One interesting new rule of eBay which hasn't been discussed here is actually beneficial to sellers and mitigates some of the bad new rules.

The Buy-It-Now (Fixed Price) rule change hurts in one respect -- the "final value fee" on Fixed Price listings (but not regular auctions) is increased from 8.75%, to now 12%.

But there is one rule change that aids sellers. In the past if you had a multi-quantity Buy-It-Now listing you (a) had to somehow (I forget exactly how) total up the gross value of all the items you were offering, and pay a hefty listing fee on that total, and (2) you could only list it for 7 days (or 10 days at a higher fee).

Now if you have a multi-quantity Buy-It-Now listing (a) you pay only a $0.35 listing fee regardless of the Buy-It-Now price of each item and regardless of the number of items offered, and (b) you can list it for 30 days!

Thus, I take it, for example, if you have a box of 100 of the same chip, you can do a Buy-It-Now (Fixed Price) listing for all 100 chips at $10 each, and run it for 30 days -- for only a $0.35 listing fee. I am told that as you sell them one or a few at a time, the listing remains for the entire 30 days (or until all are sold). Pretty good, eh?

Here is a link to the announcement and the pertinent clauses:

http://pages.ebay.com/sell/August2008Update/Overview/

"Seller Update: Overview
We're taking steps to give sellers the most dynamic marketplace on the Internet with reduced upfront cost and more sales through great exposure for your listings and a more consistent buyer experience.

1. Reduced upfront fees for Fixed Price: List multi-quantity items up to 30 days for one low fee

We're dramatically reducing the upfront cost to list an item at fixed price on eBay.

* 35¢ Fixed Price Insertion Fee

- Regardless of item price or quantity

- New 30-day duration and automatic renewal (Good 'Til Cancelled) options

* 15¢ Fixed Price Insertion Fees for Books, Movies & DVDs, Music, and Video Games; 5¢ holiday special for some listings

* FREE Insertion Fees for your first four vehicle listings

* Lower Final Value Fees in certain electronics categories

* Auction-style still the best deal on eBay—no change in basic fees "

Robert