There are some sa-a-a-a-d Powersellers out there this week.

According to Brian Burke, eBay’s Director of Global Feedback Policy, “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.”

They’re apparently doing this for two reasons:

1. Ebooks can be easily reproduced.
2. This can lead to feedback manipulation.

Okay so let’s not overlook the obvious… feedback manipulation does exist.

I’ve read ebooks where authors have suggested that you buy 100 cheap ebooks (under $1 each) as a tactic to raise your feedback score quickly. A new seller with 100+ feedbacks looks more reliable at first glance.

But it also works the other way around. Sellers also list a bunch of $.01 ebooks to boost their feedback rating as well.

However I’m having a hard time believing that feedback manipulation was rampant enough for them to halt digital product auctions altogether.

And then to only give 7 frickin’ days lead time is almost criminal to long-time sellers. (eBay JUST made the announcement on March 24.)

In any case, if you want to sell your ebooks on eBay you’ll have to pay $9.95 a month for a 30-day classified listing. It looks like you can still feature your ad, bold it, etc. Plus you can provide a direct link to your website.

But as Alan LeStourgeon over at Affiliate Confession pointed out, “Auctions excite people into making a buying decision, classified ads don’t.”

I agree. I’m an eBay shopper, and each time I’ve seen those classified ads I’ve scanned right past them. The whole countdown concept of an auction is what forces people into a faster buying decision.

So What Do I Suggest?

Your best option as this point is to paper-ize your ebook for the eBay market. And if your product isn’t suited for paper, then put it on a DVD or a CD.

If you’re selling cheap ebooks (under $1) , then obviously you’ll have to raise the price to $2-$5 to make it worth your while.

It’s a little more cumbersome. But it gives you the power to stay within the high paced auction game.

And if this announcement has just turned your financial world upside down, you have my deepest condolences…

A couple of years ago I created a report where I examined the completed auctions of a few Powersellers who were selling cheap ebooks.

One seller was making something like $3K a week – and all of the ebooks he sold were $1 or less. I was stunned.

I can only imagine how those sellers feel right now.

I virtually weep for you.

1. They seem like they take FOREVER to write. If I remember correctly, it took me almost 6 weeks to crank out the sales copy for Desperate Buyers Only. It normally takes around 2 weeks before I feel like a sales letter is ready for human visual consumption.
2. Once you spend all that time perfecting the sales letter, there’s no guarantee of sales. And after 2+ weeks of working on a single piece of sales copy, you’re going to feel a wee bit crappy if sales are slow.
3. Certain groups of people hate long sales letters. I’ve actually had a couple of affiliates e-mail me to say that they won’t promote DBO because the sales copy is too long.
4. Every so often I get a random e-mail from some fruit cake who scolds me about me overly promotional ways. No doubt, they’re referring to my sales copy.

But in spite of all the reasons I just gave, I see my own future filled with lots more long detailed sales letters. And for one good reason… they produce sales.

And I think what most naysayers forget is that sales copy is A LOT more than mere words on a page.

Long sales copy is the equivalent of me (the salesperson) selling you (the buyer) a $2K dress by telling you how another customer got her fiance to marry her while wearing said dress. Long sales copy is me fixing the dress on you… clasping a necklace around your neck and handing you the perfect mini clutch so you can get the full effect.

You ever go into one of those home goods stores (like Bed, Bath and Beyond here in the States) and get stuck sitting on one of those massage chairs? Long sales copy is having the test massager constantly running on a chair.

Long sales copy is Ikea’s children’s play area. Parents drop off their kids before they start shopping, allowing them the time to shop longer.

Short Copy is a Ticking Time Bomb for Disaster

If you let a desperate buyer leave your site, they’re probably NOT going to come back. Why? Because they’re desperate for a solution. They want answers now.

You can’t be stingy with your sales copy when people want answers AND they’re in a position to buy your product right there and then.

You have to answer all of their questions. You have to make them feel like you identify with their situation. You have to show them the end result of using your information. You have to make them feel comfortable about buying from you – a complete and total stranger.

And that doesn’t happen in 5-6 paragraphs. Period.

So even if you’re cussing the technique, suck it up, and keep on writing. The career you save by being a little chatty just might be your own.

Like the paparazzi to Britney Spears, my blogs seem to attract the dregs of the Spammerhood.

Once I forgot to check my comments here for a week, and I’d accumulated so much spam that my browser froze up every time I tried to delete it.

Being the non-technogeek that I am, I had to do a Google search to find out how to delete the spam through the database, blah, blah, blah.

It was an un-frickin-believable pain in the arse.

But I recently started using a plugin called WP-SpamFree. And let me tell you… it’s better than Akismet (which is probably the most popular Wordpress spam prevention plugin, but a hassle because you have to get an API key, etc).

Not ONE single piece of spam has made it past WP-SpamFree since I started using it 3 weeks ago. WooHoo!

If you’ve got a blog spam problem, this is THE solution.