// startup autopsy

Boxaroo for eBay

Built entirely on eBay's rules — and buried by them.

platform dependencyRegulatory Kill

Forced closure by regulatory action · Fatal mistake: Built the entire product on eBay's platform without any diversification to other marketplaces, creating a fatal single point of failure.

Founded	2007
Closed	2010
Country	Us
Sector	Ecommerce

50%

Key Events Timeline

2007-01-01

FOUNDING

Boxaroo for eBay founded to help eBay sellers manage listings more efficiently through a dedicated SaaS tool.

2007-09-01

PRODUCT LAUNCH

Launched the listing management platform to eBay sellers during the height of eBay's marketplace dominance.

2008-06-01

REGULATORY ACTION

eBay restructured its fee model and API access policies, directly undermining Boxaroo's core value proposition.

2010-06-01

SHUTDOWN

Boxaroo for eBay shut down as the shrinking eBay seller base and policy changes made the product unsustainable.

Full Analysis

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Documented cause

Boxaroo for eBay was a SaaS listing and inventory management tool dependent on the eBay marketplace ecosystem. The startup failed due to structural vulnerabilities inherent to single-platform dependencies. When...

eBay shifted its fee structure and seller policies—as evidenced by the 2014-2015 shutdown of eBay's own small-business tools (Magento Go, ProStores) and widespread seller dissatisfaction documented i

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Boxaroo for eBay collapsed from built the entire product on ebay's platform without any diversification to other marketplaces, creating a fatal single point of failure.. Documented cause, verified lesson, all failure signals.

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Key Events Timeline

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