Anyone who lists an item for auction on eBay is to be charged is they end the sale early from the beginning of October.

The seller will have to pay the equivalent of the item's final value fee had the listing been allowed to run its course, and sold to the highest bidder at that time.

eBay says that ending auction listings early "leads to disappointed and frustrated shoppers who may be less inclined to bid on auctions the next time around".

A small concession is being granted, in that sellers will be allowed to end one auction listing per year early without penalty, but all future instances will incur the new charge.

To help sellers avoid falling foul of the new charges, eBay advises pricing items carefully, ensuring listings are right first time, careful management of inventory, adding more detail to listings rather than ending them early, and outlining in the greatest possible detail any buyer requirements.