New fees for those who sell on eBay

[ed_vantage17]

Just got an email from eBay telling me about their "new and improved" fee schedule.

Dear commoncentsbullion:

We're writing with some great news:

Starting April 19, you'll be able to list your items Auction-style FREE, at any start price, up to 50 listings a month. Plus you can add the Buy It Now option to these listings FREE to grab buyers in a hurry. Set the price you want and sell it fast! This is not a limited-time special but a change in eBay Standard fees to help you list more for FREE all the time--even those high ticket items! Pay only if your item sells.

Also, because we know buyers take into consideration the total cost of an item, also starting April 19, to encourage sellers to keep shipping costs low, the Final Value Fee will be applied to the total amount of the sale--including shipping.

This makes it more cost effective to get an eBay store, especially for those selling $50 lots or bigger.

[Rodebaugh]

Thank goodness they have improved it for us again.

[justoneguy]

did they send you a kiss with that news?
i like to get kissed while i'm getting f@#$%^

[Snake42]

ehhhh it sounds ok to me.

[Thogey]

Free shipping! Why would you mess with shipping/combined shipping and all that now.

E-bay is a buyer's market. I'll sell junk there that's easy to ship, or really good stuff that I got cheap or for free.

Small margins won't fly on e-bay if you have to pay a commission on shipping

[aloneibreak]

this will put an end to the 1 cent items + $100 shipping....

[PennyBoy]

this will put an end to the 1 cent items + $100 shipping....

Thank goodness! I recently started buying on ebay again and was noticing tons of listings like that, kinda annoying.

[barrytrot]

I personally think the fee change is good. The 0.1 + $100 shipping is one example, but others include single coins with $10 to $20 shipping, which is extremely common.

Here is what they should do:
- Make the buyer pay for insurance. (If they want it. And don't require sellers to always use insurance if the buyer turns it down.)

That's the big thing. The cost of shipping is generally a flat cost, but the insurance aspect throws a wrench into it.

[Diggin4copper]

Sounds illegal... I bet a judge would not let them charge a percentage of shipping. They should be monitoring shipping charges, not profiting from them...

[NDFarmer]

this will put an end to the 1 cent items + $100 shipping....

This is exactly why they did this. A few people ruined it for everybody. It is these types of auctions that brought about this change.

[barrytrot]

Sounds illegal... I bet a judge would not let them charge a percentage of shipping. They should be monitoring shipping charges, not profiting from them...

Incorrect. It is definitely legal. They are providing an "eCommerce system" and charging fees is part of that process. The fact that they chose to exempt shipping fees was simply their choice and they could change it, double it, add 10, or whatever at their choosing. They are no different than any "eCommerce provider".

[Rodebaugh]

Correct NDF, But I am a buyer and I have been hurt as a by-product of this change.

I hate the idea of not getting combined shipping anymore.....that was my buy below spot technique.

Also free shipping often = equals cheap shipping materials and classes.

[VWBEAMER]

I hate those that charge high shipping to cover the cost of the item, but what about people that sell heavy, hard to ship items?

I've sold items and the shipping really was 120 bucks or so. Now I would have to pay a sellers fee on legit shipping charges.

[Roadrunner]

Ughh.......

[tinhorn]

I personally think the fee change is good. The 0.1 + $100 shipping is one example, but others include single coins with $10 to $20 shipping, which is extremely common.

I agree. I did okay when Ebay had this promotion in February. Glad to see it's a permanent change.

Here is what they should do: Make the buyer pay for insurance.

I disagree here, but this debate has been going on as long as I've been on the bay. My attitude is, whether I'm the seller or the buyer, the buyer deserves to see their purchase show up on their doorstep. If for some reason it does not, the onus should be on the seller to find out why and make sure the buyer gets their goodies. This is what I've come to expect from Amazon, LL Bean, or other businesses I deal with, so as a seller I like to imitate the "pros" in online commerce.

When I sell on Ebay, I'll accept the risk on low-dollar items. On anything over fifty bucks or so, I buy insurance to protect myself from possible loss, and often include the cost in the shipping charge.

[barrytrot]

Here is what they should do: Make the buyer pay for insurance.

I disagree here, but this debate has been going on as long as I've been on the bay. My attitude is, whether I'm the seller or the buyer, the buyer deserves to see their purchase show up on their doorstep. If for some reason it does not, the onus should be on the seller to find out why and make sure the buyer gets their goodies. This is what I've come to expect from Amazon, LL Bean, or other businesses I deal with, so as a seller I like to imitate the "pros" in online commerce.

When I sell on Ebay, I'll accept the risk on low-dollar items. On anything over fifty bucks or so, I buy insurance to protect myself from possible loss, and often include the cost in the shipping charge.

No problem. Then you pay for insurance. That simple.

So I'm not saying that insurance should not be done. I'm saying if the buyer wants it like you do then the buyer pays. I don't know how that's a problem?

[ed_vantage17]

There is a third party insurance company that will insure what you ship for $0.69 per $100 if insurance you want. I've only looked at their website (never used it), but it's a lot cheaper than USPS insurance. Don't know how their claims process is. $1.38 for a 34 lbs. box seems like a fairly good deal to me though......

[HoardCopperByTheTon]

What, the old fees weren't enough?

They were already getting a percentage of the shipping by charging PayPal fees. How about they just include PayPal fees in the calculation since they want to make everybody pay by PayPal anyway?

This may simplify things a little bit. Just add the eBay fees for the item, the fees on the shipping, and the fees for them transferring the money to you through PayPal to the cost of the item and what you feel is a reasonable.. or obsene profit.. and go fishing.

[slickeast]

Fees. fees and more fees. This will just cause all the sellers to raise their price to cover the fees. Buyer LOSES on this deal

[bywayman]

Sellers will just add the 9% on to the s-h charges. I guess this is how ebay will make up the money lost on insertion fees.

[exbingoaddict]

This may be a boon to the realcent market place. In the words of a wise man, "Never limit your options".

[HoardCopperByTheTon]

Now when a seller in the RealCent marketplace says "It brings X on eBay" you just say "Fine, sell it there and net out below face after all the fees."

[VWBEAMER]

Now when a seller in the RealCent marketplace says "It brings X on eBay" you just say "Fine, sell it there and net out below face after all the fees."

True,true, It's not how much you get, it's how much you keep.

[involuntary tentacle]

it all begins with ebay. if ebay did not try to nickel and dime the F out of everyone, we wouldnt be at this point.
but since ebay has to do so in order to survive, sellers MUST pass this cost down. ebay does not allow this outright (which is BULLSH|T), so sellers must charge higher shipping costs to get around it. i am guilty of using these tactics in the past. lately, i have been doing either buy it now auctions with the price i want with shipping included, or set an auction at 1 cent and offer free shipping above a certain amount (with my "rape your ass" shipping pricing intact in case the price does not reach the threshold).

so now ebay is going to just FV you on the entire amount. i wonder if this will cover "handling" charges. If handling charges are not calculated into the FV amount, I am going to tack on extra for my packing supplies and fuel to deliver packages.

i find it funny that i can sell on an internet forum and request payment via paypal gift or else paypal + 4%, but cannot do the same on ebay.

[exbingoaddict]

it all begins with ebay. if ebay did not try to nickel and dime the F out of everyone, we wouldnt be at this point.
but since ebay has to do so in order to survive, sellers MUST pass this cost down. ebay does not allow this outright (which is BULLSH|T), so sellers must charge higher shipping costs to get around it. i am guilty of using these tactics in the past. lately, i have been doing either buy it now auctions with the price i want with shipping included, or set an auction at 1 cent and offer free shipping above a certain amount (with my "rape your ass" shipping pricing intact in case the price does not reach the threshold).

so now ebay is going to just FV you on the entire amount. i wonder if this will cover "handling" charges. If handling charges are not calculated into the FV amount, I am going to tack on extra for my packing supplies and fuel to deliver packages.

i find it funny that i can sell on an internet forum and request payment via paypal gift or else paypal + 4%, but cannot do the same on ebay.

Ebay wants to crack down on people gaming the system doing $150 S&H charges and bids of $.05 and they lose their cut. I get that and don't blame them. Selling on ebay can be lower fee then you'll get form an auction house. Plus you have the potential to have your items seen by a huge market of people. They have costs and are in the game to make a buck for their stockholders. Nothing wrong with that. However, this policy is akin to using a sledgehammer to kill a fly, IF and big IF you're just looking to crack down on the S&H excess fees jokers.

My take on is they ran the numbers and crunched the speardsheets and figured out they'll come out ahead by applying FV fees on every S&H cost. It's akin to the sports team that knows they can have a higher profit margin by not paying for any talented players and having a losing team but have a fireworks show after the game. Sure some people will stop selling on Ebay. But Ebay will come out ahead in the long run if their own maths holds to be true. And they can do it because they are the 800 lbs gorilla in the room.

When I first started selling on Ebay I offered free shipping thinking people would bid more. Then after seeing the fees, I realized not having S&H fee was a suckers gig unless you're selling very high ticket items.