EBay's Bid to Go Beyond Auctions Isn't Selling Well

EBAY INC. is trying to woo online shoppers with its new eBay Express Web site. But it's been a tough sell.
Earlier this year, Shelley Mitchell enthusiastically signed up to the eBay Express site launched in April. The Hollywood, Fla., resident was already selling vintage punk clothes on eBay's main site at a Web page called Addicted to Rockabilly and Punk. The main site lets people sell merchandise either through an auction process or at a fixed price with a feature called "Buy It Now," but eBay Express lists only fixed-price items, to appeal to online shoppers who aren't comfortable bidding on items from a stranger.
"I was excited at first because I thought [eBay Express] would really give me good exposure," Ms. Mitchell says. The eBay Express link is prominently listed under "Specialty Sites" on eBay's main site, or can be found at express.ebay.com.
But last month, while Ms. Mitchell sold $2,180 of merchandise in 59 individual sales on eBay's main auction site, she didn't sell anything on eBay Express, where she had listed some clothes at a fixed price. It "doesn't seem to be any help," she says.
Other users have also had a lackluster experience. Jonathan Garriss, executive director of the Professional eBay Sellers Alliance, an independent group of eBay sellers, estimates eBay Express accounts for less than 1% of sales for the group's more than 1,000 members, who together sell more than $1 billion a year in merchandise. And while eBay's main auction site attracted more visits than any other online retailer in November, eBay Express was at No. 87 on the list of top shopping and classified sites, according to research firm Hitwise Pty. Ltd.

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Expert: Beware Of eBay Pitfalls

eBay can be a fun and easy way for people to shop, but identity thieves are using it as a means to steal.
Stephanie Inge learned enough about eBay that she now teaches others how to use it. She learned about the pitfalls through experience.

“My account has been hijacked twice,” she said.

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