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eBay Sellers: Have you considered 'Shill Buying'?

eBay Sellers: Have you considered ‘Shill Buying’?

Getting top billing in search on eBay has never been more complicated. In the system they call 'Best Match' there is a lot that remains unknown. What do we know for sure? We know that Feedback DSRs are important. We also know that having made a sale on a 30 day multiple BIN listing boosts your ... Read more »
eBay: Thanks for the encouragement.

eBay: Thanks for the encouragement.

It's taken me about 4 years to get to 1000 Feedback on one of my accounts. I got my red shooting star. The next star is 5000. Thanks for the encouragement. ETA ... Read more »
Why isn't eBay promoting Skype?

Why isn’t eBay promoting Skype?

Spotted this on ebay.co.uk today. Isn't Skype the internet phone service for small businesses? ... Read more »
Home Truths for eBay Sellers

Home Truths for eBay Sellers

Everyone loves a whinge. Hell, I'd list it as a hobby in Who's Who if I was illustrious enough. And it would be just that: a hobby: not business. But, and I'm willing to take the flak here, there is a cohort of eBay sellers who are in the business of complaining and they outclass even the ... Read more »
Third Party Ads on the eBay.co.uk Homepage

Third Party Ads on the eBay.co.uk Homepage

Hardly a surprise and not a first. But it's pretty saddening to see a great big ad on the eBay.co.uk homepage and above the fold at that. eBay reported last week that ad revenues were one of the few areas of the 'marketplace' business that are still growing strongly. So I guess it's the shape of ... Read more »
eBay Everywhere: Overheard on a train

eBay Everywhere: Overheard on a train

Tonight, on the train home. I sit down next to a man I don't know, who's already jabbering away on his mobile telephone to someone else I don't know, about things that don't interest me. Then something piques my interest. I pause my iPod and listen in. And remember, I only have one side of this ... Read more »
eBay.co.uk Changes: Shops, SIF and BIN

eBay.co.uk Changes: Shops, SIF and BIN

eBay have announced another raft of changes today, this time to fees and selling formats. As ever, there's dense detail, unanswered questions and a great dea of speculation. Sellers will be getting calculators out to try and understand whether these changes advantage them. They'll also need to ... Read more »
eBay for 'older' entrepreneurs

eBay for ‘older’ entrepreneurs

Every now and again I'll get some questions from a journalist: they want a talking head for an article and I'm usually happy to oblige. Typically, I'll provide quite a lot of material and a few sentences will be used. I sent these responses to a journo last week, so I thought I'd puiblish my full ... Read more »
eBay Everywhere: Overheard on a train

eBay Everywhere: Overheard on a train

Tonight on the train home. I sit down next to a man I don't know, who's already jabbering away on his mobile telephone to someone else I don't know, about things that don't interest me. Then something piques my interest. I pause my iPod and listen in. And remember, I only have one side of this ... Read more »
Wilson's Fourteen Points on eBay feedback

Wilson’s Fourteen Points on eBay feedback

For about a month I've been scribbling a post about eBay feedback and the recent changes. But it was getting long and convoluted and rather like one of my university history essays. How to make it digestable? Then I remembered one history essay I wrote about the League of Nations.... and Woodrow ... Read more »
ChannelAdvisor Catalyst UK: Scot Wingo Keynote

ChannelAdvisor Catalyst UK: Scot Wingo Keynote

Scot Wingo's annual keynote at Catalyst is always worth listening to because he is accountable to his customers and they want results. He doesn't deal in theoretical coolness or geeky oneupmanship: he is interested in things that work (perhaps a reflection of his engineering training?), deliver ... Read more »
A Tale of Two eBays

A Tale of Two eBays

If we believe the press (articles in the Metro and The Times to name two), dark clouds are looming over eBay: the wronged masses of eBay sellers are grumbling and steeling themselves for a strike. Like David polishing his sling before the fight, they're getting ready to slay Goliath. At ... Read more »
From ChannelAdvisor Catalyst: UK eCommerce Landscape

From ChannelAdvisor Catalyst: UK eCommerce Landscape

ChannelAdvisor's Catalyst event in London this week was a great opportunity to examine the trends and developments in ecommerce in Britain and abroad. Lots of exciting presentations and people were present. And I have a (papery) notebook full of scribbles to blog in the next week or so. Keep 'em ... Read more »
eBay sellers: what's coming from Google?

eBay sellers: what’s coming from Google?

Since I left eBay in November 2006 (it feels like a lifetime ago) I've probably spent more social time with eBay PowerSellers than I ever did as an employee. In the last few weeks I've been chatting with a clutch of sellers: it's been fun. What have we been talking about? There was plenty of ... Read more »