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May 2006
***Updated: Item Numbers Expanding***

May 31, 2006 | 12:22PM PST/PT


As outlined in our previous post directly below, our item numbers will begin expanding in the next few days. We are going to slowly introduce these larger numbers throughout June, so you may not see the expanded item numbers assigned to your items right away.


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***Previous update: Item Numbers Expanding***

May 19, 2006 | 09:59AM PST/PT


This is a reminder that eBay is expanding our 10-digit item numbers. Soon all new item numbers will be 11 and 12 digits. Over time, item numbers will expand as needed to up to 19 digits to accommodate listings growth.

We encourage sellers to check their business tools – such as spreadsheets, letter and label templates, etc. – to make sure they can handle item numbers that are up to 19 digits. If you use specialized software applications for listing and managing item data, please check with your developer to make sure they can support item numbers up to 19 digits.

For eBay Developers -- Please read our eBay Developers Blog to learn more about how to prepare your eBay applications.


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***Original: Item Numbers Expanding***

May 12, 2006 | 11:42AM PST/PT


To ensure the site can accommodate a growing number of listings, we've started increasing the number of digits included in our item numbers. Current item numbers will not be impacted, but all new listings will now have item numbers in the 12-digit range. These digits will increase over time to up to 19 to support future growth.


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***eBay Live! Officially Sold Out***

May 30, 2006 | 03:37PM PST/PT


Mike Rudolph

Mike Rudolph
It's a first! Thanks to thousands of enthusiastic eBay members, we've not only sold out eBay Live! in Las Vegas, but we've broken all our previous registration numbers.

If you're coming to eBay Live! in a couple weeks, you have a lot to look forward to. There will be many classes, countless networking opportunities, the Keynote address where Meg Whitman and Bill will share the latest eBay news, the Pinks Lounge, personal selling sessions...the list goes on and on. And of course we'll finish the celebration off with our Gala party, featuring Huey Lewis & the News.

This is an exciting milestone for us, and, and on behalf of all of eBay and PayPal, I want to thank our eBay Community for your support of eBay Live! We're all working hard to make this the most memorable event ever.

See you in Vegas!

Sincerely,

Mike Rudolph
Director, eBay Education & Events


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***More “Sell One Like This” Links***

May 30, 2006 | 02:16PM PST/PT


This week we're adding "Sell one like this" links on item pages. These links are already included on completed item pages, and give sellers a quick way to jump into the listing process.

As before, when you click one of these links, your new listing will have the same category as the original item pre-populated for you, as well as any Item Specifics. Any Pre-Filled Item Information that the seller used, such as title, description, and stock photo, will also be included. However, only this standard information will be included – nothing that the original seller wrote or created themselves will be pre-filled.


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***Upcoming Workshops: Customer Relationship Management and Using Market Research***

May 26, 2006 | 04:18PM PST/PT


We would like to invite you to attend the following workshops this week:

How Customer Relationship Management Can Separate You From Your Competition
This workshop will be held on Thursday, June 1st from 13:00 PT to 14:00 PT. In this workshop, Steve Yeich, CEO of Certified Solution Provider HostedSupport, will discuss how to make your customer relationships your most effective selling tool and help you outperform your competition.

Using Market Research to $pot Products that $ell
This workshop will be held on Friday, June 2nd from 11:00 PT to 12:00 PT. Do you know what products to sell, when to sell them, and how to gain a competitive edge when selling on eBay? Please join Sara Taheri, Dave Frey, and Morgan Brooks, Brand Managers from eBay Certified Provider Terapeak, as they demonstrate how market research can help eBay sellers $pot Products that $ell. During the workshop, they will present a variety of examples and tips to show you how market research can be used to determine what products will sell in the marketplace.

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

  • Go to www.ebay.com
  • Click on Community at the top of the page
  • Click on "Workshops" in the "Events" section
  • This will bring you to the threaded Workshops Board.

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

Want timely reminders about workshops? We recommend two ways to make sure you never miss an important workshop:

  • Sign up for the Workshops Information Group! By joining this group, you will receive an email notification reminding you about upcoming eBay Workshops. (To sign up for the Workshops Information Group, please click here.)
  • Subscribe to the RSS feed for the Workshop board. When a new workshop becomes active, your RSS reader will be updated. (You can also subscribe to just the specific topic thread that interests you.) To subscribe, click on the RSS button ( ) at the bottom of the Workshop board or thread. Copy and paste the feed URL into your reader to subscribe. For more information on RSS, please read our RSS Help page.

We look forward to seeing you there!


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***eBay Live! Almost Sold Out – Last Minute Registration Until Tuesday***

May 26, 2006 | 12:13PM PST/PT

Mike Rudolph

Mike Rudolph
Hi everyone. I have some great news – eBay Live! is almost completely sold out. A record-breaking number of eBay members will be congregating at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas from June 13-15 to meet, learn and network. We’re thrilled that so many of you will be joining us at the event.

As Bill Cobb mentioned earlier, we really don’t want to leave anyone out. So we’re holding registration open until Tuesday morning at 6am PT to give everyone one last chance to sign up. To reserve one of the last spots, please visit our information page.

I hope to see you in a few weeks – we can't wait!

Sincerely,

Mike Rudolph
Director, eBay Education & Events


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***Introducing the PayPal Plus Credit Card – Great Rewards + No Interest on Purchases until 2007***

May 25, 2006 | 01:57PM PST/PT


This week PayPal is introducing the new PayPal Plus Credit Card. PayPal Plus is a new MasterCard that can be used online and offline, anywhere that MasterCard is accepted. Additionally, the PayPal Plus Credit Card features a rewards program free with your card that applies to all of your purchases. Wherever you make a card purchase – online or offline – you'll earn points towards eBay Reward Coupons. See our information page to learn more.

As an added bonus, cardholders can take advantage of a special introductory offer – 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers until 2007. This limited-time offer is good through August 31, 2006, and will automatically appear on eBay items over $50 as long as sellers accept PayPal and have not opted out of displaying PayPal Buyer Credit messages on their listings. This promotion is completely free of charge to sellers (regular PayPal fees apply).


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***A message from Bill Cobb – eBay Agreement with Yahoo!***

May 25, 2006 | 05:00AM PST/PT

Bill Cobb
Bill Cobb

I’d like to share an important piece of news with our Community. eBay and Yahoo! have signed an agreement to work closer together in ways that will benefit both of our communities of users. I want to explain some of the details of this agreement and how they’ll benefit both buyers and sellers in the eBay marketplace.

Here are the main areas of agreement:

Increased inclusion of eBay sponsored and web search results on Yahoo!
We know that for eBay sellers, it’s all about buyer demand. As a part of this agreement, eBay and Yahoo! have agreed to collaborate in the area of sponsored search (that is, purchased keywords) and web search (content on the Internet that is indexed by Yahoo!). The net result is that eBay sellers will benefit from a more comprehensive inclusion of eBay pages on Yahoo! Search, and an increase in sponsored search results across Yahoo!’s U.S. pages.

For example, on the web search side, eBay and Yahoo! are collaborating on technology to improve the way eBay.com pages are delivered for indexing by Yahoo!, in order to expand the number of eBay.com web search results on Yahoo!. In sponsored search, the two companies will collaborate to allow Yahoo! to accept many more keyword purchases from eBay.com, improving eBay’s inclusion in sponsored search results.

These efforts will mean that Yahoo!’s millions of users will have more access to eBay listings, and eBay.com sellers should benefit from increased traffic to the site.

eBay looking to Yahoo! for best-in-class search marketing
The sales, implementation, and management of ad space on the Internet is a highly specialized function, and Yahoo! is a leader in this area. While eBay serves up many graphical ads on the site today, quite frankly, our own advertising infrastructure is not as robust as it could be. Instead of investing in more infrastructure for eBay, we’re pleased to be partnering with Yahoo! who can provide this service as a benefit to our buyers and sellers.

Another area eBay will work with Yahoo! on is improving our keyword ad program. We realize that sellers have wanted better service and support than has been provided through our current eBay Keywords program. I believe eBay’s marketplace will benefit from leveraging Yahoo!’s strengths in this area.

Over the summer, eBay and Yahoo! will also be testing new text ad placements on some eBay pages. For instance, we’ll be looking at placements at the bottom of search results pages if there are no matching items found. We’ll be testing other placements on a limited number of search results pages, too, as a way to learn what works well for eBay buyers and sellers. This will include testing some sponsored search ads for complementary products and services – for example, a buyer searching for a hair dryer might be presented with sponsored search ads for related items like shampoo or hair brushes. To be clear, we will not place ads on view item pages.

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.

Additional areas of the agreement
PayPal is rapidly becoming the standard way to pay on the Internet. Today, we’re very pleased to announce that Yahoo! has decided to have PayPal exclusively power their own Yahoo! Wallet. Plus, we’ll be working with Yahoo! on a co-branded version of the eBay Toolbar. Finally, as e-commerce continues to evolve rapidly, Yahoo! and eBay have agreed to work together to explore click-to-call advertisements via Yahoo! Messenger with Voice and Skype, which would allow internet users to call merchants directly through their advertisements to pursue a transaction.

This agreement applies only to eBay.com and Yahoo! properties in the U.S. and does not extend to any of our international markets. You won’t see changes overnight on eBay, as both companies will be taking a careful approach to any site changes we make that includes substantial testing in 2006 before full implementation in 2007.

I believe this new agreement between Yahoo! and eBay leverages the best strengths of both our companies -- and in doing so, benefits both our communities. I invite you to share your comments or questions on eBay’s partnership with Yahoo! – please write to me at billcobb@ebay.com.

Sincerely,

Bill Cobb
President, eBay North America
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***Create Your Own Lesson Plan at the eBay University Online Learning Center***

May 24, 2006 | 11:39AM PST/PT

Mike Rudolph

Mike Rudolph
Hi everyone...We've recently given the eBay University Online Learning Center a facelift. If you’ve never used it, the Learning Center offers helpful resources for learning how to use eBay. You'll find audio tours and instructional lessons on a variety of topics covering both buying and selling.

Now the Learning Center lets you tailor your education around your own skill level and interest. Once you sign in, you can create your own customized lesson plans to focus on areas that are most interesting to you. The topics range from "Feedback and the eBay Community" to "Selling Your Item." Over time, we'll add even more advanced lessons, such as "Researching the eBay Marketplace," "Selling Worldwide," and more.

So give the new eBay University Online Learning Center a try – you might learn something new! To visit, click here.

Sincerely,

Mike Rudolph
Director, eBay Education & Events


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***Updated: Category Updates Now Available***

May 23, 2006 | 12:22PM PST/PT


The category updates outlined in the announcement below have now been introduced to the site.

We appreciate your input on how we can make categories better for everyone. You may submit categories suggestions here.

Thanks again to all our members who contribute to these trade-enhancing changes!


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***Original: Coming Soon: Category Updates***

April 25, 2006 | 05:09PM PST/PT

The category structure will be updated in mid-May based on feedback received from the eBay Community and from experts in the affected fields. You may provide category structure feedback at any time by clicking here.

A complete list of the new category structure can be found on Seller Central here.

Updated categories:

CELL PHONES
Look for changes under Accessories, Parts.

CLOTHING, SHOES & ACCESSORIES
Check out changes under Infants & Toddlers, Boys and Women's Accessories, Handbags.

DVDS & MOVIES
Look for a new category for UMD.

EBAY MOTORS
Check out changes under Cars & Trucks, Motorcycles, Powersports, and Parts & Accessories.

JEWELRY & WATCHES
Look for changes under Designer Brands.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Check out changes under DJ Gear & Lighting, Guitar, and Pro Audio.

SPORTS MEM, CARDS & FAN SHOP
Look for changes under Cards and Manufacturer Authenticated.

As always, you can move your item to another category by revising your listing here as long as it has not received a bid and there are more than 12 hours left in the listing.

We appreciate your input on how we can make categories better for everyone. You may submit categories suggestions here.

Thanks again to all our members who contributed to these changes!

 


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***Update on eBay Express***

May 23, 2006 | 10:27AM PST/PT

Lara Bridges
Hi...I'm Lara Bridges, Director of eBay Express. It's been about four weeks since the eBay Express Preview released. On behalf of the entire eBay Express team, I want to thank our Community for the time and energy that many of you have put into getting your listings ready for Express – and the enthusiasm you've shown for shopping on the site. Your help "kicking the tires" during this period has been key to helping us improve and fine-tune this new specialty site.

During this time we’ve received a lot of great feedback – thank you for telling us what you think! I want to share a few of the comments that we've received through our Comments on eBay Express survey, and provide you with an update on what we’ve been working on during the Preview period.

Many of you have had positive feedback on eBay Express:

"I like the search features, in particular the narrow your search feature. I really like the fact you can search on size, color or price range by clicking on it. I think this is a strong feature of eBay Express."

"Overall I would say this was a great buying experience. It is very similar to my .com site where I also sell, which is eBay's stated goal with Express…. One other note... I strongly suggested to my wife that she do her shopping on eBay this past Christmas. I sat with her as she shopped, and I became as frustrated as she did with the countless different auction terms, hard to find shipping costs, low feedback scores, etc. She went back to the .com sites to do her shopping, understandably. Based on my experience with Express today, I can invite her to come back for another try!"

"My first experience visiting the Express site as a buyer was an absolutely positive one. I found it easy to navigate and fairly intuitive. The site is clean and fast loading, and isn't filled with extraneous befuddlement. ... I know you guys have a lot of glitches to get behind you, and that may bring with it a lot of negativeness, but I'll bet the raves outswell the nays. I definitely think it is a positive asset to eBay and you did a great job with it."

"Fast easy sales...great for new eBayers...great for sellers..it's a win win."

We've also heard a number of questions and suggestions:

"The only feature that I thought was missing: if I clicked on the 'continue shopping' button it brought me back to the main Express page -- NOT where I was shopping before I added the item to my cart or the items page I was viewing."

"I can't figure out why my listings don't appear."

"If it’s possible I would like to know what items of mine sell through Express, maybe have it included in the email stating that my item sold."

"It would be nice if a potential customer could see other items for sale by the seller without having to first click on the sellers User Id."

The Express team has been working to deliver some of the features you've asked for as we continue to fine-tune the site. I'd like to tell you about a few of the enhancements that have recently released or are coming soon:

  • Item number search. You've told us it's important to be able to search for an item on eBay Express using the item ID number. This feature was launched last week, so you are now able to do so. Just type the item number in the search box on any page of eBay Express.
  • "Continue shopping" from shopping cart. We've improved the "Continue Shopping" button to make it more convenient and intuitive. Now it takes you back to the category where you were last shopping.
  • Self-Hosted Gallery Photos. Currently, listings that provide a self-hosted Gallery URL, but do not include a standard image URL or Enhanced Picture Services picture, do not qualify for eBay Express. We are working to add support for these listings within the next few weeks.

There are still some areas that need improvement, and we are working hard on those now. Some of the specific issues that we are working on include:

  • Providing a tool to help sellers identify why their account, or their listings, aren’t qualifying for eBay Express
  • Providing more tools for sellers to view their business performance and manage their listings on eBay Express
  • Improving the ability for buyers to shop for more items from a single seller.

We'll continue to work on eBay Express, and I'll be back soon with more details as we have more announcements to share. In the meantime, I encourage you to keep telling us what you think! The Comments on eBay Express survey is available from the eBay Express homepage, and we're also actively monitoring the eBay Express discussion board. And for those of you attending eBay Live! in Las Vegas in June, I'll be there with my entire team – we hope you’ll stop by, say hello, and give us your feedback.

Sincerely,

Lara Bridges
Director, eBay Express


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***eBay Radio: Call In Today at 11:00am PT***

May 23, 2006 | 09:37AM PST/PT


Jim Jim "Griff" Griffith

Call in to eBay Radio today, May 23, with your host Jim "Griff" Griffith, Dean of eBay University, live from 11:00am to 2:00pm PT. Guests this week include:

        • Greg Isaacs, Director of eBay's Developers' Program, and Brian Lawe, of myStoreCredit.com, will be profiling the eBay Radio Developer showcase of the month on how to increase repeat customers on eBay.
        • Jason Miner of PayPal will be joining us for open phones to answer all your PayPal questions.
        • Chris Zomaya, President and Founder of EZComputerCheckup.com, will be here to help make sure your computer is running at peak performance.
        • David Powers, VP of Communications for GotVMail, will tell us how eBay Sellers to use voicemail to increase their eBay Sales.
        • Mike Fox, Senior Marketing Manager for the eBay Developers Program, will be by to discuss the upcoming eBay Developers Conference.
        • Shaun Shienfield, President of eBay operations for Knetgolf, will share how they grew their business through eBay.

And as always we'll have "The News" with Lee Mirabal, as well as the most important feature on eBay Radio: your calls! Call in during the show at 877-474-3302 (USA) or 001-858-678-8958 (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 subscribe to the , or access any past broadcast from the eBay Radio Archives. To subscribe to the podcast all you need is an  reader (a portable MP3 player is optional). Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information about subscribing to the podcasts and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

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***Join Us For Pinks Day Today, May 23rd***

May 23, 2006 | 08:17AM PST/PT

Rachel Makool
Rachel Makool

Hi everyone, I'm Rachel Makool, Senior Director of Community Development. Have you ever talked with an eBay "Pink"? I’d like to invite you to join us for Pinks Day on the discussion boards today, May 23rd. A number of eBay staff members, also known as "Pinks" for the pink header that shows when an employee posts in the forums, will be participating in discussions on a variety of boards throughout the day. Here are a few highlights:

Visit the Brand New eBay Express Board
The eBay Express team will be taking your questions about this new eBay specialty site from 10:00am to 12:00 Noon PT on the eBay Express board.

A Talk With the eBay Live! Organizers
The eBay Live! and Education team will visit the eBay Live! board one last time before the big event in Las Vegas to answer any questions you may have about eBay Live! Swing by to talk with them from 10:00am to 11:00am PT.

Trust & Safety Team Answers Your Questions
Policy Managers from eBay's Trust & Safety team will be on the Policies-User Agreement board from 10:30am to 11:30am PT to answer your questions about how to stay safe on eBay.

As always, other Pinks from around the company will also be checking in on various boards, including the Night Owl's Nest where the Pinks Game will take place from 1:00pm to 4:00pm PT.

We hope you enjoy Pinks Day!

Sincerely,

Rachel Makool
Senior Director, Community Development


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***Two-Day 1¢ Sale for Subtitle, Gift Services and Listing Designer***

May 22, 2006 | 05:03PM PST/PT


As a special offer to our sellers, we will be holding a two-day 1¢ Sale for Subtitle, Gift Services, and Listing Designer on www.ebay.com.

The promotion will start Tuesday, May 23, 2006 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and end on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Listings created prior to May 23, 2006 and scheduled to start during the promotional period (May 23-24, 2006) will be eligible for the promotional rate. Try Subtitle, Gift Services, and Listing Designer for added visibility and to attract more buyers.

During the 1¢ Subtitle, Gift Services and Listing Designer Sale:

For auction-style and Fixed Price listings, as well as Ad Format listings that will run for less than or equal to 30 days, 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 and non-vehicles, International, Live Auction, Professional Services, and Stores Inventory listings. For full promotion details, please see our information page.

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


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***Upcoming Workshops: Shipping Cross Border, PayPal Dispute Resolution, Using the New Turbo Lister, and more***

May 19, 2006 | 03:25PM PST/PT


We would like to invite you to attend the following workshops this week:

Shipping Cross Border
This workshop will be held on Monday, May 22nd from 11:00 PT to 12:00 PT. Please join member clearpath_service for a discussion on the regulations and processes of shipping auctioned items across borders, particularly into Canada and the European Union. They will also cover the cross-border service options available to sellers, along with the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Reduce Frustration & Claims Using PayPal Dispute Resolution
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, May 23rd from 15:00 PT to 16:00 PT. This workshop is a repeat of Friday's for those who couldn't attend last week. PayPal Dispute Resolution, a new extension of the PayPal Resolution Center , enables buyers and sellers to work out buyer transaction problems before they become claims. Learn how the PayPal Dispute Resolution process can take the angst and frustration out of transaction problems, how it differs from the eBay Item Not Received Process, and get some helpful hints on how to reach amicable resolutions.

Get to Know eBay's Community Outreach Coordinator
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, May 24th from 10:00 PT to 11:00 PT. Swing by this workshop to meet Cheryl Fujii, eBay's Community Outreach Coordinator. She is the main point of contact within eBay for Attorney General Offices nationally, and oversees the consumer complaint process for eBay and PayPal. Cheryl also educates consumer protection agencies about safe-trading programs and tools available on the site. Come meet Cheryl to learn more about her role and responsibilities, and how she works with consumer-focused organizations nationwide to make eBay a safe place to trade..

Using the new Turbo Lister
This workshop will be held on Thursday, May 25th from 11:00 PT to 12:00 PT. The new Turbo Lister is here! Download the newest version at http://www.ebay.com/turbo_lister . Thousands of sellers use this popular tool to list items in bulk for sale on eBay. Join us for this workshop to get answers to your Turbo Lister questions.

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

  • Go to www.ebay.com
  • Click on Community at the top of the page
  • Click on "Workshops" in the "Events" section
  • This will bring you to the threaded Workshops Board.

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

Want timely reminders about workshops? We recommend two ways to make sure you never miss an important workshop:

  • Sign up for the Workshops Information Group! By joining this group, you will receive an email notification reminding you about upcoming eBay Workshops. (To sign up for the Workshops Information Group, please click here.)
  • Subscribe to the RSS feed for the Workshop board. When a new workshop becomes active, your RSS reader will be updated. (You can also subscribe to just the specific topic thread that interests you.) To subscribe, click on the RSS button ( ) at the bottom of the Workshop board or thread. Copy and paste the feed URL into your reader to subscribe. For more information on RSS, please read our RSS Help page.

We look forward to seeing you there!


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***Updated: Now Available - PayPal Dispute Resolution Process***

May 19, 2006 | 08:59AM PST/PT


As Colin Rule announced last week PayPal has launched a new Dispute Resolution process. Now, if a dispute arises from a transaction that was paid for with PayPal, this new process should help buyers and sellers resolve them much more effectively. Complete details can be found immediately below.

If you have any questions we encourage you to please read our Frequently Asked Questions, and invite you to attend one of the two PayPal Dispute Resolution workshops, today from 10 a.m to 11 a.m PT and again on May 23rd from 3 p.m to 4 p.m PT.


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***Original: Coming Soon – PayPal Dispute Resolution Process***

May 09, 2006 | 11:39AM PST/PT

Colin Rule
Colin Rule

Hi everyone… I'm Colin Rule, Director of Dispute Resolution at PayPal. Back in January 2005, eBay launched the Item Not Received process. This online dispute resolution process has been helping eBay sellers and buyers effectively resolve disputes by facilitating direct communication.

I'm happy to announce that starting next week, PayPal will launch a similar Dispute Resolution process to help sellers and buyers communicate to resolve problems when the item was paid for with PayPal. For eBay members, this means that all Item Not Received disputes involving eBay items paid with PayPal will be directed to the new PayPal Dispute Resolution process, instead of being directed to the claim process, like they are today.

Work it out before escalating to a claim
The new PayPal Dispute Resolution process offers a number of features to help buyers and sellers resolve their transaction problems. These include:

  • Tracking all dispute and claim activity in one location – the PayPal Resolution Center
  • A "Customer Service Message" box sellers can use to target buyers with important messages, such as your policies on shipping times, before buyers can escalate the situation to a claim.
  • A 2000-character area where buyers and sellers can both post messages
  • Easy buyer access to updated tracking and delivery information
  • Automatic email notifications for sellers when new disputes are created.

How it works
When a buyer opens a dispute in the PayPal Resolution Center, they can read customer service messages sellers may have posted beforehand about transaction issues such as shipping times. Buyers will have up to 45 days from the date of payment to open a dispute and up to 20 days after filing the dispute to escalate to a claim (disputes not escalated to a claim after 20 days will be automatically closed).

Because PayPal Dispute Resolution is the first stage in the buyer complaint process, a temporary hold will be placed on the funds in the seller's account if the payment amount exceeds $100, just like the current PayPal claims process.

To familiarize yourself with the PayPal Dispute Resolution process, please read our Frequently Asked Questions. We will be holding two PayPal Dispute Resolution workshops, on May 19th from 10 a.m to 11 a.m PT and again on May 23rd from 3 p.m to 4 p.m PT to answer your questions about the new process. We hope you can join us.

Sincerely,

Colin Rule
Director, Dispute Resolution, PayPal


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***Calculated Shipping Easier to Use on Search and Listings Pages***

May 18, 2006 | 01:24PM PST/PT


Leigh Goldstein
Leigh Goldstein

Hi, this is Leigh Goldstein again from eBay's Shipping team. I have some news I want to share with you about calculated shipping. Right now, when sellers use the Shipping Calculator to show buyers their shipping costs, a "Calculate" link appears in the Shipping Costs column on search and listings pages. It can take a buyer some time to click through those links when looking at several different items.

Soon we're going to make this a lot easier. If we know your location (because you've signed in, for example), we'll automatically do all the calculations for you as soon as you get to the search and listings page. Later this year, we'll also extend this to the item page – once you sign in, all calculated shipping will be done for you whenever you click into a new item page.

Sincerely,

Leigh Goldstein
Director, Shipping


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***A Message from Bill Cobb About eBay Live!***

May 18, 2006 | 09:40AM PST/PT


Bill Cobb
Bill Cobb

Hi – I'm looking forward to seeing everyone who can make it to our fifth annual eBay Live! event June 13-15 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

For the first time in the history of eBay Live!, we expect to hit our registration capacity early. We're already going to have the largest attendance ever...and believe me, we're ready for the record crowd. But within the next week, we anticipate having to close registration for this year's event. We don't want any of our members disappointed, so if you’re planning to attend eBay Live! next month in Las Vegas, the time to register is now!

We’re looking forward to our best eBay Live! Last year's 10th anniversary celebration set a new standard for eBay Live! – and we're going to make this year’s event even better, with more learning opportunities, more networking and more fun than ever.

Hope to see you next month. Viva Las Vegas!

Regards,

Bill Cobb
President, eBay North America


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***Updated: Reminder to Join Us for the PayPal Town Hall Event with Jeff Jordan – Thursday, May 18th***

May 17, 2006 | 10:51AM PST/PT


Jeff Jordan
Jeff Jordan

Hi again,

I’m here to remind you about tomorrow's PayPal Town Hall event at 4:00pm PT. My team and I will be on hand to answer questions and listen to your suggestions on what you’d like to see from PayPal.

We hope you can join us tomorrow – to do so, visit our Town Hall page.

Sincerely,

Jeff Jordan
President, PayPal


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***Original: Submit Your Question for the PayPal Town Hall Event with Jeff Jordan – Thursday, May 18th***

May 09, 2006 | 02:28PM PST/PT


Jeff Jordan
Jeff Jordan

Hello,

I'm Jeff Jordan, President of PayPal. I'd like to invite you to join me and members of my leadership team on Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 4:00pm PT for our next Town Hall event. We want to hear your questions, and also your suggestions for how we can make PayPal better for you.

You can submit your question now by going to the Town Hall page.

Also, the transcript and audio archive from April's Town Hall with Bill Cobb's leadership team are now available on the Town Hall Archives page.

See you on the 18th!

Sincerely,

Jeff Jordan
President, PayPal


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***Winners of the 2006 Best in Stores Contest Named***

May 16, 2006 | 06:29PM PST/PT

Chris Tsakalakis
Hi, everyone. The votes have been counted and it is our pleasure to announce the winners for the 2006 Best in Stores contest!

Please join us in congratulating the below winners in each of the following categories:

Best Shopping Experience: A Touch of Whimsy Designs

Best eBay Store Marketing: Period Paper

Best Looking eBay Store: Grapevinehill

Best Success Story: Howlin' Moon Bakery

To learn more about the winners go to www.ebay.com/bestinstores2006. For more information on how the winners were selected, please see the official rules.

For those of you attending eBay Live! in Las Vegas, on June 15th we will be offering a seminar called "Best in Stores: eBay Stores Best Practices Panel" during which past and present Best in Stores contest winners will discuss their tips, tricks, and best practices. Please join us for this informative session.

Congratulations to the 2006 winners and many thanks to all the sellers who entered the 2006 Best in Stores Contest! You have all helped in making this year's contest a huge success!

Sincerely,

Chris Tsakalakis
Vice President, Advanced Solutions


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***eBay Radio: Call In Today at 11:00am PT***

May 16, 2006 | 09:40AM PST/PT


Jim Jim "Griff" Griffith

Call in to eBay Radio today, May 16, with your host Jim "Griff" Griffith, Dean of eBay University, live from 11:00am to 2:00pm PT (now three full hours). Guests this week include:

        • Erika Yowell, Sr. Manager of Media Relations of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority will fill us in on Las Vegas, "The Entertainment Capitol of the World".
        • Sharon Guldner, Manager of eBay's Education Programs covering the 150 educational sessions at eBay Live this year.
        • Abby Green, one of the main folks coordinating eBay Live!, will give us an overview of eBay Live! 2006.
        • Skip McGrath, PowerSeller on eBay since 1999, will provide his perspective as an exhibitor and attendee.
        • Kristin Cunningham, Sr Manager of eBay's ‘Giving Works', will be here to highlight eBay's involvement with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the benefits of charity listings on eBay.
        • Howard Rosenberg, Director, Trading Platforms, will fill us in on the latest developments for the eBay ReSeller Market Place for eBay PowerSellers.

And as always we'll have "The News" with Lee Mirabal, as well as the most important feature on eBay Radio: your calls! Call in during the show at 877-474-3302 (USA) or 001-858-678-8958 (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 subscribe to the , or access any past broadcast from the eBay Radio Archives. To subscribe to the podcast all you need is an reader (a portable MP3 player is optional). Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information about subscribing to the podcasts and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

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***Feature Packs for 33% Off from May 16-17***

May 15, 2006 | 05:00PM PST/PT


For the next two days, you can save 33% when you purchase a Feature Pack on www.ebay.com. Feature Packs combine several of our listing upgrades at one discounted price:

The promotion will start on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and end on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Listings created prior to May 16, 2006 that are scheduled to start during the promotional period (May 16-17, 2006) will be eligible for the promotional rate. Take advantage of this promotion and try Pro Pack or Value Pack!

This promotion will not apply to International, Live Auction, Professional Services, Motors Vehicles and Non-Vehicles, and Store Inventory listings. For full details about the promotion, please see our information page.

We hope you enjoy the 33% Off Feature Packs Promotion!


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***Free SkypeOut for US and CA***

May 15, 2006 | 01:29PM PST/PT


Henry Gomez
Hi…I'm Henry Gomez, the General Manager for Skype's North American business, and I'm here with some exciting news from Skype.

Starting today, if you are in the US or Canada and use Skype to make a call to any phone number in either country, you will not be charged anything for it. That's right. The best quality internet calling experience now includes free calls to any landline or cell phone within the US (including Alaska and Hawaii) and Canada.

"These calls will remain free until the end of the year so be sure to try it today. If you're not already using Skype, download it here for free.


Sincerely,

Henry Gomez
General Manager,
Skype North America


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***Upcoming Workshops: Increasing Listings, eBay Express, New SYI Form, Skypecasts, PayPal Dispute Resolution, and more***

May 12, 2006 | 05:28PM PST/PT


We would like to invite you to attend the following workshops this week:

Getting Real Value from CRM – How to Increase Listings and Revenue
This workshop will be held on Monday, May 15th from 13:00 PT to 14:00 PT. In this workshop, Steve Yeich, CEO of Certified Solution Provider HostedSupport will discuss how a pro-active and effective customer relationship management (CRM) solution can help you increase the number of listings and revenue, without creating more work.

Idea Hotspots™
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, May 16th from 11:00 PT to 12:00 PT. How would you like to have an unending supply of ideas for products to sell? What if there were places you could go to find new product line ideas day after day, week after week, month after month? Join Lisa Suttora, Founder/CEO of What Do I Sell.com™, an eBay Certified Service Provider, and learn how to use Idea Hotspots™ to infuse your business with creative product sourcing ideas.

eBay Express – It's here!
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, May 16th from 13:00 PT to 14:00 PT. As you have now probably heard, eBay Express launched in late April. This workshop will address any questions you might have, as well as discuss any hot topics around selling on eBay Express. eBay Express is an exciting new buying experience, offering new items that are available for purchase right away. eBay Express is designed to encourage additional shopping among our existing buyers, who today may only buy on eBay for certain purposes or types of products. Members of the Express team will discuss the necessary steps for ensuring your listings are displayed on Express and answer any of your questions.

Using the New Sell Your Item Form
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, May 17th from 14:00 PT to 15:00 PT. New and experienced sellers will want to join us for this workshop to discuss in the new SYI form. With fewer pages and more customized features, the new form helps to make selling on eBay faster and easier. You can learn more about the new features here.

Bring Internet Conversations to Life with Skypecasts
This workshop will be held on Thursday, May 18th from 09:00 PT to 10:00 PT. Skypecasts are large, hosted calls on Skype. Let your opinion be heard on subjects close to your heart in groups of up to 100 people participating from anywhere in the world. All for free, of course. You can create your own Skypecast today, or find one to join, by visiting the Skypecasts directory at https://skypecasts.skype.com. Or, join Skype and eBay Staff to walk through the Skypecasts concept. We'll discuss how to create, host, and find Skypecasts and how you can use this exciting new product to meet others with similar interests.

Reduce Frustration & Claims Using PayPal Dispute Resolution
This workshop will be held on Friday, May 19th from 10:00 PT to 11:00 PT. PayPal Dispute Resolution, an enhancement to the PayPal Resolution Center , enables buyers and sellers to work out buyer transaction problems before they become claims. It is the first phase of buyer complaint and buyer protection at PayPal. Learn how the new PayPal Dispute Resolution process can take the angst and frustration out of transaction problems, how it differs from the eBay Item Not Received Process, and some helpful hints on reaching amicable resolutions.

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

  • Go to www.ebay.com
  • Click on Community at the top of the page
  • Click on "Workshops" in the "Events" section
  • This will bring you to the threaded Workshops Board.

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

Want timely reminders about workshops? We recommend two ways to make sure you never miss an important workshop:

  • Sign up for the Workshops Information Group! By joining this group, you will receive an email notification reminding you about upcoming eBay Workshops. (To sign up for the Workshops Information Group, please click here.)
  • Subscribe to the RSS feed for the Workshop board. When a new workshop becomes active, your RSS reader will be updated. (You can also subscribe to just the specific topic thread that interests you.) To subscribe, click on the RSS button ( ) at the bottom of the Workshop board or thread. Copy and paste the feed URL into your reader to subscribe. For more information on RSS, please read our RSS Help page.

We look forward to seeing you there!


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***Updated: eBay Developers Conference 2006 – June 10-12 in Las Vegas***

May 12, 2006 | 02:54PM PST/PT

As detailed in our previous announcement directly below, the eBay Developers Conference will be held June 10-12 in Las Vegas. If you've already registered, or are thinking about going, we have a few more highlights we'd like to share:

  • The event will kick off with a special welcome reception Friday night at the House of Blues.
  • Bill Cobb, President of eBay North America, and John Donahoe, President of eBay Marketplaces have been added to the list of keynote speakers.
  • New registrants can still save $50 off the on-site registration fee if they register by June 8th.

Also, developers can still help define the Monday morning agenda of our first half-day Unconference, where attendees can use the Conference Wiki to propose and vote on Community Sessions.

If you are interested and haven't yet registered, reserve your space by clicking here.


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***Original: eBay Developers Conference 2006 – June 10-12 in Las Vegas***

March 10, 2006 | 12:42PM PST/PT


Greg Isaacs
Greg Isaacs

Hi...This is Greg Isaacs, Director of the eBay Developers Program. I'm here to let you know that the 2006 eBay Developers Conference is just a few months away, and it's not too early to start planning your trip to Las Vegas! This annual event is where developers, entrepreneurs, and eBay executives and employees will come together to talk about commerce, communications and community on the web. Featured speakers include: Pierre Omidyar (founder of eBay), Scott Cook (founder of Intuit) and Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief for Wired Magazine.

This year's conference is a little different, with an expanded scope that covers opportunities and technologies not only for eBay and PayPal developers, but for Skype, ProStores, and Shopping.com developers, too. We've also added a half-day dedicated to networking through 1:1s, input forums, attendee-led discussions, and other creative formats. The agenda is designed to suit all experience levels, whether you are just at the "great idea" phase, ready to pitch your business plan and get venture capital, looking for innovative ways to enhance or launch your application, or eager to dive into advanced development techniques.

Registration is open now, so reserve your space early and save $150 off the on-site registration fee. As an added bonus, your registration to the Developers Conference includes admission to all of the classes, networking opportunities, and fun of eBay Live!

See you in Vegas!

Sincerely,
Greg Isaacs
Director, Developers Program

 


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***Item Numbers Expanding***

May 12, 2006 | 11:42AM PST/PT


To ensure the site can accommodate a growing number of listings, we've started increasing the number of digits included in our item numbers. Current item numbers will not be impacted, but all new listings will now have item numbers in the 12-digit range. These digits will increase over time to up to 19 to support future growth.


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***eBay Motors Local Market Test***

May 11, 2006 | 10:52AM PST/PT


This week, eBay Motors will begin a limited test of a new feature that will make it easier for buyers to find vehicles being sold locally.

Buyers located in four select markets (Chicago, Miami, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.) may see a new section at the end of their search results called “Additional vehicles near [your ZIP code].” Here they’ll see listings from participating eBay Motors dealers that will only be shown to these local buyers.


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***ProStores Anniversary Celebration: Get One Month Free and 35% Off***

May 11, 2006 | 10:12AM PST/PT

Julian Green
Julian Green

Hi, this is Julian Green again. ProStores is approaching its one-year anniversary, so we've decided to hold a celebration! If you sign up for a four-month subscription to the Business, Advanced or Enterprise tiers of ProStores before June 30, we’ll not only give you one of those months free, we'll also knock 35% off the price of the remaining three months. There's never been a better time to get started with ProStores.

To learn more about ProStores, and to take advantage of this promotion, please see our ProStores information page.

Sincerely,

Julian Green
Director, ProStores


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***eBay University - Coming to Fremont, CA on Saturday, May 20th***

May 10, 2006 | 09:58AM PST/PT

eBay University is coming to Fremont, CA on Saturday, May 20th. Don't miss your opportunity to learn all about selling on eBay from the experts - right in your hometown. Choose from one of the 2 courses below to get started selling or increase your sales.

Attend the Selling Basics course if you're just getting started and learn about:

  • Basic selling techniques
  • How to create listings
  • How to accept online payments with PayPal, and more.

Attend Beyond the Basics of Selling to take your sales to the next level and learn:

  • Advanced selling techniques
  • How to market your eBay listings
  • What selling tools will save you time and increase sales, and more.

Register online before 11:59pm PT on May 19th and bring a friend for free!

Event Details
May 20th, 2006
Fremont Marriott
46100 Landing Parkway
Fremont, CA 94538


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***Coming Soon – PayPal Dispute Resolution Process***

May 09, 2006 | 11:39AM PST/PT

Colin Rule
Colin Rule

Hi everyone… I'm Colin Rule, Director of Dispute Resolution at PayPal. Back in January 2005, eBay launched the Item Not Received process. This online dispute resolution process has been helping eBay sellers and buyers effectively resolve disputes by facilitating direct communication.

I'm happy to announce that starting next week, PayPal will launch a similar Dispute Resolution process to help sellers and buyers communicate to resolve problems when the item was paid for with PayPal. For eBay members, this means that all Item Not Received disputes involving eBay items paid with PayPal will be directed to the new PayPal Dispute Resolution process, instead of being directed to the claim process, like they are today.

Work it out before escalating to a claim
The new PayPal Dispute Resolution process offers a number of features to help buyers and sellers resolve their transaction problems. These include:

  • Tracking all dispute and claim activity in one location – the PayPal Resolution Center
  • A "Customer Service Message" box sellers can use to target buyers with important messages, such as your policies on shipping times, before buyers can escalate the situation to a claim.
  • A 2000-character area where buyers and sellers can both post messages
  • Easy buyer access to updated tracking and delivery information
  • Automatic email notifications for sellers when new disputes are created.

How it works
When a buyer opens a dispute in the PayPal Resolution Center, they can read customer service messages sellers may have posted beforehand about transaction issues such as shipping times. Buyers will have up to 45 days from the date of payment to open a dispute and up to 20 days after filing the dispute to escalate to a claim (disputes not escalated to a claim after 20 days will be automatically closed).

Because PayPal Dispute Resolution is the first stage in the buyer complaint process, a temporary hold will be placed on the funds in the seller's account if the payment amount exceeds $100, just like the current PayPal claims process.

To familiarize yourself with the PayPal Dispute Resolution process, please read our Frequently Asked Questions. We will be holding two PayPal Dispute Resolution workshops, on May 19th from 10 a.m to 11 a.m PT and again on May 23rd from 3 p.m to 4 p.m PT to answer your questions about the new process. We hope you can join us.

Sincerely,

Colin Rule
Director, Dispute Resolution, PayPal


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***Introducing: Free Equifax Credit Alerts for PayPal Users ***

May 09, 2006 | 10:45AM PST/PT

Dave Steer
Dave Steer

Hi…I'm Dave Steer and I work on the Trust & Safety team at PayPal. One of my team's responsibilities is to ensure that Community members have the right tools to protect themselves from identity theft. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America today -- the sooner you are able to discover it, the sooner you can act…before serious damage is done.

To that end, I'm happy to announce Equifax Credit Alerts for PayPal Users, a new, free program offered exclusively for PayPal users registered in the U.S. Equifax Credit Alerts provides you with several benefits, including:

  • Early warnings about potential identity theft -- Automatic email notification if there's an inquiry to your credit file or there's a significant balance inquiry.
  • Identity theft hotline -- A toll-free number to call if you believe you're a victim of identity theft.

We're thrilled to partner with Equifax -- one of the three major consumer credit reporting companies and an industry leader in credit information and monitoring -- to provide this benefit to our Community. Beyond this alerts program, Equifax offers several other identity protection services, such as Equifax Credit Watch Gold, a program that provides credit monitoring and identity theft insurance.

PayPal and Equifax will host an online workshop on identity protection on Monday, June 5th, from 1 p.m. PT to 2 p.m PT, in order to answer your questions about the new program and how to protect yourself from identity theft. We look forward to seeing you there.

In the meantime, I encourage all PayPal users to sign up for Equifax Credit Alerts.

Sincerely,
Dave Steer
PayPal Trust & Safety


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***eBay Radio: Call In Today at 11:00am PT***

May 09, 2006 | 09:11AM PST/PT


Jim Jim "Griff" Griffith

Call in to eBay Radio today, May 9, with your host Jim "Griff" Griffith, Dean of eBay University, live from 11:00am to 2:00pm PT. Guests this week include:

        • eBay Radio Product Sourcing Editor Chris Malta will be joined by Kate Holmes of "Too Good To Be Threw" to discuss Thrift and Consignment Shop Product Sourcing.
        • Greg Cole, President of HammerTapNow.com, with insight on selling items separately or bundled.
        • Jaime Ciarla, Logistics Manager for Pak Mail Centers of America, will be here to provide tips on how to ship heavy items.
        • Plus a secret surprise guest so secret that not even Griff knows who it is!

And as always we'll have "The News" with Lee Mirabal, as well as the most important feature on eBay Radio: your calls! Call in during the show at 877-474-3302 (USA) or 001-858-678-8958 (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 subscribe to the , or access any past broadcast from the eBay Radio Archives. To subscribe to the podcast all you need is an  reader (a portable MP3 player is optional). Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information about subscribing to the podcasts and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

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***10¢ Auction-Style and Fixed Price Listing Day Tomorrow, May 9th***

May 08, 2006 | 05:08PM PST/PT


As a special offer to our sellers, we are pleased to announce a one-day promotion for www.ebay.com, www.ebay.ca and www.ebaymotors.com (for Parts & Accessories listings), where the insertion fees for Fixed Price and Auction-style listings will be 10¢!

The promotion starts on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and ends that same day, Tuesday, May 9, 2006 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Listings which were created prior to May 9, 2006 and scheduled to start during the promotional period will also be eligible for the special promotional rate.

The 10¢ Insertion Fee Sale will not apply to eBay Motors 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 more details.

For full promotion details, please click here.

We hope you enjoy the one-day 10¢ Insertion Fee Sale!


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***'Click, You’re It' – Win Free Items or a Trip to Las Vegas for eBay Live!***

May 08, 2006 | 04:59PM PST/PT

Lisa Oda
Hello, I'm Lisa Oda. I'm here to kick off a promotion that we’re really excited about called "Click, You're It."

For each day between May 10th and May 16th, we've designated certain categories on our Click, You're It information page. With every item you win in those categories on that day, you'll be entered into a drawing. You'll qualify even if you placed your winning bid days before – as long as the item ends on the specified day, you'll be entered into the contest. Fifty winners will be randomly selected each day to win eBay Gift Certificates equal to the price of their item, up to $500! (Price does not include shipping and other charges.)

And that's not all. Each day we'll also post a set of "code words" on our contest page. By guessing the right code word each day, you'll be able to put together an eBay-related phrase by the end of the contest. Solve the puzzle correctly, and you could be on your way to Las Vegas!

Everyone who figures out the correct phrase will be entered into a drawing for our Grand Prize Sweepstakes. The winner will receive a 7 day/6 night trip for two to Las Vegas, as well as passes to attend eBay Live! from June 13-15. The trip also includes a luxury suite at the Luxor hotel, flight, meals, and ground transportation. Plus, 1,000 other members will be drawn to win a $25 eBay Gift Certificate.

Click, You're It starts May 10th, so get ready to shop, buy and win!

Sincerely,

Lisa Oda
eBay Marketing


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***New Sell Your Item – Limited Test***

May 08, 2006 | 10:11AM PST/PT


David Wygant
David Wygant

Hi...this is David Wygant again. We’re close to making the new Sell Your Item form officially available. But because we want to make absolutely sure it goes smoothly, we're going to run a very limited test over the next few weeks. We'll randomly select a very small number of members who use Sell Your Item, and migrate them to the new SYI form. These sellers will see the new SYI by default when they go to list an item.

By using the tool now, those selected will be helping us make sure we're meeting the needs of the Community. And if they don't want to use the new version yet, they'll be able to choose to go back to the current version at any time. We're also including a survey they can take to let us know about their experience.

I'll be back again later with more updates. In the meantime, I'd also like to invite you to the next Sell Your Item form workshop on Wednesday, May 17th, from 2:00 to 3:00pm PT. Thanks again for everyone’s help with the new Sell Your Item form!

Sincerely,

David Wygant
eBay Product Management


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***eBay Radio: Call In Today at 3:00pm PT***

May 07, 2006 | 10:00AM PST/PT


Jim Jim "Griff" Griffith

Call in to eBay Radio today, May 7, from 3:00pm to 5:00pm PT for the "Ask Griff" eBay Radio Sunday Show with your host Jim "Griff" Griffith, Dean of eBay University. This two-hour Sunday edition of eBay Radio is dedicated entirely to your calls! Call in during the show toll-free at 877-474-3302 (USA) or 001-858-678-8958 (Internationally) to talk with Griff, ask a question or just share your voice with the rest of the eBay Community.

If you can't catch the live show, you can always subscribe to the , or access any past broadcast from the eBay Radio Archives. To subscribe to the podcast all you need is an reader (a portable MP3 player is optional). Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information about subscribing to the podcasts and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.


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***Upcoming Workshops: Business Management Advice, Reading Financial Statements, Skype for your Business, and Product Sourcing***

May 05, 2006 | 05:53PM PST/PT


We would like to invite you to attend the following workshops next week:

Business Management Advice for Trading Assistants
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, May 9th from 11:00 PT to 12:00 PT. Please join Ron Mansfield, professional eBay consultant and author of "eBay to the Max," to learn valuable tips on creating budgets, forecasts, and cash flow statements for your eBay business. He will also educate Trading Assistants on the elements of a successful marketing plan and how to better manage and grow their business.

Financial Statements Made Easy
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, May 10th from 10:00 PT to 11:00 PT. If you want your eBay business to be successful, you need to know how to read financial statements and determine its fiscal health. Please join best selling-author and CPA Diane Kennedy as she explains how to read and analyze the three financial statements that paint your financial future.

Save Money & Time with Skype for Your Business
This workshop will be held on Thursday, May 11th from 09:00 PT to 10:00 PT. Skype already saves you money with its free, superior quality voice calls over the internet. But Skype also provides key business support. Join Skype and eBay staff to learn how Skype can help your business. You'll learn how to increase productivity with free conference calls and multi-person chats, and save money for your customers by providing them a local SkypeIn or 1-800 number to reach you. And with Skype's free Business Control Panel, management of your communication expenses is simple. Get started today at www.ebay.com/skype.

Sourcing Products at Trade Shows II
This workshop will be held on Friday, May 12th from 11:00 PT to 12:00 PT. In part two of the Sourcing Products at Trade Shows series, Rebecca Shapiro, Artist & Creative Director of Pig and Panda, will discuss how to source products at trade shows, as well as how to organize yourself for success after the show. Join Rebecca as she offers tips for finding viable products, maintaining relationships, and making the most of a great opportunity to expand your business.

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

  • Go to www.ebay.com
  • Click on Community at the top of the page
  • Click on "Workshops" in the "Events" section
  • This will bring you to the threaded Workshops Board.

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

Want timely reminders about workshops? We recommend two ways to make sure you never miss an important workshop:

  • Sign up for the Workshops Information Group! By joining this group, you will receive an email notification reminding you about upcoming eBay Workshops. (To sign up for the Workshops Information Group, please click here.)
  • Subscribe to the RSS feed for the Workshop board. When a new workshop becomes active, your RSS reader will be updated. (You can also subscribe to just the specific topic thread that interests you.) To subscribe, click on the RSS button ( ) at the bottom of the Workshop board or thread. Copy and paste the feed URL into your reader to subscribe. For more information on RSS, please read our RSS Help page.

We look forward to seeing you there!


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***More Watch this Item and Email to a Friend Links***

May 05, 2006 | 05:26PM PST/PT


The Watch this Item and Email to a Friend links (currently found in the middle of the item page), have now been added to the upper right of the page as well, directly above the Meet the Seller section. We're testing where these links will be most effective on the page, and one of these locations may be removed in the future.


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***Now Available – The Chatter for May***

May 05, 2006 | 11:45AM PST/PT

The May issue of The Chatter is now available. Check out eBay's official Community newsletter for interesting stories by and about the eBay Community and staff.

Our stories this month include how eBay seller knetgolf created a unique niche on eBay around recycled golf balls and found success, PayPal Mobile, a new way to pay with your cell phone, plus how a three-year tradition of members organizing a Meet-and-Greet before eBay Live! will continue in Las Vegas. In our regular columns we have tips on creating a dispute resolution plan, selling on eBay Express, and having a positive attitude about feedback. We also meet eBay's feedback guru, Brian Burke, and turn the Member Spotlight on islandmele.

Goodbye Chatter Newsletter – Hello Chatter Blog!
Since The Chatter started life as a discussion board thread back in 2000, it has gone through several makeovers – as an About Me page, its own discussion board, to a monthly page, and finally to its current look-and-feel. Now it's time for The Chatter to evolve again. In the near future, it will be the Chatter Blog!

Why blog? Moving to a blog format gives us the flexibility to publish more personal and interesting stories – and to do so more often through out the week. The Chatter team will track down informative, educational, and entertaining stories and interviews for you. We'll be focused on subjects ranging from eBay in pop culture, to member success stories, to reflections on matters that are impacting the marketplace.

Most importantly, we'll still be focused on stories that are important to you, our Community.

Our familiar Chatter columnists – such as Griff and Colin Rule – will still be here, too. We hope to have a host of new contributors and fresh voices as the Chatter Blog evolves. Stay tuned!

To get to The Chatter newsletter (and also to the Chatter Blog next month), follow these steps:

  1. Click "Community" in the navigation bar at the top of most eBay pages.
  2. Scroll down to the "News" box and click on the link for The Chatter .

Sincerely,
The Chatter team


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***eBay Express Brown Bag Lunch Event on Friday, May 5th***

May 03, 2006 | 03:44PM PST/PT


Chung Cheong

Adam Nash
Hi everyone...this is Chung Cheong and Adam Nash back with an invitation from the eBay Express Team. As Bill Cobb announced recently, eBay Express is now available as a Preview site. For those who aren't already familiar with it, eBay Express is a specialty site that will deliver a new shopping experience for buyers, as well as more exposure for many sellers. In reading your posts and emails, we know many of you are excited about eBay Express and have a lot of questions.

We’d like to help answer many of your questions, and give you more information about eBay Express. We’re inviting everyone to a Brown Bag Lunch event on the eBay Express board on Friday, May 5th from Noon to 1pm PT. We hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

Chung Cheong and Adam Nash
eBay Express team


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***eBay Live! Registration is Filling Up Fast***

May 03, 2006 | 10:45AM PST/PT

Mike Rudolph

Mike Rudolph
Hi everyone, I’m back again with an update about eBay Live!

By now you know that eBay Live!, which is being held this year in Las Vegas from June 13-15th, is an amazing opportunity for you to meet, network, and learn from thousands of fellow members and eBay staff. But I also want you to know that our space for this year’s celebration is rapidly filling up. If you're planning on coming out to Las Vegas this year, sign up now by visiting our eBay Live! information pages.

And to make it even better, if you sign up before May 15th you'll save $10 off the regular registration price.

eBay Live! has something for everyone, including:

  • Classes that can make you a better buyer and seller
  • The latest solutions from over 100 exhibitors
  • Special networking and special events
  • The Closing Gala, with this year's special guest: Huey Lewis & the News.

Don't miss the fun, education, and excitement! Go to www.ebay.com/ebaylive now to register or to learn more.

See you in Las Vegas!

Sincerely,

Mike Rudolph
Director, eBay Education & Events


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***eBay University - Coming to Seattle, WA on Saturday, May 13th***

May 03, 2006 | 10:00AM PST/PT

eBay University is coming to Seattle, WA on Saturday, May 13th. Don't miss your opportunity to learn all about selling on eBay from the experts - right in your hometown. Choose from one of the 2 courses below to get started selling or increase your sales.

Attend the Selling Basics course if you're just getting started and learn about:

  • Basic selling techniques
  • How to create listings
  • How to accept online payments with PayPal, and more.

Attend Beyond the Basics of Selling to take your sales to the next level and learn:

  • Advanced selling techniques
  • How to market your eBay listings
  • What selling tools will save you time and increase sales, and more.

Register online before 11:59pm PT on May 12th and bring a friend for free!

Event Details
May 13th, 2006
Washington State Convention and Trade Center
800 Convention Place
Seattle, WA 98101


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***Learn About Skype - Introducing a New eBay Discussion Board and Upcoming Workshop***

May 02, 2006 | 05:26PM PST/PT


Jaanus Kase

Jaanus Kase
Hi everyone, my name is Jaanus Kase and I work at Skype. Skype is a little piece of software that lets you make free calls to people all over the world from your computer. You may have seen me posting regularly if you have visited the Skype blog or the Skype Forums. We are very excited to be a part of the eBay family.

Two new ways to learn about Skype
We know many eBay members are interested to know more about what Skype can do for them. What is Skype? How does it work? And how do you pronounce it? (It rhymes with “type”.)

Join our Skype Workshop On May 4th
We'll be hosting a workshop on Thursday, May 4 th at 9:00am PT. Join staff from Skype and eBay for a walk through of the initial setup for Skype, and how to get started calling other Skype users for free. Plus, we'll explain additional paid features you can use with Skype.

New Skype Discussion Board
With the help of eBay's Community Development team, there is now a dedicated Skype discussion board on eBay. This board is a place for eBay members to talk about their own experiences using Skype, and learn from other community members about ways they are using Skype with their families, in their businesses, and on eBay.

Get Started Now
It's easy to register and download, so you can get started today at www.ebay.com/skype. If you install now, you can bring your questions to our workshop.

We look forward to seeing you on the boards, at the workshop, and perhaps even some of you at our booth at eBay Live! in Las Vegas June 13-15.

Sincerely,

Jaanus Kase
Skype Community Manager


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***eBay Radio: Call In Today at 11:00am PT***

May 02, 2006 | 09:43AM PST/PT


Jim Jim "Griff" Griffith

Call in to eBay Radio today, March 2, with your host Jim "Griff" Griffith, Dean of eBay University, live from 11:00am to 2:00pm PT (now three full hours). Guests this week include:

        • Richard Kristof, President and CEO of American Research Institute and Dean of PowerU, will talk with us about eBay's Education Specialist Program.
        • Marjie Smith, Powerseller abovethemall and Founder of the Disabled Online Users Association (DOUA) (www.doua.org) will provide an update on the DOUA and how it assists disabled eBay members with their eBay buying and selling.
        • Leo Laporte, technology journalist, author, and broadcast personality, will share some tips on protecting our computers from viruses, spy ware, and unwanted applications.
        • Member Spotlight with Donna Bowman (corgidusty), a South Carolina School teacher, will provide her tips, tricks and advice for new and veteran eBay sellers.
        • Sally Wiener Grotta and Daniel Grotta, authors of "Shooting for Dollars: Simple Photo Techniques for Greater eBay Profits" with how to optimize your digital images for eBay from shot set up to editing.
        • Colin Rule, eBay's own dispute resolution specialist, will help out with open phones.

And as always we'll have "The News" with Lee Mirabal, as well as the most important feature on eBay Radio: your calls! Call in during the show at 877-474-3302 (USA) or 001-858-678-8958 (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 subscribe to the , or access any past broadcast from the eBay Radio Archives. To subscribe to the podcast all you need is an  reader (a portable MP3 player is optional). Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information about subscribing to the podcasts and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

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***eBay Motors Parts & Accessories Two-Day 1¢ Subtitle Sale***

May 01, 2006 | 06:39PM PST/PT


eBay Motors Parts and Accessories is holding a two-day 1¢ Subtitle Sale on May 2-3! The promotion starts Tuesday, May 2, 2006 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and ends on Wednesday, May 3, 2006 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).

During the eBay Motors Parts and Accessories 1¢ Subtitle Sale:

For regular Auction-Style and Fixed Price Parts & Accessories listings, the Subtitle fee will be 1¢ on the U.S. eBay Motors site (www.ebaymotors.com). For more information about this promotion, please click here.

Listings created prior to May 2, 2006 which are scheduled to start during the promotional period (May 2-3, 2006) will be eligible to receive the promotional rate. Excluded are Live Auction, Professional Services, Store Inventory, and eBay Motors Vehicle listings, as well as listings on www.ebay.com. For full details, please see our information page.

We hope you enjoy the eBay Motors Parts & Accessories 1¢ Subtitle Sale!


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***'The New Turbo Lister Revved Up!' Sweepstakes***

May 01, 2006 | 09:41AM PST/PT

Have you tried out the new Turbo Lister yet? Now you have another reason to start using it – enter the New Turbo Lister Revved Up! Sweepstakes for a chance to win a $5,000 Home Computing System or one of three hundred USB 128MB Flash Drives.

To enter the New Turbo Lister Revved Up! Sweepstakes, simply follow these steps between May 1st and May 31st, 2006:

  1. Register for the promotion on the sweepstakes entry page.
  2. Download and install the new Turbo Lister.
  3. List an item for sale on eBay.
To download or learn more about the new Turbo Lister, please visit the Turbo Lister information page.

For sweepstakes details and rules, please visit the sweepstakes entry page.


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