AuctionWire

A new startup called ahTXT has just launched a new application that relays real-time eBay seller activity directly to your cell phone.  Now sellers can receive notifications of events as they happen, including sales, questions from buyers, best offers, and even feedback.  It's highly configurable if you wish to tune the types of events and times to receive them.  The service is free and easy to use -- two minutes, and you're ready to go.  Sign up at ahTXT.com.

On ebaydeveloper.typepad.com

Further to our previous announcement, it’s likely the launch of the new Seller Dashboard will be delayed until next week. Additionally, we want to clarify that access to the Dashboard will be available only to registered business sellers.

eBay.co.uk Announcement

Please note that the discount module of the Seller Dashboard referenced in Lorrie Norrington's post below is not yet available to Canadian sellers. We are expecting to have this available next week for sellers on eBay.ca. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.

eBay.ca Announcement

Belle River, ON; Sooke, BC, and Kemptville, ON were named "tops in trading" by eBay Canada. For the first time, eBay Canada ranked Canadian online trading activity for an entire year, and smaller communities counted big. On a provincial level, the top three provinces of eBay activity in order were Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. Belle River, Ontario (N0R 1A0) was number one in terms of eBay trading, with a total of 1,294 individual buyers and active sellers (people who completed a transaction during 2007).

By Ina Steiner | ebaycommunitycounts.ca

Bid for Gitanjali's Limited Edition Diamond Collectibles on auction @Rs. 1

eBay India (www.eBay.in) in association with the Gitanjali Group offer Indian online shoppers a chance to bid on rare Diamond collectibles from the Tesoro range. Three limited diamond studded designer pieces will be listed on auction starting @ Rs. 1 as part of eBay India’s third anniversary celebrations. The Tesoro collectibles on auction are a Diamond Studded Golf Ball, a string of Diamond Prayer Beads and a stunning Diamond Paper Weight. The auction will be on tillApril 5, 2008.

SAN FRANCISCO — While Yahoo staves off a takeover bid from Microsoft — and Microsoft braces for life after Bill Gates — another high-tech pioneer is at a digital crossroads. As eBay readies for the post-Meg-Whitman era, and new CEO John Donahoe takes over Monday, it faces fierce challenges in a Web 2.0 era defined by armies of agile competitors. Running eBay could be a daunting task. The former dot-com darling has lost some of its luster and is reinventing itself to reverse years of slowing growth in its auction marketplace, where millions trade online selling to the highest bidder or at a fixed price. Some sellers are drifting away to take advantage of more options these days at online stops such as Amazon and specialty stores, or to protest another fee increase at eBay.

By Jon Swartz

So you have been looking everywhere for that certain item that you just can't live without. When suddenly there it is....on ebay. How much easier can it get...right? Well before you place your bid or hit the "Buy It Now" button, here are a few things you should look for. I call them the Scams of EBAY!!!! Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about and before you read any further. There isn't gonna be no crying or whining or hell attempted lawsuits here. By reading this you except that I'm right and nothing can be used against me....except my witty charm.

By Darrell Mays

Community spent nearly $10,000 on rubber stamps last year alone. Sooke's penchant for rubber stamps and calculators has elevated it to the No. 2 Canadian spot in the eBay online auction universe. With a population of 10,500, Sooke had 857 individual buyers and sellers last year, trailing only Belle River, Ont., at 1,294. The rankings were released yesterday in eBay Canada's first-ever "census" and are based on the number of transactions sorted by postal code.

By Carla Wilson

A seller wrote to AuctionBytes on Friday morning, "woke up this morning to find a neutral that fell off my 30 day chart 4 days ago reappeared on my 30 day chart today." Looking up his User ID, I confirmed that a neutral feedback rating appeared in his 30-day feedback chart, while the last neutral that had been left to him was on February 25 (34 days prior to Friday's date). I checked again Saturday afternoon, and the neutral had disappeared from his 30-day feedback chart.

By Ina Steiner

You know you are in the wrong line of work when someone sells a cornflake on eBay for $1,350.Two Virginia sisters got someone to buy the cornflake because it vaguely resembles the outline of the state of Illinois. The 15-year-old sister said she was stuffing dry Frosted Flakes into her mouth between classes when she abruptly stopped because she noticed one of the flakes was in the shape of Illinois.I find this story highly questionable given the geography skills of the average American high-schooler. Many students are unable to recognize the outline of the United States, let alone a state in which they do not live.

By David Grimes

In many ways, Chris Fain's story sounds like that of the average eBay and online auction seller. He traded baseball cards with his buddies as a boy growing up in the Los Angeles area. He has been interested in antiques and collectibles his whole life. "In the 1980s, my wife and I would go yard-saling and to swap meets," he recalls. "We started a business called the Good Old Days Trading Company." Fain discovered eBay in 1997 and eventually became a PowerSeller. Like the author of this column, he collects antique pens and watches and is interested in mechanical toys.

By Greg Holden

Meet the Top 100 Global Buyers on Taobao.com, China's largest shopping website. Taobao.com is China's largest shopping website with 53,000,000 members and a 75% share of the online shopping market in China. More than US$5.5 billion changed hands on Taobao.com in 2007 which means the Top 100 Global Buyers offer an unparalleled chance for your business to build a presence in China. Take advantage of strong Chinese customer demand for quality international products. Meet the Taobao.com Top 100 Global Buyers and watch your revenue grow.