Are ebay fees too expensive? A new take on this, sorta!!
Summary: The discussion, initiated by kennys-kollectibles, revolves around the view that eBay fees are excessively high, impacting the ability of sellers to make a profit. kennys-kollectibles argues that even though these fees are standard in the market, this does not make them fair, citing personal expenses such as rent and gas to illustrate widespread price gouging. The responses are varied, with some participants agreeing that fees across all platforms and services are high, while others argue that the value eBay provides justifies its fees. A few participants suggest that the choice of selling strategy and sourcing might impact profitability more than the platform fees themselves. The thread also touches on broader economic concerns, such as corporate greed and market manipulation, reflecting a deep sense of frustration with the current financial climate.
ok, try to hear me out here. I realize this topic has come up a zillion times and I read the same
old replies over and over again. So we are charged a double digit fee based on the selling price
of the item, the shipping cost, and the local sale tax. Is this double digit fee excessive?
YES!!! Now I am going to tell you why. Bare in mind this platform cannot be compared to
amazon since amazon and ebay are too completely different business models. I read all the time,
on this forum, ebay fees are completely normal for the market as compared to other platforms.
And even if it were true that it's in line with other platforms, that doesn't make the fees fair.
For example, I pay about $4.50 a gallon for gas.....that is the average price for gas.
And just because that is the market price doesn't mean it's not excessive. Gas prices are excessive.
I pay roughly $1200 a month to rent a one bedroom apt. Yes, that is the current average market price,
but it's still WAY expensive and excessive. Are you seeing my point here?
Price gouging is the common way these days.
Also, people on here say, you can't find any cheaper fees anywhere....it's the same all over.
Well, no that is wrong again. Craigslist and facebook market place are still free.
So, I don't want to hear from anyone that the fees are fine just because they are price gouging fees everywhere else.
That doesn't make it right. Ebay fees are excessive, and as sellers we get practically zero seller protection, and we
get practically zero customer help at this point. We go to estate sales to buy things. So we have upfront costs including
driving to and from sales as well as to the post office. We have to pay for shipping supplies. We get federally taxed for
all the items we sell. And on top of all that we get fees which makes it very difficult to make any money at all anymore.
On many items ebay makes more money than I do, or they make money and I don't. There is something wrong with that.
Just look at our country. Record homelessness. Record inflation. Everything is so expensive. Why is a hamburger now $10?
In my life time the average hamburger was a dollar. Americans are in debt by more money than ever in history.
We are living in a time where we are all basically in a giant game of Monopoly. And soon we will all be bankrupt and the only
ones remaining will be the corporations.
onefootflipper
·3 weeks agoWell you could probably make more money if you were not running everything auction format. I don't even know why there would ever be a reason to auction a Blu-Ray or a DVD. Those things have exact prices and can sell in 1-2 days buy it now if priced correctly (cheapest on site for condition which is likely more than you are getting at auction).
Also, ebay couldn't be your main income since you are selling less than $500 a month.
ryry-jj
·3 weeks agoI'd love $4.50 gas and $1200 apartment rent...that's cheap to me. As is with most of your post, it is all relative to each of our own's existence
shado-x
·3 weeks agoOP Dude is hurtin' for certain'. In need of dough. Go to the USPS and complain there, they are the ones to blame, not eBay.
gurlcat
·3 weeks agoIf shipping costs are really what's hurting your wallet, you are selling the wrong kinds of items. Either too low of sale value, or too big and heavy for their sale value.
hartungcards
·3 weeks agoYes, that's why you see so few elephants for sale on eBay.
kickin.assets
·3 weeks agoTried to list an elephant once … a belt with an elephant shaped buckle … ai removed my listing stating that I can not list endangered animals! Well, how are we supposed to thin out all the elephants running wild in northern WI?! So yes, very few elephants on eBay! 😂
windycityart4u
·3 weeks ago"And soon we will all be bankrupt and the only
ones remaining will be the corporations." The crazy part is how will corporations make money when no one has money to spend?
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoYeah not too worried about that. how often do you see a corporation
homeless and broke?
hartungcards
·3 weeks ago · EditedThat all depends on whether or not the corporation is run by the family of our current President.
janet9988
·3 weeks ago"On many items ebay makes more money than I do, or they make money and I don't. There is something wrong with that."
That is not Ebay's fault. You are there only one in control of how much you choose to list your item for.
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoyes, and don't forget, the more I sell it for, the more ebay gets.
gurlcat
·3 weeks agoThat IS how percentages work, yes. 🌟
lb23cavaliersmvp
·3 weeks agoIMO your comparisons are apples and oranges. The price of gas is artificially inflated currently due to politicians decision to start a war where ~ 25% of the supply is located. Rents are priced based on supply and demand and the costs of the owners. Your ability to make a living flipping what you choose to sell is a function of your ability to buy low and sell high. The costs you experience in that process are entirely your responsibility. No one is telling you how sell including how to source items, how to market them or how much to sell them for. Opting to use any platform involves a simple contract in which you can use the platform if you agree to the owner's rules. That's true in an antique mall, flea market or on-line platform. There are obvious trade-offs including fees and market exposure. As long as the platform you choose clearly explains there rules and regulations you have no one to blame for a lack of adequate margins but yourself. If I'm not satisfied with my return on investment on this platform then it's up to me to lower my costs and if necessary find somewhere else to sell that costs less but has a similar # of potential buyers.
lb23cavaliersmvp
·3 weeks agotheir rules!
inhawaii
·3 weeks agoI think everything is priced too high.
Apples
Socks
Twinkies
Clocks
Electricity
Shampoo
Tires
Korean food
Q-tips
Healthcare
Gasoline
Computers
Pop-Tarts
Shoes
Sellers should all lower their prices.
gurlcat
·3 weeks agoI about had a seizure a couple days ago when I saw Little Debby snacks were $2.00! No I don't mean a box; I mean the cellophane-wrapped singles by the cashiers. And this was at Walmart, so I can't even guess what they are at gas stations and whatever. They were 50 cents just a couple years ago!!!
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoIt's getting so crazy. Remember how fast food used to be ie. cheap food.
you go to KFC and get one of their lunch "specials" it will set you back 12-15 bucks now.
gurlcat
·3 weeks agoOh I know. Even Taco Bell, where you could get a satisfying meal for 4 or 5 bucks just a few years ago. Not anymore!
hartungcards
·3 weeks agoYou don't often see "Taco Bell" and "satisfying meal" in the same sentence.
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoYes, it's all priced too high. But real game changers are RENT, GAS, and FOOD.
Oh and Insurance. Those things right there is 80% of my paycheck.
shado-x
·3 weeks agoImagine if you didn't have to pay insurance, or the insurance company had to return the money if you never had to use them. Then how much would you (and should you) have?
shado-x
·3 weeks agoGreat laugh today, thanks for that. Q-Tips? You mean Cotton Swabs. Kimchi is cheap. Electricity is not high, it is the criminal delivery fees that are (and in some cases are not even supposed to be charged, like an "Electric Vehicle Program Fee" when the customer doesn't have an electric car, arrests need to be made there-).
gurlcat
·3 weeks agoYou'll probably say I'm taking you out of context, but you have made some glaring contradictions in your comments. Here are maybe the most profound:
"I guess so, but I like auctions. ....it's what started this site."
and
"I live in stress everyday about money. maybe the skying is only falling on me?"
Do you not see a connection between doing what you like (instead of what makes more money) and how much stress you're under? Someone who already has enough income and selling off their old stuff just to get rid of it or to have a bit of mad money -they could afford to choose whichever selling format they like more, but someone who needs money does not have that luxury.
You're certainly not the only person on whom the sky is falling, and yeah corporate greed is one of the biggest factors. Heck, your supporting examples of the price of things, that's nothing compared to the suffering some people are going through because of crushing debt for things like medical crises and education that turned out to be worthless. Imagine having that AND trying to pay for sky-high gas and rent!
But I'm sorry, you sound like a teenager or something when you defend auction selling just because you like it, while you point at eBay and other companies for why your sky is falling. You can't source and list like a hobby seller and expect to make a living from it. From the example you gave of a $10 record purchase selling for only a $10 starting bid ..... eBay's little 13% cut is the LEAST of your problems. If you need to make a living from this, you need to learn to source and sell more wisely, or get a job. But spoiler alert: those paychecks are going to be reduced by a lot more than 13% off your wages.
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoYes, you are out of context only because you don't know my story and background.
This is NOT my only income. I do believe the sky is falling but ebay is just a symptom of that happening. Even stock experts are saying we are all in for a rude awakening. And yes, there are people worse off than I am, at least I have apt. and some are living on the streets. But the amount of homeless is a really good gauge as to what is going on in this world. I know some are there for their doing but not all.
My little example of the record album was just that an example.
I think for the kind of stuff I buy and sell, auctions works best.
But I have modified my ways a tad, sometimes opting for auction with a buy it now to
give that person not wanting to wait til the end of the week an option to buy, and it recently worked out well for me on a record album. And I do some buy it now only type sales as well. Auctions is just my preference.
Gurlcat, nice chatting with ya.
fullers_uk
·3 weeks agoI get what you say but one of the problems is because sellers dont set the right price for there items, buyers come here because its cheap place to by stuff so its partly our fault, on retail goods sellers based in China have an advantage because they are government backed, there only duty is to harvest USD and no one can compete with that.
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoI knew it would be a lively discussion. Thanks for all the replys.
There is a wide range of opinions on this I know.
dbmm-media
·3 weeks agoentitled
kensgiftshop
·3 weeks agoIf you think Ebay fees are to high, build your own web site.
fullers_uk
·3 weeks agoI have my own sites as well as ebay, they cost about equal to $33.00 usd a month, unlimited items, unlimited pictures no % fees on sales and hosted on AWS, I use very basic AI to generate keywords and get listed on search engines, yes it takes time an a little skill learnt over the last 25 years but a sale from my website is a sale my way based on strong morals and a human interacting with a human, an example being if a customer doesn’t know what size they need I can send the a sample free which I am more than happy to do but on ebay that’s not possible, they will say im trading outside ebay and ban me even though I do it for free, so a buyer buys something that doesn’t fit and then ebay take control of the situation. Ebay is a machine, treat it as such, accept it on an as is basis.
mam98031
·3 weeks agoYou are absolutely entitled to your opinion that the fees are too expensive. But what are you actually comparing the fees to in order to come to that conclusion? You ;have to have a comparison in order to deem something "excessive" or "expensive"
People tell you that you can find cheaper fees because it is the TRUTH, YOU CAN. But that doesn't mean the places you can find the lower fees offer you the same benefits and/or services rendered. Often people forget to consider the value that Ebay brings to the table. The sheer amount of people they get your items in front of to consider.
"...as sellers we get practically zero seller protection, and we get practically zero customer help at this point." Completely different subject and one that is often not true but that members simply don't know the correct way to go about getting help or seeking protection as a seller. Each and every one of these situations needs to be looked at on a case by case basis. There are sometimes CSRs [customer service reps] aren't helpful, but then sometimes the member doesn't explain things well either. There are times when sellers are not protected, but then trying to get protection just because you FEEL you should have it isn't a real thing. There are rules for all of this. Just like on EVERY other similar site.
"We get federally taxed for all the items we sell." Well that is a misleading statement at best. I assume you are talking about income taxes as there is no federal sales tax. You are NOT taxed on the item's sale price, but the price less costs = taxable income.
If the costs of selling is not providing you the ability to actually make a profit, then you are NOT paying income tax on those sales. A completely separate problem and not one brought on because you feel the Ebay fees are too much, but that you are either not acquiring your inventory for a good price or more simply not pricing it correctly or even trying to sell stuff there isn't much of a market for. The list can go on an on, but what it isn't is an Ebay issue because of what they charge a seller.
We are in a mess as a country, that is for sure. Again NOT because of Ebay fees, but because of a long list of things that aren't going as many of us would like. With that said, we are NOT in "record inflation" right now, that happened during the Pandemic and we were climbing out of that slowly but surely up to a couple of years ago. Now we are going the wrong direction again.
I can see you are pretty upset by all this and I think that is totally understandable. However sometimes when things pile up on us we start blaming the wrong thing or things for what we perceive is going wrong. Ebay fees are may be more expensive that some other sites and it is also less than some other similar sites. However all sites do NOT offer the same things, so you need to take a closer look at that to find more value than you are currently willing to recognize.
I hope you find an answer that works for you.
monroe67
·3 weeks agoWas it not President Harry S Truman who said:
"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" ??
selsa84
·3 weeks agoYou are mistaken. It was Colonel Sanders who said that.
reallynicestamps
·3 weeks agoCurrently US gas prices are well below those in most of the developed world.
Local price here in Victoria BC is $2.099Cdn a litre -- about $7.05USD a/gallon.
funfactorychannel
·3 weeks agoIf you ask me if I would like eBay to lower fees. My answer is Yes. who doesn't want lower fees on anything. :D
hartungcards
·3 weeks agoYou lost me at, "Now I am going to tell you why."
caldreamer
·3 weeks agoYes, EBAY fees are high, but I prefer EBAY rather than getting up at the crack of dawn and lugging all my items to the flea market. Flea market here in California charge you a $35/fee whether you sell anything or not.
I agree with you that everything is crazy expensive right now. I also feel it would be better for your health to just accept that and move on.
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoyes indeed.
terrobr_9
·3 weeks agoI just sold a sports illustrated magazine today on EBay for 250.00 . EBay took out $93.49 out of my profits which is ridiculous! I even called EBay to break their fees down but that was like trying to figure out your cable bill - I know eBay reaches a wider platform but it’s not worth it for sellers anymore .
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoThat's what I'm talking about when I say excessive.
shire123
·3 weeks ago@terrobr_9 It's very easy to figure out the details of your sales. There is no need to have called ebay. Under your sellers hub there is a tab, "performance". You click on that and there will be a 30 day summary of your sales. You can then get a detailed breakdown of all your costs for selling on ebay ( insertion fees, FVF, subscriptions, shipping labels, etc).
My costs generally run about 22% sales. Those costs are not hidden or do they come as a surprise. They are clearly stated prior to selling on ebay.
I would guess that on your mentioned sale there was some promotion fee?
glenvonnie
·3 weeks agoI can drag my 1000 items to the local big auction house, they charge me 35% and charge the buyers 5%, they'll sell it for $1 if that's all they can get and throw it in the trash if they can't get that, charge me for disposal, charge the phone bidders for shipping, and at most have only 500 potential buyers.
luckythewinner
·3 weeks ago · EditedYou say we can't compare fees on eBay to Amazon because they are completely different business models.
For the same reasons, you can't compare the fees on eBay to Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace because they are also completely different business models. For just a couple examples, they do not always offer discounted shipping, payment processing, or buyer protection.
In fact, I would argue that eBay is much closer to the Amazon marketplace than it is to either Craigslist or Facebook.
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoI agree, and I only mentioned that analogy because so many have mentioned
this in the past and I wanted to point out there is in fact other platforms. I do sell a few hundred dollars worth on those free platforms and it in a small way it helps alot.
squinkercat59
·3 weeks agoI am sure we all would like fees to be lower. We all want to maximize our profits. But personally, I find the fees acceptable compared to when I had my own brick & mortar store and had to pay rent, utilities, insurance, employees, etc. (and that was 20 years ago when costs were much lower). That ate up a bigger chunk of profit than Ebay fees ever will. We all have a different thresholds of what works for us, as we all have different points of reference.
pickapaper
·3 weeks agoDo you honestly believe that? Do you honestly think that everyone who is not a millionaire or billionaire will be bankrupt? And what corporations are you speaking of? If everyone is bankrupt, there won't be any money to spend at those corporations so how will they stay in business?
After reading your opening post and your replies, I'm just curious what you think the answer to all of this is? You are talking about all these prices being excessive but what would YOU do to change or correct this?
grann-4629
·3 weeks agoI got really 'wrecked' once when I was younger, and I thought the world was just a big game of Monopoly too ... glad I came out of that nightmare.
shire123
·3 weeks ago · EditedAs you can see you are not going to get much sympathy here or even a give and take discussion. Ebay, gas companies, landlords, etc do not have to justify their prices. It's the world we live in now. Sure. We would all like to pay a lot less but that is not how the free market works. It sure would be nice to buy a new car for only 30K or only pay 500 per month for rent. You can't live in a world of what used to be. You have to adjust.
We are not entitled to have prices the way we want them. Also, note that your definition of what is excessive may be very different from many other people.
dhbookds
·3 weeks ago · Edited2 billion or so items listed, 18 million sellers......no one likes the fees, but sell here.......if they didn't make money.......why are they here? Plenty of other places to sell these days.......
gurlcat
·3 weeks ago"On many items ebay makes more money than I do, or they make money and I don't." -I can't imagine how that is even possible. Can you give an example?
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoI can't imagine any seller so successful has never come across this before.
I guess you more successful than I am. I go to garage sales, estate sales.
I gamble on things sometimes. It happens. Let's say you buy a record album for $10 at an estate sale. I do auctions, so I list it for $10 + $5 shipping. The hope is the record will get a bidding war going but not this time. one bid. I just sold it for what I paid, and then I will have to pay a few dollars in fees on this. Ebay makes $2 and I lose $2 on this example. It happens I thought to everyone on here, you are lucky I guess.
chapeau-noir
·3 weeks ago · EditedYou used an unfortunate example there - most auctions fail. You had some great bidding going on a few things, but most ended with one bid, or a couple of bids for no more than pocket change. If you depend on auctions in general, you're going to lose your shirt - save for specific instances, they're a long dead fad.
Part of this whole deal is to keep up with changing times. Every single merchant, every single platform is dealing with the same thing. You need to use the tools you have.
OK, so that's something you didn't want to hear, because realistically eBay is not going to lower its rates. A 'free market' is a myth, it doesn't exist, but we do live in a competitive one.
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoI guess so, but I like auctions. ....it's what started this site.
Some of the things I sell, I could not even begin to come up with
a price. There's still enough people doing auctions to keep it interesting.
reallynicestamps
·3 weeks agoDo you want interesting? Or do you want money?
We're disposing of the remaining stock of DH's 40 year business and I have to keep reminding him that we have stuff but we want money.
mam98031
·3 weeks agoBecause you like them doesn't make them a good choice for earning money.
gurlcat
·3 weeks agoThank you for answering. I had stuff like that happen in my first year or so, but then I decided to just never make "speculation" purchases like that. If I don't know for a fact I can make a profit, I don't buy. And by profit I mean double my investment at the very least.
Estate sales, yard sales, thrift stores -these are all very fun sourcing venues of course, and I do still get a few things here and there, but I find that my decision-making skills falter a bit when I'm on my feet and around other people. I also hate checking comps on my phone. -What you might try is searching eBay itself for underpriced items, or mixed lots of things (like "junk drawer" lots for example). It's how I get the vast majority of my inventory now. If a lot includes at least one or two items that will compensate for the investment, then alllll the other items are just gravy on top! And you can sell lots too! -That's a great way to get rid of all the little things that won't sell for much by themselves.
gurlcat
·3 weeks agoFrom the very first time I saw a post ranting bitterness about eBay fees, I couldn't understand it. 13% seems cheap to me. Well really I pay 11.7% because of the TRS thing, but I would probably do 1-day handling anyway, and definitely free returns, with or without the discount.
I guess I'm about 8 years in now, and I'm still not used to how fun and stress-free this feels compared to any jobby-job I ever had. I see people flying by my house in their cars at 8:45 in the morning, trying to get to work on time, and I just feel so awful for them.
annadryl
·3 weeks agoYou need to look up the definition of "price gouging". This isn't that. You have a choice.
christworks
·3 weeks ago · EditedYou seem to have an entitlement problem and failure to understand how a free market works.
I'm not going to go into any further about what I think. The reason is because in your post you stated that you did not want to hear from anybody who says the fees are fine, then in a response to @inhawaii , you ask them what they think.
Which is it? Do you really want to hear what people think, or do you just want to beat a dead horse because you have nothing better to do?
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoYou took what I wrote out of context like another poster.....
Tell me what you think? i posted this post because I have read about
these complaints dozens and dozens of times and nearly every time
it's people going on and on justifying the fees. I am just saying just because
the fees are expensive everywhere else, that doesn't justify it for me. ALL the platforms are price gouging. At least all the ones that charge a fee. I also believe ALL gas is excessive at this time. ALL rent is excessive as well. This so called free market, is manipulated by the billionaires and you can't see it.
grann-4629
·3 weeks ago · EditedYou're not going to get someone here to tell you the fees are just fine ... this is a place where people complain about things, so the dozens of complaints you have read here are 'normal'.
And, like most of your responders, we do 'see it'. Seems you have given this issue a lot of thought ... what do you suggest as a fix?
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoMe, I think the world is far too gone, we are headed for the end. I know, not cheery, but I know others think the same is coming. It's what the bible called, the sign of the times. All I see is unstoppable disaster happening in the future. How long can, it keeps getting worse gets, before the bubble finally does burst? Look up stock speculations.
jonathanbrightlight
·3 weeks agoPeople were saying that in the first century.
grann-4629
·3 weeks agoIt's inevitable that the world (of humans) will end some day, and everyday that day gets one day closer. It won't be because eBay fees are too high. I used to worry about the Sun exploding until someone told me it would take billions of years ... not millions. I think our generation and the next couple will be OK as long as some idiot doesn't start a world war. Climate change and AI will be the killers.
I wouldn't put too much faith in that book you mentioned ... it's a good story but that's about it.
grann-4629
·3 weeks agoRespectfully, I suggest you go outside and enjoy the sun and air for a few hours ... it might help you get past your sky is falling depression. Depending on your age, it might not matter when the earth goes into a wonky spiral into Sol.
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoI live in stress everyday about money. maybe the skying is only falling on me?
jonathanbrightlight
·3 weeks agoI honestly do think the fees are fine. Of course no one wants to pay more than they need to, but for the service provided by eBay (mostly in the ability for buyers to find items that we want to sell) it's a very fair price.
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoIs the price of gas now fine? Just checking.
gurlcat
·3 weeks ago · EditedIf eBay were RAISING its fees at the same time gas prices are rising, maybe you'd have a trace of a 'point' to bring that up. But they're not; the fees haven't risen in years UNLIKE ALMOST EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD.
Are you suggesting that because gas is rising, eBay should be lowering their fees???
kensgiftshop
·3 weeks agoCheaper then a gallon of milk.
grann-4629
·3 weeks agoCannabis is cheaper than tobacco too .... at least we know why the price of fuel is so high and we know what we can do to lower it ...
fabrics24
·3 weeks agoI don't think you're wrong about things being too expensive (trust me; nobody here likes the prices of diesel these days), but this is neither news to anyone on the forums, nor a localized issue.
Learning to tolerate the fees in exchange for not having to do any marketing is not "justifying" them; it's working within the confines of the medium.
But let's work with what you're saying. Let's assume for a moment that your post has some kind of solidarity instead of encouraging infighting. Let's assume there's a call to action, such as boycotting eBay. Let's assume you get the buyers --the people who actually control eBay's market-- to do so.
What's the alternative? You cannot have the stick with no carrot.
Use a different site run by different billionaires? Make our own?
I sell my own jewelry on my own site, and you know what my biggest problem is? Everyone knows what eBay is; nobody knows about my site. I have to do all the marketing, advertising, and dancing like a monkey. I make more than I do on eBay per sale, but the cost is my energy. I love it, but I make less sales on my site than eBay, and I have to live and work with that reality.
Nobody here thinks "the fees are great"; they think "I can still work with this." Might there come a day when that's simply not possible anymore? Maybe.
But declaring your point like you're a revolutionary in the same breath as you accuse anyone who doesn't share your view of being sheeple, and then backtracking when someone tldr's your statement isn't going to make that day happen any sooner.
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoI totally agree with you. I knew there was people that would agree with me, but I also knew, just by reading the previous posts like these, that I kept reading that people would just off-hand justify it, like it being normal meant it was ok. That bugged me. Ebay over-all is still the most traffic place to sell stuff. But, I get frustrated at the greed, because a (any) corporation that makes (for example) 5 billion dollars a year with good pricing, soon finds out they can make 8 billion a year by price gouging. I find that wrong, because they are probably not paying taxes either. I mean, Isn't 5 billion enough? But to corporations, it's never enough. That's tough for me to wrap my head around. It's wrong.
fabrics24
·3 weeks ago · EditedFrustration with injustice is normal and good; it keeps you kind.
The thing is, hope is never gone; if you get caught up in the idea that the world is a lost cause, you burn yourself out and become an emotional tar pit. Nothing changes if you're convinced it can't.
The other issue is the idea that most eBay-goers are tolerant of the fees because they're stupid or don't know any better. There are numerous reasons people are accepting of the fees (they're disenfranchised, they're simply tired, they see the fees as the price to pay for not having to pay other expenses like advertising or brick-and-mortar amenities, etc), but to conflate acceptance with liking them does not earn you any brownie points with the people you're trying to convince.
Your fellow eBayers are neither foolish nor lazy; they are doing the best they can with what they have. If you don't have an alternative to present, work with them where they are.
Start small; kindness is revolutionary.
shire123
·3 weeks agoWho determines what is "enough" of a profit? Who are you to say that 5 billion is enough? This isn't a centrally controlled economy.
People do have a choice (not completely but to a large extent) of doing business with this entity.
grann-4629
·3 weeks agoD**n that was well said fabrics24 - thank you.
fabrics24
·3 weeks agoI try!😉
simba6
·3 weeks agoFlea-market space is not cheap either. They have far fewer buyers. You have to unload and set up each day. It's starting to rain and your standing in a spot that was the sheep judging pen for last weeks state fair.
But yes, eBay has many times the buyer looking every day.
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoI agree with you. the flea market in my town went out of business 10 years ago and never came back.
inhawaii
·3 weeks agoTranslation: I think eBay fees are too high.
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoYes, but what's more important, what do YOU think?
annadryl
·3 weeks agoYou literally posted "I don't want to hear from anyone that fees are just fine".
That's why you posted, you just want the "me too" agreement replies.
Very common here.
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoYes, and what else is common is that people misquote someone out of context to justify their opinion. And you did just that. By leaving off the end of my sentence you change the narrative. Which is very common here. Hey, If you think the fees are just fine, then you are also ok with $5 a gallon of gas....1200 dollar a month rent.....$10 hamburgers, $100 amonth car insurance, your tax money being spent on wars in Iran. ...etc... Ok, I give in, I want to hear your justification why ebay fees are not excessive. Can you do that without saying the very common phrase, "it's the same everywhere else".
annadryl
·3 weeks agoYou are talking about recent general inflation. Yup, no one likes that. But what's that got to do with ebay fees? They haven't gone up!
kennys-kollectibles
OP3 weeks agoIt's called an analogy. And since ebay fees are somewhat based on a percentage of the shipping costs, and shipping costs have skyrocketed in the last 6 months, then by default ebay fees have also gone up.
annadryl
·3 weeks agoBy default my buyers cover ALL fees, it's worked into my price. All that is normal hasn't changed.
grann-4629
·3 weeks agoOne thing you could do to help the problem with the trillions being wasted in Iran can be solved ... just vote for the other guy or gal. If you want 'justification', contact deGrasse Tyson ... he wrote a book that explains the history of the Universe and the answer is in there somewhere.