eBid September 2016 Newsletter

News from Gazza

3,689,640 Live Listings
14,242 Categories
$3,542,790,075 Gross Listing Value

Welcome to the eBid September Newsletter

How is everyone? Hope you all had a great September.

Firstly some of you may have noticed in-app notifications for the eBid mobile app had come to a halt in the last week. This is due to an update at our notification providers end. It's a simple fix, just open the eBid app and you will be re-registered for notifications again. Also, please ensure you have in-app notifications switched on in the settings for your actual device. When the app is first installed it will ask you if you want to allow these, you may possibly have declined them at that time. Just visit the settings area for your device and open the options for the eBid app. If you haven't downloaded the app grab it here : Google Play store or Apple App Store.

We've been a little perplexed over the last couple of months about a problem the was occurring on rare occasions when a buyer went to pay for their items using PayPal. The problem was evident when there were many items on the invoice. I'm glad to report we've fixed the problem. It is down to PayPal's new checkout system and its inability to handle large form data posts. We have re-routed all invoice payments to the previous checkout system which worked perfectly for many years. We've reported the problem to PayPal and hopefully they will fix it very soon. Many thanks for those eBidders who helped us get to the bottom of this one.

Our How To Videos (HTV) have helped thousands of newcomers to eBid get to know the ropes a little faster. If you want to earn a bit of money and help us create some updated versions here's a forum thread to let you know how. We are looking to replace all our old videos with newer versions.

A few of you will have noticed more category changes this month. "Video Games" and "Home & Garden" have been updated in quite a few subcategories. As we explained in August, the layout of our category system is undergoing an ongoing revamp to bring it up to date and to allow for us to launch some major upcoming changes. The changes will allow for a much improved importing system (that does not require Ninja Lister), product variations and item specifics.

Those of you who take advantage of our great Google Shopping feature will know that Google have been getting a little stricter with the listings they deem to be of suitable quality. Barcodes are now pretty much required and photos must be of a better quality than before. We've now started to upload to Google the original photo that sellers upload to eBid. Before hand we would upload a "large" version that had been processed by us. So, make sure you always upload good quality photos to eBid and will make sure they get uploaded to Google Shopping to help place your items better in search results. Make sure you don't add any writing to the photos, no logos or watermarks either, these are now a big no-no.

Other eBid changes during September :

BUGFIX - Some accented characters in listing descriptions were being corrupted when uploaded via Ninja Lister
BUGFIX - When creating invoices and an item has been archived and not paid for was causing problems with the ADD ALL button
BUGFIX - For single item checkout forms with PayPal payment, some eBid USA ASL logs where showing the PayPal payment as "part payment" when the correct full payment amount was made.
UPDATE - Increased space for four lines of text in showroom view titles for laptop view (1366px)
UPDATE - Reduced photos from 5 to 4 per row in showroom view for laptop view (1366px)
eBid Pulse News from Debbie

How To Make Sure Your Listings Are Uploaded to Google Shopping

In last month's newsletter, Gazza talked about the importance of making sure your listings are meeting the criteria to be uploaded to Google Shopping - eBidders, like shesawaya38485, have been very impressed with the increase in sales they have experienced since making sure their listings were "Google Shopping friendly" - "Since re-vamping my listings to being Google search friendly, I've seen an increase in sales this past month"

It’s not complicated, and it may be that your listings simply need a few “tweaks” if at first they are not being shown at Google Shopping. For example, Google Shopping requires customers to provide a way for potential buyers to purchase the product through an online payment service. Therefore all listings will require at least one online payment option present. For example PPPay, PayPal, Nochex or Skrill.

You can find out all the necessary criteria in our Help Section #48– it won’t take you long to make sure your listings comply – you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

New on the eBid Blog - How to bag yourself a great smartphone without breaking the bank


The smartphone industry is one of the biggest industries in the world today. With the Apple iPhone breaking sales records every single year and Samsung Galaxy S phones growing in popularity, the smartphone revolution has well and truly taken place.

Of course, buying a new smartphone isn't exactly cheap. 2 year old Apple iPhone's still cost £329 if you're buying them directly from Apple, Samsung Galaxy S phones aren't much cheaper either! That's without mentioning the huge costs you'll have to pay over two years if you take out a pay monthly contract. Your overall cost over the two years will usually run into 4 figures!

But there is still a way for you to get hold of a great smartphone without breaking the bank if you know where to look! Want to bag yourself a bargain. Read our hints and tips on how to get the best smartphone for you and what you should consider when choosing a new (or new to you!) phone on eBid.

Competition Time

Last month's question :

What is the text to be added to the barcode field that tells us your item doesn't have a barcode (GTIN/UPC/EAN)?

a) NONE
b) EXEMPT
c) EMPTY

The correct answer was (b) EXEMPT. Congratulations go to les24548 from South Yorkshire, UK, for winning last months competition, your eBid Goodie Bag and iPod should be with you now.

Now for this month's question :

How many online payment methods do Google Shopping require you to offer?

a) AT LEAST ONE
b) FIVE
c) NONE

To enter send us :
Answer to the competition question
Your eBid username
Name and address for sending out any prizes
Incomplete entries will be automatically deleted. Closing date 10th October 2016.