[...] To compete in the fixed-price marketplace, eBay enacted a series of policies and site changes that favored power sellers at the expense of smaller sellers. As casual sellers abandoned the site, buyers have migrated elsewhere in search of the hard-to-find products upon which eBay built its business—traffic to Craigslist has risen 40% over the past year. In contrast, eBay’s traffic was down 5.2% last month over the previous year, while Amazon’s traffic rose 18.7%. [...]

[...] eBay’s challenges are multi-faceted, and it remains to be seen whether by simply returning to its roots as an auction site it can win back buyers and sellers who have long since given up on using the site. Online retailing has evolved significantly since eBay was founded over a decade ago. Savvy consumers have learned how and where to find deals online, but value intangibles beyond price when making their purchase decisions. Consumers expect a level of service that in some respects is beyond eBay’s ability to control in its role as middleman. Given that, eBay would be better served looking beyond product strategy and focusing instead on improving the shopping experience for buyers and sellers as its constant tinkering seems to be doing more harm than good.

eBay Tools

Auction Inspector A what's-hot-on-eBay tool that's getting rave reviews by users. When you join SaleHoo, you can get a special discount on Auction Inspector.

Build A Niche Store - Succeed as an eBay Affiliate The people behind BANS are committed to the ongoing development of the platform and to the success of those who use it. Once you've paid the one-time fee (no monthly or annual fees), you can build as many sites as you wish with your license.

Hot Item Finder Canadian developer Dave Guindon has created two products worthy of note, here. The first is Hot Item Finder, a comprehensive what's-hot-on-eBay analysis tool that comes with a one-year money-back guarantee. The second is a popular tool called Auction Yen, designed to find what eBay buyers really want, uncovering hidden and niche market ideas from eBay's "Want It Now" section.

The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay™ I bought this best-selling eBook by Jim Cockrum a couple years ago, and it's still a best-seller at Clickbank. The strategy he describes in 50 pages is perfectly legal, accords with eBay policies in every respect but involves a creative interpretation of those policies that can result in much greater profit. Central to his approach is a simple idea that can be applied to your search for a marketing niche: People who are shopping for ________________ might also be interested in (and possibly willing to pay for) instant information on ___________________.

eBay — Research before you sell or buy... Based in Victoria, BC, Canada, Terapeak, an eBay Certified Provider, was founded in 2002 by brothers Anthony and Andrew Sukow while running their eBay Power Seller business. Terapeak is the only company to focus exclusively on eBay research, and was the first to provide eBay seller, eBay category, eBay Motors P&A, and eBay international research. The company delivers high-caliber information on how to sell, what to sell, competitor research, and seasonal trends. Research before you sell. Research before you buy. Find the value of your items, discover new products to sell, and develop your selling strategy using Terapeak Marketplace Research. Watch a Terapeak eBay Research Demo to get an idea of what this service can do for you.