After everything is said and done, eBay takes around 20% of the total net amount from a sale.
The amount ebay will take from your gross earnings is around 20%, give or take some, depending on the listing bracket it falls under. Basically, any of the popular categories. So subtracting 20% from the net is a good rule of thumb.
Another thing many new sellers dont realize when starting out; ebay are including taxes they collect from the buyer when calculating your final value fee.
That means you are paying a fee on the money ebay collects from the buyer to pass along to whichever tax authority...Money which you never see or have anything to do with somehow needs to be included in the fees you pay.
Additionally, if you sell something, youll need to plan to wait at least a day or two before ebay will gift you the option to withdrawal the earnings. Once they allow you to withdrawal your earnings, you get the option of waiting an additional 1-3 business days for the money to actually reach your bank, or pay ANOTHER fee of 1.5% to get it processed within an hour.
This is less a complaint, as I know ebay doesnt care if I plan to find another site to sell on, and the people who frequently reply here generally have stockholm syndrome. This is more of a notice to new sellers.
TLDR: Make sure you give your self a week after your sale to get your earnings, and realize what ever you earn, you are going to lose around 20% to ebay.
coreygustin
·1 year agoThey bend ya over backwards for sure like a final value fee and a final value you...I mean how's that work if go buy a card do pay for it then pay for it again after paying for it? I don't think so, if you did you got bent over some more..haha. but to add it states free listings 250 a month...um hello what's free again if list more then 250 items ya have pay a fee every listing after...but who's listing about 10 7 days a week...not many....but if you don't sell it no final value fee well duh if seller doesn't profit why should eBay do so and for what? The seller does all the pull and loading while eBay sits and rides along. So my sells have been close to 50% taken after everything. Then any item over 30$ gets a label hike of about $4 more from original, the donation to charity and reduced fees don't exist they still take same and the same goes to charity one sale 44$, charity $4, label $4.64, fees $8. Then lanes made for things during a sale of other came off prior payments think I got $24 out $44. Now up to 174$ and guesstimateing made 80$...
victorianmelody
·2 years agoDon't forget to include returns and scammers. I got back a ruined $1600 antique Victorian wedding dress and had a different vintage $400 fiber optic lamp returned plus $120 shipping cost both ways at Christmas. I gave up for two years. Thinking about trying again but just on items I can afford to give away.
isaiah53-57
·2 years ago@victorianmelody
Exact same reason we no longer list here - A thief stole some of our items who had a years worth of false-positive feedback from a multitude of sellers for the same type of crime. After contacting sellers to ask them to report the scammer thinking that might get the thief booted off the site(silly us thinking that would matter), we found that a LARGE number had already reported them and many others said they would do their part and report them too - Fast forward many months down the road and that thief was still scamming with impunity - buying a hundred items a month - We realized then the nature of the company we were dealing with and took immediate steps to cut ties... Would not list here again unless they got rid of the MBG and added some REAL seller protection on the sales THEY facilitate with THEIR buyers that THEY choose to allow on THEIR site...
soh.maryl
·2 years agoDon't understand why a seller would not understand fees when starting out. They are clearly explained in several places. It's also mentioned that the fee will be calculated on the state sales tax. And I'd quibble with that 20 percent figure, but you would probably just disagree so OK.
Sellers need to keep in mind also that new sellers will have their funds held as long as 30 days by eBay and that's explained also.
dryophelia
·2 years agoFees are a deduction at tax time.
isaiah53-57
·2 years agoOh by all means, lets pay more fees then...
richard1rst
·2 years agoIn its simplest description I routinely turn over less than 12% to eBay and other costs.
In its PUREST definition I pay 0%.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoIn its simplest description I routinely turn over less than 12% to eBay and other costs.
In its PUREST definition I pay 0%.
I totally understand and relate to what you are saying when I look at my ROI, which is all that really matters, I am in exactly the same situation.
isaiah53-57
·2 years agoWell then... given you only had a 0.9% sell through rate last month, you better start using Promoted Listings at their "recommended rate" of another 12%-17% so you can actually start showing some results for your efforts...
Why not? - In your world that would be 0% you gave up in fees "in its purest form"...
Unfreakingbelievable..
sfau
·2 years agoThat is not bad - consignment stores take between 30-40 percent and you have to mark the items for less and get stabbed by safety pins.
lbar5848
OP2 years agoPointing out that other business models are more egregious isnt a great defense. Beyond that, my motivation in posting this was to be informative not to complain as if ebay cares.
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 years agoI think you have posted a worthwhile "rule of thumb". But it is a "rule of thumb". It can differ by the cost of shipping, the appeal to certain states, and the number of export sales you make where the buyers are paying VAT when they pay. (The tax on vat is far worse than the tax on any US sales tax).
A decision on whether an item is worth listing needs to be based on more than will it make a profit, and this is not an adequate way to decide whether to list. There should be a minimum profit goal in dollars to make it worth having a sale. It needs to cover the policy risks, cost of returns, the labor to fulfill, and, of course, the product cost.
That is personal, since some sellers value their labor and account risks more than others do. Some products are more likely to be returned, and cost more to return. And some cannot be returned but will need to be refunded.
I use then 20% rule of thumb when estimating the FVF based on the actual sell price. But I only offer fixed price shipping, and it is set so that my cost of shipping each month is at least 15% below the shipping paid by my buyers. And my product cost is estimated as zero, because I buy in lots and usually recover the entire cost of a lot with one or two sales which occur within a week of two of the purchase.
Obviously, not everyone works as I do or can do so. You need to create your own shortcuts to decision making. As well as your own tax strategy.
lbar5848
OP2 years agoDefinitely. I did present it as a general rule of thumb, and mentioned that it depended greatly on the category of items you are selling.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoI've been selling since 1998, and 20% is the amount I have always used as a rough guide when deciding if a sale will be profitable.
But I had been selling by mail order for a decade before that, and 20% was actually less than the cost of advertising in magazines and newspapers plus keeping up a customer list with accurate addresses. Not to mention the delight when BillPoint was introduced and we didn't have to wait until cheques were cleared by our bank and we could ship. BP was replaced by Paypal which was replaced by Managed Payments.
Since we were a registered business, we had to collect sales taxes for Ontario and later the GST for Canada. The former was easy enough, but the latter meant collecting for 13 different authorities, some of them with
"harmonized" taxes and some with only the provincial or territorial. Ontario originally had an allowance for that but it was dropped by the 21st century.
EBay does this for us, and for over 200 taxing entities. (They could do a better job on European VAT). I think of the fee as a service charge.
It is possible to opt for daily bank transfers rather than the default Tuesdays. It is also possible to opt for monthly transfers for some reason.
The transfer seems to be automatic, but some banks are faster to accept the transfer than others. Mine seems to be within 24 hours. One of DH's accounts is also 24 hours or less, but another is consistently closer to 48 hours.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoThat means you are paying a fee on the money ebay collects from the buyer to pass along to whichever tax authority...Money which you never see or have anything to do with somehow needs to be included in the fees you pay.
You can blame the 2018 US Supreme court decision in Wayfair vs South Dakota for this one. The ruling basically stipulates that states may charge tax on purchases made from out-of-state sellers even if the seller does not have a physical presence in the taxing state. After the Courts decision individual states began to pass individual state laws regarding sales tax on interstate ecommerce sales. Missouri was the last to do so effective January 2023.
That being said I have always considered the eBay FVF's on sales tax to be the best accounting bargain around. If you sell a $100 item to a buyer in a state with 8% sales tax the FVF on the $8.00 in sales tax amounts to 13.25% * $8.00 or $1.08 if you are promoting at 2% that adds another $.16 so the total FVF on the sales tax is $1.24.
For that $1.24 eBay keeps track of the 10,000 various state, county, city, parish, municipality..... sales tax rates, and laws, and applies and collects the proper sales tax from the buyer. The sales tax percentage may also vary depending on the type of items you are selling since some states, counties, cities…. Tax different items differently. Food and clothing for example. EBay then remits those collected funds to the 45 states with sales tax laws on whatever periodic basis is required. There is NO WAY I want to take on that burden as a seller for $1.24 +/- out of a $100 sale. "
As an FYI even before the court's decision it was and remains standard practice for CC companies to apply merchant fees to the total cost. So for a restaurant bill the CC companies apply merchant fees to the sales tax as well as a tip if you leave one. Granted the merchant fees are considerably less 2-4% but the practice is exactly the same and has been for a LONG time
monroe67
·2 years ago"EBay then remits those collected funds to the 45 states with sales tax laws on whatever periodic basis is required."
That sentence sounds familiar to me . . . . . .
lbar5848
OP2 years agoI think you misunderstood my point. They are collecting taxes from the buyer to pass along to the authorities, but charging you a fee on it. I get charging taxes to the buyer for their purchase, and my paying taxes for income, but including the taxes the buyer pays as part of my total value so that I pay a fee on it is underhanded.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoI think you misunderstood my point. They are collecting taxes from the buyer to pass along to the authorities, but charging you a fee on it. I get charging taxes to the buyer for their purchase, and my paying taxes for income, but including the taxes the buyer pays as part of my total value so that I pay a fee on it is underhanded.
You may not be aware that every CC company charges merchant fees on the entire amount of a purchase. So if the buyer paid with a CC or through a financial processor like PayPal eBay is paying 2-3% merchant fees on the sales taxes from the transaction. So I guess they fall into that underhanded pool as well.
If you pay your restaurant tab with a CC the restaurant pays the CC company 2-3% on the entire tab including the sales tax, tip and any other taxes your state, city, county.... may have. It's why I usually pay cash at a restaurant and for sure tip in cash.
lbar5848
OP2 years agoAm I supposed to care what scams the CC companies are pulling, as if that justified what ebay is doing? Im so sick of these false justifications by pointing out what other terrible corporations do as if that makes it better. You pointed out CC transaction fees. I guess that somehow justifies eBay including taxes they directly remit to authorities, which I have nothing to do with, in the fee structure.
Like, what is your point? Your post is hardly useful or relevant to ebay specifically.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoThey are collecting taxes from the buyer to pass along to the authorities, but charging you a fee on it.
So eBay does a job for you (assessing, collecting and remitting taxes to over 200 different tax authorities) and you think this should be free.
1 Timothy 5:18
lbar5848
OP2 years agoIt seems like some on here like the way bootleather tastes.
You pretend we all collectively agreed for them to do it but dont want to pay them.
Weird how most every other retail business collects taxes without charging a fee to both the customer AND the seller.
Please, break down all their costs incurred on a day to day basis for such a benevolent action, since you are so well informed of the process.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoYou started this thread 2.5 months ago, claimed that you "know ebay doesnt care if I plan to find another site to sell on and you're attacking those who correctly respond that all the charges and fees you're complaining about are clearly disclosed.
No one likes paying fees and sure, we'd all love to list, sell and collect payments without having to expend any of our own funds, but it doesn't work that way and we know it.
Ebay's fees aren't the lowest but they aren't the highest either. But one thing that can't be denied is that the traffic and exposure is higher than most other sites.
You can choose to accept the fees and carry on your business here or you can leave and find another venue to sell your inventory.
As much as you complain, I see that with 50 current active listings, you've chosen the former, so it makes me wonder how bad it really is for you or if you just want to complain.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoWeird how most every other retail business collects taxes without charging a fee to both the customer AND the seller.
Tell me you have never run a B&M business or had a merchant credit card account without saying you have never run a B&M business or had a merchant credit card account.
We retired our B&M shop after more than 40 years.
From the 80s until 2014 we had merchant credit card accounts and paid fees through Moneris for every penny our customers put on their credit cards.
That included the selling price, the provincial and federal sales taxes, and any shipping costs. Unlike eBay, those fees were based on the actual shipping cost. EBay only charges fees on the domestic fee, even if the sale is shipped overseas, a much higher cost.
We just sold our interest in the international philatelic online auction house DH founded, and they will also be paying fees on the entire amount of credit card sales .
https://sparks-auctions.com/
You may also be unaware that most auction houses charge fees to both consignors and to buyers.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoAt the moment my eBay FVF's are running at 13.7% but have been as high as 16% and I don't use promoted listings. Rather than warn new sellers about the eBay fees you may do better warning them about the 35%+ in income and SE taxes they will pay out of their net revenues. Of course that depends on the fact that they actually report their income.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoyou may do better warning them about the 35%+ in income and SE taxes they will pay out of their net revenues.
Any eBay seller paying 35% tax is earning over $231,000 annually.
And only paying the 35% on the part that is over $231,000.
https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/united-states/individual/taxes-on-personal-income
BTW, I believe that $200K is when we join the one percent. I'm willing to be corrected on that.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoyou may do better warning them about the 35%+ in income and SE taxes they will pay out of their net revenues.
Any eBay seller paying 35% tax is earning over $231,000 annually.
And only paying the 35% on the part that is over $231,000.
https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/united-states/individual/taxes-on-personal-income
BTW, I believe that $200K is when we join the one percent. I'm willing to be corrected on that.
Tax rates vary depending on income and state so it will vary from individual to individual. I am nowhere near that earning level but I pay about 42.6%. I suspect a LOT of sellers, given some of the postings on this forum, are clueless simply because they have never claimed/reported their eBay income.
SE Tax - 15.3% and that does not vary with income level unless you reach the ceiling
VA State Income Tax - 5.3%
Federal Income Tax - 22%
inhawaii
·2 years agoI missed that.
"The people who frequently reply here generally have stockholm syndrome."
One of the funniest things i've read here in a long time.
Thanks for making me smile! 😃
gabe101907
·2 years agoYeah they suck, amazing the ways they got to soak cash, out of you
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoAre you talking about just the FVF's or are you including shipping and any promotion fee's?
lbar5848
OP2 years agoThe fee is tacked on the total, which includes any shipping. If someone has to pay $10 shipping for an item, you are charged a percentage fee on that $10 as ebay includes it in your fees as part of the final value.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoYes, eBay's final value fee is basically calculated on the item price, the shipping cost and the state sales tax, if applicable, and, again that information is included in eBay's info about the FVF which is not hidden.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoYes, eBay's final value fee is basically calculated on the item price, the shipping cost and the state sales tax, if applicable, and, again that information is included in eBay's info about the FVF which is not hidden.
I always fail to understand why seller do not understand this it is clearly defined in the policy. In reality I never worried about what eBay makes, what the post office makes or what the state takes in sales tax. Like me they are ALL running a business and their intent is to make a profit or at least make their best effort to do so.
The only thing I ever focused on was my own ROE and/or net profit after ALL expenses, including income taxes, were factored in. If I cannot attain that then I have invested poorly during acquisition and that is my fault. Sellers complain about the fees all the time on this forum. I wonder what the buyers reaction would be if sellers disclosed in their description, as eBay and the PO does with their rates, what the sellers were making as a profit or ROI. What would be the buyers reaction if sellers disclosed in their description that they were making a 50, 60 or 70% profit on the sale of the item? Maybe there are a few seller out there that would be willing to give that a shot and report back to the forum on any reaction.
lbar5848
OP2 years agoYour reply does not contribute to the discussion.
monroe67
·2 years ago". . . . the people who frequently reply here generally have stockholm syndrome. This is more of a notice to new sellers."
Stockholm Syndrome? No.
I am not being forced or coerced to (try to) sell on eBay. I voluntarily choose to (try to) sell on eBay.
eBay deems each seller (and buyer for that matter) to have accepted all the terms and conditions of their User Agreement and other published information about eBay's policies and procedures.
I have, in fact, read the portion of the User Agreement (Item 5, Fees and Taxes) that explains eBay's policies and procedures. I know how to read, and I understand the words I read. I know that eBay's Final Value Fee (FVF) is a percentage of the total amount paid by the buyers. That total amount is almost always more than the price for which I list my items, due to the variables of sales taxes and postage costs.
All that said, you and others who seem to believe eBay is lying to you -- and you are mistaken --
I have often said here in these forums that I estimate that eBay will retain about 30% of the price I list my items at, either auction or Buy It Now (BIN). That's my estimate. I know that eBay does not keep 30% of my listing price; it is simply an estimated number that I keep in my head.
toysaver
·2 years agoStockholm Syndrome? Isn't that when kidnap victims start to side with the kidnapper? I've never been kidnapped but I tend to side with eBay on many issues. I appreciate the opportunity they provide.
tsme35
·2 years agoI'm seeing about 21-24%, depending on how much something sells, use to be 16-18% before fee on taxes. Shoot I've paid over $100 just on ebay's tax fee this year so far. Also have to include .40 transaction fee and your store fee. Then you have self employment tax around 12% and income tax for state and federal.
BUT on the good side, I use my whole basement so I get to write off 50% of my bills and write off mileage. All something I couldn't do if I had to drive to a 9-5.
No way I could make a living using a brick n motar store, I'd have to sell 10x what I do now just to even out. Plus being partially disable, I can't work a 9-5 and disability wouldn't be enough to cover my bills. Am I getting filthy rich, no, but I'm comfortable and not living off the government or my kids.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoI'm seeing about 21-24%, depending on how much something sells, use to be 16-18% before fee on taxes. Shoot I've paid over $100 just on ebay's tax fee this year so far.
In 2024 if you have paid over $100 in FVF's on the sales tax alone using an average of a 8% sales tax rate that means you have sold over $10,000 in items so far this year. Seems to me that $100 is trivial out of that type of gross
($10,000 * .08) * .1325 = $106.00
tsme35
·2 years agoActually, I'm over $22k gross so far this year, I don't mind paying a fee, so I don't have to keep track of all the tax entities, just think 13-16% is a little excessive. Not the mention the kick back uncle sam gives for collecting it too
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoActually, I'm over $22k gross so far this year, I don't mind paying a fee, so I don't have to keep track of all the tax entities, just think 13-16% is a little excessive. Not the mention the kick back uncle sam gives for collecting it too
I won't debate the FVF percentage it is what it is and I often find it is usually one of the lower selling expenses. EBay is a for profit entity and is responsible to their shareholders and nobody else. I diversified across multiple platforms and venues LONG ago for a multitude of reasons but the fees were not one of them.
tsme35
·2 years agoI wasn't talking about what each state charges for sales tax, I don't pay that. I just looked up for this year so far, ebay collected $1400.85 in sales tax, so I've paid $182 so far in ebay fees just on sales tax. Last year ebay collected $3700 in sales tax and I paid $480 in fees, just saying if you multiply that by 1 million sellers that sell about my range(not including sellers with more or less sales), its a money grab by ebay.
Its not my biggest expense either, but, I paid $20k for ebay fees and shipping labels last year about half of what I made.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoI wasn't talking about what each state charges for sales tax, I don't pay that. I just looked up for this year so far, ebay collected $1400.85 in sales tax, so I've paid $182 so far in ebay fees just on sales tax.
You didn't provide any sales details but if buyers average state sales tax rate is 8% then the $1,400.85 eBay has collected in sales tax so far this year would have been on about $18,000.00 in total sales. If it was me I would hardly be worried about the $182 in FVF's on the sales tax eBay collected.
Last year ebay collected $3700 in sales tax and I paid $480 in fees, just saying if you multiply that by 1 million sellers that sell about my range(not including sellers with more or less sales), its a money grab by ebay.
Not defending eBay and the way they apply the fees and while I don't have insight into their operating costs I am pretty sure that the fees they collect on the sales tax more than cover any costs they have associated with managing that aspect of their business. I.E. the accountants, programmers, lawyers....... It is pretty common that most financial processors apply fees to the sales taxes on an item or services.
Its not my biggest expense either, but, I paid $20k for ebay fees and shipping labels last year about half of what I made.
So you sold roughly $40K last year. If you are not using promoted listings then your eBay fees were probably around $5,300 of that $20K and your shipping labels were the other $14.7K of the $20K. Similar to you I sell a lot of lower value items where the shipping labels are often a significant portion of the total price of the item but that is not revenue to eBay since those dollars go to the carrier, However, eBay does have expenses related to handling the interface between the sellers and the carriers. I have not used eBay to purchase shipping labels in a long time so my eBay FVF percentage is pretty easy to identify in the available eBay reports. So far this year it is running 13.6%.
lbar5848
OP2 years agoYou do realized people with stockholm syndrome CHOOSE to stay with their abuser, right? I like how people jumping to correct often dont have their info correct.
fern*wood
·2 years agoSince you are addressing new sellers, don't forget ebay will put a hold on receiving monies right away for a certain amount of time until you prove to be reliable.
gabe101907
·2 years agoAnd they will randomly do it for whatever reasons, thereafter...
isaiah53-57
·2 years ago@lbar5848
You are correct on the things you talk about in your attempt to give new sellers good information about selling here. I'm sure you may help a few sellers with this information - When sourcing something you are thinking about selling on this site, it IS a good rule of thumb to plan on 20% of your selling price going toward fees since they charge their fees also on shipping and sales tax - And yes you will stir the ire of the full-time posters here with your helpful comments, because for some reason they want everyone to focus on that watered down 13.5% of the entire sale as your true cost in selling here, but smart folk like you dont fall for it - Kudos to you - And dont get down in the dumps about selling here - no point - there are lots of options out there that are getting better all the time as this site loses ground in my opinion...
inhawaii
·2 years agoOh boy.
Here we go again.
I don't know about you, but with me, after all is said and done, ebay takes 13.25% from my entire sales.
monica-sells
·2 years ago"...The amount ebay will take from your gross earnings is around 20%, give or take some, depending on the listing bracket it falls under. Basically, any of the popular categories. So subtracting 20% from the net is a good rule of thumb..."
I am exercising my right of "Stockholm Syndrome"
which is it
20% of Gross
or...
20% of Net
It would be more accurate to say your fees can average anywhere from 7% to 20% of your sale based on category and the ratio of shipping cost to item price....(there are exceptions to even this generalization)
side note...the 2 sales I had this morning will be in my bank account by Midnight Monday...
lbar5848
OP2 years agoI just love how people like you arent actually replying to be useful, but to either tear at an obvious typo or to gloat about how it works out for you. LMAO Im glad I dont buy anything from you.
Its net I was referring to, not gross, which you definitely are.
toysaver
·2 years agoI don't subtract it. I add about the 15% to the purchase price of items I consider flipping and see if it remains profitable. I think it's a half full half empty kind of thing.
Unavailable member
·2 years agoWhat you don't mention is receiving your payout is based on how your bank handles deposits .
Some banks take 3 days to clear a deposit some less than that.
The reason behind the two day wait to have your funds available is to ensure the buyers payment clears.
Also you can do away with paying 1.5% for express payouts when On Demand payouts are free and can only used when your payouts are not scheduled for Daily.
I receive my On Demand payout within hours of submitting it as long as it is sent prior to 12pm everyday except weekends and holidays.
New sellers have their payouts on hold for up to 30 days not one week.
lbar5848
OP2 years agoI didnt mention it because it is irrelevant to my point. You want to make your own points, you can always make your own thread. Weird how that works.
bashort
·2 years agoin my opinion total fees as a percentage of the selling price is what really matters.
The listed percentage is only useful to use to calculate the total percent.
Has a lot to do with how much the shipping charges are,