Reservations to Bidding or Buying

[upgradedendmills]

I have been reading all the seller complaints concerning the Spring Update. It concerns me that so many say they are quitting or leaving soon. They might be just venting, but, if there is any truth to their statements, I don't want to risk my money to an unconcerned or disgruntled seller. If they are leaving anyhow, there is no reason for them to be concerned about giving me good service or shipping any item I might purchase. Probably better to put off any bids or new purchases until this mess sorts itself out over the next few weeks.

[femmefan1946]

Although I am not shutting down at this point, I will not list fixed price any longer due to the new update

Hmm.

The Auction format has been dying for some years due to changes in eBay's customer demographics, particularly the use of mobile  shopping.

I wonder if part of the thinking was to drive occasional sellers to the Auction format, which is part of eBay's brand. A way of differentiating the site from AZ and most other online sites.

Further benefit for eBay: 

A Fixed Price listing gets only one 35cent fee a month.

An Auction listing would need three fees to cover the same visibility.

Drawback for eBay

Auctions have many more Disputes, mostly for Unpaid Items, but also for Item Not Received.

UID because the buyer forgot they had bid or had already bought elsewhere by the time the Auction ended?

INR because the seller didn't get the price they wanted and did not ship?

Anyway, mediating disputes and the fallout from unhappy members would be a noticeable cost for eBay's bottom line.

Interesting thought.