OT Ebay fee increase makes the news

Hehehehe

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...bay_price_hike


--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net

Kandice wrote:

Hehehehe


http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...bay_price_hike

Another thing that no one has pointed out yet is that not only will the make
more because they're hiking their prices but also they'll make more again
because each seller who raises their prices to cover the price hikes is
selling for more so eBay wins doubly.

-Su

--
Tillerman eBay shop: http://stores.ebay.com/thetillermanbeads
Tillerman on JustBeads:
http://www.justbeads.com/search/ql.cfm?s=tillermanbeads
Tillerman website: http://www.tillerman.co.uk

This is of interest because of the store fees increase. Maybe the format
will be improved for all of us. *shrug* Who knows at this point!

*******************
eBay Acquires Ecommerce Storefront Technology
By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes.com
January 14, 2005

eBay will acquire the technology assets of Kurant, it announced
Thursday.

Kurant distributes its StoreSense ecommerce service through a network
of resellers. A "Master Reseller" called NeoVerve lists fees for
StoreSense starting at $19.95/month for a starter edition all the way
up to $319.95 for an Elite version of StoreSense Pro Plus
(http://www.neoverve.com/ecommerce/st...e_pricing.html). In April,
Kurant's StoreSense offering won PC Magazine's Editor's Choice Award
(http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1555276,00.asp).

News of the technology acquisition came a day after eBay announced a
fee hike of its own Stores offering
(http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y05/m01/i12/s00). eBay, the
800-pound gorilla in the online-auction space, offers sellers auction
and fixed-price formats and also offers eBay Stores, where sellers can
load inventory at fixed prices indefinitely. eBay announced Wednesday
it was increasing the monthly fee and commission on Store items
effective February 18.

eBay sellers reacted negatively to news of the fee increases, and some
began circulating an online petition to protest the fees
(http://www.petitiononline.com/ebayfee/petition.html).

When asked how the acquisition of Kurant's storefront technology would
affect eBay Stores, eBay spokesperson Hani Durzy said it was too early
to get specific since the deal had not yet closed. But, he said, "Our
focus remains on growing and improving eBay Stores."

Rodrigo Sales, CEO of Vendio, said the move was not entirely
surprising. He believes many of eBay's largest sellers are looking to
expand their online presence to include a completely branded store,
with much more functionality and flexibility than what eBay currently
offers.

Vendio offers auction-management services and storefronts for eBay
sellers. Sales believes eBay faces the challenge of whether to give up
some of its own branding in order to continue to manage the store
functionality of its largest sellers. "Professional sellers recognize
the importance of building a trusted brand online and a loyal customer
base of repeat buyers," he said. Another challenge for eBay may be
winning over sellers who want reduce their reliance on eBay by opening
their own separately hosted branded online stores.

In an ironic footnote, eBay said members may have experienced
intermittent delays when attempting to access eBay Stores or when
attempting to search within Stores for several hours on Thursday
(http://www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml#2005-01-13154913).

eBay said in addition to the asset acquisition, it also expects to
hire nearly all of the Kurant team and continue to support Kurant's
current customer base.

eBay does not expect the acquisition, which is a cash transaction, to
have a material impact on 2005 net revenue and earnings. The
transaction is expected to close in the current quarter. Further terms
of the agreement were not disclosed.

Well, there ya go...I closed my store the day after the announcement.

b.


"Kandice Seeber" wrote in message
...
Hehehehe

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...bay_price_hike


--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net