However, fraud that occurs in those offline transactions and spam have become the two biggest complaints eBay receives from members, prompting the changes, Pursglove said. In the very early days, many of our users didn't want us to crack down on offline trading. That may have been appropriate in the early days, but it isn't appropriate now. Additional fees may apply to real estate, auto listings or reserve auctions. Obviously eBay needs to rustle up more money.
Sales are down.
They ain't looking so good on paper. The auction house rules Under the rules, sellers are banned from offering to sell items offline to people other than the high bidder in their auctions. This means sellers would violate the rules if they contacted not only people bidding on competitors' auctions, but those bidding on their own items. Sellers also are not allowed to send unsolicited email to people about products similar to what they have bid on in the past. It wasn't spelled out whether sellers can contact bidders about such products if they are offered on eBay.