An eBay Warning – An Amazon Webinar – and Your Stores

Personally delivered to you by Steve Lindhorst, author of
"Selling on 'the River' and "The Niche Book"

I'm just back from the ASD/AMD merchandising show in Las Vegas and it was buzzing. I spoke in two seminars about using Amazon for business and both were very well attended. For those of you selling there now, you're on the right track. For those of you who are waiting...jump in!
On to the newsletter...

In This Issue

1. eBay's Upcoming Changes - a Warning
2. Webinar Recording - Source IT for Amazon
   
3. The Clickbank Code - This rocks!
4. It's up! Multichannel Surfer Reader Sites & Stores

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1. eBay's Upcoming Changes - a Warning

eBay has rolled out the second big installment of changes for 2009. I am not going to go into detail on each part, other sites have covered the new changes already. I would like to point out a couple points that stood out to me. First, let me say,  eBay is continuing their drive toward a more sterile, consistent site. They are still moving away from the zany days of toasted cheese sandwiches with an image of Mary. No eBay Live! with crazy hats, buttons, and pins. eBay wants mass produced products on the site. They want big sellers that deliver a consistent shopping experience.

I could just imagine eBay executives cringing last week when a woman put the opportunity to name her baby up for auction. The auction made national news when it was repeatedly shut down by eBay for technical violations. The lady lost her high bidder of $15K, but kept trying. eBay doesn't want that kind of item listed nowadays. New policies will make it even harder for unique, small sellers. In October, the first phases will go into effect. In the Spring of 2010, I predict people will be leaving eBay in droves - and not by their own choice.

Look at what eBay plans to do with DSRs in their own words:

New minimum standard for all sellers

What are the new standards for all eBay sellers?
Beginning in October, the current 4.3 minimum average DSR requirement will be replaced with new requirements based on a seller's incidence of DSR 1s and 2s on transactions with U.S. buyers:

• In October, all eBay sellers will be required to have 1s or 2s for item as described on no more than 3.00% of transactions, and on a maximum of 4.00% of transactions for communication, 4.00% for shipping time, and 4.00% for shipping and handling charges.To ensure sellers—especially lower-volume sellers—are not penalized as the result of just one low rating, it will take at least four instances of low DSRs (1s or 2s) in one DSR for consequences to be applied.
• In April 2010, the standards will be stricter. All eBay sellers will be required to have 1s or 2s for item as described on no more than 1.00% of transactions, and no more than 2.00% of transactions for communication, 2.00% for on shipping time, and 2.00% on shipping and handling charges.To ensure sellers—especially lower-volume sellers—are not penalized as the result of just one low rating, it will take at least four instances of low DSRs (1s or 2s) in one DSR for this requirement to apply.

What happens to sellers who do not meet the new standard?
Sellers will be lowered in search standing. They may be offered coaching and training on selling best practices. In more serious situations, other consequences may also apply including limits to further selling, loss of PowerSeller status and discounts, and in some cases account suspension.

So for you small sellers - if 1 out of 100 of your buyers leaves a 1 or 2 DSR - you will be in trouble with eBay as of April 2010.

Think of the differences between the old eBay seller and the "new" eBay seller. Old eBay sellers dug things out of their closet, listed the items, packed the oddly shaped items the best they could, and shipped them. Each item was different, allowing for occasional mistakes. Each item was unique, which required a unique description. This left more room for mistakes and friction between buyer and sellers. But it still worked, and it was fun.

The "new" eBay seller (in eBay's dreams) is a seller who is rewarded for selling the same exact thing over and over. By selling the same products again and again, they can dial in their packing and shipping process. Fewer mistakes. They can also fine-tune their description and photos to perfection. That's good for those sellers. And it will likely be good for buyers in the long run.

The problem for many sellers is they don't fit the "new" seller profile eBay has pictured. So now the seller of unique, one of a kind items will have a razor-thin margin of error when listing, communicating, and shipping their items. eBay has found a way to get rid of the irritating, flea market, noisy sellers - and it will be easy to blame it on the seller. eBay can officially say to them, "We've upped our standards, now up yours."

eBay as "Big Brother"

Another thing eBay is changing has to do with the language you use. Sellers will now be required to use professional language when describing their items. No slamming eBay or PayPal. No threats of negative feedback. Descriptions must be "professional in language and tone."  This should be fun to watch, since eBay will now be judging your listings as to "tone." Here is the quote:

New Selling Practices policy

What is the new Selling Practices policy?
The new Selling Practices policy sets minimum standards of professionalism for all aspects of a listing and a transaction:

Item Details and Description—Sellers are responsible for providing accurate and consistent details regarding their items, including item condition and product details. For example, it would be a violation to select "New" in item specifics and say that it's refurbished in the item description. Also, listing descriptions must be professional in both language and tone.
Terms and Conditions—Sellers can include only relevant terms and conditions. Violations would include conflicting information in a listing, failure to uphold stated terms, or a disclaimer of seller responsibility to deliver the item as described in the listing.
Product Availability—Sellers are responsible for having items available for sale for the duration of the listing. Single quantity items or items in low supply should not be listed both on and off eBay simultaneously.
Shipping and Related Charges—Sellers will continue to be required to charge only reasonable shipping and handling fees.
Return Policy and Handling Time—As previously announced, sellers are required to specify their return policy and handling time in a listing. The new policy requires the information you specify to be accurate.
Appropriate language—Listings cannot include comments that undermine confidence in the marketplace, such as comments expressing negativity toward buyers or the selling process.

Can you provide some examples of unprofessional language and tone?
Here are a few examples unprofessional language and tone:

"Due to bad buyers on eBay, you must contact me prior to bidding or your bid will be cancelled and you will be reported to eBay!!"

"I have had so many bad transactions with zero Feedback buyers. So, if you are new, don't bid!"

"I will leave negative Feedback for all non-paying bidders."

"I am forced to use PayPal."

So there you have it. eBay has taken control of the language you can use within your description, they also control how (or if) you show up in search results - and where you appear. They will decide what is reasonable for shipping charges. They also will decide what terms are relevant to your item. If you plan on listing antiques, or unique items, have fun describing them and getting them past eBay censors.

eBay's business is off. Amazon is beating them and the trend favors Amazon. Even though eBay can't manage to grow their business, they want you to give them control over more and more of yours. Doesn't make sense to me. These charts say it all:

2. Webinar Recording - Source IT for Amazon

As you can see, interest in Amazon is growing. Sellers are moving there because you can make money there. Last week I presented a webinar with Colette Marshall, President of Worldwide Brands. It was about getting started on Amazon and answered a lot of user-submitted questions. Colette supplied me with the entire hour-long video and audio recording, which you can watch at: http://sellingontheriver.com/webinar/2009-08-0321.01SourceITforAmazon.wmv

Now a shameless plug for my own ebook. The most common question we received was "how do I get started selling on Amazon?" If you haven't picked up Selling on 'the River' yet - now is the time!

3. The Clickbank Code - This rocks!

I spend a lot of time looking at new products, hoping to find something valuable that I can recommend to you. A few months ago I told you about The Clickbank Code, and since then I haven't found anything I like better.

I do not know Michael Jones personally. But I like what he has created in this product. The Clickbank Code teaches you how to choose products from the Clickbank marketplace, that you can sell as an affiliate and make some serious money.

This products goes further though. Through videos and printable guides, he teaches you how to build a real sales machine, including a website (and the pages that are necessary) and a blog - all focused on your chosen product. Then he goes into how you can advertise your site to drive traffic using a formula to determine exactly how much advertising you need to turn a profit.

I simply cannot do it justice here. The Clickbank Code teaches you a process you can learn and repeat over and over. It's a little more expensive than most products I recommend. But entirely worth it in my opinion.

4. It's up! Multichannel Surfer Reader Sites & Stores

In the last issue I invited readers to submit links to their sites and stores. I thought this would be beneficial to you in several ways. These sites, stores, and booths are run by people just like you. You can learn from their focus on a niche, their site designs, and how they sell on multiple channels.

I listed the submissions in the order they arrived. Browse through the stores and glean some ideas from your fellow readers! The page can be found at the top of this page, see the tab "Reader Sites & Stores."

Tagged as: Amazon Webinar, Clickbank, eBay Changes, Reader Sites