Topic: eBay Workshop: Make eBay's New Digital Download Policy Work For You
Host: eBay Staff Date: Friday 04/11 Time: 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Pacific time Location: Workshop Board
Description: The recent change in the Digital Download policy has many sellers of items delivered by download confused and concerned about the viability of their businesses on eBay. Have no fear! Sellers of "delivery by download" merchandise now have an excellent opportunity to adjust their selling and marketing to increase their visibility and their potential sales. Brian Burke and Jim Griffith with be available during this workshop to provide tips and advice to all sellers of downloadable media on a range of related topics including:
Exploring and highlighting the policy details
Taking full advantage of the Classified Ad format
Utilizing effective marketing and promotion of your content items
Offering content on physical media to boost sales
How to make sure your all you digital content listings are in full compliance with eBay policy
Brian and Griff will also answer any question or concern you might have about the recent policy change.
We love workshops to be interactive, so please feel free to ask your questions that directly relate to this topic.
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I want to sell wholesale lists information on CD-R .As now ebay has banned the digital delivery so will it still be a violation if we put the wholesale list information on CD-R .
What is best way to sell the wholesale list on cd-r ,what should we write in the auction ,any specific wording so that ebay doesnt remove listing thinking that its a digital item.
Buyers are confused about the Classified format. Several members have reported that buyers think the listing is closed and the item is no longer available because there is no BUY or BID button. Buyer awareness and the format of the Classified needs improvement. Will eBay address this problem?
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I design and sell auction templates and Ebay store design. I dont do instant download but I do offer email delievery. WHY am I being lumped into a category (information products) that has at best unsavory offerings. My items take me many hours to complete. And they are not information at all.
I've posted my ebook through your new system and haven't receive one sale. I was selling regularly when we were allowed to send our material digitally. Why the change?
Classifieds sort to the bottom of Best Match, thus visibility is very low. Sellers are currently reporting that most contacts are coming from other sellers wondering how the ads are working out.
A Classified Ad seems like a great tool for promoting a high-ticket item or a custom service where multiple leads are important or where up-selling can occur. However, it seems pretty weak and ineffective for lower-priced impulse-buy items. It doesn't look like a good choice for digital delivery items like templates or ebooks or recipes.
Isn't it a disservice to tell people to move those DD goods over there?
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Oh I forgot to add most people who want a new look are shopping for something they will get in a few hours not a week. And why are we forced to add to the polution of the planet with more plastic.
Question: What about custom services, such as website design services or resume writing services, which may include a digital deliverable, such as the custom web site pages or the draft or final resume?
Answer: Custom services, where the buyer and seller work collaboratively to develop a custom designed website, will be treated as a service, like they are today. A single template page, even if customizable (e.g. pick your color, “place your name here”) are not considered custom services and will be required to be listed using the Classified Ads format.
So does that mean this item#330227521119 is in violation of the new policy?
The item offers customization for a single template HOWEVER it is shipped on a cd. Can you offer a customization of a single auction template and then ship it on a cd?
According to the policy on the chatter you cannot. Please clarify.
Also how do you report digital delivery items properly? There is no option except "other banned options". Will there be a digital delivery option noted when reporting a listing in violation?
I AM NOW POSTING THE PEOPLE THE WHOLESALE LIST THROUGH CD-R WHICH IS NOT CONSIDERED INTANGIBLE.
MOREOVER I AM SAYING IN MY AUCTIONS THE FOLLOWING THING
"Notice for ebay:This auction is not for a digital item .This item is not for a download link or an ebook.This item is posted on a proper CD-R disc through the ROYAL MAIL and is in compliance with the ebays recordable media policy .Because the material is in public domain.No trademarks or copyrights have been infringed.This item is 100% freeware available in public domain.It should be noted that its not a violation of the ebays compilation and information media or downloadable media policy.We are fully aware that digital items can only be listed in classified ad format.THIS IS NOT A DIGITAL ITEM .ITS A TANGIBLE/PHYSCIAL Item"
EBAY HAS STILL REMOVED MY AUCTIONS SAYING THAT DIGITAL ITEMS SHOULD BE LISTED IN CLASSIFIED AD FORMAT.
I understand that the same links policy that is applied to auctions is applied to Classifieds. The major difference being the transaction portal. On auctions, the portal is the "Bid" or "Buy" button to complete the transaction, whereas the classified portal is the "contact" button which provides a name or lead, and from there the transaction moves off of eBay where the selling and buying can begin.
Since nothing is actually "sold" on a Classified Ad, must the ad actually offer something for sale, as must auctions? - can I simply promote my About ME page or invite people to the eBay forum or eBay group? - can someone promote a political candidate or religious organization or service group as long as no links are offered?
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I design and sell primitive craft patterns...I've heard through one of my groups per an ebay "official" that it is OK to offer patterns by email and list them in Primitives as long as the product is also mailed via USPS to the customer....is this true or not?
I was told the other day on eBay live help that there is something wrong with the system and the engineers were working on it. I have changed all of my items to CD downloads but when you search in the general search box it comes up as DIGITAL DELIVERY. Makes no sense and I can't change that.
Our concern at this point is the non-compliance of other sellers who are still listing item after item as digital or email PDF Files. It's clearly in the titles, clearly in the shipping as 'digital item' and clearly in the listing description.
Reporting these items appears to be useless as no one single item we've reported has been removed.
As a company you decided to prohibit the sale of digital/email items and yet now you don't have a way to police the Sellers and make it a fair selling ground for all.
First, The problem i keep having is that customers do not want to buy off of ebay and are scared to do so because it is stated on ebay not to buy off ebay. It has been drilled into ebayers not to buy off ebay but yet u are telling us to do this in class ads. People do not understand this.
What is going to be done about this???
Second, Are we allowed to post in our class ad our payment email address so that the customers know for example to send payment to paypal to that address?
Third, There are tons of class ads up for sale under wrong categories and people still listing downloaded items ( they state they ship by email ) What is being done abou this? It is not OUR job to find these people and make sure they are going by YOUR rules. It seems as if u guys are doing nothing about it. When I contact live help, they tell me to do their job for them. You make lOADS of money from us sellers and if u are going to place a rule so harsh and strong then u need to do the work by making sure that ALL ebayers go by them. It is UNFAIR to the people going by the rules.
By the way doing this to template sellers is just WRONG! You guys even run a contest on store design and now u are telling people they have to WAIT for a cd to get a design. DUH.... its a listing template. People want them ASAP so that they can list their items NOW not in a few days. Just as explained in number one, they have been taught not to buy off ebay so they do not trust class ads.
Great suggestion about us improving buyer awareness of Classified Ads and how they work, until then sellers can help educate their buyers and set appropriate expectations via the listing and when communicating with buyers.
Mr Burke: Important to note. The reason stated for the policy change was feedback manipulation. I have noticed that the people who would sell penny books for whom this policy was supposed to target when it was implemented, have already found a way around it to gain feedback easily. They are purchasing low cost items and doing charge backs at paypal. They give postiive feedback right away and in return receive positive feedback quickly. A few days later they do charge backs. This nulls the reason behind the elimination of digital delivery items on ebay. This is not a proper solution as the solution does not provide ebay with the results they claim they were seeking. How will eBay stop this new form of feedback manipulation?
I am concerned about eBay's ability to enforce the new DDG policy. It appears that eBay has selected to do very little against sellers that continue to list their digital items. This is giving an unfair advantage as they do not have the production costs as I do for making a CD with my eBook on it. They are able to charge a lower price which attracts more buyers.
How is this going to effect Machine Embroidery Deigns. It is a digital product and is very difficult to produce. The software to produce machine embroidery averages $2,000 and up. Most customers don't want to wait for a cd to arrive, they want to start sewing the design.
I received a number of emails asking me what the policy is and when it went into effect. So, to clarify, effective March 24th, in the US, the sale of items that offer digital transfer (e.g. download, email, etc.) must be listed using the Classified Ads format. There are two exceptions at this time, tickets and domain names.
Countries outside of the US banned the sale of digitally delivered items altogether. Germany has always banned the sale of these items and the other international countries are removing violating listings or are in the process of banning them.
Digital items, like CDs or DVDs, are not impacted by this policy change, unless the seller offers the option of digital download within the listing, in which case it would be in violation of the policy.
BRIAN , WHY IS EBAY STILL REMOVING MY AUCTIONS..HOWEVR I AM SELLING WHOLESALE LIST ON CD-R AND I AM SAYING SO IN MY LISTING AS WELL.. IS THERE SOME SPECIFIC PROCEDURE I HAVE TO FOLLOW OR WHAT
?
WHAT TO WRITE IN AUCTION AND HOW TO MAKE EBAY BELIEVE THAT I AM SENDING ON CD-R I AM CONFUSED ,I AM POSTING FROM UK USING ROYAL MAIL BUT STILL MY LISTINGS ARE BEING REMOVED
I was just getting set up to sell DD when the new policy took effect. I just want to know the new rules so I can get started. My biggest question is can I route customers to a new website where they can download by way of a classified ad?
Would you consider allowing us to place out Classified Ads that allow downloads in a decent category and not in the slush pile of "Information?" Atleast then we'd have a fighting chance of someone finding us. As an example, allow the template designers to post in eBay User Tools, or those who make digital scrapbooking kits in the corresponding category?
How are we got have any credibility in "educating" our customers if we're stuck between ads for expanding various body parts or "Make A Million in Auctions In Two Days Without Spending A Cent."
What is going on here? All the emails and updates that I received that as of March 31,2008 you could no longer sell digital items - why are you stating March 24th?
There is a misconception on the part of some sellers that we instituted this policy change because of the actual content of the items most commonly deliverd by digital download. This is not true. The policy change was not implemented to "solve" or segregate goods on the basis of "savory" or "unsavory." The policy change was implemented as a solve for the delivery method only, which was, delivery by download ("download" as defined as any method of delivery of goods in a non-physical media). This covers email, link download, file transfer, etc.
rice21895
No, that would not be allowed. Again, the prohibition is on providing delivery by digital means (email, file transfer, download link, etc), either as the only or as an optional delivery method.
shipscript
In about 10 minutes or so, I will start providing some marketing and listing strategies and tips that may prove benefitial to sellers who have, in the past, relied on digital download as their primary means of delivering their content. Stand by.
REMINDER:
We will answer questions in the order they are received. Please be patient with us as we catch up.
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