With eBay fees up and shares in an overall freefall, there's no shortage of alternative auctioneer and Web store companies courting disgruntled sellers. And while no one can match the traffic at eBay, some of these smaller companies are seeing a spike in business.
Today marks the week-anniversary of the fixed-price store fee hikes, and last Thursday Piper Jaffray downgraded eBay to "underperform" status, with shares falling by almost 5 percent. Analyst Safa Rashtchy said operating costs will rise as sales drop.
The Google partnership announced yesterday for click-to-call ads did bolster eBay's standing in the market in the short-term — stocks rose 2 percent Monday — but industry watchers report that overall shares are down 57 percent from $58 at the start of January 2005. (Rashtchy is traveling in China this week and could not be reached for comment).
Competitors Getting Fired Up Clearly, the bottom line is that investors are beginning to bet against eBay's ability to keep growing its seller base while also increasing sales activity — and so are competing e-commerce companies. The benefit to Web shop owners is that small, niche players that used to primarily rely on word-of-mouth are cropping up on the landscape, making themselves known through marketing efforts aimed at unhappy eBayers.
As for reports of mass defection, many bloggers and forum posts show that eBayers are divided among three groups: those who say the fee hikes make sense, given the amount of traffic sellers get at eBay, those who are on the fence about trying another site and those who are riled up and have already jumped ship.
Life After eBay If you're considering making a move, you can read the Ecommerce-Guide round-up of competing sites, including Bidville, here. Meanwhile, here are three businesses, all experiencing steady growth recently, that are reaching out to eBay sellers this week:
GoECart.com 6.0: The new version from this Connecticut-based company provides "turn-key professional services to former eBay Store merchants to ensure a smooth and seamless transition," including product database and image migration, hands-on training and education, graphic design, Web services and more.
The GoECart storefront is search-engine-optimized. GoECart does not charge any listing or transaction fees and a merchant can open a store for as little as $79.95 a month. Interested merchants can view a free demo and receive a free 30-day trial of the GoECart storefront software here or call 877-243-3612 toll free for more information.
Ibidfree.com: This new site is based in Connecticut, headed by a former eBay seller, and the pitch is that "you can enjoy all the features of eBay, but pay no fees." Designed for individuals and small businesses, the company's philosophy is "to empower entrepreneurs worldwide to start and grow successful companies on the Internet."
There are no fees to list, sell or buy an item — not even a membership fee. Sellers are encouraged to link their auctions to their own Web sites. They are also allowed to e-mail each other directly to allow for better communication.
Raceway Media.com: This North Adams, Mass.-based niche player is a network of classified Web sites, including RacingJunk.com and MotorcycleJunk.com, that cater to racing enthusiasts. Since July when eBay announced the store fee hike, dealer accounts increased 13 percent, with an all-time high of 15,000 active ads posted at the site last week.
Do you have a comment or question about this article or other e-commerce topics in general? Speak out in the SmallBusinessComputing.com E-Commerce Forum. Join the discussion today!
Tools:
Add ecommerce-guide.com to your favorites Add ecommerce-guide.com to your browser search box IE 7 | Firefox 2.0 | Firefox 1.5.xReceive news via our XML/RSS feed
IE 7
Firefox 2.0
