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eBay lowers seller fees, in bid to swipe business from Amazon

For the first time in years, e-commerce marketplace eBay is cutting its listing fees and lowering its rates in a major way.

Donna Tam Staff Writer / News
Donna Tam covers Amazon and other fun stuff for CNET News. She is a San Francisco native who enjoys feasting, merrymaking, checking her Gmail and reading her Kindle.
Donna Tam

eBay is eliminating listing fees and simplifying rates in hopes of bringing Amazon sellers to its doors.

In addition to a new fee rate system, eBay will let sellers list many items for free, the company announced today. eBay said the changes, which begin rolling out in April, are the online marketplace's first major update in pricing in several years.

"The update is part of eBay's ongoing commitment to be the most competitively priced commerce platform in the U.S. today, offering sellers of all sizes a great deal and being a partner of choice for merchants, and to make eBay the best place to sell online," an eBay representative told CNET.

eBay will now charge between 4 percent and 10 percent per item. The new fees are lower than those of Amazon, which charges between 6 percent and 15 percent per item for a referral fee.

eBay has two plans to choose from. If sellers have an eBay Stores subscription, which costs between $16 to $200 a month depending on which plan you choose, fees will range between 4 percent and 9 percent. This gives sellers up to 2,500 free listings per month.

Without the subscription, sellers get 50 free listings a month and pay a 10 percent fee on all items.

Updated at 7:25 p.m. PT to correct high-end subscription cost information provided by eBay.