TRAFFIC REPORTS TURNED OFF because you didn’t access them. Really? I’m sure I don’t use every feature available to ebay sellers, but I pay for them in my store charges and fees every month like clockwork. So why are they turned off if I don’t log in within xx days to view them?

I’ve been really busy lately playing catch-up. My brother died in a horrible accident during the summer (2011) and my mind just hasn’t been functioning at its highest level. When I did decide to go in and check my ebay traffic reports, this is what I was greeted with:

          Reactivate Traffic Reports Help

Traffic reports provide detailed information about your Store’s traffic and are free while you maintain your Store subscription.You must view your traffic reports online at least once every 90 days, or we will assume that you are not interested in this feature and reporting activity will stop.

We stopped reporting traffic activity for you on July 06, 2011, because you did not access your traffic reports for 90 days. Activity reported prior to this date is still available; however, information for activity that occured between July 06, 2011 and the date that you reactivate reporting will be unavailable.

To reactivate your traffic reports, click Reactivate and Continue.

My burning question is this:

Whether I accessed my traffic reports or not, I continued to sell (ie, pay fees) and kept my store (ie, pay fees), so why can’t ebay allow an AUTOMATED program continue to run whether I check it or not? They continue to allow the AUTOMATED billing program to run (ie, pay fees and store charges) 365/24/7.

It just seems very selfish of ebay to ‘turn off’ specifics that you receive as a benefit when paying your store charges and fees. It’s automation, not that complicated.

What do you think?

Why eBay Opposes and Amazon Favors Sales Tax Collection Bill

By: Ina Steiner

Thu Nov 10 2011 14:54:03

Three U.S. senators introduced the Marketplace Fairness Act on Wednesday, a bill that would allow states to require out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax for purchases made by in-state residents. eBay continues to oppose such legislation and came out sharply against it. But Amazon, who had been a vocal opponent of state efforts to impose collection requirements, is now backing the new bill.What is it that makes eBay vehemently oppose the new bill and Amazon support it?

READ THE REMAINDER OF THE ARTICLE HERE

How eBay are hiding fixed price items in search

by Chris Dawson

I’ve been trying to figure out why my sales have dropped since eBay introduced catalogued listings to the tech categories and it’s all about visibility. I had thought one of the major problems might be how highly catalogue product cards were ranked in search results. I was concerned that my listings were being demoted in search results. I might have been wrong on both these counts as it appears that buyers simply might not be able to find my listings no matter how hard they try…

…The problem is that on the initial search eBay say that there are 16 matching items in search results but only choose to show me one. Buyers aren’t as persistent as me, they’ll get fed up and go away to buy somewhere else.

IS eBay search broken? Read the rest of Chris’s article here.

Apparently it’s spring cleaning time over at EBAY again! More changes, but hey, life is change. I guess more than spring cleaning, it’s just reassessment time again!

Well…. Here is the text of the seller’s letter we received from ebay:

We know that online buyers pay attention to the total cost of an item–including shipping–when deciding what and where to buy. That’s why, to encourage low-cost shipping, starting July 6 Final Value Fee rates for Store sellers–Fixed Price and Auction-style–will be reduced and then applied to the total amount of the sale–including shipping.

The best way to minimize the impact on your overall fees is to take advantage of the available ways to reduce your shipping costs and charges.

New eBay Shopping Cart
Online shoppers are accustomed to adding items to a shopping cart–and they’re often motivated to buy more. That’s why we’re introducing the new eBay Shopping Cart that works with both Fixed Price and Auction-style items. Buyers can add items from multiple sellers and pay in one easy checkout–making it easier and more likely for them to buy more. It will become the way to shop on eBay before the 2011 holiday season.

New communications hub
Starting in May, you’ll be able to manage your communications with buyers from just one location within My eBay. View the emails that eBay sends to buyers after a transaction, manage your buyer-facing Automated Answers, or access your Store newsletters–all from one convenient page.

Category and item specifics changes
Category and item specifics changes are also consolidated with rest of updates. Find out if your listings are impacted and get details on the 2011 Spring Seller Update.

As always, thank you for selling on eBay. (aka thank you for giving us more of your profit margin. LOL)

OK – the takeaway:
Sellers that honestly charge reasonable shipping fees are getting a bum deal. Sellers that blatantly gouge on shipping fees should be banned from eBay anyway and make the world a better place. It is eBay’s lazy way of handling these type of sellers who use shipping to skirt paying fees.

Our store always charged reasonable shipping and in the past two months have readjusted 98% of our listings to reflect free shipping anyway. There are, however, a few things that irk me: 13% closing fee for books and media – give me a break! (In other words, if you’re still selling books on eBay, we’d just as soon not have you here.) Also ‘eBay will eliminate the current 5% discount for non-TRS PowerSellers’. See the new charts here on the AuctionBytes Blog (they do a great job of reporting these changes). Check out this blog post about the podcast with eBay’s Vice President of Selling Experience Todd Lutwak at radal.info.

As usual, I will see which parts of my store it affects and if possible, move those listings to another marketplace – namely Amazon.
Just another day in paradise!