SAN FRANCISCO - EBay Inc. said Tuesday it will discontinue by year's end the section of its site that allows users to participate in live auctions hosted by other companies.
The company said the move will not materially affect its business -- though millions of users patronize eBay's partner auction houses.
EBay's vice president of seller experience Jim Ambach said maintaining and improving the 7-year-old Live Auctions platform falls outside the company's current focus on boosting listings, improving buyers' experiences and making the site safer from fraud.
"As we work to improve the buying and selling experiences ... we need to make sure our resources are aligned with our priorities," Ambach said in a company statement on Tuesday.
The move follows changes eBay made to its fees and its feedback system in February and the layoff last month of 125 people.
In conjunction with eBay's announcement Tuesday, five-year eBay partner LiveAuctioneers.com said it plans to launch an independent online marketplace of art, antiques and collectibles for its 700 auction house clients.
LiveAuctioneers Chief Executive Julian Ellison said the transition would not interrupt that company's services.
LiveAuctioneers claims a database of 2.5 million active buyers, and the auction houses it works with list 60,000 to 100,000 items on eBay at any given time. Currently listed items are valued at more than US$2.2 billion, according to LiveAuctioneers.
San Jose, Calif.-based eBay is expected to announce its first-quarter earnings after the market closes on Wednesday.
