USAToday says the eBay boycott over fee and policy changes has driven listings down as much as 13%:

Auction listings on eBay.com dropped some 13% since the strike started Feb. 18 to about 13 million items, according to third-party tracking sites such as dealscart.com and medved.net.

The boycott, amid slowing growth and intensifying competition from Amazon and Google, could presage a challenging year for John Donahoe, eBay’s incoming CEO, say analysts.

Like dozens of other boycotts against eBay the past few years, this protest is largely over pricing changes. Though many previous boycotts have fizzled after a few days, the most recent gained more attention through protest-related actions on YouTube and MySpace.

“If (eBay’s listings total) falls below 12 million, we’ve made a pretty good impact,” said Nancy Baughman, an eBay PowerSeller who deals antiques and collectibles. She is also co-author of a book on online auctions.

eBay held a special promotion that drove listings up temporarily at the beginning of the boycott, but it may not have been enough to compensate for the backlash. eBay says the fee and policy changes, which include barring sellers from leaving neutral or negative feedback on buyers, will stand.

Online auction listings down 13% in boycott of eBay [USAToday]

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