eBay

siamdao · ‎05-07-2020

We are sellers of vintage watches on eBay. We are registered with the US site and reside in Thailand. Unfortunately dues to current travel bans in place, we are unable to use our previous means of shipping and have been forced to use eBay's SEAPASS (similar to the GSP). The costs to send to the US have doubled and Europe, Canada and Australia tripled. These higher costs would make the purchase of some of our items unlikely and we have had to list items with postage amount less than what we actually are paying. What burns me most is that eBay gets 10% of the amount we are charging by assessing fees on the shipping. An example: Prior to the Covid crisis, we charged a flat rate of 11.00 USD for shipping anywhere on the planet (which covered our costs). eBay would collect 1.10 USD in FVF on this (they did nothing to deserve this in the first place). After this deduction *and a further fee of near 5% from PayPal* we were able to cover our shipping costs. Currently it costs a tad over $21 .00 USD to send an item to the US and just under $30.00 USD to send to Europe (before packaging costs). eBay now collects $2.10 USD on the items we send to the US and 3.00 USD to items we send to Europe while effectively doing nothing new, innovative or extra to improve our situation. We take a loss of the shipping and will have absorbed an immediate loss of between $3.00 and $4.00 USD per item as we are offering shipping costs lower than our actual costs. This is BEFORE ebay collects its usurious fee on shipping which further eats into our bottom line. So while sellers suffer, eBay gets fatter. Do something about this ridiculous FVF on shipping before sellers find alternate platforms to sell their items. Shame on eBay for not considering its sellers!!!!! (don't get me started on the recent application of insertion fees when is was stated by eBay that sellers would get 50000 free listings a month--see attached)

this*old*attic · ‎05-07-2020

@siamdao

That’s a misconception- you still owe the money at the end. They’re only waiving the late fees.

And there’s no law in place to make them take payments, you owe it as a balloon payment currently. It’s a mess waiting to happen.

m60driver · ‎05-07-2020

Thai Star, I fail to see any issue here. Ebay has long charged FVF on shipping. Ebay is not responsible for your need to change your shipping method. Enjoy your curfew.

upgradedendmills · ‎05-07-2020

There is no truth to this statement. We are all sharing in a crisis and I think eBay has gone above and beyond in the actions they are taking. You have a special situation because of your shipping location and can't reasonably expect eBay to address those special needs. Have you considered opening a U.S. based shipping outlet staffed by loyal employees? Remote shipping is fraught with problems in the best of times and the crisis is a temporary setback requiring patience on your part or modifications in your business plan.

luckythewinner · ‎05-07-2020

eBay fattens their bottom line with FVF on shipping and insertion fees during covid crisis

eBay was doing this long before the covid crisis.

Unfortunately dues to current travel bans in place, we are unable to use our previous means of shipping

Your shipping cost increase had nothing to do with eBay. I doubt eBay shares your opinion that they need to help you pay your expenses.

Do something about this ridiculous FVF on shipping before sellers find alternate platforms to sell their items.

eBay has been charging a final value fee on shipping for over 8 years now. The sellers who were not willing to pay that fee already left years ago.

vintage-car-magazines · ‎05-07-2020

I find it interesting that your complaint is that you're netting less profit and your solution is that someone else (eBay) should earn less so you can earn more.

Why are your profits good and eBay's profits bad?

Why is it ok for you to set your prices but not ok for eBay to set theirs?

Can you decide whether to purchase or not, just like your customers?

How would you react if one of your customers bought a watch and then complained that you charged them too much because you're making too much money at their expense?

ed8108 · ‎05-08-2020

Interesting the position the op has taken is that eBay should be more caring, & less selfish. That request likely has as great a chance of success as Ask & the universe shall provide.