Christophe Gillet

Key features of Markdown Manager include:

• A quick, easy process to create a Sale item.
• Easy management and scheduling capabilities.
• Ability to apply discounts to specific listings, categories, or across all your Store Inventory or Fixed Priced listings.

Click here to learn more about Markdown Manager, or take a quick tutorial and read our FAQs.

I will be hosting an online workshop on Thursday, February 8th at 2:00 p.m. Pacific time with some of my colleagues from the eBay Stores team. We'll review the Markdown Manager tool in more detail and give you tips on how it can help you grow your sales. I hope you stop by with your questions!

Sincerely,

Christophe Gillet
eBay Stores

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Jim "Griff" Griffith

• Janelle Elms, eBay University Instructor and a best-selling author, will discuss the importance of customer retention as a crucial strategy for any eBay seller.
• Evan Lansky, CEO and President of Pak Mail Centers of America, Inc., will be here with tips for making packaging and shipping easier and more efficient.
• Dr. Bob Myers of Oklahoma Wesleyan University with news of OWU's listings on eBay that let you bid on a tuition package for your child.
• Lynn Dralle, “The Queen of Auctions” returns to eBay Radio with tips for getting the best deals on antiques & collectibles at professionally run estate sales.
• Jason Miner, PayPal's lead eBay University Instructor and the Host of PayPal Radio with updates on what's new at PayPal.

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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Sarah Brubacher

Third-party auction extender tools allow sellers to automatically extend auction-style listings beyond their stipulated duration. Auction extensions using these tools, or done manually, are banned.

Why we're making this change
Auction extensions, whether automatic or manual, disrupt normal bidding patterns and create a negative buyer experience. For instance, buyers who enjoy bidding in the last moments of an auction are unfairly disrupted when listings are inappropriately extended.

These tools also "un-level" the playing field between sellers by unfairly adding time to a listing, so that it is available on the site for longer than the chosen duration. Plus, many buyers look for items that have been newly listed, so listings that have been extended have an added unfair advantage in browse and search results.

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

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

Sincerely,

Sarah Brubacher
Global Trust & Safety Policy Team

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Jim "Griff" Griffith

If you can't catch the live show you can always subscribe to the podcast , 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

• Lisa Suttora, Founder and CEO of WhatdoISell.com with eBay selling strategies for 2007.
• Mike Enos, PlatinumPowerSeller.com with tips on how to take your eBay sales to the next level.
• Phil Dunn, Co-author of “The Seven Steps to Successful eBay Marketing" will discuss some of the customer service challenges and issues that are unique to eBay seller customer acquisition and retention.
• Colin Rule, Director of online Dispute Resolution at PayPal, as well as frequent contributor to the eBay Chatter Blog, discusses eBay's work with third party resolution partners.
• Jim Miotke, President of Betterphoto.com, with digital 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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The promotion will start on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and end on Thursday, January 25, 2007 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Listings created prior to January 23, 2007 that are scheduled to start during the promotional period will be eligible for the promotional rate.

This promotion will not apply to the following types of listings: all eBay Motors listings (including Parts & Accessories, Passenger Vehicles, Motorcycles, Power Sports, and Other Vehicles), as well as International, Live Auction, Professional Services, Real Estate, Ad Format, and Store Inventory listings. For full details, please see our promotion page.

We hope you enjoy the 50% Off Gallery Plus promotion!

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Jim Ambach

Has your business evolved? Revisit our tools to find the best fit
As businesses evolve, needs change. The new year presents a great opportunity for sellers to evaluate the current tools available and assess how well they meet their current business needs, or future growth plans.

Using the right tool for the job is key to running your business efficiently. For example, our Sell Your Item form is a great way to list relatively low numbers of items every day. But sellers listing hundreds of listings a week, or large numbers of similar items, will find that using a tool like Turbo Lister is essential in helping you stay productive and profitable.

Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro both give you advanced features to manage your listings within My eBay, along with helpful functionality like having feedback automatically left upon payment. Other sellers who are looking to scale their businesses may need a total end-to-end solution that helps them manage multiple User IDs with various account permissions, inventory tracking, etc. These features are available through our Blackthorne product line.

For more information about the selling tools available on eBay, I invite you to visit our Seller Tools page.

Selecting the Right Listing Tool – Online Workshop
We know that figuring out which tool is right for you can sometimes be a little daunting. To help guide you, our selling tools team will be hosting an online workshop on Thursday, February 1st at 12:00pm PT which will focus on helping sellers assess which tool is right for you. Stop by, let us know where your business stands and where you want to go, and we can help you figure out which tools will help you the most.

Retirement Plans for Old Versions of Turbo Lister and Seller's Assistant
Finally, I want to remind our sellers that the old versions of Turbo Lister and our Seller's Assistant tools will be retired in early April 2007. Although many sellers have transitioned to the new tools, those still using the old ones will no longer be able to submit listings to eBay with these tools after they are retired. (Sellers still using these out-of-date tools will receive reminders about the retirement when they log in.)

Sincerely,

Jim Ambach
Senior Director, Seller Experience

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Nate Etter

Now that the holidays are behind us, we're ready to transition the rest of our sellers who use SYI to our newest version.

Transition to continue in the next few days
Later this week, we'll begin to transition sellers who haven't already been using the new SYI form. This process will be complete by the middle of February. Anyone who would like to start using the new form now can do so by clicking the "Start selling with the new version of the Sell Your Item form" link at the top of the Sell Hub.

Old SYI form available until May, 2007
During the transition period, sellers can continue to use the old version of the SYI form. Just click the "List using the original Sell Your Item form" link found at the top of the Sell Hub. The old version will be available until early May 2007, and then will be retired.

Small Sign-In Change
We're also making a slight change to sign-in when you use the SYI form. You used to sign in at the beginning of the selling process – soon you won't need to sign in until after you select the category of the item you wish to sell.

Learn more at our Online Workshops
For those sellers who are not yet familiar with the new SYI, we'll be hosting a series of workshops where you can learn more. The SYI product team will be on hand during these events, and will be happy to answer your questions. The first one is scheduled for Friday, February 9th at 1:00pm PT.

On behalf of the SYI team, I want to thank you for your input over the last several months, and for your continued support during this transition.

Sincerely,

Nate Etter
Product Management

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Jim "Griff" Griffith

If you can't catch the live show you can always subscribe to the podcast , 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, January 22nd from 12:00 pm 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.

Multiple Modes And Pricing Of Freight
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, January 23rd from 11:00 am PT to 12:00 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.

A Quick Start to Using Blackthorne Pro
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, January 24th from 1:00 pm PT to 2:00 pm PT. Blackthorne Pro has many features for managing your eBay listings. It is a comprehensive tool for serious sellers and is well-suited for larger, tech-savvy sellers as well as those who sell a smaller amount and are not computer whizzes. Please join Sally Milo of going1nceamc to learn how to set up Blackthorne, create item records & templates, ad (listing) templates, relisting and managing sales. Whether you'll be replacing Seller's Assistant or another application with Blackthorne Pro, this workshop will provide an overview of how to use it.

Customer Satisfaction and Retention
This workshop will be held on Friday, January 26th from 2:00 pm PT to 3:00 pm PT. Please join Janelle Elms, lead instructor with eBay University, and Phil Dunn, author and Fortune 500 marketing consultant, for the sixth installment of The 7 Essential Steps to Successful eBay Marketing workshop series. This session covers customer satisfaction and retention practices that help you grow your business. We'll show you how to effectively convey trustworthiness, personalize your communications, leverage one-to-one marketing techniques and promotions, use direct mail, and generate positive feedback.

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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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***
	January 11, 2007 | 10:00AM PST/PT The category structure will be updated in mid-January 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: CONSUMER ELECTRONICS We've increased visibility for iPod/MP3 Players and MP3 Accessories by moving their sections higher up the category tree. Look for the latest Tivo Series3 category under Digital Video Recorders as well. eBay MOTORS We've expanded our Custom Built Motorcycles section, and added new models to other Motorcycle makes. TOYS & HOBBIES Check out the new Marvel Legends categories in Action Figures, and a section just for Elmo under 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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The 20˘ Insertion Fee Sale starts on Thursday, January 18, 2007 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and ends that same day, Thursday, January 18, 2007 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Listings which were created prior to January 18, 2007 and scheduled to start during the promotional period will also be eligible for the special promotional rate.

This promotion will not apply to the following types of listings: all eBay Motors listings (including Parts & Accessories, Passenger Vehicles, Motorcycles, Power Sports, and Other Vehicles), as well as International, Live Auction, Professional Services, Real Estate, Ad Format, and Store Inventory listings. Also, the following Business & Industrial categories are excluded from this promotion: tractors & farm machinery (category #91952), heavy equipment (25249), concession trailers, carts (67145), imaging and aesthetics equipment (92035), forklifts and other lifts (97185), manufacturing equipment (92080), metalworking equipment (92082), and commercial printing presses (26247).

For full promotion details, please click here.

We hope you enjoy the 20˘ Insertion Fee Sale!

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Bill Cobb

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

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

• Reinvest in eBay's core by simplifying the site, improving finding, and accentuating the things that make eBay fun and unique.

• Take a more proactive approach to Trust & Safety to protect our members from fraud.

• Improve the buyer experience on the site by holding sellers to higher minimum standards

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

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

We made a start last year with projects like Deal Finder, eBay My World, eBay Blogs, eBay Pop, and eBay Matchups - fun new site features that are pulling in traffic and encouraging folks to spend more time on the site. Throughout 2007 we'll be making changes like these that allow us to test and fine-tune new innovations without disruption to the marketplace. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Since last summer, for example, we've made significant progress cleaning up categories where egregious cases of excessive shipping & handling charges are most prevalent. For instance, in our Cell Phones category, the average shipping cost on cell phones has come down by around 25%, and the buyer experience has improved. The competition between these sellers is more fair now, too.

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

• Private Feedback & Cross-Border Trade Requirements - Last fall we eliminated the ability for sellers to make their feedback private. We've also raised the bar for sellers who want to sell cross-border. To list outside one's home registration site, sellers must establish their identity by becoming PayPal Verified (sellers with established track records will not be affected by this requirement.) (Read our FAQs for more details.)

• Safe Payment Requirement for New Sellers - Today I announced that we'll be requiring all newly registered sellers to accept PayPal or a merchant credit card. We know that PayPal is the safest way to pay on eBay, and we want to make sure our buyers have this option with new sellers. (Existing sellers will not be affected by this requirement.). (Read our FAQs for more details.)

• Feedback 2.0 - eBay pioneered online reputation systems with the feedback system back in the '90s – and since then, our members have loved to debate its merits. The fact is, it's a great system, but it needs some refinement to keep pace with our marketplace. Today I announced Feedback 2.0, which we'll be launching in pilot markets next month. Feedback 2.0 will add a new dimension to the current system, allowing buyers to rate transactions on item description, communication, shipping time, and shipping & handling charges. The average of each of the Detailed Seller Ratings is displayed on the seller’s Feedback Profile page. It's a simple system that rewards sellers by recognizing and spotlighting the things they do to ensure customer satisfaction. We'll share more about Feedback 2.0 in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

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

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

Sincerely,

Bill Cobb
President, Marketplaces North America

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Click the links above to view each project, then help us pick a winner by voting for your favorite by Monday, January 22nd!

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Jim "Griff" Griffith

• Rob Chestnut, Senior VP of eBay Trust and Safety, will share the latest news on the Trust and Safety front
• Skip McGrath, eBay Radio Contributing Editor, best selling author and eBay PowerSeller, identifies his seven deadly sins of eBay and how to avoid them
• Greg Cole, President of Hammertapnow.com and an eBay Radio contributing editor, will discuss evaluating growth potential for your business on eBay.
• John Slocum, the Founder and General Manager of eBay's Blackthorne Software with an overview and the latest enhancemets of Blackthorne software for sellers.

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 podcast , 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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Power Up Your eBay Business!
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, January 16th from 11:00 am PT to 12:00 pm PT. If you have been thinking about starting your own eBay business or you have an existing business that you've wanted to expand, the time is NOW! We've just come off of the most successful online holiday selling season in Internet history. Opportunity for online eBay retailers has never been better. Don't wait another minute to get started! Please join Lisa Suttora Founder/CEO of What Do I Sell.com and best-selling author of "What to Sell on eBay and Where to Get It" (from McGraw-Hill publishers) and find out what you need to do today to get started with building or expanding the business of your dreams!

Estimated Federal Income Taxes for the eBay Business Owner
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, January 17th from 12:00 pm PT to 1:00 pm PT. It's January 12th and the final federal estimated income tax payment is due January 16, 2007. Join Phyllis Wischer, Lead Business Coach from Certified Provider KeepMore.net , as she discusses calculating estimated taxes for the self-employed eBay business owner. First, take time to review the December 12, 2006 workshop titled Thinking about your 2006 income taxes? If not, you should be! Then join this workshop to get a better understanding of how to calculate your estimated taxes; and how and when to pay those taxes.

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