posted on March 12, 2007 10:45:22 AM
A few months ago I thought eBay was trying to phase out it's stores, now I see this on the announcement page.
Hi everyone...I'm Brian Madigan from the eBay Stores team, and I'm here to share with you some exciting news for anyone out there who has thought about opening an eBay Store, but hasn't taken the plunge yet.
From now through March 18th, first-time Basic and Featured Store subscribers can enjoy a 30-day free trial to eBay Stores. Whether you prefer to use Auction-Style or Fixed Price listings, you can benefit from eBay Stores – the leading, comprehensive eCommerce solution.
posted on March 12, 2007 12:50:05 PM
it's all about the money, honey. they just want the $ from newbies. they're not going to tell them of all the problems with stores. personally, i think it's deceptive advertising.
posted on March 12, 2007 01:02:24 PM
For what it's worth, Ebay never said there was a plan to phase out stores but many users conjectured that there was a plan.
posted on March 12, 2007 04:44:22 PM
Thanks for the post amber. I was looking into a store for my second ID and saw the free trail. I was not going to start it until the end of the month but now I know I need to do it now.
posted on March 12, 2007 05:27:58 PM
And they're also having another Motors sale day. Just had one a couple weeks ago. How about a listing sale for us regular schmucks??
posted on March 12, 2007 06:04:43 PM
fwiw, did anyone SAY this discussion was about eBay getting rid of stores?
but while we're on the subject, i don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out that eBay would like to slowly strangle the life out of stores. they have missed a golden opportunity to foster the largest shopping mall on earth, all under the umbrella of eBay branding. but particularly in the collectibles field, people have been successfully leaving in droves. at the very least, many people have learned the hard way not to put all their eggs in the eBay basket. personally, it's a breath of fresh air to be able to sell off eBay with no "disadvantaged" search and no high fees. i only use eBay to draw my customers away to other sites.
it wouldn't surprise me if someday, some california law firm with deep pockets went after eBay for numerous restraint-of-trade issues such as "disadvantaged" stores in search, listings that don't appear but which the seller paid for, etc., etc. thus sayeth some of my buddies with degrees from Wharton, etc., anyway.
posted on March 12, 2007 06:17:26 PM
I thought that amber (OP) said that she thought ebay was trying to phase out stores...my mistake. What IS this thread about then?
posted on March 12, 2007 06:37:47 PM
Go figure, ebay recently raised store fees because store inventory was taking away from their auction (core) listings...
A Message from Bill Cobb: Resetting the Balance of the eBay Marketplace ***
Since its debut in 1995, the eBay marketplace has continually evolved to meet the needs of the eBay Community. For the most part, the behavior of buyers and sellers has naturally adapted to changing conditions - over time, we've learned to allow the marketplace to direct itself as much as possible. On some occasions, though - in the interest of the eBay marketplace's long-term vitality - we've had to step in and implement new policies, introduce new formats, or make changes to our fee structure to create needed incentives for eBay members.
Put simply, we at eBay have two basic roles: to deliver the best overall value for buyers, and to maximize cash flow for sellers. As eBay has grown over the years, we've added various enhancements and tools to the site -- but in essence, our "products" are two types of listings:
Core listings (auction-style, auction-style with Buy It Now, and Fixed Price) deliver the signature eBay buying experience. For sellers, they're the fastest way to sell inventory on the Internet - the only place where items typically sell within about two weeks.
Store Inventory listings were introduced in 2001 and intended as a low-risk way for sellers to display large amounts of product in their eBay Store. This format employs low insertion fees and higher final value fees to encourage an abundance of inventory on the site.
Amid all this change, one thing has remained constant: auction-style listings are the foundation of eBay. Auction-style and other core listings made eBay what it is today - and they'll always be front and center on eBay.com. They account for about 91% of the gross merchandise value sold on eBay.com. But recently, we've been wrestling with some troubling facts:
Store Inventory listings now comprise about 83% of active eBay.com listings on average.
While eBay.com core listings typically sell in about two weeks, Store Inventory listings on average take 14 times longer to sell. In some media categories, Store Inventory listings take more than 40 times longer to sell than core listings.
And, when you compare our operations costs for an average Store Inventory listing and an average core listing - factoring in the duration of each - our cost to host a Store Inventory listing is more than 50% higher than for a core listing. In fact, current Store Inventory insertion fees don't cover eBay's costs for hosting them.
It's vitally important - to your business and ours -- that we maintain a healthy balance between listing formats on the eBay marketplace, and ensure that inventory conversion across the site remains strong. So we're taking action.
Today, I want to inform you of changes we're making to eBay.com - changes intended to rebalance the overall eBay marketplace by further distinguishing the roles of core listing formats and our Store Inventory format. In short, we're improving the advantages of selling in core listing formats -- and taking action to manage the proportion of Store Inventory listings - to ensure that the buying experience on eBay stays true to shoppers' expectations.
posted on March 12, 2007 08:59:45 PMA few months ago I thought eBay was trying to phase out it's stores, now I see this on the announcement page.
No, eBay is trying to phase out inefficient and lazy Stores sellers who park their inventory and leave it for months, even years, consuming precious resources and contributing nothing to marketplace vibrancy.
Perhaps it's time to remind folks that an effective selling technique can be to have a Store but have no Store items in it at all...just use it as another view into your auctions and FP items. jayandmarie is probably the biggest user of this idea.
posted on March 13, 2007 08:00:43 AM
Yes, Fluffy, though I wouldn't use those words exactly. It goes beyond beyond "lazy" and "inefficient".
They wanted to get rid of the ebooks/etunes media sellers with items priced at a buck and drop-ship catalogue media sellers who flooded the site with gazillions of titles. Those are the sellers who cluttered up the site.
I really don't think ebay was taking aim at mom and pop sellers, however lazy and inefficient they might be.
Of course Mom and Pop were effected just the same and many did close up shop after a hissy fit or two. It turns out that a lot of people felt that they had some kind of relationship with ebay that went beyond "Just A Venue" and felt betrayed by ebay's actions. Apparently many thought that they should be able to sell from their Store without investing anything in Core and still want a return of "SIS" (Stores in Search) and just don't accept that will not happen.
Whatever, ebay has never stated that there is plan to phase out Stores and the current promotion reinforces that.
-------------------------------------
posted on March 13, 2007 08:32:32 AM
"While eBay.com core listings typically sell in about two weeks"
Yea, right. If that was true, there would be no need for stores.
"Store Inventory listings on average take 14 times longer to sell"
Duh...of course, because they are hidden from the buyers.
If they want to increase core listings, how about a lower insertion fee and higher ending fee? It's ebay's job to get us the buyers, so they should make the most when that happens.
they just want the $ from newbies. they're not going to tell them of all the problems with stores. personally, i think it's deceptive advertising. 
