According to this article in Business Week, eBay is eying the fixed price model more than the auction model now. They’re trying to make it easier to use the “Buy It Now” option rather than use auctions. Sellers will pay less upfront, and more when a sale occurs. They’ll still have auctions, of course.

I can see good and bad to this. Certainly it’s nice to be able to find something I like, and just buy it rather than hope I win the auction. Snipers are a pain. But at the same time, that’s not what people come to eBay for, and I can’t help but wonder if they’re risking their business model on this.

Then again, they say the auction model has been slipping for them, so they might just have it right.

But if you look at the comments on the article, the general feeling is that it is the sniper that has made the auction model work so poorly. eBay has never managed to fix that problem, which is a challenging one indeed. Combine that with the insane shipping charges some sellers had, and it’s no wonder buyers became disillusioned with them.

This is the kind of thing you need to address in your own business. You need to know what people dislike about your business as well as what they truly loathe about it. It’s rarely easy to solve business problems, but if you know what they are you can at least make the effort.

Or if you’re trying to get into a business, see what mistakes your competition is making. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see other auction sites trying to make a move on this. If a site can establish itself as a better auction experience for both buyers and sellers than what eBay offers, they might have a shot.

I’m not expecting that too soon, or anything; it’s just that I can see the opening.