So the buzz on the street lately is about eBay cutting seller fees due to weaker 2008 results. You can read the full article here: http://www.cnbc.com/id/22808450/for/cnbc
Here is a excerpt that was used at the digital point thread that initially caught my eye.
Cutting Sellers’ Fees
EBay plans to cut the fees it charges sellers on its auction site, according to a presentation of the company’s quarterly results.
Responding to complaints by its key network of auction sellers, eBay will reduce the upfront fees sellers must pay to insert new listings on its auction sites along with reductions in the final transaction fees they pay on successful sales.
“We are going to make breaks from the past,” Donahoe told investors on a conference call to discuss eBay’s 2007 year-end results.
Over the next week, eBay will announce changes in pricing of its services and improvements in the way buyers can rate sellers, Donahoe said.
“We are going to get very aggressive about making eBay easier to use,” said Donahoe.
This to me is a troubling sign. Of course, as soon as I start making some decent earnings with eBay, it looks like affiliates might feel the heat on this one. What does this mean to me? Well, it’s obvious FUD (Fear Uncertainty Doom) at this point, but I want to stay the course with my current eBay campaigns. I don’t think it’s panic time yet. But it’s definitely pushing to my other projects using other merchants. I’ve stated many times that I wanted to get off of eBay and diversify more, well, I think it’s definitely the time now.