Normally I would take my time and write out a considered post on all these fee changes but instead, here are just some random thoughts as they come to me while I read this announcement

• They are combining Fixed Price and Store Inventory into one format? Thank God, that never made sense. 
• “OUR LOWEST INSERTION FEES EVER COMING THIS SPRING: FREE AUCTION-STYLE LISTINGS; FIXED PRICE AS LOW AS 3¢ WITH FULL SEARCH EXPOSURE” = OMG stop yelling!
• “List up to 100 items a month Auction-style free—no Insertion Fees—when you start your Auction-style listing under $1.” <- good but does that apply to Store Owners as well with your new cracked out system?
• “Either way, pay one easy Final Value Fee of 9% of the winning bid—and never more than $50—pay only if your item sells.” <- The final value system was always way too complicated. But it’s hard to get excited about this when you didn’t change it for store owners
• “List in Fixed Price for 50¢ with Final Value Fees mostly the same as today” <- not cool. From 35 cents to 50?
• OK, wait I take that back. Store owners still get to list for 3 cents per Fixed Price listing but with all the benefits of regular fixed price. I am totally in love with that.
• Store owners also get up to 12 free pictures per listing. I kinda want to make out with this part of the release.
• OK, now I’m looking at the fees charts here. 
• So, if I’m reading this correctly, store owners don’t get the 100 free auction listings a month? But they are also stopping the 5 free a month? Give me back my free listings you jerks!
• Store Final Value fees are a smidgen lower. But our auction insertion fees are the same (or more if you factor in the no free listings).
• Still loving the 12 free pictures per listing for Store Owners. I think my happiness over that may tip the scales no matter what I read after that.
• Oh, I see how it is! 3 cent insertion fees are only for Anchor stores. Basic stores have a 20 cent insertion fee for fixed price. My annoyance is tempered by the fact that 20 cents is less than both 35 AND 50.
• OK, so Basic and Anchor stores have a 3% lower final value fee now than normal non-store owning people. Awesome. But Premium stores get an 8% discount off of normal people and a 5% discount off of Basic and Anchor. If I own an Anchor, I’m annoyed right now. But if I own a Basic, I’m now giving some serious consideration whether the jump to Premium is worth those savings.
• Eh Premium is still freaking expensive. I find it hard to believe I will ever think $50 a month is worth paying. But, then again, I don’t do the volume that some of you do.
• “Store Referral Credits will be discontinued as of March 30, 2010.” <- Mostly not cool. That said, eBay Partner Network is a much better Store Referral Credit when it all comes down to it.
• “Insertion Fees in Books, Music, Movies & DVDs and Video Games listed with Product Details will continue to be 5¢ through December 31, 2010 regardless of subscription.” Then they go up to normal rates. I’m OK with that, I think.

OK so overall, I think this is all good news. If you are a non-store owner, you just won the eBay lottery. For starters, if you list 100 items or less a month at auction, you basically never have to pay an insertion fee again. Or, if you were toying with the idea of owning a store, there has never been a better time.

There has been a lot of debate of what is the point of Stores lately and Store Inventory format was the weird bastard red-headed step child format so I’m glad they figured out a way to get rid of it without giving store owners the shaft. Sure, if you were listing at 3 cents a listing, it’s a fee increase but, frankly, who used SI anymore since they made Fixed Price so cheap. It’s well worth the expense for the exposure. I am also really loving the free pictures and lowered fees. The only thing I used Auctiva for was the extra picture hosting and, while I have been using Photobucket since then, I like not having to leave Turbo Lister to add more pics.

Now, I’m sure someone will put on their foil hat and call this the death of auctions because someone always does. But I see nothing but good things for both formats going on above.

For me, having a store was always more of a branding thing than anything else, I would have one no matter what, so the fact that they are giving us all these extras for it I rather like.

So, overall, I think this is good news. Though I am sure I’m in the minority, I usually am.

Go ahead and tell me how wrong I am and how I should hate these changes below! 🙂