Here's what I'm gonna do:

Obviously, an ebook about how to write & sell ebooks on eBay is now a dead project, considerting we can no longer sell downloads here.  However, people have asked me to do one on blogging & promoting on blogs, etc.  THAT I can still do.  Granted, I won't be able to sell it as a download -- so, I am strongly considering GIVING it away on the blogs when it is done. 

So, if you bought an ad in the "ebooks" project and are OK with it morphing into a blogs how-to, then your ad will still be distributed -- it will just be in a freebie instead.   TGhat may even get MORE exposure!

The project will not be done on May 1 as originally scheduled, since I now have to scrap everything I did so far (an Brainless Brian thinks it "costs nothing" to peroduce digital stuff???).  Passover is coming, plus it is maple syrup season, so I'm gonna suddenly get very busy the next couple weeks.  I'm pushing the deadline off until late June.  Who knows?  Maybe by then, eBay will have seen the folly of this stupid, stupid policy change.

Thank you for your patience, and for being such good customers.

The fur on this kitten, born Sunday in Sacramento, California, seems to spell out "I (heart) (dot)." That's especially cute because the kitten's mother is named Dottie !

And if you love cute newborn kitty pix, be sure to visit my store in the Stock Digital Photos section and grab some of my originals before March 31, when eBay will no longer allow digital downloads.

This morning I woke up with a possible idea that might work.  I asked Live Help and they thought it was OK, but sent me to Trust & Safety.  Have not heard from them yet, so this is only an IDEA, not approved yet, but hear me out & let's discuss it.

Here is what I sent to T & S (minus the greetings & sig, etc):

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Can the CD be regarded as part of the packing material, since it is the method of delivering the item and not the item itself?  My idea is to list my stock photos and other digital items as individual sales as usual, with a reasonable shipping price to ship media mail that includes the cost of the blank CD on which the item will be custom burned.  (Copyright is not an issue, I have the necessary rights.)  The customer would pay shipping on the first digital item and then all additional digi items -- as many as they want -- would ship FREE combined on the same CD.   Since you can put literally hundreds of photos on one CD, this would be an ENORMOUS savings for my customers instead of having to buy individual CDs for each digital pic. 

This is not an attempt to avoid ebay fees, because I charge at least $2 or more for my photos and other digi items.  Ebay would get the same fees as before, when I sold them as downloads.  It is an idea to make things more affordable for my customers.  It is also hopefully a way to continue listing photos in the Stock Photograph category where my photos belong.

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It will probably take a day or more to get an answer.  I do not see why this would not work, especially with  the new shipping set-up where you can specify rules for combining specific types of items.  I would simply set up a combining rule for "digitals."  I frequently have people buying multiple digi items and if they are willing to wait for a CD, this would be a good way to combine shipping. 

Not perfect, I'd rather do downloads, but better than Classified and better than charging for a CD for each pic.

What do you think?

Who is  Brian  Burke?  The eBay guy who just KILLED the digital items market on eBay.  In case you have not seen this latest announcement:

***New Policy Update: Digital Downloadable Goods in Classified Ads Format Only***

March 24, 2008 | 01:00PM PST/PT Brian Burke Hello...This is Brian Burke, Director Global Feedback Policy. Digital goods are often reproduced at little to no cost to the seller. On eBay, this creates the potential for Feedback Manipulation (both real and perceived). To preserve the integrity of the Feedback system, effective March 31 all goods that can be digitally downloaded or transferred electronically must be listed using the Classified Ads format. Using the Classified Ads format, sellers receive a 30-day ad at a fixed price. This solution enables sellers to continue to market their digital goods on eBay; however, because Classified Ad listings are a lead generation tool and do not result in transactions that go through eBay, Feedback cannot be exchanged between buyer and seller. Sellers who wish to continue to offer digital goods can do so by selecting the Everything Else>Information Products category in the Sell Your Item form and choosing the Classified Ads format (not auction-style or fixed price). For more information about the Classified Ads format, please read Advertising with Classified Ads. Sincerely, Brian Burke Director, Global Feedback Policy

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Brian, do you REALLY expect me to pay $9.95 to sell a $2 digital photo?  And is that for a single item or multiple like Store Inventory??? Either way, I'm screwed. I currently have 58 digi photos and 36 other digi items in my store -- a total of 94 titles, which would cost me almost a thousand bucks a month to list in Classified. My little store does not even gross that much before fees, let alone make enough to cover it.

Most of my ebooks and photos sell for $2-$3 (I do NOT sell penny ebooks). Nobody is going to pay over $10 for a digital photo from me. I would LOSE money and so will every other digi items seller on eBay.  Not to mention all the EXTRA WORK that will be generated by having to answer all the classified queries by hand, send out all the download links by hand -- collect the money with no Seller protection -- and to top it all off, I'm on a RURAL DIAL-UP connection which is VERY SLOW.  I'd end up working for less than a SLAVE.

I don't CARE about the feedback -- can't you just fix it so digital items do not get feedback and let us sell as usual?  Surely there is some genius on your programming staff who could link the 'sell as digital item' choice on the SYI with the FB program and cancel it out that way, so the FB link does not show up in My eBay?  That way, we could continue to make a profit you would not have to worry about FB manipulation.

Otherwise, I might as well pull all my digi stuff for good, because people are not going to go through all that classified contact rigamarole to get a stock photo from me when they can go ELSEWHERE on the Net and download my competitor's photos immeditately after paying.

What was the POINT of developing the auto digi format if you are now essentially forcing us all out of business? Because although I sell feathers and seeds as my main products, the digi stuff (much of which I write, design, or shoot myself)is the daily bread-and-butter that tides me through the off-season times. Without that backup line, I am probably going to have to close my store.

And to add insult to injury, you say we produce these things with little or no "cost." As a freelance writer, I have spent MONTHS writing and developing my materials. Two of my ebooks are compilations of my own magazine articles over the past 20 years.  Another is a public domain work that I spent SIX MONTHS reformatting and illustrating.  As for photos, it takes me HOURS and dozens of shots to get one pic worth selling.  But I suppose you think that an artists's time has no value.

Rabbi Yonassan Gershom
Rooster613 on eBay

So, folks, if there is anything digital in my store that you have been wanting to buy, better do it now, because it's all gonna come down on Sunday the 30th.

UPDATE:

BRainless Burke did a follow-up explanation here:

http://www.ebaychatter.com/the_chatter/2008/03/digital-downloa.html

Seems they DID consider having a minimum price for digi stuff but rejected it for some unknown reason  Probably because they get more money from Classifed ads.  Sorry, no deal.  Why should I pay $9.95 for a 30-day listing that used to cost 3 cents in my store Inventory???? 

Meanwhile, there was quite a fire sale going on all over eBay for ebooks that week.  I did what I never did before -- bought a bunch of VERY cheap ebooks, not bcause I want to up my FB, but because I wanted them & they are cheap.  Others did the same by buying from me.  This may have increase sales last week, but I expect the graph to take a big dip this week next week.  Even the 1-cent listing sale is not gong to offset millions of digi listings dying.

Meanwhile, 6 of my fav sellers went NARU -- all were people who specialized in ebooks.  Wonder how many stores will close over this?

Really! These eggs are not dyed!

Auracana chickens lay BLUE or PINK eggs!  This interesting breed originally came from South America.  Here you see my cat Buffy checking out a dozen.

Or maybe they thought it was SERIOUS?  Really -- this is hilarious!

If you have ever browsed the "Sell on eBay" section, you know that lots of sellers post sexy pix to try to get you to look at their little get-rich-quick schemes. This is so common, that, in the description for MY selling tips ebooks, I have a farmer pic of me out standing in my field (literally) with the disclaimer that I'm not some sexy dude trying to sell a scam, etc.

Well, today I go to list the new updated version of my ebook and in the further details section under "Item specifics," I get this list of choices:

Amateur Group Sex

FEATURE

GOLDEN AGE OF PORN

INTERACTIVE SEX SIMULATOR

Mens New Sealed PIN-UP STYLE LINGERIE

Pinup/Nude

how-to info magazine

Hmmmm.... at age 60, I hardly need a magazine to tell me how to do IT.  I mean, if a guy has not found out by then, he's hopeless.

My guess is, the auto-generator for the SYI form picked these out based on words in my description.  In honor of this stupidity, I listed my ebook again as: "No sexy sex pics - just good solid sell on eBay info."  Who knows?  It just might sell better that way!

   ...................................................................

I did it.   I have updated my popular how-to ebook to include the recent eBay changes.   This does not mean I LIKE the changes, only that, in a how-to book, the most current info should be included  So, it had to be done.  (Sigh).  Here's the NEWLY-REVISED edition of: 

"The Happy Rooster's Guide

to Successful eBay Selling"

A down-to-earth ebook collection of my very best tips and ideas, with examples, stories (names changed, of course!) of the things that have worked for me -- and those that didn't.

Learn from my mistakes -- don't re-invent the square wheel !!!

This is not one of those HTML-based "books" that are just a bunch of hyperlinks to more products on the Net. And it's not some multi-level marketing "chain letter" scheme where you (supposedly) make money by selling more ebooks to your friends.   And no, I'm not "feedback farming," either.

This is REAL WRITING!!!

As you can see, I'm not some hot young guy using sexy (???) pictures of himself and his girlfriend to lure you to a sale.  I'm just a down-to-earth, rather homely over-50 codger who knows how to sell things. Check out my feedback -- my customers are satisfied, and they keep coming back.

How do I do this? With magic?

No, with hard work. Anybody who tells you that you can strike it rich on eBay without working is scamming you. On the other hand, if you are trying to push a square-wheeled cart uphill, you are wasting your time. That's why you need this ebook -- to learn where to best focus your energy.  You will find it in my store -- featured right at the top of the homepage.

Only $1.99  -- use link below !!

And yes  -- I leave VERY FAST feedback --

usually within 24 hours, faster if I'm online at the time.

I believe in being PROMPT!!!

And remember:  You can now get one additional feedback per week from each repeat buyer or seller -- so, even if you have bought from me before, if it was more than a week ago, you'll get another feedback for this purchase :)

you will end up at the BOTTOM of the list!  I noticed this while doing my weekly searches for wholesale lots.  I sort lowest-to-highest-price+shipping  (after all, I'm lookng for cheap resale deals) and I saw that sales with unspecified shipping charges are at the BOTTOM of the  search list (often MANY PAGES back) even if they are cheaper than some with shipping listed.  So take heed:  If you don't want to be buried in obscurity (because how many buyers go to page 20 to look?) then specify your shipping charges up front!

The Happy Rooster's Guide to

Using effective KEYWORDS

Items not selling?  Could be your keywords. 

Keywords are the words people use to search when they shop.  Effective keywords are the absolutely most important tool for selling on eBay.  Yet over and over, I see people using lame, useless, ineffective title lines -- many even mispelled! -- that do not sell because customers cannot find the listings.  If they can't find it, they can't buy it!!!!!

So, I decided to write  The Happy Rooster's Guide to Using effective Keywords  ebook (part of my bestselling Happy Rooster series) on how to choose and effectively use keywords in your title lines and descriptions.  I want to help my fellow eBay sellers maximize their success on the electronic superhighway instead of getting lost on a "back dirt road" somewhere!

You are probably asking yourself:  Just how much could a person write on this topic, anyway? The answer is: A LOT!!!  It's not only a matter of title lines, it's a matter of marketing strategy, too.  You need to learn to think the way your customers shop. You need to understand how the search engines work.  You need to know the do's and don'ts for using capital letters and bold to maximize customer browsing.   Plus the one big secret about eBay Advanced Searches that can save you hundreds of dollars.  All this and MORE is covered in this ebook. 

Check out my other ebooks, too.   (If you buy more than one item, please pay in ONE payment when you are done shopping.   Otherwise, Paypal charges me 30 cents PER TRANSACTION plus a percentage, and at these prices, that means I don't make much.  Ask for an invoice if they do not combine automatically.  Thank you!)

101 NEGATIVE FEEDBACK LINES

FOR DEADBEAT BIDDERS!!

Sarcastically presented by

Rooster613 on eBay

     (with Master Reseller rights)