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eBay Charging fees on sales tax!
Are people not outraged by eBay charging fees on sales tax???!!! This is gauging at it's finest. They are charging me 15% of the selling price of the item (see Item ID: 185969438733), 15% of shipping (which I'm losing money on), and 15% of the sales tax that a buyer is paying the state which has nothing to do with any profits for me! How is this legal? Can something be done to stop eBay from fleecing their sellers?
27 comments
kh-stanley1
·2 years agoHi everyone,
Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE (or read any of the other threads on this subject) if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.
Thank you for understanding.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoeBay's fees, generally speaking, are calculated on the item price, the shipping cost and the state sales tax paid by the buyer, if applicable.
I'm pretty sure this is clearly explained to sellers so they can read and understand the fees before starting to sell here.
What state has a 15% state sales tax?
It costs eBay money to remit those state sales taxes to the thousands of different taxing authorities.
Plus, wouldn't you imagine eBay has a few (hundred) attorneys on staff who've determined that this is indeed legal?
Oops, just noticed the age of this post. But the OP is still listing on eBay so evidently has resigned himself/herself to the fee schedule in place.
braddog79
·2 years agoAgreed. This doesn't seem right. Why should a seller pay a fee on a tax that the buyer is paying? The seller sees to part of that money.
johnrj1226
·3 years agoBTW would you rather distribute the sales taxes to every sale taxing venue in the US understanding that sales taxes can vary by state, counting, city etc or have eBay do it for you.???
All successful sellers will recover all costs to sell an item and expected profit margin in their final selling price.
This practices has been in effect of more than a couple years.
traditonalproducts
·3 years agoYour answers can be reviewed on the daily & 1000's of posting on this exact subject.
meme6253
·3 years agoNO!, When did that happen??, Kidding!!, Been that way for awhile, Legal Yes, Moral you decide!
chapeau-noir
·3 years agoDead. Horse.
maxine*j
·3 years agoAh, yes...
ms.rodriguez*
·3 years agoThis argument comes up at least 3-4 times per week. This is the norm. Anyway, if you are charging exact shipping, you are losing money. Set your shipping to cover the fees. If you do it right like me, ALL of your buyers will pay ALL of your fees. I have been here since 1998. Yes, I made many mistakes. Now , it's extremely rare when I lose a nickel in shipping. Very rare.
reallynicestamps
·3 years agoThe fee is based on Standard Practice in the payment processing industry.
We were paying it in the late 70s/early 80s when we first got a credit card merchant account.
But it was also being charged by Diner's Club back in the 40s.
The percentage varies from merchant to merchant with the highest fees being charged to those businesses with a lot of low value purchases, although the percentage usually remains the same.
That $785 sale is offset by hundreds of $5 or less sales by other sellers.
Is it fair? Probably not.
Is it accepted happily? Definitely not.
Is it legal? Yes.
tobaccocardyahoo
·3 years agoEvery merchant in every state which has a sales tax has railed against being forced to be an unpaid tax collector. Paying fees on the sales tax receipts is commonplace - every merchant who takes credit cards does so.
Ebay has chosen to monetize its Internet Marketplace Tax Collections by a fee on the tax. Other marketplaces simply charge higher fees on all sales and do not charge a fee on sales tax.
If you had employees, you could also rail about having to collect payroll, social security and medicare taxes, and the high penalties if you make a mistake.
I moved to a state with no sales tax, and no state and local payroll taxes after years of being taken advantage of.
Short of ceasing to sell on Ebay, there is no solution to your complaint. Either you make enough to put up with the cost or you find another way to make money.
speersounds1
·2 years agoWhat state is this with no sales tax? I like your answer. It is educated and real without being condescending. The problem I see from a macro point of view is that the #1 apex companies in the US have established market dominance when they had lower rates and now start turning the screws with a system that reaps billions for them with very low overhead. Like with Google another tech company, society uses them as much as utilities like electricity. The government provides the charter and allows pure free market or they weigh in against monopolies. Obviously they get paid to NOT weigh in much. Other than crying to Uncle Sam we can use other sites.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoWhat state is this with no sales tax?
There are 5 states that have no statewide sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon
laststopgeneralstore
·3 years ago15%? Please post screenshots of this 15% you speak of.
No, I'm not "outraged" about eBay charging fee's on sales tax. This has been going on for decades with payment processors.
If you're losing money on shipping then that is your fault, not eBays. Charge more for shipping.
It's not that hard. Source better items at a low enough price that you can make a comfortable profit on.
monroe67
·3 years ago"15%? Please post screenshots of this 15% you speak of."
I think it's doubtful the OP will come back, at least not very soon.
The OP's most recent sale was a platinum ring, set with a 3/4 carat Colombian emerald, listed appropriately in a Jewelry category. It sold for $785.00.
eBay's Final Value Fee percentage for the Jewelry category is 15%. Plus 30 cents per order, of course.
Fifteen percent of $785.00 is $117.75, a noticeable amount.
dbfolks166mt
·3 years ago"15%? Please post screenshots of this 15% you speak of."
I think it's doubtful the OP will come back, at least not very soon.
The OP's most recent sale was a platinum ring, set with a 3/4 carat Colombian emerald, listed appropriately in a Jewelry category. It sold for $785.00.
eBay's Final Value Fee percentage for the Jewelry category is 15%. Plus 30 cents per order, of course.
Fifteen percent of $785.00 is $117.75, a noticeable amount.
Tend to agree with you on the FVF amount but OP should have been aware of the FVF's on the item before they listed it and built it into their cost model. With regards to the OP's original issue about the FVF being applied to the sales tax using your example on the ring had I purchased this item it would have been the $785 + the $20 it shows for shipping priority mail to my location in VA. VA has a 6% sales tax rate which would have been calculated on the $805 (price + shipping) for $48.30 in sales tax. Total cost to me of $853.30. Total FVF would have been $128.30. The actual FVF on the sales tax would amount to $7.25 of that amount which is a minor portion of the total FVF about 5.6%.
soh.maryl
·3 years agoGouging is the word you want.
Gauging is a form of measurement.
Gouging is a term for being overcharged or ripped off.
And, yes, it's legal, no, it should not be a surprise and also your post is about the millionth one on this topic.
Your message implies that you believe you are paying a total of 45% on your sales.
No. If I sell an item for $100, shipping is $100 and state sales tax is $100, then I'd pay $45 total in fees.
(Math simplified.)
buyselljack2016
·3 years agoeBay must/does gauge their fees in a way that is profitable for them.
The owner of the sandbox determines the rules for playing in the sandbox.
Those rules are clear, and visible.
If we do not care to play by the rules of the sandbox owner, we have the option to take our toys, and go play elsewhere.
ETA: please note............ I did not say that I agree with the "fee" gauging policy. It is what it is. I deal with it. My buyers pay all my fees.
maxine*j
·3 years agoI am not outraged by this fully-disclosed fee, no.
As to legality, it was legal when PayPal did it. It is legal every time every merchant who takes credit cards is charged the Visa, MasterCard, et al, fee on the sales tax paid by the customer. It is legal when eBay does it.
It is also the subject of several hundreds, if not a thousand, threads on this board, so you're a bit late to the party.
Try some light reading:
https://community.ebay.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?advanced=false&allow_punctuation=false&q=fees%20sales%20tax
or
https://community.ebay.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?advanced=false&allow_punctuation=false&q=FVF%20sales%20tax
or
https://community.ebay.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?advanced=false&allow_punctuation=false&q=fees%20sales%20tax%20legal
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Unavailable member
·3 years agoThe FVF of 15% on the TOTAL amount the buyer pays Purchase price + shipping + sales tax plus $0.30 per transaction. Not 15% price of the item 15% shipping and 15% sales tax that would amount to 45%.
If you’re losing money on shipping you’re not charging enough.
Final value fees
We charge one final value fee when your item sells, and you don't have to worry about third-party payment processing fees. This fee is calculated as a percentage of the total amount of the sale, plus $0.30 per order.
The total amount of the sale includes the item price, any handling charges, any shipping costs collected from the buyer (some exceptions apply), sales tax, and any other applicable fees.
An order is defined as any number of items purchased by the same buyer at checkout with the same shipping method.
dbfolks166mt
·3 years agoBelow is my canned answer to every one of the thousands of postings on this very topic. But first if you are loosing money on shipping that is your issue to fix and adjust buyer should be paying for the shipping. As for the legality it is quite legal and there are a number of precedents for it that I have posted before but you can lookup for yourself. CC companies have applied their fees to sales tax for YEARS. As for the FVF on the sales tax.
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 remit 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. "
goodbrakes
·3 years agoIt is legal and has been going on for a long time.
You pay to use eBay's service and you get the world as your Store Front.
Paying eBay ends up being very reasonable compared to a Local Consignment or
your own B&M location.
inhawaii
·3 years agoI'm not outraged about fees on sales tax.
I'm outraged that some sellers are only now finding this out
Unavailable member
·3 years agoI concur
traditonalproducts
·3 years agoEXACTLY!!!!!!!!!
frugalmarketplace
·3 years agohttps://community.ebay.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?advanced=false&allow_punctuation=false&q=Fees%20on%20sales%20tax
onefootflipper2
·3 years agoSomeone "discovers" this fact every day and claims isn't legal every day in a new thread here.
It is quite legal and has been that way for a long time.