eBayLive 2008 is 7 days away. Thousands of "community members" will be desending on Chicago to attend this years event. It has already been announced that this is the conference will take a one year hiatus and the next scheduled eBayLive will be in 2010. ( I will not hold my breath)

As Sparky and I prepare to make the trip to Chicago, I have deep reservations. The US economy is in turmoil. Gas prices over $4.05 per gallon, milk prices equal gas prices, airfares are sky high (sorry for the pun) and eBay has raised their fees.

Along with the fee hikes, there are rumors everywhere on the internet regarding what John Donahoe and or Lorrie Norrington will announce at eBayLive. I am not going to speculate or proliferate these rumors here, but with the proposed PayPal only rules on eBay Austrailia (UPDATE: PAYPAL ONLY ON EBAY. AU IS ON HOLD AS OF THIS MORNING), regulated shipping and handling fees in Germany, and the no links policy scheduled here in the good ole USA, one can only speculate what new changes might be coming to light.

I have been speaking to several eBay sellers over the past few days about attending eBayLive 2008. A few have said they are not attending due to travel costs, more have said they would not miss this event for anything. During these conversations, one thing has become glaringly clear. The cost of conducting business on eBay is more than just monetary. Sellers are concerned about losing control of their businesses. Being told what is best for their businesses, that business owners do not know what is best for themselves (see eBayInk blog video interview with Pierre Omydiar) is infuriating large numbers of sellers.

Ecommerce is changing. I understand that internet buyers are dictating what ecommerce sites do and how they do it. eBay has to make changes to meet these demands and challenges in order to remain a viable venue on the internet. However, what is also evident is that smaller sellers are leaving the site. Being disadvantaged in Best Match searches, being told to lower their shipping and handling fees, limiting the sellers ability to promote their own businesses, and not being able to deal with Non Paying Bidders or control the feedback extortion make for unhappy sellers. When the "Big Box" sellers on the site control categories because of advantages in Best Match searches, they will then control pricing, suppy, and thereby demand. This will create artifical or perceived limited supplies. This will eventually create the "Retail Experience" eBay exec's talk about.

Bill Clinton had it spot on! It's The Economy Stupid!