ebay fees
ebay has increased their fees since beg. of the year. The 30c plus 13.2% depending on the price, means you paying 14% or so. Most notorious is doubling the 3% musical instruments cat. to 6%, a 100% increase, mostly invisible to most members who don't sell that category. To add insult to injury, the sales tax that seller never sees is also subject to that fee as well as shipping. So item, for example sells for $90+$10 shipp.=$100. Tax is 7 so now they're going to charge you 14% of $107, which mean on every smaller sale you ship, you lose about a dollar in fees that you shouldn't be paying. If u sell something for $1000, the loss will be substantial. Multiply that by all ebay sales and you can see ebay is illegally making hundreds of millions every year. The $600 reporting treshold has been moved to next yr 2024 so they will tell IRS about your sales this yr. Where is all these ebay members writing letters and calling their elected reps to eliminate it completely back to old level which was $20K? Of course, when you get reported, you may want to show cost of goods sold is equal or higher to reported number and you operating at a loss. Remember the reported number will include shipping and sales tax, both can be subtracted. Creative accounting will help.
dbfolks166mt
·3 years agoWill this sales tax topic never die??
ebay has increased their fees since beg. of the year. The 30c plus 13.2% depending on the price, means you paying 14% or so. Yep and in reality the effective rate is actually a bit higher depending on the sale price, shipping cost and of course the taxes. I have a cost model that will calculate that for you if you are interested. BTW USPS rates went up 2.7% in 2022 for priority mail and 7.4% for first class. Groceries went up 9% in 2022. US labor rates increased between 5.8 and 14.8% in 2022 depending on your profession. So what's the issue?
Most notorious is doubling the 3% musical instruments cat. to 6%, a 100% increase, mostly invisible to most members who don't sell that category. In March of 2022 eBay increased the FVF on musical instruments from 5.85% to 6% and most recently increased it to 6.35%.
To add insult to injury, the sales tax that seller never sees is also subject to that fee as well as shipping. So item, for example sells for $90+$10 shipp.=$100. Tax is 7 so now they're going to charge you 14% of $107, which mean on every smaller sale you ship, you lose about a dollar in fees that you shouldn't be paying. If u sell something for $1000, the loss will be substantial. Multiply that by all ebay sales and you can see ebay is illegally making hundreds of millions every year. This topic happens to be one of my favorite pet peeves. It has been posted and complained about on this forum hundreds, if not thousands of times. FYI the FVF on that $7 of sales tax amounts to 93 cents.
I wish there was a way, and there probably is, that eBay could shift that burden to the seller for a year. Of course that would require the Supreme Court to modify the Wayfair vs. South Dakota ruling. In doing so when the sale was made the seller would be responsible for determining the sales tax based on the 45 different state rates in addition to the other 9,000+ city, town, county, municipality............ and other laws where the buyer lived. The seller would then calculate the sales tax on the item price and shipping, add it to the transaction amount and invoice the buyer. When the buyer paid eBay would send the seller the sales tax collected according to the invoice that was sent (regardless of accuracy) but they would not charge you any FVF on the tax. The seller would then be responsible for remitting the sales tax to the 45 individual states on whatever periodic basis the state required. Stop and think about that. I for one would immediately quit selling on eBay if that happened.
The $600 reporting treshold has been moved to next yr 2024 so they will tell IRS about your sales this yr. For some the thresholds have been different for a number of years and I happen to live in one of those states. VA's reporting threshold has been at $600 since 2020 and I have gotten 1099's from eBay, PayPal, Venmo, Stripe and a couple of other third party processors. Of course the VA income tax takes input from the Federal income tax filing so it's reported on my Federal returns as well. Of course that has always been the case even before I received the 1099's.
Where is all these ebay members writing letters and calling their elected reps to eliminate it completely back to old level which was $20K? I would have to get the VA state law changed first which is not going to happen. Don't be surprised if you see multiple states pass their own 1099 reporting requirements given the Fed can't seem to get their act together.
Of course, when you get reported, you may want to show cost of goods sold is equal or higher to reported number and you operating at a loss. Remember the reported number will include shipping and sales tax, both can be subtracted. Along with a LOT of other expenses other than just the eBay selling costs. Creative accounting will help.
luckythewinner
·3 years agoebay has increased their fees since beg. of the year
Every seller who reads the Seller Updates that eBay sends them knows that.
Most notorious is doubling the 3% musical instruments cat. to 6%, a 100% increase, mostly invisible to most members who don't sell that category.
Notorious: (adj) "generally known and talked of". That is pretty much the opposite of "mostly invisible".
Of course, when you get reported, you may want to show cost of goods sold is equal or higher to reported number and you operating at a loss.
You may want to use the actual number, so you don't commit tax fraud.
monroe67
·3 years ago"ebay has increased their fees since beg. of the year. The 30c plus 13.2% depending on the price, means you paying 14% or so."
Yes, some categories did have an increase of 0.35% in the percentage portion of the Final Value Fee (FVF), effective February 15, 2023. Fee percentages that were 12.9% are now 13.25%. FVFs still include a flat $0.30 (thirty cents) per order. Remember that an "order" might include three or four separate items.
"Most notorious is doubling the 3% musical instruments cat. to 6%, a 100% increase, mostly invisible to most members who don't sell that category."
That is simply not true. Prior to these February 15, 2023 increases, the FVF for Guitars and Basses was 6%. That percentage was in effect for years before then. And it is now 6.35%. That relatively low percentage applied then and still applies now ONLY to guitars and bass guitars -- not to, say, an amplifier or a soft-sided guitar case.
"To add insult to injury, the sales tax that seller never sees is also subject to that fee as well as shipping. So item, for example sells for $90+$10 shipp.=$100. Tax is 7 so now they're going to charge you 14% of $107, which mean on every smaller sale you ship, you lose about a dollar in fees that you shouldn't be paying. If u sell something for $1000, the loss will be substantial."
Fourteen (14) percent? Where on earth did you get that number?
Many sellers who sell something for $1,000 here on eBay would be satisfied with eBay retaining their stated FVF of 13.25% plus $0.30. Those sellers accept this definition of the FVF percentage: It applies to the Total Amount Paid By The Buyer.
So, yes, of course, when your buyer buys a Thing for $90.00 and pays $7.00 in sales tax for it and $10.00 for the postage cost, eBay will retain a percentage of the total of those three numbers, $107.00. The total amount paid by your buyer was $107.00.
eBay's 13.25% FVF on the $107 purchase would be $14.18. Plus 30 cents = $14.48 for the total FVF.
"Multiply that by all ebay sales and you can see ebay is illegally making hundreds of millions every year."
Illegally? Care to cite a law that supports that statement?
"The $600 reporting treshold [sic] has been moved to next yr 2024 so they will tell IRS about your sales this yr. "
You really misunderstand the whole concept, purpose, and process of IRS 1099 reporting.
Yes, eBay will "tell [the] IRS about your sales" -- because eBay is required to "tell [the] IRS", and the way the IRS wants to be "told" about those sales is with 1099-K forms.
"Where is all these ebay members writing letters and calling their elected reps to eliminate it completely back to old level which was $20K?"
What makes you think that eBay members are not writing and calling their representatives about the 1099-K reporting threshold?
"Of course, when you get reported, you may want to show cost of goods sold is equal or higher to reported number and you operating at a loss. Remember the reported number will include shipping and sales tax, both can be subtracted. Creative accounting will help."
Wow. Again, eBay is required to report to the IRS, by means of the 1099-K form.
And all US income tax filers are expected to report, on their 1040 form or applicable version of it, all their income, whether those taxpayers receive a 1099-K form or not.
If you are operating your eBay business at a loss, I suggest a couple of things: One -- maybe be glad that you don't have to pay income tax on the amount of the loss? Two -- if you don't like conducting your business at a loss, try to figure out what you can do to start operating at a profit. Maybe raise your prices? Maybe offer local pickup? With that, you, the seller, get to decide when and where the hand-off of the product will take place.
By the way, deduction of shipping or postage costs has never ever been considered "creative" accounting.
obambi1234
OP3 years agoIllegally doesn't mean breaking any type of statue or law. Maybe Its better to say unethically but to me, at the end of the day, its just the same scam. Lets say u sold an item for $2000, they're charging you 13.2% of $140 sales tax or $18.50 of money you never see, so that should be illegal, its not, so lets just call it a scam.
2. musical instruments were 3.5% fee, now that doubled to 6%. How is that not true? Having problem with ur eyesight?
3. As to misundersanding, that seems to be ur dept. not mine. The $20K reporting moved down to $600, and remains there except they moved it 1 yr forward. Nothing to discuss here.
4. Where did I get 14%? Its actually 15% . I sold 20 dollar item incl. shipping, for example, the 13.2%+30c of the total with tax divided by the total dollar amt, received from buyer comes out to `15% commission ebay has charged on this transaction. You either have problem with ur calculator or ur glasses or both.
1funkydude
·3 years ago“Illegally doesn't mean breaking any type of statue or law. Maybe Its better to say unethically but to me, at the end of the day, its just the same scam. Lets say u sold an item for $2000, they're charging you 13.2% of $140 sales tax or $18.50 of money you never see, so that should be illegal, its not, so lets just call it a scam.“
How is doing business the same way every processor does business a scam? And why should it be illegal?
monroe67
·3 years agoWow. This sounds like a personal attack. You obviously feel very strongly about this.
"Illegally doesn't mean breaking any type of statue [sic] or law."
OK. Can you tell me what "illegal" does mean? I think it might relate to any and all types of statutes (note spelling) and laws.
"Maybe Its better to say unethically but to me, at the end of the day, its just the same scam. Lets say u sold an item for $2000, they're charging you 13.2% of $140 sales tax or $18.50 of money you never see, so that should be illegal, its not, so lets just call it a scam."
You can call it a scam; you can call it an isosceles triangle, if you want. Whatever you do or say in the privacy of your own home is none of my concern. But eBay and Khoros frown on people posting inaccurate information in these communities. I suggest you read the Community Guidelines for these community forums.
"2. musical instruments were 3.5% fee, now that doubled to 6%. How is that not true? Having problem with ur eyesight?"
You may very well be right on that. At some time in eBay's history, the Final Value Fee (FVF) on the sale of musical instruments could have been 3.5%. I never paid too much attention to that category, because I don't have any musical instruments I might want to sell.
However, when I learned that eBay's fees on some categories would be increasing on February 15, 2023, I took the initiative, for my own information, to copy and paste eBay's FVF charts both before and after that date, into Word documents for future reference. This is what the FVF chart that was effective before February 15, 2023, said:
Start of quote:
Category
Insertion fee
Final value fee % + $0.30 per order
Musical Instruments & Gear > Guitars & Basses
Free
· 6% on total amount of the sale up to $7,500 calculated per item
· 2.35% on the portion of the sale over $7,500
end of quote
I think what this meant was that, within eBay's category of Musical Instruments & Gear, sales of Guitars & Basses, only, carried a FVF of 6%, when the total sale was less than $7,500.00. If a seller sold a guitar or a bass guitar for more than $7,500.00, 6% was charged on $7,499.99 and 2.35% was charged on amount that is more than $7,499.99. Plus thirty cents, of course.
This also means that if you sold a clarinet or a tambourine, the FVF percentage would have been 12.9%, because that chart excerpt is from the fee schedule that was effective before February 15, 2023. Today, of course, being after February 15, 2023, the sale of a clarinet would be subject to a 13.25% FVF plus thirty cents.
My eyesight is fabulous; thank you so much for asking. Before the cataract surgery, I thought every day was foggy, but since cataract surgery on both eyes in 2022, everything is so brilliant and colorful and clear. The doctor thinks I still have slightly elevated pressure in one eye, but everything looks fine to me.
"3. As to misundersanding, that seems to be ur dept. not mine. The $20K reporting moved down to $600, and remains there except they moved it 1 yr forward. Nothing to discuss here."
I admit it: there is a possibility that I could have misunderstood something. I believe, however, that you misunderstood and still misunderstand reporting requirements for 1099Ks. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sets the requirements for 1099K reporting. eBay must comply with IRS requirements, just as all Americans must comply with IRS requirements.
"4. Where did I get 14%? Its actually 15% . I sold 20 dollar item incl. shipping, for example, the 13.2%+30c of the total with tax divided by the total dollar amt, received from buyer comes out to `15% commission ebay has charged on this transaction. You either have problem with ur calculator or ur glasses or both."
My question still stands: Where on earth did you get 14%? And now I have a new question: Where on earth did you get "actually 15%"?
If people posting on this Selling Community board accurately represent all eBay sellers (which I doubt), wa-a-a-ay too many sellers have trouble understanding how eBay calculate their Final Value Fees. I think it's pretty simple. It's all spelled out in Item 5 of the eBay User Agreement, entitled Fees and Taxes.
To try to make this subject a little bit easier, the fee percentage is applied to the Total Amount Of The Sale.
When you are the buyer, eBay tells you the Total Amount you have to pay, which is the Total Amount Of The Sale. eBay also tells the seller what that Total Amount is.
The Total Amount Of The Sale will include the price of the item (shirt or violin or basketball or whatever) + (plus) the price of postage, if the buyer has to pay it separately from the price of the item + (plus) sales tax that is required by the state where the item will be delivered.
To re-focus on this post, you state, "I sold 20 dollar item incl. shipping, for example, the 13.2%+30c of the total with tax divided by the total dollar amt, received from buyer comes out to `15% commission ebay has charged on this transaction" -- I don't quite understand how you conflate "13.2%+30c" into "15% commission" within one sentence.
Many, if not most, experienced sellers accept that delivery costs and sales taxes are Unknowns. Many experienced sellers have posted here in the Selling Community that they estimate that an amount between 18% to 30% of the item's listed price will be retained as eBay's fees. I reiterate: estimate. For my selling ID, I estimate I will earn 70% and eBay will retain 30%. If I earn more, so much the better.
"Having mentioned above points, I recommend u STFU and sit this one out."
Well. Wow. I'm an old woman, and even I don't need a translation of that acronym. Fifty-some years ago I had a substitute teaching assignment one day in a high-school class half-full of mean girls who took an immediate dislike to and disrespect of The Sub. Pretty standard reaction. One of them walked past me saying, "It's hotter than new s***," expecting to get a shocked reaction that would show her friends how tough she was. Slid right off my shoulders. No need to tell the regular teacher or school administration. I deprived that poor child of a sense of righteous indignation for "getting in trouble" for "cussing in school."
Here on eBay and their Community Boards, though, we are all supposed to be adults. You tell me to sit down and be quiet, I take that under advisement. But I am not going to sit down and be quiet just because some anonymous internet user recommends that for me.
1funkydude
·3 years agoThe delusion is fascinating. Dissonance, even. Attempts to help those stricken are met with anger or petulance.
bonjourami
·3 years agoThe 'level' was never 20K. The 20K threshold was when Paypal would send a 1099. Sellers have always been responsible for claiming their Ebay sales to the IRS, no matter how small.Like most payment processors, Ebay charges a fvf on the total sale they process. That includes the shipping fee,and state tax.Unless you'd rather collect and distribute those taxes to the proper states.