eBay introduces selling fee to ‘maintain quality’

Ebay UK has introduced a listing fee that will be levied on anyone placing an item for auction on its site.

The company has waived this fee since its UK launch in October last year and claims to have seen “incredible expansion” in the months since.

European-based QXL has yet to introduce a similar fee, although it has said it expects to do so at some point in the future. Unlike eBay, it is still making large losses.

In an e-mail to registered eBay customers, UK country manager Jennifer Mowat says the introduction of fees is “to ensure that we maintain a consistent high quality of items for sale” as the site grows in popularity. Fees are already a fact of life on eBay’s US site.

Mowat goes on to claim that the use of fees “benefits both buyers and sellers”. Sellers will be “more likely” to list quality items, which should attract more buyers, resulting in a “vibrant marketplace”.

The level of the fee, which affects sellers only, depends on the type of listing and the minimum starting price specified.

Mowat says the move means eBay UK can invest in developing more services not available on the UK site. These initiatives will be designed to “help make trading safer and easier”.