In January 2006, eBay announced the creation of a new specialty service called eBay Express. Here are some of the highlights of this upcoming venture, according to eBay e-mails and its own website:
1. The description of eBay Express emphasizes new merchandise. eBay obviously wants to distance itself from the “online flea market” image that many people associate with it. However, eBay also states “eBay Express will allow shoppers to buy products ranging from new, used, refurbished and more”.
2. It is not auction-based. Everything on eBay Express will have a fixed price and will be available for immediate purchase – no more waiting for 7-day auctions to end (of course the Buy-It-Now feature has also been available on eBay.com for quite a while).
3. There appear to be plans for some kind of shopping cart function, making it easier for buyers to make multiple purchases from the same seller than it is now.
4. There are a number of seller requirements for eBay Express: a feedback score of 100 or more, 98% positive feedback value or better, public feedback (as opposed to private), PayPal Premier or Business account, setting...