If you list items through an eBay seller tool (e.g. Sell Your Item form, Turbo Lister, Selling Manager) or the eBay API, Pre-Filled Item Information will be available in the next week. If you utilize a 3rd party listing service (e.g., ChannelAdvisor, Marketworks, etc.), please contact them to verify that they will offer the Pre-Filled Item Information functionality in the categories listed above.

We also encourage your to check out our Pre-Filled Item Information page for more information.

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Julian Green

ProStores 7.1 features an improved eBay checkout redirect — eBay shipping, tax, and insurance rates can now be carried over to your ProStores web store during checkout. Plus you can configure multiple shipping options for your eBay listings from ProStores, designate listings for checkout redirect from eBay seller tools such as Turbo Lister, and more! To see all of the new features in ProStores 7.1, check out our information page at www.prostores.com/newfeatures.

ProStores is also teaming up with PayPal on a special offer for new ProStores subscribers. Simply sign up for ProStores at the Business, Advanced, or Enterprise tier, and activate PayPal Website Payments Pro to accept credit cards on your ProStores web store, and you'll pay no ProStores subscription fees for two months. PayPal and PayPal Website Payments Pro are fully integrated with ProStores, and setup is easier than ever before with ProStores 7.1.

You can find full details about this promotion at www.prostores.com/2monthtrial, or by calling 1-866-747-3229.

Sincerely,

Julian Green
Director, ProStores

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Shawn Henderson

Have a "small space" in your house that could use a facelift? eBay and Family Circle Magazine want to know how you'd decorate and upgrade that kitchen nook, home office, nursery, or other small space as part of the "Designing Small Spaces" contest. Simply visit our contest page by September 25th to submit an essay of 250 words or less describing the space, and how you'd use your creativity and passion for finding unique products on eBay to make your vision for your small space a reality. You'll also need to upload a photo of the space that you'd like to redesign and enter the dimensions to be eligible for the contest.

Four finalists will be selected in October and given $2,000 that will be deposited in their PayPal accounts. They'll then shop on eBay to complete their redesign by December 15th - and receive a consultation with eBay's Design Director, Shawn Henderson!  In January, the eBay Community will vote for the grand prize winner, who will receive $5,000 to spend however they wish!

If you need a little inspiration, check out our previous winners and their redesigns. For more information and to enter, please see our Designing Small Pages contest page and read the official rules. We look forward to reading about your small space and how you'd like to transform it!

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Jim "Griff" Griffith

• Steven Frame, of the Tax Club with a list of the "red flags" the IRS looks for in a small business tax return.
• Adam Nash and Chung Meng Cheong, Group Product Managers for eBay Express , on how to use the new Express Listing Eligibility Tool to determine if your item qualify for eBay Express.
• Chris Malta, eBay Radio Product Sourcing Editor , with tips on negotiating with suppliers and drop shippers.
• Christopher Spencer, CEO of The Spencer Company and eBay Education Specialist, tips from his new book "The eBay Entrepreneur."
• Jason Miner, host of PayPal Radio, with the latest news from Pay P al. Jason will also take your PayPal questions.

Plus "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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The promotion will start on Tuesday, August 29, 2006 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and end that same day, Tuesday, August 29, 2006 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Listings created prior to August 29, 2006 that are scheduled to start during the promotional period will be eligible for the promotional rate. Take advantage of this promotion and try Gallery Plus with all your listings!

This promotion will not apply to the following types of listings: International, Live Auction, Professional Services, Motors Vehicles and Non-Vehicles, Real Estate/Ad Format, and Store Inventory listings. For full details about the promotion, please see our promotion page.

We hope you enjoy the 35¢ Gallery Plus promotion!

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In addition, Google and eBay will work together to deliver "click-to-call" advertising functionality on eBay and Google sites in the United States and around the world. "Click-to-call" functionality enables online consumers to initiate an Internet voice call to merchants or advertisers directly.

The companies will start testing initiatives of the agreement beginning in early 2007, after the 2006 holiday shopping period. For more details of this agreement, please read our press release.

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Jim "Griff" Griffith

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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Listing Items with File Exchange
This workshop will be held on Monday, August 28th from 10:00 am PT to 11:00 am PT. Do you list lots and lots of items in the Books, Movies, Music and Video Games category? If so, you're the prime candidate to use File Exchange, eBay's free end-to-end selling tool that enables you to list multiple items on eBay in a single file. Join us to learn how to use File Exchange to list items to eBay or Half.com. To learn more, go to the File Exchange information page.

Blackthorne Pro Consignment Tool
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, August 29th from 2:00 pm PT to 3:00 pm PT. Learn how to use Blackthorne Pro to manage your consignments - from setting up clients & commission plans to generating payout reports. Blackthorne Pro is an auction management program which allows you to do everything to manage your eBay listings from submitting listings & managing inventory to relisting to emailing buyers, leaving feedback and tracking sales. Please join BTPro tester & user, GOing1nceAMC, as she presents her fourth eBay workshop on using this software.

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 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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This Back-To-School season, we invite you to support Educating America's Future. Check out http://www.ebay.com/spotlight_education to view a variety of nonprofit organizations who are working to provide tools and resources that help our youth, including Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Boys & Girls Club of America, Junior Achievement, and over 80 other fantastic organizations.

And it's easy to show your support! Simply list an item and donate part or all of the final sale price to one of these organizations, or buy an item that’s been listed by a participating seller. For sellers, this is a wonderful way to help your listings stand out, and for buyers, you have even more great items to shop for - all while supporting a worthy cause.

Spotlight On A Cause is your opportunity to make a difference. We hope you’ll get involved today and invite others to join you as well. Be sure to check eBay Giving Works regularly to find out about upcoming campaigns - please join us in October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month and stay tuned for more ways you can help!

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• The week of September 5th, existing eBay Keywords text box ad placements will be removed from search results pages. eBay Keywords customers will still have access to larger graphical ad placements through the end of the month.
• On September 30th the program will close. (No ad placement inventory will be available for the eBay Keywords program.)

The eBay Keywords program has been used by a very small percentage of eBay members since its launch in 2003. Sellers who have participated in the eBay Keywords program will receive an email with more information about the closing of the eBay Keywords program.

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Lara B. Housser

Adam Nash

Note: This announcement was originally posted yesterday, 8/22/2006. The custom FAQ feature mentioned in the original post will not be available at this time. We have corrected this announcement and apologize for any confusion.

Hi everyone,

We're back with some exciting news – we've been working hard on new features that will make it easier to both sell and shop on eBay Express. We're pleased to introduce some important changes that are rolling soon just in time for our upcoming holiday marketing campaign!

Features for eligible Sellers:

• eBay Express Listing Eligibility tool. Find out if your item qualifies for eBay Express, and if not, exactly what you need to change about your listing to make it qualify. Learn more about this tool.

• Greater exposure for eBay.com listings on eBay Express. As Bill Cobb mentioned in his earlier announcement, qualifying auction-style listings with Buy It Now will be displayed on eBay Express. Learn more about the details here.

Features for Buyers:

• Search Enhancements. Buyers will soon be able to search using ISBN or UPC numbers. In addition, enhanced spell-check functionality will help ensure that typos won't slow down shoppers.

• Popularity hubs. eBay Express Pulse will showcase the most popular searches, artists, and products on eBay Express. Highlights will also include other popular resources such as product descriptions and product reviews. Look for more information about this soon on the eBay Express discussion board.

• Report this Item Links. To make it easier to report listings that may be in violation, every item page will have a "Report this Item" link at the bottom of the page, similar to eBay.com. Clicking this link will take you directly to a list of possible reasons why the listing needs to be brought to our attention.

More about our Marketing Plans
Those of you who joined us at eBay Live! in Las Vegas got a sneak peek of our favorite part of our marketing plans...our TV commercials! These will be airing in early September, and are just one piece of our integrated eBay Express marketing campaign. Stay tuned for more details on these marketing initiatives coming soon.

Join Us for an Online Workshop
The eBay Express team will be hosting a workshop to discuss these enhancements this Thursday, August 24th, from 2:00–3:00pm PT. Please join us to learn more about the changes.

And as always, please keep telling us what you think! The Comments on eBay Express survey is available on the eBay Express homepage. And although we can't post to every question and every thread, we actively monitor the eBay Express discussion board and appreciate your comments there, too.

Sincerely,

Lara B. Housser & Adam Nash
eBay Express

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The correct value of each item is required on customs forms as it helps determine the proper duties and taxes, and whether they should be applied. Some countries will soon begin taking steps to address this issue, such as levying fines on the addressee when the declared value is determined to be lower than the invoice.

To make sure you're complying with international regulations, please make sure the stated value on your customs declaration is supported by your invoices or other documentation.

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Jim "Griff" Griffith

• Adam Hersh, CEO/President, AdamHershAuctions.com with cost-cutting shipping tips for small item, high volume eBay sellers.
• Jennifer Ibarra, manager of Cause-Related Programs, will be here to talk about eBay Giving Works and how buyers and sellers can get involved in Spotlight On A Cause, to raise money for various causes throughout the year.
• Nathan Etter, Senior Project Manager with news and updates about the “Sell Your Item” form (aka; SYI 3.0).
• Colin Rule, eBay Radio Contributing Editor and Dispute Resolution Specialist , and o ur own “Mr. Manners and Ettiquette” returns to address the perennial favorite, "Who should leave feedback first … the buyer or seller?"
• Linda Strean, Managing Editor, Great Schools.net, will be by to show us how to use eBay to find great deals for back-to-school items and clothing.

Plus "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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You can list now your digital items in our auction-style, auction-with-Buy It Now, and Fixed Price formats. And while payment still needs to be by either credit card or balance transfer through PayPal, you no longer need to use Immediate Payment (where the item doesn’t close until the payment has been processed).

Please note: Strict copyright laws prohibit selling digital items for content that you didn't create yourself or for which you are not a copyright owner. You can learn more about what is and is not allowed by reading our Frequently Asked Questions.

For more information about selling digitally delivered goods, please see our Digital Items information page.

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Jim "Griff" Griffith

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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Using the New Sell Your Item Form
This workshop will be held on Monday, August 21st from 2:00 pm PT to 3:00 pm 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.

Understanding Your Billing and Payment Methods
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, August 22nd from 12:00 pm PT to 1:00 pm PT. To have a fun and safe eBay experience, it's important to take the time to learn about maintaining and protecting your account. If you are a seller, maintaining your account includes providing eBay with payment method information to pay your selling fees and paying your balance due each month. Please join eBay staff for a brief overview of the billing cycles and the automated billing process, with a focus on the payment methods available and the benefits of each. Due to privacy concerns, we won't be able to address specific account questions.

Listing and Stores Best Practices Clinic (7 Steps)
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, August 23rd from 3:00 pm PT to 4:00 pm PT. Please join eBay Staff for a review of the best practices in developing an quick, easy shopping experience for buyers in eBay Stores and on their listings.

Making Buyers More Efficient - A Redesign of Search Results
This workshop will be held on Thursday, August 24th from 12:00 pm PT to 1:00 pm PT. We've been working on a number of projects that drive new buyers to the site, and that ensure that - when they get here - they have the best shopping experience possible. As part of this effort, we are testing a new search results page. The new design shows more information for each listing than our current pages. We've also improved the look-and-feel to help buyers be more efficient as they make decisions about which listings they want to click into. If you'd like to see what the new design looks like, please see our information page. Please provide your feedback, questions or issues regarding the new search results page during this workshop or by posting your comments to this thread on the search discussion board. We hope you find the changes we have made both fun and helpful in improving your finding experience.

Learn About Exciting New Enhancements to eBay Express
This workshop will be held on Thursday, August 24th from 2:00 pm PT to 3:00 pm PT. Join the eBay Express team in this workshop to learn about several exciting new features that will be releasing soon and how they can help you and your buyers be more successful on eBay Express!

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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If you list items manually through an eBay seller tool (e.g. Sell Your Item form, Turbo Lister) or the eBay API, the updated Item Specifics will be available 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 update their Item Specifics in the Toys categories. For general information about Item Specifics and how to use them, please visit the Item Specifics overview page.

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This change will help new buyers who come from outside eBay and are often confused about how to find active listings that match what they were originally looking for on other sites.

Sellers, please note: If you have Cross Promotion Connections set up with other sellers, those items will continue to be the only items displayed. Also, as before, you may opt out of this program. Doing so means your closed item pages will not display similar items from other sellers, nor will your active listings appear on other sellers' closed items.

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Lisa Oda

To automatically enter the daily prize drawing, simply win an auction-style listing or use Buy It Now, and you’ll get one entry into that day’s prize drawing.

For up to five more entries into a daily prize drawing, you music buffs can take the Pop Hits trivia challenge. Each day we'll post five music trivia clues that'll help you guess which pop songs of the '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, and today made eBay's list of hits. Simply choose song names from the drop-down menus provided on our trivia page. For each exact song name you choose, you'll get one entry into the daily prize drawing. Come back every day for new clues and chances to win!

The eBay Pop Hits! Sweepstakes starts August 16th, so get ready to shop, buy, and win!

Sincerely,

Lisa Oda
eBay Marketing

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• Platform – Nintendo DS Lite will be available as an option in Games, Accessories, and Systems.
• Rating – "Everyone 10+" will be added.
• Accessory Type – Hard Drive and 2GB Memory will be added.

If you list items manually through an eBay seller tool (e.g. Sell Your Item form, Turbo Lister) or the eBay API, the updated Item Specifics will be available 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 update their Item Specifics in the Video Games category. For general information about Item Specifics and how to use them, please visit the Item Specifics overview page.

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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***
	August 01, 2006 | 04:37PM PST/PT The category structure will be updated in mid-August 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: BUSINESS & INDUSTRIAL Check out a new category for Inventions. COINS & PAPER MONEY Look for changes under Coins: US, Bullion, and Exonumia. COMPUTERS & NETWORKING Check out changes under Apple, Macintosh Computers, Desktop & Laptop Components, Desktop & Laptop Accessories, Desktop PCs, Drives, Controllers & Storage, Laptops, Notebooks, and Printer Supplies & Accessories. DVDs & MOVIES Look for changes to DVD, HD DVD & Blu-ray. EBAY MOTORS Check out changes under Cars & Trucks, Motorcycles and Parts & Accessories. HEALTH & BEAUTY Look for changes under Dietary Supplements, Nutrition, Fragrances, Hair Care, Makeup, and Skin Care. SPORTING GOODS Check out changes under Paintball. STAMPS Look for changes under United States , Europe, and Topical & Specialty. VIDEO GAMES Check out changes under Accessories. 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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Jim "Griff" Griffith

• Jen Cano of HammerTapNow.com with the products that are "Hot on eBay" and how to profit from them.
• Mike Enos, founder of PlatinumPowerSeller.com continues with our summer series of "Fine Tuning your Business on eBay - Cutting Operating Costs."
• Tiffany Hageman, a recipient of the 2006 “Community Hall of Fame” award with buying and selling tips.
• Katie Sween highlights the very sucessful "7 steps to scalability" program. To show the benefits of the program, Katie will provide, on-air, "7 step" make-overs to two live eBay listings.

Plus "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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The promotion starts on Tuesday, August 15, 2006 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and ends on Wednesday, August 16, 2006 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Please Note: the reduced fees for this promotion will not be immediately reflected on the site. Sellers will receive a credit to their account in September.

The 10¢ Insertion Fee promotion will not apply to eBay Motors vehicles and Parts & Accessories listings, or to International, Live Auction, Professional Services, or Real Estate/Ad Format 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).

For full promotion details, please click here.

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Bob Hebeler

Bob and I both joined eBay in March of 2000. He was one of the pioneers in creating Category Management—a structure that lives on today. He has held various roles in the company including Community Development. More recently, Bob led the Seller Development team and our team in Canada. He and his team's work have been solely focused on developing stronger relationships with our sellers and providing better service. He was deeply committed and passionate about his work with the Community. Bob had a lot of integrity and always wanted to do the right thing for our business and the Community. This is a very tough loss for many of us. Bob was the rare individual who was liked and admired by virtually everyone he worked with. That's one of the reasons why this news is so difficult.

Bob's family was very important to him. Bob is survived by his wife Marie and their two children. He was just able to spend some quality time with them on a special extended family vacation. Bob will be laid to rest later this week in Chesaning, Michigan near his family farm.

We're in contact with Bob's family to offer our sympathy and help. For those of you who may like to express your sympathy and thoughts, we have opened a thread on the Seller Central board. If you would like to send condolences to Bob's family, please send them to:

Marie Hebeler and family
c/o eBay
2145 Hamilton Avenue
San Jose, CA 95125

Please keep Bob and his family in your thoughts and prayers. I've also attached a link to a tribute to Bob from Jordan Banks, our Country Manager in Canada. His words capture, far better than I ever could, who Bob was and what he meant to all of us.

Bill Cobb

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Jim "Griff" Griffith

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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Product Sourcing - Translating Trends into Products™ II
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, August 15th from 11:00 am PT to 12:00 pm PT. Successful product sourcing is a result of looking at trends FIRST and then turning your attention to selling products related to those trends. In Part 2 of How to Translate Trends into Products™, Lisa Suttora Founder/CEO of What Do I Sell.com and a featured speaker on the eBay Live! 2006! Product Sourcing Panel will spotlight consumer trends for the coming year. Curious about a trend in a particular category? This is your opportunity to find out more about those trends and learn where you can locate the latest trending information.

Going to the Source
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, August 16th from 11:00 am PT to 12:00 pm PT. Chris Malta, eBay Radio's Product Sourcing Editor and the host of the Entrepreneur Magazine Product Sourcing Show will share the technique he developed to find and qualify wholesale product suppliers who will work with eBay sellers. This technique has helped build Worldwide Brand's database of 6000 suppliers who supply millions of products at wholesale prices to eBay sellers everyday.

Make a Plan: Your First Step to Success
This workshop will be held on Thursday, August 17th from 2:00 pm PT to 3:00 pm PT. Please join Phil Dunn, marketing and advertising writer and Janelle Elms, lead instructor with eBay University, author, and Silver PowerSeller for The 7 Essential Steps to Successful eBay Marketing workshop series. In this series, you'll learn to apply proven techniques for marketing your products on eBay effectively. The 7 Essential Steps to Successful eBay Marketing workshop series provides you with an action plan for creating a comprehensive marketing and sales strategy so you can gain a competitive edge. You'll also get valuable advice on enhancing and expanding your business. The first of seven workshops, Make a Plan: Your First Step to Success will help you map out and refocus your overall business plan and approach to the market.

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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Sellers who use Pre-filled Item Information when relisting or revising items in these categories may receive the following message that their original Item Specifics and/or Pre-filled Item Information have changed: The Pre-Filled Item Information for this item has been updated with the latest information. Please review the changes. We encourage sellers who receive this message to double-check their listing for accuracy before completing the listing.

We also encourage your to check out our Pre-Filled Item Information page for more information.

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If you list items manually through an eBay seller tool (e.g. Sell Your Item form, Turbo Lister) or the eBay API, the updated Item Specifics will be available 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 update their Item Specifics in the appropriate categories.

For general information about Item Specifics and how to use them, please visit our Item Specifics overview page.

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Every two weeks between now and October 17th, our judges will pick 100 writers based on their originality, thoroughness, visuals, consistency and frequency. Each one will win at least $100 in eBay Gift Certificates, and the first prize winner will receive $2,500. Plus, you're eligible to win in multiple periods! All winners will be posted shortly on our contest page after each two week period.

To enter, all you need to do is write and submit your content at Reviews & Guides and eBay Blogs. Get started now!

For full details about the $100,000 Giveaway, please see our information page. We also invite you to join our online workshop on Friday, August 11th from 2-3pm PT where you can learn more about eBay Blogs, Reviews and Guides.

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Jim "Griff" Griffith

• Rob Chestnut, eBay's VP of Trust and Safety, will stop by and has agreed to stay on for the open phone segments during the first hour. This is a great opportunity to let your voice be heard!
• Laura Schopen, a Sr. Manager from eBay's Community Development team, will talk about the new Chatter Blog and how you can participate.
• Katie Sween, Manager, eBay Seller Development, will be here with part one of a two part interview, "7 Steps to Scalability."
• Chris Malta, eBay Radio Product Sourcing Editor, along with his guest Sean Hsieh, of Borlty Neon Co. USA with Product Sourcing Tips.
• Mark Chase, winning bidder for Barry Bonds record breaking 715th home run baseball, will join us to talk about winning a sports treasure on eBay.

Plus "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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David Wygant

Here are the main benefits:

• It's Faster. Sellers have asked for a form with fewer pages. Our new SYI form reduces the number of pages and fields required to list an item. For sellers who list a lot of similar items, you can create re-usable listing templates to save you time. In fact, in our tests with over 100,000 members, those using the new form finished 25% faster on average than those using the old form.

• It's Flexible. All of the same features in the current form are still available, but you can customize it to hide the options you rarely use. Plus we’ve added new features, as well as scores of new fonts and colors that let you put together creative, eye-catching listings.

Over the last couple of months, we've received a lot of input from sellers who have helped us test, ranging from kudos to tips about bugs and needed enhancements. For example, thanks to comments you’ve shared, we've focused on making the description editor easier to use, we've made entering your own HTML much simpler, and added photo insert capabilities for our Picture Manager subscribers. More improvements will also be appearing later this month.

Here are a few the comments we've received:

• "I think this is a wonderful new feature. Faster and more efficient when posting. Easier for the beginner, and handy for the advanced."

• "The form was well thought out. I used to dread having to list many items, but this system is fast, accurate, and easy to use. What's more, it's logical and makes sense. I am very happy to see this improvement. I will be more happy if it is permanent."

• "Being able to see the completed listing as it will actually BE (not just a description preview) was a great idea."

Transitioning Sellers to the New SYI Form
We realize that any change to your business tools can impact you. Many sellers rely on the SYI form to list their items, making it one of the most important tools of the entire eBay site. For these reasons, we are committed to making the transition to the new tool as smooth as possible for our sellers.

Beginning later this month, we'll be slowly opting in sellers who use SYI today to our new form. Over the following several weeks, we will gradually move over more sellers until everyone has been converted by late September. (This transition will only apply to eBay.com – if you list on eBay Motors, you will continue to use the current form.)

Please note that during the transition, sellers will still be able to return to the old version at any time, if necessary. You can do so by clicking the link near the top of the new Sell page. The old SYI form will be available until it is retired early next year.

Attend an online workshop
To help you get started with the new form, we’ll be hosting several more workshops during the transition. The next one is scheduled for August 21st at 2:00pm.

Thank you for your input
On behalf of the whole SYI team, I want to thank everyone for your support and input during this project. We hope you are pleased with the final result of the new SYI form. We're interested in hearing your feedback, so feel free to post your comments to the New SYI Feedback discussion board thread.

Sincerely,

David Wygant
Senior Manager, Product

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Jim "Griff" Griffith

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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Listing Template Design & Layout Clinic
This workshop will be held on Monday, August 7th from 11:00 am PT to 1:00 pm PT. In this workshop, Debbie Levitt, President of eBay Certified Provider As Was, will review some of the key elements eBay listing designs and templates should include (and avoid) to help you generate sales and inspire repeat business. She'll then take questions, and look at one listing each from workshop attendees who would like to get feedback on their designs.

Creating, Storing and Destroying Your Critical Business Documents
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, August 8th from 11:00 am PT to 12:00 pm PT. Did you know that you must keep the physical or an electronic copy of every eBay transaction and expense? According to the IRS, “Everyone in business must keep records”. Certified Provider KeepMore, will outline what records you must keep, for how long, and why. Learn how Compatible Application KeepMore.net and its new document storage solution eDocument Storage can simplify this process.

Using Buyer Requirements to Lower Your Unpaid Item Risk
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, August 9th from 2:00 pm PT to 3:00 pm PT. Buyer requirements are a key tool for sellers in reducing their exposure to bidders who may make transactions more difficult or expensive. For example, buyer requirements enable you to block bidders with negative feedback or from countries you don't ship to. We recently introduced two great new enhancements to this feature. The first enables you to customize your buyer requirements settings on an item-by-item basis, rather than the previous method of applying to all your items at once. The second feature tells you exactly how many bids you've blocked, so you can tune your buyer requirements selections even more effectively. Please join us in this informative workshop to learn more about Buyer Requirements.

Skype in eBay Listings - Connect Directly with Buyers and Sellers
This workshop will be held on Thursday, August 10th from 9:00 am PT to 10:00 am PT. eBay has integrated Skype chat and voice into 14 categories to reduce communication friction between buyers and sellers. Already in almost 4% of listings (in select categories), join us to learn how to take advantage of this exciting opportunity. This workshop will also have a companion Skypecast running simultaneously so you can chat or talk directly with Skype and eBay employees. If you're new to Skype, you can learn more here.

Advanced Business Strategies
This workshop will be held on Friday, August 11th from 10:00 am PT to 11:00 am PT. As your business grows, your strategies need to change and as your business goes through its natural lifecycle, you might need to change business structures. Please join best selling-author and CPA Diane Kennedy to learn how to create a system to turn your ideas into cash through Intellectual Property such as patents, trademarks and copyrights and how to use legal business structures to bulletproof your assets.

Blogs and Reviews & Guides Workshop
This workshop will be held on Friday, August 11th from 2:00 pm PT to 3:00 pm PT. Blogs, Reviews & Guides, oh my! With so many places to express your opinion on eBay who knows what goes where? This workshop is intended to help shine some light on what you can do make the most of these great new features on eBay!

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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Jim "Griff" Griffith

• Rob Cross, Senior Manager for eBay's Developers Program, joins us with this month's Developer Showcase guest, Mike Effle, Vice President of Sales Management for Vendio.
• Arturo Zacarias, eBay's Senior Product Manager for new technologies, with news about RSS feeds and how they can make eBay more effective for you.
• Christopher Spencer, President of the The Spencer Company, will be here for our regular summer series on Fine Tuning your Business on eBay, with advice on how to cut operating costs without hampering growth.
• Catherine Seda, Entrepreneur Magazine columnist and internet marketing expert, will explain why search engines are the most effective online marketing tools.
• purpleferret999, 2006 Community Hall of Fame award winner, will share some of her experiences as an active member of the eBay Community.

Plus "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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