eBay is set to announce its Spring 2021 Seller Update this week, and it appears to have inadvertently published some details of what's to come on its Discussion Boards. Some big changes include a greater number of free insertions as well as the ability for sellers to offer coded coupons.
The "Promoted Listing Credit Removal" appears to be bad news, a change eBay had inadvertently referenced it
in the last Seller Update.
The "sneak preview" shows eBay classifying the Spring Update changes into three buckets:
- Fees & Financials: Updates to fees, credits and managed payments.
- Listings & Promoting Items: Updates to the way you list and promote your items.
- Running Your Business: Tools, process and agreement updates.
As usual, eBay will make Category and Item Specifics changes, as well as updating its User Agreement - though it did not provide details.
The preview indicates eBay will have experts available to interact with sellers on the discussion boards between 8 am and 4:30 pm PST on March 3rd.
Clearly eBay intends to publish the Spring Seller Update more fully this week with links to the discussion board topic pages, so full details are not yet available. What details are provided are tantalizing, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, here's a summary of what eBay leaked:
Insertion Fee Update
We will be offering more zero insertion fees to help sellers grow their business.
Managed Payments Updates
As we continue our multi-year journey to include all sellers and categories, we announced updates to our payments program. We are investing in our buyers and sellers, creating an integrated end-to-end payments platform, and enhancing the eBay experience by breaking down barriers and removing complexities for our customers.
Offering Partial Refunds on Returns
In today's update we announced partial refund offers for auto-accepted returns.
Unpaid Item Case to Cancel Transaction
In today's update we announced an enhancement to the Unpaid Item process.
Centralizing Post-sale Claims
In today's update we announced that you will be able to manage all post-sale claims through Seller Hub and the My eBay "Sold" view.
Marketing your Business: Coded Coupons
At long last, we are excited to announce the release of coded coupons! This has been one of our most frequently requested enhancements and it will soon be available to you via the Seller Hub Marketing tab.
Enhancements to Promoted Listings
We're excited to continue to develop your ability to promote your listings on eBay. With the announcement of Automated Campaigns it's never been simpler to get extra visibility.
Promoted Listing Credit Removal
We continue to evaluate our fees to ensure sellers are getting the best value. The credit for Promoted Listings for sellers who are Top Rated or have an Anchor Store subscription will be evolving to allow us to offer various new promotions that make sense either seasonally, strategically, or reactively for specific groups of sellers.
New Listing Experience
Today we discussed the new listing experience in further detail and are excited to have it be the listing tool for all sellers by XDATEX. This upgrade in background technology does more than just give listing a face lift: it replaces the underlying code the system is built on, making it secure and viable for years to come. Read more about this here (LINK TO SELLER CENTER) and let us know your thoughts and questions about it below!
Seller Hub enhancement: Seller Guidance
In today's update we announced the Terapeak Research tool will be available in Seller Hub.
Item Specifics Updates
Read more about the 2021 plan for Item Specifics here (LINK TO SELLER CENTER), including upcoming categories in which they will be required.
Category & Classification Changes
Each Seller Update we do some housekeeping to align our categories with industry standards, buyer expectations and to simplify our overall structure.
User Agreement Updates
Today we announced an update to our User Agreement.
Let us know what you think!
eBay Leaks Spring 2021 Seller Update: Changes Ahead
by: DeathFromAbove 
by: Rexford