Going, going, gone: Online auctions fading away

Wed Jun 4, 2008 11:55AM EDT

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Thirteen years after eBay was formed, the novelty of online auctions may finally be wearing off, according to BusinessWeek. It's not just a move away from eBay in general: Even inside eBay's walls, the move away from variable pricing and towards fixed prices is well underway. Today, auctions makeup just 58 percent of the site's revenues, and that portion is shrinking.

The reason seems to be largely one of convenience. People looking for an item online have come to view eBay as just another outlet for purchase rather than the mystical shop that sells everything that it used to be. You might find the same computer part for sale for a third-party seller on Amazon.com as well as eBay. But the Amazon part might ship immediately, while the eBay part may require sitting through a week as you wait for the auction to end. Today's shoppers don't have the patience for that: They want an item immediately, and if it can't be obtained today from eBay, chances are the sale will be lost to a competitor.

Sellers are figuring this out quickly, and many are moving to fixed-price sales exclusively or opening their own storefronts altogether. It's just less of a hassle to sell at a fixed price, and even eBay's own commission structure favors "Buy It Now" sales over standard auction listings.

As I was thinking about this post, I realized I've been part of this trend for years. I regularly buy used or hard-to-find computer components on eBay, but haven't bought anything in a standard auction in ages, only through Buy It Now. Think about it: Usually I need the part to fix a computer (and sometimes there's only one for sale), so I'm not going to let it slip away to another buyer at almost any price (within reason). Nor am I willing to sit around for days for the auction to come to a close, only to hope I'm the eventual winner. Even though a part may have an opening auction price of $20 vs. a Buy It Now price of $40, it's worth it to just pay the BIN price and end the headache while also getting the stuff sooner. Similarly, stuff I sell on eBay has fared far better with fixed prices than in a traditional auction. I relisted a computer I was selling on behalf of my daughter's school three times in a standard auction before I got a bid... just a single buyer who paid the minimum bid amount.

LINK: Auctions on eBay: A Dying Breed 

Comments on Going, going, gone: Online auctions fading away

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  • 6 Posted by berneche2@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:05PM EDT Report Abuse

    I see Chris' side of the story but I feel eBay should stay the way it is. Sure there are plenty of buy it now items and I think things like computer parts and things you need right away then buy it now makes sense. But there is still a lot of hard to find music, and outright oddities that someone out there is interested in (I looked up license plates in the search engine once and there were several on sale in eBay). I've sold a few things on ebay including a washer dryer and a car. I tried selling the washer dryer in regular want ads but had difficulty getting takers. I sold them for 1.5 times the want ad price on eBay. And sometimes the game pays off with a cheaper price then any other site will offer it for,

  • 7 Posted by onyxbass@prodigy.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    I just bought an item that was Buy It Now, I had been watching this item for weeks trying to get a deal. Most items winning bid was $380 to $420 plus shipping. I got my deal at $350 and a small shipping charge. So it seems that we sellers and buyers are trying to modify the attitude. But I do agree that Ebay has moved sellers away buy raising their prices to sell an item. I know that they are trying to reduce the cost but it might be a bit late. I agree that the thrill is gone as so many stores now sell their items as if it were over the counter.

  • 8 Posted by rdsmooth on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:33PM EDT Report Abuse

    Another problem with eBay too many crappy sellers... its a known fact that eBay has become a bootleggers heaven. the quality of the products sold on eBay are impossible to guarantee and even more impossible to protect buyers from (the rating system helps to curtail this but it ultimately becomes a he said this they said that match). eBay needs to figure out a way to improve the quality of the products being sold. only then do i think eBay will be able to continue to grow.

  • 9 Posted by redsphinx@verizon.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:34PM EDT Report Abuse

    It's a big shame, but EBay is largely to blame for making itself less fun, once it became increasingly restrictive as to what one could offer for auction. It then abolished the negative ratings, which served as a protection from dead beats and/or unscrupulous and dishonest sellers. If it wants to stay alive, EBay has a great deal of rethinking to do.

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