AUGUST TRADE NEWS Bad weather blamed for shopping centre delay Chester council  not supporting retailers New rules 'won't help save retail centre' Irish shoppers look abroad for bargains British consumers spend more on beauty products Yorkshire town gets behind plastic bag reduction scheme Rising obesity prompts calls for VAT rule changes eBay restructures fee scheme to make fixed-priced sales cheaper Online sales boom despite slowdown Music retailer goes out of business Matalan named and shamed for how it treats wholesalers BCC slams higher parking charges proposals Booming wholesaler moves to new warehouse Market traders told to only 'shout quietly' London's retailers show growth despite gloom Counterfeit goods dealer sentenced to prison UK's smallest town protests supermarket plan More retailers and wholesalers going out of business Online retail sector predicted to expand rapidly Henley retailers protest development plans Retail sales continue to slow Tiffany appeals US court's eBay ruling Report criticises electricity suppliers' treatment of small businesses MK retailers protest Tesco expansion plan Yorkshire retailers protest supermarket move Manchester wholesaler shut down over fraud worries Businesses welcome plans to reduce red tape Rate hold accepted by small businesses Internet sales put pressure on the high street Huge counterfeit goods haul in Somerset Irish entrepreneur online retail plans Wholesaler sector set to struggle Staycations could help British retailers Retailers 'gloomy' about economic outlook Retailers report footfall continues to decline as consumers cut back Hidden door reveals huge counterfeiting operation in Manchester shop No recession for the UK this year East London wholesaler goes into receivership London mayor reveals plans to support small retailers Toy retailers defy gloom Retailers urged to embrace online sales Trade News Archive August 08 July 08 June 08 May 08 April 08 March 08 February 08 January 08 Subscribe to our newsletter   Go to The Wholesaler UK Directory 21st August 2008 eBay restructures fee scheme to make fixed-priced sales cheaper Online auction site eBay has revealed that it is to reduce the fees it charges people to list fixed-price items. The move, which will help sellers that opt for the 'buy it now' option rather than putting their goods up for auction, is designed to help attract major retailers to the site and help eBay compete with the likes of Amazon. In total, fixed-price auctions account for around 43 per cent of all eBay sales at the moment. From September 24th, the online auction house will also alter rules so that retailers only pay the site when an item has been sold. It has also decided to stop fees for listing pictures of products. An eBay spokesperson explained to the Telegraph: "[The] improvements will remove barriers for sellers. We're reducing the upfront risk to listing 'buy-it-now' items on eBay.co.uk, by making the fees increasingly success-based for our sellers and improving their prominence alongside auction on the site." However, the Guardian reported that some smaller sellers believed the move was less beneficial for them and more helpful for larger companies. One small eBay seller explained to the newspaper: "Any change to the site that benefits one seller automatically disadvantages others. The sellers who are disadvantaged will always shout the loudest."     (c) 2008 Adfero Ltd. Sponsor of August Trade News Samsung TV Brackets   Comment on this news story To comment on any story please click on the above link, put the story title in the subject line and please provide your name, trading style ie. retailer or wholesaler and the town where you trade.