eBay fee fumbling frustrates Mickey Mouse salesman

By Troy Wolverton and Alorie Gilbert

eBay was working Friday to fix two problems that affect the fees sellers pay to re-list items.

One problem, which started about two weeks ago, prevented some sellers from automatically receiving credits that eBay pays to members who have to list an item twice before it sells. The second glitch, which surfaced on Friday, appeared to charge sellers a new five cent fee for each item they re-listed - even though their accounts weren't actually being charged.

eBay is aware of both problems and is working to fix them, company spokesman Kevin Pursglove said.

Pursglove said he could not comment on the cause of the credit glitch and did not know specifically how many sellers or listings were affected by the problem, saying it affected "a small number" of sellers.

Ed O'Brien, who sells Star Trek and Disney items on eBay, said: "This has been a major pain for me. eBay's taken such a nice, friendly, easy-to-use site and turned it into a nightmare."

Around half the items listed on eBay sell the first time they are listed, analysts estimate. Sellers whose items do not sell the first time around can re-list them, and eBay will refund the second listing fee if the item finally sells. The company charges between 30 cents and $3.30 for each item a seller lists.

The credit problem comes after eBay introduced a new listing form in late June. eBay has allowed sellers to continue using the old form and many have preferred to do so. The new form is five pages long, while the original form is just one page. The company plans to eventually phase out the original form, Pursglove said.

The problem appears to affect sellers who re-list their items using the company's old listing form.

The other re-listing glitch involves a notice sent to sellers that says they are being billed five cents for each item they re-list. The notice surprised some sellers, as eBay hasn't previously levied a surcharge for re-listing.

On one of its announcement boards, eBay said this second glitch, like the first, is only affecting sellers using the original listing form.

eBay said this second glitch began Friday morning and is still being worked on. Although sellers are receiving the notice, they aren't actually being billed and won't see it on their accounts, Pursglove said. He said there are no plans to institute such a fee.

eBay did not inform users on its announcement board about the re-listing credit because of the small number of people affected, Pursglove said. People affected will have to fill out a form on eBay's listing page to receive their credit.

Troy Wolverton and Alorie Gilbert write for News.com