Alibris revamps commissions but hasn't decided on postage increases

The Alibris bookselling network said it will revamp its commission structure next month but hasn't decided whether it will increase shipping credits when the Postal Service raises rates May 14. According to an e-mail sent to sellers:

Shipping credits for US sellers still pending
We are aware that the United States Postal Service has approved a rate increase that will take effect on May 14, 2007. We are still conducting research on shipping rates within the industry, are carefully considering all options, and will announce our position concerning this issue as soon as possible.

Minimum retail price will be reduced
We will lower the minimum retail price allowed on Alibris (www.alibris.com) from US$2.95 to US$1.99. Prices on Alibris U.K. (www.alibris.co.uk) will automatically convert to reflect the new minimum price in foreign currencies. We expect this change to increase sales volume for our sellers on our retail sites.

Commission changes to be implemented
Alibris will set a minimum sales commission of US$0.50. This means sellers will then pay either 15% or US$0.50, whichever is greater, on each sale received on our retail Web sites.

We will also create a new, reduced-commission structure for high-value items. Items priced greater than $500 will be subject to the following commission rates on our retail Web sites:

• US$499.99 or less: 15%
• US$500.00—599.99: 10%
• US$600.00—699.99: 8%
• US$700.00—799.99: 6%
• US$800.00 & higher: 5%

We currently charge a 10% commission on all items priced greater than $500.00. We expect that these reduced-commission rates will benefit our longstanding collectible and antiquarian sellers and will encourage other sellers to list their pricier items.

For our business-partner channels, sellers currently pay commissions of 15% to our partners and 5% to Alibris. The new structure for these programs will require a minimum Alibris commission of US$0.25 on all partner sales. In other words, sellers will continue to pay 15% to our partners and either 5% or US$0.25, whichever is greater, to Alibris.

Introducing a per-transaction fee option
Shortly following the implementation of the changes explained above, we will introduce a new fee option for our booksellers with less than 1,000 items and all music and movie sellers. This new fee option will enable such sellers to pay US$1.00 per transaction instead of a flat monthly fee. The transaction fee would be assessed in addition to the commissions Alibris and its partners will charge on each sale. This option will allow our qualified sellers to "pay as they go" for their sales rather than worrying about the sales volume necessary to cover a flat monthly fee.

Why these changes are happening
We do our best to accommodate the varied needs of every individual seller. We hope you find this new structure to be both flexible and favorable to your business.

Kind regards,
Alibris Client Services

And here is Alibris' current fee structure.

I'm curious to hear what Alibris sellers think of these changes.