rate transactions on item description, communication, shipping time, and shipping & handling charges. The average of each of the Detailed Seller Ratings is displayed on the seller’s Feedback Profile page. It’s a simple system that rewards sellers by recognizing and spotlighting the things they do to ensure customer satisfaction. We’ll share more about Feedback 2.0 in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
  

Feedback Recency
Speaking of Feedback, I also announced an important change launching later this year that I think many members will appreciate. For years, members have asked us why we don’t retire old feedback that has lost its relevance, especially old negatives. Later this year, we are going to archive all but the last 24 months of feedback history. Your total score will remain, but your percent will be based on just the last 2 years of activity. All comments older than this will be archived.

Heading into a new year, eBay is stronger than it’s ever been, and I’m incredibly excited about the future, and I hope you are, too. I’m going to be hosting my first Town Hall of 2007 on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 4:00pm PT. We’ll be using our new radio format that allows you to phone in and ask your questions on the air, so I hope you’ll join us.

Sincerely,

Bill Cobb
President, Marketplaces North America

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How Does it Work? Insertion fees for Auction Format & Fixed Price listings will be revised on eBay.ca for Canadian residents only. *Plus, listings eligible for the reduced 10¢ insertion fee can get an additional 25% off Final Value Fees (up to a maximum FVF discount of $1.25 per listing) when a Canada Post or UPS shipping label is printed online through PayPal between January 17, 2007 00:00:01 ET and February 4, 2007 03:00:01 ET.

Who is included? All Canadian resident users who list their items in Auction Format or Fixed Price on eBay.ca only will be eligible for the 10¢ promotional fee. Plus, listings eligible for the reduced 10¢ insertion fee can get an additional 25% off Final Value Fees (up to a maximum FVF discount of $1.25 per listing) when a Canada Post or UPS shipping label is printed online through PayPal between January 17, 2007 00:00:01 ET and February 4, 2007 03:00:01 ET. 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 10¢ promotional fee for each category.

What is excluded? Buy It Now feature upgrade, Motors vehicles, Business and Industrial Capital Equipment, Store Inventory Format, Real Estate Auction Format listings and Real Estate Ad Format listings will not be included in this promotion. All Multiple Item Auctions (Dutch Auction, Fixed Price listings & Lot listings) are not eligible for the 25% off Final Value Fee discount. 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 January 17, 2007, but scheduled to start after the promotion ends. The 25% off Final Value Fee discount does not apply to any listings other than those eligible for the 10¢ listing day.

Click here to read more.

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Rob Chesnut

Hello… This is Rob Chesnut, eBay’s Senior Vice President of Trust & Safety. I’ve been working with my partner at PayPal, Dan Levy, Senior Director of Consumer Protection, on a joint effort to increase the protection we offer buyers on eBay. Buyer Protection is important to the Community – buyers and sellers alike – because the confidence and trust that buyers have in transacting on eBay fuels the whole marketplace.

As you know, we’ve built our Online Dispute Resolution system to ensure that buyers and sellers get the opportunity to work things out before a dispute results in a claim. But when a buyer is making the critical decision whether or not to place a bid or buy an item, just knowing up front that there is protection answers the “what if” questions – this peace of mind gives buyers the confidence they need to choose eBay, especially when buying more expensive items.

To help increase buyer trust on eBay, next week we will be expanding coverage on eBay.com in the U.S. and eBay Canada on items paid for with PayPal in these ways:

• In Canada, PayPal will be offering up to C$315 of protection with NO processing fee on ALL PayPal transactions for tangible goods (excluding vehicles). PayPal is offered on over 95% of listings in Canada, so buyers can choose to be protected on the vast majority of listings. There is no processing fee, no minimum purchase price, and no seller requirements.
  
  
• In Canada, PayPal Buyer Protection will be increased to cover up to C$2,000 for tangible items listed by qualified sellers. This is a huge increase in coverage for high-end items being bought and sold on eBay. It almost doubles the current C$1,250 coverage offered for tangible items listed by qualified sellers. And over 71% of listings in Canada qualify. Note: In the U.S., tangible items listed by qualified sellers will be covered for up to $2,000.

Qualified items will clearly indicate the amount of coverage available on the item page. This means that buyers will know – right at the time they are making their buying decisions – that they are covered if they pay with PayPal.

There is one more important change we’ll be making at eBay. Beginning next week, eBay will discontinue the eBay Standard Purchase Protection Program (SPPP) in the U.S. and Canada.

This program, which was established in 1999 before eBay acquired PayPal, has covered all eBay transactions, except for items paid for with cash or instant money transfer services, for up to US$200 minus a US$25 processing fee. In the early days of eBay, the program served an important function, providing some measure of purchase protection for paper transactions (cashier’s cheques, money orders and personal cheques) that constituted the bulk of eBay transactions. The time and costs associated with verifying a dwindling number of non-PayPal paper claims, however, has led to a poor user experience. Buyers also expressed frustration with the US$25 processing fee.

But there’s another issue with SPPP that becomes more important as eBay grows. From a risk management and fraud prevention perspective, SPPP is flawed, because it offers coverage on the riskiest payment methods. This is clearly not in the best interests of the marketplace long-term.

While eBay has established an Accepted Payments policy and we do allow other established payment methods on the site, one thing is true -- PayPal is a safe way to pay on eBay. PayPal enables eBay members to shop without sharing their financial information with sellers, and PayPal’s sophisticated fraud prevention mechanisms are eBay’s best defense against internet fraud. We want to build on this solid foundation. These changes in our protection programs are important in our efforts to encourage safer transactions, improve customer satisfaction, and provide more coverage for more transactions than we can today.

These changes to the protection we offer buyers are important to the future health of our marketplace and the growth of our sellers’ businesses. We’ll be answering questions about these changes in an upcoming workshop, so please stay tuned for the date and time.

Sincerely,

Rob Chesnut
Senior Vice President, eBay Global Trust & Safety

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Rob Chesnut

A couple of months ago, I told you about an important new initiative called Safeguarding Member IDs. Safeguarding Member IDs (SMI) is a significant step forward in protecting eBay's bidders, who have increasingly become targets for unwanted commercial and malicious spam, such as phishing, spoof, and fake Second Chance Offers.

SMI adds a new layer of privacy by replacing specific User IDs with aliases (bidder 1, bidder 2, bidder 3, etc.). To ensure buyers continue to feel trust in the bidding process, SMI also provides an updated Bid History page with aggregate information about the bidders involved in a given listing, as well as their other recent activity with the listing's seller.

Coming this week: eBay.com and eBay Canada to Launch SMI
Following SMI's introduction last fall on eBay Motors, our eBay sites in the United Kingdom and Australia also made the decision to launch SMI. The results we're seeing for all three launches indicate that these changes are having the impact we are striving for – in short, a reduction in unwanted commercial and malicious spam (including Fake Second Chance Offers) to bidders on higher-priced auction-style listings.

As a result eBay.com and eBay.ca will be launching SMI later this week. SMI will impact listings on eBay.com that start at or reach a bid level of $200 or greater. On eBay Canada, it will impact listings above the C$220 level.

Community Concerns
I'd like to acknowledge the concerns we've heard from some members who believe these changes may encourage shill bidding (the act of using friends or alias User IDs to bid on a seller's own listing to artificially increase the bidding level.) Let me make it very clear that shill bidding is not tolerated on eBay (read our shill bidding policy).

In addition to the Bid History changes I've described above which are designed to give buyers the information they need to feel confident, it's important to know that over the years, eBay has invested heavily in shill detection systems. We can proactively detect and investigate possible shill bidding scenarios with a higher rate of accuracy than ever before. These backend systems collect more information on selling and bidding activity than our Community has access to, so we can detect patterns and ascertain identities much more accurately.

Be assured that we will continue to monitor the sites where SMI has launched to ensure that increased shill bidding does not become an unintended consequence of SMI.

I want to thank the Community for the support you've shown for these changes thus far. While reducing transparency on the site is understandably controversial, I believe these changes strike the right balance between the need for openness and the need to protect our members from online threats.

Sincerely,

Rob Chesnut
Senior Vice President, eBay Global Trust & Safety

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