eBay My World – An Introduction to Getting Started on My World!
This workshop will be held on Thursday, October 5th from 2:00 pm PT to 3:00 pm PT. Just launched on eBay, My World is a new tool that allows members to showcase their personalities, interact with others, and display their listings, interests and more! eBay Staff will be on hand to discuss My world, to help you get started, and to answer your questions!

Know the Best Time to List
This workshop will be held on Friday, October 6th from 11:00 am PT to 12:00 pm PT. Terapeak marketing team Sarah Taheri, Dave Frey, and Morgan Brooks will be hosting a workshop introducing you to some tools that you can use to find the best times to end your auctions. There are a variety of free and paid tools that eBay Sellers can use to find out how long to list an item, what time of the day or week to end an auction, or what times of year see big spikes in demand. We will even show you a few cool trends that illustrate the huge spikes in sales that occur over the holiday season! Come join us as we show you some of the research tools available to eBay sellers!

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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Leigh Goldstein

Here’s a rundown of the changes and their benefits:

For buyers

• Shipping costs automatically calculated on item pages. Just like with search results, when we know the buyer's location, we'll automatically calculate shipping costs on the item page for any listing using the shipping calculator. This will not only save buyers time, but will help put sellers using the calculator on equal footing with non-calculator sellers (since their buyers no longer need to make that extra click to learn about shipping).

• Shipping Cost section easier to read. We're making the display of shipping costs on the item page cleaner and easier to read. To see an example of what this will look like, see our thread on the Packaging & Shipping discussion board.

These changes will be rolling out in the next few days.

For sellers who are using the new Sell Your Item form

• More shipping options for international shipments. You'll soon be able to set a flat rate shipping cost for domestic shipments, while using the shipping calculator for international ones.

• More flexibility through UPS. You'll be able to specify a separate shipping cost to Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico when shipping via UPS.

These two will roll out roughly a week later.

As mentioned before, we invite you to come visit our thread on the Packaging & Shipping discussion board and leave your feedback.

Sincerely,

Leigh Goldstein
Director, Shipping

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More information about the new policy can be found in the original announcement directly below.

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	***Previous update: Important eBay Giving Works Changes***
	September 14, 2006 | 09:14AM PST/PT The lower minimum donation requirement of $5 (down from $10) for eBay Giving Works listings that sell, as well as the changes regarding MissionFish deductions for donation processing, have now gone into effect. More information about these changes can be found in the original announcement directly below. The new eBay Giving Works Fee Credit Policy will apply as of October 1st. Please note: You may still see references to the old $10 minimum donation requirement in some Help text throughout the site, as well as in tools such as Turbo Lister. This will be updated shortly. As stated below, the $5 minimum donation requirement will apply to all listings that ended on or after 12:01am PT this morning.
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	***Original: A Message from Kristin Cunningham – Important eBay Giving Works Changes***
	August 31, 2006 | 01:16PM PST/PT Kristin Cunningham Hi everyone, this is Kristin Cunningham with eBay Giving Works, our dedicated program for charity listings. eBay Giving Works allows you to donate part or all of your final sale price to any of over 8,500 certified nonprofit organizations. I want to share some changes we have coming in the next few weeks. New Lower Minimum Donation Many members have told us that they would like to list more often with eBay Giving Works, but the $10 minimum donation requirement has been a barrier. We are pleased to announce that on September 14, we will be lowering the minimum donation requirement to $5 for all eBay Giving Works listings. Now when you create an eBay Giving Works listing and the item sells, your minimum commitment will either be the percentage of your item's final sale price that you've opted to donate, or $5 — whichever is greater. Any existing eBay Giving Works listings that end on or after 12:01 a.m. PT on September 14 qualify for this new lower minimum donation requirement. (Please note: the $5 minimum donation requirement is applied per eBay listing, not per item, and does not apply for nonprofits selling directly on eBay for their cause.) Change in MissionFish Deductions for Donation Processing As you know, the area of charitable donations is highly regulated. Therefore, eBay Giving Works is powered by a third-party organization, MissionFish, a fully licensed nonprofit organization that is responsible for handling and processing all donation amounts. To cover their staff expenses and other operating costs they must support in order to provide these valuable services, MissionFish deducts a small portion of each total donation amount. All charitable organizations participating in the eBay Giving Works program have authorized MissionFish to offset their expenses in this way. Currently, MissionFish deducts a flat amount of $3 for operating costs, and 2.9% for credit card processing. Beginning September 14, they will deduct a percentage based on a tiered schedule as follows: Donation Amount MissionFish Deduction $5.00 - $49.99 20% of the donation $50.00 - $199.99 15% of the donation above $50 (+) $10 from the first tier (20%) $200.00 - $999.99 10% of the donation above $200 (+) $32.50 from the first two tiers (20%, 15%) $1,000 - $4,999.99 5% of the donation above $1,000 (+) $112.50 from the first three tiers (20%, 15%, 10%) $5,000+ 3%* of the donation above $5,000 (+) $312.50 from the first four tiers (20%, 15%, 10%, 5%) * If the seller pays by check or EFT, the deduction is only 1.5% of the donation above $5,000 MissionFish needs to make these changes in order to remain a viable, cost-effective solution provider, and has worked closely with us — as well as leaders in the nonprofit world — to ensure that their deduction structure is in line with industry standards. These deductions only apply to individuals selling their items on eBay, and not to nonprofits selling directly on the site. Receive A New Credit on Your Listing Fees We've seen firsthand the generosity our sellers have shown by using the eBay Giving Works program. In order to further support your philanthropic efforts, we are excited to introduce the new eBay Giving Works Fee Credit Policy, which will go into effect on October 1. (This will replace our current eBay Giving Works Fee Donation Policy on that date.) Under this new policy, when you create an eBay Giving Works listing and that item sells, eBay will credit the Insertion and Final Value Fees back to you, equal to the percentage of your final sale price that you opted to donate. For example, if you donate 30% of your sale price with eBay Giving Works, you'll get 30% of your Insertion and Final Value Fees back as a credit. One important note: These credits can not be handled automatically during the listing process, since they are based on the final price. For this reason, sellers will receive a credit to your selling account approximately six weeks after the listing ends. (We hope to shorten this timeframe in the future.) Any eBay Giving Works listing that ends on or after 12:01 a.m. PT on October 1 will have the new eBay Giving Works Fee Credit Policy applied. We hope these changes will enable you to support the causes you care about by listing even more often with eBay Giving Works! We will be hosting a workshop on September 14 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. PT to talk more about these changes and answer your questions. Again, we thank you for your incredible commitment and generosity. Your efforts are helping to make the world a better place! Sincerely, Kristin Cunningham eBay Giving Works
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Bill Onderdonk

We've heard that this feature has been very helpful, but that resolving account issues still poses a problem because for security reasons PayPal Support can only speak directly with the account owner.  As a result we have added an additional multi-user access permission that will give account holders the ability to allow certain employees to speak to Support on behalf of their businesses.

Sellers already using Multi-User Access should be able to view the new permission option immediately.  For detailed instructions on setting up your additional users, or enabling the new permission for an existing user, you can check out this thread on the PayPal discussion board.

Sincerely,

Bill Onderdonk
VP Marketplaces, PayPal

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Jim "Griff" Griffith

• Jay Blazensky, Vice President of Business Development at Ring Central, will discuss the survey results on communication/marketing trends of eBay PowerSellers.
• Oren Levy, Executive Vice President, Oddcast, with a unique tool that might help your eBay Listings standout and attract more bids.
• Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant Contact, will discuss email etiquette: the dos and don'ts of sending email.
• Dana Korey, Chairman of Order, Away With Clutter, with some tips that every eBay entrepreneur should know to stay organized.
• Jason Miner, Host of PayPal Radio, with the latest PayPal site updates. Jason will be staying on during the open phone segments during in the last hour to answer all your PayPal questions.

Be sure to check out the eBay Chatter Blog for Letters from Griff, and other stories about eBay and the 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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The promotion will start Tuesday, September 26, 2006 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and end on Wednesday, September 27, 2006 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Listings created prior to September 26, 2006 and scheduled to start during the promotional period (September 26-27, 2006) will be eligible for the promotional rate. Take advantage of this promotion and add Subtitle to all your listings so you can tell buyers more about your items!

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 promotion details, please see our information page.

We hope you enjoy the 1¢ Subtitle Sale!

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Jim "Griff" Griffith

Be sure to check out the eBay Chatter Blog for Letters from Griff, and other stories about eBay and the 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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Preparing your Store for the Holidays
This workshop will be held on Monday, September 25th from 2:00 pm PT to 3:00 pm PT. eBay Stores are one of the most powerful e-commerce solutions for running an online business, yet most of them are set up incorrectly. Join Janelle Elms, eBay University Instructor and online business consultant, as she shows you how to take full advantage of the tools that come with your eBay Stores subscription. Get your eBay Store in top shape for this year's busy holiday season by learning how to set up your Store for search engine optimization, choosing templates, business names & logos, and setting up custom categories to assist your buyer's in spending their money with you.

The Formula for Deciding What's Hot on eBay
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, September 26th from 11:00 am PT to 12:00 pm PT. Please join Jen Cano of HammerTap market research, a Certified Solution Provider, as she discusses the formula for discovering hot products to sell on eBay. The question isn't whether a product has a great sell-through rate or whether it sells for a great price - it's whether you can make a profit on it. The answer to that question is different for every seller. Join us to learn how to forecast a product's profitability, to predict when a product is gaining momentum in the market, and to make educated decisions about how 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 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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Steve Haas

The magazine will feature news and information tailored to the interests of eBay Motors members such as trend reports, information on future collectible cars, new parts and accessories, and interesting and off-beat finds from eBay Motors. Jim McCraw, former editor of Hot Rod and Motor Trend, is the editor of this publication. The magazine will also feature a regular column by Winding Road’s iconic editor-in-chief, David E. Davis, Jr., former editor-in-chief of Car and Driver and founder of Automobile Magazine.

The magazine can be accessed through various links on the eBay Motors site or directly at www.ebaymotors.com/windingroad. You can also sign up to receive a monthly email reminder when a new issue becomes available.

Check it out!

Sincerely,

Steve Haas
Senior Manager, Collector Cars

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Anar Shah

Some of the changes that you'll see this week include:

• Bulk edit capability for templates – Users of Selling Manager Pro products can now edit inventory templates individually or in bulk, saving time when making changes across many of your listings.
• Listings matched to inventory – You can now associate your listings with items in your inventory from the new "Product" column we're adding to the Active Listings view of Selling Manager Pro. This will take you fewer steps than before, and will help improve your efficiency.

And for Stores sellers…

• Customizable Summary page – eBay Stores owners can customize the main page in Selling Manager to display the statistics and inventory information most important to them.
• Improved navigation – You'll be able to search in Stores subcategories from all views within Selling Manager (Active Listings, Sold Listings, etc.), helping you to locate specific items more easily.

For more details, or to subscribe to Selling Manager products, please visit the information pages for Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro. If you haven't used Selling Manager or Selling Manager Pro, try a 30-day free trial!

I will also be hosting an online workshop on October 26th, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific time. Stop by with your questions on the workshop board during our event!

Sincerely,
Anar Shah
Seller Tools Product Team

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Jim "Griff" Griffith

I’ve been teaching at eBay Universities nationwide ever since the program began in 2000. I usually teach the Basic Selling course, where I enjoy getting to meet "newbies" and buyers who are just thinking about selling for the first time. Our Tampa event will host the widest selection of topics we've ever offered, and we'll continue to offer classes for our beginners. Plus, in response to requests from students, we've added more advanced classes focusing on areas such as Business Operations, Marketing, and Marketplace Tools. Don't miss your chance to learn about eBay from me, as well as other great instructors, while enjoying the Sunshine State.

Our two-day program is only $59, and includes customizable course tracks to choose from, as well as the opportunity to network and learn from other sellers. You can even bring a friend for free if you register before 11:59pm Pacific Time on September 28th. See our course page for a description of the classes, and for more information about eBay University.

I hope to see you in Tampa!

Sincerely,

Griff

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• Wheels
• Tires
• Wheel & Tire Packages

The new item specifics will allow seller to specify item characteristics (e.g. Rim Material, Rim Width, Rim Diameter, Offset, Number of Bolts, Bolt Pattern, Rim Brand, Tire Type, Tire Width, Tire Brand, Car Type, and Condition). For sellers, Item Specifics help make it easier to present a clean, well-organized description that clearly articulates important details that buyers want to see. Using Item Specifics is free and optional. For buyers, Item Specifics improves the ability to find the right item for a given application, and you'll be able to search for items using Item Specifics a few weeks later.

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 Wheels, Tires, and Wheel + Tire Packages categories.

A complete list of the included categories and item specifics can be found on the eBay Motors Discussion Board. For general information about Item Specifics and how to use them, please visit the Item Specifics overview page.

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Jim "Griff" Griffith

• Jen Cano, Hammertapnow.com, with a segment called: "Help, I'm Stuck with Product that's Hard to Sell!" Jen will show us her "Four Ways to Research."
• Alex Zai, Executive VP and Chief Operating Officer, Pak Mail Centers of America, with what to watch out for when pricing shipments.
• Lynn Dralle, Queen of Auctions, with "Why you should never have a garage sale" and "What's hot this fall."
• Lisa Suttora, Founder, www.whatdoIsell.com, will tell us what's hot to sell this holiday season.
• JP O'Brien, CEO and Founder, Keepmore.net, with why it's important to track your business.

Be sure to check out the eBay Chatter Blog for Letters from Griff, and other stories about eBay and the 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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During the eBay Motors Parts and Accessories 50¢ Insertion Fee sale:

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

Listings created prior to September 19, 2006 that are scheduled to start during the promotional period (September 19, 2006) will be eligible to receive the promotional rate. Excluded are Vehicle listings, listings on international eBay sites, Live Auction listings, Professional Services and Store Inventory listings, and listings on www.ebay.com. For full details about the sale, please see our information page.

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

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• Advertising
• Transportation
• Tools, Hardware & Locks
• Vanity, Perfume & Shaving
• Lamps & Lighting

Item Condition is an important piece of information for buyers, and we've found that listings with specified conditions are more likely to sell. Additionally, to be eligible for inclusion in eBay Express, items in these Collectibles categories will need to have a specified Item Condition. Buyers will be able to search for items using Item Specifics a few weeks later.

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 Collectibles category.

For general information about Item Specifics and how to use them, please visit the Item Specifics overview page. We have also started a thread on the Collectibles discussion board to provide more detail about the upcoming changes.

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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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And save the date for Bill’s next Town Hall on September 29th at 10am PT as he’s joined by Gary Briggs, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.

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	***Previous update: Reminder for the eBay Town Hall Event with Bill Cobb – Tomorrow, September 6th***
	September 05, 2006 | 12:45PM PST/PT Don't forget to listen in as Bill Cobb, President of eBay North America, hosts our next Town Hall on Wednesday, September 6th from 4:00pm PT to 5:00pm PT. Bill and his leadership team will take your questions and suggestions during this open-topic Town Hall. To submit your question and to listen in, visit our Town Hall page.
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	***Original: Save The Date: Town Hall with Bill Cobb on Wednesday, September 6th***
	August 24, 2006 | 04:46PM PST/PT Bill Cobb Hi everyone...this is Bill Cobb, President of eBay North America. I'm here to invite you to our next Town Hall event on Wednesday, September 6, 2006 from 4:00-5:00pm PT. Students are returning to school, and buyers and sellers are gearing up for the busy shopping season before the holidays. My leadership team and I are ready to answer any of your questions during this open topic Town Hall, plus hear your suggestions for how we can improve your experience on eBay. To submit your question early, visit our Town Hall page at www.ebay.com/townhall. We will also take questions submitted to us live during the event. You can listen to the audio of this Town Hall through Windows Media Player or through Real Player. Details on how to download and install the latest versions of both of these are available on our Town Hall page. Thanks, and I hope you'll join us on Wednesday, September 6th. Sincerely, Bill Cobb President, eBay North America
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Listing Template Design & Layout Clinic
This workshop will be held on Monday, September 18th 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. Please note, this workshop will be held one hour longer than normal to provide members an opportunity to obtain feedback on their listings.

7 Traits of a Highly Successful Product Line
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, September 19th from 11:00 am PT to 12:00 pm PT. Highly successful and profitable product lines are not a matter of luck or guessing, but rather a result of thoughtfully assembling a dynamic inventory of complimentary products. In this workshop, Lisa Suttora, Founder/CEO of What Do I Sell.com, an eBay Certified Service Provider, will discuss the 7 traits of a highly successful product line. Find out what characteristics separate product lines with explosive growth potential from those that are lackluster and then languish. During this workshop, Lisa will also look at workshop attendee's eBay stores and make suggestions for product line enhancements.

Shipping Solutions for Items Over 150lbs
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, September 20th from 1:00 pm PT to 2:00 pm PT. Are you missing big sales because shipping big items is a big hassle? Are you limiting your sales by only offering local pick ups? eBay has several tools to help make shipping freight-sized items easy. In this workshop, the Freightquote team will demonstrate how you can save time and facilitate sales by adding a Freight Calculator to your auction. We will also discuss how you can utilize the eBay Freight Resource Center to schedule pickups, create shipping documents, and track your shipments all in a few easy steps. Join us for a fun, informative session.

Upgrading to the New Turbo Lister
This workshop will be held on Thursday, September 21st from 1:00 pm PT to 2:00 pm PT. Still using the older version of Turbo Lister? Download the latest version that was released in April to help make selling items in bulk faster and easier. Join the Turbo Lister team to learn about the enhancements, ask questions and get the help you need to upgrade.

Buyer Disputes: How to Avoid, Manage and Respond to Them on eBay and PayPal
This workshop will be held on Friday, September 22nd from 11:00 am PT to 12:00 pm PT. This workshop is designed for new and experienced sellers who would like to learn how to avoid, manage, and respond to buyer disputes. While a vast majority of transactions occur without a hitch, there are those rare instances when something goes wrong, such as the item never arriving or the buyer feeling that the item is different from the original description. In this workshop you'll learn some best practices for dealing with situations like these. Also included in the workshop will be pointers on how to use the Item Not Received Process on eBay and the PayPal Dispute Resolution process on PayPal. Whether you just received your first buyer complaint or have tried to communicate with a difficult buyer dozens of times, this workshop can help you ensure your response is effective.

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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Gary Briggs

In a nutshell, my job is to invest in marketing that drives buyers to the site, and to make sure people think of eBay first whenever they go to shop for “it.” I know this is especially important to our selling Community, who count on us to bring buyers to the site. That's why, going forward, I plan to provide updates on some of the key marketing initiatives we have in the works at eBay.

Heading into the important holiday selling season, we have a several exciting marketing initiatives launching.

eBay Express Debuts on TV
First, I know many of you have been anticipating our eBay Express marketing campaign since Bill Cobb announced the official opening of the site at eBay Live! in June. I'm pleased to be the one to share the good news – our first eBay Express television commercials began lighting up the airwaves last week. The debut of these new commercials was during the first regular season NFL game between Miami and Pittsburgh on NBC.

I think you'll agree the commercials are innovative and fun – just like our marketplace. We produced 22 versions of the commercial using the same basic theme. Together, they communicate the new and fixed-price nature of Express and build on the success of last year's “it” campaign. Visit whatisit.com to view snippets of the 22 versions, which will be running heavily for the next few weeks.

To complement the TV commercials, we have a wide variety of marketing activities planned that promote eBay Express to potential buyers, online and off. Rich media advertisements began last week, and dedicated eBay Express printed catalogs will reach the homes of over 2.7 million buyers early next week. Also, look for direct emails to buyers, an e-catalog, and a buyer promotion called Win-Win with eBay Express, launching next week.

Fall Fashion Drive on eBay.com
Got a passion for fashion? During the fall season which includes Back-to-School, our marketing messages are geared to communicate both our depth and breadth in the important Apparel and Accessories category. To enhance that effort, we recently launched a promotion called Win it, Wear it that combines an interactive trivia game and an Instant Win offering. It runs through September 18 th. Check it out at: http://ebay.promotionexpert.com/eBayApparel/index.jsp.

And if you are a regular viewer of NBC's Today show, you may have seen eBay's style director Constance White reviewing this season's hot new fashion trends. These trends were also featured in several fashion-themed catalogs that were mailed out to millions of eBay buyers this season.

Half.com Marketing
I've never been more excited about our Half.com business. As you may know, eBay's spent the last 12 months investing in our Half.com infrastructure so that this platform remains stable over time and can grow to meet the needs of an expanding customer base.

With these necessary improvements now in place, we maximized our marketing dollars to attract textbook buyers during the most recent Back-to-School marketing season. We did a ton of marketing aimed at college students, in particular: we invested aggressively in advertising in college newspapers, we increased our paid search internet ads, and we increased our investment in the Half.com affiliate program. We also partnered with our friends at Skype by including Half.com gift certificates as part of their Back To School promotion. This is being promoted on Facebook, a popular social networking site for students. Check it out at www.skype.com/skypeU.

The results of this integrated campaign have been impressive. We saw 103% year-over-year GMV growth for textbooks on Half.com in August. That means 11.4 textbooks sold per minute vs. 6.7 last year. We're keeping the heat on, too, by featuring Half.com in the footer of relevant eBay search results. Our Half.com business is in a strong position as we look forward to fall.

eBay Motors Marketing
In case you missed it, eBay Motors recently announced the sale of the 2 millionth vehicle on the site. We have seen several major news outlets cover this exciting story. (Check out http://pages.motors.ebay.com/2millionsold) This is a milestone we can all be proud of.

We're continuing to invest in eBay Motors, the web's most visited automotive site. In addition to investing in paid search and other forms of internet marketing, we launched a national print campaign in support of eBay Motors earlier this summer. The campaign leverages the highly successful ‘it' campaign by replacing pictures of real cars with car-sized “it” sculptures. The ads appear in magazines like Time, Sports Illustrated and Entertainment Weekly. In addition, we mailed out an eBay Motors print catalog in early June that highlighted the site's vast selection of automotive, boat, and motorcycle parts and accessories.

Innovations - Today's Big Deal promotion
Finally, in addition to investing in conventional marketing activities, my team works on new ways to eBay capture the imagination, attention, and – most importantly – shopping dollars of online buyers. This calls for innovation. As our sellers know well, the internet is still rapidly evolving, and I think it's important that we at eBay continue to think like pioneers and test new ideas.

Yesterday we announced one such experiment. Today's Big Deals showcases great items at a great price – every day. (You can read Louis's announcement for details.) We're giving this concept a try for a few weeks, because we think a program like this could generate new buyer excitement and give shoppers a fun, compelling reason to visit eBay every day.

I want you to know, too, that we've heard a few concerns from our Community about this promotion, and we're looking into the specifics and working on ways to fix any issues with our implementation of this test. We sincerely appreciate hearing from you about your concerns, because it helps make us better. That's the nature of evolution – some experiments work great, some need refining, and some are sent back to the drawing board.

We'll keep you posted on the future of Today's Big Deals, and we really appreciate your support.

That's it for now. As Bill mentioned in his last Town Hall, I'll be part of the panel at his next event on September 29 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time. I'll be talking more about our marketing plans and answering your questions. I hope you'll join us then.

Gary Briggs
eBay Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer

* This post was originally created at 10:43AM PST/PT. It was reposted to make a correction to the title.

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Sohil Gilani

Back in January, we made a number of improvements to our Best Offer feature for Fixed Price listings on eBay Motors. A few months later, we started testing these improvements on eBay.com in the Jewelry and Watches categories to see whether buyers and sellers found them useful. The test results have been very positive – we saw an increase in the number of accepted Best Offers, and a decrease in the amount of time required for sellers to manage them. I’m now pleased to announce that in the next few days we will extend these enhancements to all categories across the site.

These expanded Best Offer capabilities include:

• Increased Number of Offers – Buyers in all categories will be able to make up to 3 offers per item (increased from one), making it easier to negotiate a price acceptable to both parties.
• Counter-Offer – Sellers can respond directly to a Best Offer by either accepting the offer or by making a counter-offer.
• Auto Decline Feature – Sellers can set a minimum Best Offer price that they will consider. All offers below that price will be declined automatically.

To learn more about Best Offer, please see our information page.

Sincerely,

Sohil Gilani
Senior Product Manager

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Louis Olson

During this test, we'll promote a few products each day on a special landing page. Each product will be listed by an eBay seller in the multiple-item Fixed Price format. Each product will be available for just 24 hours -- or until the quantity available runs out. The products being promoted will change each evening.

For this test, we've solicited deals from select eBay sellers who have met specific criteria: They are experienced sellers who are registered in the U.S; have the ability to supply large quantities of a single product; have a public Feedback profile with a score of 100 or more and is 98% positive or better; and have a PayPal Premier or Business account. (This is similar to what is required to sell on eBay Express.) To enable us to implement this test efficiently, we worked with ChannelAdvisor, an eBay Certified Provider, who helped us secure a portion of the product offerings from sellers.

The results from this pilot will help us determine if this type of promotion is right for the marketplace. If it proves successful, we'll open up participation to a larger group of sellers.

We'll keep you informed about any future developments based on this test. In the meantime, look for Today’s BIG Deals – great items at great prices for a limited time. We appreciate your support.

Sincerely,

Louis Olson
eBay Category Marketing

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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 30, 2006 | 01:23PM PST/PT The category structure will be updated in mid-September 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: COINS & PAPER MONEY Look for changes under Coins: US, Bullion and Exonumia. TOYS & HOBBIES Check out changes under Action Figures, Model, Kits, Trading Card Games, TV, Movie, and Character Toys. 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

• Rob Chesnut, Sr. VP of eBay Trust & Safety, with recent news and developments on the safe trading front.
• Steve Yeich, CEO of Hosted Support for the eBay Developer Showcase, will talk about customer support automation.
• Chris Malta, founder and CEO of Worldwide Brands, will join us for a segment on eBay Product Sourcing.
• Lisa Luree, 2006 Hall of Fame Winner and founder of the Art Card Editions and Originals eBay group, with her selling strategies and important trends for ACEOs.
• Jim Miotke, founder of BetterPhoto.com, with basic photography tips.

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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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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What you need to know about your E-Business, the IRS and a Potential Audit!
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, September 12th from 11:00 am PT to 12:00 pm PT. It is boldly stated in the audit manual for IRS Revenue Agents that “The potential for omitted income is greater in E-Business due to the borderless and paperless feature of the organization…” With that one simply statement, the IRS is taking an aggressive stand on unreported income in E-Businesses such as your eBay business. During our next workshop, Phyllis Wischer, Lead Business Coach from Certified Provider KeepMore.net, will discuss some of the top 27 questions an IRS agent will ask you in the event of an audit of your eBay business. Join us to learn what you will be asked and how you can prepare yourself in the event of an IRS audit of eBay business.

Tax Calendar for your eBay Business
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, September 13th from 10:00 am PT to 11:00 am PT. Payroll taxes, sales taxes, quarterly estimates, payroll reports, income taxes - do you ever feel like you're lost in a sea of taxes and the required reporting? Please join best selling-author and CPA Diane Kennedy for this workshop as she explains what you need to do when it comes to tax withholding and reporting and when you need to do it.

Listing Items with the New Sell Your Item Form
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, September 13th from 3:00 pm PT to 4:00 pm PT. The new Selling form is here! Learn about the new time-saving features and other helpful benefits. The eBay team will be on hand to answer your questions, so join us for this interactive workshop. Learn more about the new Selling form here.

How to Choose a Product from Millions of Possibilities
This workshop will be held on Thursday, September 14th from 11:00 am PT to 12:00 pm PT. Many people struggle with deciding on a product to sell on eBay. Matt Hedges, marketing manager for WorldwideBrands.com and author of the book The Online Research Guide, will step sellers through the process of selecting a product to sell from the millions of possible options available to eBay sellers.

eBay Giving Works Announces New Changes
This workshop will be held on Thursday, September 14th from 2:00 pm PT to 3:00 pm PT. eBay Giving Works has announced some changes to the program, including lowering the minimum donation amount to $5! Please join us for this workshop to learn more about the lower minimum donation, as well as the upcoming update to the charity listings policy.

Cyber Safety for Our Children
This workshop will be held on Friday, September 15th from 10:30 am PT to 11:30 am PT. Cyber safety for our children is a growing concern for parents and educators across the United States . Join NetSmartz's, Amber Lindsay and eBay's Community Outreach Program Manager, Cheryl Fujii for cyber safety suggestions you can implement at home or in a classroom environment. This workshop will provide information in a fun interactive manner to assist parents and educators create safer Internet environments and to initiate conversations to develop cyber awareness. Don't miss this great opportunity to discuss online safety with a NetSmartz expert! For more information on NetSmartz, please visit http://www.NetSmartz.org .

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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From September 8-18, you’ll have the chance to answer up to 3 trivia questions every day on our Win It! Wear It! promotion page. Topics range from brand knowledge and fashion trends to eBay fun facts. For every exact answer, you’ll have a chance to instantly win one of the eBay Gift Certificates, plus get an entry into our grand prize sweepstakes.

Put your knowledge to the test on our Win it! Wear it! promotion page!

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• Customizable tracks to choose from, including:
  • Selling Basics
  • Beyond the Basics
  • eBay for Business – Operations
  • eBay for Business – Marketing
  • Business Builders
  • Marketplace Tools
• Classes taught by eBay University Instructors, Education Specialists and Certified Providers who are experts in their field.
• An opportunity to network and share best practices with other eBay sellers.
• Your chance to meet Jim ‘Griff’ Griffith, Dean of eBay Education and author of the Official eBay Bible.

To learn more about each of the course tracks, see our information page.

It’s only $59 for two full days. Attend classes from two full tracks, or simply pick and choose individual classes from any of the tracks. Plus, if you register online before 11:59pm PT on September 21st you can bring a friend for free!

Event Details
September 22nd-23rd, 2006
Dallas Convention Center
650 Griffith Avenue
Dallas, TX 75208

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• On the Motors Home Page, a new graphical ad will be appearing on the right side of the page.

• On eBay.com Search Results Pages, the size of the graphical banner at the top of the page will be increased from 468 x 60 to 728 x 90. The new size will replace the existing smaller banner as well as two small text ad placements. This new ad size is the same size as the current banner ad that runs on the top of eBay Motors Search Results pages.

• On Search Results Pages, the size of the graphical banner on the lower left navigation of the page will change to 180 x 150.

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Scott Polhemus

You can find event tickets in two ways:

1) Finding Event Tickets through search
We’ve created a new interface that helps you find tickets to the specific games and events you want to attend. In the search box, type the team, game or event you are interested in. Search will take you to a page with a schedule of games and events related to your search. Pick the event you are interested in from the schedule, and you’ll be shown all the listings for that specific event.

For example, if you search for "Red Sox tickets," you will be directed to a Boston Red Sox schedule page. The schedule page will display all Red Sox games where tickets are available, either for bid or Fixed Price purchase. Once you select a specific game from this schedule page, you will be taken to an event page which will show all the listings unique to that event.

You should see this interface when you search for tickets for almost any major sports, concert or theater event. If you search for tickets to an event for which we do not have a schedule, you'll see the exact same search results page that you do today.

2) Finding Event Tickets by browsing through the Event Tickets category
If you're not using search, and instead click into the Tickets category (for example, from the home page) to browse through all the listings, you’ll also see some changes. The old "Ticket Finder" box, formerly located in the left hand navigation bar on search results, will be replaced by a number of links at the top of the page. These links allow you to search for tickets by type, and help you quickly narrow your search by details such as venue, date, sports team, and number of tickets desired.

Sellers – Use These Best Practices for Best Visibility
Sellers can ensure their listings for event tickets receive the maximum visibility from buyers by following these best practices when listing:

• Use effective item titles (such as the event name and date).
• Use all relevant Item Specifics (especially date and venue).
• If you use Sell Similar or Relist features, be sure to carefully review your item title, description and Item Specifics to verify they are accurate.
• Use Pre-Filled Item Information whenever possible.

More detailed information on best listing practices in Event Tickets can be found on our Selling Tips page.

Finding Event Tickets -- The Test Plan
In early September, some buyers looking for tickets (selected at random) will start seeing this new design. If we decide to expand this test to more ticket buyers, we will notify you with an additional update.

For more details on the new design, please see our information page. Please provide any feedback, questions or issues regarding the new Event Tickets search experience to scottp@ebay.com.

Thanks in advance for your help and support during this test!

Sincerely,

Scott Polhemus
Category Manager, Tickets & Experiences

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Jim "Griff" Griffith

If you can't catch the show when it airs, 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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Increase your eBay Sales – Know the Best Time to List
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, September 5th from 11:00am PT to 12:00pm PT. Terapeak marketing team Sara Taheri, Dave Frey, and Morgan Brooks will be hosting a workshop introducing you to some tools that you can use to find the best times to end your auctions. There are a variety of free and paid tools that eBay Sellers can use to find out how long to list an item, what time of the day or week to end an auction, or what times of year see big spikes in demand. We will even show you a few cool trends that illustrate the huge spikes in sales that occur over the holiday season! Come join us as we show you some of the research tools available to eBay sellers!

Learn to use Blackthorne Basic
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, September 6th from 1:00pm PT to 2:00pm PT. Join the Blackthorne Software team for this workshop to learn about Blackthorne Basic, the redesigned Seller's Assistant Basic. This end-to-end sales management tool can help you sell more in less time. To learn more, go to the Blackthorne Basic page.

Learn to use Blackthorne Pro
This workshop will be held on Thursday, September 7th from 1:00pm PT to 2:00pm PT. Join the Blackthorne Software team for this workshop to learn about Blackthorne Pro, the redesigned Seller's Assistant Pro. This top-of-the-line sales management tool can help you scale your eBay business. To learn more, go to the Blackthorne Pro page.

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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More information about the test can be found in our original announcement directly below. Also, check out our information page for more details about the new design, and we invite you to leave your feedback on our thread on the Search discussion board.

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	***Original: Test: Making Buyers More Efficient - A Redesign of Search Results***
	August 15, 2006 | 01:37PM PST/PT Nico Posner Hi everyone, I'm Nico Posner with eBay's Finding team. As you've seen and heard from us over the past few months, we're 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. An important project we'll be launching as a test later this month is 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. About The New Search Results Design In our new search results pages, the space allotted to each listing will be bigger, and we'll be doing more to call out key information. For example, price information will be shown in a larger size and a new color, making it easier to scan through listings. We're also including an "Add to Watch list" link on each item, so buyers can add interesting listings to their Watch lists right away. Most listing rows will also have a link called "See quick details." When a buyer clicks this link, or hovers over it with their mouse, they'll see a new section pop up that contains key information such as the shipping & handling charges and accepted payment methods. And just as they can today, buyers will be able to customize what information they see on these pages according to what is most important to them. Our Test Plan Later this month, a small percentage of buyers (selected at random) will start seeing the new search results pages. An even smaller number of buyers will also see the new design on eBay Motors. We will keep you informed about plans to launch this new design to the whole site after we complete our testing period. If you'd like to see what the new design looks like, please see our information page. To provide feedback, questions or issues regarding the new search results page, please post your comments to our thread on the Search discussion board. You can access this directly by clicking here. I also hope you can join me for an online workshop on August 24th from Noon to 1pm PT to review the new designs. Thank you in advance for your help and support during this test! Sincerely, Nico Posner Senior Product Manager, Finding
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