Privacy fears over FBI database

15 April 2014 Last updated at 15:33 The database already had 16m images by 2013 Campaigners have raised privacy concerns over a facial recognition database being developed by the FBI that could contain 52m images by 2015.

The civil liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) obtained information about the project through a freedom of information request.

It said it was concerned that images of non-criminals would be stored alongside those of criminals.

The FBI say the database will reduce terrorist and criminal activities.

The facial recognition database is part of the bureau's Next Generation Identification (NGI) programme which is a large biometric database being developed to replace the current Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS).

The programme, which is being rolled out over a number of years, will offer "state of the art biometric identification services" according to the bureau's website.

As well as facial recognition images the programme is being developed to include the capture and storage of finger prints, iris scans and palm prints.

'Increasing risks'

EFF said that the records it had seen showed the facial recognition element of the NGI already contained 16m images by 2013 and had the capability to contain as many as 52m by 2015.

The NGI programme will store iris scans and palm prints

In the current system, the fingerprints of criminals and non-criminals are kept in separate databases. Non-criminals may have their prints stored by the FBI if they have applied for a job that requires fingerprints for a background check.

However, under the new system if a candidate is asked by an employer to submit a photo along with their fingerprints this will now be stored by the FBI, too. The difference is that all photos will be stored on the same database regardless of whether someone has been arrested for a crime.

"This means that even if you have never been arrested for a crime, if your employer requires you to submit a photo as part of your background check, your face image could be searched - and you could be implicated as a criminal suspect, just by virtue of having that image in the non-criminal file," said the EFF.

It says documents from the FBI show that 4.3m photos contained in the database by 2015 will be for non-criminal purposes.

The group also cites research that shows the risk of falsely identifying someone increases as the size of the dataset being examined increases.

"This means that many people will be presented as suspects for crimes they didn't commit."

Fingerprints for job applicants are already stored

At a US senate subcommittee meeting held in 2012 to discuss the privacy implications of facial recognition technology, the official in charge of the NGI programme at the time said the the FBI intended to limit the system to criminal information.

It was also stressed that annual audits of local agencies' systems will be carried out to "detect any type of misuse" and that the FBI would back this up with their own audits.

The EFF points out that the Privacy Impact Assessment for the facial recognition element of NGI has not been updated since 2008.

"This is not how our system of justice was designed and should not be a system that Americans tacitly consent to move towards," the EFF said.

View the original article here

Should we do away with privacy?

5 October 2011 Last updated at 10:50 As battle rages over how Facebook and others impact on our privacy, Cindy Gallop has a radical idea. Forget about privacy and control your image instead.

The new reality that all of us live in today, personally and professionally, is one of complete transparency.

Everything we do and say today, whether we are a person or a brand, business or company, is potentially in the public domain courtesy of the internet.

If you find that prospect deeply unnerving, there is a very simple solution, and interestingly, that solution is the same whether you are a person or a company.

If you identify exactly who you are and what you stand for, what you believe in, what you value, and if you then only ever behave, act and communicate in a way that is true to you, then you never have to worry about where anybody comes across you or what you're found doing.

By definition you are never caught doing anything to be ashamed of.

Continue reading the main story Cindy Gallop is an advertising consultant and commentator on cultural issuesHer episode of Four Thought is on BBC Radio 4 on 5 October 2011 at 20:45 BSTSo, at a time when there are many debates about the privacy settings on Facebook and the ethics of Wikileaks, I actually come from the complete opposite end of that argument. I believe in living your life and operating your business in a way that means you never have to worry about any of that.

Have you registered your ownname.com? The first thing that anybody does today when they meet you is they Google you, and when that happens you want to ensure three things - that you have a very strong online personal digital brand presence, that you Google in the right kind of way, and that you do not Google in the wrong kind of way.

Those three things are, predominantly, very much within your control. Ideally when someone Googles your name, you want to turn up as result number one on page one and you want to use that presence, your personal website, your personal blog, to tell people how to think about you before Google does it for you.

Now obviously that forces the question, so what do I want people to think about me, how do I want to manage people's perceptions of me? Well, a good way to think about that is to identify what is your personal default throwaway descriptor.

Imagine two people are talking. One of them knows you and one does not.

Continue reading the main story

Once you have stood up on the stage and announced that you have sex with younger men, no-one can ever shame or embarrass you ever again. So I live my life completely in the open”

End Quote The person who knows you makes some reference to you and the other person says, "Oh, who's that?", and the person who knows you says, "You know, they are X". That X is your default throwaway descriptor, and it is in your interests to make sure that it is something you would like it to be, because that is what people will default to in their description of you.

Exactly the same thing operates for a company or a business, too. You need to identify exactly what it is that you do as a business and you need to capture it and encapsulate it in a quick, easy and memorable soundbite, because you rely on people to spread the word of what your business does in order to get more business.

The aspect of this that a lot of people find quite difficult is that it forces you to ask yourself the question: "Who am I?" That is something that none of us really spends a great deal of time thinking about, and all too often throughout the course of our life and business, we allow other people and other things and other circumstances to define that for us.

I have a start-up and when we were first starting the website, my tech team brought me the homepage design and my programmer said to me: "Look, Cindy, we've designed this exactly the way you wanted us to, we've got 'If I Ran the World', and because we think people will be quite fazed when they arrive at the homepage, we've put a button in the box so they know there's somewhere to go."

And I said: "No, take the button out, I want people to be faced with an empty box because I want that to force a few moments of what very rarely happens in our life today, which is self-reflection."

If you don't want your boss to see drunk pictures of you, take action

All over the net today, if you post a profile, you can post a photograph of you at your most attractive, you can post a carefully crafted mosaic of the books and music you like that gives a certain impression, you can lie.

On my website you can't lie about anything because, apart from some basic information about yourself that you enter upfront, your profile is automatically generated by your actions. So when you look at it, it is you at a glance.

You are self-identifying and self-expressing in a very particular way which is: "I am what I do, I am the sum of my actions."

That adds up to an overall benefit which I call action branding. Personal action branding is for individuals and corporate action branding is for brands and businesses, and it is the advertising of the future.

Coming from the ad industry, I believe the advertising of the future is not about saying, it is about doing. It is not about telling, it is about being. Brands will be judged just as people are so action branding is communication through demonstration.

So when I launched my own company, I designed it to be transparent, because three years ago when I came up with the concept, people said to me: "Oh my God, Cindy, you're going to start a business that is all about doing good and you are going to make money out of it? Eek! People will not buy that, you have got to be a non-profit."

Some people think this man is not in love with the concept of privacy

The way I respond to that criticism was to say: "OK, I'm going to make my business model completely transparent." Whenever anybody asks how do you make money, I can just tell them.

Now in a world of transparency, I am essentially unblackmail-able. I'm unblackmail-able because I have a secondary venture called Make Love Not Porn, and I launched it at the TED conference [organisation that promotes ideas] in 2009.

Once you have stood up on the stage at TED and announced that you have sex with younger men, no-one can ever shame or embarrass you ever again. So I live my life completely in the open, and that is an enormously stress free and relaxing way to be.

And by the way I realise that I am quite an extreme example of this, but the principles are the same for everybody.

So I would exhort you to think about who you are, and think about how you can redesign your life and your work to mean that you are always true to yourself, and you never have to worry about what anyone might find about you or where anybody sees you or what anybody finds when they Google you.

This is an edited version of Cindy Gallop's Four Thought broadcast.

Updates to the eBay User Agreement and Privacy Policy

05 November, 2010 | 10:50AM GMT

You may recall that in late 2009, we announced that we will be strictly prohibiting the use of PowerSeller logo on our listings.

With the busy Christmas season nearly upon us, please note that we will begin to enforce this policy in 2 phases. This will give you additional time to make the necessary changes:

1. From November 2010, you will receive a warning message advising that you won?t be allowed to use the PowerSeller logo or references within your listing descriptions, listing templates, About Me pages, or eBay Shop pages. PowerSellers will continue to be rewarded through the benefits of the PowerSeller programme and eBay Top-rated seller eligibility. However, the eBay Top-rated seller badge will be the only icon on the site that will inform buyers about sellers who provide great service and customer experiences on eBay.

2.? From mid-February, you won?t be able to list a product if it violates this policy.

For more information on this policy, please refer to our selling policy page.

Regards,

The eBay Team

15 October, 2010 | 10:05AM BST

eBay has awarded grants to 3 favourite UK charities, as voted by buyers and sellers. Over 32,000 votes were cast for?2,001 UK charities in September.

1st prize: Cancer Research UK (4,707 votes) - ?5,000
2nd prize: Dogs Trust (2,856 votes) - ?3,000
3rd prize: NSPCC (2,752 votes) - ?2,000

When you?ve chosen your favourite charity, you can support them whenever you buy and sell on eBay. Find out how to select your favourite charity on eBay
Through eBay for Charity, you?ve donated over ?20 million for UK charities. This year, you raised over ?545,000 to help those affected by the Haiti earthquake, and over ?290,000 to help people affected by the floods in Pakistan.

Thank you for your generosity and for using eBay for Charity to support the causes you care about. Find out more about eBay for Charity

Regards,
The eBay team

14 October, 2010 | 02:11PM BST

eBay has now launched new sites in Finland, Hungary and Portugal. This means an additional 25 million people are now able to use a local eBay website.

Earlier in 2010 eBay opened sites in Russia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Since then, over 8 million items have been bought from these markets and the number of customers continues to grow rapidly. The most popular item categories in these new markets are Fashion, Consumer Electronics and Auto Parts.

Key benefits for sellers:
- Increase sales as buyers will be directed to listings on eBay.co.uk that offer delivery to their location.
- Target specific markets as buyers generally look for products that cannot be found locally or are more expensive in their own country. This is especially the case with auto parts, fashion and consumer electronics.

Key benefits for buyers on eBay International Market:
- An eBay site in their local language: The only things not translated will be seller?s item titles and descriptions.
- The ability to search for items across eBay?s global inventory which can be delivered to their location
- Prices converted into local currency
- Customer support in their native language

Buyer & seller protection on the eBay International Market:
- PayPal will be the only accepted form of payment on the eBay International Market sites. eBay Buyer Protection will apply to nearly all purchases made on eBay.co.uk and paid with PayPal. ?

If you want your items to be viewed by buyers from these markets, important things to know are:
- Only fixed price items will be included
- You?ll need to offer worldwide postage and specify P&P costs
- You must be PayPal verified and offer PayPal as a payment option.

Find out more about eBay International Markets and how to increase your international sales. ?

Best regards,
The eBay Team

04 October, 2010 | 09:39AM BST

New features and enhancements coming to eBay Fashion

The fashion shopping experience is being improved on eBay, with new search features available to help you find great fashion deals on eBay.

Fashion destination page has a new look in October

Here, you?ll find:

A redesigned page that will give you a visual and more inspirational browsing experience.Information on the latest fashion trends, popular items and great deals.?Links to specific products from the wide selection available on the site.?

A navigation that is faster, easier and better Simply click on the ?Fashion? link to access the fashion destination page from the eBay header.Easily access the main clothing categories from the new category navigation bar. New Fashion Shopping Profiles will give you the ability to save personalised profiles and preferences (Brand, Size, Item Condition, Format) and allow you to find your individual style. You can apply these profiles to the new landing pages and the Clothing, Shoes & Accessories search results pages.Filter items by item condition, brand, size, colour, price using "More Like This".Improvements to the navigation for Clothing, Shoes & Accessories on search results pages enable multi-select, visual size buttons and brand scroll.If you?re a seller in Fashion
Take advantage of the new features on eBay Fashion by following these listing best practices: Include high quality photos showcasing your products? Upload large, high resolution images?at least 1000 pixels on the longest side, and at least 90dpi. The photos should be well lit, focused and with a neutral background.Use a mannequin or model?when photographing clothing. It?s a better way to show fit than hangers. Be sure to show photos of tags on your new items.Provide multiple photos?that show your item from different angles and focus on details, applications and any wear, tear or defects to set buyer expectations about imperfect items. Make it easy for buyers to find all the information on brand, colour, style, size and condition
Fill in all item specifics?using the eBay values that best describe them, as this will help buyers when searching for it. Make sure the most appropriate category has been chosen for the item.Maximise the item?s title?using all 55 characters. Include relevant keywords, such as brand, size, colour and material.? Hint:?Use bulk edit tools?to optimise title, change the category, add details to the descriptions and add pictures to the live listings.Use multi-variation listings Sellers can include multiple variations of one product (such as colour and size) in one listing which will provide a better shopping experience.?Each item variation?can be priced and all the colours and sizes sold for a?single listing fee.

Regards,

The eBay Team

17 September, 2010 | 02:46PM BST

We?d like to update you regarding the launch of the new UK Community Hub previously announced below.

We can now confirm the Launch will start early on the morning of 21 September and continue throughout the day. During that time there may be some platform adjustments and we appreciate your patience and look forward to your interaction on the new Community Hub

Update to Groups Migration
After ongoing testing this week we are happy to confirm that the Group name and some general settings (group leader and member lists) will be preserved and transferred across to the new Community Hub.

Regards,

The eBay Community Team

07 September, 2010 | 01:58PM BST

We recently announced a new version of the Community hub was due to go live on eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie tomorrow. Unfortunately the launch of this hub will be delayed for two weeks.?

Groups who have been active on the community site during the last 6 months were originally going to have their content automatically transferred to our new platform. Due to technical difficulties, this will now not be possible. As a result all groups will start with none of their previous content. You will, however, be able to transfer your original content over to the new site and to facilitate this the current Community Groups hub will be kept open for an extra month.

We apologise for the inconvenience and look forward to viewing your new groups in the new eBay Community. If you have any questions relating to this announcement please feel free to post on our forum dedicated to the new Community platform, you can find it here: http://forums.ebay.co.uk/forum.jspa?forumID=1100000001

Regards
The eBay Community Team

25 August, 2010 | 01:14PM BST

From 8th September 2010, a new version of the Community hub will go live on eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie.

The site will have several new functions and features including:

A revised Answer Centre where you can award points for the best responses. New discussion boards featuring the most popular topics members are talking about.Integrated with social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, etc.Improved Groups functionality offering you the chance to debate on specific topics.A new video feature where each user can upload their own clips and watch what other members are saying about trading on eBay.

As part of the redesign we will be restructuring large parts of the Community site. Some of the changes you will see:

Threads and discussions older than 6 months will not feature on the new hub. If you wish to keep your personal threads, we suggest you archive this by cutting and pasting into a personal document. Members with a Feedback score of 10 or less are limited to ten posts per day.Any Groups which have been inactive for more than 6 months will be removed. Questions and answers from the last 3 years will be kept live on the site.

Before posting, check some of the changes we have made in our Boards and Groups policies. The old Community site will remain live until the new version is launched in September 2010.

To facilitate feedback and questions on this upcoming change we have created a new forum which you can access here. We ask that you please keep this board on topic and as much as possible post new community related questions here.

Kind regards,
The eBay Team

10 September, 2010 | 11:16AM BST

A new eBay for Charity feature allows you to set your favourite charity on eBay, so that you can support them whenever you buy and sell.?

To celebrate the launch of ?My Favourite Charity?, eBay is awarding grants of up to ?5,000 to the three charities that receive the most?votes as favourite in September.?

Visit? My Favourite Charity to see which charities Tess Daly, Sharon Osborne, Helen Mirren, Roger Moore, and other celebrities have chosen, and then choose your favourite charity.

Your generous contributions have so far raised over ?19m in the UK.?Along with the benefitting charities, we'd like to thank you for supporting good causes on eBay.

Learn more about eBay for Charity.

Regards,
The eBay for Charity team

24 August, 2010 | 04:31PM BST

Checkout is a crucial part of every eBay transaction. A consistent checkout experience helps buyers feel confident in their purchases. For sellers, checkout brings together critical business processes, including payments and shipping.

As of 30th June, 2011, eBay Checkout will be the only checkout process for buyers on eBay. ?The single eBay checkout experience will enable further innovation on the site in areas such as mobile commerce, which is becoming increasingly popular.

This change will only impact your selling process if you?re working with companies that act as service providers for eCommerce solutions and offer so called ?third party checkout? as one of their services to you. The change will not affect any of the inventory management and listing features that you currently use through that provider and we will continue to work closely with them to support these.

Your provider has been briefed on this change and will be able to work with you to move your listings onto eBay Checkout on time. You may want to contact your provider?s account representative to determine the next steps you need to take.

Over time, we will be enhancing eBay so we can offer you the key features and services you have enjoyed with 3rd party checkout to date. Starting in September 2010, you will be able to make listing more efficient and reduce questions from buyers with the new Delivery Rate tables. Additionally, industry standard descriptions for shipping services will more accurately manage buyers? expectations on delivery times. The new eBay Shopping Basket that is currently being tested on the UK site will be further enhanced to provide a single checkout experience. Please check for more announcements about upcoming features and enhancements to the checkout flow in 2011.

Regards,
The eBay Team

24 August, 2010 | 10:27AM BST

Items listed on eBay.co.uk posted from abroad will be required to specify P&P using either a branded courier service or one of the new generic ?...from outside United Kingdom? descriptions.

The standard descriptions are as follows:

Economy Delivery from outside UK.

Standard Delivery from outside UK

Express Delivery from outside UK

?

From September some listings will have their P&P description automatically changed to Economy Delivery from outside the UK with an estimated delivery of 10 ? 22 working days. This will affect the following categories:? Sellers Standard rate, Other Courier 3 days, Other Courier 5 Days, and Other? Courier.

These changes will help set buyer expectations, reduce questions about P&P, and encourage them to leave better detailed seller ratings.

?Discover more about Standardised postage of delivery services and sending items from abroad.

Regards,
The eBay Team

23 June, 2010 | 08:59AM BST

Approximately 180 million shoppers in Russia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Denmark, Sweden and Norway are now able to use the eBay International Market, a website tailored to local needs and available in each native language.

Since its launch earlier in 2010, customers from these six countries have bought over five million items from overseas sellers and the number of eBay customers in these markets has increased by nearly 200,000.

Key benefits for sellers who offer international postage:
Increase sales - buyers will be directed to listings on eBay.co.uk that offer international postage Buyers seeking items that are not easily available: typically buyers who shop on the eBay International Market are looking for products that cannot be found locally or are more expensive in their own country especially auto parts, fashion and consumer electronics Key benefits for buyers on eBay International Market:
Fully translated eBay site ? the only things not translated will be seller?s item titles and descriptions. The ability to search for items across eBay?s global inventory, but only see search results from sellers who will post to their location Prices converted into local currency Customer support in the native language Buyer & Seller Protection on the eBay International Market:

PayPal will be the only accepted form of payment on the eBay International Market sites.

If you want your items to be viewed by buyers from these markets, important things to know are:

Only fixed price items will be included You?ll need to offer worldwide postage and specify postage costs; You must be PayPal verified and of course offer PayPal as a payment option.

See how you can benefit from the eBay International Marketplace in this short video

Regards,
The eBay Team

02 June, 2010 | 01:31PM BST

As announced below, we would like to remind private sellers that from June 2nd, any private seller listing directly on eBay.co.uk, with a starting price up to ?0.99, and eBay.ie, with a starting price up to ?1.49, will be entitled to list up to 100 auction-style listings per month at 0 insertion fee. The 101st listing will be charged the standard insertion fee.

We would also like to remind affected sellers that should you list an item in one category you will see the zero insertion fee ? but if you choose to list in a second category ? that second category is charged at standard insertion fees rates whether you?re listing on eBay.co.uk (?0.10, ?0.05 for media) or eBay.ie (?0.15, ?0.07 for media).

Regards,
The eBay Team

30 April, 2010 | 12:45PM BST

In March 2009 we introduced zero insertion fees for private sellers in the UK and Ireland who list items in Auction Style Format with a starting price of ?0.99/?1.49 or lower. Since this launch there has been a significant increase in both the number and variety of items listed for sale. This has been welcomed by buyers who are finding great deals and sellers who have seen an overall increase in the number of buyers .

However, a few sellers have been taking advantage of this pricing to list very large volumes of lower quality goods, creating a poor experience for buyers and other sellers. In order to keep the marketplace in balance, we are introducing a new limit on the number of auction-style listings that do not incur an insertion fee.

From 2 June 2010, all private sellers listing directly on eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie will be entitled to 100 free auction-style listings per month. Thereafter the listings will incur an insertion fee.

eBay.co.uk

Starting price or reserve price Insertion fee for the 1st 100 auction-style listings

Insertion fee from the 101st auction-style listing

eBay.ie

Starting price or reserve price Insertion fee for the 1st 100 auction-style listings

Insertion fee from the 101st auction-style listing

Insertion Fees of auction-style listings starting at more than ?0.99 on eBay.co.uk or ?1.49 on eBay.ie are not affected by this change. Final Value Fees are also unaffected.

Business sellers are unaffected by the changes in this announcement. If you normally list more than 100 items per month, registering as a business seller will allow you to benefit from business pricing. In addition, as PowerSeller eligibility thresholds have been lowered recently, you could qualify for Final Value Fees discounts.

Regards,
The eBay Team

23 April, 2010 | 04:37PM BST

Since April 2010, the minimum performance standard of selling has been raised to ensure the consistency of service on eBay and to ensure it is in line with our buyers? expectations.

The minimum performance standard now requires sellers to have a low number of 1 or 2 stars on the detailed seller ratings (DSR) score. To meet the minimum performance standard, sellers need only to satisfy:

1. the minimum DSR percentage rate or;

2. the minimum DSR count

If you have sold more than 400 items during the last three months, the calculation will be based on the percentage rate of your low DSRs. If you have sold less than 400 items in the past three months, the calculation will be based on the total number of low DSRs you have received during the last 12 months.

To achieve the minimum standards required of selling on eBay, the number of ?Item as described? DSRs rated as one or two has to be lower than 3 or 1% total of those transactions. Detailed seller ratings rated as one or two for ?Communication?, ?Dispatch time? and ?P&P charges? have to be lower than 3 or 2% total of those transactions.

Sellers who fall below the minimum standard may face a number of consequences including demotion in search and restrictions on selling activity.

What should you do now?

Ensure you deliver the very best service across all four criteria. Please use your seller dashboard to see if you meet the minimum standards. You can find your Seller Dashboard in ?My eBay? under ?Account?.

You can also look at our tips to improve your detailed seller ratings.

Regards,

The eBay Team

22 April, 2010 | 03:49PM BST

If you are using eBay picture hosting for your listing photos, a new version of the Standard uploader will be available in the next few days.

The Standard uploader will now be able to upload your pictures much faster. You?ll also be able to crop and rotate your photos in a new, larger picture preview area in the Add Pictures window. These features were previously only available in the Enhanced version. You can use the Standard uploader on all supported browsers and operating systems.

For those of you using the Standard picture uploader who have Flash 10 installed, you?ll be able to access the new features in the next few days. If you have Flash 9 installed, you?ll continue to see the current Standard version. If you?d like to install Flash 10, it can be downloaded for free from the Adobe website.

The Enhanced uploader will be removed after July 2010, as most of its features will now be available in the Standard version. At that time, if you have the Enhanced uploader as your default, you?ll be automatically switched to the Standard one. If you don?t have Flash 10 installed, you?ll be switched to the Basic uploader.

Learn more about how to upload your photos using the Standard uploader, as well as other features of eBay picture hosting.

Regards,

The eBay Team

13 April, 2010 | 11:47AM BST

eBay has always believed in providing its users with as much control as possible and making the user experience simple and easy. Goals such as these led to the introduction of the AdChoice Program in 2007.

eBay was the first company to place a clear link near an ad, informing you that the ad may be customized ?to your interests, and allowing you the opportunity to turn off that type of personalization.? We took this step because we believed it was the right thing to do.

I am pleased to inform you that many other companies have come together to adopt an approach based off eBay?s AdChoice program.

AdChoice is about to begin a new phase that will take a step forward by making this experience consistent and easier to manage. In the next few weeks, ads served by eBay and its advertising partners that used to have a text link such as ?AdChoice? or ?about? will now additionally have an advertising standard AdChoice icon:

For those who turn off graphics, a text link will still be available.? The text link will read : AdChoice

Just as the text labels ?AdChoice? and ?about? linked to a location that enabled you to understand and set your advertising preferences, so will both the ?AdChoice? label and icon. The functionality is the same, the message is the same - it is your choice. All that is changing is the ease with which you can find and use the link.??

We?re proud to be a leader and see others joining in and making their advertising practices more transparent.??

More information about AdChoice for UK members.

More information about AdChoice for IE members.

Regards,

The eBay Team

12 April, 2010 | 10:06AM BST

eBay is one of the UK?s leading fashion websites, with around 2.5 million customers coming to the Clothes, Shoes and Accessories category every month*. Over the next year several improvements will be made in the way people shop for their clothing, shoes and accessories on eBay.

FASHION?S NEW LOOK

The new look and features will make it easier for buyers to find the deals, brands and styles they are looking for. Sellers are also going to benefit as the way they can sell their products will be improved. From mid April 2010, you?ll see the following changes:

Gallery View as the default in search: to make it easier to browse and buy, Gallery View will be set as the default for Fashion search results. The number of items appearing on each page will grow from 25 to 50, displaying the most relevant selection to buyers. Quick Look layer: the Quick Look display will be enhanced ensuring the most relevant information will be shown.

More inspiration for buyers
Buyers want to be inspired as they shop for fashion and sellers want to reach-out to more potential customers. Therefore the following improvements are being made:

A new category home page: Highlighting the most searched for brands, the most watched listings and the best-selling products.?More like this? (Image Search BETA): This will show items from sellers with a similar look/colour/shape relevant to the buyer. They will also be able to see more items from the same seller and similar brands. The feature will be based on the information provided in Item Specifics.

Fashion Outlet

The Fashion Outlet is also changing as we are working with our retail and brand partners to bring guaranteed discounts on branded fashion directly to eBay.

There will be a new landing page and the ?Outlet? tab will be replaced with ?Fashion Outlet? in the eBay header.? Also, as a test, the logos of our retail and brand partners? will feature on their listings and in search results.

More information can be found here.

* Nielsen NetRatings, November 2009

?

BEST PRACTICE-TIPS FOR SELLERS

Include high quality photos showcasing your products
Having high quality pictures will help sellers take advantage of the more visual shopping experience.

Upload large, high resolution images at least 1000 pixels on the longest side, and at least 90dpi. The photos should be well lit and focused.Use a mannequin or model when photographing clothing. It?s a better way to show fit than hangers. Be sure to show photos of tags on your new items.Provide multiple photos that show your item from different angles and focus on details, applications and any wear, tear or defects to set buyer expectations about imperfect items.

Make it easy for buyers to find all the facts
Buyers typically consider brand, colour, style, size and condition when they are shopping. Help them get all of these details fast.

Fill in Item Specifics with essential details such as item condition, brand, size, measurements, details and colour. Choose the eBay values that best describe the items ? they are used to surface relevant listings in search results. Make sure that the most appropriate category has been chosen for the item.Maximise the item title using all 55 characters. Include relevant keywords, such as brand, size, colour and material.

Hint: Bulk edit tools make it easy to optimise title, change the category, add details to the descriptions and add pictures to the live listings.

Use multi-variation listings

Multi-variation listing format allows sellers to include multiple variations of one product (such as colour and size) in just one listing and provides a better shopping experience. Each item variation can be priced and all the colours and sizes can be sold for a single listing fee.

Regards,

The eBay Team

06 April, 2010 | 04:20PM BST

We're making the process for handling unpaid items easier for both buyers and sellers.

Automate claims with the Unpaid Item Assistant

The Unpaid Item Assistant automatically opens a case if your buyer doesn't pay after a period of time that you specify - 4, 8, 16, 24, or 32 days after the listing closes. If four days pass without payment after the case is opened, the case will be closed, your Final Value Fee will be automatically refunded, the buyer won?t be able to leave Feedback, and you will be able to relist your item.

If you're using Unpaid Item Assistant, it automatically blocks Feedback from buyers who haven't paid. As soon as it opens a case, the buyer won't be able to leave Feedback on your transaction until the case is closed and you've received payment.

The Unpaid Item Assistant is available for all listing formats offering PayPal as the only payment method and buyers must have gone through eBay checkout or a third-party listing service that uses eBay checkout.

To take advantage of the Unpaid Item Assistant you must opt in by following these steps:

Go to "My eBay" at the top of any eBay page. Select the "Account" tab at the top of the page. Click "Site Preferences" on the left. Go to your "Unpaid Item Preferences." Select the option that says "Yes - I want Unpaid Item Assistant to open and close cases on my behalf" and set the day-4, 8, 16, 24, 32. Click "Save."

Please ensure you remove local pick up, checks and postal orders as payment options from all your listings, since this automated process only works when you list PayPal as the only payment option.

Find out more about the Unpaid Item Assistant?

Improvements to the process when you open an unpaid item claim manually

If a buyer doesn?t pay and you cancel the transaction, the buyer will no longer be able to pay for the item. If you open an unpaid item case, it will be closed automatically when the buyer pays with PayPal.

Regards,
The eBay Team

01 April, 2010 | 02:36PM BST

In March 2009 we introduced zero insertion fees for private sellers in the UK and Ireland who list items in Auction Style Format with a starting price of 99p/99c or lower. ?Since this launch there has been a significant increase in both the number and variety of items listed for sale. ?This has been welcomed by buyers who are finding great deals and sellers who have seen an overall increase in the number of buyers.

However, some sellers have been taking advantage of this pricing to list very large volumes of lower quality goods, creating a poor experience for buyers and other sellers. ?We have taken steps in recent months to keep the marketplace in balance, and today we are announcing further changes as detailed below:

1.) For private sellers registered on the eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie sites

From this week private sellers with a feedback score of less than 25, will be automatically limited to 100 live listings/total quantity at any point in time on ebay.co.uk and ebay.ie.Any private seller listing in high volumes will be reviewed by Customer Support , and potentially required to upgrade to business status or be blocked from listing on ebay.co.uk and ebay.ie.

2.) For overseas private sellers listing directly on ebay.co.uk and ebay.ie.

Sellers registered on the ebay.com site are bound by the International Trading Policy, which now requires high volume sellers actively listing on European sites to be registered as business sellers.? Breaches of this policy may result in a range of actions, including demotion in search and being blocked from listing on ebay.co.uk and ebay.ie.Private sellers registered on all other international sites are now automatically limited to 100 live listings/total quantity at any point in time on ebay.co.uk and ebay.ie.

3.) For all private sellers listing directly on ebay.co.uk and ebay.ie.

From June 2010 all private sellers will be limited to 100 free auction-style listings per month. Auction-style listings beyond 100 will be allowed, but will be charged an insertion fee.

Business sellers are unaffected by the changes in this announcement.? To identify if you should be registering as a business seller please view this help page.

Regards,
The eBay Team

29 March, 2010 | 10:03AM BST

In February we notified you we would be making some important changes for sellers during March and April. Here you?ll find an update when we expect these changes to become available across the site.

Some additional information on the changes:

Good ?Til Cancelled listings to end if no sales after 16 months

We initially announced that Good ?Til Cancelled listings that have not had a sale for 16 months will automatically end. Since the announcement sellers have asked us not to end the listing but to instead notify them that the item has not been sold for 16 months and should be edited to attract buyers. We have now implemented this request.

Regards,
The eBay Team

01 February, 2010 | 09:28AM GMT

During 2010, the focus will be on making eBay a stronger and more profitable sales channel for sellers and an increasingly trusted online site for shoppers.? To help achieve this, there will be a series of 3 changes to the platform and selling policies in 2010.

The first of these changes focuses on exciting developments that ensure even more sellers who provide excellent service are rewarded with benefits and discounts.

From April, the sales level to enter the PowerSeller programme will be lowered enabling more sellers, who offer great service, to enjoy its associated discounts and benefits. This will also mean that more great sellers will qualify for the eBay Top-rated seller status. Find out more about the PowerSeller updateAt the same time, the minimum performance standard for selling on eBay will be raised to ensure a consistently high level of service across the marketplace.? Find out more about the new minimum performance standard

Included in this update are also policy and listing process changes that make selling on eBay more efficient.?

A key policy change is the removal of the free postage & packaging requirement, introduced in 2009 in Accessories, Media and other selected categories, which will be replaced with maximum postage limits. Whilst many buyers responded positively to listings with free postage, many sellers asked for alternative options to prevent excessive postage charges ? especially for listings in the auction-style format with a low starting price.?

In response to sellers? feedback, the free P&P requirement for all affected categories will be removed and replaced by maximum limits to P&P charges from 8 February 2010.? Find out more about the new P&P limits and affected categories.

The rest of the changes will go online from the week commencing 23 March, giving sellers plenty of time to get their businesses ready.

Improved listing processes Policy updates & other changes Useful tips

A summary of important changes and key dates can also be found in the seller checklist.
Regards,
The eBay Team

06 March, 2010 | 11:30AM GMT

We would like to advise members that the issue with Global Shops have been resolved. We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. Regards, The eBay Team

We?d like to advise members of multiple issues with Shop Categories which they may be experiencing. Currently affected are multiple areas of a seller's shop, including their Shop front Navigation, Promotion Boxes displaying items, Shop Category search, and the Listing Frame on their View Item page.

This issue is currently affecting all sites. We will continue to provide updates where possible and thank you for your patience while we work to resolve this.

Regards

The eBay Team