Someone who’s “handle” at eBay is “faerie’s finest” (log in req’d) expressed an attitude I find most worthy of repeating and also worth a link to their eBay store.

From the eBay forums, peppered with a bit of spicy sarcasm;

“I totally get that Ebay is only looking out for Ebay. That’s okay because I’m looking out for my business. As long as selling on Ebay is profitable I will continue to do so.

Now suppose Ebay does bottom out. That sucks because I’ve lost a venue. Except I’m really, really smart so while all of the whiners have been ranting on the boards and predicting doom I’ve been creating new venues for my products.

Though just to be safe I did warn everyone I know that the world is ending today. Nope, not because of global climate change, cyclones and earthquakes in Asia, war in the Middle East or starvation in Africa. No, the world is ending because Ebay changed its feedback.”

Good for you…

Post from: EveryJoe

An Attitude To Emulate

Though it appears we’ll be moving towards physical, digital products, it seems certain that John’s thought and experience still apply.

The most common reasons eBay will pull one of your eBook auctions.

1. Wrong, category. EBooks must be listed in the Everything else > Information products category. List them anywhere else and eBay will eventually catch up with you and remove the offending item(s).

2. Not stating you are the copyright holder. If you have created your own eBook you are the copyright holder and you must let eBay know this in your listing. Just a simple statement at the end of your auction, something like “Note to eBay staff, I am the copyright holder of this item” will do.

3. Not stating you are licensed to sell the eBook you are selling. ebay.com’s downloadable media policy states you must be the owner (copyright holder) or authorized to distribute the downloadable product by the intellectual property owner. (This means you have resale rights)

You should let eBay know this in your listing(s) so it’s best to state something along the lines of “Note to eBay staff, I am licensed to sell this product”. You can also use the following statement if the material used is from the public domain (freely available) “Note to eBay staff, the underlying material is in the public domain”.

4. Misleading title. Make sure your title accurately describes the item you are selling and does not mislead. EG, ‘Make a million dollars in a day’ is a misleading title.

5. Keyword and trademark violation. Try to avoid using keywords that are not related to the product you are selling. EG, If you were selling a weight loss eBook don’t include the names of famous diet plans. This can also apply to the trademark violation rule.

6. Selling a lot of 1p/1c eBooks. If you sell only 1 cent eBooks you will eventually get suspended, eBay don’t like it as it is seen as feedback solicitation. The same goes for buying nothing but 1 cent eBooks. You will end up suspended so don’t risk your account. If you want proof just look at the ‘no longer a registered user’ in the feedback profile of any 1 cent seller. Unless you want to join them don’t do it.

7. Selling copyrighted material. This goes without saying. If you have any doubts about an eBook don’t sell it. Always double check any eBooks you sell actually have resale rights and can be sold on eBay.

Post from: EveryJoe

From The Desk of a Powerseller