If you aren’t a PowerSeller, you have at least heard about the great additional benefits sellers get for being in this program.

PowerSellers get. . .

  • priority customer support
  • increased PayPal and chargeback protection
  • discounts off of their final value fees of up to 40% (in certain circumstances)
  • preference is search results
  • and more

These are just a few of the benefits of getting into the program, not to mention the fact that being a PowerSeller distinguishes you as a professional seller and encourages buyers to choose your products over others.

A lot of hobby sellers are jealous of these benefits and many consider them out of reach for their business. However, with the new seasonal PowerSeller requirements, you can get into the PowerSeller program with only one month of work instead of a full year so a seller of any size can achieve PowerSeller or level up to the next higher level if you are already in the program.

Prior to the introduction of the seasonal PowerSeller requirements, you would need to maintain an average of $1,000 of sales per month to get into the lowest level, Bronze, (which still gives you all benefits). This total was calculated every three months so you needed to either sell a minmum of $1,000 a month or sell at least $3,000 worth every three months to keep it. Factoring in things like summer, when sales are lower, and the simple fact that some sellers take vacations can make these hard requirements hard for a smaller seller to meet steadily.

Example, if you sold $3,000 or more worth of items in January, you would keep PowerSeller for February and March as well even if you didn’t sell anything. However, if you did not then sell $3,000 or more in April, you would lose your benefits. While this system of a 3 month average is still in effect, eBay also introduced a new seasonal requirement which makes this program more attainable.

With the new seasonal requirements, you need only meet the PowerSeller goal once and it counts for the next 12 months. This policy was designed for sellers with seasonal inventory like snow boards or pool toys who likely have much fewer sales at certain times of the year.
Because of this change, now, instead of having to worry about meeting your numbers every three months, you need only meet the requirement once a year.

To talk specific numbers, the minimums for the Bronze PowerSeller level for 12 months (a year) is $12,000 or 1,200 items. While the $12,000 may seem like a large amount, the 1,200 items is an easily attainable goal for even small sellers. There re no price requirements on these items so you could sell 1,200 items for 1 penny each and still make PowerSeller.

If you aren’t in the PowerSeller program, you are missing out on big discounts and other benefits that can help your bottom line. As we enter into the biggest retail season of the year, push yourself to get as many listings onto eBay as possible. if you can sell just 1,200 items in the month of November, you will not only get into the PowerSeller program, but also get to stay in that program (no matter how little you sell during the year) until November of next year. One month of work will give you a benefit that lasts the entire year which can make a huge difference to your bottom line.

Want to shoot higher in the PowerSeller program?

Minimum number of items per year for. . .
Silver is 3,600 items
Gold is 12,000 items
Platinum is 30,000 items
Titanium is 180,000

If you are a small time seller, meeting that minimum number of items to get you into Bronze gets you a full year of PowerSeller benefits. If you are a larger seller, having a particularly good holiday season may net you Titanium PowerSeller benefits for a full year. By consolidating all of your sales in one month, particuarly one as busy as November or December, you can get yourself a full year of benefits for one month of work.