eBay Retreats

Couple weeks ago I wrote about the perceived clout that eBay had with their sellers when they announced a number of price increases. What's transpired since is even more interesting than eBay's attempt to raise prices. Instead of "bitching and moaning" to themselves, eBay sellers have used the power of the network – in this case the Internet – to stand up and push back.

The very thing that makes eBay the success that it is today – a network of willing buyers and sellers – is what stops them in their tracks not two weeks later. Imagine where the print Yellow Pages would be today if 10 years ago Yellow Page advertisers could marshall the voice and cry of hundreds of advertisers to push back on the rate increases being levied by Yellow Pages publishers.