Many people who sell on eBay are considered "hobby sellers" - they sell in their spare time, as entertainment, or as a hobby. These are the sellers that will be hurt the worst by eBay's recently announced fee changes.
1) eBay store fees will rise from 10% to 12% on items selling for less than $25. 12.00% of the initial $25.00, plus 8.00% of the remaining closing value balance ($25.01 to $100.00). In other words, items selling for less than $25 will be more expensive to sell in comparison to items with a sale price of over $25.
2) Minimum price for store inventory listings is $1. No more selling items in your eBay store for a few 
cents. Hobby sellers, coupon sellers, and craft supply sellers will feel this one. The alternative: batch items together in lots and set the starting price above $1.
3) Power Seller discounts will reward sellers with higher volume. These discounts also serve as an incentive for sellers to strive for higher sales volume.
4) Sellers won't be able to leave negative or neutral feedback for buyers. Serious sellers won't feel this one. The business seller operating a legitimate eBay business focused on his customer isn't worried about what his customer will do to him, he is focused on what he can do for his customers. A negative here or there for a high volume seller won't affect his FB score very much, whereas, a negative here or there will definitely affect a hobby seller who only sells a few items a month.
5) eBay's intent with these changes is to weed out the small time hobby seller, reward Power Sellers, and force all sellers to operate on a more professional serious level, or they'll be paying more for their eBay hobby.
If you are an eBay hobby seller, this isn't the end of eBay for you. Study your average selling prices, evaluate the new fee structure, and look at your business model. You many only need to make a few adjustments to your store structure to come out ahead. Changes can be positive or negative - depending on how you react.
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Awesome...I've stumbled this!
This article puts the whole issue of fee hikes in serious perspective and, hopefully, will help others clearly define how they'll need to tweak their business models to best adjust. With so much conversation on this topic and so many varying opinions, it's nice to read an article that addresses the bottom line with facts sans emotion.
Appreciate you, Suzanne.
~LaLa
Posted by: La La | February 13, 2008 10:46 AM | Permalink to Comment