***Coming in July: Changes to Accepted Payments, Books & Music listing fees and new Local Classifieds listing format***

A number of changes will come into effect on eBay.com.au in July this year:

Each of these changes is explained in detail below.

Accepted Payment options
From 14 July, the Accepted Payments policy will be revised giving sellers greater choice in the payment methods they are able to offer buyers. The revised policy requires sellers offer at least one of the following three accepted safer payment methods:

PayPal
Paymate
Merchant credit card

Increasing the number of accepted safer payment methods will help eBay develop an enhanced checkout experience in line with industry best practice. The introduction of the two new accepted safer payment methods have been discussed with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), who have welcomed the initiative.

There will be no change to other payment methods currently permitted on eBay.com.au.

New Basic Store fees for Books and Music listings
Since the introduction of new store fees in September 2009, we’ve been monitoring closely the impact of these changes on sellers. In doing so, it has become apparent that some book and music sellers have been struggling to maintain profitability.

From 8 July, eBay.com.au will be introducing new Basic Stores fees for books and music listings (excluding memorabilia), making it cheaper to list items. Insertion fees will be a flat 5c with a final value fee of 9.9%. This will significantly lower the upfront cost for books and music sellers with a Basic Store and ensure that both the seller and eBay share in the success of a sale.

New Local Classified listing format
From 8 July eBay is also trialling a new, simple to use, local classified listing format for pick-up only items - with ZERO insertion fees.

The new format will be ideal for someone who wants to sell items from around the house quickly and easily, without the hassle of figuring out postage or courier charges. Items are listed using the classified listing format and must also include Best Offer. The sale takes place on eBay with buyers picking the item up in person.

The new local classified will feature zero insertion fees, free gallery and pictures with a flat final value fee of 7.9% capped at a maximum of $49.95. The new format will not be available for Store subscribers, PowerSellers, Business Registered sellers or non Australian account holders.

Other changes
As announced on 28 April, changes to Item Condition values come into effect this week, replacing the basic New and Used options. The new values are intended to help sellers better manage buyers’ expectations and increase satisfaction by clearly defining the condition of an item in a uniform way.

You should start to update listings as soon as possible to ensure you are well prepared by the time item condition specification becomes mandatory in late July. To make this easier, we're also introducing new functionality and tools for editing, listing, and relisting multiple items at once.

Starting in June, we'll begin testing improved functionality in eBay's bulk revise, relist, and sell similar flows that will allow you to work on up to 200 listings at a time. You'll be able to make revisions to multiple listing fields such as item condition, price and quantity — then publish all the listings at once.

For detailed information and explanations of all the changes, visit Inside Selling where you’ll find tools, tips and lots more.

Regards,
The eBay team