Who's "they"? It's spelt out pretty clearly in the linked article.

$0.01–$0.99 FREE!

$1.00–$9.99 $0.25

$10.00–$24.99 $0.50

etc

what they fail to tell you is the free listing fee is for .99 and down listings. Who in there right mind will start an auction on a $500 at .99???? don't get me started....

While this blog is a better source of information on the Ebay fee changes than the big corporate media outlets, there are some bloggers who have gone into detail about how the Ebay "fee decrease" is actually a massive fee increase for most sellers. One such blog can be found here:

http://ebaylies.blogspot.com/

Retailers are finding that customers are happy to place orders on the internet and reserve an item in store for later collection. This includes people like Halfords, Argos, PC World etc.

How could this benefit apply to Ebay?

Ebay could have an auction and collection/drop off site.

This could draw in car-booters, market wanderers etc. Have a pre-listing website for anyone who wants to browse, allow for buyouts etc

It might end up being a pile of rubbish, but to rent a site for 12 months in a busy city is going to be cheaper than buying Skype.

How did Skype ever match up with Ebay?

It was a gamble.

THAT Auction is so bad THAT....

Bean Curd Fartilizer Sample IS Under PERFUME..... Purchase Your Own Extermination,...COD.

ALWAYS Buy Direct From Manufactuer,

Have Nice Sample Of Nice Gaseous Bean Curd Poop Up On Block Right NOW. TEN Trillions, To PAY National Debt For JUNE'010 Hummmm.Snif, thats So Aromatic & Cheap Too.?Take Auctioned Luckie Shot & ENjoy, Only Fool Would Purchase Again.

Signed:Dr.Mallard

The one thing that distinguished eBay from Craigslist is now gone.

Oh well, some new site will come along to replace them when people are fed up with being scammed.

Please keep some sort of listing fee ebay.