eBay Spring 2024 Seller Check In Preview: Terapeak Gets A New Name, Comes To Mobile
eBay's Spring Seller Check In virtual event is coming up and a peek at the agenda reveals Terapeak research tools are getting some updates including a new name and finally being included in the mobile app.
The event will take place from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Eastern (11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Pacific) on March 7th.
Spring Seller Check-In
We’re kicking off our seller event series with a focus on product updates that make your eBay business more efficient.Plus, the fashion team will be here to discuss trends and some exciting customer experience enhancements.
Schedule Highlights
2:00 PM-3:10 PM Spring Seller Check-in Main Session
Hear the latest trends and updates on categories and products. We’re also announcing new tools to the platform and sharing a seller’s tips and tricks for all things Spring.Adam Ireland - eBay VP & U.S. General Manager
Dawn Block - VP, Collectibles and Hard Goods
Rebecca Michals - eBay Director, Seller Community & Engagement
Katherine Fischer - eBay Director of Product3:15 PM-3:45 PM Spring cleaning - get your death pile listed
Learn some tips from your fellow seller Kendall VanGilder of Style Secondhand to keep her death-pile at a minimum.3:15 PM-3:45 PM Preparation for tax filing brought to you by TaxAct
Tax season is just around the corner, and we’ve brought in the experts from TaxAct to help you prepare your business.3:15 PM-3:45 PM Sessions Product Research on Mobile
Product Research, previously known as Terapeak has an exciting update! Learn how to best utilize the tool while sourcing.Shelley Ball - eBay Sr. Product Manager
3:15 PM-3:45 PM Latest improvements and updates for eBay seller success
Join eBay Seller Advocates Chuck Van Pelt and Jonathan Chard as they review a few of the latest updates to eBay’s selling tools. Topics covered will include sales events, offers to buyers, getting the most out of item specifics, “Sell it Faster” recommendations and improvements to the order picking process. Q & A to follow.3:45 PM-4:00 PM Networking Sessions
Meet and connect with other sellers and exchange tips on selling!
Terapeak Product Research used to be available exclusively to store subscribers before eBay open it up to all sellers in 2021. At the same time, they also introduced a new feature, Terapeak Sourcing Insights, which was and is still only available to those a store subscription.
It's interesting the agenda only mentions Product Research - does that mean Sourcing Insights will not be receiving any updates or may possibly be going away?
Sourcing insights suffered from some major problems in the Motors categories early on that still have not been fixed almost 3 years later.
Liz Morton
If eBay couldn't be bothered to address Sourcing Insights issues affecting the largest category on the site (not to mention one of their critical focus verticals), that doesn't bode particularly well for other categories or the tool in general.
However, sellers will be elated to hear that eBay is finally adding Product Research to the app - a top ten request for years as many sellers use the app when out and about sourcing at garage sales or thrift stores and accessing Terapeak through a mobile browser was always cumbersome and not ideal.
These quarterly check ins will now be one of the few opportunities for sellers to engage directly with eBay staff, as the monthly community chat has been officially discontinued.
Liz Morton
We wanted to let you know that we're making a couple of updates to the way we communicate site changes and topics with our sellers. We've decided to retire the monthly chat’s current format.
Instead, we will schedule our chats with eBay staff around timely updates and recent changes. Moving forward, we will host the chats in the Buying & Selling boards depending on the appropriate topic, and you will have a week to submit your questions.
As always, our Community team will be focusing on keeping you updated and addressing any questions or concerns you may have in the meantime.
We know staying up to date is important, so we recommend attending our quarterly eBay Seller Check-In. Register for Spring Seller Check-In here.
This way, you'll be able to hear from eBay executives and staff and ask any questions you may have in real time. Don't worry, we'll still be providing educational content and useful tips through our Announcements and What's New posts.
The check ins are usually live, which makes them better than the pre-recorded sessions at eBay Open, but unfortunately, this characterization of the "real time" Q&A is more than a little misleading.
Yes, you may be hearing from eBay executives during the check in, but questions are typically entered in a separate Q&A area where they are answered by lower level staff...with very rare exceptions, executives are not answering questions directly live on screen and don't engage with sellers in the chat much beyond perfunctory greetings.
It's also worth noting VP Seller Experience Xiaodi Zhang has not attended a single Seller Check In event since she rejoined the company in September 2022, unlike her predecessor, Harry Temkin, who not only showed up when the check ins were were monthly, but also gave detailed demos of new seller tools and features and often took live questions as well.
Many sellers I've spoken to have said Harry's demos were always their favorite segments and they miss the indepth information and personal interaction from those earlier check in events.
Will Xiaodi finally carve some time out of her busy schedule to show up and actually engage with sellers this time?
Stay tuned for updates as more details about the Spring Check In are released and let us know in the comments below if you plan to attend!
