eBay Big Deals Promo Favors Large Sellers

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eBay introduced a Woot.com-like microsite in which a few sellers offer quantities of a one item for one day (link)

There are several complaints coming in from sellers about this merchandising promotion. First is the classic "big seller versus small seller complaint." The opportunity to participate in eBay Big Deals page appears to be limited to large PowerSellers.

In the real world, this seems like a strange complaint. After all, the promotion is based on having large quantities of like items. But one of eBay's core principles is that of being a "level playing field," and sellers question eBay when they believe it is being inconsistent.

The second complaint revolves around excessive shipping. One reader wrote to me, "This past month eBay has been going around killing thousand and thousands of sellers items in the cell phone accessories categories, citing fee avoidance for putting $2 too much shipping , yet they advertise the people charging $19 to ship an Ipod, $14.00 to ship an MP3 player, and $9 to ship perfume?"

A third complaint is that at least one of these sellers has put as their location the name of their website - including the .com.

full article: http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blo...52754.html
discussion on eBay: http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?m...2003763269
eBay Deals page: http://deals.ebay.com

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The announcement:

***New Test: 'Today’s BIG Deals' Merchandising Promotion*** 


Hi everyone, I'm Louis Olson from eBay's Category Marketing team. Beginning today, we'll be testing a new merchandising promotion for a limited time called Today's BIG Deals. Our objective is to generate buyer excitement by offering a daily deal for limited quantities of specific products at really good prices. We want to test this concept as a way to give buyers a new, fun and compelling reason to check eBay everyday.

During this test, we'll promote a few products each day on a special landing page. Each product will be listed by an eBay seller in the multiple-item Fixed Price format. Each product will be available for just 24 hours -- or until the quantity available runs out. The products being promoted will change each evening.

For this test, we've solicited deals from select eBay sellers who have met specific criteria: They are experienced sellers who are registered in the U.S; have the ability to supply large quantities of a single product; have a public Feedback profile with a score of 100 or more and is 98% positive or better; and have a PayPal Premier or Business account. (This is similar to what is required to sell on eBay Express.) To enable us to implement this test efficiently, we worked with ChannelAdvisor, an eBay Certified Provider, who helped us secure a portion of the product offerings from sellers.

The results from this pilot will help us determine if this type of promotion is right for the marketplace. If it proves successful, we'll open up participation to a larger group of sellers.

We'll keep you informed about any future developments based on this test. In the meantime, look for Today’s BIG Deals – great items at great prices for a limited time. We appreciate your support.

Sincerely,

Louis Olson
eBay Category Marketing