eBay to shut down eBay Live Auctions

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It will be interesting to see how eBay's recent decision to retire its eBay Live Auction service will affect the
hobby and prices realized at Torex and other numismatic auctions.

EBay to end links to open-outcry live auctions
Tue Apr 15, 2008 5:15pm EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - EBay is pulling out of "live auctions," where members join in real-world auction-
house bidding, in the latest in a series of moves to restructure its online auctions business, the company
said on Tuesday.

The online auction leaders said it plans to shut down the eBay Live Auctions business as of December 31,
2008. The format represents a little-known, tiny piece of eBay's auction businesses -- most of which
connect buyers and sellers online.

Live Auctions represent a throwback to traditional open outcry auctions by linking eBay users remotely to
auctions moderated by live auctioneers, both in physical locations or online. Unlike eBay's typical 10-day
window for auctions to close, Live Auctions conclude when there are no further bids.

In a posting on one of the company's user discussion boards, a company executive said "maintaining and
improving this platform falls outside our immediate focus, and will, therefore, be retired at the end of the
year."

For several years, eBay has partnered with a small number of independent auction providers who in turn
worked directly with the live auction houses to supply merchandise and auctioneers for eBay Live Auctions.

The move will affect several hundred eBay sellers who list their items directly using the Live Auctions
format, said Jim Ambach, vice president in charge of eBay's Seller Experience.

http://ca.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idCAN1518543320080415

I think closing it is lousy.
The "live" internet auctions are quite responsible for the increase in value of late, and subsiquently responsible for the better material to be drawn out for sale.

I, as a buyer am ticked off because now a major auction may slip by me if I don't get the catalog, Which doesn't picture every lot either.

And if I do send a mail bid, is it going to take a week to know if I won anything?

As a seller, I'm ticked off too as now as 2 bidders from accross the country won't drive each other up on my item.

Figures... they take away the best feature because it wasn't making them as much money as other departments.

It will certainly be problematic for auctions at smaller shows.  The number of live bidders at the C&P auction in Vancouver last weekend was never more than a dozen and many of the items that sold went to eBay bidders.  I would be surprised to see another auction in a similar venue without the eBay feed. 

As I understand it, eBay collects a final selling fee in a Live Auction only if the item in question is actually won by an eBay bidder. If the item finally sells to a telephone bidder or to a bidder on the auction room floor (which is often the case with the large auction companies such as Heritage), then eBay presumably does not receive any final selling fee. In this situation eBay bidders would be helping to boost the final bid price but eBay would not receive any financial reward for its efforts. If this scenario is correct than it's quite understandable why eBay has decided to pull the plug on Live Auctions.

Ebay also charges a flat fee to host the auction, I heard around $1500.
I also heard that only 20% roughly sell to the floor, 70% is to internet bidders who drive the price up, and 10% to mail.

Having done several ebay live auctions as the auctioneer, I can see them dropping the program. It is a pain to back track each lot before continueing on to the next. Their fees are too high anyway.

Rick

I will be anxious to see the results of the next large auction once the eBay live is dropped. It may become more of a buyers market

Ebay live is now a thing of the past. Won't hurt auctions at all to cancel this. It only adds to the price for buyers.

Rick