FMCG News South Africa

eBay's strategic switch for sellers

Barely a week after eBay announced a change in leadership, the online auctioneer unveiled a major switch in strategy. The company plans to reduce by half the up-front fees it charges users to list their items on its platform. It will also offer its best seller incentives and raise its minimum selling standards.

The strategy, unveiled by John Donahoe, the company's incoming chief executive officer and current president of eBay Marketplaces, is designed to increase traffic for eBay, which has struggled in recent months.

"Consumers have more choices than ever, and they expect more when they shop online today," Donahoe told a gathering of more than 200 of the company's top North American sellers in Washington Tuesday. "We're serious about making eBay easier and safer to shop."

The changes are scheduled go into effect on 20 February 2008 in the US and soon thereafter in the United Kingdom and Germany. Adjustments will follow worldwide after that, at a time still to be determined.

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