Last time eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) raised fees, at the end of the summer, there was a big uproar from eBay sellers. So much that here at BloggingStocks many of them found a venue to voice their passionate disappointment with eBay. Many debates ensued between eBay investors and eBay sellers, especially Store sellers whose fees have been hiked.

Well, yesterday afternoon eBay raised fees again, but this time it targeted auction listings. Insertion fee for the $1.00 to $9.99 level was raised by 5 cents (from 35c to 40c) and the final value fee for the $25.01 to $1,000.00 level from 3% to 3.25%. eBay Motors fees were also raised. The new fees will go into effect on January 30, 2007. eBay didn't raise its Stores fees or Store Inventory listings.

Bill Cobb, president of eBay North America announced the fee hike. He also gave some data about eBay's holiday season: According to Nielsen/NetRatings, traffic grew by 12% compared to last year during the holiday period (starting Black Friday) "and eBay was shoppers' number one destination that day with an impressive 7.5 million unique visitors." Apparently, eBay was the most visited Internet site on Cyber Monday as well with 5.6 million visitors.

Regarding 2007, Cobb said, "I think you'll find we're taking a surprisingly fresh look at some of the old challenges, and I'm excited about the road ahead."

As an investor, I'm naturally curious to see eBay's "fresh look," and while fee hikes are generally better for the bottom line, I'm also curious to see sellers reaction to these new fees. On the face of it, the fee hike doesn't seem to be that much, but depending on the item price and on the volume a seller does, the hike could amount to a considerable increase.

[Thank you, VC, for the email. Via auctionbytes]