eBay.com has announced its Spring Seller Update. It’s billed as: “Bringing more visibility – and value – to your listings.” That’s a fairly fanciful title when you consider the substance.
You can read the news in brief here on the eBay.com Announcement Board and full details are available on this page.
Here’s what eBay is saying about the “highlights”:
“- Unlimited insertion fee credits for listings that sell in auction. As an incentive for using the auction-style format successfully, sellers will be credited for the insertion fee on auction-style listings when that item sells.
– Adjustments to monthly allotments. eBay will update the monthly allotments of free listings —zero insertion fees—for both eBay Stores subscribers and sellers without an eBay Store.
– The 10-day duration on auction-style listings will no longer have an added feature fee. Sellers can maximise visibility and enjoy our longest auction-style duration.
– A $1 special duration feature fee per listing for sellers who choose 1- or 3-day auction style listing. Charging this fee will help discourage the use of shorter durations where they are least successful.
– Fixed price listings in media categories will no longer have a different insertion fee.
– Reserve price will increase. This feature fee will increase in price to the greater of $3, or 2% of the reserve price (the minimum price that must be met for your item to sell), with a cap of $100.
– For eBay Stores subscribers: We’re introducing a new final value fee cap of $250 in select Business & Industrial categories, including Heavy Equipment.
Full details can be found on this page.
Tamebay comment: There’s nothing exciting or, frankly, revolutionary in this selection of changes. eBay wants longer auctions, raises some fees and further makes Reserve Auctions unattractive. But it’s essentially tweaking. Granted, the direction is the wrong one: fees mostly go up and that’s no good thing. But that’s the eBay way. If eBay doesn’t like Reserve Auctions (which it doesn’t) and now wants to move away from 1 and 3 day auctions too, I just don’t really understand why it doesn’t get rid of them altogether rather than just tax them to discourage.
What do you reckon?
9 Responses
obviously some demand and a use for 3 day auctions for those that know and understand the use of auctions as a selling option
Advantage lost for those who scam system recycled same old stuff to gain from recently listed and ending soon higher search result. Better for BIN sellers as who wants to wait 10 days for must have now item?
If there is one thing Ebay has put in my mind recently, it is that you cannot base your retail business on a single platform. The rules can change at any time.
What about 5 day auctions? Is there a charge on these?
Well I reckon the gravy boat is sinking for many sellers. And ebay keep hiking the prices then there little gravy boat is going to sink as well…
Maximising profit/fee’s to the extent it effects sales/overall revenue and customer base is a bad road to go down.
Bonanza.com folks, that is the new ebay. That is where all the ebay sellers and buyers have gone to. ebay is a sinking ship.
The 10 day change was necessary to keep their listing numbers up. Disquise their shrinking business. With an average price of all items sold on the whole site at $16 and change, ebay has become the marketplace for low price junk only.
doom and gloom sandwich board cynics have been wandering up and down the cyber high st , announcing the end of ebay for nearly 2 decades now , yet ebay is still the site making billions , no serious online retailer can ignore