eBay's Major Change

[eDJ]

For those who eBay...........................

Yesterday it was announced there will be a major change.

eBay Seeking to Abandon Auction Format



It should come as little surprise to a litany of concerned eBay sellers, but the popular--if wavering--auction site is looking to do away with the whole transaction format that helped make it one of the most successful retail destinations on the Web.

eBay today is expected to announce a plan that will move its focus away from the traditional bidding format, in favor of a standard fixed price scheme, according to a report in The New York Times. The announcement is planned to coincide with the beginning of the holiday shopping season. eBay cites a continued lack of interest in bidding on the part of consumers--surprising, perhaps, in light of the seemingly ever-worsening economy.


Instead, the company plans to instate lower upfront fees, hoping to drive some traffic away from retail site with fixed pricing plans.

Part of eBay's shift away from bidding involves a new pricing scheme for Buy it Now sellers. Beginning the middle of next month, sellers will pay 35 cents to list an item for 30 days, a drop in nearly 70 percent from the old pricing system.

eBay will also no longer let buyers use cash or check for transaction, focusing instead on credit and PayPal.

The changes are the latest in a long line that have riled up a number of eBay sellers since the company's new CEO John Donahoe took the helm, earlier in the year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/technology/20ebay.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1219429391-g6O/30nUlftpkUduQlwntw

I've talked with alot of people who sell on eBay and since fuel cost have soared, they have told me they pad their shipping cost to compensate for the low bid's they get and eBay's higer fees. Yet I read where eBay is getting complaints from bidders who are charged a high shipping fee and when they receive the goods the postage says something like $1.27. I've delt with so many eBay stores who left before the next time I could return to purchase from them. When I emailed them they stated it was just too much of a hastle
doing business there.

Maybe "fleaBay* will really be the best name for it now.

 

[Andyinchville1]

Wow that would be a radical change....Not sure I would like it though because as a buyer I enjoy the auction format because it means that it is possible to get something for a low price....with a Buy it Now....you are stuck with the fixed price (unless it is reasonable)....

As a seller I wish eBay would lower its charges....On items I sell for $37.50 eBays fee to me is almost $10 (granted I do have some extra features in my ads BUT as a percentage it is pretty expensive)...I will admit, even though
it is expensive on eBay they do make sales possible for me and plenty of other folks out there...

Thanks for the link and heads up...I'm going to have to research this further...Maybe I'll start up an AndrewBay! HA

Andrew

 

[Large Filipino]

The auction was kind of a game to me. I mean you are down to the last minute then EVERYBODY from EVERYWHERE starts bidding up. Then you give up and raise your bid and end up not saving at all. Then you find that the bidder bidding higher is a friend of the seller unbeknownst to E-bay.
The buy it now takes the game away. And you know what?
It's cool I think.
They will still offer it low. Lots of competition.

 

[deacon]

Not sure how I feel about that. I lose out on a lot of things because I place a low bid and don't go back. When I do get one it is a bargain but if I need something I would rather do a buy it now. So who knows it might work out okay but it will be fewer things I buy on unless I know the condition first.

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

Ebay is going down hill slowly. Feedback changes, price changes, policy changes, seems like they've lost touch with what they were and don't know where they are going.

 

[deacon]

The last three or four items I have bid I have lost at the last moment by fifty cents. Now I don't mind that but if there was any real interest in those items some would have run right up a few bucks. I think it is like DJ said, someone is doing the save me from a loss bid for the seller. I know I was bargain hunting but it happens too many times not to be a set up.

There is a legitimate price for a non working engine and if they do a buy it now only, the price will eventually work itself out. IF not the site will wither and die. It certainly won't be the only .com site to do that.

Frankly though I can't image that happening unless it is too top heavy. It's like my old wedding business. I only spent real money when I was working. If I was working I was making money. I had no real overhead so it worked out. It's that salary for the bosses that kill a company when times get hard.

 

[eDJ]

For me the real kiss of death of eBay is deep in the fine print here:

" eBay will also no longer let buyers use cash or check for transaction, focusing instead on credit and PayPal. "

eBay will make money on this.......and States will use the records to collect taxes on purchases with the records.

In recent news the State of Ohio has nailed some people who buy heavily online and haven't reported and paid taxes to the state. Not long ago one citizen was held up for thousands of dollars in back taxes where they were buying cigarettes online from a source where they could get them for cheap and reselling them in a place where they could get big bucks for them.

If you are an occasional buyer who buys small ticket items and sends a USPS
money order like myself........you aren't worth the tax dept pursuing. It would cost them more than what it would be worth to prosecute.

I've done my bit with PayPal when Providian was screwing people to the wall.
When I had about $65 dollars worth of purchases the first month and the next month there were over $800 dollars purched from addresses in the mid east
they tried to hold me up for it all. I contacted the state of Ohio Banking Commisioner's office and reported it. (turned out Providion's computers had been hacked and hoards of people's credit card numbers were stolen from Providian themselves) When you read PayPal's fine print........I doubt you'll want to play their game.

I just bid on items where I could mail a USPS Money Order after that and had
no hastles. I still had to pay several hundred dollars to PayPal/Providian due to fine print details.......even though I hadn't done one single thing wrong. A friend of mine is a Manager at a Credit Union I belong to.....and he showed me a page of web sites listed on the Bulletin board at the Credit Union which address PayPal issues share holders have had in the past. So...I don't use my
PayPal account anymore.....and when my WaMu card is paid off I'll quit using it too. (after calling them and telling them I want the $20,000 credit line reduced to $200 dollars......I mean why let them jack up my credit line so if hackers get in there again I'll be wiped out ?) And then Ohio contact me and say.....You've purchased all this stuff on eBay and we have proof of your purchases.....where's our sales tax ?

 

[Saddletramp1200]

As Wal-Marts lawyers sit snickering with the forms filled out. E-Mart?
Sure hope not!

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

Not to mention between paypal (ebay owned) and ebays fee's, flaky buyers who back out of deals costing a lot of money in listing fees and the other who don't leave feedback, it's just not worth it anymore.

Cancel my subscription.

 

[deacon]

you that lowering the credit card limit is a very good idea. I think it's time for me to take a look at how large a limit I really need.

Since paypal has that number as a second pay source, it would probably be a really good idea to cut it. Not to mention just plain old hackers from through the credit card company.