Welcome back!
I’ve just returned from a fun & relaxing Easter break camping with my family & some friends to find this surprise announcement from eBay. Having just gotten home, I’ve not had any time to address this yet so I went to my trusted source – eBay guru Jim Cockrum for his take on all this.
Here is what he had to say about it …
“Yesterday there was a big announcement at eBay about “digital goods” which includes ebooks. Since many readers of this blog and my newsletter have sold or do sell ebooks on eBay I wanted to address the issue as quickly as possible.
My take on it is that eBay is overreacting to an issue they’ve been dealing with for awhile. The heart of the issue is feedback manipulation.
HEY EBAY: How about a minimum price of $5 on eBooks, or block the ability to leave “shipping” feedback on digital goods instead? Or, you could talk to your top legit sellers (like John Thornhill) first and get some feedback on the issue.
Later the same day the same eBay rep Brian Burke posted a note that includes the fact that digital goods have just been banned in Australia and the U.K. and have always been banned in Germany.
As of this writing there is still no official announcement on the eBay U.K. or eBay Australia eBay sites on this issue though. I think Brian may have jumped the gun, but the announcement is likely coming very soon.
What’s it all mean?
It’s potentially bad news for those that:
- had a BIG ebook business set up on autopilot on eBay with auctions launching and delivery occurring automatically.
- don’t understand classified ads on eBay
- have all their eggs in one basket
It’s potentially good news for those that:
- understand the power and potential of eBay classified ads
- realize that eBay very likely has just given us permission to include external links in our classified ads
- have quality ebook and info products that can be shipped to customers on CD
- realize that the competition herd on eBay just got WAY thinner
- have their OWN ORIGINAL products
The good news (once again, as with all major eBay announcements that seem to go against sellers) is that the CUSTOMERS are still there on eBay. eBay is pouring marketing dollars into attracting them and it’s our job to find ways to funnel them into our businesses. As long as the customers are there we’ll be there finding creative ways to market to them.”
What are you thoughts on this? Click the comment button below and leave your intelligent, insightful comments and observations. Please, if you are just mad at eBay don’t bother posting – It’s okay to be mad, but venting here does no one any good.
I’ll post more on the issue once I gather more facts.
One thing is for sure. Now more than ever I recommend being a part of the Silent eBay Team forum where you can have access 24/7 to many of the most successful & respected eBay experts for their advice, wisdom and creative eBay selling strategies.
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Tags: creative ebay selling, digital downloads, digital items, jim cockrum
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This is exactly the kind of great information I expected to find here. Also just read Better to Sell From a Website or With eBay? at Make Money Selling on eBay – great help. Thanks for such an informative site. Great article.