mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
@adkhighker wrote:OP, 20% is cheap compared to the cost of selling here that some folks are paying. For example, on a 12.35% [you likely meant 13.25%] category if someone sells something for $8 with a calculated shipping cost of $5 and 8% sales tax for that state, their total net in their pocket (adding in a 30 cent transaction fee) is $5.97. Total percentage it cost to sell that item in a 13.35% [you likely meant 13.25%] category, thanks to the fees on shipping cost and sales tax, is 25.37%. And it's even worse if you don't pay for a basic store.
Your math doesn't work @adkhighker .
8.00
5.00
1.04 [13.00 X 8%]
14.04 Total
14.04 x 13.25% = 1.86 + .30 fixed fee = 2.16
13.00 [8.00 + 5.00] - 2.16 FVF = 10.84 before shipping costs.
@northern-tint wrote:I'd be happy at 20%. Between ebays regular FVF, promotion standard, and promotion advanced fees we are over 30%. That does not include any shipping costs, packaging costs, or other costs involved with selling on ebay. Including the dishonest buyers. Which there have been more and more of. We've been on ebay for 21 years.
Then lower the fees you set up you are willing to pay for Promoted Listings. You have full control of that.
Ebay FVFs should include any of those other costs as they aren't Ebay fees or any other sites fees when you sell elsewhere.
@buyselljack2016 wrote:The MM qualified item list at USPS should be trimmed.
It costs USPS no less to transport/process/deliver a CD than it does to transport/process/deliver anything else of the same weight/dimensions.
Need to cut the losses/increase the profits.
What is it that you think should be trimmed?
MEDIA MAIL SERVICE
Media Mail shipping is a cost-effective way to send educational materials. This service has restrictions on the type of media that can be shipped. Media Mail rates are limited to the items listed below:
- Books (at least 8 pages).
- Sound recordings and video recordings, such as CDs and DVDs.
- Play scripts and manuscripts for books, periodicals, and music.
- Printed music.
- Computer-readable media containing prerecorded information and guides or scripts prepared solely for use with such media.
- Sixteen millimeter or narrower width films.
- Printed objective test materials and their accessories.
- Printed educational reference charts.
- Loose-leaf pages and their binders consisting of medical information for distribution to doctors, hospitals, medical schools, and medical students.
Media Mail packages may not contain advertising. Comic books do not meet this standard. Books may contain incidental announcements of other books and sound recordings may contain incidental announcements of other sound recordings. In accordance with standards in the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), Section 170, Media Mail packages must have a delivery address and the sender’s return address and are subject to inspection by the Postal Service™. Upon such inspection, matter not eligible for the Media Mail rate may be assessed at the proper price and sent to the recipient postage due, or the sender may be contacted for additional postage.
@northern-tint wrote:Have fun selling nothing unless you promote your listings. People complain about getting no sales. That's why.
That is simply not true otherwise the majority of sellers would not be selling anything because the majority of sellers do not use Promoted Listings. At least they didn't as of the last Ebay financial statement. Maybe the next one, due soon, will show more have started using it, but still unlikely to be a majority. Which is why Ebay promotes the program so heavily. They want more sellers to use the program.
@reallynicestamps wrote:Not all methods of shipment that the Ebay shipping program allows for allow for any negotiation with Ebay regarding costs.
But you can cut costs by using the mint discounted stamps sold here on eBay.
Just avoid the booklets of Forever stamps which are almost all counterfeits.
Look for counted packets of older stamps.
The USA has not demonetized any stamps since your Civil War.
I mostly ship via GA and MM. So the rates here on Ebay are the same on most internet sites.
I would not ship without tracking, way too dangerous for a seller. What I may save by using stamps, I'd lose in INRs that I can't prove the buyers have received.
@bashort wrote:
@bennotbill wrote:I think the confusion here is between FVF and the total fees paid.
When it comes to the profit made selling an item it's the total fees paid that count. The 13 odd percent FVF is irrelevant in this.
exactly, total fees paid are the only thing that matters.
You are correct, but if you don't know how those fees break down, then you aren't doing yourself any favors. Sellers need to know how the FVFs are calculated so that they can accurately price their items they are going to sell. Anything less can cause mistakes and misunderstandings for the seller.
@isaiah53-57 wrote:
@escuintla wrote:My new rant and ready for the scolding from the usual know it all seller.😁
...I just sold an item worth $459.99 and to my dismay, again, not following the news, or seller's performance I got a $92 fee which makes it a 20% fee, more or less.I am sure that paying this much puts the brakes on my future sales in great numbers. I was going to list a huge ********** CD collection that is in the range of $60,000 so not knowing the specifics, again, my fault, I won't be selling it on this platform but on the outside because not only I lose 20% (fees) of the value but I will be dealing with a higher tax bracket.
You guys take care.
Understand and feel for you - Fees as a percentage of item selling price were typically in the 16% to 20% range 3-4 years ago when we listed a lot - Dont have anything listed at this time for several MAIN reasons: Fees / ease of thievery due to the Money Back Guarantee / and Promoted listings (plus TONS more). I'm assuming you did not use promoted listings? At least to the point where you used their"recommended rate"(are you freaking kidding me?) of 11% to 17% because that would have put you paying somewhere close to 40% of the item price in fees.
Dont fret - Options abound - I could see the "dead end" sign coming and did an about face off ebay long before people have had to deal with the worsening pains and frustrations of the things I mentioned above and many others. I am still selling a lot, when and where I choose, with no dependence on a company I can easily assume does not have my best interest in mind.
I remember trying to discuss this with you on other threads. Ebay Fees and Cost of sales are two different thing. While Ebay fees are a portion of Costs of sale, other things are included in Cost of sales. But nothing but actual Ebay fees should be considered in the percentage of fees Ebay charges any given seller.
The 30 cent fixed transaction fee included in a single transaction will not accurately give you the correct Ebay FVF as that is a fixed percentage. The fixed transaction fee remains the same whether you sell $10 or $1,000.
For some reason some sellers feel that adding in their cost of shipping [only if purchased on Ebay] is somehow a part of the Ebay FVFs and it simply isn't. Oddly enough if the seller purchases their shipping elsewhere, they don't consider it an Ebay fee. Very strange way to look at that.
@escuintla wrote:Nope. No promoted listing I pay, ever!
I knew from previous sales that my fees were around 11% or so. That's why it took me as a surprise to see the almost 20% (18%).
And, guilty as charged! I barely have time to list items even though I have right now 80,000 CDs and 10,000 DVDs to go through but as I said, I rather sell them in bulk out there than individually here. I sold about 50,000 DVDs and 100,000 CDs last year, in bulk. Actually, I rarely use my computer now. But when I try , as in this case trying to respond to you, the app on my phone doesn't recognize me as who I am, and every time I have to go through the hoops to act on it. I have to write my user name, my password, and 90% of the times I have to go through the same routine over and over and as I said, no time to be on my computer has put a stop on me wasting my time on going through the verification all the time. I called CS to no avail. I quit then, my fault.
I think losing your status as a "good seller" is costly. But again, not being knowledgeable on the new rules makes me an ignorant.
Thanks!
I would never call you or any one "ignorant". I simply don't see any value in calling others names. I does not serve any useful purpose.
You may be misinformed or not up to date on some things. But that would only mean you need some more current info.
There has to be something else you are considering when you come to a 20% FVF than the actual FVFs that Ebay charges on your transaction. Unless you are below standard and paying the additional 6% penalty fee. Then that would put you at 19.25% in most categories. But if you are not Below Standard, then there isn't a category that Ebay charges 20% on.
Some sellers consider other costs in with the actual FVFs Ebay charges and then calls them Ebay FVF which increases the percentage of the fees charged. They combine all their costs together for a sale and then called it Ebay fees and that simply is incorrect.
Trying to figure out your percentage of profit is a good and useful number. But sellers need to understand what is a COGS [cost of goods sold] and what their literal Ebay fees are. Fortunately for all of us you can see it in detail on all the order forms for your sales.
