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Just got this email from ebay a few minutes ago...lots of rule changes heading this way.

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Spring Seller Update

Dear southst9:

Your commitment to great service is paying off! With eBay growing at double-digit rates, you now have access to more than 100 million active buyers. Updates coming this spring will help keep those growing ranks of online shoppers coming your way, help get your listings in front of the right buyers, protect your track record, and boost your efficiency.

Free pictures coming in July!

Your upfront cost of selling on eBay is going down again! Now, starting July 2, on top of listing up to 50 items Auction-style FREE each month, you'll get FREE pictures for all your listings , both Auction-style and Fixed Price. You can upload up to 12 pictures per listing and all 12 pictures will be free—including free zoom and enlarge! Listings with lots of great quality photos sell more, so start loading up now.

Updates to the eBay Top-rated seller program mean more attention for your great listings.

Ecommerce standards for service have evolved in the three years since the eBay Top-rated seller program was first introduced, and savvy merchants have adapted to compete. Now the Top-rated seller program will also evolve to keep pace.

Starting in June, Top-rated sellers will need to have tracking information uploaded to eBay within their stated handling time on 90% or more of their transactions with US buyers. As of June 1, the 20% final value fee discount and greatest average boost in Best Match will go to those listings from Top-rated sellers that include 1-day handling and a minimum 14-day return policy with a money-back refund option. Your listings without these two services will still have the Top-rated seller badge and some boost in Best Match but will not earn the discounts or the highest average boost in Best Match.

You already upload tracking information, so you're on track to keep your Top-rated status. To keep the maximum benefits, add the combination of 1-day handling and a minimum 14-day return policy with a money-back refund option to as many of your listings as possible.

As an extra reward for adding these in-demand services now, from March 1 to May 31, you'll get a bonus 5% discount off your final value fees—along with your current 20% discount—for all listings with 1-day handling and 14-day or longer returns with a money-back option. Act now to take full advantage of this bonus discount!

Safeguards for your hard-earned performance record

New seller protections help ensure your performance record is an accurate reflection of your great service:

Get an automatic 5-star Detailed Seller Rating (DSR) for Communication when you specify same-day or 1-day handling, upload tracking information by the end of the next business day, and no communication is needed between you and the buyer.

Feedback left for a transaction where the buyer had an unpaid item recorded will be automatically removed.

Earlier this year, eBay started displaying an automatic message on the View Item page to buyers outside the US regarding customs-related delays and customs duties. Because of this, any Feedback from international buyers that only references customs issues will qualify for Feedback removal.

Updates to boost your efficiency and profitability

Manage your business policies from one handy location. Opt in to a new way to create and manage custom payment, shipping, and return policies and apply them to listings quickly and easily.

Streamline returns: An optional new way to manage returns virtually automates the process according to the terms you specify. Your buyer simply clicks a link in My eBay to print a pre-paid shipping label. When you get the item back, simply click a button to issue the refund. Your final value fees are automatically refunded.

Return options retired: When sellers accept returns, buyers expect a reasonable timeframe and the ability to get their money back. As of May 2, the 3-day and 7-day and "Merchandise credit" and "Exchange" options will be retired for new listings and relistings. As always, you can still specify "No returns accepted" but note that offering a good return policy can help your sales.

New same-day handling time option. Let buyers know you ship the same day for orders received by your specified cut-off time.

USPS® First-Class Package service reclassified from Expedited to Standard. Take advantage of the savings this service offers, while setting the right delivery expectations for your buyers.

A message on the View Item page alerts buyers to the possibility of extended delivery time for items with longer than 3-day handling.

New requirements for pictures. High-quality pictures can make all the difference in enticing a buyer to choose your item over the rest. Starting this fall, all listings will be required to have at least one picture, and all photos must be at least 500 pixels on the longest side and cannot have added borders or text (watermarks okay).

Best Match using more information to get your listings in front of the right buyers. eBay's default sort order will begin looking at more information—including information in your item description—to evaluate items for ranking. Item Specifics, product codes like UPCs and ISBNs, brand, part numbers, and other descriptors will be increasingly important.

Removing more duplicate listings. Reducing duplicate listings in search results has made it easier for buyers to find what they're looking for and significantly increased sales for many sellers. Now Auction-style listings with the Buy It Now option will be considered duplicates to Fixed Price listings or to other Auction-style listings with the Buy It Now option for identical items.

Category and other updates

Electronics: Listing with the eBay catalog will be expanded to more categories, including DVD & Blu-ray Players, Home Theater Receivers, Home Speakers & Subwoofers, Home Theater Systems, and Home Theater Projectors.

Motors: Some listing features will be retired—Border, Highlight, Featured Plus!, and Listing Icon in Parts & Accessories and Motors Home Page Featured in Motors Vehicles.

Category and Item Specific updates:As always, changes to categories and item specifics are included with the rest of seller updates. Find out if your listings are affected.
Clothing, Shoes & Accessories
Coins
Computers & Networking
Consumer Electronics
eBay Motors
Home & Garden
Toys
Jewelry & Watches (Category adjustments in Watches only)
More information
Get details on the 2012 Spring Seller Update.
Use the Seller Checklist to stay on top of important dates.
Find out how you can update your listings quickly and efficiently with bulk editing tools.
For additional insight, you're also invited to talk with members of my staff during the next two days on a special discussion board we've set up for this purpose. Join me and other leaders from eBay in a Town Hall meeting on February 29, 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. PST.
As always, thank you for selling on eBay.

Sincerely,
Michael Jones
Vice President
Merchant Development

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