EBay said on Tuesday it is cutting fees it charges people to offer items for sale and raising standards at the online auction website. In a move aimed at staving off increasing competition from the likes of Google and Craigslist, eBay is trimming fees it charges aspiring sellers by as much as half.

This is the first time eBay has offered incentives and discounts to sellers since it was founded in 1995.

EBay said fee changes will be rolled out globally and vary from country to country but are essentially intended to encourage more people to use the website for selling items.

EBay will reduce listing fees, which it calls "insertion fees," by 25 to 50 percent beginning February 20 and offset the discount by bumping up "final value" fees it charges when items are sold.

EBay is eliminating fees charged in the United States for aspiring sellers to display pictures of items in a "gallery."

EBay said it is raising its standards for sellers to discourage excessive shipping fees, vague item descriptions, and other "behavior that causes buyer dissatisfaction."

Sellers with histories of customer complaints will be lowered in search results provided to eBay shoppers and be required to use "safe payment options" such as major credit cards or PayPal online financial transaction service.

Sellers with sterling reputations and high volumes of transactions will be eligible for fee discounts and PayPal payment protections.