You’re invited to join our Pro‑Trader Programme

[nutrafituk]

Just received  the following message from eBay:

Hi nutrafituk,

We’d like to recognise your outstanding performance as an eBay seller in the Women´s Fashion & Beauty category by inviting you to participate in our exclusive Pro-Trader Programme.

The Pro-Trader Programme is our premium support programme designed to help sellers grow their business. You’ll have the unique opportunity to work with a dedicated selling specialist who can help you improve your account performance, increase your sales, and drive long-term growth in your business.

That's great we have been recognised despite nover selling a single item in Women´s Fashion & Beauty category... eBay cannot even get basic stuff right in their desparation!

[northumbrian]

more like help you increase your fees and costs then leave you swinging in the wind

[kat@ebay]

Hi @nutrafituk ,

Thank you for your post and for flagging this.

I have let the pro trader team know regarding the incorrect category mentioned in the email. They have advised you can still sign up to avail of the support.

Thank you,

Kat

[wgwillia]

It said it all about eBay they can't get the basics  right what hope have got.

[freddieforeverrico]

ive been on the programme,   free and well worth it.  helped me a lot.. 

[therenewalworkshopltd]

That really depends on exactly which program this is for.

There is a free one, which is very basic and only for a fairly short period of time.

The paid for however, your looking at £399 (+vat) per month!

I really can't see the benefits of using this at all.  At least not for that kind of money anyway!

https://pages.ebay.co.uk/pro-trader-plus/

[freddieforeverrico]

i learnt a lot of the free one, so nothing to lose, however paying £399 for it, not sure if i would pay that unless i knew exactly what i was getting for my funds.   however the information i got off the free one was well worth £399,  

[therenewalworkshopltd]

A month?   
It's crazy.  Most veterans shouldn't really need the free one to be honest.

It's a minimum period of 3 months, so if your not VAT registered, it's actually going to cost you £1436!

Glad you got something out of it.

[eyewear247]

Although I get your point about the free course, I would consider myself an eBay veteran of 20+ years , having been on the program myself there were things I leant and things I was reminded about that I had forgotten.

In my opinion you are never too clever to learn something new and as it's free it is a no brainer with nothing to loose.  

[northumbrian]

we are certain we would learn something or be reminded of something 

but is it worth the cost in time ,  we have spent  27 years learning ebay!

 we need to learn an awful lot about how the other online markets work

[therenewalworkshopltd]

I get what you mean.  But though it may be free, I would imagine that the majority of it is fairly basic.
There may well be things that have been forgotten etc, but at the end of the day, I can think of a dozen other things that I could be doing instead.

Time is my biggest expense, I never have enough of it.

It's one of the reasons why I have yet to go to the yearly Ebay meetups.  

[sheba-knows-best]

A good protrader counterpart is like a secret weapon - a brilliant mentor with whom to chat through your business strategy who also has the inside story and can fast-track feedback on all kinds of issues.  An inexperienced pro-trader counterpart is slightly irritating, but everyone has to learn, and you still have an ebay rep a phone call away.

I would never miss up an opportunity to be on the pro-trader programme (In fact I've refused to come off it for about 2 years now and keep begging for extensions...)

[nutrafituk]

I can confirm now that is 3 months for free and then, unless cancelled, £399 + VAT pcm. Not saying we know it all, however I cannot see anything worth that kind of money. At glance, this is just basic information or involves spending extra money on promoting that we have just stopped completely.

After 20 years here, it does feel it is more about eBay making even more money than actually benefitting from it.

[ojewellery]

I never thought I'd pay for this sort of thing but nearly two years ago i did a six month intensive weekly mentoring (cost more than £399/month).   It was easily worth every penny to ground me in the business, help define my principles and give me clear direction and strategy.  I easily earned back the cost first year and have process in place that I keep gaining year on year.  I started that mentoring with a very low cost try it out model.  It felt like a good fit.  Time is our biggest asset.  For me, I was underpricing so working hard for profit levels that restrict me outsourcing and having future staff options hence my expansion.  It wasn't sustainable to have a good growth model.  By benchmarking, revaluating my priorities I have more time and more profit for less work.  I also learnt a lot about my personal motivations and priorities,  like not feeling as guilty about family commitments.

A good mentor is incredibly valuable to dedicate some time to you.  If you try it (free) and the mentor isn't offering anything extra to you, you can just stop and cancel future sessions.

I've done a good few rounds of pro trader (not plus). All have been valuable. A couple of them very valuable.  All worth my time, it's that weekly link into eBay.

[vintage-emporium-jedburgh]

Coming across as a bit church of ebay 

[ojewellery]

If I had a religion I don't think it would be eBay!  Not a fan off all eggs in one basket, business is always subject to change and who knows what's round the corner on any platform. 

I didn't pay eBay for protrader plus - I had an external mentor.   It really helped my business and me feel more confident in my direction.

I didn't think I'd ever find the benefit of paying for someone to teach me to suck eggs, its easy to be cynical and not give things a try, it turns out I didn't know what I didn't know and so now maybe I'm attempting to convey that, having found the benefits of a good mentor. 

[vintage-emporium-jedburgh]

years of ebay have turned me into the

high priest of cynicism 

[ojewellery]

That’s entirely fair.  I'm sure eBay has earned a lot of that cynicism over the years.

I think the difference for me is separating eBay as a platform (which absolutely deserves scrutiny) from the  value that can come from structured external perspective.  It doesn't matter whether that’s Pro-Trader, an external mentor, or even just a forced pause to review how you’re actually running the business day-to-day.

Most of us with long histories here don’t lack knowledge; what we lack is time, headspace, and sometimes an unbiased sounding board. When those things aren’t delivered, the scepticism is justified.

I’m not suggesting Pro-Trader is a silver bullet, or worth paying for by default.  I think that trying the free period with eyes open, then walking away if it’s box-ticking or sales-led, is a low-risk way to confirm  instincts rather than assume.

And if years on eBay make you the high priest of cynicism, I’m not sure what years of compounded cynicism across multiple channels promote any of us to? Probably people with very sharp instincts and very little patience for nonsense.

Cynicism is often just experience in disguise.

[vintage-emporium-jedburgh]

 Very Well put  were impressed 

[sheba-knows-best]

@ojewellery always impresses.

She is the Jeremy Vine of eBay. Always listening to the other side and treating everyone equally and generously. (God knows how, what a skill. Can we elect her UK CEO?)