Why are we changing the User Agreement and Privacy Policy?

It’s been over two and a half years since we made a change to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy. Since then eBay has grown and changed considerably. We needed to make sure these agreements stay relevant to the current state of the site.

In addition, the old policies had become too long and complex over the years. Just as eBay’s other policies have been rewritten to be more concise and understandable, we’ve simplified and shortened the User Agreement and Privacy Policy to make them easier to read.

Finally, there are a couple substantive changes that we needed to make. Here is a quick summary of the main changes to the User Agreement (UA) and Privacy Policy (PP):

Late Fee Withdrawal From PayPal After 180 Days Past Due
This is a material change that we’re making to our User Agreement. For seller accounts that have balances more than 180 days overdue, eBay may collect the overdue balance owed from that seller’s PayPal account. The vast majority of our sellers settle their balances on time or before 180 days. eBay will resort to a PayPal withdrawal only after the balance has been overdue 180 days and our other collection efforts have been unsuccessful. We believe this helps level the playing field for the rest of the sellers who pay their bills. (Please note: Should eBay withdraw late fees, this will not alter the status of a seller’s PayPal account or funds remaining after the withdrawal.)

Use of Third-Party Information
This new section in the User Agreement and Privacy Policy outlines how, in addition to data from eBay, we might purchase information from third-party companies, such as about hobbies and interests, to better tailor the site according to your preferences. One point I want to make very clear: If you have opted out of receiving any of our marketing mail and email, this change will not impact you. This change merely gives us access to data that is already in the public domain and in use by other companies, so we can market to you in a more relevant way when you have your marketing preferences set to “yes.”

Shorter and More Concise Language
Previous versions of the UA and PP contained a lot of duplicate information that can be found in other areas of the site, especially within our policies. To make these documents easier to read and understand, we’ve removed most of this repeat information and tightened up the rest of the text. For example, the User Agreement used to provide information on our listing policy that allows only 10 of the same non-Store items at any one time. This has been removed since it is covered within our Multiple Listing Limits policy section.

To see our revised User Agreement, please click here.

To see our revised Privacy Policy, please click here.

Sincerely,

Scott Shipman
Senior Counsel, Global Privacy Practices

Link to this announcement | Back to top

We are also adding a link to the About Me Page discussion board on the About Me landing page to help you find expert assistance when building your own About Me page.

You can learn more about EPS in the Picture Services help area.

Link to this announcement | Back to top

In the next few weeks we will extend the ability to list your item’s condition to listings within the eBay Motors Parts & Accessories categories.

Sellers using eBay listing tools (such as the Sell Your Item form or Turbo Lister) will be able to include this information in the next few weeks. If you utilize a 3rd party listing service (e.g., Andale, Marketworks, etc.), please contact them to verify that they will offer the item condition functionality in these categories.

We have started a thread on the eBay Motors discussion board to provide more detail about this upcoming change. To access the thread please click here.

Link to this announcement | Back to top

Tune in to eBay Radio today, November 29, 2005 with your host Griff (Jim Griffith), Dean of eBay University, live from 11:00 to 13:00 PT. Guests this week include:

• Gerri Detweiler, Credit Expert, who will talk about keeping your business credit separate from your personal credit. She'll also provide some tips on improving your credit rating so you can borrow more money to buy and sell on eBay.
• Jason Miner, who will be back again for The PayPal Hour. Jason will show how buyers and sellers can use eBay Gift Certificates this holiday season.
• Lee Mirabal, who continues to add her eBay purchases to the WSRadio green room for our weekly eBay Holiday Shopping Spree. Hear what Lee bought this week and get tips on searching and buying.
• Bob Miller, The Answer Man, who will join Griff this week to help him answer your questions during our open phone segment.

Plus Lee will return later with her usual "The News" segment, and we'll of course have the most important feature on eBay Radio: your calls! Call in during the show at 888-327-0061 (USA) or 001-858-623-0102 (Internationally) to talk with Griff and his guests or to ask a question and share your voice with the rest of the eBay Community. Remember, one lucky caller per week, selected at random, will receive an autographed copy of Griff's book, "The Official eBay Bible".

If you can't catch the live show you can always select and listen to any past eBay Radio broadcast, listed by topic and date, in the eBay Radio archives. Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

Link to this announcement | Back to top

• Home Page Featured
• Featured Plus!
• Border
• Subtitle

The 50% Off Big Upgrades Sale starts on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and ends at 23:59:59 PT on Wednesday, November 30, 2005 (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Listings created prior to November 29, 2005 and scheduled to start during the promotional period (November 29-30, 2005) will be eligible for the promotional rate. It's a great time to add selling features to showcase your listings and attract even more buyers!

During the 50% Off Big Upgrades Sale:

For auction-style, Fixed Price, Real Estate, and certain Ad Format listings, the fee for Homepage Featured (for both single and multi-quantity listings), Featured Plus!, Border, and Subtitle will be 50% off. This promotion will not apply to the following types of listings: Motors vehicles and non-vehicles, International, Live Auction, Professional Services, and Store Inventory listings. Please click here for full promotion details.

We hope you enjoy the 50% Off Big Upgrades Sale!

Link to this announcement | Back to top

During the eBay Motors Parts and Accessories 50¢ Insertion Fee sale:

For regular auction-style and Fixed Price Parts and Accessories listings with a starting price above $9.99 on the U.S. Motors site (www.ebaymotors.com), the insertion fee will be capped at $0.50. All insertion fees less than $0.50 will still be charged at the normal rate. For more information about insertion fees during this promotion, please click here.

Listings created prior to November 29, 2005 that are scheduled to start during the promotional period (November 29, 2005) will be eligible to receive the promotional rate. Excluded are Vehicle listings, listings on international eBay sites, Live Auction listings, Professional Services and Store Inventory listings, and listings on www.ebay.com. For full details about the sale, please see our information page.

We hope you enjoy the eBay Motors Parts & Accessories 50¢ Insertion Fee sale!

Link to this announcement | Back to top

In the next few days, we’re making a few content changes to make the process more helpful. Please note: These changes will not change the actual UPI process itself. We’re just improving some of the wording and guidance that we provide within the process.

Some of the changes include:

• Resolution Tips - Designed to instruct buyers and sellers on how to achieve a successful outcome, these tips will be prominently displayed at the top of the View Dispute and View Dispute: Enter Response pages.
• Additional action links - “Relist Item” and “Second Chance Offer” links will be provided on the Dispute Closed and Dispute Closed Successfully pages to give sellers more options at the end of the process.
• New Dropdown Options and Clarifying Text – We’ve clarified several of the dropdown selections with clearer choices. For example, “The buyer’s payment has not been received” and “The buyer’s payment has not cleared” will be two separate options, replacing one which reads, “Payment has not been received or has not yet cleared”.

Link to this announcement | Back to top

Product Sourcing with Trade Publications
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, November 29th from 11:00 PT to 12:00 PT. Join Lisa Suttora, Founder and CEO of WhatDoISell.com, an eBay Certified Service Provider, as she discusses how to generate ideas for products to sell on eBay, how to locate suppliers, and how to learn about new product trends. She will also provide tips on how to become an expert in your niche by using trade publications.

Community Resources Overview
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, November 30th from 14:00 PT to 15:00 PT. Ever looked at the Community button at the top of our pages and wondered what’s behind it? Join this beginner’s workshop to learn about what the Community area has to offer. Join eBay Staff as we review everything from how the discussion boards work and how to join an eBay Group to where to find eBay’s latest news and announcements.

Workshops are hosted in discussion threads on the Workshops Board. To get to the Workshops Board:

• Click on Community at the top of almost any eBay page
• Click on "Discussion Boards" in the "Connect" Section
• Click on "Workshops" underneath the category-specific boards on the right-hand side of the page
• This will bring you to the threaded Workshops Board.

To view archived workshops or to learn more about future workshop events, please check our Workshop Calendar.

Want timely reminders about workshops? Sign up for the Workshops Information Group! By joining this group, you will receive an email notification reminding you about upcoming eBay Workshops. Each notification will include the time and date, a brief description of the event, and a link to the discussion thread where the actual workshop will be held.

To sign up for the Workshops Information Group, please click here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Link to this announcement | Back to top

Tune in to eBay Radio today, November 22, 2005 with your host Griff (Jim Griffith), Dean of eBay University, live from 11:00 to 13:00 PT. Guests this week include:

• Greg Cole of Hammertapnow.com, who will discuss the five hottest products on eBay so far this holiday season and provide tips on improving their closing prices.
• Laura Della Torre, Manager of eBay Market Data, who will show us how eBay's market data can help improve your sales.
• Lee Mirabal, who continues to add her eBay purchases to the WSRadio green room for our weekly eBay Holiday Shopping Spree. Hear what Lee bought this week and get tips on searching and buying.

Plus Lee will return later with her usual "The News" segment, and we'll of course have the most important feature on eBay Radio: your calls! Call in during the show at 888-327-0061 (USA) or 001-858-623-0102 (Internationally) to talk with Griff and his guests or to ask a question and share your voice with the rest of the eBay Community. Remember, one lucky caller per week, selected at random, will receive an autographed copy of Griff's book, "The Official eBay Bible".

If you can't catch the live show you can always select and listen to any past eBay Radio broadcast, listed by topic and date, in the eBay Radio archives. Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

Link to this announcement | Back to top

The promotion starts on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and ends that same day, Tuesday, November 22, 2005 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Listings which were created prior to November 22, 2005 and scheduled to start during the promotional period will also be eligible for the special promotional rate.

During the 50% Off Fixed Price Insertion Fee Sale:

For Fixed Price format listings, the insertion fee will be 50% off. For more information about this promotional pricing, please click here.

The 50% Off Fixed Price Insertion Fee Sale will not apply to eBay Motors vehicles and non-vehicles, International, Live Auction, Professional Services, Real Estate, Ad Format, and Store Inventory listings. Also, the following Business & Industrial categories are excluded from this promotion: tractors & farm machinery (category #91952), heavy equipment (25249), concession trailers, carts (67145), imaging and aesthetics equipment (92035), forklifts and other lifts (97185), manufacturing equipment (92080), metalworking equipment (92082), and commercial printing presses (26247). Please click here for full promotion details.

We hope you enjoy the one-day 50% Off Fixed Price Insertion Fee Sale!

Link to this announcement | Back to top

We’ve received a lot of good input from sellers who have helped us “kick the tires” on SYI Alpha 1 and SYI Alpha 2. We’ve incorporated much of what we’ve learned from you into the newest version of the tool that we’re releasing today. We’re getting closer to the final version of SYI 3.0, so we’re calling this version SYI: Early Access.

We encourage you to try our new SYI: Early Access version and let us know what you think. Making the Early Access version your regular listing tool will help us continue to fine-tune the form before its official release sometime in 2006. Plus, it’s a great way to get a head start in transitioning to the new form.

New features in this version of SYI include:

• A simple 1-2-3 listing process -- fewer pages and fields help cut down on the time it takes to create a listing.
• A “category suggestions” feature – this ensures your item is listed in the best category for maximum exposure to buyers.
• Dynamic help and personalized tips – these provide guidance and best practices to help you create a better listing.
• Listing preview section – see what your listing will look like when viewed by potential buyers before you submit your listing.
• Re-usable listing templates – these make it easier for you to list additional items.

One note for eBay Motors sellers: the Motors categories won’t be available via the Search Category Selection feature for a few more weeks. In the meantime, you can still select eBay Motors categories when listing by using Browse Category Selection.

To access the new Sell Your Item: Early Access form, see our information page. You can also get to the page by clicking on Sell at the top of almost every eBay page, and then clicking on the link at the top of that page (next to the light bulb).

Thanks in advance for your feedback, and for helping us build a better Sell Your Item form!

Sincerely,

David Wygant
Product Marketing Manager

Link to this announcement | Back to top

Call in during the show at 888-327-0061 to talk with Griff to ask a question and share your voice with the rest of the eBay Community. And as a special promotion, all callers that get through and speak with Griff live on the air will win a special "You Got the Griff" T-shirt.

If you can't catch the live show you can always select and listen to any past eBay Radio broadcast, listed by topic and date, in the eBay Radio archives. Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

Link to this announcement | Back to top

As a refresher, Reviews & Guides is a place where members can write reviews for certain products, or create informational how-to guides on just about any topic. It’s a great resource for buyers who want to research a type of item before making a purchase, or to simply give you a place to share your opinion with the world.

To make Reviews & Guides even more helpful, I’m pleased to let you know that now each writer of a review or guide will have what we call a User Content Page. If you find someone whose material you find really valuable, this page will let you see all the other reviews and guides they’ve written. You’ll be able to access each writer’s page from an icon next to any review or guide they write, and also from a link on their Member Profile page.

Another addition we’ve made is what we’re calling Reviewer Rankings. Since we first launched Reviews & Guides, members have been able to rate reviews by how helpful they are. Those reviews that have been voted most helpful could reach “Top Review” status. Now reviewers themselves will get a special icon according to how often their content is voted helpful. For example, you could get an icon indicating you’re a “Top 25” reviewer, or “Top 1000”. To see an example of what these icons look like, please see our Help page.

For more information about Reviews & Guides in general, please see our information page. We hope you enjoy the new additions to Reviews & Guides!

Sincerely,

Matt Ackley
Senior Director, Marketing

Link to this announcement | Back to top

File Exchange, designed for large sellers, allows sellers to list a high number of tickets at one time through a flat file that can be created from an MS Excel spreadsheet, MS Access, or other inventory software. Sellers must meet the standard File Exchange requirements in order to use this tool. For more details about this feature you can also visit the File Exchange page in Seller Central.

If you list your items through an eBay seller tool (the Sell Your Item form, Turbo Lister, Selling Manager, etc.) or the eBay API, the Event Catalog will be available in late November. If you utilize a 3rd party listing service (e.g., Vendio, Andale), please contact them to verify that they will offer the Catalog functionality in this category.

We have started threads on the Sports Cards, Memorabilia & Fanshop board, as well as on the Music & Musicians board, to provide more detail about the upcoming product features and launch.

Link to this announcement | Back to top

Please visit our Town Hall page to read the transcript or to listen to the audio archive.

Link to this announcement | Back to top
	***Previous update: Join the eBay Town Hall Event Today at 3:30pm PT***
	November 02, 2005 | 09:17AM PST/PT Don’t forget to join Bill Cobb, President of eBay North America, for our Town Hall event this afternoon from 3:30pm PT to 5:00pm PT. Bill and some of his executive team will answer questions submitted before and during the event. To submit your question or comment, please visit our Town Hall page. You can listen to the audio of this Town Hall through Windows Media Player or Real Player. Details on how to download and install the latest versions of both of these are available on our Town Hall page.
	Link to this announcement | Back to top
	***Original: Save The Date: eBay Town Hall Event on Wednesday, November 2nd***
	October 21, 2005 | 03:02PM PST/PT Bill Cobb Hi everyone, This is Bill Cobb, President of eBay North America. Please join me for our next Town Hall event on Wednesday, November 2nd, at 3:30pm PST. Rather than focus on a single topic as we’ve done for recent Town Hall events, I’d like to open this one up to any questions you might have. I hope you’ll let me know what’s on your mind. Visit our Town Hall page to submit a question or comment in advance. 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. Thanks, and I hope you’ll join us November 2nd! Sincerely, Bill Cobb President, eBay North America
	Link to this announcement | Back to top

For example, if the highest bid on a skid steer is $4,000, but the Reserve of $5,000 is not met, the seller could make a Second Chance Offer to the high bidder at a price of $4,500 instead of going all the way down to $4,000.

This feature will be available in the following categories, as well as their subcategories:

• Agriculture & Forestry > Tractors & Farm Machinery
• Construction > Heavy Equipment, Trailers
• Food Service & Retail > Concession Trailers & Carts
• Healthcare, Lab & Life Science > Imaging & Aesthetics Equipment
• Industrial Supply, MRO > Fork Lifts & Other Lifts
• Manufacturing & Metalworking > Manufacturing Equipment
• Manufacturing & Metalworking > Metalworking Equipment
• Office, Printing & Shipping > Commercial Printing Presses

Link to this announcement | Back to top

In the next few weeks we will extend the ability to list your item’s condition to listings within the Business & Industrial categories.

Sellers using eBay listing tools (such as the Sell Your Item form or Turbo Lister) will be able to include this information in the next few weeks. If you utilize a 3rd party listing service (e.g., Andale, Marketworks, etc.), please contact them to verify that they will offer the item condition functionality in these categories.

We have started a thread on the Business & Industrial discussion board to provide more detail about this upcoming change. To access the thread please click here.

Link to this announcement | Back to top

We also invite you to join us for a couple of special Pinks Day events:

A Pink Game on The Park
How well do you know the eBay site? eBay Staff will ask questions relating to the areas of eBay they work in, and the first member to answer each question correctly will receive a prize! Visit the Pinks Game thread on The Park discussion board to find out more.

The thread will be open for posting in the morning and the game will continue throughout the day as different staff arrive to ask their questions!

Welcome New Pinks in The Park
Some eBay staff will be posting for the first time, or are still pretty new to posting, so we've created a thread where they can introduce themselves to the Community - and you can introduce yourself to the Pinks! Please stop by, say hello, and tell us about yourself on the Welcome New Pinks thread on The Park Discussion Board.

To find the discussions that staff are taking part in, look for the little "eBay" icon next to a topic title.

To get to the discussion boards, click "Community" at the top of any eBay page, then click "Discussion Boards."

We look forward to seeing you there!

Link to this announcement | Back to top

Tune in to eBay Radio today, November 15, 2005 with your host Griff (Jim Griffith), Dean of eBay University, live from 11:00 to 13:00 PT. Guests this week include:

• Lee Mirabal, who will go on an eBay holiday shopping spree with her own eBay personal shopper: Griff! He'll guide and advise her with tips on effective holiday searching and buying.
• Greg Isaacs, Director of the eBay Developers Program, who will share some important announcements about the program. Greg will be joined by John Plummer from Receller, Inc. Receller lets you take photos and list items from your camera cell phone.

Plus Lee will return later with "The News", and we'll of course have the most important feature on eBay Radio: your calls! Call in during the show at 888-327-0061 (USA) or 001-858-623-0102 (Internationally) to talk with Griff and his guests or to ask a question and share your voice with the rest of the eBay Community. Remember, one lucky caller per week, selected at random, will receive an autographed copy of Griff's book, "The Official eBay Bible".

If you can't catch the live show you can always select and listen to any past eBay Radio broadcast, listed by topic and date, in the eBay Radio archives. Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

Link to this announcement | Back to top

The 1¢ Sale will be available on the following sites:

• U.S. (www.ebay.com)
• eBay Motors (www.ebaymotors.com), for non-vehicle listings only.

The promotion will start Tuesday, November 15, 2005 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and end on Wednesday, November 16, 2005 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Listings created prior to November 15, 2005 and scheduled to start during the promotional period (November 15 - November 16, 2005) will be eligible for the promotional rate. Dress up your listings for the holidays and use Subtitle, Gift Services, and Listing Designer for added visibility and to attract more buyers.

During the 1¢ Sale:

For auction-style, Fixed Price, Ad Format (for those that will run for less than or equal to 30 days) and Motors non-vehicles listings, the fees for Subtitle, Listing Designer, and Gift Services will be 1¢. This promotion will not apply to the following types of listings: eBay Motors vehicles, International, Live Auction, Professional Services, and Stores Inventory listings. The Gift Services upgrade is also only available for listings on www.ebay.com. For full promotion details, please see our information page.

We hope you enjoy the 1¢ Subtitle, Gift Services and Listing Designer Sale!

Link to this announcement | Back to top