Every business strives to expand its market share and grow. Many businesses diversify as well ? eBay is no exception. Over the last few years eBay has implemented many new features and these upgrades have benefited both the buyers and sellers. One may ask what futures trends and/or upgrades sellers, buyers and affiliates can expect from eBay. You might see changes in the four below areas:

1. Increase in costs ? eBay, along with sites and/or services owned by eBay, such as PayPal, eBay Stores, half.com and ProStores, may increase their prices over the next few months. This will undoubtedly increase eBay seller fees and will require these sellers to re-evaluate their selling strategies. These cost changes are currently being debated all over the Internet ? go find an eBay Sellers auction board and you can easily find someone that is upset about these increases in fees. eBay's goal is to of course make itself the ultimate online marketplace for online buyers and sellers. To accomplish this feat, they will need to add additional functionalities to the site and sellers will have to help foot the bill.

2. Establish a market for charity listings ? At times, like many other notable businesses, eBay puts a portion of its profit to good use. The company has raised over $34 million so far for charitable purposes. eBay makes great efforts to contribute as much as it can and support charity listings. The Giving Works icon next to a product is one-way eBay increases charitable auction traffic. Expect to see more of these types of programs at eBay. If able, you might even be able to participate in these events.

3. Increased communication between sellers and buyers ? eBay is attempting to bridge the gap between sellers and buyers. The company has introduced a Skype feature within the listings that enables the buyer and seller to communicate during the auction process. Skype is easy to learn and is familiar to most people ? it's just like talking on the telephone at home. Another feature of Skype is a virtual chat window that many eBay users seem to enjoy. Instant communication can help buyers clear all doubts that they have in their minds about an auction and this leads to a faster sale and increased customer satisfaction.

4. Selling from your own site ? eBay has an option that enables webmasters to place code on their own sites and feature, or advertise, products or services that are currently being auctioned. It is estimated that 20 percent of eBay sellers place these links and sell merchandise via their websites utilizing this methodology. Expect this number to increase over the next few months. Webmasters can place any category, or all categories if they wish, on their sites and this enables potential buyers to browse eBay items without actually visiting eBay!

Some may argue that the above trends and/or upgrades are helping the buyer and leaving the sellers in the poorhouse. However, these changes will ultimately bring more traffic to the site. More traffic to the site means more visits to your auction. More visits to your auction means more sales. Remain competitive and as eBay matures your profit will increase.