So...where is the sign-up for annual store subscriptions?

[rose-dee]

I've been looking for the touted May 1st sign-up for annual store subscriptions, and can't locate it anywhere.  I was hoping there might be a general "banner" with an appropriate link when I signed into eBay today, but no.  Has anyone found out how to make the switch? 

If I can't find it, I'll ask the "Pinks" this afternoon. 

This is May 1st, isn't it? 😄

[frances74915]

I'm looking for that as well...

[vintagenorth]

Signed up already. Just go to Account>Subscriptions.

[rose-dee]

Signed up already. Just go to Account>Subscriptions.

That's where I was this morning, and there was absolutely nothing new.  I wonder if it has something to do with the time zone I'm in -- out here in the Atlantic we're ahead of everybody on the continent.  😉

Perhaps eBay only started rolling it out at noon Eastern time (??).

I'll check it again now.

[pocomocomputing]

rose-dee, it is there on My eBay -> Account -> Subscriptions.  But I have no store so maybe it is not the same if you have a store.

Try cleaning browser cache and cookies ???

[rose-dee]

rose-dee, it is there on My eBay -> Account -> Subscriptions.  But I have no store so maybe it is not the same if you have a store.

OK, got it!  It isn't as obvious as you might think if you already have a store. 

You actually have click on the link that says "Change Level" on the right-hand side of the screen (where your current store subscription level is shown).  This takes you to a screen indicating the 3 store levels, annual or monthly for each, and you click on the appropriate button. 

I was anticipating more up-front visibility for this changeover -- it's not anywhere on the main "Subscription" page, at least not for me with an existing store. 

[trikiliki]

But it doesn't seem to be showing the new updated rates and fees...?

I have been looking for it too.

[queenpalmer]

I changed to a yearly subscription this morning.  It takes some digging to get what you most want to read, but, hopefully it puts more nickels in the seller account.

[Anonymous]

I tried it 5 times and still nothing.  So where exactly is it?  Please step to step, etc.  Thanks.

[vintagenorth]

honeybed, go on to your My ebay page, go to Account, then scroll down to Subscriptions and click on there. You will see Current Subscriptions, go to the right hand side and click on Change Subscriptions (you may be asked to re-log in at some point).

[femmefan1946]

Somewhat off topic-- there has been some talk about double charges of eBay fees in months with 31 days. (The idea is that since these are 30 day listings, the fee would be charged on the 1st and again on the 31st.)

So what I was wondering was: if I start my listings on the 5th (for example) would I avoid this problem?

Or is it just a pointless fuss, since there are going to be 12.16 listings in most years (and 12.2 in Leap Years), no matter when a listing starts.

For that matter, does anyone start all their listings on the same day? I have from  200 to 2000 unique listings on my various IDs, but they start on any given day of the month.

If you are explaining this, please keep in mind that I am dysnumeric and have trouble with comprehending numbers.

[rose-dee]

Somewhat off topic-- there has been some talk about double charges of eBay fees in months with 31 days. (The idea is that since these are 30 day listings, the fee would be charged on the 1st and again on the 31st.)

So what I was wondering was: if I start my listings on the 5th (for example) would I avoid this problem?

Or is it just a pointless fuss, since there are going to be 12.16 listings in most years (and 12.2 in Leap Years), no matter when a listing starts.

For that matter, does anyone start all their listings on the same day? I have from  200 to 2000 unique listings on my various IDs, but they start on any given day of the month.

If you are explaining this, please keep in mind that I am dysnumeric and have trouble with comprehending numbers.

There is a huge ongoing confabulation on this topic (link below) if you can bear all the numbers that 'pocomocomputing' has come up with!  I'm sure someone will come up with a logarithm for this issue that I will never be able to comprehend. 

You could spend countless hours trying to figure out your strategy each month, but essentially it boils down to common sense -- just scatter your GTC listings over each month, and especially avoid listing a whole lot of items on the 1st of months with 31 days.

Although ultimately you'll end up with a small percentage that are charged to you for listing in those months that have 31 days, if you check your "Summary" page, I think you can keep track of where you stand in terms of available free listings. 

There is also the option of using regular 30-day Fixed Price listings if you think you may run short of free listings in a 31-day month -- manually relist such Fixed Price items a day or two into the next month, to avoid the doubling up. 

If you use GTC listings, you'll inevitably get charged some listing fees during the year if you have enough listings in any 31-day month to take you over your total allotment of freebies for your store level.  (It's probably a misnomer to think of these as "double fees", because the first lot will be free, even if you listed everything up to your limit on Day 1 of a 31-day month).  Spreading the listings out reduces the overall percentage of listings that will attract fees to a pretty manageable amount.  Obviously the closer you get to your free listing monthly total, the greater the chance you'll be charged for GTC relists in the longer months.

Incidentally, I'd forgotten about this, but apparently the free listings are on eBay.ca plus eBay.com if you're registered as a Canadian seller.

Here's the discussion thread: http://community.ebay.ca/topic/Seller-Central/New-Store-Plans/4000008798

Personally, I'm just going to use the scatter approach and check my "remaining free listings" count frequently.

[pierrelebel]

"apparently the free listings are on eBay.ca plus eBay.com if you're registered as a Canadian seller."

There is no restriction for Canadian sellers only.  ALL sellers can use the free listings on eBay.com and eBay.ca

[pierrelebel]

"some talk about double charges of eBay fees in months with 31 days."

GTC (Good Till Cancelled) listings - available only with fixed price listings - have been available on eBay for twelve or thirteen years.  Nothing new.

What is different this year is that for the first time, the "fixed price listing" format is available as "free listing" in addition to auctions.

How relevant is it that some months have 31 days, some 30 and one 28 or 29 while GTC get relisted and new fee charged every 30 days?

1 - Nobody in their right mind would start ALL listings on January 1st (a holiday) to get charged a fee (or use a free listing opportunity) on January 1st and charged again on January 31st and miss February freebies altogether!

2 - With listing fees becoming a smaller part of the overall fees paid to eBay, the total amounts involved in the odd listings where a fee is paid twice the same month are irrelevant.

Work the average.  Assuming all GTC listing attract a listing fee, a seller would pay 73 fees over a six year period (365 days x 6 / 30).  Now consider all those free listings - whether you have a store or not - and try to calculate how many dollars you will pay eBay in addirtional listing fees over a six year period in relation to your total sales.

Meaningless.

If a seller pays 73 listing fees for GTC listings for six year coverage, do you know how many listing fees would be paid in the same period for the regular seven day auction listings? 313 .

Experienced sellers who have been using GTC for years will not see a difference except some of their listings will be free. 🙂

Much has been suggested about using 30 days instead of GTC for better exposure in Best Match.  Personally I do not think it makes any difference unless you sell the exact same thing as 50 other competitors.  In most instances, it is irrelevant.

Sometimes I miss the "good old days" when we would pay listing fees ($0.25 to $2.00) for all listings.  It did cost a lot more but was so much easier to calculate. 🙂

[pocomocomputing]

My concern in my other topic I started was with a seller getting a store with 150 or 500 or 2500 free listings when the new store plans became available on May 1st and treating them like the frequent free promos we had in the past two years. Sellers in the past would wait and build up a reserve of listings ready to list and when the free promo came, they would list a large quantity of listings in one, two or three days.

If a seller did this and used GTC with automatic renewal every 30 days, you would have this large number of listings renewing every 30 days and it would possibly hit a 31 day month on the 1st of the month and the 31st resulting in some of the listings having to be paid for on the 31st. Or having the special short month of February with 28/29 being skipped over and not using any free listings.

As mentioned by me and others, avoid listing large amount of listings on a single day using GTC. Having a store with large amount of free listings per month can be misleading as to how many are going to be free later in the month for use.

Sellers have been "trained" by the free listing promos to use up their free listings quickly and that habit may cause some issues when using GTC auto renewal.

As for avoiding the 1st of the current month to list a lot of listings using GTC on one day and listing on the 5th of the month, all you do is push the issue into the future. A "double" listing month would happen in December, 2013. 

If you were to list a lot of GTC today May 6th, a "double" listing month would happen in Jan 2014 and Mar 2014 with Feb 2014 with 28 days being skipped leaving a lot of free listing unused for February.

A little thought is required to manage the free listings a seller gets each month if they are trying to minimize the insertion fee charges. Just checking the free listings used counter each day is not enough when using GTC listings.

I can just see the posts in the coming months from some sellers complaining that they had "200 free listings yesterday and today only 30 left". The usual rants that eBay is cheating them and the system is broken, etcetera.

Hopefully some sellers will understand the issue and plan accordingly to minimize their insertion fees using GTC. Or at least understand why they get to pay for some insertion few each month when they thought it would be free.

[rose-dee]

A little thought is required to manage the free listings a seller gets each month if they are trying to minimize the insertion fee charges. Just checking the free listings used counter each day is not enough when using GTC listings.

I'm wondering though that if you combined a glance at the "free listings remaining" counter and a look at the number of GTC listings winding down in, say, the next week, whether you could get a fairly good guesstimate of how many listings you could afford to use up in that week. 

It does seem to get very complex if you're trying to avoid every possible fee charge.  I'm not personally going to be able to spend too much time on it, will just scatter my listings around the month and accept that I may end up paying for a few extra listings here and there at $0.20 each.  That's still better than the current store fee structure for GTC.  And Pierre is right -- in the end it's peanuts compared to the FVFs.