EBAY said it planned to offer an instant-purchase service to supplement its bid-and-wait online auctions, pitting the company directly against conventional e-commerce retailers.

Bill Cobb, president of eBay North America, said in a memo to eBay users on that the new service - to be called eBay Express when launched this spring - aims to broaden the range of products shoppers can expect to buy on eBay.

EBay also disclosed changes to the fees it charges in the United States for listing items on ebay.com, raising by 9 per cent the percentage transaction fee that it charges on the value of goods between $US25 ($31) and $US975 in value. It said it would cut prices on low-priced items and other seller features.

A year ago, broad changes in pricing for eBay auctions provoked a rebellion among a vocal minority of sellers. But eBay officials stressed that last year’s increases were steeper and that U.S. business growth had nonetheless accelerated.

Overall, the changes are likely to add to earnings, Chief Financial Officer Rajiv Dutta told investors on a conference call following the company’s 2005 year-end financial report.

Posted: 01|19|06 at 9:37 am. Filed under: Auction News.