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The truth about your TRS discount: Let's do some math.

So, we've all been jumping through hoops for years to save 20% on our FVFs and now ebay is taking 10% of our discount, but what is that really? 

We've been saving 20% of x%. What that amounts to depends on the value of x, and x is whatever the FVFs are for the category you sell in.

In my case, x=10%.

So, 20% of my FVFs = 2% of my item's selling price. So, that's 2 dollars for every 100 dollars in sales. And now it will be 1% of my item's selling price. So, that's 1 dollar for every 100 dollars in sales.

If you are in a category with lower FVFs, it's even less.

Sell in a 6% FVF category?

Well, 20% of 6% = 1.2% of your item's selling price. So, that's 1 dollar and 20 cents for every 100 dollars in sales. And now it will be 0.6% of your item's selling price. So, that's 60 cents for every 100 dollars in sales.

So, the bottom line is that the TRS discount was really a joke to begin with. 

There are other benefits of TRS, such as better placement in best match, which ARE the real reason we should still be jumping through the hoops. If your item is burried in search, that will affect your bottom line far more than the pennies they just took from us.

 

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The truth about your TRS discount: Let's do some math.

Well, 20% of 6% = 1.2% of your item's selling price. So, that's 1 dollar and 20 cents for every 100 dollars in sales. And now it will be 0.6% of your item's selling price. So, that's 60 cents for every 100 dollars in sales.

 

Yes.  This is true. 

 

Put another way, without that discount, someone's FVFs are 25% higher. 

 

Measuring things in 100 dollars in sales is misleading.  A lot of that 100 dollars is tied up in the item, or the other expenses incurred in selling (PayPal, shipping FVFs, packing tape, internet service... maybe even warehouse space or employees, etc.).  The impact depends on your net margins.  Any fee hike comes entirely out of the remaining profit from 100 dollars in sales. 

 

For sellers in niches with low margins and fierce price competition... the same niches (fixed price consumer retail) eBay has been gearing their site towards, btw... the fee hikes are a lot worse than 6/10th of a percent of the bottom line.

The Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves.
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