Lots of the folks who are doing well on eBay left full-time jobs to make both
themselves and the company a success, and now the auction giant has decided
to offer a key perk for the self-employed — health insurance.
Meg Whitman, CEO of San Jose, Calif.-based eBay , told a
weekend gathering of eBay sellers in Anaheim that the company will be
offering its successful full-time sellers access to health insurance at group
rates.
The insurance will be a part of the recently revised PowerSeller program.
“It’s the users who have built eBay,” Whitman told the crowd. “We try to
build a better platform, but it’s you who build the business.”
eBay has been defining PowerSellers as people who sell $2,000 or more in
goods a month on the site. There are at least 35,000 people in that category.
And now that threshold is being lowered to $1,000. The health insurance deal
reportedly will be with Physicians Mutual.
An eBay spokesman said no further details would be available until September
or October.
Another change at eBay is that in late July, sellers will have the ability to
list items in a new Fixed Price format.
Since its launch, the Buy It Now feature for auction items has become one of
the most popular features on eBay and the company said that many users have
expressed an interest in more fixed price trading.
The new Fixed Price format will enable sellers to list an item at a fixed Buy
It Now price throughout the duration of the listing until sold. Buyers will
not have the option to bid.
