I really thought that this was going to be a simple blog covering eBay's (EBAY: sentiment, chart, options) news announcement, but that changed after I looked at the first line of the company's press release: In time for the holiday shopping season. Seriously. I initially wondered if the auctioneer was talking about the Labor Day holiday shopping season; but that isn't the case, as the new policy won't take place until September 16 since when did Christmas shopping begin in September?

Oh well, on to the news. EBAY announced that it is "dramatically lowering" its cost to list an item in the Buy it Now fixed-price format. Sellers will now pay 35 cents for a 30-day listing period, which is up from the 7-day standard. In addition, sellers can list multiple quantities for the same fee. In the past, multiple quantities earned a higher listing fee. Before this pricing change, sellers would pay between 35 cents and 4 dollars per item listed per week.

EBAY notes that it is making the change to "be the most competitive marketplace online," according to EBAY Marketplaces President Lorrie Norrington. Norrington also noted that a "35-cent listing fee virtually eliminates the upfront cost for sellers to put more of their great inventory on eBay and creates more opportunity than ever for sellers to build successful businesses." The listing fee for auction items will remain the same.

EBAY is slightly lower as we head through the 11 o'clock hour, off by nearly half a percentage point. We could see the stock slump back to the 24 level, which has acted as support in the past. If this is the case, the stock will find itself battling overhead resistance from its 10-week moving average, which it hasn't topped since the end of May.