eBay have announced the end of mandatory free postage in many categories and instead introduced postage caps. There are a number of arguments for and against sellers offering their customers free postage, the most compelling of which is that “buyers like it”, but do they?

Partly the argument for buyers liking free postage is that it makes the purchase decision simple. The price you see is the price you pay, and there’s no need to do any simple addition to get the total price. However buyers aren’t stupid and they know that there is no such thing as “free”. “Free postage” should be more correctly named “Postage included”.

One of the overriding reasons for eBay to back track on their mandatory free post is that it simply doesn’t work for sellers. Too many have complained that being forced to offer free postage impacts on their margins to such an extent that they simply stopped listings certain product lines on the site.

Sellers who previously operated on a 99p no reserve auction format simply would take the risk that their item might sell for just 99p, but then cost them many times that in shipping fees. Free post has pretty much killed off the low start auction, which is without a doubt the best way to achieve the highest sale price. An auction starting at £8.99, because it’s a heavy item and will cost £8.00 to post, simply doesn’t appear as attractive as the same product priced at 99p plus £8.00 postage.

Others complained that mandatory free post was forced upon them too widely and that whilst in principle they agreed it could be desirable to buyers, in many cases it was to the buyer’s detriment. Take the example of a DVD seller:

Previously offering DVDs with say £2.00 postage for the first item and no extra for additional item purchased at the same time, with mandatory free post that £2.00 had to be added into the cost. An £8.99 DVD would now cost £10.99 which you may say is exactly that same cost as before. What happens if a buyer wants to buy two or three DVDs though? With free postage they’ll effectively be paying £2.00 delivery for each item, and there’s now no incentive to make multiple purchases from a single seller. At a stroke free postage wipes out every incentive for buyers to increase their average order value, and as any seller worth their salt knows average order value is the single greatest key to profitability.

“eBay’s original supposition for imposing mandatory free post was that it as well as being attractive to buyers it would also remove unreasonably high postage charges from the site. Replacing free postage with postage caps will achieve the same aim.”

Heavier items are even more troublesome; products which due to their weight incur a courier charge naturally cost more to ship than a DVD. If the shipping cost is built into the purchase price not only is there a disincentive for buyers to make multiple purchases but there’s no way for the seller to offer discounts for multiple purchases. A buyer wishing to purchase five items weight 5kg each will pay five courier fees whilst the seller can ship them for one fee in a single parcel. This might be attractive to sellers as they’re making great margins, but the reality is that the buyer is more likely simply to purchase elsewhere.

eBay’s original supposition for imposing mandatory free post was that it as well as being attractive to buyers it would also at a stroke remove unreasonably high postage charges from the site. Replacing free postage with postage caps will achieve the same aim, but will give sellers the freedom to use postage discounts as incentives to encourage multiple purchases again. The return of maximum shipping charges, discounted postage for second or subsequent items, and even optional free postage for sellers that wish to continue offering it give sellers the ability to differentiate themselves from the competition.

One other side effect of free postage has been to lower the quality of service on eBay. When sellers are forced to offer free postage, as the first shipping option displayed to buyers, they naturally choose the cheapest service. This will be the slowest worst postage option that they offer and yet it’s the one recommended by default to buyers.

Sellers should be offering a premium postage option to their customers. Encourage buyers to choose next day, tracked, signed for services – the quicker the product gets to the customer and the more secure the delivery method the better feedback is likely to be, and importantly sellers Detailed Seller Ratings should improve. If buyers downgrade to a cheaper (or free) postage option they’ll know they’ve selected a slower service and it automatically sets their expectations that it’ll be a couple of days before their item arrives.

The end of mandatory free postage once again gives sellers the ability to offer reasonable shipping costs, discounts for multiple purchases and the ability to guide buyers towards premium delivery options. That’s good news for buyers, for sellers and for eBay themselves.

Server Maintenance, Advance Notice

On the following date, Monday 18th January 2010, Frooition will be implementing upgrades to its server infrastructure. During the times of 6am to 9am (GMT) the Frooition software will not be accessible.

Please note that this maintenance will only affect the use of the Frooition software, eBay Shops and Listings should remain unaffected during this period.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Kind Regards,
Frooition

We’ve been snowed under with new clients, eBay store designs, eBay listing template installations, and generally throwing out loads of new designs onto the eBay marketplace!

Our Latest client to be installed is JLK Comics.

Ben, one of our designers recently completed this design, and we all love the high impact, action packed imagery! Joseph, the owner of this eBay Shop, loves the design and we’re really happy with how it turned out too!

CLIENT OVERVIEW

Package Purchases: eBay Store & Listing Template Design (UK – eBay Shop Design | US – eBay Store Design)
Designer: Ben Abolins

Frooition’s Base platform for eBay Design (FrooitionBase) has been featured in an article on techradar.com!

FrooitionBase eBay Store and Listing Design Tool
The most successful sellers on eBay know the value of a eye-catching, user-friendly listing and shop frontage. Frooition’s new entry-level eBay store and listing design solution is just the ticket if you’re on a tight budget. Like their professional eBay design service, it deals with all aspects of your brand on eBay and simplifies the process of getting listings looking professional and working effectively without flailing around with HTML. You can sign up for a free 30 day trial and it’s £15 per month thereafter.

Mark Buckingham covers a host of essential eBay tools (eBay pulse, terapeak, just ship it….) with a little overview on each. The article is a great read, and comes highly recommended for anyone looking to improve their eBay business in both automation & turnover.

You can read the full article here: http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/web/10-killer-apps-for-ebay-buyers-and-sellers-528505?

"Change is coming and Frooition is ready"

eBay design experts Frooiton.com have some great news for their customers relating to eBay’s new store experience which is set to roll out from Jan 2009.

Headline Summary of what it means:

“The easiest way to describe the changes is to say that eBay is rolling out a new version of its store software. Just like any piece of software goes from V1 to V2 as it develops. In turn Frooition.com have adapted their own software so that customers have the choice of upgrading to eBay’s new store or staying as they are.” Says Phillip Molloy, President, Frooition inc.

“Much of our time here at Frooition.com is spent keeping on top of the many changes and modifications which eBay make to their software. Frootion.com has a long history of keeping customers stores looking amazing as well as running smoothly. This keeps Frooition.com customers focused on selling and shields them from software issue which they don’t need to know about!” said Adrian Bausor, Head of Development, Frooition inc.

eBay’s changes mean eBay stores will no longer look and function as they do now. eBay have announced the exciting details of their new store experience on their own web site.

Advanced existing 3rd party designs will not display correctly in eBay’s current store version.

eBay’s changes will NOT affect listing template design or functionality. It will remain unchanged and look the same as it does now.

Frooition.com have a storefront solution and have worked closely with both eBay and ChannelAdvisor to ensure customers are well informed and supported throughout the change process.

More detail:

eBayers will soon be hearing from eBay about the "new store experience" which is set to roll out across all stores during Q1 2009. The new store experience represents a massive change to the current eBay store layout and functionality.

The changes affect ALL design companies who provide advanced eBay store design.

Frooition have been working around the clock for the last few months developing software to enable them to continue delivering the best eBay design solution available today.

Phillip Molloy, President said, “We have a solution that is ready to go, easy to preview and easy to install. You will be able to install and uninstall at any time”

The new store experience is set to become a permanent feature although there is no fixed deadline as yet.

In order to ensure that customers have as much information, help and support available Frooition are working closely with eBay and ChannelAdvisor to ensure that conversion to their new store solution causes as little disruption to customers businesses as is possible.

Frooition.com is the world leading eBay design company with a combined client feedback of over 10 million and over 500,000 listings daily.

To find out more and please visit www.frooition.com/new_store_experience for more information or Contact Phillip Molloy, President, Frooition inc 08703 50 51 52

Frooition release a Christmas special graphics pack for eBay sellers. Perfect to get buyers in the festive shopping mood!

Our 2008 graphics pack is suitable for every Frooition client. Whether your design is light, dark, minimalist or funky, our highly talented designers will choose the best suited graphics and install it all for you within 48 hours of payment. We’ll also revert the graphics back to normal for you whenever you’re ready.

For live examples, and to read more details simply visit: http://www.frooition.com/pages/christmas.html!

eBay has been a victim of phishing emails since the conception of the idea I bet! With hundreds of new users flooding to eBay all the time, phishing emails have become a common occurrence. In my personal inbox I get at least 3 or 4 eBay phishing emails a day, which are getting ever more convincing.

eBay have worked hard to beat the ‘phishers’ by trying to educate its members. They even have a tutorial on how to spot a spoof emails and the eBay toolbar is a must for eBay users.

Symantec have been following the scam of Trojan.Bayrob – Buying a Fake Jeep

In order to attract potential victims the scammers first list cars for sale on various auction sites. These auctions are not scams per se, but they are “legit” auctions that are used solely to attract potential victims—whoever asks a question or bids on these auctions becomes a potential victim. Once these auctions have expired the scammers get to work emailing each potential victim. These emails explain that the winner of the original auction was unable to pay, so the car has been re-listed on the auction.

Once the email is opened the trojan is silently dropped and executed on the victims computer. The scammers do not pursue the victim until the trojan has confirmed a proper installation on the machine and is working properly. Once the location of the victim is confirmed, and they are too far away from the vehicle to visit, a second email is sent.

Not only does the Trojan show a fake auction, it is also able to show fake feedback for the alleged seller too. When viewed from the infected machine the feedback page for the auction user

The infected machine then mirrors the entire auction process from start to finish to complete the fake sale.

With ever growing sophisticated criminals behind such scams, users and business owners need to be extra vigilant. Always use the eBay portal to conduct your eBay trading.

Some eBay sellers do use legitimate third party checkouts for their eBay business. This should be mentioned on the listing or at eBay checkout if they want the buyer to have confidence. You can also ask eBay or do your own research before you pay. You should only checkout if the seller is using an approved third party eBay tool as listed in the Solutions Directory. You will usually see a small logo at the bottom of the listing if a seller is using such a tool.

This week (12th to the 16th November) is Get Safe Online Week 2007 and Get Safe Online is sponsored by the government to offer independent, expert advice on how you can stay safe and secure when using the internet.

With online fraud and identity theft are on the rise, it is imperative that internet shoppers protect themselves from their PC upwards.

1. Use a firewall.

A firewall is a first line defence against hackers and virus attacks. It acts as a barrier between the public network and yourselves. Windows does have its own firewall (I would only recommend Windows XP and Vista, as the older versions of windows are now obsolete in security terms) Firewalls are not sufficient on their own to guarantee security, and should be regarded as only a part of your security considerations.

2. Install Anti Virus Software.

McAfee is a popular choice in the UK as it comes installed on most new computers. The subscriptions to commercial antivirus software can cost between £30 and £60 annually, depending on the level of service you require.

Anti virus software kept up to date will scan your computer and emails on a regular basis protecting and eliminating, spy ware, spam, viruses and identity theft.

Trend Micro offer a free ‘House call’ scan of your PC for viruses and the like as well as their paid for service.

3. Stop Spyware

Spyware are those annoying pop ups and sneaky downloads to your computer to track your activity. Spyware is used from tracking your activity from an advertising capacity (adware) to logging your key strokes to find out security information. Spyware is an internet pandemic, and you should scan for Spyware every time you switch on your computer, or if your computer seems a little slow. As Spyware can continuously transmit data on your activities, it can take up your processor usage and bandwidth.

Spyware doctor is a popular tool from PC Tools and costs £29.95. They do have an anti virus version also for around £39.95. Please note these are rough prices and are the price for 1 year only.

4. Stop Spam and Phishing Emails

Email delivery is a popular source of virus infection. Spam is usually from someone you do not know or with a title that is trying to sell you something. Phishing emails try to convince readers that they are a genuine site to gather your security details. There are many types of phishing emails, but as a rule, don’t open any suspicious mail. Making sure you have an email scanner with your mail box or anti-virus software is a must.

Remember, no one asks for a password or personal details in an email if they are from a reputable company as it is not secure.

5. Get the latest Window and software updates.

You need to keep your operating system up to date and healthy. Hackers like to continually find loop holes and bugs in popular software to exploit. Regular updates (which can be automated) are essential to protecting yourself from known problems. Software providers face a continuous battle against hackers and criminals so its best to subscribe to their updates and check their websites for any security issues.

6. Make regular backups

Protect from a data disaster by backing up your files and programs on a regular basis. If you have hardware failure or your hard drive is attacked by a virus you will have to re-install everything. Depending on the severity of the virus your data could be hard to retrieve.

7. Secure your wireless network

Wi-Fi networks need to be secured by to stop users free loading on your internet connection and also hackers can ‘listen in’ to any transmitted data. Most Wi-fi networks come with encryption and a special code to limit the user. Ask your network provider if your Wi-Fi connection is secure and just for you.

8. Browse the internet safely.

Use either Firefox or Internet Explorer to browse the internet if you are using a PC. Mac users have Opera as their regular browser. Be sensible on the internet. If you are searching and browsing for ‘cracked’ and free software or music downloads you will be subject to viruses and other nasties. The sites are usually not reputable, kept up to date or have an ounce of care about the security of its users.
You need to make sure any internet shopping you do the websites checkout is secured and they have an appropriate privacy policy (they won’t sell on your details) You can check by looking for the padlock icon at the bottom of your browser and https:// as the address prefix as soon as you come to go through the checkout process. If you have any doubts in the security of a checkout then do not proceed. If the checkout asks for any information that is not essential to process your order, be wary. There are plenty of secure shopping sites and marketplaces out their like eBay.

This article was written with the help of ‘Get Safe Online’ in support of the ‘Get Safe Online Awareness Week’ if you need more detailed information you can visit their website.

Unfortunately, there is not an easy way to do this but it can be done.

Here is an outline of the steps that you will need to take to get the images from your account:

1. Go to the Tools > Images view.
2. Expand the view to 500 items.
3. click on the “Select” column header to select all 500 images.
4. click on the “View URLs” button
5. Here, you will see two boxes, one that says image URLs and one that says HTML. You will want to copy everything out of the HTML box.
6. Paste the HTML box contents into notepad (TextPad is another text editor that is usually not a default. You may need to download this from the internet, it is free.) 7. Simply repeat and keep adding the rest of the images Textpad, you can only pull 500 at a time.
8. Save the file in HTML format ( with .html as the file extension) Also, choose another name for the file when you save.
9. Open the file with Internet Explorer.
10. After the images load up, in internet explorer, you can go to Page > Save.
11. choose another name for the save.
12. When this is completed, all the images will then be saved to your computer into a folder.

You have 500mb of image hosting with your channeladvisor account and you can upload these on bulk using an FTP client. One is shall discuss today is ‘Smart FTP‘

Your can download Smart FTP Here

When you first log into this application you need to enter the channeladvisor FTP address:

Then your user name with your login prefix (found in settings>image hosting) and your normal account password, the press ‘enter’:

Under the new tab that will pop up you will have a blank bar. You will need to place a / in this bar ( the yellow folder will appear once you press enter):

You can now drag an image into the right hand pane and you will see your image pop in as a file. You can only upload files and not folders.

Make sure you images are re-sized to 400-600px wide and the size you want them. Now go to tool>images in channel management and click ‘bulk upload files using ftp’ and this will start your FTP scan. Your scan might be set to ever hour by default anyway.