Well let’s see, Eddie over at Auctionchex tweeted this out today and it reminded me. I had forgotten.

eBay Picture Hosting will go away beginning in August, which means that if you are hosting using eBay for your images, you have to change.

Here is a breakdown for the image hosting services that we compiled.

Comparison of Image Hosting Solutions for eBay Sellers

Some of the above services come along with auction management services- some don’t. With all the fiasco of the Auctiva switch over to a paid system, and the change in eBay picture hosting, well, there is a lot going on around here.

ProStores has sent a note around a couple of days ago advising ProStore owners that the checkout redirect that they can now have with eBay will not be there after 2010… and the nice news is that ProStores has “chosen” not to support the requirements of checkout redirect until then so it will go away much sooner. “As of June 15, 2009, they will only allow Third-Party Checkout through vendors who have updated their checkout pages to meet specific design and functionality requirements. Among the required changes, eBay has eliminated the ability to cross-sell and up-sell items from your own Web store in the checkout flow. ”

Therefore folks, until June 15 when checkout redirect will no longer be used , unless you’re on another system (other than ProStores) who will abide by the difficult to maintain API piece that eBay is now requiring. ProStores will sign off of checkout redirect on July 15.
This tells me either eBay’s requirements are too difficult for anyone to consider, even eBay’s own ProStores platform, or that eBay doesn’t consider it an important item, (which of course they don’t since they are going to put it to bed).

This frankly means that eBay merchants who use any platform for an off-eBay store, I mean a website, will need to realize that eBay if a fantastic traffic generator and a couple of things will need to be in place to help you cross-sell from eBay.

1. a userid on eBay that matches a domain name

2. an “About me” page with links to your website

The first being of the utmost importance because we don’t know how long eBay will allow off-site linking to assist eBay sellers in saving money on fees.

If you’re an eBay seller, you might know that eBay has settled upon restricting payment methods.

Take a look at http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/accepted-payments-policy.html for the current information.

Choice words here include “Sellers aren’t allowed to:

• Ask buyers to contact them for additional payment methods
• Offer a payment method to some buyers and not to others
• Discourage buyers from using any payment method the seller specified in the listing
• Ask buyers to pay using a method not mentioned in the listing.”

The bottom line is that eBay is now restricting payment methods *in most categories* to exclude checks and money orders. Feeling a pinch of fees coming on? Yes we agree.

It’s not just the topic of choice for recent Presidential candidates, it’s what’s happening on eBay too.

Over the past year eBay has made sweeping changes to its site.  Those changes have included listing policies, fees and even site design.  Actually, there are so many changes, let’s recap them…

Buy It Now format changed to 30-day duration
If your Detailed Seller Rating (DSR) falls below 4.3 you’re selling status is suspended
Yet more changes to the ‘Best Match’ algorithm to include what is being called ‘Recent Sales’.
Site implied restrictions on shipping for the Media category
Sellers no longer allowed to accept any type of paper payments – checks/money orders
eBay is closing eBay Express
eBay is incenting selelrs who offer free shipping with better search results and increased discounts on final value fees.
New View Item page
New About Me page layouts
New ‘I-frame’ template integration
Restrictions placed on multiple identical listings
Restrictions removed on multiple identical listings
Feedback ‘change’ instituted
On-site pay-per click style advertising that allows eBay sellers to advertise their listings and eBay Stores via a text ad on eBay search result pages.

And these are just in the past month or two!

Even for those working within the e-commerce/web-design community it’s been quite challenging to keep up.  Many users have abandoned the site altogether while others have capitalized on the new environment and are prospering.  Using qualified service providers can make the difference.  Keep yourself qualified!

From the standpoint of a certified eBay-stores designer, there have been many changes to the landscape as well.  From new View Item page standards to the upcoming Store changes, change is happening for certain.  Keeping yourself educated will be key and using services who are savvy and ahead of the curve will be paramount.  With eBay’s page views down over 30% from October of 2007 to October of 2008, sellers can’t afford to be sloppy.  Capturing the buyer’s interest now is more important than ever.

In early 2009 there are more changes (restrictions) coming, so stay tuned, alert and ahead of the curve.