eBay Announces Category Changes
EBay is planning by mid-August to make multiple category changes. The list of categories with planned updates include Coins; Paper Money, Computers & Networking, DVD & Movies, eBay Motors, Sporting Goods, Stamps, Health & Beauty and Video games. A new Inventions category will also debut as part of the Business and Industrial sector.

Third-Party eBay Services Round-up
A new, free service launched this week by bayMonitor.com allows eBay users to get updates on their "favorite searches" every half-hour. You simply register on bayMonitor.com, enter your search terms, and if new products matching your search criteria get listed on eBay, you'll be notified by e-mail. eBay's own "favorite search" feature sends users notifications daily.

On Thursday Aucmento.com released two new products eBay sellers can use to promote their active listings. The new marketing tools are called "Annuncio," which vertically displays all of a seller's active listings from a window in the current listing, and "Amplio," an image-viewer capable of enlarging images up to four times. They are available to eBay sellers free for 30 days. After the free trial period, these products can each be purchased for a monthly subscription fee, starting at $9.95, allowing you to list or manage 1,000 items per month and upwards from there based on the number of items.

Andale, Inc., a listing tools and research service company, announced that Lister and Lister Pro are now Skype enabled. Sellers using Andale programs can now add a Skype button to their eBay auction rosters.

eBay's Second Annual Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
To honor the Canadian individuals selling on eBay, eBay Canada has announced the Second Annual Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. To qualify, eligible members, between April 1, 2006 and July 31, 2006 must have a minimum of $1,000 in sales per month, post a minimum of 10 listings per month and have at least a 98 percent positive feedback rating. Canadian eBay sellers could win $5,000 for placing first, $2,000 for second and $1,000 for third. Interested sellers can enter the competition here.

Fraud & Theft - Still Alive and Well on eBay
There's no shortage of eBay scofflaws making headlines recently. From people posting fraudulent auto parts listings on eBay (and getting six years in the slammer for it) and the recent bust of a Home Depot employee who stole merchandise to sell on eBay, fraud and theft continues to surface in the eBay community.

One specific area of concern is the selling of pirated (illegally copied and distributed) music and movies through eBay. This week the The MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.) announced they have filed six lawsuits against online auctioneers who were selling counterfeit DVDs on eBay. The cases involve movie titles from the major film studios including "Sleeping Beauty," "The 40 Year-Old Virgin" and others. According to John G. Malcolm, Executive Vice President and Director of Worldwide Anti-Piracy Operations for the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc., their goal is to hold people accountable for these crimes and to protect unsuspecting consumers from counterfeit goods in the online marketplace.

Earlier this week Vnunet reported that scammers are using bots to gain more positive feedback to lure in unsuspecting bidders. Owners of bogus accounts usually sell digital items (music or e-books) for a penny through the "Buy it Now" feature. Bots (automated scripts) are used to buy these penny items and submit positive feedback to boost the scammer's feedback rating. Once the scammer's rating is high, they can then move on to listing high-value items that are either fraudulent or that will most likely never be delivered to winning bidders.

Only On eBay...

Tori's Auction Doesn't Spell Success

Advertised as 'clean and stain-free', SYES, a business out of Los Angeles appears to be cleaning out Tori Spelling's closet. Included in the assortment of brand name tank tops, pants, dresses and shorts are some real gems. When we first started watching the auction for Spelling's Prada Black Lace Cocktail Dress (she wore this dress to a Sotheby's auction in 2002) the minimum bid was set at $249. By the end of the week, the auction was revised with a cheaper starting bid and a few people started to participate.

Still, Spelling's apparel isn't exactly attracting the usual fanfare that surrounds celebrity auctions. Her old, plain brown Juicy Couture corduroy pants went for $64 with 19 bids.

In other "we're not sure why people would do this" eBay auctions, a couple in Florida decided to allow a winning bidder to name their baby girl, expected to arrive on Sept. 20, 2006. The starting bid is $14,5000. Let's hope the top bidder does not have a cruel sense of humor. Last year, the Golden Palace Casino paid $15,100 to name a baby and another "name my baby" auction ended at $15,000.

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