|
Some EBay Sellers Will Get a Price Break, but Hated Feedback System Stays By Saul Hansell EBay is giving a little to disgruntled sellers, but it is holding firm on the changes it has made recently that many of them like least. In a post on eBay’s announcement board today, Lorrie Norrington, the new executive in charge of its marketplace unit, said that the company would cut some fees for those who sell books, movies, music and video games. Those categories, which often have low selling prices, have been especially hard hit by eBay’s recent change in fee structure. It had lowered the initial fee to list an item but increased the percentage of the final selling price it takes. EBay lowered the listing fees even further for these categories by as much as 50 percent. For example, auctions with starting prices of between $1.00 and $9.99 now cost 25 cents for a listing, compared with 40 cents under the previous scheme. At the same time, Ms. Norrington said eBay will stick with its system that asks buyers to rank sellers in four specific categories. The sellers, in particular, have found that it is difficult to get high ratings in the shipping cost category. If sellers don’t have at least an average 4.6 rating (on a five point scale), they don’t qualify for eBay’s new fee discounts. Ms. Norrington said the seller’s concerns are simply less important that counteracting the widespread view that shipping costs on eBay are often sky high. “Let me be clear: our goal is to improve the buyer experience,” she wrote. “We will closely monitor the data. If buyer trust in the marketplace is not improving as intended within the next six months, we will take action.” EBay was equally dismissive of what many sellers say is their biggest concern: a rule change that no longer allows them to leave negative feedback against buyers who try to take advantage of them. A recent survey of the readers of AuctionBytes, an online newsletter mainly for smaller sellers, found than 99 percent thought the changes in the feedback system would hurt them. The changes have so angered a group of sellers that they are planning a boycott starting Feb. 18. I suspect this is a very vocal but small minority of the overall eBay community. But for a company that has its reputation at risk from so many sides, another outpouring of anger doesn’t help. |