ONLINE: TRADING PRICES

EBay depends on the art of the exchange. So when the company told its members it would raise some fees, they started to trade new items--angry message-board posts and an online petition more than 20,000 signatures strong. Starting Feb. 18, eBay's $9.95 monthly subscription fee for "Basic eBay stores" will jump to $15.95. Its 10-day listing fee will go from 20 cents to 40 cents per listing. (Other high-price-item fees in some business and industrial categories will drop.) "That morning I opened that e-mail, I said, 'I woke up in hell!' " recalls Elaine Ma, 19, a University of Toronto student, turned petition drafter, who sells handmade items on eBay to pay her tuition. The San Jose, Calif.-based company stands by its decision. "When we make these changes, we're making them because we feel they're the right thing to do to ensure the vibrancy of the marketplace," says eBay spokesman Hani Durzy. Already some users are jumping ship for sites like overstock.com, where auction-site listings rose 50 percent in the days since eBay's announcement. Says overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne, "As soon as we read about [it], we canceled vacations and made sure our computers were running smoothly."

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