Update 4:53 pm: Just after 4 pm Eastern, eBay announced the following "early" Seller Update - please note that the link included in eBay's announcement, like the one in this morning's email announcement, doesn't work:
2019 Early Seller Update
The Early 2019 Seller Update provides information on marketplace updates that will impact your eBay business ahead of the Spring Seller Update, coming later this year.
Take advantage of these new features and enhancements now and during the next two months as they become available.
Marketplace Updates
Send offers to buyers who are watching your listings with a new “Offer to buyers” feature in Seller Hub
Edit price, quantity, and custom labels for your listings from the Active Listings page in Seller Hub
Quickly access and download the Orders Report directly to your computer from the Manage Orders page in Seller Hub
New fixed price listings will be Good ‘Til Cancelled duration
Provide item specifics to list items without the eBay catalog
Automatic updates of "New other" condition listings
Terapeak subscription is now available on eBay
State sales tax requirement update
Keep your eyes open for the 2019 Spring Seller Update, in which we will announce a full range of important updates coming to eBay this year.
It's not clear to us why eBay announced this as an "early" seller update with lots of changes while referencing a Spring Seller Update yet to come.
Update 2/26/19 at 1:00 pm Eastern:
At 11 am Eastern, eBay sent the following email to US sellers:
Today, we're providing you with a limited Early Seller Update.
Explore new updates that will help you build your sales velocity and improve the way you run your business.
Watch for the upcoming Spring Seller Update in April, announcing a full range of platform, process, and policy updates. Plus, important new features coming to eBay later this year.
See What's New.
As always, thank you for selling on eBay
eBay Team
After many complaints from sellers that the URL took them to an error page, eBay posted the following message on the discussion boards:
"The 2019 early Seller Update link will be live later today. Stay tuned for more. We will let you know when the Seller Update is live."
eBay's Spring Seller Update for 2019 is rolling out today, February 26, 2019. One major change that is sure to fire up sellers: eBay will require all fixed-price listings to be "Good Til Cancelled" (GTC) across all eBay sites. That means sellers will no longer be able to choose the duration of fixed-price goods.
eBay is also making some fee changes in the Spring Seller Update, including changes to fees on eBay Motors UK.
All Fixed Priced Listings Will Be Good Til Cancelled - on all sites
"From 1 April 2019, we’re taking further steps to simplify the shopping experience across all eBay sites. The only listing duration for all fixed price listings for both Business and Private sellers will be Good ‘Til Cancelled."
This does not come as a complete surprise - earlier this month eBay rolled out the GTC restrictions
in Australia, but it promises to be unpopular. EcommerceBytes readers discussed last month what they thought the change would mean for them if it rolled out to additional countries.
"You know eBay is counting on people forgetting that their listings will auto renew, thus generating more listing fees," wrote one seller. However, another seller said, "Longer duration listings will actually help some sellers to be found thru outside search results."
"GTC listings are stale, a complete waste," said another EcommerceBytes reader.
eBay Product Catalog: A focus on Item specifics
In the UK, eBay announced changes to the product catalog - this will likely roll out in the US as well:
"We’ve now adjusted our approach so that in the future we’ll be using Item specifics to identify products. We’ve reviewed which Item specifics are the most useful to buyers when they’re looking for products and have aligned with the way they search, including changing the names of some Item specifics to reflect this. In addition, we’re updating the filters buyers will see when searching to make it faster and easier for them to find what they’re looking for.
"This means that you’ll no longer have to match your listing against a catalogue entry, however, we still recommend that where they exist you match your products to take advantage of increased exposure and features such as product reviews."
eBay CEO Devin Wenig had
admitted in October that eBay's move to a "product catalog" shopping experience has met with some resistance from buyers. He said eBay would shift tactics "to balance the needs of a habituated base of customers who are used to shopping on eBay a certain way, while pursuing an even larger base of potential customers, who have different expectations."
Since he became CEO in 2015, Wenig has touted the importance of his Structured Data Initiative (which powers the product catalog) to the success of a turnaround, but he has not been able to reignite growth. At that same post earnings call with analysts in October, he said, "We'll continue to focus on delivering significant product experience changes for new customers, while evolving the experience for our existing base of users at a more measured pace."
Send offers to your buyers in 2019
Also rolling out in the UK - and possibly to the US as well, a change that will likely be more popular:
"A new feature in Seller Hub will allow you to send offers to buyers on some of your eligible listings."
In November,
eBay announced some of these changes were starting to roll out. Sellers discussed the changes on the EcommerceBytes Blog. Said one seller, "I think enabling sellers to make offers to watchers is a great idea. I have made this suggestion in the past."
UK fee changes: eBay Motors Fee Updates
And here's what eBay is telling sellers in the UK:
"We’re making changes to Listing fees, Final value fees and Optional Listing Upgrade fees for Vehicles categories (excluding Parts and Accessories) from April 2019.
"You can find the eBay UK Spring Seller Release on this page. We'll update this post when we find the announcement for eBay.com users."
We'll be sure to update you on what other changes eBay announces today, and let us know what you think - and how the changes will impact you.
eBay Spring Seller Update 2019 Is Rolling Out
by: Rexford 
by: Lightning