ChannelAdvisor told users Wednesday they were restructuring the rates for ChannelAdvisor Pro, an auction-management tool for eBay sellers, effective April 14, 2004. The company will create a three-tiered pricing structure with surcharges for "overages."

Currently, ChannelAdvisor Pro users pay a flat-rate of $29.95/month. The new pricing structure creates three tiers: Standard for $29.95/month plus an additional 10 cents for every "closing" over 500; a Gold level that costs $54.95/month plus 8 cents for every closing over 1,000; and a Platinum level that costs $99.95 plus 6 cents for every closing over 2,000. A "closing" is an auction or fixed-price listing that ends in a month whether or not it ends with a winning bid.

Annual plans are structured so users committing to a plan get 2 months free. For example, a Standard annual plan costs $299 and includes 500 closings a month, and any closing over 500 incur a 10-cent charge.

The company also announced it would offer users the ability to purchase an additional 250 MB of image space for $25 month. (ChannelAdvisor Pro comes with 250 MB storage, and previously customers were capped at that amount.)

Michael Jones, Chief Operating Officer of ChannelAdvisor, said the changes were made to keep the high level of customer support and give the company the funding to continue to add features to the service. "We aren't charging a commission," Jones said, "and many auction sellers find that appealing."

ChannelAdvisor added a calculator to the site so users could compare pricing with 3 other auction management services to see how the new pricing structure compares.

http://pro.channeladvisor.com