Auction site eBay has announced a revision of its listing fees, the most major of which is increasing the listing time of 'Buy It Now' items from 10 days to 30 days, and also introducing a flat rate listing fee of 40p for any item for sale, regardless of its price.
Meanwhile, eBay Shop owners can now enjoy insertion fees as low as 1p, and the Gallery listing for adding pictures of items is now free, where before it cost 15p.
Though sellers get more for their money when listing fixed-price items, final value fees on successful sales are increasing accordingly in some categories of goods.
Only pay if successful
In a statement on eBay.com, President of Marketplace Operations Lorrie Norrington said:
"We are shifting the majority of our costs for most categories to the back end (final value fees), which you only pay if you're successful in selling an item. In extremely competitive e-commerce categories such as Consumer Electronics, Cameras and Computers, we're decreasing final value fees.
"This means we're giving you an even bigger incentive to list these types of items on eBay."
The company has denied that it's moving away from auctions, however, saying instead that the changes will offer sellers more control over the business they do.
"We now have a more tailored offering to fit every size of seller, from a mum cashing in on old baby clothes, to an at-home entrepreuner, to a retailer," eBay's Clare Gilmartin told Metro news.
"Buyers increasingly want the convenience of shopping for great value items at a fixed price."
