My eBay fees are now at 51%
My eBay fees are at 51%, granted shipping labels are in there so if I take that out its 41%
In January so far, I have 7,847.00 in sales selling cost (with shipping) $4,009.69, (eBay fees 3218.72) leaving a Net of 3,399.85. How does eBay make the same amount of money as I do when I do all the work here. shouldn’t there cut be 20% or less? I can’t get a straight answer out of Customer Service, and there is no one to call to help me work on this. Is anyone else having this issue? I’m at a loss, any ideas?
37 comments
johnrj1226
·8 months agoYou need to explain (break down line by line) on how you arrived at your eBay selling costs of 51% or 41%.
Some people use the Fuzzy Math method..
redlinear
·8 months ago@superman-716
You brought out the usual crowd "Shipping isn't a fee, you should charge your customers shipping, yadayadayada"
Shipping is a cost of doing business on eBay. eBay fees are a cost of doing business on eBay.
Combining those gives you a 51% cost of selling on eBay.
If you want to sell "typical" Used Car Parts on eBay, your DELIVERED price must be right there in the ballbark with the cheapest delivered price.
$50 shipped is the same as $30 part + $20 shipping.
While $30 part + $21 shipping sits on your shelf collecting dust...Same as $51 shipped.
Looks to me as if you are promoting at eBay's "suggested rate". I understand why you are doing that. It's not easy to be seen, and you will not sell anything if you are not seen. Typical used auto parts are difficult in that aspect. Promoting will help, although, for me.....all I do is sell more parts. My net at the end of the month is pretty much that same.
SO, you need to pretty much accept the fact, if you can....that selling on eBay is going to cost you 50% of your selling price.
It's not easy to accept that, unless you decide that's more than you'll get selling local. Which is probably true.
IMO: In my book, you're killin' it!
Really nice, clean parts with GREAT pics.
Your listings are excellent.
If anything, I would drop all promotions if you're running any. I don't think you need "promoted" help.
If that 51% cost is there without promotions? I kind of see that also, costs a bunch to safely ship a lot of what I see listed.
But dude, only 300 items listed and MORE than that sold in the last 90 days? That's INSANE!!
Not many sellers doing that.
You're kind of my new hero
luckythewinner
·8 months ago$50 shipped is the same as $30 part + $20 shipping.
If I sell a $30 item that costs $40 to ship and my net is $20, then I made $20 on a $30 item.
If I had charged $50 and $20 shipping and my net was $20, then I still made $20 on a $30 item.
If I had charged $20 and $50 shipping and my net was $20, then I still made $20 on a $30 item.
If I had charged $70 and free shipping and my net was $20, then I still made $20 on a $30 item.
The problem is that some people here will calculate the "fees" differently for each of those scenarios. Some will say my "fees" were 33% ($10/$30), while others will say they were 72% ($50/$70).
But no matter how I arbitrarily divide what the buyer pays between item and shipping, in the end I still sold a $30 item and made $20.
kibble-net
·8 months agoStop using promoted listings. Or reduce your promoted amount down to 2% from whatever large number yours is at.
Use calculated shipping and add a small handling fee to pay for packaging materials ($1-$2).
Basically, do your homework instead of calling ebay a thief.
luckythewinner
·8 months agoMy eBay fees are at 51%, granted shipping labels are in there so if I take that out its 41%
Amounts and percentages are meaningless without context. 51% of what? 41% of what? And we now know that you are
Can you give us a concrete example of a single transaction where your fees are 51%, with a complete breakdown of every amount that eBay takes?
Here's one of mine:
$125.00 selling price
+ $5.38 shipping charged to buyer
+ $10.41 sales tax
= $140.79 total amount
- $10.41 sales tax
- $19.55 eBay fees
- $12.72 shipping label cost
= $98.11 net amount
So my fees are:
15.64% of my selling price ($19.55/$125)
And my selling costs are:
21.51% of my selling price ($26.89/$125)
And my net after selling costs is:
78.49% of my selling price ($98.11/$125)
gurlcat
·8 months ago@superman-716 I hope your superpower isn't starting threads without ever coming back to answer questions or reply at all.
inhawaii
·8 months agoMy eBay fees are now at 51%
I doubt it, and if they are, it's your own doing.
bbcardzman
·8 months agoFirst of all, STOP giving FREE shipping and then don't promote at the crazy rates eBay says to do.
Or stop promoting period and then eBay takes only about 13% (your category might be different)
superman-716
OP8 months agoI do free shipping on select items to be competitive, and i just cut all my rates in half. after i seen how much they were taking, we will see what happens. sales thank you
soh.maryl
·8 months agoBecause it may attract some buyers, some sellers do offer free shipping; however, most of those sellers are smart enough to roll the shipping cost into the item price. Hope you are doing that.
fullers_uk
·8 months agoThats a tech giant for you, though not the giant they once were, my fees are about 28% and i buy my own labels, where else in the world can you give stuff away and call yourself a brand junkie?
funfactorychannel
·8 months agoYour reading the summary in seller performace area. That shipping cost is misleading your assumptions. It a cost not a fee. The amount is already added to your total sales so they either even out or you make some money off it unless you pass the discount to the buyer.
monica-sells
·8 months agoYou have really nice pictures and titles....41% is unacceptable...you are overpaying (probably in promoted fees)
I do see free shipping on some items...make sure you incorporate that cost into the sale price if you offer free shipping (that will kill you)
The only way to see where you are losing money is in the reports
https://www.ebay.com/mes/report-landing?sh=true
Set your desired time frame and generate a report.
It's all right in front of you....you can easily see where you are spending too much.
shado-x
·8 months agoGo after the USPS for raising their postage rates without any warning --- and keeping the holiday surcharge on until the day the rates go higher. That's who to complain to, not eBay's fee structure. Unless eBay can negotiate lower commercial USPS rates for sellers (and stop on-line competitors from giving away free USPS Ground Advantage boxes, and stop those YouTube sellers gloating about it and cheating against eBay Sellers), just go complain to the USPS because they are the culprit, not eBay.
christworks
·8 months ago@superman-716
Shipping is not a fee charged by eBay. It is a cost by the carrier you choose. That cost is determined by the service you choose.
Ad rates are also not fees charged by eBay. Ad rates are costs you voluntarily choose to pay with the expectation that, when looking at the big picture, your overall sales are more than what you would have if you did not promote your listings using ads.
I think what you mean is that your selling costs are 51%. The selling fee for car parts is 13.6%. Plus, you have the per order flat fee of 0.40¢ for items over $10.00, and I believe it is still 0.30¢ for items less than $10.00.
The fee is charged on the cost of the item + shipping the buyer pays + taxes. You offer "free" shipping, so in your case it is the cost of the item + taxes. For every $100 in sales, eBay will take $13.60, plus the per order fee.
If you run ads, then eBay will whatever percentage you've chosen. That percentage is also based on the whole total before eBay has taken out any of their fees. So if you choose an ad rate of 10%, then on every $100 sale, eBay will take $13.60 (selling fee) + 0.40¢ (order fee) + $10.00 (ad fee), which leaves you with $76.00 before you purchase the label. If you spend $15.00 on a shipping label, then you are left with about $61.00. That's still not your net, because you must account for supplies and your cost of goods.
As you can see, it is quite easy to be left with a 50% NPM. You can increase that by lowering your ad rate, raising how much you charge for an item, consider a different shipping method, lower your supply expenses, and/or lowering your cost of goods.
One other note: I think it is a mischaracterization to say you "do all the work." eBay provides a service to you. They provide the platform, the upkeep of it, storage for your listing photos and data, promoting the website to buyers though platform advertising, collecting and sending sales tax to the appropriate locality on your behalf, and so on.
It would be extraordinarily difficult for you take over eBay's role on your own and still be doing as well as you are doing. Not impossible, but a lot of work.
bonanza125
·8 months agoIf you are not making as much money as you like then increase your prices. As others have stated there are different fees which apply and you need to make sure that you are charging your customers the correct amount.
cityslickercreations2004
·8 months agoCan these go Ground Advantage? The shipping may be a couple of days longer but maybe not.
I am sure the cost will be less than priority.
FYI: USPS package rates go up on Jan. 18, 2026.
bashort
·8 months agoI do not believe that there is any difference in delivery times between priority and GA anymore,
gurlcat
·8 months agoThere isn't. Any perceived difference is due to pure chance.
superman-716
OP8 months agoIt depends on where you are going, sometimes it’s the same amount of time, sometimes it’s a day or so faster. If it the same amount of time, and its $4 or $ 5 cheaper than Priority, I will ship GA, I take that into consideration on every order. I do priority because someone buying a car part, many times I sell to shops and mechanics, they need that part to do a job NOW, so I want to get it to them as fast as possible, it helps with repeat business, since everything I sell is a one off.
gurlcat
·8 months agoIf it really does help with repeat business, it's purely because, like you, many buyers (falsely) believe Priority is faster than GA, and if/when their packages do take longer than expected, they are less likely to blame you because they think you at least tried your "best" by using Priority, and whatever is causing the delay is some abnormal fluke, not you "being a cheapskate".
In truth, the various causes of backlogs that do occur don't affect GA packages any more than Priority ones; the WHOLE truckload, airplane-load or facility full of packages is affected. It has been decades since Priority actually meant segregation and prioritization. Priority wasn't faster than First Class Package either. Now the only packages that are actually treated that way are Priority EXPRESS ones, because those have actual consequences for lateness, in the form of label refunds.
If you want to stop bleeding money while still giving your customers whatever shipping tier they want, quit doing "free" shipping, price your shipping separately from item price, and offer them the choice between GA, Priority, and even Express if you want. Just make sure THEY pay for their choice. I guarantee some of them will choose GA because they know it's really the best value.
rugerskick
·8 months agoThere is. Ground Advantage items do no get placed on airplanes, except going out of CONUS. HAZMAT and other certain types of items only go ground and cant be shipped priority.
stephenmorgan
·8 months ago41% seems like a very high rate.
My eBay Fees are 13.6% of the total amount the buyer pays for the item.
There are several different reports you can get that will explain the fees you are charged. Looking at the Order Details Report of an order will tell you the amount of fees charge with a link to View More Details at the bottom of the report. Follow the links until you get to the Fee Details and it will explain why you were charged 41%. Maybe you are being penalized or maybe you a paying for some services you did not realize you signed up for.
You could also download a Transaction Report for selected dates that will show this information for multiple orders.
You could also view All Transactions and select the Fees Button and it will explain to you how the fee is determined for each sale.
All transactions
superman-716
OP8 months agoThank you , going to look at them now
caldreamer
·8 months agoI viewed several of your "USED auto parts" and wanted to let you know that listing shows "SELLER pays for RETURN SHIPPING". You might want to change that, as you will be losing money with FREE RETURNS.
It gets even worse, I noticed some of your other "USED auto parts" have FREE DELIVERY and FREE RETURNS. This will also hurt your bottom line profits.
kensgiftshop
·8 months agoShipping charges are not a fee, so you can't figure them in.
How you using promoted listings?
superman-716
OP8 months agojust cut all my promoted listing % in 1/2 Thank you
silverbird_graphics
·8 months agoYou absolutely figure shipping charges in for your total feels.
The op is shipping heavier car parts. If he charges the customer $40 to ship an item, then the total fees are taken from that $40 as well as the price of the actual item. Let's say the FVF is 10%, and he's promoting standard at 10%. That's 20% coming off of the $40 shipping alone, so you're paying an $8 fee on absolutely nothing besides shipping.
You can't just say, "Ok, I charged 300 bucks for this part and 40 bucks for shipping. So, let's take the 40 bucks away and figure out the fees on the 300". It's charged on the shipping as well. I think you know this, but I'm just reiterating.
stainlessenginecovers
·8 months ago@silverbird_graphics
Nope.
If something costs $10 to ship it; a seller SHOULD be charging $13 to ship ($1.50 (15% fee) and $1.50 ship materials).
So, buyer pays those shipping costs (fees included) and I'm covered.
silverbird_graphics
·8 months agoNope.
If something costs $10 to ship, even if you charge $13 to "cover" the fees, you're still paying the fees on the $13, which lends to my point.
In your statement your math is also wrong. The 15% fee would be $1.95, not $1.50 (15% x $13 then the $1.50 for shipping material so you're paying $3.45, not $3.00). Again, this is why I said you never get around "paying fees". This was my point. You're charged on the total of everything, including tax and shipping. You can overly charge for shipping and there are ways where it won't cost you anything, but it's not as simple as just putting a number in there and saying "yep, I'm covered", unless you really overshoot it.
inhawaii
·8 months ago@stainlessenginecovers 's number may be off by a few cents, but I think we all know what he means.
It 's not rocket science.
Charge enough S&H to cover the actual shipping + fees + any other expenses.
In some cases I undercharge for S&H but I make up for it in profit on the item itself.
stainlessenginecovers
·8 months ago@silverbird_graphics really? the entire jest of what I was saying went right over your head?? I forgot to state 'Your Mileage May Vary'. But I will help your over analytical brain a bit here:
I really pay 12.25% because I get 1% off for having a store so 12.25% of $13 is $1.59, but I really only pay $1.12 on average for a packaging so charging $13 makes me a bit MORE than 100% covered ($13 minus $1.59 minus $1.12 equals $10.29 left to purchase that $10 label). So now I JUST pay the Final Value Fee (promotion of MY choosing) for 'just the item').
Want to get into the fee on Sales Tax as well? Yes, that .08c fee on that $100 sale is a real killer, so charge an additional .20c on your item or your shipping or WHATEVER you have to do.
willingdealer_make-me-an-offer
·8 months agowhat is your promoted listing percentage? you have to keep an eye on that and not just go with the suggested rate. Additionally, you may be able to reduce your shipping costs by starting a business account with UPS and Fedex and negotiating with them directly. Since you do good volume on large items, its well worth looking into.
superman-716
OP8 months agoI just cut all my promoted listing %s in half, and see what happens, I have accounts with fedex and UPS i will start comparing there costs. Thank you
caldreamer
·8 months agoIf you "promoted listing" you would pay more than the usual percentage. Also bear in mind that EBAY "selling fees" are charged on (purchase price + shipping + sales tax) plus 40 cent handling charge.
Because you are shipping "heavy car parts" those selling fees will add up. I also noticed that you ship "heavy items" by PRIORITY MAIL (that is the most expensive rate). Remember, you have to pay "selling fees" on your shipping also (this could be the problem).
johnrj1226
·8 months agoAll eBay fees and costs from item acquisition to packaging, shipping labels, handling etc to desired profit margin % or amount desired needs to be recovered from the prospective buyer.
bashort
·8 months agoI make my buyers pay for the shipping.
shipping cost as a % of the item price make a big difference in total fee %
a $20 item with $6 buyer paid shipping not promoted will have about 20% in total fees as a % of the item price
a $20 item with $15 buyer paid shipping not promoted will have about 26% in total fees as a % of the item price