Ebays New Fee Increase - Decrease

Ebay has unleashed their new fee changes to be effective 2/20/08. Though they are making a lot of noise about "lowering fees", it can be a tough call whether this is a good or bad thing. The better your sell rate, the now higher FVF can make this feel a lot more like a fee increase than decrease. The lower your sell through rate, the more it will seem like a fee decrease (but then if your sell rate sucks its hard to get excited about paying less to make less).

Powersellers get a shot at offsetting FVF increases that is not available to the common folk. As a part of the new fee structure, higher DSR (detailed seller ratings) can qualify powersellers for a 5 - 15% discount on final value fees.

If it seems the deck is stacked in favor of powersellers, it is likely because it is. I've nothing whatsoever against the high volume sellers.... just sorry to see Ebay continually alienating and disowning the hundreds of thousands of smaller sellers (collectibles, used goods, clothing, books, etc.) who have made them what they are. By all appearances, they seem to feel the future is in filling their marketplace with the hundreds of thousands of common goods available in any department or big box store. So why hassle with Ebay if one can get this stuff anywhere?

A link to Ebays fee changes is here