People across the country who

sell things on eBay are furious with the auction site

because of its recent move to charge subscription fees for

a popular piece of software that makes it easier to list

items.

In irate notes on message boards and e-mails to the

company, sellers accuse eBay of getting greedy and

belying its warm and fuzzy community-focused image.

Some are threatening a class-action suit because older

versions of the software, which cost as much as $200,

stopped working.

Everyone else who uses the Internet should take note.

An increasing number of companies, including giant

Microsoft Corp., are expected to embrace subscription

models and move away from selling software for a one-time

fee. The companies say they simply can't afford to keep

giving away free upgrades.

"The trend is undeniable -- it's just a question of how long

it's going to take," said Rob Enderle, a research fellow with

Giga Information Group. "The existing model isn't working.

You can certainly try to live in the past, but whether you're

a Microsoft or an eBay, you're probably going to get

bypassed."

Microsoft has introduced subscription-based options for

business software, including the new Office XP, and called

the move a "first step toward offering software as a service"

-- meaning subscription plans for all users. Oracle Corp.

gives away sales force management software for now, but

has indicated it eventually will charge a subscription.

The eBay software was known as Auction Assistant, and

now is called Seller's Assistant. Because it helps eBay

users post attractive presentations of their products and

manage the transactions, it is popular among people who

list several items at once.

It was created by Pennsylvania-based Blackthorne

Software, which eBay acquired in 1999.

Users say they bought Auction Assistant and its

supercharged version, Auction Assistant Pro, for $50 to

$200 over the years with the understanding that

Blackthorne would upgrade the software for free when

improvements were available, or when needed because of

technical changes in the massive eBay site.

In February, Blackthorne informed users Auction Assistant

was being upgraded, taking on the new Seller's Assistant

name and switching to a subscription model -- $4.99 a

month for the basic version, $15.99 for Pro. Existing

Auction Assistant users were told they could get a year's

subscription to the new software for free.

On April 1, Blackthorne's president, John Slocum, wrote on

the company's online discussion board that almost

two-thirds of Auction Assistant users had switched to

Seller's Assistant. He added that, after April 30,

Blackthorne "cannot assure users that Auction Assistant

will continue to be fully functional or compatible with the

eBay site."

Despite the warning, many users were caught off guard

when their Auction Assistant programs stopped working

last week. They accused eBay of intentionally making

Auction Assistant useless to force them to buy the new

software.

"Why weren't we just grandfathered in, since we already

owned the same program?" said Cindy Izon of Tulsa,

Okla., who sells decorative dolls on eBay. "It makes me so

mad."

Dan Rushing of Albuquerque, N.M., lamented what he

called eBay's "extreme arrogance."

Collectibles seller Carol Hudson of Chattanooga, Tenn.,

wrote in an e-mail interview: "Most of us have been angry

with them for two or three years because of their `do it our

way or get lost' attitude. But this time, they have really

gone too far and shown their true colors."

EBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove said nothing was done

intentionally to disable older versions of Auction Assistant.

He said what occurred is most likely "the natural

obsolescence that's going to be developing any time a

piece of software ages."

He also said the subscription model is necessary to

finance continued improvements to the Blackthorne

software, and disputed suggestions the company was

taking unfair advantage of its dominating position in the

online auction business.

"I realize that's a fairly common remark when any

customer has a certain level of frustration, but it doesn't do

the business any good to `bleed people dry,"' Pursglove

said. "We want users to continually come to eBay, to

continually use the Blackthorne programs to sell on eBay."

Arthur Newman, head of Internet research at ABN Amro

Inc., supported eBay's stance and said it is part of the new

economics of the Web.

"I think the Internet over the last few years has spawned a

whole generation of people who expect to get everything for

free and forget you have to pay for services," he said. "If

people can't make money providing them, they're going to

stop providing them. There's a limit to good will. EBay is

hardly alone in starting to charge for things."