eBay changes – are you ready for Christmas?

eBay are making a number of changes this Autumn which were announced in the latest seller release. Many of the changes have already been implemented, but have you amended your listings to take full advantage?

Here’s a round of the main changes you should be aware of in the run up to Christmas:

Click & Collect

Go Live Date: 8th September

Eligible listings will be opted in to offer Click & Collect. Sellers will be informed if a listing has been opted in. You’ll get an option at this stage to opt out. Buyers will start seeing the option to collect from an Argos store. eBay are adding more stores every week, and it will be 650 before Christmas – that means 96% of UK population will be within 10 miles of one.

To qualify for Click and Collect: Offer FAST & FREE delivery; Use 1 of the 5 selected carriers; Royal Mail, Yodel, UPS, Parcelforce or DPD; Use 1 of the specified services from these carriers; Meet the weight and dimension limits (Max 20kg. No one side of the parcel can exceed 120cm and the second-longest side can’t exceed 76cm, including packaging).

Some buyers love click and collect, especially in the run up to Christmas. eBay are starting to roll out starting with Top Rated Sellers so if that’s you and as this one doesn’t cost you anything, if you can, make sure you’re listings qualify.

Self-hosted pictures

Go Live Date: Early September

Sellers who self-host pictures will now be able to use up to 12 pictures per listing in all categories, from the current limit of 1. This improves the experience for buyers and can increase sales conversion.

Don’t forget that many buyers use mobile and probably don’t want to click to your description to view images. Although there’s some work involved there’s no cost so add as many images as you have for each listing.

Global Shipping Programme

Go Live Date: From 16 September

eBay will be rolling out the Global Shipping Programme for sellers who do not currently show international postage costs on listings. Any of the seller’s existing country exclusions will remain in place and won’t be overridden. Eligible listings only. Sellers can choose to customise their Global Shipping settings or opt-out.

This is mainly a change that will affect private sellers. More details can be found at www.ebay.co.uk/gsp

After-sales updates

Go Live Date: From 17 September

After sales activities such as tracking a package, returning an item or cancelling a purchase will be managed through a new, guided experience on eBay. eBay say that this new experience gives buyers the consistent, convenient experience they expect, regardless of which seller they buy from—and makes it easier and more efficient for sellers to manage their sales.

Buyers will also be able to use a new option when contacting sellers about how to simply use an item, avoiding unintended defects.

Extended Christmas returns

Go Live Date: From 19 September

Sellers can choose to offer extended returns this Christmas by extending their returns window until 31 January 2015 for purchases made between 1 November and 31 December 2014. eBay Top Rated sellers will need to offer extended returns to continue to receive eBay Premium Service benefits.

New Shop front look and feel

Go Live Date: Coming Soon

For sellers who have not updated their Shop and do not use a customised design, eBay will update the look of their eBay Shop to give them a modern new layout to help turn browsers into buyers. It’ll give your shop a more visual personalised look and feel with extra free features.

Sellers will be notified before their shop is updated so you’ll know when to expect yours to change.