Rip-Off eBay in need of competition

Small businesses across the UK who rely on their eBay sales to trade are being forced into paying higher and higher fees by the auction giant.

Since the beginning of 2008, eBay have increased the Final Value Fee to around 7.5% (that’s £7.50 for selling a £100 item) which is in addition to any listing fees, putting a massive strain on the profit margins of eBay sellers. The increase was carefully hidden by declaring a reduction of listing fees at the same time, but it has failed to pull the wool over the eyes of many seasoned sellers.

“These increases will help us continue to build a vibrant marketplace by allowing us to invest heavily in technology, marketing and customer support, making it possible for millions of people to discover and use eBay,” an eBay company statement.

When established sellers organised a strike earlier in the year, eBay responded by offering free listings so that those users not striking would make up for the drop in items for sale.

With more and more businesses establishing their own websites to generate custom, e-commerce outside of eBay is likely to rise.

Many online petitions regarding the eBay fee increase have been launched, but response from eBay officials has been unhopeful.

Online auctions of the future

So what can be done to stop the ‘ogre’ that is eBay from destroying the online auction phenomenon?

Well, love him or hate him, we at Landingnet believe that Sir Richard Branson is the man for the job.

Let’s face it, to stand any chance of competing with eBay you will need:

• A seriously hefty marketing budget
• High profile celebrity endorsements
• Top class legal support
• A vast team of online experts
• Confidence from the public that you will do a better job.

It’s certainly not an original concept, a quick hunt across the search engines found likeminded concepts:

Richard Branson To Develop Online Auction Site

Alternative to eBay UK

Maybe Theo Paphitis is pondering getting in on the action? Or Peter Jones (not that he has any time to now with all the celebrity endorsements and tv appearances!). Either way, the time is right for an online auction revolution!

A recent survey in NMA showed that 23% of businesses fail to update their website content on a regular basis. Guess who’s also guilty….? Yeah - it’s us! It’s a fair cop!

But all our wrong-doings will soon be rectified with the launch of our new brand and (brand-new) website!

It’s taking longer than planned, due to how hard we are working for our clients and because it’s always impossible to put our projects first.

However, we should have some sneaky peeks available very soon!

Surely, it’s only a matter of time until the first high-profile case hits the media?

At present, websites offering full interactivity for those with disabilites are rare.

The UK Disability Discrimation Act (DDA) 2005 offers only a vague statement regarding the obligations of website owners, but it’s general stance, that anyone with a disability should never be excluded, still stands strong.

It’s by no means an easy job, catering for many possibilities, such as:

• Complete Blindness
• Colour Blindness
• General Poor Vision
• Tremors/Shakes in the hands or arms
• Hearing Impairments
• Seizures caused by strobing/flash effects
• Learning Difficulties e.g. dyslexia

Each of the above represents a unqiue set of challenges for web designers, web developers and online marketers.

There are several organisations that have issued detailed guidelines on web accessibility, but as yet, none have been inforced. W3C guidelines and specifications (in particular WCAG) are highly regarded as are the PAS 78 guidelines issued in 2006 by the Disablity Rights Commission.

It’s a hard expense for a business owner to justify if their industry has an extremely low percentage of disabled customers. But once the first high-profile legal case against a website is actioned, the flood gates will no doubt open?