As you will have seen from the previous message from Rob Chesnut, Senior Vice President in charge of Trust & Safety for eBay globally, we are evolving our approach to Trust & Safety at eBay as we head into 2007.

As the market has grown, we’ve seen an increase in the bad experiences members face due to two factors: increased fraud across the internet and a very small proportion of sellers who are failing to deliver a positive buyer experience. At the same time, there are many more online shopping choices, and our buyers’ expectations are growing. Therefore, we’re stepping up our efforts to stop bad experiences on the site. I’d like to share more details about what this will mean for the eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie marketplaces.

Taking an even more proactive approach to Trust & Safety

• Safeguarding Member IDs - just before Christmas, we introduced a major change to auction-style listings that offers more privacy for our members by changing how bidder information is displayed. We did this because in the past potential fraudsters had used bidder information to try to defraud buyers. To prevent this, on listings where the high bid, Buy It Now or starting price is £100 or higher, bidder IDs are now anonymous to everyone except the seller. We know this has been a big change, and it is already paying off as we are seeing lower numbers of targeted fake Second Chance Offers. This change will take place on eBay.ie at the end of January, and will apply to listings where the high bid, Buy It Now or starting price is €150 or higher.
• Preventing the Trade of Counterfeits - Counterfeits are a global problem affecting both high street retailers and e-commerce in general. It is illegal to manufacture counterfeit goods, and it is a criminal act to knowingly sell them. The sale of counterfeit goods on eBay results in negative experiences for buyers who unwittingly bid on a counterfeit, and buyers who knowingly purchase counterfeits are supporting this illegal industry. As a result, we will require additional seller verification for certain types of items that have been frequently reported as being counterfeit. We’ve also removed the ability for sellers to list these items on 1- or 3-day auctions, and we’ve put in additional restrictions for people selling these items overseas.
• Re-enforcing our Policies - When sellers don’t stick to our listing policies it harms the buyer experience and also gives our good sellers a bad name. We are taking a stronger stance on reinforcing our listing policies in areas that provide particularly bad buyer experiences, such as when sellers charge excessive postage, and when sellers lie about where they or their items are based. We will continue to get stronger in reinforcing these policies, by helping good sellers understand how to comply, and removing those sellers who don’t. We would like to thank all members of our community who diligently report sellers who breach our policies, and we would urge you to continue – we take this very seriously and we rely on your support.
• Enhanced Buyer Protection - Later this year we are going to strengthen and simplify our purchase protection programme, so that more of the items you buy are covered. PayPal will introduce an improved PayPal Buyer Protection, a programme that covers qualified eBay transactions for non-delivery, and items that are significantly not as described. Watch this space for more information as we move closer to launch.

Holding sellers to higher minimum standards

• Private Feedback - Last autumn we removed the ability for sellers to make their feedback private. This was important, as it means sellers with poor track records can no longer hide their bad reputations from buyers.
• International Trade Requirements - We’ve also implemented new requirements for UK-registered sellers who want to list an item on an eBay site other than the UK or US, and Irish-registered sellers who want to want to list an item on a site other than eBay.ie. Now, to sell outside these markets, sellers must have a verified PayPal account linked to their eBay account. This should lead to a reduction in the number of suspended sellers and cancelled listings on the site.
• Feedback 2.0 - eBay feedback is a great system, but we decided it needed an update, to keep up with marketplace developments. The result is Feedback 2.0, a new approach to feedback that will give good sellers a real chance to shine, and buyers the opportunity to really choose between sellers, based on the level of service they provide. Buyers will soon be able to rate sellers on their services, including item description, communication, delivery time and postage & packaging, as well as providing an overall feedback rating. We believe the system will provide greater transparency and will reward our very best sellers, while allowing buyers to avoid the weaker ones. We will launch a test of this in the UK and Ireland in February and will provide more information soon.
• Eliminate pre-approved bidder - Also coming later this year, we’re going to remove the Pre-Approved Bidder feature for the vast majority of our sellers. Experience has shown that the majority of sellers who use this feature are often less reliable, and it is often used to support off-eBay trade, which is not safe for buyers or sellers. This feature will remain in place only for high-profile charity auctions.
• Consequences for Seller Non-Peformance - We all know that it is a very small proportion of sellers who provide the majority of bad buyer experiences, so we will enforce strict consequences on these sellers going forward. We will remove selling privileges for sellers who fall into this small group, levelling the playing field for our best sellers, who provide consistently high levels of customer service.

  We are very excited about these changes and about the positive impact we believe they will have on our community of buyers and sellers. Once again, I would like to take the opportunity to thank those members of the community who help to keep the site safe, and those sellers who relentlessly offer buyers great experiences every day.

  We will keep you up to date with developments, and as always, welcome your feedback.

  Regards,
  Garreth Griffith
  Head of Trust & Safety, eBay.co.uk & eBay.ie

  	***Original: A Message from Garreth Griffith – Trust & Safety Priorities ***
  	18 January, 2007 | 12:06AM GMT Hello – I’m Garreth Griffith, Head of Trust & Safety for eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie. My team and I work with the UK and Irish eBay businesses, as well as Trust & Safety colleagues worldwide, to keep the eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie sites safe places to buy and sell. As you will have seen from the previous message from Rob Chesnut, Senior Vice President in charge of Trust & Safety for eBay globally, we are evolving our approach to Trust & Safety at eBay as we head into 2007. As the market has grown, we’ve seen an increase in the bad experiences members face due to two factors: increased fraud across the internet and a very small proportion of sellers who are failing to deliver a positive buyer experience. At the same time, there are many more online shopping choices, and our buyers’ expectations are growing. Therefore, we’re stepping up our efforts to stop bad experiences on the site. I’d like to share more details about what this will mean for the eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie marketplaces. Taking an even more proactive approach to Trust & Safety Safeguarding Member IDs - just before Christmas, we introduced a major change to auction-style listings that offers more privacy for our members by changing how bidder information is displayed. We did this because in the past potential fraudsters had used bidder information to try to defraud buyers. To prevent this, on listings where the high bid, Buy It Now or starting price is £100 or higher, bidder IDs are now anonymous to everyone except the seller. We know this has been a big change, and it is already paying off as we are seeing lower numbers of targeted fake Second Chance Offers. This change will take place on eBay.ie at the end of January, and will apply to listings where the high bid, Buy It Now or starting price is €150 or higher. Preventing the Trade of Counterfeits - Counterfeits are a global problem affecting both high street retailers and e-commerce in general. It is illegal to manufacture counterfeit goods, and it is a criminal act to knowingly sell them. The sale of counterfeit goods on eBay results in negative experiences for buyers who unwittingly bid on a counterfeit, and buyers who knowingly purchase counterfeits are supporting this illegal industry. As a result, we will require additional seller verification for certain types of items that have been frequently reported as being counterfeit. We’ve also removed the ability for sellers to list these items on 3- or 5-day auctions, and we’ve put in additional restrictions for people selling these items overseas. Re-enforcing our Policies - When sellers don’t stick to our listing policies it harms the buyer experience and also gives our good sellers a bad name. We are taking a stronger stance on reinforcing our listing policies in areas that provide particularly bad buyer experiences, such as when sellers charge excessive postage, and when sellers lie about where they or their items are based. We will continue to get stronger in reinforcing these policies, by helping good sellers understand how to comply, and removing those sellers who don’t. We would like to thank all members of our community who diligently report sellers who breach our policies, and we would urge you to continue – we take this very seriously and we rely on your support. Enhanced Buyer Protection - Later this year we are going to strengthen and simplify our purchase protection programme, so that more of the items you buy are covered. PayPal will introduce an improved PayPal Buyer Protection, a programme that covers qualified eBay transactions for non-delivery, and items that are significantly not as described. Watch this space for more information as we move closer to launch. Holding sellers to higher minimum standards Private Feedback - Last autumn we removed the ability for sellers to make their feedback private. This was important, as it means sellers with poor track records can no longer hide their bad reputations from buyers. International Trade Requirements - We’ve also implemented new requirements for UK-registered sellers who want to list an item on an eBay site other than the UK or US, and Irish-registered sellers who want to want to list an item on a site other than eBay.ie. Now, to sell outside these markets, sellers must have a verified PayPal account linked to their eBay account. This should lead to a reduction in the number of suspended sellers and cancelled listings on the site. Feedback 2.0 - eBay feedback is a great system, but we decided it needed an update, to keep up with marketplace developments. The result is Feedback 2.0, a new approach to feedback that will give good sellers a real chance to shine, and buyers the opportunity to really choose between sellers, based on the level of service they provide. Buyers will soon be able to rate sellers on their services, including item description, communication, delivery time and postage & packaging, as well as providing an overall feedback rating. We believe the system will provide greater transparency and will reward our very best sellers, while allowing buyers to avoid the weaker ones. We will launch a test of this in the UK and Ireland in February and will provide more information soon. Eliminate pre-approved bidder - Also coming later this year, we’re going to remove the Pre-Approved Bidder feature for the vast majority of our sellers. Experience has shown that the majority of sellers who use this feature are often less reliable, and it is often used to support off-eBay trade, which is not safe for buyers or sellers. This feature will remain in place only for high-profile charity auctions. Consequences for Seller Non-Peformance - We all know that it is a very small proportion of sellers who provide the majority of bad buyer experiences, so we will enforce strict consequences on these sellers going forward. We will remove selling privileges for sellers who fall into this small group, levelling the playing field for our best sellers, who provide consistently high levels of customer service. We are very excited about these changes and about the positive impact we believe they will have on our community of buyers and sellers. Once again, I would like to take the opportunity to thank those members of the community who help to keep the site safe, and those sellers who relentlessly offer buyers great experiences every day. We will keep you up to date with developments, and as always, welcome your feedback. Regards, Garreth Griffith Head of Trust & Safety, eBay.co.uk & eBay.ie