Uncle Joe Radio

Cop shows are all the rage here. we say, “Shoot it like it’s a crime scene; write it like you’re the only witness.”

We’re going to have to deal with description writing with brevity-importance or brief up top, detail down below, as mobile devices continue to encroach on shopping behaviors.

The rapid rise in “snacking” – mobile shopping in the brief spurts of dead time like traffic lights, lines, waiting for something – doesn’t leave long detailed text descriptions playing the same role they have had.

With more shoppers “snacking,” great photographs and quick to digest descriptions are the way to treat today’s mobile buyer.

The folks over at Outright continue to pour out good information for small sellers. The latest is an “infographic” full of interesting nuggets about the new 1099-K form. Click here for the full post at Outright.com.

There’s a new honkin’ guide full of eBay and eCom info from UK eBay blogs-alot master, Chris Dawson of Tamebay.com. It’s not just all about the UK, though – Tamebay included me and some of my projects (education through Uncle Joe Radio and informational podcasting with RRB Radio). You’ll recognize other names from our side of the pond, too. The Guide was recently discussed with Chris on RRB Radio. Grab yourself a copy – it’s free!

Oscar Season is upon us, and the fine folks over at Kabbage caught the fever recently, awarding me their gold statue for “Tallest Thinking Cap.” In their fun article, they cite my pointy-headedness in the win “for always having his eye on the future of ecommerce.”

I actually do enjoy trying to look ahead to the possibilities available in eCommerce. I want to see my small seller friends and neighbors be ready as these opportunities bloom. If they can be fast and agile, they can take advantage and be gone on to the next thing before Big Business can smother them. But as much as I enjoy the challenge of peering into my crystal ball, my real love is helping folks learn and refine the skills that make commerce possible for them. Not only to get into the game, but to enjoy success at it.

Kabbage pretty much nailed what I’m all about in their blog. And hey, It’s always nice to see that others notice your passion and think kindly of you, right?

Read more about the Kabbage “Oscars” and the other funny awards over at the Kabbage Blog.

I’d like to thank the Kabbage Academy, my Mom, my wife, my cats Buddy and Bobo, my loud-mouthed cockatiels Shady and Squeaky, …

I was cleaning up and updating the blog software and such when I ran across this little piece I’d written months ago. A lot of water has passed under the bridge, but I thought I should put this in place so that I could remember what this point in time was like for me. I’ll post the other pieces between then and now over the next little bit. It’s good to be back again. – UJ

September 01, 2011
As I write this, it was exactly a year ago that an accident during an eBay On Location event literally left me flat on my back. It seems like a cosmic justice that I should mark my return to a more active role in the eBay universe with a trip to eBay On Location in Orlando, FL. After what has often felt like the longest, wasted year of my life, this feels like a Victory Lap!

Even though I’m still working to manage the pain now, I am far and away in better shape than I was just a few months back when EOL Las Vegas rolled around. I was so utterly disappointed that things didn’t work out for me to go. Add my wife’s long-standing wish to go out there, and I truly felt that I had failed. Failed her. Probably silly, sure, but when you’ve spent a year counting and re-counting the blades on your ceiling fan you’d be surprised what tricks the mind can play. Truth be told? I didn’t have any business going anyway.

I will be “testing the waters” with this trip. I feel like a pilot taking a test aircraft out for its first real flight trials: I’ll be a long way from home if I’ve over-reached and things go bad; I’ll be exhausted and a long way from home if things go right.

I have to do this. I will do this. With any luck, I’ll see you there! Come say “Hi!”: I’ll be the happiest guy in a wheelchair you’ve ever met.

As the title tells you, I took a hard fall that seriously injured my back last September. I’ve mostly been laying down recuperating ever since. This has compounded other health issues and just totally sidelined me like few events in my life have ever done.

Lesson One: Back injuries suck. I don’t recommend it.

A number of folks have been remarkably kind to me in the aftermath, in tender small ways and crazy big ways. Putting up with me when I’ve been in agony all day probably qualifies as both (thanks to my missus in particular).

Lesson Two: Never underestimate your impact on other people. I’ve been touched by total strangers who took a moment to send me a thoughtful little note.

I say all this because we’re into the holiday season now, and folks travel and gather. Be careful when you do – don’t let unfamiliar places, cold weather and travel dangers get you. And be kind to the people with whom you interact, from the coffee shop waitress along the way to the whacky relatives (and their crazier neighbors!) who await you. A little smile may be the greatest, most awesome gift you can give to another person.

Happy holidays!

Uncle Joe

The eBay feedback DSR for Shipping & Handling is automatically getting 5 Star ratings if the Seller offered FREE SHIPPING, according to alert reader SimplyMyBusiness. I was able to test and verify this myself later in the evening, though it isn’t clear that it’s anything other than a trial run.

When leaving feedback the Buyer is asked, “How reasonable were the shipping and handling charges?” If FREE SHIPPING was offered in the trade, the DSR stars are greyed out – locked – with a blue link next to the line, saying, “Why can’t I enter this rating?” It looks like this capture I made below.

Click to see larger graphic

Because this has not been formally announced, it may only be a test of this set-up. It would certainly be a welcome change with many Sellers who have complained bitterly that any rating lower than a “5″ for S&H was unfair when FREE SHIPPING had been offered.

Today’s “PowerUp” newsletter said, “Starting in October, when you offer free shipping you could automatically get 5-star DSRs for shipping costs when your buyer chooses free shipping.” This would seem to foreshadow this as a permanent change before the holidays. The eBay newsletter added, “Listing with free shipping can also get a boost in Best Match for Fixed Price (where applicable), and visibility in Free Shipping search filters.” An official announcement about all this could come at any time, though eBay may wait until next week’s “eBay On Location” event in San Jose, CA to discuss any change.

Not long ago, somebody got it all figured out: the key to being found on eBay search was the first three words in a title. Only these first three keywords, it was explained, were used to determine if the search the Buyer entered was a match to the item. Like other “kinda-sorta-maybe” things that find their way to the internet, this idea was picked up and repeated.

Problem is, it isn’t true.

The words in a search are all used (otherwise, what would be the point of the extra Title words? What if the Buyer’s search was more than three words?) Right now, I have an item listed with a Title that is several words long. The last three are printing 1991 LN. If this new urban legend were right, one simply wouldn’t find my item – the search would only look at the first three keywords and skip ahead. My item does get found, however, because all the keywords in a listing title are searchable.

This probably started off as an explanation about search optimization, since making the listing title “human readable” is smart – people do read these things! – but the computer doesn’t care. And because we’re English speakers, the best words first make more sense to us. (I taught this very thing this weekend.) Somewhere along the line this has been misunderstood and passed on that the search won’t find something – not a human shopper – unless the first few words are the best keywords.

This sort of thing will be a problem everywhere on the internet for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, a little fact-checking and critical thought is enough to debunk most of these things. There is mystery surrounding Best Match, and there is concern over unfair placement by eBay, plus the economy, competition from the Chinese, and so forth. People are looking for answers that help explain their situation.

This wasn’t it.

I’ve been taking things easy for a little while here in the Oklahoma heat. I’ve been able to get a few things done, explore others, and generally rest up after realizing I needed to dial things back in the first place. (Boy, can I be hard-headed about such things!) I’ll tell you more soon about what I’ve been up to and hope to do. Right now, I’m gearing up for a trip out to San Jose, CA and looking at the upcoming holiday season. Thanks for visiting, I’ll talk to you soon.