Hey folks this is a guest post by a BRILLIANT business and eBay consultant named Jon Miller. I have known Jon for years now and he is a person I respect highly. Jon sent me an email about his findings on eBay’s announcements from January. I asked him if he would consider making a post of his thoughts, so here you go. Our first, but hopefully not the last, ColderICE.com post by Jon Miller, E-Commerce Business Consultant

eBay’s Hidden Fee Increases

In January, eBay announced some significant cuts to Insertion Fees for Fixed Price listings; there was a lot of hype surrounding the announcement, as fee cuts are big news on any marketplace, especially on eBay.  eBay announced that they would be dropping Insertion Fees on Fixed Price listings for eBay Store subscribers, down to as low as $0.03 per listing, depending on the Store subscription level.  eBay even offered a handy Fee Calculator to help eBay sellers determine which Store subscription level would be best for them.

The bonus included in eBay’s announcement was that they would eliminate the Store Format listing, and instead Store Listings would become Fixed Price listings, with all the great search exposure that comes along with Fixed Price listings.  This represents a big improvement for eBay Store sellers, since Store format listings were demoted to the end of search results – having that inventory get better exposure could be a big win for sellers.

But something that hasn’t gotten much press is the fact that a big fee INCREASE resides hidden between the lines of this announcement.  That fee increase comes in the form of higher Final Value Fees of Fixed Price listings when compared to the Store listing Final Value Fees.  For many eBay.com Store sellers, Final Value Fees have jumped as much as 32%; for eBay Motors Parts & Accessories Store sellers – where higher prices prevail anyways – the damage is even greater: Final Value Fees have jumped nearly 90% or more.

The bottom line is that merchants selling more expensive merchandise, who have adapted to the marketplace by utilizing Store Listings to the fullest, will now see their eBay fees skyrocket.  And although this change only affects sellers whose average sale price (ASP) is above $50, that still represents a significant number of eBay merchants.

It should be pointed out that lower Fixed Price Insertion Fees will partially offset these fee increases.  However, the average $50+ ASP merchant would have to be listing an enormous volume of listings in order for the insertion fee savings to fully offset the increases in Final Value fees.

Here is a quick look at a few price points and how the shift from Store listings to Fixed Price listings will impact their Final Value fees, for both eBay.com and eBay Motors:

One might ask, “What message does this unannounced fee increase send to merchants on eBay?”  Well, the obvious message is: either absorb the cost, or move that inventory elsewhere.

Here are a few recommendations for ColderICE.com readers who might be hit by these fee increases:

• Examine your eBay Store listings carefully, and determine how these Final Value fee increases will impact your business.
• Reposition your inventory.  Products which can absorb the fee increases can be kept on eBay as Fixed Price listings; the remainder of your inventory should be repositioned (e.g. bundled, sold in pairs/triplets, etc.) or moved off of eBay.
• Consider an alternative for those extra Final Value Fee dollars.  Shift that spending to an alternative form of marketing, drive the sale to your web site, and earn the lifetime value of that customer directly on your site.  For example, an eBay Motors Store seller with a $300 ASP will see an increase of $11.50 in fees per item sold.  Why not spend that $11.50 on pay per click advertising; those Google ads you’re running may appear at the bottom of eBay pages anyways (eBay is a Google Search Network partner).

The important point here for eBay Store sellers is to be aware of these hidden changes and how they will affect their business.  Adapt and thrive, or stagnate and pay higher Final Value fees – it’s up to you!

Editor’s note: You got comments on this, let Jon hear them. Please add your comments below to this discussion. We want to hear your position on this top.

I am really starting to look forward to Thursdays now, just for the opportunity to post these discussions and then follow it. I really am learning alot and the resources are fascinating. If you missed any of these informative discussions, be sure to check back to the prior weeks:

• Week #1 : Brands and Branding: What is it?
• Week #2 : Keyword Research

These weekly topical discussion are really a great resource and I am enjoying the information that is being shared. 

Each Thursday we will post a topic related to us as merchants and the the COMMUNITY…YOU GUYS will come in on the comments and post. You can post your comments on the subject, links to articles or posts to other blogs on the topic, you can post links to YouTube videos or Podcast episodes. I do not care what you post as long as it furthers the education of the community, it qualifies. But of course this will ONLY work if you participate. I want to see if the community would participate to make it great. Come on guys, lets each one, teach one!!!

Topic this week?

Marketing Channels: Which one is the BEST for WHAT and WHY? 

Is it eBay? Or maybe Amazon? Even Craigslist? How bout them Comparative Shopping Engines (CSE’s), or even Etsy, Bonanzle, etc. OH dayam this is time for the showdown! Let’s go for the gusto…LMAO

OK, I need your input now so lets start posting to the thread topical information on Brands and Branding.

Just in time for the love fest of Valentines day John Donahoe, chief executive of eBay has a new interview with the UK publication Times Online. This is a very candid look at the 49 year old Donahoe not seen before in print. Some notable quotes from the piece…

But numbers count, and after a slump in performance, eBay is moving forward again. The business’s fourth-quarter results, announced last month, were better than expected and at last eBay has extracted itself from Whitman’s controversial purchase of Skype, the internet phone firm.

And best of all, Paypal, its web-based payment service, is growing so fast it could soon overhaul everything else at the group. Suddenly, Donahoe’s revamp has gained real momentum.

Revenues at Paypal, which enable account holders to pay for goods without divulging their credit card details, are expected to outstrip the rest of eBay after 2012, as the business broadens its capabilities.

So is eBay now leaving the small seller behind? “Not at all,” he smiles. Small sellers can still use the auction format, or they can list on Gumtree (a UK based community classified site from eBay), the free-to-use classified site eBay bought in 2005. But times have changed. Buyers want goods shipped next day, packaged professionally and with the ability to return them. Donahoe’s priority now is the buyer experience.

The changes appear to be paying off. The company’s fourth-quarter revenues last year climbed 16% to $2.4 billion, with net income up fourfold on the previous Christmas at $1.4 billion. Full-year revenues hit $8.7 billion, up from $8.5 billion in 2008, despite the downturn.

There is SO much more to this entire interview please take some time and read it in its entirety and let me know what you think about it? I found it fascinating. Check it out HERE

It’s 2010 and things have changed, I remember back to 1997 when I sold my very first item on eBay long ago. It was a pair of tickets to see Elton John at Madison Square Garden in New York City. I scored some sweet lower level seats that cost me $300 bucks and then I could not get the time off to fly from Atlanta to New York so I had to sell them. I put them on eBay and started the auction at $99.00. Those tickets ended at $800 for the pair, and I was instantly HOOKED on eBay.

Of course it was years later in 2001 that we created the company that is now one of the more successful 3rd party sellers on sites like eBay, Amazon, Yahoo and the web. The ONE thing that I would attribute our multi platform success to is our constant tweaking of the brand. The ability to move and shift with the state of eCommerce has made my company successful in marketing on these different venues by simply keeping up with the Jones’ and then out pacing them.

When "everybody" is doing it, that is when we STOP doing it. When "everybody" sits, we stand. And I am personally pushing the envelope in design to really bring our look and feel to maximize the direction of the different platforms we sell on. And EACH platform has its own uniqueness, and what works on one, will not work on another. I feel like a mad scientist trying to concoct plans and scenarios to get a perfect blend and balance. So every year we look to update and redesign components of our stores and templates to keep positioning for success. So this is one of those times.

eBay is CHANGING and the entire world is changing whether you or I like it or not. And the eBay platform is NOT in the forefront of this change, their customer are. That is one of the things I think constantly gets dismissed every time eBay takes a dramatic step, the sellers scream and yell, but I NEVER hear the buyers complaining?!? Some point to declining sales on eBay to the changes on the platform, but I think a more realistic analysis would show that the declines are due to the platform not changing ENOUGH to keep pace with a very fickle consumer. Are these the correct changes? I don’t know, time will tell. What I do know is what changes will be right for my company.

eCommerce is changing rapidly and eBay MUST change just to stay competitive. You know why? Because eBay is trying to keep up with a buyer base that is changing and evolving and they are somewhat stuck with a small portion of their seller community that is fearful of any change. They are comfortable with ways of 15 years ago, still reminiscent of Beanie Babies and Jesus Toast auctions. Unfortunately time does move on and if you are not willing to move with it you get to sit on the sideline and watch. Some will close their shops, some will leave the platform, some will just give up. After you "give up the ghost", you can always create a "sideline spectator" blog site about it too if you like, I know several that choose to do that instead of actually selling on eBay…guess it pays more?!?

I found these pictures the other day on my PC and I had not seen them in years, this was my business in the early part of the last decade. I have never been so attached to a product line or ideal that I would not abandon it for success. I got in business to be successful in BUSINESS not be successful at selling a particular product to the detriment of my livelihood, WTH is that?!? There is an old saying that "pride goes before a fall", so I am not too proud to adjust my business plan instead of falling. We can not control the changes to the platform, but we can control how we react to the changes.

Sure I am like most sellers, I bitch and moan sometimes but then I have a funeral. I bury the past knowing it will NEVER return and move on to the next great thing. So here are just a few pictures of our past…

This one was early in our game, I was not too proud to use my kid as a model for our rolling coolers. This was back in 2002 when it was a novel idea and new to the market.

This was around 2004 when we were selling desktop and laptop PC’s. That was our business for years, selling electronics and PC’s. That was my dining room!!! We were eating in the living room back in a 2 bedroom condo long ago…wow.

Then I came across these pics, LOL! We got lucky and scored a van load of Tickle Me Elmos, just b4 Christmas in 2006, man those were FLYING off the shelf. We don’t even sell toys normally, but I was  happy to sell the hot Christmas toy that year and would do it again to have a successful season.

 

"Change is hard." "People hate change." Those are two of the most common quotes heard when you study change management. It occurred to me that if people hate change, they have a funny way of showing it. Every iPhone sold serves as counter-evidence. So does every text message sent, every aluminum can recycled, every new Facebook post. And I haven’t even mentioned the biggest changes: Getting married and having kids. (If people hate change, then having a kid is an awfully dumb decision.)

It puzzled me–why do some huge changes, like marriage, come joyously, while some trivial changes, like design or business plan changes, meet fierce resistance?

Some brilliant psychologists discovered that people have two separate “systems” in their brains—a rational system and an emotional system. The rational system is a thoughtful, logical planner. The emotional system is, well, emotional—and impulsive and instinctual.

When these two systems are in alignment, change can come quickly and easily (as when a dreamy-eyed couple gets married). When they’re not, change can be grueling (as anyone who has struggled to quit smoking can attest). In those situations where change is hard, is it possible to align the two systems? Is it possible to overcome our internal "schizophrenia" about change?

I am a stubborn spirit,  I simply do not have an "I QUIT" bone in my body. Neurologically I don’t have the option to just give up?!? This business is how we feed the kids, this is our business and we own it, to quit this and just get a job?!? HELL NO, that  is not a option. My ONLY option is to "meet and overcome all obstacles in my path" and that included the changes to eBay.

eBay would have to simply shut me down for me to run away from this venue. Honestly, I am not cheering the changes, I just know they are HERE to stay and that they come every year, like the seasons. After nearly 10 years in ecommerce, I not only expect them, I now have begun to embrace them. It is a challenge that I look to come at me year in and year out. But of course if I could not stand the heat, I guess then I would leave the kitchen…that day has not come. We have changed and tweaked the business model, the product lines and the pricing to stay on top of our game.

This should really be an interesting year and I am sure the next 2 change cycle announcements will not be as easy on us as this one from January. My guess is this 1st set of changes were the "easy" ones…hmmm. Gird up your self, cause there could be more arrows coming from San Jose. Will you stand or fall? Like the Elton John’s song says….I’m Still Standing (Yeah Yeah Yeah). Dayam, this video is soooo ’80’s LMAO

Elton John – I’m Still Standing

In John’s recent eBay Price Change Challenge Mythbusters post he remarked in the comments section:

I believe eBay knows that some of those 62 million (Note: Refers to the number of current eBay Store Inventory format listings) will NOT move to core, cause it was the low .03 cents that allowed many to keep them on the site. I think eBay is charging MORE to actually "de-clutter" the system. Raising the price will action make people either SELL the stuff or get it OFF the platform.

Currently I have a Basic eBay Store with about 4,500 items listed on the site. Many hundreds of my items are listed for as little as $5 or less—they’re niche long-tail items you’d be correct in assuming they don’t turn-over very fast.

Will I be de-cluttering?

John’s extracted quote above seems to apply directly to me, however the morning the announcements came down from eBay I ran my numbers through their magic calculator and the results were surprising.

By upgrading my $15.95/month Basic Store to a $49.95/month Premium store and qualifying for the nickel per item insertion fees on Fixed Price listings the calculator claimed I’d knock about $125-$150 per month off of my bill.  That’s without changing any of my listing practices.

As with any changes the differences to each of our individual bottom lines are going to vary seller to seller.  Extremely so in many cases.  The morning I first read of the coming changes I looked them over and was first relieved that they weren’t going to have any obvious negative impact on my business.  By the time I ran my numbers through their fee illustrator I went from relieved and non-committal to happy over the changes.

I absolutely understand that just because eBay says it’s a fee decrease and I say my fees are going down that this isn’t necessarily going to save you one red cent.  In fact it might be costing you money, I get it.  It’s the wide range of businesses and styles of business across eBay which actually makes these changes both so controversial and interesting to discuss.

But bottom line, in my world my bill just went down.  In your world the reverse may be true.  The key is understanding what just happened and what changes you can apply to continue being profitable, even if that means discontinuing use of eBay altogether.

Towards that end I want to lay out the circumstances of my own eBay business which again, are going to differ greatly from seller to seller.  I think these few factors add up to show why these changes work for me:

1) I’ve been listing 800-1,200 Fixed Price items per month under the current fee structure.  Those listings, formerly 15 (media) and 35 cents now cost just a nickel, far off-setting the other 3,500 or so items that will cost me just an extra 2 pennies per pop.

2a) Low ASP. 

2b) Auctions as usual, which pretty much always start over 99 cents.

With auctions I’ll be paying 10 cents less per listing with most of my Final Value Fees only climbing from the existing 8.75% to the new flat 9% remaining the same because of my store subscription (thanks Karen!).

3) Overall quantity.  Having maintained an eBay Store in the past I’ve stocked it over time.  If I only listed auctions, the store upgrade would be an expense but necessary in some form to avoid 50c Fixed Price fees.  Already having a store I get to upgrade it and actually save by laying out more.

4) Top Rated Seller discounts.  I hate to put this one here because nothing’s guaranteed, but I’ve yet to see a negative impact.  I understand that this often varies category to category and I seem to be in a good place to benefit from it.

So back to John’s original quote, will I be helping eBay to de-clutter?  The obvious answer is no, since I can do what I’m doing and save doing it, however that indicates time standing still.  I add listings to the site on a daily basis, they sell much slower, so my current number of items in stock is going to continue to grow over time. 

How many nickels can I spend to list a $3 item that might take forever to sell?  The answer looks like 60 to break even, but it’s really not.  That $3 item listing is an ad, a portal to my other 4,500 listings, so the actual answer is I can afford to pay that nickel until the end of time as long as everything else is moving.

eBay aside, I’ve been working on my own off-eBay shop for some time, and so my plan coming into these changes had been to begin selectively retiring listings from eBay to farm them off to my new store.  I consider my vintage goods long-tail items, well, my off-eBay store is going to be the very tip of the tail! 

I’ll be pressing forward with this plan, but here’s the best part for me—I don’t have to if I don’t want to … and I can if I want.  eBay isn’t dictating this move to me, in other words, I’m facing no pressure from their changes.  Believe me, I can recall one eBay fee hike which clamped around my wallet so hard I was forced to immediately cut what were at the time 7,500 store items down to 600—that was several years ago and I’ve been working to up my inventory number ever since!

In the end my own hope for this round of changes is not to save that $125-$150 per month, but to keep my bill right around where it’s always been and use that extra money to list more and sell more.  If moving my store items to core works towards that goal then I’d happily pay eBay even more than my current bill in order to increase what I take home in the end.

So John, yes, I am going to de-clutter, but at the same time I’m going to re-clutter my eBay listings.

Did you know I was CEO of a green business? Did you know that you are TOO? If you are conducting business in your home, recycling boxes, recycling packing material plus delivering and picking up packages in bulk, then you are helping to promote some green agendas that are good for us all.

Reducing your overhead by greening your operations is just the beginning. Being an eco-friendly seller also says the right things to consumers and helps you stand out from the competition. With just a few simple steps, you can do your part for the planet, and do your business a favor in the process.

The The eBay Green Team believes small actions can make a big difference in the world. And that’s what the eBay Green Team is all about: encouraging and empowering individuals to buy, sell and think green every day.

It was started by 40 employees, and today, more than 2,300 employees around the world are eBay Green Team members — promoting green business practices within eBay, volunteering in our communities, and supporting environmental legislation.

I had the distinct please to grab some time with Amy Skoczlas Cole, Director of eBay Green Team and it was eye opening. The personal dedication and clear direction she had was an education in self awareness. Awareness of some things we small business owner are doing and can do MORE to promote a greener business.

The focus and members of the eBay Green Team are a collaborative effort both inside the walls and even greater, outside the walls of eBay. With millions of eBay sellers around the world the eBay Green Team have the capacity to encourages us all to reduce our footprints. I think our planet could use some reflective consideration for sustaining all our lives…I know you do too?

 

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Are you building a business or do you just have a job as you grow old? Are you creating an enterprise or just going through the motions? Can you make it through the challenges, should you just QUIT or be exceptional?

Seth says average is for LOSERS…wow! Seth joined AuctionBytes to talk about his book, "The Dip: A little book that teaches you when to quit (and when to stick)." Seth gives some examples of eBay sellers who go beyond selling commodity products at commodity prices and get through the dip to become "exceptional."

—Ina Steiner (AuctionBytes writer)   

You really should listen or re-listen to this AuctionBytes interview from May 2007 today. You should absolutely listen, take notes and take action. One of the best interviews Ina ever did and this one alone changed my business!

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On Tuesday January 26th eBay made announcements to price changes on the platform. The headline reads “Our Lowest Insertion Fees EVER…” So we decided to put that claim to the Mythbuster test. We all love to watch Adam and Jamie on the TV show drop and blow up stuff to see if it works, so I figure lets put this statement to the test!

The STATEMENT:

“I reject your reality and substitute my own” …Adam Savage (MythBusters)

Since the announcement, I have had the pleasure of seeing and hearing all the comments both for and against the claim, so I will put it to the test using the following criteria:

1) I will ONLY deal with data sets that are pertinent to MY PRODUCT CATEGORY of Clothing. (I refuse to speak about what I do not know about, those who do lose all credibility in my opinion.)

2) I will compare LIKE data sets (apples to apples).

3) My results are not scientific, factual, tested, sponsored by eBay, or even all that good for that matter, so just ignore everything and continue on with your life.

But seriously folks…what is important for you to take away is not so much my results, but HOW I came to these conclusions. What I hope is that you will learn to think, do and come to your own conclusions and then make good decisions about how to navigate your business with these new pricing changes on eBay.

Auctions

OK, here we go, lets start with Auction Style Listing Fees….

Above are screen shots SIDE BY SIDE of the old fees on eBay vs. the new fees for Auction Style Listings.

1) Lets start with $.01 – $.99 cent starting auctions. Old fee was .15 cents, the New fee is FREE*, and the details are in the *

• You get only 100 of those free per month, I have not found a price after that 100?!? However my guess is that it would be .10 cents each based on the fee structure of the store fee chart (which we will look at later in the post)

2) Insertions fees for New chart shows a decrease in fees for ALL levels of starting auction price.

Determination: This is so overtly OBVIOUS that I have no other choice but to stamp this part of the myth as CONFIRMED!

Next chart, lets take a look at the Final Value Fees (FVF) for auction items, which are the fees you pay when an item is sold on eBay…

1) The Old fees had a graduated pay scale based on the ending price of the action. At the lower end items sold up to $25.00 were charged 8.75% for the fees.

2) On the New plan, fees are no longer graduated. There is a FLAT FEE of 9% which is .25% HIGHER than before for items under $25.00 however for higher priced items it is a flat 9% fee and it is capped at no more than $50.00 for any item ever.

• for example in the OLD table, an item that would sell for $100 would get 8.75% for the first $25.00 of the sale and then 3.5% for the other $75 of that $100 item. The FVF fees for that would be $2.19 + $2.63 = $4.82
• Under the New fees you would now pay $9.00 that is an increase. However as you scale the ending prices UP the FVF fee will increase until you get to around the $2000 mark. After the $2000 level the prices actually are CHEAPER than they were before.

Determination: While most items on eBay will see an increase in FVF some higher priced items ($2000 and beyond) will see a decrease in FVF fees. Logically I could stamp this one as busted, but some fees will decrease ($2000 and up) so I must stamp this one as PLAUSIBLE, yet unlikely for many sellers!

Fixed Price

Next lets look at Fixed Price Fees…

Fixed price is the FASTEST growing segment of eBay and is the focus of the leadership at eBay as the growing darling of the platform.

1) The Old fees for Fixed price was a flat fee of .35 cents.

2) On the New structure eBay has set up some tiered prices based on:

• whether or not the seller operates an eBay store.
• what store subscription level the seller has with eBay.

Personal observations: I believe eBay is wanting ALL fixed price sellers on the platform to open stores and then eBay can move all of the inventory currently as fixed price into the store. This will allow sellers with fixed price models a nice landing spot for all their listings and buyers can “shop around” better with a single seller and their wares. Good move for ANY fixed price volume seller in my opinion.

Also eBay says it will be offering “store items” to be listed in search, that is really a play on words here. There will no longer be “store items” as we once knew them anyway. eBay has completely done away with items that are in store and “not in search”.

NOW all items in stores are FIXED PRICE so this is NOT an apple-to-apple comparison if you take store items of old and compare them to store items (fixed price listings) of today! You need to keep that in mind and I will revisit this later in the store section of this post.

Determination: Store owners will see a SUBSTANTIAL decrease in fees for fixed price listing. However sellers without store subscriptions will see an SUBSTANTIAL increase in fees. I again must stamp this scenario as HIGHLY PLAUSIBLE!

Next up is the Final Value Fees of the Fixe Price listings on eBay. I want to remind you of the parameters of this article once again…

— I will ONLY deal with data sets that are pertinent to MY PRODUCT CATEGORY of Clothing. (I refuse to speak about what I do not know about, those who do lose all credibility in my opinion.)

1) The chart for the Old fees had a 12% FVF fee for items under $50 and there is NO CHANGE in the New model. These fees remain the same.

2) In the Old fees items over $50 were charged 12% on the first $50 and then 9% for anything over $50 up to $1000. On the new chart items price at Fixed Price up to $1000 are now flat at 9%.

• Let take our example from before with an item priced at $100. Under the Old fees you would be charged $6.00 + $4.50 = $10.50
• Under the new flat rate of 9% you will now be charged $9.00 for the FVF of that same item.
• If the Fixed Price item is $1000 or more you are only paying 2% and even a public school drop out like myself can assess that is cheaper than before DUH!

Determination: This one is so blatantly obvious I feel almost juvenile having to say this but this one is ABSOLUTLY Confirmed!

Store Inventory Format

NEXT we move to the last of this study, the store items…

1) The fees for stores subscriptions remain unchanged! The eBay store fees are the same as they ever where. That part was easy right?!?

HERE IS WHERE THE “eBay tabloid bloggers” and the so called “eBay seller commentary” will try to trick you!!! Look at the comparison of Store Inventory Format below…

Do you see that? I am not sure if these “tabloid bloggers” are ignorant, or if they really are trying to be deceptive?!? However the TRUTH OF THE MATTER is there is nothing to compare it too. That additional format that was once available to store sellers called Store Inventory Format (SIF) has been removed in the new eBay changes. It NO LONGER EXISTS!

There will only be 2 listing formats on eBay now, Fixed Price or Auctions….that’s it! If you have a store you get different pricing (as we have discussed above) on these 2 formats, but there is no longer a 3rd format. Do you get it!!!!

Store Inventory Format (SIF) does NOT have a special format any longer. Store will only have the Auction or the Fixed Price PERIOD.

What happens if you do NOT understand this key point, then everything else will confuse you. Just remember that eBay simply REMOVED Store Inventory Format (SIF) completely, it is off the table, no longer an option, adios amigo. If you do that then you can better make a determination on if the eBay fee changes are an increase for you or a decrease.

So over all, does the initial statement from Dinesh Lathi of “Our Lowest Insertion Fees Ever…” live up to the myth? YES it does, absolutely and you know why? Because the first 100 auctions that start at .99 cents are FREE and dammit, there is nothing cheaper than free…DUH, unless eBay pays me to list.

I want to hear from YOU, what do you think about these un-scientific findings? Please leave your comments, we love to start the discussion.

Last week, I sat down with Alexis van de Wyer for an interview. Alexis is the Director of Advertising for eBay, where he holds global responsibility for launching and developing AdCommerce.

AdCommerce is eBay’s text advertising solution. He started his career in the telecom and finance industries, where he was in charge of developing and launching e-commerce and mobile commerce solutions.

While I have been aware of the AdCommerce platform, some of the recent changes and the way eBay is testing and enhancing the systems are really making AdCommerce spends very lucrative for traffic.

Alexis joined eBay in 2005 where he lead first the Product and then the Marketplace teams in Belgium. He joined the Global advertising team in 2008. Alexis holds an MBA of INSEAD (France/Singapore), an Msc in Applied Economics and an Msc in Engineering of University of Louvain (Belgium).

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About eBay AdCommerce

You Are in Control

You decide what you are willing to pay for each click and you are in full control of your total advertising budget. You also decide on your targeting options (by keyword or by category) and on the design of your ads.

Review & Respond

Follow your own detailed ad performance reports to learn what attracts the right buyers and adjust accordingly to boost performance.

Only Pay for Results

Your text ads are displayed for free. You are only charged when someone clicks on your ad, so every cent of your budget goes towards attracting potential buyers.

If you have wondered about using AdCommerce for your eBay business then this is a MUST listen interview for you. I see this tool as a viable addition to many business models for extra exposure on the eBay platform.

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I am sitting at home minding my own bees wax and hanging out on Twitter. Suddenly a tweet pops up from a friend and says:

Then a few minutes later here comes another reTweet from my buddy Cliff, who by the way, has been a guest blogger her on ColderICE.com chimed in:

So what the hell? Are you serious? So I had to go over there and look!

 

WOW!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, Wow right? That is so freakin sweeeet!!! eBay’s web voice is put forth by a good English gentleman named Richard Brewer Hay better know as RBH to some "in the know". RBH is the editor of eBay Ink Blog and he is the Web 2.0 voice of eBay.

eBay Ink is the official source for information, opinion and perspective on eBay Inc. It’s also one employee’s exploration and chronicles of the conversations happening inside eBay and outside of it too.

In his review he writes:  "Never one to pull any punches, John provides experienced insight into the world of eCommerce and all things Web 2.0. His unique and passionate delivery makes the show incredibly entertaining as well as informative."    

-RBH eBay Ink Blogger

Last year at the Ecommerce Summit I had the please of meeting and even sitting down and speaking with Richard. He was simply cool, personable and a complete and total nut (kinda like me) LMAO!

Check out this interview he did with me

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