http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200706151318452.html
June 15, 2007 | 01:18PM PST/PT
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Bill Cobb
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Hello everyone...It's good to be here in the fantastic city of Boston. Last night I -- along with Meg (Meg Whitman, eBay Inc. CEO) and Rajiv (Rajiv Dutta, President of PayPal) -- had the opportunity to address 10,000 eBay buyers and sellers at our keynote. We webcast the keynote live for folks at home, and I hope you had a chance to join us online.
I want to share some of the announcements I made for eBay.com last night. Rajiv will also be sharing some important PayPal announcements he made last night, plus some of my team will offer more specifics in their own posts later on.
Creating Colorful Commerce
By now, most members have heard us talk about "re-igniting the core." What we mean is that we're investing in the quintessential eBay experience of buying and selling � person to person � in an auction format. Today online shopping is main-stream � but it's also becoming boring. We're taking a stand for what we believe � that different is good � that people are more interesting than things � that eBay is still the place to go for the rockin' deal � and that the combination of all these things is what has created eBay.com into a destination like no other.
Bringing this promise to life is a "high stakes balancing act" as I said last night. Millions of people use eBay every day. We understand that as we work to transform the site, any change is a potential disruption to our members. The benefit must be absolutely clear. I think you'll agree that the projects we're working on now bring significant value to the marketplace � and make the most of our "eBay-ness."
- New Homepage - We're testing a number of variations of a new design for our homepage. You'll notice that we've made a conscious shift with these new designs � moving from a static table of contents to a page that serves as a gateway to the world of eBay. The new homepage will be better organized, more relevant to you, and much simpler. There's even some white space! You can get a sense of the new look in Mike Osborn's recent Announcement board post. Look for a final launch of our new Homepage this fall.
- Visual Navigation � I said last January that fixing Finding would be a top priority for us this year. A big step forward on this front is a new feature we call Visual Navigation. Visual Navigation makes shopping more like shopping, and less like reading from a restaurant menu. You can sort by price or color across almost any category. We've begun to introduce Visual Navigation in new products such as eBay To Go and eBay My World. Over the next several months, provided it meets your needs, we'll be introducing this into several categories where we think buyers will appreciate a more interactive shopping experience.
- eBay Countdown - Our Buyer Experience team is working on a number of new ways to make bidding more exciting and more convenient. You recently learned about eBay To Go, a new widget that lets you showcase your eBay discoveries on your blog or website, as well as Bid Assistant, which gives buyers a fun way to bid on multiple auction listings at one time, so you get more chances to win the item you really want. Another feature we're working on is eBay Countdown. eBay Countdown celebrates the competition that is such a big part of the eBay auction experience. eBay Countdown is a new tool buyers can use with a BIG clock and a..."price ticker thingy"...to remind you of items you've saved or are bidding on. Look for eBay Countdown � plus, a new fast way to place a bid in the last 15 minutes of an auction � this fall.
Now I'd like to talk about our sellers. Buyers have more options online these days, but so do our sellers. We know that many of you are multi-channel, and we know that we need to continually add to the value that you get on eBay.
eBay Stores
First I'd like to acknowledge that after eBay Live! last year, we did something unusual and raised our fees for Store Inventory format listings. Many of our Stores sellers weren't happy about that � but as I said then, there was a pressing need to rebalance the marketplace. I'm pleased to say we're seeing the results we wanted, and we appreciate our sellers for their support. While growth in overall listings has slowed (as we expected), conversion rates have improved, due in part, to better quality inventory on the site.
Now, for those who may be wondering, I want to share with you what I shared last night � there will be no increase in selling fees this July.
We're doing a number of important things to make it worth your while to have an eBay Store. Darlene Clementz of the eBay Stores team will be following up this letter with information about some great new Stores improvements, but I'd like to personally let you know about one change I mentioned last night.
A few weeks ago we launched a new header design. Our Stores sellers have made it clear that they don't like it, because there is no eBay Stores link. Well, you're right � you should have one. Within the next 30 days, we plan to put eBay Stores back where they belong � in the header at the top of every eBay page.
PowerSeller Program
PowerSellers are vital to the marketplace. As we work to upgrade the buyer experience, we also want to revitalize the PowerSeller program to offer incentives, rewards, and recognition to those sellers who consistently delight eBay buyers.
- New eligibility requirements for Seasonal and High-volume/Low ASP sellers - You've asked for these changes for a long time. Sellers who have a high-volume seasonal business, or who specialize in items with low average selling prices (like trading cards, media, etc.) want to get recognized for their hard work, and we agree. Starting this fall, we're adjusting the eligibility requirements to accommodate these groups of sellers. Edurne Jorda who manages the PowerSeller program will be back to give you more details.
- Unpaid Item Rebate on Auction Feature Fees � For years you've asked us to insure you from losses on those occasions when a buyer doesn't pay. Well, we've heard you, and starting on August 1st, PowerSellers will get a rebate on unpaid item feature fees for auction listings (where Immediate Payment is not an option) when they accept PayPal and specify reasonable shipping & handling fees.
I also told the audience last night that we're currently evaluating how a seller's PowerSeller status and excellent track record serving customers might be factored into our search logic on eBay. It's something our best sellers have been wanting for a long time. We're not ready to do this yet � but it is something we're moving towards.
So these are some of the ways we're investing in our sellers, and we'll be announcing more throughout the coming months. By investing in the success of our sellers, we're investing in the eBay marketplace.
And on that note -- before I close -- I'm pleased to offer our sellers a little summer relief to your selling costs. Starting June 19th and continuing through August 5th, we will LOWER the first tranche of Final Value Fees from 5.25% to 4.5%. This applies to auction, auction BIN, or pure fixed price format listings. Consider it a little eBay Live! gift to our fantastic community.
So stay tuned for more information on these and other announcements. And thank you for your partnership � no matter how sophisticated our features get, what really matters is you, the people!
Sincerely,
Bill Cobb
President, eBay North America
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