Review of eBay's User-Friendly Seller Hub

If you have been selling on eBay for any length of time, you've noticed that the platform changes from time to time. Some notable changes over time have included:

• Sellers lost the ability to leave negative feedback for buyers
• International shipping labels can be printed directly from eBay
• Paypal 21-Day hold for new sellers
• Selling limits for new sellers
• Seller Dashboard introduced
• Defect rates introduced

Some changes have been helpful, others create new challenges and take a little effort to adapt to. eBay is forever trying to simplify things, to make the experience more user-friendly, and organize information to keep sellers on track and motivated. One welcome change is the introduction of eBay's Seller Hub. This change is definitely positive and will help streamline all seller activities, information, and tasks into one easy-to-use portal. Here are a few highlights of the new eBay Seller Hub.​

Overview of Seller Hub

The eBay Seller Hub pulls together literally everything a seller may need to access into one place. Once the hub is activated, access it by going to My eBay > Selling. You will see the following sections:

• Tasks
• Sales overview
• Orders
• Listings
• Sales perspective
• Traffic
• Your seller level
• Recent feedback
• Growth
• Shortcuts
• Seller tools
• Selling announcements
• Promotional offers
• Monthly limits
• Account summary

Some of these features were previously hard to find on the eBay platform. For example, many sellers had no idea where their selling limits were hidden. Previously, selling limits were buried on the All Selling page at the very bottom, where many sellers never saw them. Also, many sellers weren't sure where to find Promotional Offers. They are now in a special section on the Seller Hub.

Orders Section

This section is really helpful. It lists:

• Awaiting shipment
• Open returns
• Cancellations
• Awaiting payment
• Orders eligible for combined shipping
• Paid and waiting for feedback
• Shipped and waiting for feedback
• Unpaid items
• Orders not yet received
• International orders
• Orders eligible for FVF credit

It is easy to see at a glance where you stand on your orders. Many sellers check eBay first thing in the morning to review what orders need to be shipped, and any other actions need to be taken regarding orders. It is also helpful to see what items are still awaiting payment if invoices or reminders need to be sent. For unpaid items, it is best to use the Unpaid Item Assistant tool, as it automates the whole non-payment issue. 

Traffic Section

eBay used to provide traffic reports with a free third party service called Omniture. Sellers could study what keywords, links on social media, and searches resulted in hits on their items. This service was discontinued in 2013. The traffic section of seller hub gives the following information:

• Listing Impressions
• Click through rate
• Listing page views
• Sales conversion rate

While keywords and finding paths are not provided, this information is useful over time to determine how traffic is trending. This report shows if traffic, click-throughs, and sales conversions are up or down compared to the previous 31 days.

Shortcuts Section

Finally, eBay brings all the frequently used links together in one place. Previously, it was a challenge for sellers to find frequently used links like for blocking buyers or ending a listing. The Shortcuts section has the following options:

• Cancel bids
• End listing early
• Block bidders
• Site preferences 
• Seller Hub discussion board
• Seller Center
• Report a buyer

No more bookmarking these links on your computer. Simply navigate to Seller Hub and these links are all in one place. If you have not yet activated eBay Seller Hub, now is the time! Simply go to the eBay Seller Hub page, click "sign up now," and Seller Hub will open. Seller Hub is free and has the same functionality as Selling Manager.