TAKING ON EBAY - Boycott Information for the INTERNET AUCTION ALLIANCE

Making some cash auctioning off digital downloads on eBay? Not anymore.

In an effort to squash feedback manipulation, the online auction site announced recently that it will no longer allow use of its standard auction format to sell digital downloads. As of April 1, sellers must purchase an eBay classified ad for $9.95 a month.

"Most items that require digital delivery, once created, can be very easily replicated," Brian Burke, eBay's director of global feedback policy, said in a recent eBay blog post. "This ease of replication creates the opportunity for sellers to list thousands of the same item in an attempt to manipulate the feedback system. It also creates a perception that even legitimate sellers of digital goods are manipulating the feedback system. This dynamic--real and perceived--undermines trust across the entire marketplace."

Posting an ad within the classified ad format is similar to posting an ad on Craigslist. You list what you have to sell, and an interested buyer can contact you via e-mail or phone. No bidding takes place, and buyers and sellers cannot leave feedback for one another on eBay. The listings do show up in eBay search results, but are designated as a "classified ad."

EBay considered a number of options before relegating digital downloads to classifieds, Burke said.

Those ideas included establishing a minimum dollar amount for digital listings, and allowing only approved sellers to list these items.

The company eventually determined, however, that the classifieds approach was easier to understand and follow, Burke said.

EBay users can still sell CDs and DVDs via eBay auctions, provided they are providing buyers with a tangible copy of the material, Burke said. Transferring the content via e-mail or other electronic transfer is prohibited, he said.

"Custom services, where the buyer and seller work collaboratively to develop a custom designed website, will be treated as a service, like they are today," Burke said. "A single template page, even if customizable ... are not considered custom services and will be required to be listed using the classified ads format."

If users have posted ads for digital downloads that end after April 1, eBay will remove those posts and credit the seller, Burke said.

An eBay search for "mp3 download" on Wednesday afternoon produced 133 results, a majority of which were still offering "digital delivery."

EBay has taken some heat recently over its feedback changes. On the heels of eBay CEO Meg Whitman's resignation in January, eBay announced a major revamp of its listing prices and procedures.

Those changes included stripping sellers of the right to leave feedback for buyers. Buyers were still allowed to leave seller feedback, but had to wait several days before posting their comments.

"Yes, we're taking away a seller's ability to leave a buyer a negative feedback," an eBay spokesman appsc. But eBay "is the only place certainly on the Internet and probably in the physical world as well where a merchant would badmouth a customer publicly."

Instead, sellers will now get "additional protection," he said. "What we've done is taken that out of the public sphere."

Annoyed sellers revolted and called on sellers to boycott the site during the week of February 18. They later extended that strike to March 9, and are planning another open-ended eBay boycott starting May 1.

EBay said the boycotts have had no impact on its listing averages.