We reported earlier in the week that M2E Pro would be charging for their service from the October 2nd.
Since we wrote that piece there has been a change of situation. It would seem that the sudden and immediate announcement that they would start charging for their service was not popular amongst users and M2E have been forced to backtrack. That’s no bad thing.
Firstly, they’re consulting with sellers on prices. And you can complete a survey up to the 9th October to give your views. As they say: “M2E would like to extend public consultations and asks you to provide your feedback regarding our proposed pricing structure. Please complete the survey, which will close on Friday 9th of October. Current structure is based on the feedback from a group of merchants and system integrators but we would like to hear your opinion too.”
Additionally, all subscriptions come with a 60-day free trial so you aren’t going to be stung right away.
To see the proposed M2E Pro fees, visit their pricing page here.
2 Responses
Its like a newspaper headline…
PEOPLE STAMP FEET AT CONCEPT OF PAYING FOR SOMETHING USEFUL
Sadly I think the main reason people went for M2E is because it was free, and there was someone (i.e. UnderstandingE) showing them how to use it effectively.
Take away the free element and its just another piece of multichannel software which will be judged on price vs. features vs simplicity.
Actually from the beginning M2E Pro was not free. It was license based on monthly or annually. What changed was the partnership between M2Epro and EBay. They said that it would remain free as long as EBay carried on paying them a wage and after that they would go back to charging. I’m guessing either the contract was not renewed for a 3rd year or the relationship broke down or they realised they could make a lot more money going back to subscription base.
Even when you install the module it tells you it will be free “for now”. So it was to be expected, but should probably have been phased in over a period as well as offer a skeleton version for those selling small amounts.