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With prices hiked as high as 60 percent, eBay competitors are licking their chops
The increased fees, which went into effect on February 18, are some of the highest hikes in eBay history—up to 60 percent for some of the services offered by the largest auction site in the world. The four previous yearly price increases—though widely disdained by sellers—did nothing to hamper eBay’s revenues, which totaled $805.9 million in the third quarter of 2004.
For the fifth year in a row, news outlets have dutifully reported an outcry from sellers filled with animus toward the San Jose, California, company—an Internet behemoth with at least 60 million users worldwide.
The number of signatures on an online petition protesting eBay’s latest fees hike has climbed to 200,000. That’s still a drop in eBay’s bucket, and these petitioners haven’t even promised to take their business elsewhere. Industry analysts have described these eBayers as a vocal minority, whose influence is unlikely to spread to the site’s loyalists, who believe that no other company can provide the same amount of traffic as eBay.
Whether this year’s fee increase will affect eBay negatively, I don't know, but the market is ripe for serious competition. Established e-commerce site Overstock.com launched its auction service in September of last year and reported a recent jump in the numbers of listings. I think a lot of sellers are hoping for a viable competitor to eBay.
The cost of selling on Overstock.com is substantially less, which may be music to eBay sellers’ ears. Some fees are 67 percent lower than the online auction giant’s. Auction site ePier.com also offers a lower-priced option to eBay.
While some auction sites have lower fees, others are experimenting with new business models. Auction site Jittery.com, which is still in beta phase, is free because it's built around a marketing platform. Just like Google doesn’t charge to use its search, but uses advertising to pay for itself.
Disappointment with eBay should be good news for new upstarts. eBay has almost no competition, so it's a pretty open field if you want to challenge them. How many people expected Google to come along and knock down Yahoo? Yahoo was the accepted search. And here comes Google and supplants them dramatically. Also, I don’t think you have to beat eBay to be successful—there’s room.
For the fifth year in a row, news outlets have dutifully reported an outcry from sellers filled with animus toward the San Jose, California, company—an Internet behemoth with at least 60 million users worldwide.
The number of signatures on an online petition protesting eBay’s latest fees hike has climbed to 200,000. That’s still a drop in eBay’s bucket, and these petitioners haven’t even promised to take their business elsewhere. Industry analysts have described these eBayers as a vocal minority, whose influence is unlikely to spread to the site’s loyalists, who believe that no other company can provide the same amount of traffic as eBay.
Whether this year’s fee increase will affect eBay negatively, I don't know, but the market is ripe for serious competition. Established e-commerce site Overstock.com launched its auction service in September of last year and reported a recent jump in the numbers of listings. I think a lot of sellers are hoping for a viable competitor to eBay.
The cost of selling on Overstock.com is substantially less, which may be music to eBay sellers’ ears. Some fees are 67 percent lower than the online auction giant’s. Auction site ePier.com also offers a lower-priced option to eBay.
While some auction sites have lower fees, others are experimenting with new business models. Auction site Jittery.com, which is still in beta phase, is free because it's built around a marketing platform. Just like Google doesn’t charge to use its search, but uses advertising to pay for itself.
Disappointment with eBay should be good news for new upstarts. eBay has almost no competition, so it's a pretty open field if you want to challenge them. How many people expected Google to come along and knock down Yahoo? Yahoo was the accepted search. And here comes Google and supplants them dramatically. Also, I don’t think you have to beat eBay to be successful—there’s room.
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