20% Fees? A discouraging number.

[escuintla]

My new rant and ready for the scolding from the usual know it all seller.😁
I used to participate in these forums a lot but since I deal with media in a wholesale way (out there) I barely have time to list items and nonetheless come to this place to find out about the bad news, because with Ebay there's nothing good to see from but increases on this and decreasing on that. 🤐

Besides finding out about the increment of $0.21 in the media rate, 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. 

[714ricki]

It's your responsibility as a seller to understand the fee structure in advance. That way, you're not surprised by the fees. Most will agree that the fee structure on the other platforms are as high or higher than here on ebay. Good luck with your collection. 🙏✌️😎

[gamersbaystore]

Besides ebay's outrageous fees, I find the postage increases to be very concerning. Paying over $4 to a ship a single DVD or music CD is ridiculous.

These inflated costs also translate to higher prices for consumers, with potentially less sales, and more financial burden for sellers.

[onefootflippers]

Best of luck in finding someplace cheaper. Every other platform I am aware of mirrors ebay fees or is actually higher.

Also, your 20 percent fee either came from you using promoting the listing or you having a below standard penalty. In either case I would be thrilled to end up with several hundred dollars for a photo album.

[mam98031]

@escuintla 

Ebay does not charge a 20% FVF in ANY category, so either you are partaking in the Promoted Listing tool, in which the seller sets the additional FVF they are willing to pay if they get a sale, or you are adding stuff in that is NOT an Ebay FVF.  If you are adding in shipping, that isn't an Ebay FVF, that is a carrier cost and they get the money.

Ebay FVF is calculated on the amount of money the buyer pays.  That does include product, shipping charged to the buyer and any sales tax.

It is your responsibility to know the fee structure and how it applies to your listings as a seller.  Something sellers should know BEFORE they list a single item.  If you don't know this and understand it, I'm unsure how you are accurately pricing what you are selling.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/frais-pour-les-vendeurs-particuliers?id=4822

[bargaintown]

"just inflate the price, bro, you dont mind that i call you "bro." the fees are good for ebay, just give them 400% more than they deserve, bro"

[richard1rst]

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@escuintla wrote:

My new rant and ready for the scolding from the usual know it all seller.😁
I used to participate in these forums a lot but since I deal with media in a wholesale way (out there) I barely have time to list items and nonetheless come to this place to find out about the bad news, because with Ebay there's nothing good to see from but increases on this and decreasing on that. 🤐

Besides finding out about the increment of $0.21 in the media rate, 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. 

---

Answering your question and explaining why you paid $92 is not scolding - it is helping. And while none of us claim to know it all, there are things I do know and it is on those subjects that I offer help.

By your own admission you don't follow the news or the seller's performance info so of course we know things that you do not.

But if you are going to slap my hand even before I get a chance to answer your question then I will simply pass. Which means you will never see the information I have which answers your question

[soh.maryl]

We all know that eBay has no control or input regarding shipping costs, right?

And we all know also that the shipping cost is paid by the buyer.  

[dnasilver]

Looks like a great opportunity to start your own shipping company with lower prices than are offered by other shippers. 

[soh.maryl]

Did the buyer also pay state sales tax on that purchase?

And you know that, when you offer free shipping, the shipping will still be deducted from whatever the buyer paid, right?

Not scolding -- just wanting to clarify some points -- like how much did the buyer pay you IN TOTAL and how much was the shipping? 

[dbfolks166mt]

     You didn't provide much detail so I can only go by the information in the listing. You had the item listed in Sports mem, Cards & Fan Shop, vintage sports memorabilia, photos which I believe would have had a 5% FVF applied to the total of the sale ((item price + shipping + sales tax) + $.30. You had free shipping on the item and I cannot tell where your buyer was located so not sure what the sales tax rate was. For estimates assumed 8%. So the total value of your sale would have been $496.79. FVF would have been $25.13. Even if it had been the normal 13.25% the FVF would have only been $66.12. In the worst case the FVF effective rate would have been 14.37%. 

     Your selling expenses may have totaled 20% ($92) if you factored in postage but postage is a selling expense NOT an eBay fee. One of the complexities of using free shipping is you have to adjust your pricing every time there is an increase in postage if you expect to recover the shipping cost and fees from the buyer. Either that or the increases cut into your return and increase your selling costs but you have been selling here for a long time so I am assuming you already know that. 

     I almost never use free shipping unless I know in advance that no matter where the buyer is located there is one cheapest way to send the package and I can incorporate that cost, and the fees, into my pricing. The rest of the time I utilize calculated shipping. 

[gamersbaystore]

The fees I pay on Mercari are like 50% less than the fees I pay on ebay. I also dont have to pay for a store subscription there, and you don't have to pay for visibility like you do with ebay.

[gamersbaystore]

Yeah right, like I have $10 billion dollars laying around to open my own shipping company...

[gamersbaystore]

ebay does have control over the fees they charge, and they're incredibly unfair and greedy in my opinion.

ebay doesnt need 30% of every sale. The shipping cost is not paid by the buyers if they stop buying.

USPS lost over $6 billion dollars last year alone. Probably not a wise idea to raise rates again. Every time they raise postal rates, consumers revolt and spend billions less online.

[soh.maryl]

You are, of course, entitled to your own opinion about the fairness of eBay fees.  You are also free to select another selling site and I am sure you know that.

Am curious about how you calculated the FVF at 20%.  Care to show us  the figures?  

PS:  It seems like you may possibly be figuring in other things that are not actually part of the final value fee.