eBay sellers threaten UK strike

Angry eBay sellers are threatening to boycott the UK auction site next week in protest at changes introduced to attract more buyers.

eBay has made the changes to its Shops service, which lets sellers have all their eBay listings in one place, because it was "impairing" the buyer experience.

On 2 August, eBay reduced the visibility of Shops Listings in the main search results on eBay.co.uk. Shop Items are displayed in main search results but only when the main site has returned a small number of relevant items. From 21 August, eBay will also change the fees for Shops Listings.

Some eBay Shop sellers are furious at the changes and have set up a forum that is devoted to holding a "listings strike" on 15 August in an attempt to "get eBay to consider the damage they do with these ill-considered changes they keep dreaming up and pushing through".

One eBay Shop seller told Web User: "I've sold regularly on eBay for a while and opened an eBay Shop at the start of the year and had some good sales... now a Shop has become little more than an expensive internet storage facility."

Ina Steiner, editor of auction-focused website AuctionBytes, said: "Sellers who have eBay Stores [Shops] were surprised and unhappy over the fee hikes that go into effect in August. The rise in fees was completely unexpected and will cut into sellers' margins quite significantly."

"In the UK, sellers had a double-whammy, because eBay took away exposure to Shops items while raising fees. The company says it wants sellers to list more items on the "core platform". This doesn't sit well with sellers who opened Shops at eBay's urging and have invested time and money into building them up."

However, eBay insists the changes are necessary to "rebalance the marketplace". It said "many buyers have explained that they simply cannot find what they want to buy easily and quickly".

In a statement eBay said: "The changes we have announced have not been entered into lightly; we have taken time and effort to ensure that we are making the right decisions to ensure the long term health and vibrancy of the eBay marketplace."

"We believe that these changes are vital to ensure that the thousands of sellers that rely on eBay for a living or a significant second income can continue to prosper."

An eBay representative also told Shop sellers on the eBay forums that: "Shops listings, like it or not, tend to be items that aren't as keenly priced, take longer to sell and generally aren't as appealing to buyers. Having the marketplace dominated by them isn't something we want. What we do want is a reasonable volume of Shops listings as a complement to the inventory on the main site."

In October, eBay.co.uk launches eBay Express, a new service that lets approved merchants set up shops selling new products at fixed prices, which it claims will make it quicker and easier for shoppers to buy new goods at a set price.

More news via RSS Post item to Del.icio.us Post item to Digg.com