This Week on eBay
EBay will now allow video and photo links in listings, a new Choice Policy means lower insertion fees for some listings, the Multiple Listings Limit Policy gets dumped and Feedback changes are finally rolled out. Plus, StubHub faces the music.

eBay Announces New Policy Changes
John McDonald, the senior director of US Trust & Safety for eBay, announced a number of policy changes that eBay says will "help both buyers and sellers." Under these new policy changes, we can expect to see an improvement on the process for listing similar products, the removal of the Multiple Listings Limit Policy, as well as updates to the Links Policy that will allow sellers to include video and photo links, with some restrictions.

New Choice Policy Means Lower Fees
In the announcement, McDonald says the Choice Policy, which requires sellers to list similar items in different sizes and colors in separate listings, has been removed. Instead, sellers can create a single listing that offers choices, such as size, color and configuration. For sellers with multiple sizes or colors of the same item, this means you will pay less in insertion fees. EBay reminded sellers that abuse of this policy, for example, if you offer a choice of completely different items in the same listing, is a violation of the Fee Circumvention Policy.

Multiple Listings Limit Policy Dumped
Next month eBay will also remove the Multiple Listings Limit Policy that allowed sellers to post just 15 identical listings at any one time. After this change goes into effect, a seller will be able to list an unlimited number of identical items at any given time. McDonald says, "To prevent buyers from being overwhelmed by identical listings, advancements in Finding will limit the display of duplicates from the same seller. The listing displayed will be determined by the sort option that the buyer chooses, such as Time Ending Soonest, Newly Listed, Total Cost and Best Match."

eBay's New Links Policy Will Allow Photo and Video Links
EBay's Links Policy provides sellers with guidelines that determine where and what type of hyperlinks they can place throughout their eBay pages. The policy covers the following: listings, About Me, Store pages, Blogs, Reviews and Guides. Under the new policy, expected to go into effect in July,  EBay will allow members to post any link to any eBay property on their pages. This includes eBay, PayPal,  Half.com and StubHub. Sellers will also be able to post links to photos of the item for sale, as long as the page displaying the photos does not offer, or link to, a site that offers a product or service for sale off eBay. Sellers can also embed videos in a listing as long as the content and format comply with all eBay policies for videos, and , lastly, links for third-party solutions and services directly related to the listing will also be allowed.

Feedback Changes Launched on North American Sites
After months of debate and boycotts, with a few positive comments in between, eBay on Monday finally rolled out the changes to one of the auction site's most important systems: feedback ratings. (Read about the changes here in "eBay Watch: Feedback Updates, New Shipping Rules"). The company also made a few more Clarifications. EBay's Director of Global Feedback Policy, Brian Burke, reiterated that eBay would block buyers from leaving negative or neutral Feedback for three days for active PowerSellers who have been on eBay for at least 12 months. This particular group of sellers were chosen, according to eBay, for the following three reasons:

• PowerSellers have to meet quality thresholds for both conventional Feedback and, starting in July, for Detailed Seller Ratings.
• PowerSellers have to meet volume requirements — both in total and on an ongoing basis.
• One-year of selling on the site proved to be an important predictor of lower risk.

From this post, it suggests that even the most honest and dedicated eBay seller will have to deal with negative or neutral Feedback from buyers within the three-day period on their own until they make PowerSellers status. Later this month it is expected that eBay will also introduce Detailed Seller Ratings to Half.com. A detailed FAQ on the eBay Feedback changes can be read here.

Best Match Tweaks
In March, eBay rolled out its Best Match search, which sorts the listings you see based mainly on relevance, but also on item attributes and past successful buyer behavior for similar items (see "eBay Watch: ID Masking, Best Match, Listing Updates".) The result of a recent adjustment made to Best Match, according to eBay, is that a larger number of sellers with below average performance scores are being lowered in Best Match search results. EBay's John McDonald says, "The visibility of your listings may be reduced if your 30-day shipping cost DSR is 4.5 and below,  or if your buyer satisfaction rate (shown on the dashboard) appears as "needs improvement," "poor" or "unacceptable."

Sellers who are seeing a reduced visibility in Best Natch searches can check out eBay's tip page to improve buyer satisfaction and DSR.

eBay's StubHub Faces the Music
This week the city of Chicago has launched a suit against eBay and its StubHub subsidiary for failing to collect the 8 percent amusement tax on resold tickets to concerts and sporting events within the Chicago region. What makes the suit even more interesting is that eBay Live 2008 is set to take place in Chicago in June 19 to 21.