In the last 12 months, eBay has increased auction-format listing fees, final value fees, launched eBay Express, significantly increased eBay Store fees, and made numerous other changes which have severely impacted many smaller sellers' businesses.

eBay's target inventory has been steadily moving away from the used market (other than antiques and collectibles), particularly with the introduction of eBay Express.

It is not really surprising that some smaller sellers are looking elsewhere to sell their items. There is a competitor, and it's in a city near you.

Online classified sites have been around for a long time, and over the past few years, eBay has increased understanding and acceptance of buying online from an individual seller - something most people would not have considered before eBay emerged. Enter CraigsList, Backpage, LiveDeal, the Oodle classifieds site search tool, and other online classified sites.

Note: eBay owns a 25% share in Craigslist.

Fifty-three percent of respondents to a recent AuctionBytes reader survey said they sell on classified sites. The big difference between eBay and online classified sites is the latter is completely free. No listing fees, no final value fees, no listing upgrade fees, free pictures, and no limited duration.

There is no problem selling large items, such as appliances or furniture, on these sites because most people pick up the items up from you. So, no shipping headaches either. And, if you have a PayPal account, the buyer can pay via credit card through PayPal even though it is not an eBay item.

ComScore Networks (http://www.comscore.com) identified a 47 percent increase in Internet traffic to online classified sites over the last year, now reaching 37.4 million Internet users (approximately 22 percent of the total Internet population).

All of the top three classified sites for general merchandise (i.e. not specific to cars, or real estate, etc.) saw a huge increase in Internet traffic over the same period last year, according to comScore Networks data from July.

Classified Site	Unique Visitors July 2005	Unique Visitors July 2006	Percentage change	July 2006 Market share*
Craigslist.org	6,928,000	13,804,000	99%	36.89%
LiveDeal.com	535,000	1,092,000	104%	2.92%
Oodle.com	162,000	909,000	463%	2.43%

*Market share of all online classified sites tracked by comScore Networks for July, 2006 (including specialized sites not included in this chart).

BackPage.com was not tracked until 2006, so cannot be compared to last year, however their 1,001,000 visitors in July 2006 gives them a 2.67% market share and places them firmly between LiveDeal.com and Oodle.com.

"Online Classifieds are growing at a rate that surpasses most other categories," Senior Analyst of comScore Networks, Andrew Lipsman, stated in a recent press release.

Nearly 50 percent of visitors to online classified sites were aged 35-54 and just over 27 percent of visitors earned over $100,000. This suggests people looking on sites like Craigslist and LiveDeal are not just looking for cheap used items. Still, the highest percentage of visitors (41.4 percent) came from the under $60,000 annual income bracket, so the market is still there for lower priced items too.

While 13.8 million, is no where near the monthly visitation eBay gets, it does show that some sellers are looking elsewhere to sell their items, and buyers are following.

http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=991
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Lissa McGrath is a full-time freelance writer and the author of 20 Questions To Ask Before Selling On eBay (Career Press, 2006). She is also the copy editor of 6 other eBay related books.
http://www.lissamcgrath.com.

Edited on 9/15/06 to add note of eBay's ownership interest in Craigslist.