To all Book Sellers

[new_beginning_19]

To all of the Great eBay Book sellers out there.

I have started selling encyclopedias in the last 2 years.

I have enjoyed the challenge of posting them and selling them.

In the last month i discovered on my bill they charge me 12% instead on my 10%.

OK i live with that.

But then i find out that they are Charging me 12% on my postage.

As all of you are aware on media mail there is not savings on media mail.

You charge the weight and that is all the money no discount to offset the fees.

My question is how do all of you great book sellers manage to sell great number of books at low rates and manage.

If eBay takes 12% of book selling fee and 12% of postage fee that eats heavily into any type of potential profit.

Do you have to sell 10,000 books a month to make a money/profit?

Thanks for any dialogue that might come my way.

My appreciation

New Beginning 

[slippinjimmy]

Whatever the FVF rate it's always the same for the item and the shipping.

I don't really understand your comment on Media Mail (I use it), given it's so cheap there isn't much issue adding a handling charge. Certainly a lot easier than trying to add a handling charge to Priority to Zone 8 which for something just over a pound is quite expensive.

Maybe you are not aware, you can have an handling fee added to Calculated Shipping or just use Flat Rate with a built in handling charge given that MM is not zoned.

[escuintla]

Without Media mail, I believe we would be in serious trouble. 

The solution to your problem will be based on how fair or cheap you are so you can sneak in there extra pounds to compensate for the fees. 

That's all she wrote. 

[femmefan1946]

EBay started charging fees on shipping in 2011, so that should be no surprise to anyone.

TRS (including Global TRS) and some other sellers may have selling fees lower than 10%.

Sellers who have built up Defects and Violations may have their selling fees raised. Usually we hear of a 4% rise, and that after the loss of TRS status.

• Have you received Late Shipping marks? Look on your Seller Summary.
• Media Mail is notoriously slow and may have meant that your buyers reported delivery as late.

If you are able to ship Flat Rate* you can use Free Shipping, which puts the shipping cost into the asking price and can lower the fees.**

And of course, the old adage: "You make your money when you buy, not when you sell."  Which means before you set your price, know all your costs. All of them.

*I don't know how Media Mail works, we don't have that service in Canada.
** Which is cheaper a $85 shipment with $15 shipping or a $100 shipment with Free Shipping?

[mam98031]

It is our jobs and responsibility to read those pesky emails that Ebay sends out to sellers.  It is your best way to stay informed on changes.  The FVFs for books changed last year and was announced to sellers in the Fall Seller Update of 2018.

Media price increase

Starting September 15, 2018, the final value fees for Books, and DVDs & Movies categories will increase from 9.15% to 12% for Store subscribers and from 10% to 12% for non-Store sellers.

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/seller-updates/2018-fall/marketplace-update.html

[alcoforever]

You should use calculated shipping for your books.   That way you can add a handling fee that covers the ebay FVF on shipping.  Plus a little more for a jelly donut every morning.

[mam98031]

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@alcoforever wrote:

You should use calculated shipping for your books.   That way you can add a handling fee that covers the ebay FVF on shipping.  Plus a little more for a jelly donut every morning.

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You don't have to use calculated shipping to accomplish that.