eBay UK to Force DVD Sellers to Offer Free Shipping

[amy]

eBay UK's new free shipping requirement for DVD sellers indicates Play.com (free shipping on everything) is eating into eBay's market share in the media category.

on a purely selfish note  tolensmiley: : we sell on Play and so maybe the economic impact of this move by ebay will force eBay UK DVD sellers to sell something other than DVDs thereby giving Play sellers increased market share. Did I just say that?  :blinkie:

more info on eBay UK's new shipping requirements.
http://web.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/maximumP&P_FAQ.html

Overview

From 27 January 2009, we will be updating the Postage and Packaging (P&P) policies on eBay.co.uk.

Note: These updates do not apply to eBay.ie.

The update will consist of the following:

    *

      Requirement to specify at least one P&P service and cost for deliveries within the UK

      Detailed Seller Rating scores are higher when sellers specify their P&P costs. For this reason, we encourage the minority of sellers who don't already specify P&P in the domestic postage details section of their listing to do so as soon as possible.

    *

      Maximum limits set to P&P in select categories

      Excessive P&P costs are cited as a major reason for buyers spending less online. Offering a competitive P&P cost drives higher sales conversion on eBay. As part of our efforts to allow members to trade on the most dynamic marketplace, we’ll be introducing some limits to P&P charges in select categories.

What are maximum Postage and Packaging charges?

In the following categories: Books, Comics and Magazines, DVDs, Film and TV, Music, Video Games and Mobile and Home Phones, eBay will be setting limits on what sellers can charge for postage and packaging. For specific information by category, see maximum limits on P&P costs. In the DVDs category, the maximum will be set to zero and sellers will be required to offer free delivery as their first domestic postage option.

A related Auctionbytes blog article:
Should eBay Force Sellers to Offer Free Shipping?
http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blo...07409.html

[sneakymagenta]

on a purely selfish note  we sell on Play and so maybe the economic impact of this move by ebay will force eBay UK DVD sellers to sell something other than DVDs thereby giving Play sellers increased market share. Did I just say that

Ebay sellers are boinked. If they jack up their selling prices to cover the shipping fees they'll price themselves out of the market.  Their only hope is for Ebay to eliminate upfront listing fees and switch to an Amazon like subscription  model.