Some of eBay’s sellers have organized a strike of the giant auction site for having raised prices to them. Like any company, eBay has to abide by the law of demand (if customers don’t value your product enough they’ll go somewhere else) and the law of the jungle (competitors will eat you alive if you make a mistake). If sellers can find a better deal at a better price, eBay’s management will be and should be punished for making a basic business mistake. But let’s put this in perspective.

eBay has provided enormous value to buyers and sellers around the world. It has lowered transaction costs and made markets for things that would otherwise be gathering mold or at the very least taking up space in the attic. Its auction system and transaction platform has provided a convenient place for thousands of businesses around the globe—some of whom would be pushing brooms it they couldn’t set up shop in the virtual place provided by eBay.

I’m all for eBay’s sellers fleeing for the better place to auction their wares if they can find one at a better price. But instead of organizing mobs to attack the company to whom many owe their start, perhaps they should harness their collective wisdom to suggest better ways for eBay to raise revenues while maintaining a healthy platform. Figuring out how to earn profits while keeping stakeholders aligned is one of the toughest problems for platform-based businesses as I discuss in The Catalyst Code. By raising prices to sellers, has eBay chosen the best course for beefing up its revenue?

What do you think?