eBay France have had what appears to be an astoundingly simple idea – to make the categories for classified ads the same as the categories for auctions and fixed price listings.
The current structure of the categories of Classifieds eBay is still available to buyers until April but for those listing new Classified ads (which are free) or if you modify an existing ad then you’ll be prompted to use the new category structure.
The aim of course is to enable buyers to find things more easily and to ensure optimum visibility ads on eBay.fr. I’m mildly surprised that the category structure for classifieds was ever different as it makes much more sense to have a single set of categories to maintain.
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Before we all get excited about eBay offering something for “free” (as I did when I read the story!) on eBay UK there is an “insertion fee” for a classified add which is sizable and catagories are restricted to the following. Are their any Tamebay visitors who actually deal in any of these catagories or who use classified adds:-
Cars, Motorcycles & Vehicles
Aircraft
Boats and Watercraft
Campers, caravans and motorhomes
Cars
Classic cars
Commercial vehicles
Motorcycles and Scooters
Other Vehicles
Vehicle Parts & Accessories
Automobilia
Car Accessories
Car Manuals & Literature
Car Parts
Car Tuning & Styling
Car Wheels, Tyres & Trims
Cherished Numbers
Classic Car Parts
Garage Equipment & Tools
In-Car Entertainment & GPS
Motorcycle Clothing & Helmets
Motorcycle Parts & Accessories
Other Vehicle Parts & Accessories
Business, Office & Industrial
Farm Implements & Equipment
Antique Tractors
Saws
Woodworking
Forklifts
Modern Tractors
Metalworking Equipment
Construction
Lifting
Metalworking/Milling
Home & Garden
Residential Property
Classifieds on eBay France are a very different thing to classifieds on eBay UK – largely because the marketplaces are so different.
In France, there is already a very well-established network of “depots ventes” which allow anyone to sell their unwanted items, splitting the profits with the shops. And the internet hasn’t really superceded small ads in papers in the same way it has in the UK. The French free classified channel is an attempt by eBay to compete with this.
What eBay.fr offers that none of these do, is speed of sale. French sellers are, as far as I can see, much more likely to use a free channel and wait for a buyer, than UK sellers are. That must be hurting eBay.
I’d love to know what the thinking is behind this change, but my guess would be that eBay.fr are trying to more closely align the two parts of the site, so that the “upgrade” to the main site is easier to achieve.