eBay Mythbusters 2010 Price Change Challenge

Written by John Comments
Last Updated January 29, 2010

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On Tuesday January 26th eBay made announcements to price changes on the platform. The headline reads “Our Lowest Insertion Fees EVER…” So we decided to put that claim to the Mythbuster test. We all love to watch Adam and Jamie on the TV show drop and blow up stuff to see if it works, so I figure lets put this statement to the test!

The STATEMENT:

“I reject your reality and substitute my own” …Adam Savage (MythBusters)

Since the announcement, I have had the pleasure of seeing and hearing all the comments both for and against the claim, so I will put it to the test using the following criteria:

1) I will ONLY deal with data sets that are pertinent to MY PRODUCT CATEGORY of Clothing. (I refuse to speak about what I do not know about, those who do lose all credibility in my opinion.)

2) I will compare LIKE data sets (apples to apples).

3) My results are not scientific, factual, tested, sponsored by eBay, or even all that good for that matter, so just ignore everything and continue on with your life.

But seriously folks…what is important for you to take away is not so much my results, but HOW I came to these conclusions. What I hope is that you will learn to think, do and come to your own conclusions and then make good decisions about how to navigate your business with these new pricing changes on eBay.

Auctions

OK, here we go, lets start with Auction Style Listing Fees….

Above are screen shots SIDE BY SIDE of the old fees on eBay vs. the new fees for Auction Style Listings.

1) Lets start with $.01 – $.99 cent starting auctions. Old fee was .15 cents, the New fee is FREE*, and the details are in the *

You get only 100 of those free per month, I have not found a price after that 100?!? However my guess is that it would be .10 cents each based on the fee structure of the store fee chart (which we will look at later in the post)

2) Insertions fees for New chart shows a decrease in fees for ALL levels of starting auction price.

Determination: This is so overtly OBVIOUS that I have no other choice but to stamp this part of the myth as CONFIRMED!

Next chart, lets take a look at the Final Value Fees (FVF) for auction items, which are the fees you pay when an item is sold on eBay…

1) The Old fees had a graduated pay scale based on the ending price of the action. At the lower end items sold up to $25.00 were charged 8.75% for the fees.

2) On the New plan, fees are no longer graduated. There is a FLAT FEE of 9% which is .25% HIGHER than before for items under $25.00 however for higher priced items it is a flat 9% fee and it is capped at no more than $50.00 for any item ever.

for example in the OLD table, an item that would sell for $100 would get 8.75% for the first $25.00 of the sale and then 3.5% for the other $75 of that $100 item. The FVF fees for that would be $2.19 + $2.63 = $4.82
Under the New fees you would now pay $9.00 that is an increase. However as you scale the ending prices UP the FVF fee will increase until you get to around the $2000 mark. After the $2000 level the prices actually are CHEAPER than they were before.

Determination: While most items on eBay will see an increase in FVF some higher priced items ($2000 and beyond) will see a decrease in FVF fees. Logically I could stamp this one as busted, but some fees will decrease ($2000 and up) so I must stamp this one as PLAUSIBLE, yet unlikely for many sellers!

Fixed Price

Next lets look at Fixed Price Fees…

Fixed price is the FASTEST growing segment of eBay and is the focus of the leadership at eBay as the growing darling of the platform.

1) The Old fees for Fixed price was a flat fee of .35 cents.

2) On the New structure eBay has set up some tiered prices based on:

whether or not the seller operates an eBay store.
what store subscription level the seller has with eBay.

Personal observations: I believe eBay is wanting ALL fixed price sellers on the platform to open stores and then eBay can move all of the inventory currently as fixed price into the store. This will allow sellers with fixed price models a nice landing spot for all their listings and buyers can “shop around” better with a single seller and their wares. Good move for ANY fixed price volume seller in my opinion.

Also eBay says it will be offering “store items” to be listed in search, that is really a play on words here. There will no longer be “store items” as we once knew them anyway. eBay has completely done away with items that are in store and “not in search”.

NOW all items in stores are FIXED PRICE so this is NOT an apple-to-apple comparison if you take store items of old and compare them to store items (fixed price listings) of today! You need to keep that in mind and I will revisit this later in the store section of this post.

Determination: Store owners will see a SUBSTANTIAL decrease in fees for fixed price listing. However sellers without store subscriptions will see an SUBSTANTIAL increase in fees. I again must stamp this scenario as HIGHLY PLAUSIBLE!

Next up is the Final Value Fees of the Fixe Price listings on eBay. I want to remind you of the parameters of this article once again…

— I will ONLY deal with data sets that are pertinent to MY PRODUCT CATEGORY of Clothing. (I refuse to speak about what I do not know about, those who do lose all credibility in my opinion.)

1) The chart for the Old fees had a 12% FVF fee for items under $50 and there is NO CHANGE in the New model. These fees remain the same.

2) In the Old fees items over $50 were charged 12% on the first $50 and then 9% for anything over $50 up to $1000. On the new chart items price at Fixed Price up to $1000 are now flat at 9%.

Let take our example from before with an item priced at $100. Under the Old fees you would be charged $6.00 + $4.50 = $10.50
Under the new flat rate of 9% you will now be charged $9.00 for the FVF of that same item.
If the Fixed Price item is $1000 or more you are only paying 2% and even a public school drop out like myself can assess that is cheaper than before DUH!

Determination: This one is so blatantly obvious I feel almost juvenile having to say this but this one is ABSOLUTLY Confirmed!

Store Inventory Format

NEXT we move to the last of this study, the store items…

1) The fees for stores subscriptions remain unchanged! The eBay store fees are the same as they ever where. That part was easy right?!?

HERE IS WHERE THE “eBay tabloid bloggers” and the so called “eBay seller commentary” will try to trick you!!! Look at the comparison of Store Inventory Format below…

Do you see that? I am not sure if these “tabloid bloggers” are ignorant, or if they really are trying to be deceptive?!? However the TRUTH OF THE MATTER is there is nothing to compare it too. That additional format that was once available to store sellers called Store Inventory Format (SIF) has been removed in the new eBay changes. It NO LONGER EXISTS!

There will only be 2 listing formats on eBay now, Fixed Price or Auctions….that’s it! If you have a store you get different pricing (as we have discussed above) on these 2 formats, but there is no longer a 3rd format. Do you get it!!!!

Store Inventory Format (SIF) does NOT have a special format any longer. Store will only have the Auction or the Fixed Price PERIOD.

What happens if you do NOT understand this key point, then everything else will confuse you. Just remember that eBay simply REMOVED Store Inventory Format (SIF) completely, it is off the table, no longer an option, adios amigo. If you do that then you can better make a determination on if the eBay fee changes are an increase for you or a decrease.

So over all, does the initial statement from Dinesh Lathi of “Our Lowest Insertion Fees Ever…” live up to the myth? YES it does, absolutely and you know why? Because the first 100 auctions that start at .99 cents are FREE and dammit, there is nothing cheaper than free…DUH, unless eBay pays me to list.

I want to hear from YOU, what do you think about these un-scientific findings? Please leave your comments, we love to start the discussion.

Dan

As a strictly part-time ebay vintage record & CD seller with a basic store, I can tell you that the new fixed price rate will raise my costs tremendously. I have been able to list items at $ .02 per month per item as "store inventory". Now with fixed price as the only option, my rate will be $. 20 per item!!!! I just checked this (again) through ebay. That is 10 TIMES higher - and outrageous. My feedback is perfect, yet I am getting the shaft on listing fees. I don't currently do auctions - but may have to start up again. Ebay obviously wants to get rid of small time sellers who can't afford to pay the much bigger fees for the "pro" stores, where the listings will cost just $ 05 or .03 a month. I will be either have to drastically reduce the amount of fixed price items I list or migrate from ebay completely, probably the latter. It's been a long time coming. . . .

Marshia Armstrong

ok so Im late finding this. lol Im always late its ok. Well we shall see, I will keep my store sub. and the truth is in the Bill. ;-)

baebay

What you (and ebay) aren't seeing or don't care about John, is that even thought SIF will go away, it DOES affect my bottom line, so sellers like myself and Stephen can't just ignore that. eBay needs a way to project more revenue because they are losing market share. Period. Plain and simple. And they don't care about the sellers anymore. They haven't for a long time.The business model is fragmented. It has been fragmented ever since the CEO changed. Bottom line - ebay has management problems. Amazon is a more stable environment at this time. I do agree with you John, in that you have to know your audience and put the part of your business on each venue that sells on THAT venue, which is why we also sell on Amazon (with much less hassle I might add!)

ColderICE

It effects my bottom line too and eBay has never, in my opinion, mattered
what sellers feel (at least not since it went public)...it is a
corporation!

It is not that I "don't care" it is that I am NOT emotional when thinking on
price changes. We have price changes from our vendors, ecommerce networks,
FedEx, UPS, Gasoline surcharges, Postage and also eBay. If I could pick the best phrase
to sum up my views on price changes it is simply.... *Analyze, adapt and overcome*

Thanks,

John

letsgetreal4real

You people are fools if you think the net result of these changes is less fees to all sellers overall... Are you serious? This is a semi-foolish article, in fact, it was concluded before it was written.. There's good info on this site, but this article was written with blinders on. The FACT is written on the wall--these are the lowest INSERTION FEES EVER.. note they didn't say LOWEST SELLER FEES EVER... LOL.. You would think MARKETERS such as yourselves could see through such a obvious ploy.

PS-- maybe in come categories.. few, certainly not most.. the .5% 1 or 2 DSR thing for TRS.. factor that into your equation.. a HUGE swath of sellers (who do their best, but are in categories/markets where the buyers are.. let's say.. not as reasonable..) are going to end up going from 20% discount to 5% discount.. I have 4.98 and 5 DSR's.. but that .98.. that's from shoot from the hip retards who go straight to 1 star..)

Generalities are impossible to make.. it'd be like comparing best buy customers to limitedtoo customers.. sure there's some crossover.. but even in that crossover-- the buyer becomes a different shopper with a different attitude.

ColderICE

Yep, head fool...thats me! ...However, I did not even bring TRS discounts
into this equation for a savings on FVF, cause that is NOT what the article
is about...it is simply around insertion fees and yep it WAS a cleaver
marketing line on eBay's part...I caught it and that is why the MYTH was not
a myth it is actually TRUE! eBay made sure of that B4 they released the
statements. It is somewhat rhetorical isn't it?!?

Thanks,

John

e: John@3rdPO.com
store: www.3rdPO.com
address: 3rd Power | 3550 Centerville Hwy | Suite 107-216 | Snellville, GA
30039
fax: 678-805-4900

Guest poster

Someone needs to take a closer look. A myopic view of listing costs isn't what's important here.
It's the Final costs that are the real deal breaker.
Scroll down to Stores FP Clothing. Those are huge increases and that's what should be most important, your profit, not what it costs to list or how many pennies they shaved off a few slots for the cheapest starting prices.

http://letters.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blog/bl...

ColderICE

Yep, eBay IS most definitely increasing the back end.

Thanks,

John

auctioncope

One of us seems to be confused here and I'm hoping it isn't me. Final value fees on "Fixed Price Listings" are not a flat rate of 12%, 9%, or 2% depending on price. I think that's what your post is insinuating.

You can calculate the new fees by going to http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/fe...

Let's say you sold 10 items for $5000 each. Your revenue would be $5,000 x 10 = $50,000. If the fees were a flat rate of 2% then your total final value fees would be $1000 ($50,000 * .02). The actual final value fees according to the fee calculator total $1,715.

Here's a screen capture of the calculator.

http://i50.tinypic.com/2qitnya.jpg

The final value fee is calculated on the decreasing scale 12% on $50 then 9% on $50-$1000 then 2% on $1000+ just like before. The final value fee would then be calculated $6 ($50 * .12) + $85.50 ($950 * .09) + $80 ($4000 * .02) for a total of $171.50 per item or a total of $1,715 for all 10 items as the fee calculator shows.

Is that what your post is saying or am I confusing things?

Linda

You are correct. I contacted John about this same thing previously and again this morning after he emailed me asking me to clarify what I was trying to say. He will probably comment on this later hopefully.

Linda

John I actually think they have corrected the charts on the announcement now. The way they had the charts before as you posted in the screenshot you did above could have been confusing. Take a look at the charts in the announcement now.

ColderICE

No they have not, the charts are still the same at a flat 9% rate, so there
is serious confusion here as to which one is correct the chart or the
calculator...

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/Fe...

Thanks,

John

vincej

Not sure where the mixup is.... the clothing area has three tiers.
the "other" category is specifically noted as an "example" of how the tariffs apply. YOu carry the example over to the other categories.
the ones to the right (media, tech, clothing, etc) are shown flat because it's assumed you got the breakdown from the first column.
thus, clothing: 0-50 at 12$ , 50-1000, at 9%, +1000 at 2% , the percentages apply to the amount falling within each range...
Yes, all FP FVF have sliding scale.

ColderICE

Maybe it is just me, but I am not seeing where it says tier fees on that
chart. Clothing at 50.01 says nothing but 9%?!? Guess it is just me?

Thanks,

John

ColderICE

I think eBay needs to make this one CLEAR? Is the chart right or is the
calculator right? Cause these two say two different things to me? Or is it
just me?!? Maybe I am missing it....HELP....LOL.

Thanks,

John

ColderICE

The information provided for this story can be found at:

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/Fe...

<http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/Fe...
we are using the "Fixed Prive Final Value Fees" chart from this eBay
provided chart. If eBay has revised these fees, please let me know. However
the chart is showing flat fees for FVF. You may want to contact eBay and let
them know if the chart is reflecting incorrect information.

*Note*: My research is ONLY for clothing category. In that eBay provided
chart, the "all others category" still has tiered pricing but it does NOT
show it as tiered in the Clothing, Shoe & Accessories category.

From what you write, it does seem that eBay has provided two different takes
and ONE of them needs to be corrected by eBay.

Thanks,

John

Karen Locker

I think the key to the ability to absorb the costs of the new fee structure is in the sell through rate. Which will not really be able to be determined until the changes take effect. After these changes ebay may not be the place to list items that need to wait for the right buyer, relisting month as month. In actuality I would rather pay the cost for items that have sold then pay a fee to have something sit. I know I am looking at my margins and the viability of my items before I even start listing them again. Letting hundreds of items sit for .03 a month plus 14.95 is not putting money in my pocket but selling those same items would.

Just my 2 cents.

ColderICE

Great points Karen, it is almost impossible to say this sucks without even
seeing if the volume of sales can justify the increase in fees.

This could be a ticket to the fast sale-thru lane instead of being stuck in
traffic?!? Or it could make no difference at all with sell-thru and then
those items probably need to move to a place where you are not paying for
storage space by item.

Thanks,

John

e: John@3rdPO.com
store: www.3rdPO.com
address: 3rd Power | 3550 Centerville Hwy | Suite 107-216 | Snellville, GA
30039
fax: 678-805-4900

vincej

Karen, don't know if you caught it yet.

Mitzi, from the Vintaglist pointed me to AuctionBytes.
yesterday's article indicated eBay has already run a test with store items in CORE, ALL items, back in October.
I suggest you do your calcs based on your actual sales in Q4 2009, if you can, as the "search placement" in the new premium stores will not effectivly change from what you had from Oct through November 2009 (although eBay has not indicated how LONG they ran the tests, they did say it was for a sufficient time to establish firm results).

as @kellyloach indiated, unique items (our antiques for example) were in no need of search boost. They are found whether placed in core or not. For us, therefore it is a straight up fee increase with no added benefits. We still haven't decided, but are leaning to closing store, and using ebay occasionally for stuff we can't sell elsewhere.

Insofar as the "lowest fees ever"... well sure.
If I were a BMW/Jaguar/Lada dealer, I could make same claim if I just discontinued selling the Lada and bumped the Bmw/Jaguar prices up by 10% and continued to carry Lada parts at a discounted rate.
As an ebay store "owner" (basic store) I could see NO scenario where the new fee structure would be a cost saving unless I was happy with a Lada distributor cap.

Karen Locker

Vince, I did see the article it and a group of us are looking at stats for Q4 and I did see a very obvious flip in store vs auction sale at least with my commodity store items for a period of time in Oct. We actually have a spreadsheet to see if there is a pattern in the stats.
So to me if that test is any indication, one of my stores should do quite well with the switch.
:)
Karen

vincej

Excellent, Karen, glad to hear it.

You looking at the exact numbers is what every seller should do, and thanks to eBay's "test" everyone should have those numbers already in hand. It can't get any simpler than that.

cheers.
V.

YourPlace2

My store lists 400 items per month. Let's forget about sales for now. I spend $15.95 a month for the store. My listings cost me 3 cents per for 30 days. $15.95 + 400x.03 ($12.00) = $27.95 per month expenses to list 400 items currently. You do the math now, and tell me how much it will cost. If I keep the $15.95 package, it will cost me .20 cents per item to list for 30 days or $80.00. If I move up a tier to the $49.95 Store, my listings will cost .05 each or $20 for 30 days (400 items). Total for Tier 2 will be $69.95 per month.
Now, how is this represent "lowest insertion fees in history"? That is not even the point! It will cost me at least twice as much to list my 400 items starting in March, or as much as 300% increase in listing fees and store tiers before I even make 1 sale! Ebay is definitely milking a level of sallers with this new structure. Get Real!

ColderICE

Unfortunately your business model no longer exist (3 cent store inventory). You need to move to another platform or adjust your business plan. eBay has phased this one OUT come March 2010.

Without the other part of the story (sales volume) it is not possible to adequately make another recommendation. As you have laid out this scenario, you are no longer going to be able to list/store your longtail on eBay and might want to consider opening a website or Bonanzle type booth of your own for longtail items to sit until sold. Keeping in mind that you can NOW list 100 of the best .99 cent items you have for FREE every month with that $15 store. I would look at 99 cent auctions since a majority of your items are going at that price right now?!? Just a thought, its is not "over" for you it is just time to readjust the product mix and trim the inventory on eBay.

YourPlace2

ColderIce, you are incorrect on the FREE AUCTIONS. You do not get any FREE listings with any store. Those FREE LISTINGS are for non-store sellers. Store sellers get discounted AUCTION type listings, dependent on the level.

ColderICE

Yep, u r right.

kellyloach

John. This is a very informative article and I appreciate all thet you continue to do for the communtity. In my situation my fees would significantly increase. Let me explain. I sell only in Store Inventory Format and if my entire inventory went to fixed priced then it would be a very significant increase. Practically everything in the store is rare so store inventory in search issue that used to be a problem for other sellers was not a problem for me since there were few sellers for items anyway therefore I would show up. Now that store inventory format is going away I will continue to increase my inventory on Amazon and continue to sell less on eBay. I dont want it to be that however eBay makes it that way, sadly.

ColderICE

Kelly and others I hear your PAIN...And the removal of store inventory as a format will shake up this platform and MANY sellers who have depended on it for years. Glad you have other options, but I know eBay was and is a unique venue that had to be very important for a business model such as yours.

Thanks for making us all aware of these types of challenges.

Terrance Gaines

I think most of us were waiting on you to comment on these recent changes. I read some of the "other" blog entries on the subject, but I made sure reserve judgement until the "Big Kahuna" spoke out on the subject...and you didn't dissappoint!

Thanks man

tim

Want to cut to the chase about what is really going on here? go to http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/1262010-Announ...
This fantastic chart makes it clear ebay is putting the screws to sellers. Even a "public school dropout" like the autor of this piece could figure this out.

ColderICE

Tim, thanks for the reinforcements, I think I cover that pretty clearly in the story where I write about it....

for example in the OLD table, an item that would sell for $100 would get 8.75% for the first $25.00 of the sale and then 3.5% for the other $75 of that $100 item. The FVF fees for that would be $2.19 + $2.63 = $4.82
Under the New fees you would now pay $9.00 that is an increase. However as you scale the ending prices UP the FVF fee will increase until you get to around the $2000 mark. After the $2000 level the prices actually are CHEAPER than they were before.

Determination: While most items on eBay will see an increase in FVF some higher priced items ($2000 and beyond) will see a decrease in FVF fees. Logically I could stamp this one as busted, but some fees will decrease ($2000 and up) so I must stamp this one as PLAUSIBLE, yet unlikely for many sellers!

Dave

Interesting summary. This is going to do some real damage to book/CD sellers who don't operate stores.

ColderICE

Yes, I only wanted to address the areas that I am familiar with. If you have some data for books and sellers I would love to hear it and possibly add them on an update.

danniackerman

Hey John fun way to put this across! What this round of changes effectively does is tell the low volume seller they aren't much use to ebay anymore. I'm an 11 yr veteran and as of last year actually had to go get a job since I couldn't maintain the ebay sales enough to pay all the bills, now I am low volume, lost my powerseller status after many years holding the title... so I'm sad.

AWL Collectibles on eBay

The original store inventory price of .03 cents monthly for items selling for up to $24.99 will now cost .20 cents monthly on top of the $15.99 monthly subscription rate and the new FVFs. A store with 100 items monthly was $3.00 extra and will now cost $20.00 / 500 items was $15.00 and will now be $100 MONTHLY. That's a huge percentage of store inventory on eBay. As someone with an eBay store who deals in used DVDs, CDs, toys, cards and comics it is all my inventory. This will force me to close my store and go back to roll-of-the-dice auctions. How this will help eBay is beyond me.

ColderICE

AWL...no really...look at it this way... the .03 store listings NO LONGER EXIST. So you now have to choose from doing auctions or doing fixed price. If you do fixed price with a store, you will not pay the old .35 cents rate, you will get a discount and pay .20 cents or fixed price 30 which are show in search as they always were.

Bob

Hi

You missed the major point of the changes. It's not the rising or falling fees, it's that a seller with a 100% FB can be suspended from selling with 1% 1's or 2's on there DSRs. The anonymous assinine system to remove small and mid-range sellers to make way for the Amazon-like Ebay. A small to midrange seller with 50-500 transactions in the review period needs only one or a few disgruntled buyers (or competitors)to get suspended. That's anywhere from 1-5 (1)s or (2)s in the item description category. Highly susceptible to this kind of lunacy is anyone selling collectibles or any item that condition has slight leeway in interpertation. This is the corruptness of the changes not the fee structure.

ColderICE

Hi Bob...Sorry, I did not see any reference to feedback with this round of changes?!?

Katherine

And if you have an affiliateship, eBay will pay you for every item you sell. Overall, eBay has made some remarkable improvements for sellers lately.

Neil Mansilla

Now that's an investigative article that goes way beyond scratching the surface. :) There's no question that the listing fee changes will decrease fees for nearly all types of sellers (casual to Titanium). I've phased out SIF since FP30.. and now that SIF is history, FP30 adopters (like myself) who had exposure gains over their like-item competitors (that stuck with SIF) will have to battle it out in the core search arena. While I'm glad to see my listing fees decrease, I still wish that my competitors items were hidden below the fold. :)

ColderICE

You are bad, LOL!

Tommy Day

Terrific comparison John, was hoping to get a break from all this this wkd, but you pulled me back in LOL! Another deceptive phrase that is being mentioned in the seller community is "I'm going to get more exposure now in core search" with my store listings being converted to fixed price. Ummm beg to difffer but as ebay_andy said, there are 62 million listing in SIF! Those 62 million moving in to core search are going to clutter core search IMO!

ColderICE

I believe eBay knows that some of those 62 million will NOT move to core, cause it was the low .03 cents that allowed many to keep them on the site. I think eBay is charging MORE to actually "de-clutter" the system. Raising the price will action make people either SELL the stuff or get it OFF the platform.

Tommy Day

Agreed John, but whatever precentage of that 62 million remains, I bet it will still be a large number...

Sue Bailey

Brilliant job, John. Are you supplying popcorn to eat while I watch the fireworks in your comments? ;-)

FWIW - we had exactly the same things said when they made almost exactly the same changes on eBay UK last year. And then most of those complaining loudest opened a Store, and everything was peachy again.

rcm

Interesting Problem with Fixed Price Final Value Fees.

There seems to be a hole in the new fee structure. Examine the breakpoint at 50$.

Sell an item at $50. FVF=50x12%= $6.
Sell an item at $50.01. FVF=50.01x9%=$4.50

So never list Fixed Price at 49.99, it will cost you $1.50 in fees needlessly. List at 50.01 and say yourself $1.50.

There seems to be a hole in the new fee structure. Examine the breakpoint at 50$.

Sell an item at $1000. FVF=1000x9%= $90.
Sell an item at $1000.01. FVF=1000.01x2%=$20

So never list Fixed Price at $999.99, it will cost you $70 in fees needlessly. List at 1000.01 and say yourself $70.

If I missed something here in my calculations, let me know

Stephen

It depends on what you sell and your business model you utilized on eBay.

I sell phonograph records and I only used the story inventory catagory. Exclusively long tail items (which by the way, I now sell on Amazon. Better sales there for me these days).

My fees went up across the board, plus I also have to quantify my competitors listings
getting more exposure in core, possibly taking away some of my sales, as they may get
the advantage in Best Match sorting.

Every seller needs to do their own math, consider how your catagory may be
changed your competitors new advantage, and be realistic about Best Match.

I'm not bitter, I'm just being pragmatic. I can't pay higher fees for items that are likely
to be stuck parked on page 13 of search results via Best Match. I don't have to worry about these things at Amazon. I hope all sellers take the long view and can make the eBay changes work.

Sigh.....

kellyloach

Stephen we are in the same situation. The media I sell is "long tail" as well which is something eBay does not seem to comprehend. The same items will sell on Amazon so I will continue to emphasize that marketplace. Im not bitter either....just really disappointed in eBay the past few years.

Cliff Aliperti

Great job summing it up, John. It's like I said earlier today on I think it was Mitzi's Vintage List blog, if you're a seller currently using FP30 listings your bill is probably going to be lower for the same stuff (plus bonus of Stores in core search). If you weren't using FP and/or auctions this probably raises your fees some but hopefully the extra exposure increases profits.

Hell, I liked the last round of changes, so you know I absolutely love this set!

Gary Overton

Another great post John.
I also sell mostly in the clothing category and came to the same conclusions as you. I will do well with the new changes because I was already in the process of putting hundreds of new items in the fixed price category.
Like you said, every seller has different circumstances and must make their business decisions based on those circumstances.
Looks as if dor you and I we are in the winners column this time