.com Markdown Manager adds free shipping feature
22/04/2008 at 10:18
eBay.com have announced a great new addition to their version of Markdown Manager: free shipping sales. Sellers will have the ability to add a free shipping sale, with distinctive icon, to any of their listings, either individually or in bulk. Free shipping can be added to auction listings as well as BIN and SIF, making Markdown Manager available for auctions for the first time.
In addition, the free shipping icon will appear on any ordinary listings where the seller has specified free shipping. No doubt this will lead to some sellers complaining that eBay are trying to foist free shipping onto sellers; but I’d say try it, especially if you sell in an area where free shipping is not the norm. I’ve been trialling it on some French listings with some pretty promising early results.
keith says
11:42 am on 22/04/2008
So that’s why we had million dollar postage on some listings.
Ebay.com were tinkering
Sue Bailey says
1:27 pm on 22/04/2008
Heh heh, you might well be right there Keith
Steve H says
3:21 pm on 22/04/2008
“Free shipping can be added to auction listings as well as BIN and SIF, making Markdown Manager available for auctions for the first time.”
Except Markdown Manager won’t work in the UK unless the listing has been live for 28 days, which kind of excludes and auction or BIN listings.
I’ve always thought the 28 day limit on UK sales was a bit silly, just because a particular listing has not been running for 28 days does not mean that the seller has not had that particular item listed at the same price for that amount of time or longer.
Sue Bailey says
3:56 pm on 22/04/2008
Steve H: I’m sorry, I thought I’d made it pretty clear in the post that this is talking ONLY about Markdown Manager in the US, on the .com site. I apologise if this was not clear enough.
The above post relates only to eBay.com and not to eBay UK or any other national eBay site.
whirly says
4:27 pm on 22/04/2008
One lady you wouldn’t want to see get out of the wrong side of the bed
Steve H says
5:30 pm on 22/04/2008
Yes Sue, you did make it clear. It’s just whenever I read about Markdown Manager I get so annoyed at the stupid restrictions eBay UK have deemed to apply to it’s use.
Sue Bailey says
7:01 pm on 22/04/2008
Yeah, I know what you mean – if Turbo Lister can tell what item I’m relisting, you’d think they could be a bit more relaxed about it being the same item that’s been on sale for 28 days or more. I suspect it’s like the ban on digital downloads – they’ve gone for the easiest implementation for them, rather than the best implementation for us
Josordoni says
8:32 pm on 22/04/2008
I think it is UK law isn’t it, that an item has to have been for sale at the higher price for at least 28 days to be called a Sale ?
Josordoni says
8:35 pm on 22/04/2008
Here you are, pretty good plain english…
http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/corporate/SmallBus.nsf/WebPrint/38A82DE13BFFDD8580257049003B0C12?opendocument
Sue Bailey says
8:39 pm on 22/04/2008
Yes, Lynne, it does, but it’s the way that eBay define “item” that’s really the problem. They say if it doesn’t have the same item number, it’s not the same… whereas I would say that a relisted item is the same, even though it has a new item number.
Josordoni says
8:49 pm on 22/04/2008
Well, that IS stupid. So if a shop has an item available, and it is sold and replaced from stock, then under this way of thinking the 28 days before it could be offered at a reduced price would start afresh each time the shelf was replenished … oh, yeah, like I can see Sainsbury’s doing THAT can’t you??
Sue Bailey says
8:52 pm on 22/04/2008
Yep, under eBay’s interpretation, every individual t-shirt that M&S would sell would have to be on a rail in a shop for 28 days without being sold… daft
Biggles says
10:21 am on 23/04/2008
How I wish I could get that stupid “Items on Sale” logo out of my shop header on my ebay listings. Markdown Manager sucks.