eBay announced changes to its fee structure and inventory format that have many eBay sellers reexamining their selling strategies. AuctionBytes had the opportunity to interview eBay Senior Director of Selling Experience Todd Lutwak to get some answers about the changes and what sellers can expect.

When the changes go into effect at the end of March, fees will be based on a number of variables: category, starting price, format, volume, and whether sellers pay a monthly subscription fee for an eBay Store. eBay is also eliminating the Store inventory format, meaning searches conducted on eBay.com will search all auction and fixed-price listings, including those listed by sellers who have eBay Stores.

Mr. Lutwak said eBay is very confident in the changes that will roll out to the U.S. marketplace because of its "Best Match" search algorithm and because of the experience with similar changes in Europe. He also said eBay conducted tests on the eBay.com marketplace in the fall, and he revealed that eBay had put all of the Store Inventory format listings on core for a period of timing during the fourth quarter of 2009.

Mr. Lutwak participated in a podcast interview with AuctionBytes where he discussed the Stores in Core test and answers questions about the Seller Release coming in March. You can listen to the full interview on the Ecommerce Industry SoundBytes podcast page.

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