eBay Strikes Down The Digital Download Auction…
In a move that will make selling digital downloads more profitable for ebay, they are forcing all downloadable products to be listed as Classified Ads only…
Hello…This is Brian Burke, Director Global Feedback Policy. Digital goods are often reproduced at little to no cost to the seller. On eBay, this creates the potential for Feedback Manipulation (both real and perceived). To preserve the integrity of the Feedback system, effective March 31 all goods that can be digitally downloaded or transferred electronically must be listed using the Classified Ads format.
Using the Classified Ads format, sellers receive a 30-day ad at a fixed price. This solution enables sellers to continue to market their digital goods on eBay; however, because Classified Ad listings are a lead generation tool and do not result in transactions that go through eBay, Feedback cannot be exchanged between buyer and seller.
Sellers who wish to continue to offer digital goods can do so by selecting the Everything Else>Information Products category in the Sell Your Item form and choosing the Classified Ads format (not auction-style or fixed price). For more information about the Classified Ads format, please read Advertising with Classified Ads.
Sincerely,
Brian Burke
Director, Global Feedback Policy
So this is a ploy to avoid people getting too high a feedback by selling digital products. Heck I wasn’t worried about getting feedback, but making sales and generating leads. So why the heck did I open up an eBay store, then?
I am kind of dismayed at this, but some of the eBay marketers are really upset, because ebooks were their livelihood. I read a few posts where people were practically in tears over losing this income stream. I also think it will cut into eBay’s own income streams since the products will definitely not be advertised in the quantities they had been. I will try using one classified ad and see what kind of results I get, and if it is worthwhile, I may keep going, but now it appears that I will have to create DVD’s and CD’s of my products and have the products dropshipped if I want to stay on eBay.
Tell me what you think of this!
Have an amazing day!
Micheal Savoie
PS - I think this is a good time to set up Rapid Action Profits for your digital products and create a classified ad driving traffic to your RAP sales page.
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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March 26th, 2008 00:50
This is the eBay Slap! In one decision, eBay sellers of digital goods were slapped back into the stone age!
Doncha just love it?
Micheal
March 26th, 2008 01:13
Nice writing style. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Chris Moran
March 26th, 2008 01:23
Ebay is going crazy changing everything around, the real problem here is not feedback, as they could easy code that into the ebay system.
The biggest thing is paypal has gained much of the digital market, and with google payment now in full swing. They most likely want to drop digital goods, because they don’t make much on fee’s. This could also mean they will start letting google’s payment service, to be used on auctions and dropping digital goods, that will help insure paypal keeps being used for digital goods then.
March 26th, 2008 03:15
I really don’t like the way they handled this. One quick announcement and they immediately killed digital downloads. No warning. Nothing allowed to be listed now and anything currently listed down by the 31st. I said now because a couple of people had tried to list for a few last minute sales and couldn’t.
I don’t know what really is going on but what Brian Burke says doesn’t smell right. There are plenty of physical products on ebay that sell just as cheap as many of the digital downloads. I don’t see this doing anything to “preserve the integrity of the Feedback system” as Brian Burke said. It must have integrity to preserve it. Sellers holding back feedback from buyers until they get their feedback from the buyer. Buyers afraid to leave honest feedback for sellers for fear of retaliation. Some sellers refusing to give buyers their feedback because they don’t need to. Why bother if the seller gave them theirs already. You get one opportunity to leave feedback and no follow up comments. A stupid rating system. I’d rather see a larger input field for the feedback. I like what iOffer does using multiple comments where you can read more than - good ebayer would buy again junk. That’s just lame. There are plenty of ways to address the problem as they describe it with out ending it.
They aren’t just going to lose the small fees. I was on the verge of signing up for an ebay store and use Selling Manager Pro so I would like to know the truth of the reason for this.
I know every time I think about selling or buying something on ebay I’ll thinking twice about helping to pay Brian Burke’s paycheck and who every else made this decision. Because I don’t think this action is necessary or the reason truthful or for whatever reason stopping it instantly with no warning is not something you should do to the sellers that do the right thing.
I like to buy via digital download. You get it instantly and I hate to wait. I always look for a download option when I want to buy some thing. I don’t want to wait a week to get it and hope the CD works. I’ll go to a local store rather than wait if they have what I want. I don’t need hundreds of CDs or DVDs laying around the house when I can instantly download and do a backup. Digital download is much more environmentally friendly. Just what I need more plastic. There is so much plastic in the environment now it’s in the air we breathe, the plants and animal products we eat, the water we drink and in us. They have even found it in the blood of wild polar bears. Thanks ebay.
John
I’m done - John
March 26th, 2008 03:35
Really, will it make any difference?
Sales on eBay are minimal, at best.
I’ve never had sales exceed fees in 2 years!
Traffic from eBay to my website - none at all.
Sales through Clickbank from affiliate links in e-Books - absolutely ZERO
Really - no loss at all.
March 26th, 2008 04:12
I’ve got a copy of rapid auction profits, glad i didn’t set up a shop based on ebooks
I think ebay did make a fair bit of cash through digital downloads - BUT - by raising the price - the quality of ebooks might improove too - and that can’t be a bad thing can it ?
March 26th, 2008 04:44
Hi Friend
Thank you very much for giving me a very good news! I live in India and selling various ebooks (With Master Resell License), some of my articles etc in ebay.in surely this policy of ebay afffect me tremendiously but who cares. There are plenty of Online Auctions and selling digital products and I believe that you know very well. Though they are not equal to ebay, a bit slow their selling. But there are so many. I can name you immediately - one is Alibaba.com, CQOut.com (Very Good) so who cares about ebay.
But my friend when ebay loose their revenue which they generate every month from selling digital products then they must re-think about it.
I do not know who sell Cars in ebay or Sell their property in ebay or who will buy a car from ebay or a flat/house from ebay. Just tell me. A stray sells of CD/DVD, some digital camera or a very few electronics goods.
I do not think a company like ebay will stand such a small revenue.
My friend, in our India a proverb is very remarkable in this matter. Just take it.
ebay has got a huge FAT. Let them to remove it by loosing revenue.
So, may be these are all. I have some more matters but the space is limited.
I shall be glad to have a reply from you.
With best personal regards
Badal Banerjee
India
March 26th, 2008 05:17
Amazing — that some people still think that the strategy behind selling ebooks on eBay is to raise cash …
… guys, it’s to generate leads. You don’t get rich from selling ebooks for 1 or 2 cents a pop, you get rich from the backend sales
Classified ads are already working well for this strategy, so it’s not such a big loss as there’s still a revenue stream available. It would have been a tragedy if *all* digital products were banned (but that’s not going to happen, eh?!)
And as for feedback, the one reason why I used a different ebay account for selling digital goods was so that I avoided tarnishing my “physical goods” ebay account with unwarranted negative feedback from users who don’t read the download instructions properly and then immediately complain through the wrong channel rather than simply asking for help. Now I can safely move everything over to my main account without fear or worry of being penalised.
Overall I’d say it’s a good move.
Hey, we still make money, so what’s the problem?
Howard “Aitch” Sandford
aka H
March 26th, 2008 08:04
I think eBay is just culling the herd, so to speak.
Bandwidth is a premium, their servers can only do just so much, so it was time to cull the herd of the bottom money makers.
EBay has consistantly grown from conception, just like any business when you reach a certain point in size you must lop off the bottom 5-10% of the profit/bandwidth/database bottlenecks in order to continue growing without creating more expenses.
EBay is not stupid, there will be a major growth spurt coming for eBay from new marketing efforts targeted at high speed access consumers. With this growth spurt there will be many more millions shopping eBay for the first time and we all know they are the ones most of us target.
I have noticed that eBay has been a little sluggesh on amount of traffic over the past several years anyway, I am sure they have noticed also and are getting ready for a huge expansion.
One can hope anyway!
Brian Ankner (non-guru)
Get my free report at topshelfarticles.com/make-money.html
March 26th, 2008 09:24
Thanks for all the great comments!
That is what discussion is all about. People giving their opinions, whether in agreement, or disagreement. Let’s keep the discussion going!
Micheal
March 26th, 2008 17:52
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March 26th, 2008 18:28
Hi Micheal,
I have only just got to your email. I already new about this massive change in policy before reading your email though however. I have been busy looking at other avenues and selling platforms for selling my digital products.
One of your readers above said will it really make any difference? Well do me it will, as most of my traffic is genereated through eBay at the moment as I am still relatively new to IM and still trying to find other ways of generating traffic. Also I beleive it will be a big difference to eBays profits, as hundreds of thousands of digital products gets listed every month creating listing fees, not to mention people’s fees for shops and selling manager pro which people will obviously now be cancelling their subscriptions to. I already have. So eBay are loosing a minimum of £100 ($200) a month from me alone.
There is more behind this decision than they are letting on and I doubt we will ever know what it is.
Marc.
March 27th, 2008 08:51
Although digital downloads on Ebay are a small part of my income it does serve to increase my list size. I have tried the classified ad before but not with much success. I am willing to try it again but there seems to be glitches with it everytime I try it. I may not have all the clicks right but Ebay should make it easy if they want people to use this option.
For me the digital download was an elegant system with minimal maintenance and the customers were happy.
David
April 7th, 2008 15:27
No worries I invite all to utilize my alternatives and feel free to contact me if you have questions
eBay
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Classified Ads
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