Some eBay sellers are unable to access a third-party service that helps them manage their listings. Auctiva offers a wide range of tools for eBay sellers and acknowledged a problem in which Verizon users are experiencing access issues. In a Facebook post on Friday, it told sellers the problem is a result of Verizon throttling Auctiva’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) Cogent.
“Are you aware that Auctiva is now virtually unusable during heavy traffic hours if you are connecting through Verizon,” an eBay seller asked in an email to EcommerceBytes. “Everyone is blaming everyone else and there seems to be no solution in sight. I have hundreds of listings on Auctiva and have been very happy with it to date. Can you look into this situation and see what you can find?”
Auctiva spokesperson Abby Reyes responded to EcommerceBytes’ questions with this statement: “We are aware of the issue and are currently working to resolve it in as quickly a manner as possible. We will be sure to keep you posted as any new details regarding the situation become available. We very much appreciate your patience.”
The problem of throttling by companies that own broadband networks is getting more attention as the popularity of video streaming rises. Some consumers have blamed Verizon for throttling their access to Netflix, as Ars Technica recently reported.
Internet giants such as eBay and Google have been fighting over the issue of Net Neutrality for years. Just last month, an U.S. appellate court struck down a set of FCC rules that had barred Internet service providers from playing favorites with the online traffic passing over their networks.
eBay has publicly said, “Some cable and telecommunications companies that own broadband networks in the U.S. are proposing to replace the open Internet with a new fee-based system where the large providers can pick and choose which websites will operate with preferences on their new “closed” networks. In this world, special access charges will be levied on Internet content providers as well as consumers.”
It’s not the first time Cogent reported throttling problems – last year, it accused Verizon of throttling its traffic, as reported in Boy Genius Report – here’s Verizon’s response to that accusation on the Verizon blog.
If Auctiva is correct about the cause of the slowdown and access issues for Verizon users, it may just the start of major problems facing not only movie-watching consumers, but of online merchants as well.
Auctiva, a subsidiary of Alibaba, has been in the news for preparing to launch a new marketplace called 11Main.com that competes with eBay and other online marketplaces.
