Checklist items with this symbol may require updates to your listings. To save time, try to consolidate these changes. Find out how eBay's tips and tools to edit listings and our new bulk edit functionality will make it faster and easier to make changes to your listings.

Starting Now

In July

• On July 27, item condition becomes mandatory in certain categories for all new listings, revised listings and sell similar. Use the item condition look up table to see which categories will require changes. Consider using the new bulk functionality —available now to all sellers—to make your edits.
  
• Get more rewards for your photos chosen to be part of the eBay catalog–5 free Subtitles in addition to the extra exposure you get with your user ID and a link to your profile page each time your photo is displayed. If you've opted out of the program in the past, you can opt back in whenever you like. Just go to the Account tab in My eBay, select Site Preferences, then Selling Preferences and follow the instructions beside "Share your photos."

In August

• Review your Automated Q&A in My eBay. Consider adding customized questions and answers that you receive frequently about your items. 
• Review the new blocked buyer preferences in My eBay and adjust if you want to prevent your blocked buyers from contacting you.

In September

• Make sure all PowerSeller icons and references are removed from your listing descriptions, listing templates, About Me pages, My World pages, and Store pages.

• Starting the week of September 20, list FREE—pay no Insertion Fees—in iPod & MP3 Players, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and DVDs, HD DVDs & Blu-ray subcategories when you list, relist, or revise listings with the eBay catalog. If you're a Top-rated seller, these listing will also have a chance to appear in the value box on the product page . All listings in these subcategories will be required to be listed with the eBay catalog whenever there's a product in the catalog that matches your item.

• If you have items in these subcategories that were not listed with the catalog, revise or relist them with the catalog so they are in compliance with the new requirement and eligible for free Insertion Fees and Subtitle and, if you're a Top-rated seller, to appear in the value box on the product page .

• Try the Listing Analytics application when it launches the week of September 20. Subscribe to this free tool directly from the Applications tab in My eBay or from your Seller Dashboard and Selling Manager/Selling Manager Pro. Use this information leading up to the holiday season to help increase traffic to your listings and bring more sales. Follow these best practices to make Best Match work for you in any listing format , maximizing your search exposure and business results.

• Starting in September, your shipping services with estimated delivery will be more prominently displayed on the item page and in checkout using the new eBay classifications—Economy, Standard, Expedited, and One-day. If you currently use “Standard Flat Rate Shipping”, “Expedited Flat Rate Shipping” or “Other”, make sure your carrier's published delivery estimates match the shipping times eBay will be using for estimated delivery . You may want to change your listings—and possibly your services or handling time—to stay competitive and set the right expectations for your buyers.

• Consider adding expedited and free shipping options to boost your holiday sales. The options you offer will be prominently displayed with estimated delivery at the top of the item page and in checkout.

• If you want to make changes to shipping fields in your listings, update them as they renew—or see step-by-step instructions for editing your listings in bulk.

• Starting this month, you'll have two new options for how you handle shipping to special domestic areas outside the continental U.S. —Alaska and Hawaii, US Protectorates, and APO/FPO addresses .

  • If you prefer not to ship these special domestic areas, add these locations to your exclusion list.
  • If you do want to ship to these locations and specify a special cost, use the “Use shipping rate tables” option in My eBay.
    
• Manage customer and eBay email communications the easy way in My Messages :
  • Set up your My Messages default view to display the email information you need most
  • Customize your email signature
  • Set up out-of-office notifications to let buyers know when you're unavailable
    
• Try out the new functionality available now to make changes to multiple listings at once. Click the opt-in link in the bulk edit, relist and sell similar flows to enter the new bulk flows. Edit key fields like price, quantity, duration, title and subtitle, as well as item condition . Starting this month you'll also be able to bulk edit many more fields including listing categories, item description, payment information, shipping fields, product details . You'll also be able to use “find and replace” to bulk edit listing descriptions.
  

In October

• New seller performance standard requirements come into effect this month. Follow best practices for avoiding and resolving cases filed through the eBay or PayPal Buyer Protection programs . Keep a close eye on your standing using your Seller Dashboard .

Check out the announcement Overview page for more complete details and FAQs on these upcoming changes.