eBay's answer to this? Raise fees on stores. True, this move will drive more product back into auctions, but the move will also drive some sellers (like me) off of eBay.
Site traffic is on a 6 month dive, the stock is down and sell-through rates and prices are at an all time low, yet Wall Street seems to believe in eBay management.
WSJ:
Despite a recent swoon in eBay Inc.'s share price, Wall Street seems willing to give Chief Executive Meg Whitman the benefit of the doubt. EBay's merchants beg to differ.
Some of those who sell merchandise through the Internet auctioneer's Web site recently have called for drastic action and management change at the San Jose, Calif., company. They are particularly upset at the deterioration in the company's flagship auction site, where they say they are seeing fewer transactions and declining sale prices.
"EBay's core [auction] performance is suffering tremendously," says Steve Grossberg, a longtime videogame seller on eBay. He says he now lists an item four times on average in order to sell it, up from two listings two years ago. Adds Andy Mowery, an eBay seller of home and garden gear: "It is time for new leadership at eBay." The sellers' gripes about Ms. Whitman and some of her team come as eBay's revenue- and earnings-growth rates have slowed, even as the company has expanded into new countries and areas such as Internet calling, classified listings and comparison shopping. In the second quarter, eBay's auction-related listings grew 22% from a year earlier but were unchanged from the first quarter, while less-profitable store listings grew faster than auction listings.
Comment Preview