EBay to cut fees, expand customer supportOnline auctioneer makes changes in
response to user comments
NEW YORK – Online auctioneer eBay Inc. will lower the
fees it charges to list items for sale, the company said Sunday, as it also
announced other changes in pricing and customer service policies in response to
user feedback.In a message posted to eBay’s Web site, North America President
Bill Cobb said that, effective at midnight, eBay.com and eBay.ca will lower the
minimum insertion fees for auction-style listings and fixed price categories,
among others, from 30 cents to 25 cents.
The company says it’s standing by its move to hike final
value fees on store inventory format listings, but it will credit $15.95 in May
to all sellers who operated an eBay Store in April.
In addition, eBay plans to shut down most of its
automated email responses within the next 90 days, so users will get a response
from a company representative. Automated emails will only be used to acknowledge
receipt of spam or policy violation reports, according to Cobb’s statement.
The company is also expanding telephone support to
provide access to all eBay Stores owners beginning April 1, the statement
said.