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Enhancing Transparency in eBay Selling Fees

Selling items on eBay is subject to various fees, including listing,  ad, and transaction fees. These fees can sometimes be complex and challenging to track, especially when selling multiple items or dealing with various promotional offers.

By providing a clear summary that calculates the net amount after deducting all fees, eBay would make it much easier for sellers to understand precisely how much they will earn from a sale. This summary would break down the total revenue earned from the sale and then subtract all applicable fees, giving the seller a transparent view of their earnings.

Having this information upfront would allow sellers to make more informed decisions before accepting offers or setting prices for their items. It would also help sellers better manage their finances and plan future sales strategies.

Implementing such a feature would enhance transparency and convenience for sellers on the eBay platform, ultimately improving their selling experience.

Message 1 of 33
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Re: Enhancing Transparency in eBay Selling Fees

Here is a sample of what you see on 1stdibs when a customer makes an offer. It will give you a breakdown of the fees and how much you get after the fees. If they can make it like this or similar, that would be great.
 
Screenshot 2024-04-16 at 4.50.19 PM.png
Message 16 of 33
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Re: Enhancing Transparency in eBay Selling Fees


@allthingssurplus wrote:

The last thing eBay wants to do is be transparent.  Small Seller's I don't think really keep track of net profit.  For me I have an $80k monthly overhead to deal with.  In order to survive I have cut eBay sales to 10% of gross.  If I were to be 100% on eBay I would go broke.  I am a prime example how eBay loses Gross Market Value Quarter over Quarter for the past 9 Quarters.  Next week will most likely will show eBay down another 5% GMV for the first Quarter when they post their financials.  It just not sustainable.  

 


@allthingssurplus 

Definitely not sustainable and not really helpful when they constantly are removing valuable useful pieces from settings and suggesting it is an improvement.

Message 17 of 33
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Re: Enhancing Transparency in eBay Selling Fees


@spectrafinejewelry wrote:
Here is a sample of what you see on 1stdibs when a customer makes an offer. It will give you a breakdown of the fees and how much you get after the fees. If they can make it like this or similar, that would be great.
 
Screenshot 2024-04-16 at 4.50.19 PM.png

eBay already supplies that information with even more detail.

 

It can be found in the Order Details and for a breakdown of the Fees total that can be found in Payments.

 

 

Message 18 of 33
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Re: Enhancing Transparency in eBay Selling Fees

I agree.

They should make the print bolder.

Papa Was A Rolling Stone - The Temptations
Message 19 of 33
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Re: Enhancing Transparency in eBay Selling Fees

Well this illustration confirms my understanding of eBay being a 25% partner on more expensive items.  We sell $4-10K to China and those sales come close to %30.  I just wish eBay would pay their fair share of my overhead.  Now some will say "eBay provides a platform to sell my item and 25% is a fair price to pay".  That would be true if the platform worked as a help tool and not a work in progress or something to be used to give Seller's defects.  The part being missed is a guy like me has close to $4mil in inventory in my warehouse.  I have salable product and eBay has a less then working platform.  I've done my part, for eBay to receive %25 of the gross sale they need to produce a functional platform.  Do I sound like a happy 24 Seller.

Message 20 of 33
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Re: Enhancing Transparency in eBay Selling Fees

The two variable eBay cannot supply are Cost of Goods (CoG) which the seller should know when they buy , not when they list.

And Sales taxes which vary  from location to location. European VAT is usually 17%, Alberta has no provincial sales tax but charge the federal GST of 5%.  There may be some localities with higher or lower taxes, but until the customer buys, eBay and the seller cannot know.

It bears remembering that the seller is not paying those taxes, but only an eBay fee based on the seller's current fees.

So if the $100 sale with Free Shipping is to Alberta, the buyer is paying $5 in sales tax to Canada. But eBay will charge a seller of Books (15%) with enough Defects to have a fee penalty of 5% a dollar  in fees on tax payment. And over all on the entire payment $20 on purchase, shipping, and taxes.

Meanwhile a $100 sale to British Columbia (8% provincial tax +5% federal tax) with Free Shipping for  a guitar (6.35%) by a seller with no Defects, would be $7.18.

 

Complicating things are currency exchange, international fees, actual shipping cost  and Promoted Listing fees.

 

I just call it 20% in fees, and then at the end of each month, I am happy because my actual percentage is consistently lower than that.

Message 21 of 33
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Re: Enhancing Transparency in eBay Selling Fees


@chapeau-noir wrote:

@isaiah53-57 wrote:

@spectrafinejewelry

Sadly, and in my opinion, keeping you guessing at what your fees are is right where they want you - If many sellers knew EXACTLY what their fees would be in FVF's and Promotional Fees as a percentage of the entire transaction?, they would reduce or stop promotions or pack up shop entirely - This board is full of posts from longtime sellers who were not aware that the site charges fees on shipping and/or sales taxes - My guess is that has always been part of the plan...

 

Whats even worse than people not accounting their fees properly?...Well that would be people not accounting for their time properly - If people logged their time involved with all the different aspects of selling here correctly, right down to the minute, my guess is there would be a mass exodus of a large group of people shuttering shop that finally discovered they were making $3, $5, or $7 an hour selling here before taxes.


I don't think there is any 'plan' to keep sellers in the dark about fees - sellers keep themselves in the dark well enough.


Are you seriously saying you dont think they put any thought into how they present their selling fees disclaimer? How much fees will actually be to prospective sellers? Where they put it on the page? How big it will be? How can they word it to optimize tacit acceptance? Sorry, but my guess is the guy/girl who's job this is gets paid A LOT of money to do exactly the opposite of what the the OP is suggesting in being more transparent..

Message 22 of 33
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Re: Enhancing Transparency in eBay Selling Fees

Doesn't really matter how they word it.

 

Tbh I wish they worded it worst and scare off some sellers to decease competition.

 

You seem to be salty about the issue yet you are still here.

Message 23 of 33
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Re: Enhancing Transparency in eBay Selling Fees


@robbie31415 wrote:

Doesn't really matter how they word it.

 

Tbh I wish they worded it worst and scare off some sellers to decease competition.

 

You seem to be salty about the issue yet you are still here.


Doesnt matter how they word it? Wow - Thank you for your profound insight on the matter...

 

And thank you for pointing out the obvious that I am still here - Yup you are finally correct - No surprise there though, since this is a public discussion board for one and all -  But to elaborate for the sake of clarity, in my opinion, it sucks to see a venue that was once loved and profitable for all turned into a corporate plaything, strangling sellers and growth - so yes I'm site "salty" - And people need to see contending viewpoints based on truth to the anesthetized posts of full-time ebay apologists for whom its virtually impossible to say a contrary thing about this site, regardless of how despicable the sites actions are/were - Thats downright weird and I'm sure there's more to it than people who just don't have a thing better to do with their lives other than hyper-vigilantly protecting the site from every derogatory post that comes across these boards.

Message 24 of 33
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Re: Enhancing Transparency in eBay Selling Fees


@spectrafinejewelry wrote:
Here is a sample of what you see on 1stdibs when a customer makes an offer.

The first thing I did was calculate how much of the offer price went to 1stdibs 😄

 

Message 25 of 33
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Re: Enhancing Transparency in eBay Selling Fees


@slippinjimmy wrote:

@spectrafinejewelry wrote:
Here is a sample of what you see on 1stdibs when a customer makes an offer. It will give you a breakdown of the fees and how much you get after the fees. If they can make it like this or similar, that would be great.

eBay already supplies that information with even more detail.

 

It can be found in the Order Details and for a breakdown of the Fees total that can be found in Payments.


 

I think the OP's point was that they showed it to you BEFORE you accept the offer, not after it becomes an order.

Message 26 of 33
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Re: Enhancing Transparency in eBay Selling Fees


@allthingssurplus wrote:

Well this illustration confirms my understanding of eBay being a 25% partner on more expensive items.  We sell $4-10K to China and those sales come close to %30.  I just wish eBay would pay their fair share of my overhead.  Now some will say "eBay provides a platform to sell my item and 25% is a fair price to pay".  That would be true if the platform worked as a help tool and not a work in progress or something to be used to give Seller's defects.  The part being missed is a guy like me has close to $4mil in inventory in my warehouse.  I have salable product and eBay has a less then working platform.  I've done my part, for eBay to receive %25 of the gross sale they need to produce a functional platform.  Do I sound like a happy 24 Seller.


Hear ya - Or not be a tool laid out like a field of snares designed to trap sellers into paying more than their fair share or, at least, what they thought they would be paying - Brings to mind good sellers who have to pay the "below standard" fines of 6% more of the transaction because they have a return rate of 1.8% or 2.4%  when the industry standard for ecommerce returns is between 10% and 20% depending on sources - are you freaking kidding me?? The legalities of this has got to be questioned...

Message 27 of 33
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Re: Enhancing Transparency in eBay Selling Fees

The sample provided represents an offer from a client, along with the net amount you would receive upon acceptance. Before proceeding, it would greatly assist decision-making to have a breakdown of the fees and understand the net amount to the seller.

Message 28 of 33
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Re: Enhancing Transparency in eBay Selling Fees


@isaiah53-57 wrote:

@robbie31415 wrote:

Doesn't really matter how they word it.

 

Tbh I wish they worded it worst and scare off some sellers to decease competition.

 

You seem to be salty about the issue yet you are still here.


Doesnt matter how they word it? Wow - Thank you for your profound insight on the matter...

 

And thank you for pointing out the obvious that I am still here - Yup you are finally correct - No surprise there though, since this is a public discussion board for one and all -  But to elaborate for the sake of clarity, in my opinion, it sucks to see a venue that was once loved and profitable for all turned into a corporate plaything, strangling sellers and growth - so yes I'm site "salty" - And people need to see contending viewpoints based on truth to the anesthetized posts of full-time ebay apologists for whom its virtually impossible to say a contrary thing about this site, regardless of how despicable the sites actions are/were - Thats downright weird and I'm sure there's more to it than people who just don't have a thing better to do with their lives other than hyper-vigilantly protecting the site from every derogatory post that comes across these boards.


Nope, it doesn't. As long as it's an accurate representation of the information then presentation is completely subjective has doesn't matter.  eBay provides all their fee's up front, nothing hidden.

 

I mean of course you are here, there aren't better places for you to be. I will continue to point it out while you constantly complain about eBay while not leaving.

 

This platform is still loved and is profitable, if it wasn't profitable no one would be here. No sellers would stay on a platform they make no profit. They would all go broke super fast. The fact eBay has the seller base it has is evidence enough that eBay is profitable.

 

Thank you for establishing that I'm correct again. You come off very salty, almost all your posts are extremely negative and honestly if I felt the way you did I would not be here.

 

Appreciate being called an a full-time eBay apologists. 🙂

 

I support people who actually provide real issues of eBay, and you simply don't. You just rant on about meaningless things. I've made several posts about eBay doing things wrong and need change. Difference is I provide actual evidence, and give feedback in a constructive manner. You just do your salty non constructive whines.

 

If you are so unhappy then you should navigate to a platform that makes you happy. Since you are staying on eBay then I can only assume every platform makes you unhappy because you would have navigated to one that makes you happy otherwise.

 

Conclusion, you will always be an unhappy person unless the company does things you want which there aren't any of that suit your needs. Isn't there a term for that?

Message 29 of 33
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Re: Enhancing Transparency in eBay Selling Fees

The first thing I did was calculate how much of the offer price went to 1stdibs 😄

 

I get 18.92%  compared to eBay's 9% on Jewelry over $5000.00, including on shipping (free so included in item price) , sales tax, and 30c service fee.

 

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

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