In a move widely regarded as an attempt to hit back at other marketplaces like Amazon, eBay is to
restructure its overly complicated pricing structure for sellers.
Starting next month eBay is to introduce a fee structure that simplifies the amount a seller has
to pay when they sell an item. The complex, tiered fee structure will be swept away and replaced
with flat-rate fees which reflect the category that the item is in. In addition for most sellers
there will no longer be a listing fee applied for advertising items for sale.
The move comes at a time when sellers on the Amazon marketplace are starting to become more
vocal about increased selling fees and the holding up of seller payments. A Class Action Lawsuit
has been filed in a US District Court in Seattle against Amazon, accusing the company of holding
seller money for more than 90 days in violation of its own terms.
“What we’ve heard from our sellers loud and clear is that they really like what we’ve done to drive sales,”
said Michael Jones, vice president of merchant development at eBay,
adding that the new structure is a response to that feedback. “For most of our sellers the complexity of our fees
were keeping them from being on eBay
and preventing them from having full transparency into their profitability from selling on eBay. To be very clear,
we are a technology and services company that helps sellers of all sizes,” said eBay’s Jones. “What we don’t do is buy
or make products. We’re not a retailer.” A clear message to Amazon sellers who have concerns about selling items only
to find they are competing with Amazon itself for sales.
