w~~_7.JPG "pjcdn2005"){kind=avatar}
Hello Canadian eBayers,
My apologies for my radio silence yesterday. I'm currently on the road attending eCommMTL 2015, a conference on e-commerce in Montreal, and yesterday was the main show. Between many hours manning the eBay booth and connecting with the many small and not so small tech companies that make up the Quebec & Canadian e-commerce landscape, I totally forgot to post here that we wouldn't be able to hold our weekly chat.
To make up for it, I'll leave this "Special Edition Weekly Board Hour" thread open for the next 24 hours or so, and do my best to come check often so I can answer as many questions as possible s I make my way back to Toronto.
Thanks!
R
Good afternoon Raphael.
Thank you for opening this special thread.
A few quick question today on the same subject.
Last week I was notified by email (not through "my messages") that eBay will no longer provide traffic reports through Omniture as of June 30th. eBay will offer a new program later this year at a date to be determined.
There was mention in the message that eBay was giving me 60 day notice for the change as required (that is a nice touch!).
Now, reading other posts on the boards, it is evident that some Canadian sellers, with a store on eBay.ca, did not receive the notification last week (May 1st) giving them that "60 day notice". It was only sent by eBay.ca yesterday or the previous day.
Is this another example of eBay.ca and eBay.com not coordinating announcements affecting members of both sides of the border? (I am registered on eBay.com as a "legacy user")
Also, in the message from eBay, there was no mention of a reduction in the monthly fee to compensate sellers for the loss of this important aspect of an eBay store. Will there be a reduction in the monthly fee? If not, why not?
Could you comment on the new "Shake the Ball... Win a Prize" promotion offered by eBay.ca by invitation.
I was invited! 
However... http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/Shake-the-ball-Win-a-Prize/m-p/301691#M43585
I understood that eBay had eliminated the $0.40 ten day duration fee for auction listings, effective May 1st, 2015 (that upgrade fee was first introduced by eBay in January 2002 ($0.10 at the time)).
Is that correct?
If so, why does eBay state "The duration you selected may change the price of some listing upgrades." when I enter a 10 day duration in an auction listing?
I now have a question about your duplication policy.
It has been my understanding that only one listing was allowed if the seller used "fixed price" format (the listing could contain any quantity).
If a seller listed several identical items using the "auction" format only one listing will show in search results until a bid is received at which time a second listing would be available to search.
I also understand sellers were allowed to have a fixed price listing (any quantity) and one auction listing available to search at the same time. For several years, I have often had fixed price listings with large quantities duplicated with identical auction listings as some buyers only look for auction! It has worked fine until now.
Today, then looking at the active listings in Selling Manager (eBay.ca and eBay.cafr) I get this message from eBay under the listing (391137208106):
eBay note: This listing is a duplicate and is not shown to buyers. Buyers will see this listing when the identical listing receives a bid. Learn more.
Message d'eBay : cette annonce est dupliquée et n'est pas visible pour les acheteurs. Les acheteurs pourront voir cette annonce une fois qu'une enchère aura été effectuée pour l'annonce identique. En savoir plus.
Please explain. Is this just another "bug" or a change of policy?
OK, here's my really "burning question" for the week:
As you probably know, Google has recently introduced new “rules” that will optimize visibility for websites/web pages that are most mobile-friendly.
On May 6th I checked my store on Google’s mobile-friendly test page, which analyzes web pages to determine if they’re optimized for mobile. I got a bit of a surprise on testing my eBay store, as you’ll see in the attached screen shots. The result wasn’t much better on testing a couple of random “new design” eBay storefronts.
In case you can’t see the small print in the screen shot it reads: “Not mobile-friendly” (ouch!), with the reasons being: “Text too small to read”, “Links too close together”, and “Mobile viewport not set”. I’m particularly concerned about this last issue. Google’s “User Experience” rating for my storefront was 64/100 (not very good I think), and for “Speed” 66/100 (that doesn’t sound terribly good either).
Google’s additional notes (on the page following) were that:
“This page may appear not mobile-friendly because the robots.txt file may block Googlebot from loading some of the page's resources. For optimal rendering and indexing, always allow Googlebot access to the JavaScript, CSS, and image files used by your website so that Googlebot can see your site like an average user. If your site’s robots.txt file disallows crawling of these assets, it directly harms how well our algorithms render and index your content. This can result in sub-optimal rankings.”
My questions are this: –
- Are the Google analyses reliable, and if so, do you know what eBay is doing about it (i.e. to ensure we store owners come up to the mark), and when?
- We all know Google practically rules the world these days, so isn’t it critical to maximize a site’s “Google-friendliness” to remain competitive?
- Why do the “new design” stores (at least the ones I tried at random) fare no better on Google’s tests than my “old design” store? I was expecting the new stores would be just about perfect.
- Any other comments or insight on this would be greatly appreciated.
I assume eBay’s main landing page doesn’t suffer from the same poor rating as my store page did (I didn't test it), but I’m concerned that stores such as mine will suffer in Google ranking if searched by name or keywords.
Please see screen shots below (private details blacked out):
... and here are the two specific test results:
@pierrelebel wrote:
Good afternoon Raphael.
Thank you for opening this special thread.
A few quick question today on the same subject.
Last week I was notified by email (not through "my messages") that eBay will no longer provide traffic reports through Omniture as of June 30th. eBay will offer a new program later this year at a date to be determined.
There was mention in the message that eBay was giving me 60 day notice for the change as required (that is a nice touch!).
Now, reading other posts on the boards, it is evident that some Canadian sellers, with a store on eBay.ca, did not receive the notification last week (May 1st) giving them that "60 day notice". It was only sent by eBay.ca yesterday or the previous day.
Is this another example of eBay.ca and eBay.com not coordinating announcements affecting members of both sides of the border? (I am registered on eBay.com as a "legacy user")
Hello Pierre,
There are different rules for different eBay sites when it comes to advance notice on site changes. Generally, eBay Canada has to ensure that users are notified of the more serious things (like program or pricing changes for example) at least 30 days in advance. In the US, it's less (I believe it's 2 weeks). The 60 days that eBay.com was able to give to sellers to prepare for the discontinuation of the Omniture reports is largely a courtesy, as while it's certainly a great tool, it's not critical to the eBay business. You'll certainly remember the days before there was any kind of listing performance analytics available.
In any case, even on the eBay.ca side, we were well ahead of the 30 days advance notice required under the User Agreement.
@pierrelebel wrote:
Also, in the message from eBay, there was no mention of a reduction in the monthly fee to compensate sellers for the loss of this important aspect of an eBay store. Will there be a reduction in the monthly fee? If not, why not?
I don't think there are plans to compensate for the discontinuation of the Omniture reports. These reports come free with a Store subscription, they are not part of the fee that a seller pays for the store.
@pjcdn2005 wrote:
Hello Raphael,
Apparently some Canadian eBayers are having problems trying to buy eBay gift certificates. When they try to pay through Paypal they get the message "recipient unable to receive money". There were two comments about it in December and one this month so it must be an ongoing problem. Are Canadians not allowed to buy the gift certificates?
Hi pjcdn2005,
This is indeed a problem that is occurring with gift cards purchases by Canadian buyers. Specifically, the error shows us if the buyer attempts to use a credit card as a funding source on the PayPal payment. If the buyer funds the payment with a debit card or bank account, the payment goes through as normal.
We are working with PayPal to resolve the issue.
@shanstat wrote:
Hi Raphael,
I was wondering if Ebay plans on taking into consideration the final value fee structure for Canadian Sellers to off set our much higher shipping courier rates levied by Canada Post vs USPS? I find that Canadian Sellers are disadvantaged especially when using Canada Post for shipping as it relates to final value fees.
Case in point: Ebay currently assesses sellers final value fees base on the selling price and shipping charges. As a Canadian shipper, my shipping costs through Canada Post are easily over 2-3x the shipping costs vs a US seller who uses USPS. Naturally, I have to list items with higher shipping rates vs my US competitors which ultimately results in paying higher final value fees for a successful auction listing.
Over a year, it adds up.
I completely understand why Ebay changed the fee structure to incorporate the shipping fees....many sellers were taking advantage of the fee structure listing items at .01 and inflating the shipping rates. Money out of EBay's pockets. Feels like every change made by ebay (especially fee structures) achieves one goal: Making them more money and benefiting the buyer. Basic business practices (the more buyers, the more money they make)....It would be nice however, if they recognized differences amongst sellers geographically and helped to even the playing field amongst competing sellers. Sellers are just as important to an online selling environment as buyers.
Just my personal view
Thanks
Hi shanstat,
Mitigating the disadvantage that Canadian sellers face due to higher shipping costs has been a mandate of ours for years. Unfortunately, adjusting the FVF on shipping is not something that's on the table for now. Higher shipping costs are a reality for all Canadians, on and off eBay.
With that said, there is one way you can resolve this. By building your domestic shipping cost into the item price and offering free shipping to Canadian buyers, you will be charged no FVF on shipping, even on international sales (FVF on shipping is calculated as per your 1st domestic shipping service offered on the listing, no matter who buys the item). You can read all the details here: http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/insertion-fee.html#fvf
@pierrelebel wrote:
Could you comment on the new "Shake the Ball... Win a Prize" promotion offered by eBay.ca by invitation.
I was invited!
However... http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/Shake-the-ball-Win-a-Prize/m-p/301691#M43585
Sorry that this happened. However it's easy to imagine how that came to be. Not an excuse, I know, but still, one can easily imagine.
I'll flag this to the US promo team. Thanks for bringing it up.
@pierrelebel wrote:
I understood that eBay had eliminated the $0.40 ten day duration fee for auction listings, effective May 1st, 2015 (that upgrade fee was first introduced by eBay in January 2002 ($0.10 at the time)).
Is that correct?
If so, why does eBay state "The duration you selected may change the price of some listing upgrades." when I enter a 10 day duration in an auction listing?
This is correct, the new pricing that came into effect on May 1st made the 10 day duration free to use.
The content on the SYI form is not super easy to change. I have myself a standing request for a relatively simple change which has yet to get prioritized. Thankfully, the verbiage in the example you give is a bit loose, thanks to the word "may."
@pierrelebel wrote:
I now have a question about your duplication policy.
It has been my understanding that only one listing was allowed if the seller used "fixed price" format (the listing could contain any quantity).
If a seller listed several identical items using the "auction" format only one listing will show in search results until a bid is received at which time a second listing would be available to search.
I also understand sellers were allowed to have a fixed price listing (any quantity) and one auction listing available to search at the same time. For several years, I have often had fixed price listings with large quantities duplicated with identical auction listings as some buyers only look for auction! It has worked fine until now.
Today, then looking at the active listings in Selling Manager (eBay.ca and eBay.cafr) I get this message from eBay under the listing (391137208106):
eBay note: This listing is a duplicate and is not shown to buyers. Buyers will see this listing when the identical listing receives a bid. Learn more.
Message d'eBay : cette annonce est dupliquée et n'est pas visible pour les acheteurs. Les acheteurs pourront voir cette annonce une fois qu'une enchère aura été effectuée pour l'annonce identique. En savoir plus.
Please explain. Is this just another "bug" or a change of policy?
Not sure I understand the question. When I search for "CANADA 1912 KGV Booklet of 2 panes" I see your two listings there, the auction and the BIN.
EDIT: Regarding the email (which now that I think of it, I assume is what you are asking about), these emails are not updated in real time. The message that was sent to you was true at the time it was triggered, but it would be really hard to ensure that the email you read is correct at the time you read it, every time. There are numerous other situations where site emails such as this one only generally apply to the recipient's situation, and that's a normal thing given the ever evolving nature of all activity on eBay.
@rose-dee wrote:
Hi Raphael,
Thanks for keeping this thread open for a while -- I was watching yesterday, but gave up after 2:45 p.m. (I should have come back! Hopefully I haven't missed the boat completely). I'm going to split my questions into 2 posts, as I have some screen shots for the other query.
- Any news or glimmer of hope on the US/Cdn “cart disconnect” front?
- About the "new" store design: do you know whether that design includes the Custom Pages/Store Pages and Newsletter link currently featured in the “old” design? I’ve been considering switching, but would not be at all happy to lose features.
- Also, on the subject of stores, but somewhat different from Pierre's question above, I see that eBay is phasing out Omniture and that it will be replaced. Will the new features serve essentially the same purpose, i.e. tracking statistical data on listings? If so, do you know how they'll differ from (improve upon) Omniture?
Hi rose-dee,
1. Nothing new there
2. The next generation stores don't support custom pages yet, but it's coming. As for the newsletters, those are separate and can be managed from the Manage My Store page as usual even if you're on the new design. With that said, these are going to get updated as well eventually.
3. I don't know the details on the Omniture retirement or the specifics of what will replace it, but it's safe to assume that it will be a better version of the same.
@rose-dee wrote:
My questions are this: –
- Are the Google analyses reliable, and if so, do you know what eBay is doing about it (i.e. to ensure we store owners come up to the mark), and when?
- We all know Google practically rules the world these days, so isn’t it critical to maximize a site’s “Google-friendliness” to remain competitive?
- Why do the “new design” stores (at least the ones I tried at random) fare no better on Google’s tests than my “old design” store? I was expecting the new stores would be just about perfect.
- Any other comments or insight on this would be greatly appreciated.
I assume eBay’s main landing page doesn’t suffer from the same poor rating as my store page did (I didn't test it), but I’m concerned that stores such as mine will suffer in Google ranking if searched by name or keywords.
Google's analysis is 100% correct, the legacy store pages are far from mobile-friendly. Keep in mind these were designed long before mobile was even a thing. The read you got from Google is far from surprising. As far as I know, there are no plans to make Store pages more mobile friendly. But that's okay: hardly any buyers use that page anyway. I know you won't agree but I assure you, I have numbers (which I unfortunately can't share - sorry) that clearly show that the Store page mostly pleases sellers 🙂 Buyers use Search to find & buy items.
What's important to understand here is that eBay's mobile strategy is not to replicate the site experience 1 to 1. Buyers have a very different approach and typical behaviour when shopping on a mobile device. It's far more search and item centric and we have a solid mobile web experience built around that. In other words, buyers who use a mobile device to go on eBay are served an experience that is optimized for the device they are using. This is what we call Responsive Design and we've had it in place for a few years now.
So, while the answer to your specific questions is no for the most part, I can assure you that eBay has one of the best mobile experiences in all of e-commerce, between mobile web and our palette of apps across different platforms. That's why almost half of eBay purchased now occur on mobile, including your own sales.
Hi everyone,
Thanks for cutting me some slack with this week's chat. We had a really good turn out didn't we? Maybe we're onto something with this formula... I'll close the thread for now, but perhaps a 24h format would be good, what do you think? Please let me know via email.
See you next week!
.R
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