What's this insertion fee for???
Summary: gurlcat expressed confusion over a 25-cent 'insertion fee' appearing on their eBay listing, despite not exceeding listing limits or using additional features. They suspect it might be related to using the 'Sell Similar' option. Other participants discussed potential causes like category-related fees or auction format charges and suggested checking different platforms for clarification. gurlcat also reported an unexpected use of AI in their initial post, describing it as unsettling, while others shared similar concerns and experiences. Several participants offered advice and shared their curiosity about AI-generated content.
EDIT: OMG I DID NOT WRITE THIS! What you're seeing is an AI "translation" of what I wrote! What the flip is going on here?!
While preparing to list an item, I noticed a 25-cent fee displayed at the bottom of the page. The information icon indicates this is an 'insertion fee,' but does not provide further clarification. As a small-scale seller, I am not close to my store listing limits, which rules out that possibility. To my knowledge, the only 25-cent fee applies to adding a second category, a feature I did not utilize, nor did I opt for any advanced listing upgrades. This listing was generated using the 'Sell Similar' option from another seller's completed sale, yet I am unable to identify any triggers for this fee. Kindly inform if eBay charges a fee for replicating a listing, as I am not familiar with this process.
krazzykats
·2 days agoI'm totally lost on this one.
mr_lincoln
·2 days ago · Edited@gurlcat
Hmmm, I seem to recall that at one time some categories charged an Insertion fee for using Auction format opposed to Buy it now formatted listings. And that may have been 25 cents as a Store owner ... Book categories come to mind.
If you used a Sell Similar from another Seller who had an incorrect category and you listed it Auction format that 25 cent may have applied ...
If you corrected a wrong category the 25 cent insertion fee may not have been charged.
Of course I could be all wrong here ... would not be the first time.
gurlcat
OPAug 6, 2026 at 4:20 AMThis is sporting equipment (soccer balls) and I just left the category chosen by the previous seller, looked right to me.
gurlcat
OP2 days agoFYI, the listing is now LIVE. But I don't see a charge for 25 cents in my Payments page. Usually that does happen immediately with insertion fees. Well I mean it doesn't matter if the item sells or not -maybe it takes minutes or hours to show up, I don't know.
gurlcat
OPyesterday at 9:23 PMSo that^ was just a delay apparently. The charge IS there now.
participatrophy
·2 days agoActual problem: What happens if you go about it another way? Like make a few dummy listings and see if there's an insertion fee on those or not. Don't actually list them obviously, but start a few and see. Do a sell similar from one of your own listings. Do one totally from scratch. Do one from a template if you have any saved.
My own morbid curiosity: Dude! Is there an option when making a thread to have AI translate whatever you're asking about? I could just go start a thread and see for myself I guess. So many OPs are AI written for seemingly no reason, you've now got me wondering if there's some option for it that's set to yes by default.
nyr134
·2 days ago · EditedThere is an option to have AI ‘translate’ what you write. See the screen print below - the OP would have had to have performed several accidental steps by typing in the top box, hitting ‘generate’ and the result comes out below. Now we know that @gurlcat has a smart cat so maybe she stepped away for a few moments….
adamcartwright
·Aug 6, 2026 at 4:00 AMchristworks
·2 days ago@gurlcat I have run into this a time or two, and only when using sell similar. The last time was at least a year ago. You might try turning on and then off anything that can trigger such a fee. Type in the box for the secondary title. Let the listing update, then remove what you typed. Or, trash the listing and use someone else's.
authentic*vintage
·2 days agoYou may have to log in on a desktop app to see where the charge is coming from
gurlcat
OP2 days agoWait, desktop app??? I know of the desktop website (which is what I used), and the phone app (which I didn't).
authentic*vintage
·2 days agoYes - your screenshot looked like the phone app to me - sorry bout that
gurlcat
OP2 days agoThat was just a screenshot of that small part of the screen.
Yes it is listed now, but I don't see the 25 cent charge, which usually happens immediately upon listing.
adamcartwright
·yesterday at 5:26 PMDid you ever figure this 25 cent fee out?
gurlcat
OPyesterday at 9:21 PMThanks for reminding me of this. -NO I have not figured it out, and they sure as heck did charge me! (There was a bit of a delay in that, but I see it now). BTW when I click on the line item, the page it goes to doesn't explain what kind of insertion fee it is there, either.
authentic*vintage
·2 days agodid you list the item? If so, I will do a sell similar and see if I can see it?
gurlcat
OPyesterday at 9:27 PMSorry I didn't see this^ sooner. Yes the listing is live, and yes I was charged the fee. Here's the link to the listing if you want to try a SS with it. Let me know what happens; I'll pay closer attention to my notifications this time. ♥️
https://www.ebay.com/itm/128012928732
authentic*vintage
·yesterday at 9:46 PMIt is not showing up for me - very odd!!
nyr134
·yesterday at 10:24 PM · EditedThis is not an area that I am terribly familiar with, but it looks like since this in the Sporting Goods category, an auction will cost an insertion fee. Someone else suggested this a few days ago here.
stephenmorgan
·Aug 6, 2026 at 4:35 AM · EditedComputer Programs or Software and APPs (short for Applications) are the same thing. Apps on a phone are small Computer Programs or Software.
monroe67
·2 days ago · EditedVery strange indeed.
This 25-cent fee may be due to using somebody else's listing as a basis for a "Sell Similar" listing.
It sounds like you have a good handle on the insertion fees for your level of eBay Store, and you know you are nowhere close to the number of listings that would truly cause you to be charged a 25-cent insertion fee.
As for the translation from human language to AI language -- you got me . . . . . . .
Let's see if this post gets translated . . . . .
Has nothing to do with anything but -- I Detest Artificial Intelligence !!
On my selling ID's new listings, I have begun adding a sentence at the end of my Item Descriptions: "(AI was not used in the creation of this listing.)"
adamcartwright
·Aug 6, 2026 at 3:52 AMTo me, it's like outsourcing your brain power.
Use it or lost it, right?
Think about how people have forgotten phone numbers since they're all programmed into our phones.
annadryl
·2 days agoThat is exactly how I usually do listings, I have no idea what that could be. I know they used to sneak in gallery pic fees, it may be something like that, hard to catch. Hopefully somebody knows. I might try a couple listings tonight. Did you end up listing it?
gurlcat
OP2 days agoIt's scheduled to post .... uh, one minute from now.
adamcartwright
·2 days agoI'm confused -- what exactly did you write?
gurlcat
OP2 days agoBasically what the AI wrote, but in my own words. I sure wouldn't complete a post with "Kindly inform if...."
annadryl
·2 days agoThis is creepy. And it's going to be two threads in one...
gurlcat
OP2 days agoYeah and in a way I'm more concerned about my words being replaced by AI slop. Maybe I accidentally hit something before posting, IDK. I know I was trying to resize the image because it looked like it was going to be HUGE, and the normal edge pull-bar things were not available to shrink the image. So I gave up on that .... then had to wait about 20 minutes for the post to get "approved" ... then I see it's in this robot speak.
adamcartwright
·2 days agoWow, that IS creepy.