eBay International Marketplaces 2018 Spring Seller Update Highlights

Yesterday, eBay released most Spring Seller Updates for 2018 on its North American and European marketplaces.

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We already wrote specific articles for the UK and US Spring Seller Updates, but in this article, we are taking a look at some of the changes on other international eBay marketplaces.

Australia, a significant marketplace for eBay is not included in this article as the release schedule for updates is different, and there has not been a 2018 update for Australia.

Canada – Link to Full Update

Many of the updates for Canada are the same as shown for the U.S. Some small differences in which categories must adhere to the new returns policies and under Growth tools the company appears to add some eBay.com information as many Canadian sellers also list on eBay.com in addition to eBay.ca.

Most notably missing is information about Guaranteed Delivery that eBay is expanding in the U.S. On the other hand, eBay Canada is mentioning their new partnership with Shopify and will enhance the Parts and Accessories catalog with fitment data.

As in the U.S., Canadian sellers in Automotive Parts & Accessories will eventually list more using the catalog function than with original listings. eBay says to watch for more their Announcements for more details.

And it appears Canada may be the second country that will introduce the new Adyen powered payment solution. As in the U.S., the company provided the same information to sellers about the upcoming payment changes that still lack detail, but at least makes sellers aware they are coming.

Ireland – Link to Full Update

The Irish eBay Spring Seller Update is also very similar to the UK version.

One specific difference appears to be a new legal requirement that at the beginning of April, items will need to have been listed at least 14 days at the same price to be included in a markdown. Also, items should not have been included in a sale event in the 14 days previous to a markdown sale event.

However, eBay Ireland is not adding new marketing tools and the new category based shopping concept introduced in the U.S. and UK is also not added (yet) to Ireland.

Also, the changes to the UK eBay Premium Service delivery criteria are not part of the eBay Ireland update as well.

Germany – Link to Full Update

In Germany, eBay has added the catalog function and so German eBay sellers will also need to start using catalog data to list new products.

Also, eBay is making the same statements now to German sellers that images uploaded to the site become the property of eBay. Clearly, this is a requirement for the catalog function to be implemented on the marketplace.

The company is also making it easier to participate in eBay Plus (U.S. Top Rated Seller style program) and is making similar changes to Cockpit Pro (US/UK Seller Hub) as in the U.S. and UK.

Unlike the U.S. and UK, there are no announced changes for shipping or guaranteed delivery services.

But just like the U.S. and UK, there are changes to eBay shop prices, store layouts (better SEO), HTTPS compliance, and specific to Germany, eBay added some seller fee maximums to select categories.

No mention of the 14-day legal requirement on promotional pricing mentioned on many other European websites. It appears for Germany, eBay does not yet use a coupon method, but they do mention adding more promotional tools this year, so all of this might come in a future update.

France – Link to Full Update

In France, eBay offers up a pricing update, enhancement to marketing tools, including the same 14-day requirements introduced in the Ireland update for markdowns, again stating legal compliance.

For France, eBay is not adding the catalog listing requirements as discussed for Germany, but there are category changes as well that sellers should know about.

Also, eBay in France is adding a partnership offering free translation of listings with WebInterpret which are included in the benefits of the Boutique Top and Boutique Premium (French shop options). There are limits to the translations based on the subscription level of the seller’s shop.

Updates Get A Bit Simpler From Here

Italy – Link to Full Update

Mostly a copy of the French updates.

Spain – Link to Full Update

Mostly a copy of the French updates.

Poland – Link to Full Update

For Poland, the updates are even simpler than France or other European updates. eBay is only making some category changes, optimizing eBay stores (same as other European updates for better SEO) and notifying sellers on changes to HTTPS security and removal of active content.

Switzerland – Link to Full Update

Another simpler update that only highlights changes to the store design for better SEO, some category updates that will go into effect in June (most other countries use April), the same 14-day coupon restriction and notice about HTTPs.

Austria – Link to Full Update

Same as Switzerland with the exception that category updates will go into effect in April.

Belgium – Link to Full Update in Flemish / French

Same spartan update as Austria, except no mention of the 14-day coupon restrictions and no discussion about upcoming promotional tools as eBay did in the German update.

Conclusion

As always, the U.S. leads the way with the most comprehensive updates, followed closely by Canada and the UK.

The selling policies in Australia (not feature in this post), Ireland, Germany, and France are the next closest to North America and the UK.

Certainly, the mostly English speaking marketplace seem to have a closer relationship in seller policies.

But most notably, Germany and France follow closely behind and that seems to indicate the shopping patterns in those countries are similar to the eCommerce mature North American, UK/Ireland, and Australia markets.

Over time, all markets seem to catch up and the introduction of category or product based shopping is making its debut in Germany and sellers in other European countries should expect the same possibly within this year.

Do you have any thoughts about eBay’s Spring Seller Updates on its various international marketplaces? Head over to our Facebook Discussion Group or use the comments section below.