Why did eBay change that?
It's stupid.
( Major Turd for tonight only, Sun 31 May 2009, 13:42, archived)

because they realised that the selling-your-old-tat based business plan
would run out of steam sometime, and the move to a site based on a traditional market of price-haggling financed by professional traders was a more secure approach to their long term stratagem. It also ensures that buyers aren't scared away from using eBay by overly aggressive traders, which is important for eBay as more revenue is generated through the Final Value Fee than from the Listing Fee, per item.

Or was that a rhetorical question?
( Grrrmachine the indifference engine, Sun 31 May 2009, 13:45, archived)

I was genuinely interested,
I'm going to read and re-read that until I understand it.
( Major Turd for tonight only, Sun 31 May 2009, 15:56, archived)