A Lot of the conversation on message boards all through the Internet in the last few days has been about the big changes Auctiva just announced. They’ve been a Free service for so long that the idea of Auctiva charging really shocked most of their customers. Perhaps overlooked by many in this storm of conversation is the REASON for the change.
Here is a quote from Auctiva CEO Jeff Schlicht “In order to remain free all these years, our business model included many different sources of revenue,” Schlicht continues. “In addition to shipping insurance and our other pay services, like Sellathon.com, we also derived more than half of our income from eBay’s affiliate program. However, eBay recently made changes to its affiliate program that greatly restricted, and ultimately eliminated, this critical revenue stream. As a result, we will have to begin charging for some of our services.” (http://www.auctiva.com/edu/entry.aspx?id=Auctiva-Enters-New-Era)
I think this explains it pretty well. When one of the underpinnings of your revenue stream is taken away – big changes are inevitable.
Your thoughts?
I am under the impression that the only change eBay’s commission system made was to crack down on Auctiva for breaking their rules.
The reality is that you can’t make decent money from eBay’s Partner Network if you play by the rules. eBay recently decided to stop tolerating rule-breakers, and is throwing them out like mad. I’m at the point where I tell people to not bother with eBay’s commission system. If you have traffic, send it where you want since dealing with the Partner Network isn’t worth it.
While basing a revenue model on partner commissions sounds good, I am not sure that basing a model on commissions you’re getting by breaking rules is a strong idea.
I thought the changes eBay made were new rules, not just enforcing ones on the books. This is starting to sound like the ‘new look’ on eBay Stores discussion. Is it a similar situation, In Your Opinion?
I am under the impression that the only change eBay’s commission system made was to crack down on Auctiva for breaking their rules.
The reality is that you can’t make decent money from eBay’s Partner Network if you play by the rules. eBay recently decided to stop tolerating rule-breakers, and is throwing them out like mad. I’m at the point where I tell people to not bother with eBay’s commission system. If you have traffic, send it where you want since dealing with the Partner Network isn’t worth it.
While basing a revenue model on partner commissions sounds good, I am not sure that basing a model on commissions you’re getting by breaking rules is a strong idea.
Just my two cents!
I thought the changes eBay made were new rules, not just enforcing ones on the books. This is starting to sound like the ‘new look’ on eBay Stores discussion. Is it a similar situation, In Your Opinion?