EBay is evolving in an effort to move with the trends in e-commerce and better compete with online retailers such as Amazon. But will the move to make fixed-price listings more attractive to sellers have the desired effect and help reverse slowing growth?

I have a love/hate relationship with eBay. It was one of the first sites I used when I ventured online and gave me an in to the world of buying online. But recent years have seen me use the site less and less as other options have become available. Also, eBay has made a number of policy changes over the past year or so which has adversely affected my opinion of it.

The latest change to policy is a big one, with eBay trying to make fixed-price listings the main bread and butter of the site. EBay has always been known for its auctions, where sellers could make a killing and buyers could snatch up a bargain, but that looks set to change.

According to The New York Times, the fee structure is being changed to make fixed-price listings the more attractive option for sellers. This is being done by lowering upfront fees to 35 cents for a 30 day listing period. This will allow eBay to better compete with online retailers such as Amazon which offers both small and large sellers the opportunity to sell products at a fixed price.

But in competing with Amazon and the like in this way, what now differentiates eBay from those competitors? The whole unique marketing opportunity for eBay to be the ultimate flea market where anyone could put an item up for sale and get the best possible price has kind of now been lost.

Auctions aren’t being abandoned altogether but this move does signify a definite swing towards becoming a more traditional online retailer who can pile them high and sell them low.

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Entry was posted on Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 at 10:59 pm under Amazon, Internet, Opinion, Retail.

Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
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