should have a fee just to Look!

[daneiac]

I have not been a seller either online or brick & mortar for years now.

maybe a few sales on ebay the last few years, but not much..at the grocery store last week while shopping I run into an old swap meet associate and we chaated a few minutes..and he inforned me that the swap meet we set up at every Sunday upped the setup fee to $18.00 from $15.00 and the fee to park (shoppers fee) to $3.00 from $1.00..can you imagine the extra revenue ebay could pull in just to shop on ebay?..maybe have an ebay membership fee imposed for more corporate proft taking..

[soh.maryl]

You are joking, right?  

[rjm0222]

Please do not give them any ideas........

[lepke1979]

Some things that are done in an outdoor/B&M setting don't always translate well to online. Same goes for selling stuff in a B&M vs online.

A fee just to shop on a site is a great way to get people to not come back unless there is an actual benefit for doing so. Free shipping, some sort of discount, etc. Heck, I hate the sites that make it necessary to create an account just to browse.

[anjofak]

Yes! Pay me to watch!

[daneiac]

I expect ebay has run market research indicating it is not yet feasible to charge a membership fee..and I wonder if the amount of walkers at local swap meet has declined much because of increased fee of 200% to shop..

[coolections]

Great idea. I think Walmart should start charging at least $5 to enter the store.

[blingfling123]

Why in the world would anyone shop on eBay if they had to pay a fee?

Seriously, if eBay (or anyone for that matter) did this, it would be the kiss of death for the platform, especially with so many other options out there. 

[gotta-have-it-collectables]

You owe me $1.

[rugerskick]

They already have this.  Its called Sams Club.

[rugerskick]

Don't worry.  Ebay is working very hard to find a way to kill itself off.  That's the one thing they are ardently committed to here.

[buyselljack2016]

Would be like me and shopping at BJ's wholesale club (wholesale my  Patootie). When they would give me a "free" short time guest membership I would buy some things there. Want to charge me to shop there...........  sorry, not enough there that I want to get me to pay them for that privilege. 

[inhawaii]

I never understood the whole (Costco) membership thing.

You want to charge me to shop in your store?

What if everybody cancelled their Costco membership?

A) Would they go out of business?

B)  Would they waive the membership fee and just raise their prices to reflect thew lost revenue?

I say B.

[chapeau-noir]

---

@inhawaii wrote:

I never understood the whole (Costco) membership thing.

You want to charge me to shop in your store?

What if everybody cancelled their Costco membership?

A) Would they go out of business?

B)  Would they waive the membership fee and just raise their prices to reflect thew lost revenue?

I say B.

---

The membership fee offsets expenses and enables Costco to offer very low prices by purchase of bulk quantity.  Our household of two, who are not big consumers, actually pay for the membership in probably two trips by purchasing bulk staples at discount.  It works out even better for families and organizations.  So basically, it's a good deal *if* one thinks their purchasing habits will offset the price of the membership.

[simba6]

should have a fee just to Look!

Many years ago there were a lot more item views than today.    Today, we may need to pay people to come here and shop.   eBay could give random prizes.   A blender , can opener , knife set or jack russell  puppy to one shopper per day.  Yea put some air holes in the box, it will work.  That might increase the number of items views and sales.