The Small Seller Gets The Shaft

[ourancestorsattic]

This Is Disgusting. Earlier today I was going to relist about 20 items All of them had 35 cent fees which I have not seen in a long time. I was told by customer service that I was over the 250 free listings for the month. This Is Wrong. ebay supposedly wants Sellers to list & keep listing & never stop listing but as a Small Seller I cannot afford that cost & even if I could I would never pay fees to just list an item & since most of my items are relisted many times I would never pay to list them again.  Now I will have to list less & in less categories which will make it harder for my items to be found. This is how ebay harms the Small Seller which they should not be allowed to do. For more than 20 years I have invested my time & money into being an Excellent Seller & they don't give a blank about that. They Just Want To Keep Robbing Especially The Small Seller.

[hartungcards]

"This is how ebay harms the Small Seller which they should not be allowed to do."

Yeah, eBay shouldn't be allowed to decide what their own rules are.

[stainlessenginecovers]

The 250 free are for 'buy it now' and not for auctions. Most of your listings are 'auctions'- so even if you get 250 'free a month' and have 7 days auctions- and then you pay for the 'other 21 days (3 times, auctions etc.). 

Auctions are only for SOME categories...not all. It tells you in seller hub what you get, and for 'auctions' you just click and it will tell you. 

[12345jamesstamps]

I was a small seller like you....I would do like 20 or so auctions a week....And thendecided to pay the monthly fee and not worry about anything...$21.95. 

Those .35 fees are taken out I believe immediately when posting the items from "available funds" I think when you don't have a store like I do. Maybe I am wrong...and someone might confirm this.

[kensgiftshop]

It doesn't matter if you're a small or large seller, if you go over your free 250 they charge you.

Looks like you had around 200 listings end this month, plus the 89 listed now and that's not counting any you sold this month.

[fern*wood]

Are you saying it is wrong due to the numbers not being correct, or wrong because you think you shouldn't be charged even if over 250 per month?

If you just feel it is wrong because you don't like being charged if over the 250 limit per month, you can always just wait till Friday to list them. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@stainlessenginecovers wrote:

The 250 free are for 'buy it now' and not for auctions. Most of your listings are 'auctions'- so even if you get 250 'free a month' and have 7 days auctions- and then you pay for the 'other 21 days (3 times, auctions etc.). 

Auctions are only for SOME categories...   

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That is inaccurate.  The 250 free insertions can be used for either format, and in almost any category.  Only sellers with a Store subscription at or above the "Basic" level have those restrictions on the catgories and numbers in auction-format listings.  As you noted, listing as 7-day auctions will use up those free insertions about 4 times as fast.

Non-store: https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822

Store: https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/store-fees?id=4809

[nobody*s_perfect]

If you've been around for 20 years, then you probably remember the days when there were NO free insertions, and we had to pay for every one of them.  

When you list in auction format, be sure that you have checked off the option to relist for free; but even then the relists are only free the first 8 times. Maybe if an item doesn't sell at auction within a few re-lists, it's time to set it up as a fixed price listing, which will use up only one free insertion each month.

[ourancestorsattic]

So you think that everytime an item doesn't sell ebay should be able to charge a seller for relisting. Limiting a Seller's ability to list is wrong especially since ebay already takes enough in all their other fees. I guess ebay only wants rich people to list. Also, I remember when there were no listing fees but there was a small commission fee & the Seller actually made a real profit on every sale & there were only auctions. Over the years ebay has just gotten more & more greedy & I guess they always will.

[kensgiftshop]

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@ourancestorsattic wrote:

So you think that everytime an item doesn't sell ebay should be able to charge a seller for relisting.

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Ya, if you've used up all your free listings for the month.

[onefootflippers]

Why are you using auction format when almost nothing you sell ever gets a second bid. 

Most sellers and buyers both small and large gave up on auction format 10 years ago.

[powell-memorabilia]

you would be much better off ditching auctions and doubling your price.  Each item that doesn’t sell within your seven days gets relisted. That means that one item really counts as four for  your monthly limits.  on average, it takes you four seven day auctions to sell an item. Usually with one bid. Seriously, you would be much better off with increased prices and buy it now listings.

[fern*wood]

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@ourancestorsattic wrote:

 Also, I remember when there were no listing fees but there was a small commission fee & the Seller actually made a real profit on every sale & there were only auctions. Over the years ebay has just gotten more & more greedy & I guess they always will.

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I remember when auctions were all we had, but I don't recall no listing fees.  Back when I started I had to pay for photos and listing fees were around .70 to a $1.00 or more per item based on the starting bid.   Of course final value fees are more now.