News and Announcements
Starting next month, sellers using Half.com will benefit from added exposure, as some listings will also be included on eBay Express. Sellers will simply need to opt in for any qualifying Half.com listings to automatically appear on eBay Express. To promote the eBay Express-enabled Half.com listings, you will get 50 percent off the final value fees if you opt in before April 15. The fee cut expires at the end of June. Any seller who wants to learn more about the process can also take part in the Community Workshop on March 26th.

In eBay company news, this week Skype announced plans to integrate PayPal into its service. While Skype users can currently pay for their subscription with PayPal, the new plan lets the 170 million registered Skype user send PayPal payments to each other. According to Skype founder Niklas Zennstrom, the transaction will be as simple as clicking a "send money" option from the Skype client. The user would then sign in, enter a dollar amount and click send. The new service is expected to be unveiled next month, despite some concerns about the process making Skype users more vulnerable to phishing (define) attacks.

Services and E-Commerce Tools Round-Up
The latest version of SalesX, from Irus Group, launched this week with pricing starting at $199 per month. The new version is focused on features for eBay sellers using Everest Software for their backend catalog. SalesX allows you to upload one item at a time or in bulk, and includes eBay add-ons such as auction start times. Through the Seller/Bidder Feedback options you can choose to add eBay feedbacks into the item listing. You can also post positive feedbacks for buyers who pay on time. Other features of SalesX include access to the eBay recommended categories and management reports.

Eye on The Little Guy: Tips and Tricks for Adding Images to Your Listings
Browsing auctions without pictures is a little bit like walking around a store blindfolded. Clearly, adding visuals to your listing is an important step in helping potential buyers make a more informed decision. When you list on eBay your first image is free and you can choose to pay for extra images. For most low-value items, one image is usually enough, with most sellers finding it uneconomical to pay for their low value items.

Two Sides to Every Story: Present multiple views without paying more. (Click for larger image.)

Something I have done to give an item more exposure and yet still skip the extra fees is using a graphics editing program to include more views and different angled pictures in one shot. For example, you can combine two images — a front and back view or a full view and a close-up detail shot. If you add borders or slight effects around the separate images when combining them, viewers see that you are showing multiple views in one picture.

By creatively combining pictures, you can show potential buyers more without increasing your listing fees incurred from uploading separate images. This method is also useful when selling small lots. You can show one image in full and add inserts of the other items in the lot.

Multiplicity: Insert separate shots into one frame to save money. (Click for larger image.)

The problem, of course, is that this type of image-editing takes time and is not a very good choice for a seller who is listing a large variety of different items. If that's the case, it makes sense to use an image-hosting service, and sometimes these services can offer extra features that visually enhance your listing pages. To get you started with boosting your auction's visual appeal, here are a few image hosts worth taking a look at, some of which even offer their services for free.

• eBay: EBay allows sellers to add one picture per listing for free. Each additional image you include incurs a 15-cent fee. EBay also offers "Supersize" which will display a larger image for 75 cents. Sellers can also choose to use the Picture Pack, which is $1 for up to six pictures or $1.50 for seven to 12 pictures.
   
• SuperFile: A free image- hosting service that allows you to upload images up to 1MB in size without creating an account. Images stay online for six months and you can link directly to images on their server.
   
• FotoTime: A Certified eBay Solutions Provider, FotoTime offers sellers an auction wizard that helps create the auction and select pictures, and then the service activates the eBay auction for you Alternatively, you can choose to link to the images from eBay's interface. A paid membership removes advertising links and includes additional features.
   
• PhotoBucket: An online image and video service that also offers free accounts. The free account offers up to 1 GB of space and 10 GB of monthly traffic, and features such as slideshows. Upgraded PhotoBucket Pro accounts offer more space and features, and can be purchased for $25 per year or $9 for three months.
   
• DataZap: For $4.95 per month you get unlimited storage, bandwidth, online image resizing, customer support and a host of other features. DataZap works with all online auctions and is also eBay Motors compatible.
   
• ePixio: For those wanting to offer something a bit more unique, ePixio offers 3D image technology that enables visitors to mouse-over the image to see it spin 360 degrees, showing all sides of the item. ePixio also offers slideshows, auction templates and other features. Membership plans range from $3.95 to $9.95 per month.

Research and Trends
eBay Pulse data shows that for the third week in a row the most searched for items on the auction Web site are still "PS3," "wii" and "Playstation 3." Here is a snapshot of several eBay categories and their corresponding top three searches in each for March 22, 2007:

• Jewelry and Watches - Designer Brands: Tiffany, David Yurman and Chanel.
• Entertainment Memorabilia: Kiss, Britney Spears bra and Elvis.
• Everything Else - Mystery Auctions: mystery, mystery box and date.
• Cameras and Photo - Digital Camera Accessories: digital camera, Canon and Sony digital camera.

According to research firm Hitwise, eBay still leads the pack in the Shopping and Classifieds category, which really isn't a big surprise. Ranked by volume of searches for the four weeks ending Feb. 24, (based on US Internet usage), eBay was the clear winner with a volume of 2.18 percent followed by craigslist with 0.79 percent. EBay.com took third, followed by Wal-Mart in fourth place and Target coming in fifth.

Finally, a new survey out by ShopLocal emphasizes the need for merchants and manufacturers to be online with their products. This study showed that 85 percent of adult Internet shoppers used the Web to make more informed shopping trips to their local stores. The survey went on to say that overall online consumers say they spend more time researching products online than they spend shopping in person.

Only on eBay...
This week our favorite IT is offered by the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation, which is giving the winning bidder the opportunity to fly weightless with Stephen Hawking, a world renowned physicist and expert on gravity, on The ZERO-G Experience. The winner of this charity auction will receive three nights of hotel accommodations, a VIP dinner with Hawking, admission to his lecture, and of course, the flight on April 26.

According to the auction details, the "ZERO-G Experience offers a training session for flyers followed by a 90-minute flight aboard the G-Force One. The controlled ascent and descent of the plane allows flyers to experience gravity on Mars (1/3-gravity); the moon (1/6-gravity); and in zero-g space." So far the auction garnered 50 bidders, taking the price over $18,000. There are still three bidding days left for those wanting to fly with Hawking.

Have an interesting e-commerce tool, auction tip, auction or news item to submit for eBay Watch? Tell us about it!