When I first logged on to listen to the call, the music from Gone With the Wind was playing -as a native Atlantan, trust me, I know that music. That made me really nervous! The theme of the call was "eBay's Best Days are Ahead." The news was good, and sellers should expect some announcements about fees within the next week. Here are the highlights that sellers may be interested in:
Meg Whitman confirmed her retirement is effective 3/31/08 and John Donahue will be the new CEO. Whitman will remain on the eBay board of directors.
2007 was a record year for eBay - they reported $2.2 billion in revenue.
eBay was the #1 ecommerce site in the US, Germany, and the UK. 80 million 
customers came to eBay in 2007.
1.3 million people earn all or some of their livelihood selling on eBay. (I am one of them!)
Q4 07 resulted in $2 billion in revenue, a record for eBay.
Auctions are an integral part of the eBay structure, however, eBay execs realize that an auction format is not the optimal format for all sellers and buyers. The growth of the fixed price platform is accelerating. Look for changes.
Also addressed was reducing listing fees and adjusting final value fees - a way to lessen the burden to sellers - placing a heavier percentage of fees on the back end of a sale, rather than before the sale. This one could be a huge incentive to keep sellers who are contemplating leaving eBay, or to win those back who have already moved to Amazon.
Listen to the recorded call and see what you think.
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