Online Auction Sellers - Seize Control Of Your Business!
David Espino
As the online auction model of business continues to evolve toward a more commoditized, corporate marketplace, it is time for online auction sellers to seize control of their business, before it’s too late.
In this article we will highlight some effective steps you can take to shift control back to your own business.
Why is it so important to seize control
There are three Mega-trends that have the potential to hurt online auction sellers:
Increased expenses across all services that cater to online auction sellers. eBay recently increased their fees, Yahoo Auctions recently began charging fees for listing auctions with them. The U.S. Postal Service recently raised their postage rates. Auction Management services are increasing their fees. Free photo-hosting services now charge fees to host photos on their sites. Payment processing services have also increased their fees. It is a post dot-com-bust reality that most services that used to be free, aren’t anymore. Everywhere you look, expenses are going up. Taken cumulatively, they can eat away profits that used to be there. This fact alone is reason enough to consider developing your own online presence - apart from the online auctions.
Restrictive policies by eBay. The online auction community is in an uproar over eBay’s recent strengthening of their linking policies. These rules essentially eliminate a seller’s ability to advertise their site and / or develop clickthrough traffic from eBay. The links rules were only a precursor to the new "eBay Stores", eBay’s way of providing idealistic havens of e-commerce for their community. The new eBay Stores allow eBay sellers to set up online storefronts, which of course, have their own fee schedule! These storefronts have opened to mixed reviews. There really is no comparison between having an eBay Store and having your own online storefront. An eBay Store is like having a shop open inside of a gated community. The only traffic you’re likely to get is from other eBay
