After eBay announced certain fee increases on January 12, 2005, some vocal sellers called for a week-long boycott of eBay beginning February 18. It's impossible to know how many sellers are angry enough to stay away from the site for a week, or even one day, especially given the impact it could have on their revenue.
eBay spokesperson Hani Durzy said, "We'll see come February 18. It's not the first time there have been calls to boycott the site. It's essentially up to the sellers, just like everything else on eBay; sellers will make the final decision." He added, "We believe sellers continue to see a tremendous value from selling on eBay."
Jonathan Garriss, Executive Director of Professional eBay Sellers Alliance (PESA), said "PESA has been contacted about the proposed boycott of eBay planned for the upcoming week. We think that an action like that is not necessarily productive in making the marketplace a better venue." PESA represents many of eBay's highest-volume sellers, and Garriss added, "PESA has always preferred to take a constructive approach to discussing issues and providing new ideas that can help sellers prosper on eBay."
Sites that promote a boycott include http://nolistingday.com and http://www.powersellersunite.com. Bob Lee said he is an eBay Powerseller who set up PowerSellersUnite.com on January 24. "Our goal is to show the people at eBay that their fee increase is unpopular among sellers. We set up the site so everyone angry and looking for alternatives can join together in one place and voice their opinion. The eBay discussion boards are heavily moderated and we kept seeing posts removed, so that was not a good venue for it."
Lee sells on eBay part-time to get rid of overstock from his video-game store. "We knew it was time to quit when eBay was making more money from the video game then we were."
Lee said the PowerSellersUnite site tries to help sellers with the transition away from eBay by helping them promote their own online store or storefront on another auction site. "We encourage them to add their site to our storefront section so other users can browse their shops."
Expanding sales outside of eBay is not an idea unique to Lee. PESA's Chair of the Marketing Committee David Yaskulka said "it appears that a number of PESA members are intensifying their efforts to sell in other channels, and many members are changing their listing strategies to de-emphasize features with the new higher fees, including the eBay store." But Yaskulka said PESA has been seeing "early signs of growing channels of communication between eBay and its top sellers."
One challenge for boycotters may be how to measure the success of their actions. The best known measure of eBay's current listings is Medved QuoteTracker. But because eBay held a 5-cent listing day on February 14, listings jumped to almost 19.5 million from almost 13 million before the promotion, making it more difficult to see any effect a boycott may have.
eBay competitors say they have already seen a boost in interest since eBay's January announcement. Bidville said it has seen an increase of around 60,000 new listings since the eBay announcement of the fee increase, with 1,500 new sellers and a 24% increase in its new Bidville Stores offering.
Overstock Auctions said its listings soared after eBay's announcement and is enticing eBay sellers with special promotions starting February 18. It's also expected to announce Friday compatibility with another major auction-management service, making it easier for eBay sellers to launch auctions on the Overstock platform.
eBay North America President Bill Cobb promised to listen to members in a posting he made on eBay's Announcement Board on Superbowl Sunday, when he also announced lowered listing fees on items with a starting price of 99 cents or lower and promised an improvement to customer service.
Cobb is participating in an eBay Town Hall-style audio cast on February 17. The subject of a boycott is likely to be raised.
