ebay charges us the 12.55% fee on the sales tax that they collect

[thegrape]

I sold an item for a friend and was checking the payment I would receive after all the fees and noticed that ebay was computing their final value fee based on the total amount the buyer payed ebay.

the "i" icon yielded this piece of information:

We calculate your fees based on the total amount of the sale, which includes the item price, shipping and handling costs, sales tax, and any other applicable fees.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822#section2 has all the gory details.

I'm quite a bit outraged that somehow I'm responsible for 12.55% of the sales tax that I never see.

ebay is so far out of line on this fee.

Anyone want to start a petition?

No way customer service will be able to address this.

frustrated,

theGrape in NJ 😠

[releasethekraken_1]

Yes, we know this. People have threatened class action suits (empty threats), petitions, etc.

eBay isn't going to change it. But if it will make you feel better, go for it.

[downunder-61]

Cheaper than getting a tax accountant to calculate, translate rules & rates for various states as well as being accountable for dispursing the funds collected to the various states. 

Unless you want to do all that yourself and who needs a headache like that?

[maxine*j]

All payment processors charge their fee on the total sale:  Item, shipping, handling, surcharges or other charges, if any, and sales tax.   PayPal likewise charged you its fee on the sales tax, as you must sirely have noted in the past. 

Now, I admit the bite is larger, but it's not like this is something new and, overall, I find the final "take out" under MPs about the same was it was under PP.   Do a few honest calculations and see if you don't find the same.

=

[hawkwind5454]

At eBay, there is no nickel too small to not bend over and pick up. and with all the registered eBay sellers in the United States, that's some very significant nickels. but then it's pretty much the directive of all corporations to make as much money as they ca; Those pennies add up. as far as the ethical practice of eBay doing this, just because they decree it, does not make it right. Should eBay decree that they have a hit team, that will go out and shoot any bad seller on site, doesn't mean they're going to get away with doing it. *EBay law* does not trump federal law. And when it comes to laws, eBay's team of high-powered, expensive lawyers know how to bend a law, without breaking it. 

[friskya]

Payment processors charge based on the amount of the payment they processed. Adyen (using eBays name) is no different. If they collected a total of $20, they're going to charge their fee based on that total. Doesn't matter what the breakdown is for each individual charge and they don't really have any way to know. eBay simply tells them to collect "x" amount in total.

[duffy4444]

   You're looking at it in a knee-jerk fashion and not understanding it in perspective.

   Ebay has hired the staff to keep on top of the hundreds, if not thousands, of sales tax entities in the US (as well as most of the international VAT and GST), collects the taxes from the buyers, processes them, remits payments to each individual state's sales tax authorities, and keeps on top of the constant rate changes. They do it FOR US, so that we don't have to hire our own full-time staff and do it ourselves. That's the way you should be looking at this and appreciating the fact that you, as an individual online seller, have dodged a very big bullet.

   If you were an owner of a B&M store who uses credit cards, you get to pay their cc fee on the sales taxes as well. Granted it's a smaller fee there, but this has been going on for decades. You just haven't noticed it until you became a "proprietor", so to speak, yourself on eBay. Most, if not all, of the other online sales venues do the same thing, including Amazon.

   Sellers paying a relatively small fee, which is only 12.5 cents per sales tax dollar paid by the buyer, is a freaking bargain, when the alternative is for us to hire the full-time staff and do everything ourselves.

    Remember that by a recent court decision, all the states that charge internet sales tax are going to get their dollars one way or another. I'm glad eBay is doing it for us, even at 12.55%, which is a drop in the bucket in the great scheme of things. If you're still upset over it, a good suggestion is to raise your prices to compensate.

   Think about it, get over it, and concentrate on your sales and improving your business.

Cheers, Duffy

[mtgraves7984]

You've been charged that on all of your Sold items... did you not see that before 'your friend's' transaction?

[redmodelt]

Don't forget that that item you sold for your friend would be income for you and is taxable, federal and state if yours has state income tax. You will need a paper trail so you can deduct it from your taxes. The day of eBay being an online yard sell are long gone, even small sellers are considered a business, so income from sales need to be reported even if you do not reach your state's issuing a 1099 level, which will soon be $600 for all states.

[stainlessenginecovers]

Another post not understanding the savings of NOT having to file 3000+/-  different County Sale Tax Reports and then remitting the Sales Tax Collected to those 3000+/-  counties. 

[mtgraves7984]

Tagging on... if it is the Coach bag, the OP might also ultimately have a loss on taxes. Just thinking out loud... good luck.

[duffy4444]

   Additionally, if you were to raise your prices to compensate for eBay's sales tax fee, you're only talking about and average rise of around 1 % of the sales prices... not a biggie.

   To help you keep things in a realistic perspective, here's an example using California's high sales tax rate on a $100 sale:

9% sales tax paid by the buyer = $9.00

12.55% of the sales tax = $1.13

   That's just over 1% of the entire sale for eBay's fee on the sales tax...   If that is worth being upset about, and your business model cannot handle 1%, perhaps online selling is not for you.

Cheers, Duffy

[maxine*j]

---

@hawkwind5454 wrote:

... EBay law does not trump federal law. And when it comes to laws, eBay's team of high-powered, expensive lawyers know how to bend a law, without breaking it. 

---

Except no law has been broken, or even bent, in this case.  ALL payment processors do this.  For as long as you've had a credit card, and every time you've used it, the merchants you have bought from have paid fees on the sales tax they charged you on your purchases (assuming you live in a state with sales tax).

=

[buyselljack2016]

---

@stainlessenginecovers wrote:

Another post not understanding the savings of NOT having to file 3000+/-  different County Sale Tax Reports and then remitting the Sales Tax Collected to those 3000+/-  counties. 

---

Nice reason, but lots of holes in that thinking.

Many seller's  would never meet the "tax filing requirements" for online sales the way a "marketplace" does for the thousands of jurisdictions outside of their own state, so that # may be greatly reduced.

It is great though that they now  take care of the sellers "instate" tax collection/remittance.

[justafemster]

Yes they do, so did paypal.  And you agreed to it.  

If you're going to sell, know what you've signed up for.  

We've heard this over and over again. It's an old story.