Yesterday, eBay released significant updates to its iPhone and iPad apps, giving consumers a faster, easier and more streamlined experience for buying and selling from their mobile devices.

The updated eBay apps will play an important role in eBay Mobile’s year to come. Mobile shopping continues to shape the way consumers buy and sell, and users have clearly embraced mobile listing. Roughly 1.8 million new customers joined eBay through a mobile device in the first three quarters of 2012, and eBay Mobile currently adds an average of 2.4 million listings per week.

eBay for iPhone 2.7 and eBay for iPad 2.2 enhance the mobile buying and selling experiences by making them as seamless as possible and eliminating nearly all points of friction, giving consumers intuitive experiences that connect them with what they want, when they want it.

For sellers, the app updates integrate the best of mobile devices with the desktop. They can now save drafts of their listings on their smartphones, where it’s easier to upload pictures, and then complete the process from their PCs, which allows them to write longer item descriptions from a keyboard. The reverse process — starting a listing on a desktop and finishing via mobile — also applies. Category, pricing and shipping guidance, the ability to work on multiple listings, and a new photo module for the iPhone app round out the new feature set.

“With eBay’s app updates, selling has never been simpler,” said Kevin Hurst, eBay’s VP of Mobile Products. “We’ve streamlined the mobile selling experience to give consumers step-by-step suggestions for pricing and shipping, and we’ve loaded the updates with new features that let customers seamlessly switch between mobile and PC – to more quickly and easily upload photos and edit listings.

Buyers, meanwhile, will gain access to an improved auto-complete search feature and a shorter checkout experience. The updated apps will also allow users without associated PayPal accounts to  make purchases via the app with a new guest checkout feature. There is also a new single-screen view to review and confirm payments.

For racing fans, the new app update also includes, for the first time ever from eBay, live streamed content of behind-the-scenes action from the Rolex 24 at Daytona racing event. Former Le Mans winner Justin Bell will host the “under the hood” live look into the pit crews at the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 this weekend, January 26-29. The coverage will complement the live broadcast on SPEED, ongoing updates on GRAND-AM.com, and “after-hours” coverage on SPEED.com.

Other new app features include:
** More winning – receive notifications for when you are outbid, when items you are watching are ending, and updates on the current Best Offer
** Stock your Garage – stock images for vehicles are now available for quick and easy profile updates to users’ personal eBay Motors “Garage,” providing simple search for parts that fit your car, and simple sharing options
** Tweet it out – easily share the parts and vehicles you are buying or selling with your followers on Twitter (currently for iOS 5 only).

Cheers,
RBH

With RedLaser for Android, users will now be able to create and share product lists with their peers. In the past users have been able to search by typed and spoken word. Now, they will have the ability to image search. Users can now take a photo and it will then do a product search for that photo using Optical Character Recognition (OCR). You could essentially take a picture of The Beatles White Album and RedLaser would then find specific listings of that album and related items.

RedLaser has also created a brand new application that will now be available in the Windows marketplace. This app features some of the best technologies that RedLaser has to offer including:
** Streamlined barcode scanning for comparison shopping the best prices online and locally (local US only)
** Updated list and QR code capabilities to share with peers

Introducing the RedLaser Games

We’re also inviting iPhone and Android users to “Train Up” for the holiday shopping season. The company launched a new video campaign series featuring barcode scanning “expert,” Redd ‘The Laser’ Laser (one of my favorites is above). Redd is also offering RedLaser users a chance to win his RedLaser Holiday Wish List, including great prizes like a GoPro® HD Helmet Video Camera, an Apple® iPhone® 4s and more, plus $2,500 towards their own wish list.

For entry, participants simply use the new RedLaser list feature to create their own holiday wish list and scan at least five items to add to it. They then click “share” right from the app and e-mail their RedLaser Games lists to games@redlaser.com. The promotion is running from Black Friday (November 25) through December 23. There will be one winner each week for the length of the promotion for a total of 4 grand prize winners. More information and the training videos can be viewed at the RedLaser Games site.

Lots of new stuff there folks. Regardless of which smart phone you use, I wish you all Happy Scanning this Holiday season.

Cheers!
RBH

Milo: By integrating Milo into the application, offline inventory will now easily be accessed via mobile devices. Consumers will now be able to buy whatever they want, whenever they want, and either pick it up in store or have it delivered to their house.

PayPal: In app check-out for both online and offline inventory via PayPal will now be a part of the app.

Using RedLaser 3.0, users will also be able to create categorized shopping lists to streamline research. They’ll also be able to create and share items, websites, or personal contact information using the built in QR code generator.

The first partner to utilize the product offerings is Toys “R” Us and you can see the demo they showed at Innovate 2011 by watching the keynote below. Start watching from the 1:06:30 mark to see the demo.

Video streaming by Ustream

Cheers!
RBH

eBay is running a smartphone trade-in promotion running until 11:59 p.m. PST tomorrow, October 5, in which customers can secure a top dollar instant cash offer for select smartphones – including up to $357 for an AT&T iPhone 4 in excellent condition – that can be used toward the purchase of the new iPhone 4S. Even after the initial promo ends, eBay Instant Sale will still feature competitive cash offers for qualifying smartphones from Oct. 6 – Oct. 18.

After you’ve generated your offer, follow the steps below to clear your personal data before sending it in. First and foremost, consult your owner’s manual on how to back-up your data safely and securely before erasing anything.

iPhone:
1. Settings
2. General
3. Reset
4. Erase All Content and Settings
5. If you have an AT&T iPhone, remove your SIM card

Blackberry:
1. Options
2. Security Options
3. Security Wipe
4. Type: “blackberry” to confirm the wipe
5. Remove SIM card if you have an AT&T, T-Mobile or other GSM phone

Android phones:
1. Menu
2. Settings
3. Privacy
4. Select “Factory Data Reset”
5. Select “Reset Phone”
6. Enter password, if prompted
7. Select “Erase Everything”
8. Remove SIM card if you have an AT&T, T-Mobile or other GSM phone

If your phone is not covered in the steps above, you can generally find the option to erase or wipe the data in the phone’s Settings menu. And if you have any further questions, you should consult your owner’s manual or your carrier’s technical support service.

I’ve been an iPhone user for a while now and have enjoyed the original iPhone and the iPhone 4. Looking forward to checking out the new one. If you get one before me… let me know what you think.

You can also download the Instant Sale iPhone mobile app by clicking the below icon:

Cheers!
RBH

I first wrote about eBay Mobile in June, 2008 – just 2.5 months after we launched eBay Ink – and since that time, I’ve been able to witness the evolution of the eBay Mobile app for iPhone firsthand as it has taken on an extremely rich feature set, catering to buyers as well as sellers. Since March of this year, more than half a million buyers per week have made purchases through the eBay Mobile app for iPhone.

Overall, mobile applications remain a key priority for eBay. In 2010, global eBay mobile sales more than tripled, generating nearly $2 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV) in the U.S. That figure is expected to rise to more than $4 billion in 2011.

So Happy Birthday again to the Apple App Store and congratulations to the eBay Mobile team for reaching such an amazing milestone.

Cheers!
RBH

July 11, 2011 will mark the three-year anniversary of the launch of Apple’s App Store. That’s when Apple officially opened the App Store for business, launching with over 500 apps including our very own eBay and PayPal mobile apps. Apple has unquestionably started a revolution in mobile computing and we’re delighted to have been there from the very beginning… I even wrote the first blog post about eBay Mobile back in June, 2008 – 5 weeks before the App store even launched.

In three short years, eBay and PayPal have emerged to become leaders in mobile shopping and payments. eBay’s mobile apps are now available across the globe in eight languages and 190 countries. We have also gone on to develop several apps customized for Motors and Fashion enthusiasts, StubHub, Half.com and Classifieds customers. In 2010 – based on the company’s early success on the iPhone – eBay was also one of the first apps available at the launch of the iPad.

As of today, eBay’s mobile apps have been downloaded more than 45 million times and one purchase is made every second of every day via eBay mobile. eBay expects to generate $4 billion in mobile sales this year – double the nearly $2 billion it did in 2010.

PayPal has been working on mobile payments since 2006 when we introduced text-based peer-to-peer transactions. Since then, PayPal has launched mobile applications in 80 markets and in 16 different languages, and like Apple we’ve also opened up our APIs to third party developers via PayPal X. We’ve also seen tremendous year-over-year growth in mobile payment volume: from just $25m in 2008, $141m in 2009 and $750m in 2010.

Just last week we increased our estimate for 2011 mobile total payment volume to $3 billion, and we’re processing up to $10m in mobile payments per day – that’s up from $25million per year in just three years. PayPal is on track to handle a significant portion of the entire payment industry’s mobile transactions, which Forrester Research predicts will grow to $31 billion by 2016.

It’s hard to remember what life was like before we had access to the wealth of information and entertainment that mobile apps bring us every day. If you look at the archived posts specific to eBay Mobile on eBay Ink of the past three years, you can see how all of the apps have evolved so much in a relatively short amount of time to reflect the feedback and needs of consumers using them.

eBay and PayPal are thrilled to have the opportunity to develop for a platform that is only becoming more important in our daily lives, and we’ll continue to innovate for shopping and payments on the mobile phone…and whatever comes after that.

Cheers,
RBH

eBay has enhanced its mobile application for Android to now include new selling capabilities. Based on feedback I’ve received on past posts it’s something that our users have been looking forward to.

* Selling on eBay is now supported (available in US and UK with support for more countries coming soon!)
** Quickly list an item from start to finish on your phone and include up to 8 photos
** Use the integrated barcode scanner from RedLaser to prefill item details when listing an item
** Revise an item from your Active Selling list
** Relist an item from your Unsold list
** Sell one like this feature available when viewing a similar item on eBay
** Schedule an auction to start immediately or choose a later date
** End an active auction
** Mark an item as shipped
** Contact the buyer
* Updated home screen
* View your own feedback ratings and recent comments from eBay members
* More options for refining your search results: condition, free shipping, location, completed listings and sold items only
* Fix for issue that restricted bidding for users on specific carriers/devices
* Other bug fixes and improvements

You can check out a full set of screen shots from the enhanced app on the eBay Ink Flickr feed.

The release of the enhanced app and the release of the new Milo Shopping Mobile iPhone app both come just a day after Christopher Payne, head of eBay Marketplaces North America, gave the keynote presentation at Internet Retailer Conference 2011. In his presentation, Christopher focused heavily on the future of commerce (Commerce 3.0) and the pivotal role both mobile and local will have in the evolution of shopping. Here are some key quotes from his presentation yesterday:

** “Introducing “Fetch” a plug-in that integrates QuickBooks with Milo, allowing a merchant to get their offline inventory onto eBay. “Fetch” is in Beta / free for merchants. We are only accepting data for merchants with Quickbooks POS systems.”
** “eBay believes “Local” is where “Mobile” was 2 years ago. (Hence the RedLaser, Milo and Where acquisitions).”
** “Mobile commerce gives the consumer a store wherever they are and it’s always open.”
** “1 in 6 Americans are accessing the web through a mobile device.”
** “eBay saw $2 billion in sales through mobile platform in 2010. Expects to double that in 2011.”
** “We introduced the first eBay mobile app in 2008. Since then, our apps have been downloaded 45 million times.”

You can read the full Internet Retailer Report: IRCE 2011 Report: eBay pitches partnerships

Cheers,
RBH

eBay Motors iPhone App Key Features

· My Garage feature saves shoppers’ car collection and dream vehicles.

· VIN scanning quickly adds any vehicle to My Garage, using scanning technology powered by RedLaser. The car’s year, make and model will populate – simply hit “edit” to add additional photos and details.

· Part Finder will surface the parts and accessories that match cars listed in My Garage.

· Integrated with eBayMotors.com My Vehicles for a seamless My Garage experience online and on the iPhone.

· Access vehicle history information with free Experian AutoCheck Vehicle History Reports.

· Customized home screen slideshow surfaces eBay Motors listings. Simply input keywords, categories, models or a price range and the slideshow will match shoppers’ preferences – whether it is sports cars, classic hot rods or even minivans!

· Save searches tailored to vehicles interested in or owned – any eBay listing can be saved to My Garage Dream Vehicles.

· Ask Seller Question option in every listing to contact the car owner or dealer directly.

· Photo galleries in each listing allow users to view dozens of seller photos to see cars inside and out.

· Advanced search for cars & trucks or parts helps users to find just what they are looking for.

· My eBay instant access to stay current on all your buying and selling activities.

· Share listings with your social network through Facebook, Twitter or email.

Coinciding with the Verizon iPhone launch this week, eBay is launching a special promotion (February 8 – February 22) through the Instant Sale platform that offers a guaranteed price of $200 for some popular smartphones. Visit www.ebay.com/iphone for details.

I sat down with director of seller experience, Arnaud Collin, to talk about eBay Instant Sale; the promotion running for the next two weeks; and I also give a (semi) demo of the experience.

I’m going to try it out this week with a couple of old gadgets I don’t use anymore so I’ll let you know how it goes.

Cheers,
RBH

Related Reads:
eBay’s Instant Sale to pay $200 for certain phones [ABC News]