eBay To Discontinue Keywords Program
eBay's keywords program, which allows sellers to bid for keywords in text ad placements, will be phased out by the end of September. By Sept. 5th, existing eBay Keywords text box ad placements will be removed from search results pages with the program completely closing on the 30th. Since its launch in 2003, the keywords program has been used only by a very small percentage of eBay members, according to the auction giant.

New eBay Express Features and Digital Goods Support
As expected, eBay announced changes and additions to eBay Express. Sellers will now have access to an eBay Express Listing Eligibility tool that allows them to find out if an item meets Express qualifications. The expedited listings will also feature Additionally, qualifying auction-style listings with the "Buy It Now" option. Meanwhile, buyers will soon be able to search for items using an ISBN or UPC number.

Another new feature, called "popularity hubs," will showcase the most popular searches, artists and products on eBay Express. eBay also plans to incorporate the "report this item link.," which is receiving a lot of attention. Every item page will have this link at the bottom, as it is seen on eBay.com, and it will allow buyers to report a listing that may be in violation of eBay's terms of service.

eBay also made it easier for those looking to buy or sell digitally delivered goods, such as homemade MP3 files. Digital items can now be listed in auctions, auctions with the Buy It Now feature and Fixed Price formats. Sellers are no longer required to use the Immediate Payment feature, where the item remains available until the payment has been processed.

Shopping-Cart Abandonment
In the wake of eBay having raised store fees, one eBay seller has started listing store closures on her own Web site. On her Web site, Melinda Burnett, owner of the Springlering Virtual Museum, in Atlanta, Georgia, is listing all eBay sellers (regardless of country) who have or plan to shut down their store because of eBay's fees hikes that took effect on Tuesday. The list is updated daily and currently contains more 700 recently closed eBay stores. Melinda Burnett plans to list all eBay sellers (regardless of country) who have or plan to shut down their store specifically because of eBay's fees hikes, which took effect on the 22nd.

Free Image Hosting for Sellers
Using images hosted on Photobucket, List.d Express is offering a free service to eBay sellers that will allow them to add these extra images directly to their eBay pages. List.d Express is a free, one-page listing tool that claims to simplify the process of selling on eBay. All users of List'd Express get free image hosting (whether using images from their own computer or Photobucket), free scheduled listings and free listing templates.

iSale for Mac OS X Announces Update
iSale enables eBay sellers using a Mac OS X computer to prepare products for sale by integrating with iLife applications. iSale tracks hits on eBay pages, re-lists unsold goods, features an auction Dashboard widget, supports iSight for taking product pictures, can schedule auctions using iCal and much more. This recent 3.2 upgrade, along with fixing a couple of bugs, also offers a redesigned templates feature that lets you customize the templates you use to build your auction pages.

Research Says: Beware Bogus Second-chance Auctions
According to a recent report by the Federal Trade Commission, Internet auction fraud was the second most common complaint in 2005. Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe issued a consumer alert on a growing category of online auction scams, namely "second-chance" auction sales. Made popular by eBay, second-chance auctions allow sellers to offer a second chance to a non-winning bidder to purchase the item. Apparently con artists have been searching for high ticket items and contacting the second-highest bidder, telling them the winner of the auction didn't complete the transaction, so they are free to purchase the item. Some outbid buyers fell for the scam and the money disappeared with the scammer.

USPS Warns Sellers to Declare Accurate Parcel Values
eBay reports that the United States Postal Service has been contacted by postal administrations in several countries saying that the declared value of parcels is frequently being understated. While this applies to sellers both on and off eBay, the USPS has asked eBay to remind sellers to declare the proper value on all customs forms. When shipping an item, the value of the item needs to be stated correctly to ensure the proper duties and taxes are charged, if applicable. It is expected that some countries may begin to take steps such as levying fines on the addressee when the declared value is not stated correctly. Only on eBay...

Kiko, a company that made a name for itself in the online calendar business, is on the auction block. The company first made headlines when it folded after losing the online calendar war, due in part they say, to Google Inc., launching its Google Calendar service. The official Kiko blog reports that the company has recently taken some time to brainstorm different directions it could take to stay in business. Coming up with only dead ends, the development team decided to try and find a new owner by selling the Web 2.0 calendar on eBay. In addition to getting the domain name and the fully functional AJAX calendar Web site, an additional $1,500 is being thrown in to fly the development team to the winner's location to consult on integrating Kiko into existing Web sites or services. The $50,000 reserve has been met and the price is up over $55,000 with a day left to go. Unless it's a bum bidder, it looks like Kinko will indeed have a new owner when the auction ends on Aug. 28th. It will be interesting to see who the winning bidder is and what the purchase will mean for the future of Kiko.

Christ on a Crustacean: Divinity on the half-shell. (Click for larger image.)

Jesus is Back.... on eBay that is.  From faces in grilled-cheese sandwiches to even more strange an obscure objects depicting the Virgin Mary or Jesus Christ, another face has been found and put up for grabs on eBay. This time, Florida seller "titwo" Came across an encrusted oyster shell, which according to their item description "clearly depicts our Lord, Jesus Christ" on the inside of the shell. While "clearly depicts" is subject to one's own interpretation of blurry images, past auctions have proved that there is no denying that finding the face of Jesus or Mary on an object can bring in big bucks.

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