The Shanghai Daily newspaper reported yesterday that eBay has eliminated subscription fees for stores. The paper said eBay would continue to charge listing and commission fees for all items, including store items. "The Website previously charged users 35 to 500 yuan (US$62) a month for each online shop and 0.20 yuan for each product displayed," the newspaper stated.

In the U.S., eBay charges subscription fees for stores ranging from $15.95/month to $499.95/month, plus listing and commission fees. In February, it actually raised the commission fees it charged for Store sales.

However, competition is fierce in China. Alibaba, which operates the consumer-to-consumer website Taobao in China, called on eBay to eliminate all fees in China (http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y05/m10/i20/s01).

According to RedHerring magazine, eBay China will also change the way Store items appear on the site. Normally, inventory listings are restricted to searches for online store items only, as is the case on the U.S. site. The magazine reports eBay will integrate eBay Store listings with the listings found on the main platform (http://digbig.com/4fsgf).

RedHerring also states, "eBay Eachnet will also waive fees for the first three auction listings made by a customer in a month, and will cease collecting final value fees that are already much lower in China than in the United States." The fee waivers apply to transactions that are paid through PayPal and the An Fu Tong escrow system, which the magazine reports are free to use in China.

A recent report from Analysys International stated Taobao.com leads the market in China with a 57.1 percent share in terms of transaction handled, and eBay led in terms of number of subscribers (15.10 million), with Taobao close behind (http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y05/m12/i09/s09).

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