O/T Ebay to start collecting final value fees on shipping!

[Matt]

I'm sorry to be an obvious shill here, but you all can do something about this by moving your items over to http://www.GrandSlamBids.com. For store items, we have a great 2-click eBay import tool and for the regular site, we're currently offering 0 listing fees on both fixed and auction style listings. The final percentage is significantly less then what eBay was and this change will only grow the difference. We created the site with the understanding that eBay looks like they will increasingly make things more and more difficult for collectible dealers and at some point, folks will say enough is enough.

[danc]

Ebay just doesn't want to be known as an auction outfit anymore and simply wants this to be a giant cyber mall.

If I wanted a Warren Spahn autograph, I would go to eBay. There are 569 choices. Of those, only 37 Spahn autographs are up for auction, while the rest are in eBay stores/BIN. Historydirect wants $899 for an inscribed ball!

Everytime I get an e-mail from eBay, I know they will creatively put it in words to make it look like I'm getting a deal, but in truth, I'm being bent over.

DanC

[ctownboy]

Seriously, if I had the money, I would do a take over of eBay and split them into two companies; one strictly for stores and the other strictly for auctions. Either that or I would find a way to start a strictly on line auction company without all the bells, whistles and drama that eBay is now.

David

[paul]

I'm not going to defend ebay's move, but there is another side to this. I once bought a clock on ebay. The same clock was available from several sellers. Most charged about $8 for shipping, and their clocks sold for $30-35. Others charged $40 for shipping. Their clocks sold for a dollar or not at all. These sellers were clearly charging the full value of the item in their shipping fee. In this way, they avoided ebay's fees (and maybe even lured in a few careless shoppers). I can see ebay wanting to prevent this. Of course, that doesn't mean that ebay has no other motives.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by paul

I'm not going to defend ebay's move, but there is another side to this. I once bought a clock on ebay. The same clock was available from several sellers. Most charged about $8 for shipping, and their clocks sold for $30-35. Others charged $40 for shipping. Their clocks sold for a dollar or not at all. These sellers were clearly charging the full value of the item in their shipping fee. In this way, they avoided ebay's fees (and maybe even lured in a few careless shoppers). I can see ebay wanting to prevent this. Of course, that doesn't mean that ebay has no other motives.

Then they should charge final value fees on the shipping for ebay sellers who do not have a good DSR rating on shipping...instead they are punishing everyone for the acts of a few. They could very easily exclude top-rated sellers from this new fee.

[scgaynor]

Ebay has to constantly keep raising money to satisfy their investors so each year they need to come up with a new gimmick to keep the money flow coming in. Last time it was going with Paypal only, now it is charging on shipping. The problem is that eventually they are going to run out of gimmicks and either the investors will leave (when ebay profits go down), or the sellers will leave (when fees get too high). If I was going to be buying stock in Ebay, I would think very hard about that.

Scott

[baseballart]

Originally Posted by Matt

I'm sorry to be an obvious shill here, but you all can do something about this by moving your items over to http://www.GrandSlamBids.com.

Shill indeed! Ban him, and ban anybody whose name sounds like his

Other than that, I agree that ebay is doing a death spiral. As has been pointed out, instead of responding to the concerns of sellers and vendors, they are now beholden to their investors and the capital markets. Instead of a innovative presence in the market (as ebay was in 1997), it has become a lumbering bureaucracy.

[bcornell]

Brief & amusing summary from Motley Fool on the latest fee manipulation: eBay's Latest Bonehead Move.

By the way, the stock has been going in the opposite direction of down since last year. PayPal profits are driving that.