eBay lowering fixed-price sellers' listing fees

21 August 2008 10:57 GMT / By Katie Scott

eBay is hoping to boost its ranks of sellers by making what it says is "the most fundamental change ever ... to its marketplace".

The eCommerce company, which has had various wrangles with sellers over recent years about fees, has decided to slash the fees sellers pay for fixed-priced items.

This rehaul centres around changing how sellers are charged.

From 16 September, eBay will charge 35 cents to list any number of the same types of fixed-price items - and similar pricing changes are to be brought in the Germany and the UK.

Items will also now remain listed for 30 days instead of 7, so sellers don't have to waste time re-listing unsold items.

Overall - it means that the total fees that most sellers will pay will come down.

This also means that prices could come down for buyers, so, says eBay, could counter a migration from eBay to rival sites including Amazon.

"I'd say this is the most fundamental change we've made, ever, to the marketplace", Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay marketplace operations, told Reuters.

"It's a huge shift from where we've been."

Other changes are to include a maximum shipping price for sellers in its media category, with incentives to offer free shipping.

Full tags

Software, Online, eCommerce, eBay, PayPal