eBay Leaks 2021 Spring Seller Update Topics in Its Community Forum

In an apparent leak, eBay accidentally released the main topics of its 2021 Spring Seller Update in its community forums, which included placeholder links and a date placeholder for when the new listing experience should become available to sellers. eBay removed access to the links in the community forum after we posted this story.

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Based on the leaked info, here is what this seller update will include:

• Centralizing Post-sale Claims – “In today’s update we announced that you will be able to manage all post-sale claims through Seller Hub and the My eBay “Sold” view.”
• Seller Hub enhancement: Seller Guidance – “In today’s update we announced the Terapeak Research tool will be available in Seller Hub.”
• Offering Partial Refunds on Returns – “In today’s update we announced partial refund offers for auto-accepted.”
• Unpaid Item Case to Cancel Transaction – “In today’s update we announced an enhancement to the Unpaid Item process.”
• User Agreement Updates – “Today we announced an update to our User Agreement.”
• Marketing your Business: Coded Coupons – “At long last, we are excited to announce the release of coded coupons! This has been one of our most frequently requested enhancements and it will soon be available to you via the Seller Hub Marketing tab.”
• Item Specifics Updates – “Read more about the 2021 plan for Item Specifics here (LINK TO SELLER CENTER), including upcoming categories in which they will be required.”
• New Listing Experience – “Today we discussed the new listing experience in further detail and are excited to have it be the listing tool for all sellers by XDATEX. This upgrade in background technology does more than just give listing a face lift: it replaces the underlying code the system is built on, making it secure and viable for years to come.”
• Enhancements to Promoted Listings – “We’re excited to continue to develop your ability to promote your listings on eBay. With the announcement of Automated Campaigns it’s never been simpler to get extra visibility.”
• Category & Classification Changes – “Each Seller Update we do some housekeeping to align our categories with industry standards, buyer expectations and to simplify our overall structure.”
• Promoted Listing Credit Removal – “We continue to evaluate our fees to ensure sellers are getting the best value. The credit for Promoted Listings for sellers who are Top Rated or have an Anchor Store subscription will be evolving to allow us to offer various new promotions that make sense either seasonally, strategically, or reactively for specific groups of sellers.“
• Managed Payments Updates – “As we continue our multi-year journey to include all sellers and categories, we announced updates to our payments program. We are investing in our buyers and sellers, creating an integrated end-to-end payments platform, and enhancing the eBay experience by breaking down barriers and removing complexities for our customers.“
• Insertion Fee Update – “We will be offering more zero insertion fees to help sellers grow their business.”

Each posting for each of these topics is followed by standard text that said:

“You can read more about it here (LINK TO SELLER CENTER PAGE) and feel free to leave questions and feedback for our Update team below! Please note that eBay experts will be present and engaging on the boards between 8 am and 4:30 pm PST on 3.3. You can read more about the support plan for this Update here (link back to Category page maybe?).“

The most interesting pieces here appear to be the new listing experience and the coded coupons. The User Agreement Update will likely deal with the already announced changes about how eBay will bill sellers moving forward.

Obviously, the details will matter and we expect them to be available at this official Seller Update link no later than Wednesday, but most likely Tuesday (based on the common text about eBay experts being available on the forums to answer questions on Wednesday 3/3).

Note: Story updated on 3/1 and 3/2 to reflect eBay removing access to the original leaked information, removal of Monday as possible release date, change to interpretation of leaked info about listing tool experience, and minor typographical corrections.