eBay Storefronts price hike
Published August 15th, 2006
Bill Cobb, President of eBay North America, announced the new rates, due to take effect Aug. 22, under the headline of “Resetting the Balance of eBay Marketplace.” What this basically means is that eBay is looking for a way to offset the growing number of store inventory items as compared to its auction format listings. The result is that disgruntled Web store owners are considering alternatives to the auction giant, though whether or not there is a mass migration remains to be seen.
eBay Stores
eBay Stores are used by dedicated eBay sellers to help maximize their online business. With a Store, sellers can display all their listings (regardless of format) in one location at a unique URL. They can customize the store’s look, create and organize items in categories and sub-categories, set cross-promotional items, obtain traffic reports and also gain exposure for their store on eBay Stores pages on eBay.com and eBay.ca.
Basic Store subscriptions start at $15.95 per month. Each item listed in a store (after Aug. 22, 2006) is charged a listing fee of $0.05 to $0.10, and closing value fees will start at 10 percent for less than $25 in final value on a sliding scale from there. (Final value fees are based on 10 percent of the initial $25, plus 7 percent of $25.01 to $100 plus 5 percent from $100.01 to $1,000.00 and 3 percent on $1,000.01 and higher). eBay Stores also offer image hosting. The first image is free, with additional images costing $0.15 each. eBay also offers slideshows, galleries, image packs and super-sized pictures for additional fees.
PriceGrabber Storefronts
PriceGrabber is another consumer-to-consumer hosted storefront, allowing individuals and even businesses to sell online without having their own Web site. Adding simplicity to the whole process, PriceGrabber does not charge per item or listing fees. Instead, all items sold through PriceGrabber incur a standard $1 + 4.75 percent, after the product is sold. This commission fee is based on the purchase price (including shipping and handling charges). Additional fees that may be incurred by the seller include those for including images.
The first photo is free and additional images cost15 cents. Sellers may opt to purchase an image pack for $1, which allows them to use up to six images. To super-size all images the fee is 75 cents. With PriceGrabber’s claim of 11,000 merchants and sellers, 21 million unique shoppers and ‘lower than eBay’ fees, it is an attractive choice for individual and business sellers.
eCRATER
eCRATER boasts that it is a completely free online marketplace. They require no storefront subscription fee, offer free listings and also do not charge a final value fee. So, basically they do deliver on the promise. Dimitar Slavov, eCRATER’s founder, told ECommerce-Guide they have no plans to introduce any fees for this service, however sellers can opt to pay for premium advertising.
Premium advertising on eCRATER, for example, would mean paying to include your item(s) as the first listed item in any category, among other services. Premium advertising on the Web site is completely optional to the seller. eCRATER is a relatively new online marketplace but in just over half a year they have 7,000 registered members and 2 million page views (unique and reloads) per month. eCRATER offers PayPal and Google Checkout for payment services and while it is presently designed for the U.S. marketplace, Slavov expects to expand abroad in the future.
Bidville
Recently acquired by uBid, Bidville is also a popular choice for online auctions and storefronts. It offers auction-style listings as well as different levels of storefront services. Subscriptions are based on three, six or 12 months of service. Basic stores start at $14.95. You don’t pay an insertion fee, but final sale fees (FSF) are 5 percent up to $25, plus 2.5 percent from $425 to $1000, and an additional 1 percent over $1,000. By upgrading to a featured store ($29.95 for three months), you will not pay any additional fees, including FSF. BidVille claims about 900,000 members and millions of daily listings in more than 7,200 categories.
Wagglepop Stores
Wagglepop launched last February with much fanfare, but quickly the Web site was shut down by its creator leaving sellers and buyers in the lurch. Now Wagglepop is back on the scene, but its shaky history may leave prospective sellers at the door without subscribing. For those not afraid of losing their $9.95 and time invested in setup should the site head south again, Wagglepop is back online with its eBay-like look and feel. They now offer a storefront for a $9.95 monthly fee. This subscription includes a storefront, free listings, which are included in the thumbnail gallery, and Buy it Now services. Wagglepop breaks down its final value fees more so than others, providing lower fees.
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