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EBay exposed

Posted on 15 May 2009 at 15:13

"I know one guy who's got £30,000 on reserve, and that's capital tied up. They're willing to review these things, but they're a bank and want to protect their assets."

And if you don't like PayPal's policies, you can forget about trading on eBay, because in the UK sellers must accept the big PP.

Under the hammer

EBay has undoubtedly endured a turbulent year, with many of its sellers and buyers unhappy with policy changes and fees making some items cheaper elsewhere, while the PayPal tie-in created resentment all round.

Indeed, according to ChannelAdvisor, some retailers now use the site merely as a way of liquidating stock they can't shift on their own sites. "It's gone from being the channel of first resort to the channel of last resort, and that's not where eBay wants to be," said Wingo.

Perhaps more importantly for the casual eBay user, much of the magic of finding quirky items from unique vendors has been overtaken by a stock list that is increasingly populated by corporate heavyweights that are given preferential pricing on the site. "EBay has grown into something that isn't individual to individual - it's a collection of small retailers that are competing with the likes of Amazon, but there's no control over the inventory or pricing," said Fleet.

The world really doesn't need another Amazon. But many would gratefully settle for getting back the old eBay.

Author: Stewart Mitchell