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Tue Jan 26 2010 08:14:29

eBay Announces Fee Changes, Will Eliminate Store Format

By: Ina Steiner

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As anticipated, eBay will eliminate its Store Inventory format and has introduced a new pricing structure effective March 30, 2010. There will be one Fixed Price format on eBay - listings in the current Stores Inventory Format will automatically become regular Fixed Price listings with the same duration and appear with all other Fixed Price listings in eBay search results.

eBay will also extend the multi-variation listing feature to more categories - this allows sellers to list multiple variations of a product, including color and size, in one listing.

Sellers may no longer use the PowerSeller icon or references to the PowerSeller designation in listing templates, listing descriptions, About Me pages, or Stores pages.

Some initial thoughts:
With the new eBay Stores pricing, it's much more expensive to list in Stores format for low-volume sellers - you pay the same $15.95/month subscription fee, but rather than paying as low as 3 cents to list, you must pay a 20-cent insertion fee. However, your listings appear in Core search results.

An option would be to pay a higher monthly subscription fee - almost $50, and get insertion fees of 5 cents. eBay says this works for sellers who list over 250 items per month.

A lot of news to digest here, let's hear your comments!

Fee Changes
- No Insertion Fees for Auction-style listings when you list your item with a start price under $1—up to 100 listings per month. Pay only if your item sells.

- New low Insertion Fees when you list your item with a start price of $1 or more

- One easy Final Value Fee of 9% of the winning bid—and never more than $50—regardless of your start price or final selling price.

- 50-cent Insertion Fee for Fixed Price with Final Value Fees for the most part staying the same.



eBay will also introduce new fees for its Stores.
BASIC: 20¢ Fixed Price Insertion Fees, $15.95/month - Consider a Basic Store if you list more than 50 Fixed Price or Auction-style items a month. It's a great starter package if you plan to start an eBay business or ramp up your selling.

PREMIUM: 5¢ Fixed Price Insertion Fees, $49.95/month - Great choice for higher volume sellers (more than 250 items per month) and sellers listing in both Auction-style and Fixed Price formats.

ANCHOR: 3¢ Fixed Price Insertion Fees, $299.95/month - Get the same great deal as the old Store Inventory format-now with full exposure in search results! With an Anchor Store subscription, higher volume sellers get top savings and the lowest package rates on eBay.



NOTE: Starting in March, meeting the new minimum performance standard for all sellers will be a requirement for Premium and Anchor subscribers. ("Above Standard.")



- Insertion Fees as low as 3¢ for Fixed Price listings with full exposure in search results

- Fixed Price Final Value Fees for the most part staying the same

- New low Auction-style Insertion Fees

- Auction-style Final Value Fees significantly reduced over the new standard rate

- FREE pictures—up to 12 per listing

- FREE Selling Manager Pro with Premium and Anchor subscriptions
 
- Plus all the other great marketing tools you get with an eBay Stores subscription, including your own customizable store front and Markdown Manager.



New PowerSeller discounts and seller requirements coming in mid-April - the new PowerSeller requirements (originally announced in July 2009) will be in effect for all PowerSellers, not just Top-rated sellers. And with the new PowerSeller discount schedule (also announced in July), only eBay Top-rated sellers will receive 20% fee discounts. All other PowerSellers will receive 5% discounts. PowerSellers will see this change reflected on their statements starting May 1, 2010.

Here's a link to eBay's overview page.
 

Comments (389) | Leave Comment | Permalink
Readers Comments

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by: Bobby

Thu Jan 28 09:54:35 2010

The bottom line is that this is a fee increase for most sellers. If you do not pay a store subscription fee, the fees are a flat 9%, that is ridiculous! If you sell something for $100 dollars you are paying almost an extra $5 compared to before. And if you are a store subscriber you are still paying almost an extra $2 dollars on a $100 sale. Unless the majority of your listings are fixed price and you do a lot, you are not saving any money with these new changes. Why does eBay continue to push sellers away?

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by: Violet

Thu Jan 28 10:30:32 2010

Once again, GreedBay continues to bite small sellers in the butt. :(

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by: jayjay

Thu Jan 28 11:41:57 2010

Listing fee increases=fewer listings=higher prices=fewer buyers. Ebay has not been delivering the buyers these last couple years. Site is sluggish to navigate and a very high proportion of flake and rip-off sellers.New sites with lower fees and lower prices coming up to replace eBay--BONANZLE, ETSY. too bad...it used to be a fun place to shop.

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by: Maria Stanton

Thu Jan 28 11:43:10 2010

just like most ebay changes ebay the past two years THIS STINKS ... it took me 2 years to build a store inventory with 900+ listings ... sales are less than $1000 per month so an increase of $50 or $300 per month even before I sell anything makes selling on ecrater.com and etsy.com very very attractive!!!

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by: just a peon

Thu Jan 28 13:03:41 2010



I just closed my 3 Chase Bank accounts, because of this great article by Ina and the callous, yet future-telling remarks by Imran Khan of JPMorgan Chase in regards to ebay's vision:

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y10/m01/i27/s02



Sellers, you really need to read this.

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by: fruity

Thu Jan 28 13:23:01 2010

I get my States legislature hearing notices and now they are back in session you know. .. I decided to call my local State Senator and to make sure I got to speak to a real person, I started off by saying "I am a small business and I am being taxed by taxed by someone who wants to make sure you dont tax them. So I want to spreak with the Senator about how we can get money into our States coffers" Since all our states are broke, she transferred me over to him and bada bing.. he was curious to know about the level of control ebay as a venue was taking and the impact to me with large retailers.. In fact he was so interested that they're scheduling me to come in to his office. I also explained to him that with all the millions of small hometown USA sellers ebay has used as shields all these years, its ironic that they are putting out those people for big retailers. So if they wanna play big retailer, ok. Lets tax the heck out of you. Because I would rather have this company taxed up the wazoo so our government has it instead of ebay.  And you can bet I'm gonna talk about that little scam of these rolling reserves. All I need to say is Wall Street System Risk.

I got an ear with my Senator now, and I'm going to put on some pantyhose and we're gonna talk about how ebay took on all this risk that they now are firing small businesses

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by: just a peon

Thu Jan 28 13:33:45 2010


Way to go Fruity!

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by: chris

Thu Jan 28 13:35:27 2010

Why isn't anyone on here that concerned with the final value fees? If I am reading this right if your item now sells for over $25 your fees on the portion over $25 went up about 65%. Before it was 8.75 on the first $25 then 3.5% on the next $1000 now it is 9% or $50 max. Since I mainly do auctions and have a 90% sell thru rate the final value fees are going to kill me.

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by: BigR1696

Thu Jan 28 13:44:40 2010

I still have a problem with the Auction format fees for store subscribers.

The Gap in between the price of the auction fee is too large. I list 6000 items per month in the auction style format starting at $9.99. The fee for this starting price is now .35 and will be lowered to .25 in March...YEAH...

Unfortunately I only make $3 if the item sells at $9.99 (it does 98% of the time) and the sell through rate is currently at 19%.

With the increasing cost of selling, I need to eventually raise my price. I would like to go up $1 or $2 and remain listing with a low and competitive starting price, but the next fee level up is going to be .50.
So if I have to list an item 6 times before it sells, to raise my starting price would mean an additional $2.50 in listing fees.
This large gap in the fee structures means I cannot raise my starting price $1 or $2. I would have to raise my starting auction price by $4.50 just to make an extra dollar per item. This is not a very competitive way to increase profit.
The Auction style fee structure should be adjusted in this manner.

$.01-.99 = .10
$1.00 - 9.99 = .20
$10.00 - 19.99 = .35
$20.00 - 39.99 = .50
$40.00 - 49.99 = .75
$50.00 - 200.00 = 1.00
$200.00+         = 2.00  

This fee structure for subscription stores would allow lower profit margin items to be listed at higher starting prices without killing the perception of bargain prices and draw in more buyers for all of eBay.

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by: Mare

Thu Jan 28 13:53:40 2010

Ive been on ebay for over 10 years. It has been a steady decline as a seller and buyer. I am done this time. And I wont buy if theyve pushed me off as a seller. As it is, this month between ebay & paypal fees, they are getting 50% of my sales. The economy stinks and this is not the time to institute a new, more costlier format. Everyone wants a great share of nothing. All concerns have greedily increased their costs as fewer people buy.  The post office has done its share of cost increases, sites like autiva have instituted cost increases as well. Where do we draw the line and say enough is enough.
Yes ebay, push out the small seller, the people that made you. But remember we are buyers as well.
The 100 auctions at .99 cents is a joke... Ebay has taught people how to snipe. With all that fodder out there, all those who list at that price will wind up paying fees between ebay & paypal for the priviledge of giving away their items. There is actual work related to putting on an auction. They just dont pop on... I am tired of working so hard and igoring the fact that I probably make like $1 an hour. If that... Time to declutter my house and get a real job. I wont have to worry if my boss is not going to pay me, take back or hold my pay. I wont have to worry if someone is shill bidding on something I am bidding on because I cant see who they are.. I will have real contact with customers and people.. not a prefab email that keeps me distant from customers because ebay is afraid I might get to know them and sell off site... That personal contact used to insure that people paid and were engaged. Its all too sterile now anyway. The fun is gone. The profit is gone... I have talked to other ebayers and all feel the same way. Ill be having a sale in February... and then Im done with it all... good luck to all.

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by: andy

Thu Jan 28 14:09:58 2010

The hardest hit will be the smaller stores where the seller only has less that 250 items.  Perhaps eBay should look at how many stores started out as small sellers!

This also kills ebay's charm with unique items being offered on their site.  All they are gearing their site for is high volume/quick sale items... this will kill the seller who is offering antiques, coins, old books, and any item that is collectible yet has a small field of buyers.

This is what made eBay such a popular site, but ebay appears to no longer want the charm and search engine exposure of everything under the sun... they want quick turnovers and fast sales which means less variety for the buyers.

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by: Kaboodle Gifts

Thu Jan 28 14:20:32 2010

eBay has had the cross hairs pointed at the small business owner for years. First they welcomed us then they priced us out of the market. We no longer support eBay as they no longer support the small business owner, the very backbone of this country. Our business has grown and thrived since our move, a move that we have not regretted one bit.

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by: Sam

Thu Jan 28 14:56:19 2010


@ fruity

Don't forget to mention ebay's paypal to your Senator and the added burden they are doing there to hurt sellers.

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by: Mark

Thu Jan 28 15:25:41 2010

We sell antique furniture and, based on the new pricing model, I have to open a store with absolutely nothing in it to get the lower FVFs. Otherwise I get nailed to the cross with the new ''lower'' 9% flat FVF.

I have adapted to a lot of Ebay's BS and have found a way to rise above all the nonsense changes but this one just about does me in. I have listed on Bonanzle and Ecrater and am glad that a few things have actually sold there - the problem is that most of the sales are basically Ebay buyers who missed the auction, etc.

I'm just not sure how much more of these ''fee reductions'' we can take!

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by: Coop

Thu Jan 28 15:34:01 2010

With these changes media sellers are really being strong-armed into a store subscription. Currently fixed price insertion fees in media are $.15, under the new structure insertion fees more than triple(!) to $.50. Add in the fact that ebay charges a site-high FVF of 15% in media (which isn't changing) and that shipping in the category is capped at $3.00 domestically means this now has to be the most difficult category in which to make a profit.

Media must be screwing up their best match algorithm or something because they continue to punish us at every turn.

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by: Peanut Gallery

Thu Jan 28 15:57:11 2010



Looks like Ming hasn't left totally after all.

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by: Jacob

Thu Jan 28 17:12:15 2010

While this is an improvement on eBay's part they have a long way to go before they can regain the trust of sellers. Best bet - sell on eBay and your own website. http://www.rexxindustrialparts.com

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by: another side of the coin

Thu Jan 28 18:26:21 2010

@Jacob What do you mean "while this is an improvement"? Where? Also there will never be trust under this management.

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by: DssJr

Thu Jan 28 18:58:14 2010

ebay will now get flooded with 99 cents auctions with $40 shipping.....seller will get dinged for high shipping charges. More exposure not just for you but for millions of other too. you will have to flip through 10+ pages of listing before your item shows up.....how is all this positive? Small time sellers will get hit hard. Sigh.....

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by: nora

Thu Jan 28 19:19:50 2010


I am shocked. I wanted to show the Headlines being reported by the News Media incase some of you weren’t aware of it. Below is a list of headlines from some “major” News reporting agencies. Look who’s reporting this; Forbes, Wall Street Journal, CNET, Barron’s, ABC News, etc. (I got these from Google News yesterday morning, 1-27-10).
These headlines are in the financial news and false BS.  They are less than half truths. They are misleading. They are lies. You don’t see anything about the final value fees (FVF), store fees, these fees are being INCREASED and not free and not a cut. Not to mention the forced Paypal fees for smaller sellers who can afford Merchant accounts.
Where are these headlines coming from? Is this propaganda eBay feeds them. Doesn’t the news media examine or verify facts before going to press? This is frightening what is being passed on to the investor or consumer as truth.

“It's Cheaper To Sell on eBay” …Forbes - Kelsey Swanekamp - ‎19 hours ago…‎

“EBay To Cut Listing Fees In Bid To Lure Sellers” …Wall Street Journal - Scott Morrison, Jay Miller - ‎20 hours ago‎…

“Grooming its image, eBay lowers listing fees” …CNET - Caroline McCarthy - ‎20 hours ago…‎...

“eBay Cuts Listing Fees; Stock Rallies” …Barron's (blog) - Eric Savitz - ‎21 hours ago…‎

“EBay cuts some listing fees, a move aimed at encouraging people to sell more ... “…ABC News - Rachel Metz - ‎Jan 26, 2010‎…AP
“eBay launches no-fees program for its sellers starting March 30” …Ecommerce Journal - ‎11 hours ago‎…

“EBay Rolls Out 'Free' Auction Listings to Attract More Sellers” …Daily Finance - ‎17 hours ago‎…

“EBay chops listing fees to encourage sellers” …East Bay Business Times - ‎18 hours ago‎…

“eBay Cuts Fees for Occasional Sellers” …NBC Bay Area - Lori Preuitt - ‎19 hours ago‎…

“eBay to Reduce Rates for Sellers by 90% to Increase Traffic (EBAY)” …Comtex Smartrend - Chip Brian - ‎22 hours ago‎…

“EBay launches free auction listings” …San Jose Business Journal - ‎22 hours ago‎…

“eBay To Eliminate Listing Fees For Some Sellers, Are You One Of Them?” …Erictric - ‎22 hours ago‎…

“EBay lowering auction fees for sellers as of March 30th” …TECH.BLORGE.com - Sean P. Aune - ‎22 hours ago‎…

“eBay Tries To Beat Back Amazon, Lowers Listing Fees” …The Business Insider - ‎Jan 26, 2010‎…

“Internet: eBay to Introduce Free US Auction Listings From March 2010” …The Global Herald - ‎Jan 26, 2010‎…

“Come March 30, eBay Listing Fees Will Be Gone Or Lower For Some Sellers” …TechCrunch (blog) - Robin Wauters - ‎Jan 26, 2010‎…

“eBay Introduces Free Auction Listings and the “3-Cent Store”” …SYS-CON Media (press release) - ‎Jan 26, 2010‎…

“EBay Cuts Auction Fees for Sellers” …Wall Street Journal - Scott Morrison - ‎22 hours ago‎…

“EBay cuts auction listing fees for some sellers” …Philadelphia Inquirer - ‎Jan 26, 2010‎…

“EBay cuts auction fees for sellers”…Investor's Business Daily - ‎15 hours ago‎…

“EBay cuts auction listing fees for some sellers” …ABC7Chicago.com - ‎17 hours ago‎…

The investor and consumer are being duped by the media.
There is no free or reduced price, when you add in all the backend fees.  
This is a classic bait and switch.

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