Overstock Auctions will eliminate volume discounts for online-auction seller fees and will replace it with a subscription program. The subscription plans reportedly range in price from $6.95 - $99.95 per month, depending on how many listings sellers post per month. Details are forthcoming.
Overstock Auctions attracted some high-volume eBay sellers when it launched because of its willingness to grant volume discounts and provide marketing assistance. eBay has long told its sellers it would never consider volume discounts, citing a philosophy of the "level playing field." However, many other online-auction sites have turned to subscription plans to make it easier for sellers to budget the cost of listing items.
In related news, the Wall Street Journal reports today that Overstock's Jack Byrne may step down as chairman of the company, in part because of a disagreement with his son Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock, over the amount of time he's spending on his battle with short-sellers. Last summer, Patrick filed a lawsuit against a hedge fund and research firm. This week, a judge dismissed Gradient Analytics Inc.'s bid to dismiss the Overstock lawsuit.
