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  March 2007 |
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***Upcoming Workshops: 5-Minute Market Research Recipe to Power Up Your Profits and Research 101*** |
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March 30, 2007 | 05:15PM PST/PT

We would like to invite you to attend the following workshops this week:
5-Minute Market Research Recipe to Power Up Your Profits
This workshop will be held on Monday, April 2nd from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific time. Please join Jen Cano, from HammerTap, a Certified Solution Provider, as she guides you through a simple, 5-minute recipe for using market research to pump up your eBay sales and profits. Market research doesn't have to take up a lot of time; so come find out why you can't afford not to spend 5 minutes researching your product before you start your next listing.
Research 101
This workshop will be held on Friday, April 6th from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Pacific time. Have you wondered why some people make lots of money selling on eBay and others quit before they see a profit? What is the difference between these two types of sellers? There's a good chance the successful seller uses research to determine what, when and how to sell their products. Please join Sara Taheri and Denise Hogue from Terapeak Marketplace Research for a gentle and fun introduction to how you can put market research to practice and increase your profitability on eBay. There will be examples based on Terapeak Research reports and you will get the chance to ask our research experts questions live.
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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***Register for the eBay Developers Conference – June 11-13 in Boston*** |
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March 29, 2007 | 01:39PM PST/PT

| Max Mancini |
Hi...This is Max Mancini, and I lead our Developers Program here at eBay. Registration for this year's eBay Developers Conference is open, and we've got a great discount available for you if you register by next Friday, April 6th.
The 5th annual eBay Developers Conference will be held from June 11-13 in Boston, MA, right before eBay Live!. It's perfect for eCommerce developers, entrepreneurs, and affiliates who want to take advantage of the leading eCommerce platforms on the web – eBay, PayPal, Shopping.com, ProStores, and Skype. If you are a tech-savvy eCommerce professional who is interested in the momentum that Web 2.0 has brought to the industry, we can give you the business behind the buzz.
As always, we'll be offering a wide range of sessions at this year's conference. For example, join us to discuss the A to Z's of optimization, from your online storefront to affiliate search engines. Or maybe you'd want to attend the basic and advanced eBay and PayPal Web Services classes. We're also expanding our popular (and free) one-on-one technical support sessions, and we've added a PayPal Bootcamp to help you train for the PayPal certification exam – also free with your eBay Developers Conference badge.
Register now to save 40% and to get into eBay Live! for free
Best of all, registering for the eBay Developers Conference will also get you into this eBay Live! event at no additional charge! If you register by Friday, April 6th, you’ll save 40% off the regular price.
Check out our information page at www.ebay.com/devcon for all the details, including registration & pricing, updates on our keynote speakers, sessions, and everything else related to the conference.
See you in Boston!
Sincerely,
Max Mancini
Senior Director, Platform & Innovation
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***Coming Soon: Changes to Item Specifics in Consumer Electronics*** |
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March 27, 2007 | 06:29PM PST/PT

During the next week, we will be updating the Item Specifics within several subcategories of Consumer Electronics. These changes will allow sellers and buyers to select a wider range of product brands, as well as product lines and other features. A complete list of the included categories, as well as some additional detail about the changes, can be found here.
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., Marketworks, etc.), please contact them to verify that they will update their Item Specifics in the Consumer Electronics categories.
For general information about Item Specifics and how to use them, please visit the Item Specifics overview page.
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***eBay Radio: Call In Today at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time*** |
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March 27, 2007 | 09:27AM PST/PT

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Jim "Griff" Griffith |
Call in to eBay Radio today, March 27th, with your host Jim "Griff" Griffith, Dean of eBay University, live from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Pacific time. Guests this week include:
- Ed McCabe, a PakMail Franchise owner, joins us with mailing tips for new eBay sellers.
- Phyllis Wischer, with Keepmore.net, gives us a brief look at her "Cost of Goods Sold" eBay Workshop.
- Christopher Spencer, Executive Vice President of the Chase Group and author of "The eBay Entrepreneur," joins us to give us tips about how to use the new program where half.com listings get displayed on eBay Express for free.
- Rebecca Richards, Events Manager with eBay, tells us everything we need to know about eBay Live! 2007.
- Cliff Ennico, author of the "eBay Seller's Tax and Legal Answer Book," joins us to answer the most frequently asked tax questions that eBayers ask.
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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***Try Featured Plus! for 50% off from March 27-28, 2007*** |
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March 26, 2007 | 05:00PM PST/PT

Try the Featured Plus! listing upgrade for 50% off during this 2-day special offer on www.ebay.com. With Featured Plus!, your listing will be displayed right at the top of search results pages, within the Featured Items section. Take advantage of this promotion and add Featured Plus! to your listings for only $9.97!
The promotion will start on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 at 00:00:01 Pacific time (12:00 a.m. plus one second) and end on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at 23:59:59 Pacific time (11:59 p.m. plus 59 seconds). Listings that were created prior to the promotion and are scheduled to start during the promotional period (March 27-28, 2007) will also be eligible for the discounted 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 Featured Plus! promotion.
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***Upcoming Workshops: Half.com Listings on eBay Express and What is “Cost of Goods Sold” and does it affect your eBay business?*** |
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March 23, 2007 | 03:10PM PST/PT

We would like to invite you to attend the following workshops this week:
Half.com Listings on eBay Express
This workshop will be held on Monday, March 26th from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Pacific time. Learn how you can dramatically increase your market and rev up your sales by automatically listing your Half.com items on eBay Express. No need to list your inventory twice or change the way you sell. Members of the Express and Half teams will be present to answer any questions you may have.
What is “Cost of Goods Sold” and does it affect your eBay business?
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, March 28th from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Pacific time. Have you ever wondered, ‘What does Cost of Goods Sold mean?”; “How do I track it?” and, “How will it affect my eBay business profits?”. Please join Phyllis Wischer of KeepMore.net for their next workshop covering the topic of ‘Cost of Goods Sold’. Knowing how to handle Cost of Goods Sold is a very important function for the eBay business owner.
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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***Coming Soon: Improvements to Combined Shipping Discounts*** |
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March 22, 2007 | 02:41PM PST/PT

| Kristina Klausen |
Hi everyone...My name is Kristina Klausen. As many of you may know, my colleague Leigh Goldstein recently moved to StubHub, which was acquired by eBay. I have been at eBay for almost 4 years and I'm excited and honored to have the opportunity to lead the Shipping team in Leigh's place.
Shipping is a key part of the eBay experience. My team is dedicated to improving the buyer and seller experience associated with shipping. On this note, I'm pleased to be able to introduce several improvements we'll soon be making to our Combined Shipping Discounts feature.
Combined Shipping Discounts lets sellers offer discounted shipping rates when a buyer purchases multiple items from them – a great way to encourage repeat sales. In the next week or so, you'll see the following improvements to this feature:
- Extended Merchandising. Buyers looking at your items will now see new messaging that encourages them to make multiple purchases from you to take advantage of your combined shipping discounts. We're also making it easy for them to "window shop" during the buying process and view your items where your discounts apply.
- Different Discounts for Different Items. Now sellers have the flexibility to set different discount shipping rules for different items. For example, you can set discount rules for your bowling ball sales that are different from your discount rules for your bowling glove sales. Since the shipping costs can vary greatly from item to item, this gives sellers much more flexibility.
- Promotional Shipping. In contrast to offering shipping discounts per item, Promotional Shipping allows you to set a special shipping rate on all of your sales that meet some criteria. For example, you could choose to offer "Free Shipping When You Spend $25!" or "Buy 3 items and shipping is only $5!" This is a great new marketing tool for sellers to consider as part of their strategy.
To learn more about Combined Shipping Discounts, visit our information page.
Talk to the Shipping team – Attend an Online Workshop!
We will be hosting an online workshop on Friday, April 13th at 1:00 p.m. Pacific time. Stop by to learn more about how to use these shipping discounts, and how they can help your business.
Sincerely,
Kristina Klausen
Senior Director, Shipping
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***Coming Soon: Pre-Orders Returning to Half.com*** |
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March 21, 2007 | 04:51PM PST/PT

| Raj Reddy |
Hi everyone...This is Raj Reddy from the Half.com team. I'm back to share more exciting news about Half.com.
The Return of Pre-Orders
I am pleased to announce that due to popular demand, later this week we are bringing back the Pre-Orders feature, as well as adding some new great new functionality that will make it much easier for buyers and sellers to manage their Pre-Order activities. Pre-Orders give buyers the option to place an order using preset item and seller criteria (such as price, condition, and feedback ratings).
For example, you could use Pre-Orders to state that you want to buy a new copy of the latest James Patterson book at $15 or less from a seller with 98% or greater positive feedback. Sellers can then look through these pre-orders during the Half.com listing process, as well as elsewhere, to see which ones they may be able to fill. If a Patterson seller matching your criteria is willing to sell at your price, the order is automatically placed! Not only is this convenient for buyers, but it gives sellers the opportunity to sell their items instantly, and to research possible pricing for their media inventory. Learn more on the Pre-Orders information page.
And in case you didn't see it, make sure you read our recent announcement about how sellers may be able to get their Half.com items automatically included on eBay Express at no additional cost. Click here for details. As you can see, we are hard at work building great new features for Half.com (check it out at www.half.com), and I’d like to thank our Half.com Community for all the feedback and suggestions they’ve provided so far. Stay tuned for more news to come!
Sincerely,
Raj Reddy
Half.com
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***Enhancements to eBay's Header*** |
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March 21, 2007 | 12:00PM PST/PT

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Jenny Copson |
Hi everyone, my name is Jenny Copson with our buyer experience team.
One of the areas my team is responsible for is the site header – the bar at the top of almost every eBay page with the Buy, Sell, and other links. We've been working on the header to make it easier to search for items and to navigate around the site.
Here are the key changes that will be introduced in the next few days:
- Quick access to eBay categories & specialty sites – A new “categories” link will be included in the header. When you hover over it with your mouse, a full list of eBay categories will be displayed, letting you quickly go right to the one that interests you. In addition, we're adding convenient links to other eBay sites, such as eBay Motors and eBay Express.
- Bigger Search Box Front & Center – One thing we've heard consistently through our research is that members want a bigger, more obvious search box. This enlarged search box will be available in the middle of the header, directly below your name when you are signed in.
- Quick links – The standard Buy, Sell, My eBay, Community, and Help links will be moved over to the upper right-hand corner. Similar to the categories link, when you hover over these links a short list of related links will be displayed. For example, if you hover over the Community button, you'll see links to the Discussion Boards, Answer Center , etc.
- A Fresh New Look – Last but not least, we felt it was time to give the header a fresh new look. We hope you like what you see and find the navigational tools overall more useful.
You can see a screenshot of the new header to the right. To view a full-size version, please click here.
Sincerely,
Jenny Copson
Buyer Experience Team
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***Join Griff at eBay University in Detroit, MI on March 24th*** |
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March 20, 2007 | 04:19PM PST/PT

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Jim "Griff" Griffith |
Hi everyone in Detroit, Michigan! This is Jim 'Griff' Griffith, eBay's Dean of Education. I'm the author of The Official eBay Bible. I'm also the host of eBay Radio, and I regularly answer member questions on eBay's Chatter blog (www.ebaychatter.com). I'll be traveling to Detroit this week, and I want to personally invite you to join me and our other esteemed instructors at eBay University on March 24th where we will be teaching the Basic Selling and Beyond the Basics of Selling courses.
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” or buyers who are just thinking about selling for the first time. Don't miss your chance to learn about eBay from me, as well as the other great instructors.
Our program is only $59, and includes 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 March 23rd. See our course page for a description of the classes, and for more information about eBay University.
I hope to see you in Detroit!
Sincerely,
Griff
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***eBay Radio: Call In Today at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time*** |
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March 20, 2007 | 09:07AM PST/PT

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Jim "Griff" Griffith |
Call in to eBay Radio today, March 13th, with your host Jim "Griff" Griffith, Dean of eBay University, live from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Pacific time. Guests this week include:
- Greg Cole, President of Hammertapnow.com, tells us about 5 analytic essentials to avoid eBay extinction.
- Jason Miner, Host of Pay Pal Radio, joins us to give us an overview of PayPal basics including what's needed to sign up and the difference between the various levels of accounts.
- Jeff Woolf, Auction Director of Universal Rarities, gives us the scoop on the Anna Nicole Smith Diary Auctions, including how he acquired the items.
- Danna Crawford (Danna is a PowerSelling Mom) of AskDanna.com, will tell us about using MySpace to promote your eBay business and about her eBay Radio fan club.
- Christine Lu, who will soon be hosting a new Entrepreneur Radio Show about doing business in China, tells us some important things you need to know if you are thinking about doing business in China as well as the benefits of sourcing from China.
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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***Half.com Sellers – Your Items Now Included on eBay Express*** |
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March 19, 2007 | 05:22PM PST/PT

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Raj Reddy |
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Chung Cheong |
Hi everyone…I'm Raj Reddy from the Half.com team here with Chung Cheong from the eBay Express team, and we've got some good news for Half.com sellers. A few months ago Bill Cobb announced that we were exploring ways to increase exposure for Half.com listings. Chung and I are pleased to let you know that one important new channel for your Half.com listings is about to launch. Starting in April, your listings on Half.com can also be included on eBay Express.
Sellers – How to get your Half.com items included on eBay Express
We've made the process for getting your Half.com listings on eBay Express as simple as possible. If you and your listings qualify under the eBay Express criteria, all you have to do is opt-in here.
By opting in, you'll get these benefits:
- Instant exposure for your Half.com listings to a whole new marketplace with millions of shoppers
- All your new qualifying Half.com listings will appear automatically, so there's no need to change your current listing process
- Payments for your items will happen automatically at the time of sale, and be available to you immediately in your PayPal account. (Normal PayPal transaction fees apply.)
Get 50% Off your Final Value Fees
As an added bonus, if you opt-in before April 15th, you'll get 50% off your Final Value Fees for any of your Half.com listings that sell on eBay Express through the end of June. As usual there are no insertion fees for your Half.com listings. And, for a limited time, now you can save on the Final Value Fees, too!
To answer any questions about this new Opt In for Half.com listings on eBay Express – or about any other Half.com or eBay Express-related topic – we'll be holding a Community Workshop on March 26th from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Pacific time. We hope you will join us here.
Sincerely,
Raj Reddy
Half.com
Chung Cheong
eBay Express
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***Redesigned Search Results – End of Test*** |
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March 19, 2007 | 11:43AM PST/PT

| Hilary Holmquest |
Hi everyone, I'm Hilary Holmquest with eBay's Finding team. Last September, we started testing a new look for our search results pages, the pages that list all the matching items after you run a search. A small sample of buyers has been using the new pages since then. Along with a few design changes, we were testing a host of smaller features to see which ones buyers liked, and which they didn't. You can read about the details in my colleague Nico's earlier announcement.
We're going to end this test in the next few days, and buyers who have been seeing the new design will be reverted to the current pages.
We've collected a large amount of data, in terms of both statistics and direct member input. We'll be applying what we learned to future projects, so stay tuned. I also want to take a minute to thank everyone who saw the new designs and provided their comments – your input has been a great help!
Sincerely,
Hilary Holmquest
Finding Team
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***Enter the 2007 Best In Stores Contest to win $1,500 or a trip to eBay Live!*** |
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March 19, 2007 | 09:29AM PST/PT

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Artemisa Saucedo |
Hi everyone, this is Artemisa Saucedo with the eBay Stores Marketing team. I'm back to announce that today we are kicking off the 4th annual Best In Stores Contest!
Do you think you have the Best Looking eBay Store? What about the Best Shopping Experience, or the Best Store Marketing? How about the Best “Standard” Store Layout?
If you answered ‘yes' to any of these questions, register for your chance to be recognized as a Best In Stores winner! You could win $1,500, or a trip to eBay Live! in Boston, as well as bonus Store exposure on the site.
How To Enter the 2007 Best In Stores Contest
First, make sure your eBay Store looks its best. For help on customizing your Store, click here.
Next, register your eBay Store in one of the contest categories between March 19th and March 31st, 2007 by clicking here.
Community Voting Begins in April – Grand Prize Winners Announced in May
We will select four finalists in each of four categories:
- Best Looking eBay Store
- Best Shopping Experience
- Best eBay Store Marketing
- Best “Standard” Store Layout
Then in April, we'll open up voting to the eBay Community. Members will be able to vote for one Grand Prize winner in each of the four categories.
Finally, in May, we'll announce the Grand Prize winners! (For complete details see the Official Rules.)
Sincerely,
Artemisa Saucedo
Marketing, eBay Stores
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***A Message from Gary Briggs: Marketing Update*** |
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March 16, 2007 | 04:26PM PST/PT

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Gary Briggs |
Hi everyone … The days are getting longer and the weather's getting warmer. Spring is almost here – so I want to give you another update on what our marketing folks have been doing to bring buyers to eBay.
“Complete Your Collection” Campaign
Many of us have a collection that we're working on (or that we're helping our kids with, such as Pokemon cards at our house). It's natural that, from time to time, our attentions are pulled elsewhere and we let our buying activity lapse.
Lapsed collectors are a great opportunity for eBay sellers. In February, we initiated an email campaign called “Complete Your Collection” to inspire all the collectors out there to pick up where they left off. Our Relationship Marketing team sent 6 million personalized emails to buyers with information about collectible items they had recently purchased – such as stamps, coins, art, toys, etc – as well as some suggestions for new items they might be interested in to fill out their collections. This campaign has had some of our strongest response rates ever, and I'm really proud of the efforts of the team. Look for more of these types of programs in the future.
President's Day, the Academy Awards, and the “It of the Week”
In mid-February we put our own spin on the traditional President's Day Sale, promoting how buyers could pick up everything president-related right here on the site. Included were militaria, first-edition books, stamps, and, for the playful types…presidential bobbleheads!
Of course, the Academy Awards always drive a lot of buzz, and we made sure to capitalize on this national obsession. Onsite promotion attracted buyers who wanted to share in the excitement of the event by owning Oscar-style items, like cocktail gowns and designer makeup, for themselves.
With the red carpet scene on so many people's minds, eBay Style Director Constance White and eBay Jewelry Style Director Sandra Graham co-hosted the second annual eBay Style Suite. The event was attended by some of Hollywood 's trendsetting celebrities and designers, and showcased how the season's most fashionable evening wear - jewelry, shoes, and bags - can be found on eBay. The Suite received great coverage in magazines such as Business Week, and on TV shows such as Access Hollywood. (Read more about the eBay Style Suite on the Chatter blog.)
And – in a continuation of our “IT” campaign theme – last month the homepage began featuring a new section for the “It of the Week.” Here we show pop culture items that reflect what's going on in the world, such as Indianapolis Colts memorabilia after they won the Super Bowl, Mardi Gras items, Academy Awards items, and sports-related listings to celebrate the NCAA March Madness tournament.
National Crafts Month & St. Patrick's Day “It's Good to Be Green”
As for March, did you know that it's National Craft Month? We're doing our part by promoting scrapbooking, sewing, and other craft-related items on the homepage and within emails to crafts buyers.
Also, our St. Patrick's Day promotions have kicked in. Keep your eyes out for spots featuring “Your Pot O' Gold,” which promotes everything gold such as cocktail rings, dresses, and handbags. Plus you'll find promotions under the theme “It's Good to Be Green,” which highlight eBay as a place to buy environmentally-friendly items such as solar panels, retro Schwinn bikes, and hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius.
The New ”What's It Worth?” Promotion – Teaming with the USPS
Finally, we've just kicked off our new “What's It Worth?” promotion, a fun game to engage buyers and keep them bidding and buying on the site. As Kathy Thrappas recently announced, buyers get to test their pricing knowledge by guessing how much each item sells for on average for the chance to win a $100 eBay Gift Certificate. Plus, each day a buyer wins or purchases an item, they get an additional entry into the drawing.
You may have heard our radio commercials for “What's It Worth?” in some of the 45 U.S. cities where they're airing and reaching a majority of eBay's high-value buyers across the country. Large markets include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C.
We're pleased to be getting a lot of help in spreading the word about this promotion from our friends at the USPS. “What's It Worth?” posters have been placed in 12,000 Post Offices around the country! Plus over 1 million of our top buyers will receive postcards about the promotion. We're excited about this additional exposure for eBay – and we hope our sellers are, too.
Thanks for reading. I'll be back with more marketing updates in about a month.
Sincerely,
Gary Briggs
Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
Marketplaces North America
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***Upcoming Workshops: Sourcing Products with Multiple Types of Suppliers, Turbo Lister, Using Voice and Chat to Close More Business and more*** |
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March 16, 2007 | 02:06PM PST/PT

We would like to invite you to attend the following workshops this week:
Sourcing Products with Multiple Types of Suppliers
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, March 20th from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Pacific time. Product sourcing is a cornerstone of every successful eBay business. But where to get your products? Most people rely on one or two avenues of suppliers to purchase their inventory. But in order to be successful in today's diverse online marketplace, you'll need to source your products from multiple types of suppliers. 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) as she discusses the different supplier options available to your business and how to use them effectively.
Upgrading to the New Turbo Lister
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, March 21st from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m Pacific time. 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.
Use Voice and Chat to Close More Business
This workshop will be held on Thursday, March 22nd from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific time. Looking for new, efficient ways to move your business forward? Need to boost long-term loyalty and referrals? Join Bill Federbusch from OnState to learn how OnState ACD for Skype is the cost-effective, scalable, ‘new-generation' call center that can differentiate your customer service.
Making the most of Filters, Grids, & Exports in Blackthorne Pro
This workshop will be held on Thursday, March 22nd from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Pacific time. Join us for this informative workshop as member GOing1nceLLC demonstrates ways to improve your Blackthorne Pro organization through optimizing your grids and filters to show and retrieve the data you want. Filters are a powerful feature in BTPro. Users can, for example, create filters to see all items just shipped to easily select and send "Item shipped" emails in a batch, or see all items for a particular supplier or consignor, or see all outstanding sales - there are ways to gather records meeting conditions you set.
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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***Play the “What’s It Worth” Game to Win $100 – Plus, Get 3 Free Listings If You’re a First-Time Seller*** |
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March 14, 2007 | 05:01PM PST/PT

| Kathy Thrappas |
Hi everyone...Do you know a lot about shopping on eBay? Think you know what the average price for an item on eBay is? Come test your knowledge and play the "What's It Worth?" game!
From March 15 through March 24, you could win one of 50 $100 eBay Gift Certificates that will be awarded daily. Just like on eBay Pop, we'll show you several items on our "What's It Worth" page, and you’ll get to guess the average selling price on eBay for each item.
Anyone can play, but first you need to register. Then each day, you'll get one entry into that day's drawing just for playing, and an additional one if you know your stuff and nail the prices. Plus, you'll get one more entry every day that you win or purchase an item. That means through March 24 you have up to 3 chances to win every day.
Buyers, List your first three items on us!
If you are a buyer and really know your stuff, it might be time for you to consider selling. An AC Nielsen study conducted on our behalf found that the average household in the U.S. has $1,200 worth of unused, saleable inventory just lying around the house. That's a lot of outgrown kids' clothing, old iPods, and DVDs you've watched 100 times just taking up space. We want to help you turn them into cash!
If you’ve never sold on eBay before, now is a great time to try your hand. From March 15 through March 24th, we'll waive the insertion and Gallery picture fees for up to 3 listings for all first-time sellers. Click here for full details.
Best of luck!
Sincerely,
Kathy Thrappas
eBay Marketing
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***A Message from Philipp Justus: Auction-Style Listing Promotion - Insertion Fee Only 20 Cents Tomorrow, March 14th*** |
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March 13, 2007 | 05:02PM PST/PT

| Philipp Justus |
Hi everyone...It's Philipp Justus again, Senior VP for the auction business in North America. Auction-style listings make up the signature eBay buying experience. Whether you're the winning high bidder in the last few seconds of a listing, or the item you're selling reaches a record high bid amount that you never imagined possible, auction-style listings give you a thrill you can't get anywhere else.
With this in mind, I'm pleased to let you know that tomorrow, March 14, we'll be hosting another listing promotion. Our recent auction-style listing promotion on Valentine's Day was very successful, so we're doing it again - tomorrow, insertion fees for auction-style listings only will be just 20 cents. For full details, see our information page.
Sincerely,
Philipp Justus
Senior Vice President, Auctions
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***eBay Radio: Call In Today at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time*** |
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March 13, 2007 | 10:55AM PST/PT

NOTE: This has been reposted from earlier today to correct a link.
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Jim "Griff" Griffith |
Call in to eBay Radio today, March 13th, with your host Jim "Griff" Griffith, Dean of eBay University, live from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Pacific time. Guests this week include:
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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***eBay Motors Parts & Accessories 50¢ Insertion Fee Sale Tomorrow, March 13th*** |
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March 12, 2007 | 04:18PM PST/PT

eBay Motors Parts and Accessories is holding a one-day 50¢ Insertion Fee sale on March 13th! This promotion starts Tuesday, March 13, 2007 at 00:00:01 Pacific time (12:00 a.m. plus 1 second) and ends that same day, Tuesday, March 13, 2007 at 23:59:59 Pacific time (11:59 p.m. plus 59 seconds).
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 March 13, 2007 that are scheduled to start during the promotional period (March 13, 2007) will be eligible to receive the promotional rate. Excluded are Vehicle listings, listings on international eBay sites, Live Auction, Professional Services, Ad Format, 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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***Grow Your Sales with eBay Stores – 30-Day Free Trial Offer*** |
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March 12, 2007 | 09:44AM PST/PT

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Brian Madigan |
Hi everyone...I'm Brian Madigan from the eBay Stores team, and I'm here to share with you some exciting news for anyone out there who has thought about opening an eBay Store, but hasn't taken the plunge yet.
From now through March 18th, first-time Basic and Featured Store subscribers can enjoy a 30-day free trial to eBay Stores. Whether you prefer to use Auction-Style or Fixed Price listings, you can benefit from eBay Stores – the leading, comprehensive eCommerce solution.
With your eBay Store you will be able to:
- Build a centralized storefront to showcase all your Auction-Style, Fixed Price and Store Inventory listings
- Easily set-up and manage your Store with our Quick Store Set-up
- Grow your customer base with marketing and merchandising tools
- Benefit from dedicated, toll-free phone support.
For full details about the 30-day free trial, see our information page.
Sincerely,
Brian Madigan
eBay Stores Marketing
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***Upcoming Workshops: Customer Retention, Mistakes to Avoid when Filing your Tax Return, Learn to Use Blackthorne and Online Safety*** |
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March 09, 2007 | 04:20PM PST/PT

We would like to invite you to attend the following workshops this week:
Customer Retention: Tips for Selling More to Your Current Customers
T his workshop will be held on Tuesday, March 13th from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Pacific time. In this workshop, Steve Yeich, CEO of Certified Solution Provider HostedSupport will demonstrate how being proactive to customer questions can generate repeat business.
10 Mistakes to Avoid When Filing Your Tax Return
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, March 14th from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific time. A tax mistake on your tax return can mean more tax or a tax audit. And, it's the simple mistakes that often cost you the most. Please join best selling-author and CPA Diane Kennedy to learn how to pay the least amount of taxes legally possible and reduce your risk of an IRS audit.
Learn to use Blackthorne
This workshop will be held on Thursday, March 15th from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific time. Join the Blackthorne Software team for this workshop to learn about eBay Blackthorne, the redesigned Seller's Assistant. This top-of-the-line sales management tool can help you scale your eBay business. To learn more, go to the Blackthorne Basic page or Blackthorne Pro page.
Online Safety for Kids While Having Fun!
This workshop will be held on Thursday, March 15th from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific time. Teach your children online safety from tots to teens! Join us for our next online safety workshop with NetSmartz, a program of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Learn about the 3-D games, activities, real-life stories, and resources available for parents and educators at NetSmartz.org! Please join Cheryl Fujii, Trust and Safety Community Outreach Program Manager, along with Jenn O'Neill from NetSmartz and mom of two children, for this informative workshop!
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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***Join Griff at eBay University in San Antonio, TX on March 10th*** |
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March 07, 2007 | 05:23PM PST/PT

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Jim "Griff" Griffith |
Hi everyone, this is Jim Griffith (most people call me "Griff"). I'm eBay's Dean of Education, and author of The Official eBay Bible. I'm also the host of eBay Radio, and I regularly answer member questions on eBay's Chatter blog (www.ebaychatter.com). I'll be traveling to San Antonio, TX this week, and I want to personally invite you to join me and our other esteemed instructors at eBay University on March 10th where we will be teaching the Basic Selling and Beyond the Basics of Selling courses.
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” or buyers who are just thinking about selling for the first time. Don't miss your chance to learn about eBay from me, as well as the other great instructors.
Our program is only $59, and includes 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 March 9th. See our course page for a description of the classes, and for more information about eBay University.
I hope to see you in San Antonio!
Sincerely,
Griff
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***Feedback 2.0 Launched in Eight Pilot Markets*** |
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March 07, 2007 | 09:39AM PST/PT

| Brian Burke |
Hi... I'm Brian Burke, Director for Global Feedback Policy. As eBay continues to grow, it is important that we continue to evolve the Feedback system to ensure it remains a credible measure of trust. For almost two years, eBay has been working on a new project to enhance our current reputation system. Feedback 2.0, which Bill Cobb announced at the eCommerce forum last January, adds a new dimension to eBay's premier online reputation system, allowing buyers to better rate and evaluate sellers on important aspects of a transaction.
In the next few days, buyers in Australia, Belgium, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom will be able to rate sellers on the four Detailed Seller Ratings we announced as part of Feedback 2.0.
Feedback 2.0 adds these new features:
Detailed Seller Ratings – In addition to the current positive, negative or neutral comment, buyers rate their sellers on specific transaction aspects -- Item Description, Communication, Shipping time and Shipping & Handling Charges. Scores are based on a conventional 1 to 5 scale, with 1 being the lowest and 5 the being the highest rating. The average score for each rating is displayed on the seller's Feedback Profile page.
Item Title and Price – To give buyers more information while they are evaluating the reputation of a seller, the transaction's item title and selling price will display beneath each Feedback comment on the Feedback Profile page for 90 days.
Detailed Seller Ratings and the other changes included in Feedback 2.0 do not replace the current Feedback system, rather they augment it. This additional information will enable our best sellers to differentiate themselves from other sellers and enable buyers to make more informed decisions prior to purchasing.
US Launch Plans
Currently, the US is expecting to launch Feedback 2.0 sometime in late spring. I'll provide more updates as we get closer to launch. Also, I recently did an interview with eBay's Chatter Blog team about Feedback 2.0, which I hope you'll check out for even more information about this project.
Sincerely,
Brian Burke
Director, Global Feedback Policy
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***eBay Radio: Call In Today at 11:00am PT*** |
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March 06, 2007 | 09:49AM PST/PT

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Jim "Griff" Griffith |
Call in to eBay Radio today, March 6th, with your host Jim "Griff" Griffith, Dean of eBay University, live from 11:00am to 2:00pm PT. Guests this week include:
- Rob Cross, Senior Manager of the eBay Developer Program, interviews Sean Rollins, Senior Director of Product Marketing with Netsuite, about their software designed to help you manage your customer relationships.
- Phyllis Wischer, Lead Business Coach with KeepMore.net, gives us a rundown of the eBay workshop she hosted “5 Steps to Success in 2007” and tells us why personal and business goal setting is so important.
- Lisa Suttora, Founder/CEO, of What Do I Sell.com, tells us about her record-setting eBay workshop titled “10 Things No One's Ever Told You About Starting Your eBay Business”.
- Janelle Elms, a Lead Instructor for eBay University and Visionaire of the Online Success Institute, and Phil Dunn, Fortune 500 Marketing Consultant, give us some tips from their eBay workshop, “The 7 Essential Steps to Successful eBay Marketing”.
- Troy Janisch, Marketing Director of Bizfilings.com, joins us today with info about business planning for eBay 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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***Item Page Enhancements: An Additional Watch Link & Other Tweaks*** |
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March 05, 2007 | 01:22PM PST/PT

| Subha Shetty |
Hi everyone, I'm Subha Shetty with eBay's Buyer Experience team. In the next week, we're making a few small changes that we think will make the item page (the page that displays a listing), a bit easier to use.
The changes include:
- An additional "Watch this item" button – Millions of items are added to buyers' Watch lists every day! We're keeping the existing link where it is in the top section of the page, but, as a convenience to buyers, we're adding a new button which will be placed at the bottom of the page. Now they won't have to scroll all the way back to the top after they’ve reviewed the important details of the listing.
- Bright blue buttons for Bid, Buy It Now, and Best Offer – The eye-catching color will make these important features stand out a little more.
- Minor layout changes – We've cleaned up the bottom of the item page a bit to make information such as the shipping details, payment methods, and return policies easier to read.
Sincerely,
Subha Shetty
Product Manager, Buyer Experience Team
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***Upcoming Workshops: Market Research, Grow more Profitable with Sales Reports, and Listing Items with SYI*** |
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March 02, 2007 | 03:04PM PST/PT

We would like to invite you to attend the following workshops this week:
You Don't Need Funny-Looking Pants to Make Great Money on eBay - You Just Need Market Research
This workshop will be held on Monday, March 5th from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific time. Please join Jen Cano, from HammerTap, a Certified Solution Provider, as she uncovers the ultimate way to find out how to sell on eBay. You might not know anything about golf clothes, clubs, or bags--or a myriad of other products. But that won't stop you from making great money selling. The secret is in knowing what sells and how to sell it. And the journey to those answers is surprisingly simple. Come find out how to discover the most profitable products...the lazy man's way!
eBay Store Owners, Understand Your Metrics and Grow More Profitable with Sales Reports
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, March 6th from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Pacific time. What's the best time to put an item on sale with Markdown Manager? How is my business performing against my revenue goals? What are the main drivers to my business? Am I balancing my usage of Auction listings with Store Inventory Format listings? If you want to understand how your business is performing and would like to identify new opportunities to refine your strategy, join us to learn more about eBay's Sales Reports product. Sales Reports is a free subscription product that tracks your key eBay selling performance metrics. Pull select data from your report each month to create summary report cards highlighting your progress. Challenge yourself to achieve top grades in areas that impact your bottom line. During the workshop, we will review the different reports and features of the Sales Reports product and provide details on key metrics. We encourage you to sign up for Sales Reports Plus in advance of joining us for the workshop. To do so visit the Sales Reports sign up page.
Listing Items with the Sell Your Item Form
This workshop will be held on Thursday, March 8th from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Pacific time. Join eBay staff to learn about selling with the Sell Your Item Form. During the workshop, the eBay Sell Your Item team will answer questions and demonstrate some of the time-saving features found in SYI. Please join us for this informational and interactive workshop.
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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***Enter the eBay Stores $2,500 Feature Passport Sweepstakes for March*** |
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March 02, 2007 | 09:30AM PST/PT

| Artemisa Saucedo |
Hi everyone, this is Artemisa Saucedo with the eBay Stores Marketing team. My team is kicking off a new sweepstakes. It's called the "eBay Stores $2,500 Feature Passport" Sweepstakes, and we'll hold it every other month as a fun way to highlight some of the great free features available to sellers within eBay Stores.
Your eBay Stores subscription comes equipped with powerful tools and resources to help you drive buyers – from eBay, the general Web, and offline - to your eBay Store. Every other month, we'll pick one of these tools to be feature of the month. All Stores sellers who use the selected tool at least once during the specified timeframe will be automatically eligible to win $2,500.
Feature for March: Email Marketing
Our highlighted feature for the month of March is Email Marketing. With Email Marketing, buyers can sign up to receive your newsletters - this is a powerful marketing tool to drive interest and sales to your eBay Store. (For more information on Email Marketing, see our Tutorial).
To qualify for the sweepstakes, simply use the Email Marketing feature between March 1 and March 31, 2007. Doing so will automatically enter you into the sweepstakes. At the end of the month, one Grand Prize winner will be randomly selected to receive the $2,500 cash prize.
For full details about the eBay Stores $2,500 Feature Passport Sweepstakes, see our information page.
Good luck, and thanks for using eBay Stores!
Sincerely,
Artemisa Saucedo
eBay Stores Marketing
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