Bulk buy purchases at fixed prices will be made much easier for online retailers using the site, thanks to an upcoming change in prices.
Broadband users are to experience changes in the way in which popular auctions website eBay does business.
From September, the site is to make some changes to the way it operates in order to make it easier for items to be sold at fixed prices and in bulk. For example, the listing fees currently charged to fixed price sellers are to be cut.
This is because people who want to sell multiple items at once will now only face a single charge from eBay. Currently, the sellers pay a fee for each item they put up on the site.
This move is likely to prove controversial among some broadband users, who see it as an over-emphasising of big retailer presence at the expense of the small peer-to-peer auctions with which the site made its name.
However, for its part eBay pointed out today that around 178,000 earn either a primary or a secondary income from selling things on the site, and that these dedicated users are set to benefit from the changes.
Clare Gilmartin, the site's director of marketplaces, suggested that general economic pressures have also brought about the move to fixed price bulk buys. "We now have a more tailored offering to fit every size of seller and business model, from a mum cashing in on some old baby clothes to an at-home entrepreneur to a retailer with a large and varied stock," she said.
"Alongside the magic of auction-style sales, buyers increasingly want the convenience of shopping for great value, often new, items at a fixed price. This is fuelling a big growth in the number of large and small sellers using eBay in this way."
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