Over the course of this week, we will introduce a new Community Hub, which is the third phase of this long-term project. Some of the important resources and tools that will reside here include: Announcements, the Feedback Forum, Online Forums (discussion & chat boards, eBay Groups, the Answer Centre), and The Safety Centre.

In addition, as part of this launch, our discussion boards will be updated with a few new important features to make them easier to use. The Community hub was developed after extensive research into how buyers and sellers think about and use the eBay site. We hope it becomes one of your first stops on eBay each day by giving you all the resources you need to stay connected and informed – for business and for fun.

We’ll be providing more information about the timing of the changes over the next few days.

Community Hub
Some of the new features within the Community Hub include:

• A summary of the latest eBay Announcements to help you stay informed about what’s going on around eBay.
• A personalised My eBay At-a-Glance section that includes Feedback reminders, and information about your Watched Discussions and Your Groups.
• Easy access to the Feedback Forum, Safety Centre, eBay Explained, and more.

Updated Discussion Boards
As part of an update to the discussion boards, you will be able to:

• Search across all boards for a particular topic.
• Add your favourite discussions to your Watched Discussions list and receive optional update emails when they receive new posts.
• Print discussions threads easily.
• Save a personal signature that will be automatically added to every post you make.
• Find new content in the Information Central column.
• New icons to differentiate pinned and locked threads.

Regards,
The eBay.co.uk Team

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Currently, the default “local option” for Search and Browse shows only items located in the UK. This will be changed on March 7th so that it also shows any item listed on eBay.co.uk, regardless of the location of the item or seller.

This change will further open up eBay.co.uk to overseas sellers. This will inevitably mean more competition for some UK sellers in some categories, but we expect the overall increase in visible listings across the site to be only slight.

This change will make the eBay.co.uk site more consistent with most other eBay sites, which are already open to UK sellers in the same way that the UK site is opening to overseas sellers.

It will also remove the incentive for overseas sellers who list on eBay.co.uk to claim that their items are located in the UK when they are not. This has been a significant source of confusion for buyers in the past.

Following after this change, we will also be extending our Proper Category Listing policy to cover Item Location. From June 1st, the location stated in an item listing must be the location from which an item will be shipped to the buyer. Sellers outside the UK may not misrepresent their items as being located in the UK when they are not.

This will enable UK-resident buyers to distinguish more easily between sellers who are located in the UK and those who are located overseas but listing on eBay.co.uk.

Regards,
The eBay.co.uk team

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During this maintenance period, certain eBay site features may be intermittently unavailable or slow. The Community Discussion Boards will also be unavailable at this time.

Regards,
The eBay.co.uk Team

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eBay.co.uk Groups allow you to link up with the other 10 million eBay members located in the UK. Groups are perfect if you want to meet members who share your collecting interest or passion. You can also join a regional Group and meet other eBayers in your local area. There are also Groups for eBay sellers, buyers and Shop owners.

When you join a Group you can read discussions started by other Group members, start your own chat thread, participate in polls and share your photo albums.

If you cannot find a Group that meets your needs, you can start your own Group and build your own online community. Group leaders can organise special online events, build a Group mailing list or start polls. Group leaders need 50 Feedback to start a Group.

eBay.co.uk Groups are completely free to join and start. We hope you enjoy using this new Community facility.

Find out more about eBay.co.uk Groups here.

Regards,
The eBay.co.uk Team

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For the entire day of Thursday 24th February 2005 (GMT), sellers listing on eBay.co.uk in Auction-style, Auction-with-Buy it Now (BIN) or BIN-Only (Fixed Price) formats in an eligible category, will pay 5 pence (£0.05 GBP) insertion fee regardless of the insertion fee tranche.

Items listed in the Automotive (Cars, Classic Cars, Motorcycles or Other Vehicles) and Real Estate categories and Multiple-Item Auction format listings (also known as Dutch Auctions) are not included. Please also note that the 6 pence listing upgrade fee will apply to Auction-with-BIN listings as normal.

Terms and Conditions Apply. Find out more here: http://pages.ebay.co.uk/sell/5pFLD24022005.

Regards,
The eBay.co.uk Team

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For Sellers

If they choose, sellers can add this free feature to indicate during the listing process that they will allow buyers to submit an offer for that item. Buyers can then “name their price,” and the seller can review all offers received in My eBay. If an offer is for a satisfactory amount, the seller can accept it if they wish, and the listing will be closed. Best Offer provides the following benefits for sellers:

• More Flexibility - Add the Best Offer option to live listings at any time before they close.
• Helps Get the Right Price –You can receive multiple requests and review all for the best price.
• Helps Move Inventory Quickly – You can accept offers for multi-quantity items, even at different prices.

For Buyers

When a seller chooses to accept offers on a listing, a “Submit Best Offer” link will appear below the Buy It Now button on the item page. After you click the link, you will be able to enter your offer price on the next page. You can also view all your submitted offers, as well as those accepted by sellers, within My eBay.

For more information about Best Offer please click here.

Regards,
The eBay.co.uk team.

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Scheduling Fees
The fee for scheduling a listing using the Sell Your Item Form or Turbo Lister has been reduced from £0.12 to £0.06 per listing.

Subtitle
The fee for using a Subtitle for your Item Title has been reduced from £0.50 to £0.35.

Highlight
The fee for using the Highlight option has been increased from £1.50 to £2.50.

Motors Final Value Fees
The Final Value Fee in Vehicles categories (Cars, Classic Cars, Motorcycles, Other Vehicles) has been increased from 0.5% of final sale price to 0.75% of final sale price (minimum of £15 and a maximum of £30 applicable as before). There will be no change to Insertion Fees for Vehicles which will remain at £6.

There have been no changes to Basic Insertion Fees or Final Value Fees, other than in the Vehicles Categories as noted above.

Some other eBay sites have also changed their fee structures. To learn more, please check Announcements for the eBay site of interest.

We understand that fees directly impact our members, and take care to ensure that any decisions to change fees are made only after careful consideration of this impact. These changes will help us continue to sustain and develop a thriving global marketplace, while balancing the needs of our buyers and sellers around the world.

Regards,
eBay International AG

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	***Original: eBay.co.uk Fee Changes ***
	12 January, 2005 | 04:01PM GMT Today, we are announcing that eBay.co.uk will be making changes to the fee structure effective February 18, 2005. Items that are scheduled to begin on eBay.co.uk after midnight (Greenwich Mean Time) on February 18, 2005 will be charged based on the new fees. Scheduling Fees The fee for scheduling a listing using the Sell Your Item Form or Turbo Lister will be reduced from £0.12 to £0.06 per listing. Subtitle The fee for using a Subtitle for your Item Title will be reduced from £0.50 to £0.35. Highlight The fee for using the Highlight option will be increased from £1.50 to £2.50. Motors Final Value Fees The Final Value Fee in Vehicles categories (Cars, Classic Cars, Motorcycles, Other Vehicles) will be increased from 0.5% of final sale price to 0.75% of final sale price (minimum of £15 and a maximum of £30 applicable as before). There will be no change to Insertion Fees for Vehicles which will remain at £6. There will be no changes to Basic Insertion Fees or Final Value Fees, other than in the Vehicles Categories as noted above. Some other eBay sites have also changed their fee structures. To learn more, please check Announcements for the eBay site of interest. We understand that fees directly impact our members, and take care to ensure that any decisions to change fees are made only after careful consideration of this impact. These changes will help us continue to sustain and develop a thriving global marketplace, while balancing the needs of our buyers and sellers around the world. Regards, eBay International AG
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During this maintenance period, certain eBay site features may be intermittently unavailable or slow. The Community Discussion Boards may also be unavailable at this time.

Regards,
The eBay.co.uk Team

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For the full policy please go to: http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/contracts.html

Regards,
The eBay.co.uk Team

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Antiques & Art
: Clocks (divided into pre- and post- 1900)

Baby
: Bath Time
: Clothing

Books, Comics, Magazines
: Non-Fiction > Crafts

Clothes, Shoes and Accessories
: Girls’ Dresses in additional age categories
: Women’s Lingerie & Swimwear>Suspenders/ Stockings

Collectables
: Autographs (divided into Certified and Uncertified)
: Transportation > Aeronautica > Airlines
: Transportation > Railwayana

Computing
: Desktop PC Components > CPUs
: Desktop PC Components>Graphics & Video Cards>PCI
: Input Devices > Mice
: Laptop Accessories > Memory Upgrades
: Laptop Accessories > Power Supplies
: Laptop Accessories > Printers
: Scanners

Consumer Electronics
: Accessories > Single Use > Batteries
: Audio – Portable > MP3 Player Accessories, Parts
: Radio Equipment

DVDs Film & TV
: Film Memorabilia > Autographs (divided into Certified and Uncertified)

Photography
: Camcorder Accessories
: Camcorders
: Digital Camera Accessories
: Film Cameras & Lenses
: Photographic Accessories

Sporting Goods
: Boxing
: Cycling > Clothing, Footwear & Helmets
: Exercise and Fitness
: Martial Arts
: Rock Climbing
: Running & Athletics > Trainers, Shoes & Spikes
: Skateboarding
: Table Tennis
: Tennis

Clothing
: We will also be removing the ‘brand name’ categories in Men’s Casual Shirts and Jeans. There is a far larger selection of brands to browse in the Product Finder.

Late next week you will be able to see the new and changed category IDs on the All Categories Page.

We would like to thank all the members who took the time to contribute the thousands of ideas and suggestions that have helped shape these changes.

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During this maintenance period, certain eBay site features may be intermittently unavailable or slow. The Community Discussion Boards may also be unavailable at this time.

Regards,
The eBay.co.uk Team

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For this reason Shaw Research and Planning, an independent research company, has been commissioned by eBay to conduct a series of user discussion groups in Ashford, Middlesex on 15th February.

Over the next few days, members of the Community may receive emails asking for their participation in these groups. Should you receive an email from Shaw Research and Planning, rest assured that it is not a spoof or scam email.

If you receive an email from Shaw Research and Planning, we hope you will consider participating in these exciting research events.

Regards,
The eBay.co.uk Team

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	***Original: Research Email Information***
	08 February, 2005 | 03:50PM GMT At eBay we are always looking at ways to develop our services so they better meet your needs and drive your trading success. For this reason Shaw Research and Planning, an independent research company, has been commissioned by eBay to conduct a series of user discussion groups in Ashford, Middlesex on 16th February. Over the next few days, members of the Community may receive emails asking for their participation in these groups. Should you receive an email from Shaw Research and Planning, rest assured that it is not a spoof or scam email. If you receive an email from Shaw Research and Planning, we hope you will consider participating in these exciting research events. Regards, The eBay.co.uk Team
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If you are a business, and haven’t yet registered as a seller you can do so easily under your business name. You simply need to press one of the “Register Now” buttons on the eBay site, and choose the “Register under Your Business Name” option on the next page.

Information for Businesses already selling on eBay:

If you are already selling on eBay you can easily change your registration details so that you can trade on eBay under your business name and pay your fees using your business bank account.

Your Feedback will be unaffected by amending your registration details.

To change your registration details, you will need to take the following steps:

1. Log into My eBay
2. Select Addresses from the options at the left of the screen
3. Click the “Change” link next to your Registration Address
4. Click the “Update your details to include your business name” link
5. Enter your business name, select your business type from the dropdown box, and press the “Save Changes” button

Regards,
The eBay.co.uk Team

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During this online workshop, two Product Managers - Butler and PoppyL - will answer questions about how buyers and sellers will be able to use this new process.

To find out more about the INR process - http://pages.ebay.co.uk/safetycentre/itemnotreceivedprocess/index.html

If you cannot make this time, please visit our discussion boards and leave any questions you have on this dedicated thread here

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