eBay UK have just announced that the price of Gallery in media categories will be reduced to 5p from 1st September to the end of this year. The offer relates to auction, auction with BIN and Buy It Now listings in the following categories:
- Books, Comics & Magazines (excluding the Accessories sub-category)
- DVDs, Film and TV (excluding the Accessories/Storage, Film Memorabilia and TV Memorabilia sub-categories)
- the Games sub-category of Video Games (excluding the other sub-categories of Video Games)
- Music (excluding the Music Memorabilia and Accessories/ Storage sub-categories)
- the Collectables categories:
This is undoubtedly designed to ensure that these high profile categories are attractive to buyers during the spendy season about to start: figures quoted by eBay (admittedly from a few years back) say that auctions with Gallery pictures do around 70% better than listings without Gallery.
However, sellers in other categories not selected for this promotion will inevitably ask why they’ve been excluded: what is it about Gallery pictures in Women’s Clothing, Jewellery, or Crafts, that makes them worth three times the price of Gallery pictures in Media? Of course, Media sellers have another site to go and sell on, so perhaps this is nothing to do with improving the buyer experience and everything to do with stopping the haemorrhage of sellers towards Amazon Marketplace.
9 Responses
I just think this is another example of looking at changes category by category. Something I think is long overdue. They should look a each category individually to find the best fee structure for that product type. This wasn’t needed as much before they introduced Fixed Price. I would say this is a sign that FP has taken over those categories.
If a large number of sellers begin using Gallery then the rest will fall in line.
Sue’s right. Within media this has nothing to do with improving the buyer experience. Media categories probably have the lowest usage of gallery of any category on the site. It’s nothing more than a way to milk more money out of sellers as their revenue from Final Value fees in those categories continue to drop.
I’ll lay money on yet more changes in media Jan 2008. yet another fee restructuring to include gallery. Call me cynical maybe, but it will happen.
I suspect that the “that auctions with Gallery pictures do around 70% better than listings without Gallery ” will have dated from the time when just a small minority of auctions carried gallery pictures. Once the majority use gallery the beneficial effect is likely to be reduced.
However, I think this is a very positive change. eBay seem at last to be thinking about the different characteristics of each category area. I rarely use gallery at the moment (cost) but can now consider it. Similarly eBay seem to be working to increase the off-site visibility of auctions (the Facebook app, Ebay 2 go, etc) and for those links a gallery image is all important.
Roll on the day when Gallery is included in the listing fee by default.
Yes, Allotment, the current statements are curiously missing the actual figures 😀
With my buyer head on, Gallery is a GREAT thing. Take a look at an eBay media page – then look at Amazon. It just looks so much better and takes so much less effort to browse with thumbnails.
My guess would be this is a test to see if, for 5p, most sellers will use Gallery – in which case we’ll see compulsory Gallery included with the listing (as on eBay.fr) and the insertion fees go up 5p to compensate.
more to it than just trying to gain booksellers from amazon
the collectables category is a cracking deal, I list just about 80% of my listings in there, always with gallery, dare say I could squeeze 99%
its amazing what can become a collectable when you need it to,
gallery for books seems odd a books square with pages, I dont need a tiny picture to tell me so,
a books square with pages, I dont need a tiny picture to tell me so
A lot of people must judge books by their covers though, or bookshops wouldn’t display them face-on, they’d all be tucked away on shelves.
For collectables it makes sense, but for media it effectively is forcing sellers to use it and ups listing fees by 50%.
Most media sellers know auctions are a waste of time and use BIN rather that auctions. Therefore there’s no better price benefit to be gained, the only one’s to benefit are eBay with the extra fees.
Maybe it’s me just becoming old and cynical, but I really don’t trust eBay on anything anymore, it seems there’s always a hidden agenda with everything they change or do.
I find gallery for CDs is pointless – people know what they are buying. And many people just use stock photos anyway (I don’t as I find stock photos really put buyers off).
On the other hand, gallery for jewellery items is pretty essential – so of course that isn’t included! Typical.
I don’t think I’ll be taking ebay up on this so-called “offer”.
yep a bookshop can display them life sized,
never seen a book shop with postage stamp size pictures stuck on their window front