eBay, the world’s biggest online auction, has announced changes to its charging structure which could have major consequences for its millions of small sellers. In an announcement to a small group of the most active US sellers, eBay confirmed it will be increasing the charge for each item sold to about 7.5% up from just over 5%.

The higher charges are partially offset by lower listing fees but the overall effect is still an increase that the seller will be charged. For an item selling for £30 the extra charge will be 68p.

In a further announcement that could hit infrequent sellers hard, eBay confirmed it would be pushing listings down the search results page for sellers with a feedback rating less than 4.2 out of 5. The feedback rating is a measure of a seller’s reputation in the wider eBay community based on the experiences of buyers who have previously bought from that seller.

And in one last change that is sure to meet with fury by millions of eBay users, eBay announce that more users will have to use PayPal for transactions. PayPal is owned by eBay and takes a % of all payments made.

Yet PayPal is a source of many complaints by eBay sellers who claim they are the victims of online fraud when PayPal refunds buyers who complain after the items have been sent leaving the seller with no goods and no money.

The moves by eBay seem to confirm its desire to focus on Power Sellers, often corporates, who sell large quantities and will be offered discounts of up to 40% on fees. These large sellers will also not have to use the PayPal system.

Recently eBay has struggled and is keen to win back sellers who use eBay as a trading platform for their business rather than those who have helped to brand the company as an online flea market. Large sellers have in the last couple of years moved steadily away from eBay in favour of other sites such as Amazon.