Wow these ebay fees + shipping are out of control
Sold an item for $25. by the time ebay was finished i walked away with $13. shipping was $5.20.
im not sure i can keep manufacturing if 55% of the price is swiped.
37 comments
Sold an item for $25. by the time ebay was finished i walked away with $13. shipping was $5.20.
im not sure i can keep manufacturing if 55% of the price is swiped.
bbcardzman
·6 months agoThe worst part is customers saying that your shipping prices are too high when they obviously have never shipped anything in their life!
jbbowers12012
·6 months agoHi, Agreed with most others. Charge your buyers for shipping - or - if you are set on "free shipping" push up your selling prices a bit to absorb the shipping charges. Also, try to keep your promoted listings to a minimum. It isnt' always necessary to promote. At least keep those percentages down. Just these few little tweaks will likely put more $$$$$ in your pocket. Good Luck!
animal-house-8
·6 months agoEverything is outa control, a box of chocolates I buy my wife every year $10.99 last year, $14.99 this year 36% increase, almost everything is going up. Ebay is no different than any other business.
chubbycatcollectibles
·6 months agoI have gotten used to the Ebay Fees but the USPS shipping is getting crazy. 3oz for 5 bucks or more.
theteamsetguy
·6 months agoPrices have gone up a lot due to higher wages being paid. Back when the minimum wage was $10.00 an hour in Minneapolis you could go to McDonalds and buy a a quarter pounder with cheese value meal for around $6.00.
Now the minimum wage in Minneapolis is over $16.00 and hour a quarter pounder with cheese value is around $10.00. Businesses that want to survive have to pass the higher costs to consumers just like successful eBay sellers.
The wages paid by USPS have gone up a lot the last few years.
tobaccocardyahoo
·6 months agoNot being aware of pending shipping price increases and offering free delivery is failing to recognize that free delivery is not free and your ability to remain profitable requires action on your part.
You decided that free delivery was appropriate for your item, not Ebay. The shipping carriers raise their prices when their remaining profitable requires it. You cannot sell online and operate on auto-pilot.
onlinecentral
·6 months agoWe can accurately determine the outcome before we list the item. Look at Sold listings for price and demand. Use the Shipping Calculator and Fee Calculator.
If you weren't satisfied with the probable outcome, you should have:
a) Not listed it at all
b) Listed it at a higher price
c) Listed it on another selling platform
meme6253
·6 months agoThe whole fee structure is able to be reviewed prior to listing So you should familiarize yourself with it, We may not like the fees but they are what they are & if you agree to sell than you also agree to the fees involved, You also May want to check your promotional fees as well, That is something you have control over.
jdbelt1960
·6 months agoI offer a flat rate discount rate of $4.50 for shipping anywhere in the US. It works well most of time as my items average $6.00 to $10.00 for USPS ground advantage. It is not quite free shipping but my cost is diminished but customers like it. I am contemplating raising it to $5.00.
gloryglorygifts
·6 months agoWhy are you charging such a small amount for shipping? Even at the lowest shipping cost of $6, you are eating into your profit by $1.50. Personally, I would bump that price up, unless you have padded your product cost to absorb the shortfall?
jdbelt1960
·6 months agoActually that is my largest concern for profit margin. I realize that I am eating into profit margin by discounting shipping. I will probably raise the shipping soon. No I do not pad my prices as they are at a midrange. I received a message from EBAY about selling an item today with a suggestion to lower the price. The lowest was $6.99, the average was $15.30 and the highest was $35 not including shipping cost. I am selling mine for $20.50 + $4.50 shipping.
gloryglorygifts
·6 months agoOh good. I'm glad that you are at least considering an increase and aware of your competition. I don't want to see you losing a profit.
The postal changes are ridiculous and getting out of hand. I'm not sure if people are going to want to pay upwards of $8 for ground advantage. We are at their mercy.
Good luck to you and all of us.
tobaccocardyahoo
·6 months agoLike it or not, many of us are going to have to decide whether what we sell is worth enough to a buyer to pay to have it shipped.
I have already reduced the cost of shipping as much as I can. Over 90% of what I sell ships at the 4 oz. rate.
If the market won't accept the cost of shipping and my minimum profit goal, they can forget finding as many uncommon items as they can find on Ebay. I won't work for less than I work for today.
Although there are some sellers who do not value their time and will sell and ship an item for a profit measured in pennies, the are many who are not desperate and they will either get more for what they sell, or stop selling many of the items that are sold today.
There will always be some folks who work for nothing.
Sellers who do not keep track of their profits hurt themselves and their competitors, as well.
gloryglorygifts
·6 months agoWell, I was just trying to help just one seller, but he/she has a good grip on it.
You can't help those that do not help themselves.
rebvanm-91
·6 months agoI agree with what you are saying. I always promote my items and it still does no good. I think buyers are going to Whatnot. They are giving ebay, Etsy, Mercari, everybody a run for their money! I am addicted to Whatnot but don't want to be a face-to-face seller.
christworks
·6 months agoWhatnot and eBay attract fundamentally different buyer bases. Whatnot primarily caters to resellers, collectors, and impulse buyers. The platform is built around livestream urgency — short windows, rapid bidding, and personality-driven hype.
Most buyers come to eBay looking for a specific item. They comparison shop, review seller feedback, evaluate shipping costs, and make deliberate purchasing decisions. The behavior is intentional and utility-focused rather than entertainment-driven.
On the seller side, Whatnot attracts the seller who wants the "fast nickel." eBay attracts the seller who wants the "slow dime." The work is different for each type of selling, but there is still a lot of work involved.
If anything eBay is attempting to steal Whatnot buyers and sellers by offering a similar (but not exact) live selling model. Whatnot is definitely not giving an eBay a run for their money. eBay is still the giant and I do not see that changing anytime soon.
grann-4629
·6 months agoIt's about time Whatnot got in tune with the online market ... it's still nice to buy things at a decent price, get to see them and hold them, and not get ripped off with stupidly high shipping rates. It's too bad Pimps & Queers didn't figure this out before they went under!
stainlessenginecovers
·6 months ago@diamondcutgraphicsusa
Although your post is clear as mud....
Sounds like you are doing 'free shipping'. Stop that.
Sounds like you are doing 'promotions' which is an OPTIONAL additional amount you decided to 'give' ebay on top of final value fees. Stop that.
A $25 sold item should cost you less than $4 in fees- netting you $21.
You are doing it ALL wrong if you want more $$.
bonanza125
·6 months agoEbay fees are in the policy. You know up front before you list what the fees are. If the fees are out of control you can either raise your cost of your listings to pay for the fees, change your shipping from "Free shipping to Buyer pays for shipping, lesson your expectations of profit by keeping your prices and free shipping the same or list on another website which is more affordable to you which you can make profit you desire.
american-photography
·6 months agoDon’t know what your cost of goods are but 52% profit margin is very decent.
Try selling in a physical store where net margins are only a few percent after all expenses are taken out including cost of goods sold, rent, labor, utilities, taxes, etc. not to mention competing with online sellers such as yourself.
luckythewinner
·6 months agoIf you offered free shipping and the shipping cost $5.20, then you did not really sell it for $25. You sold it for $19.80.
libbywebst
·6 months agoAnyone know what this "other" .28 cents is that's added into the total amount on which ebay is charging fees? I can't figure it out.
cityslickercreations2004
·6 months agoI don't know specifically why you were charged but some states have created new fees.
If I recall correctly, Texas and Colorado are two of them. Possibly Minnesota.
I don't know if these fees are applied to B&M stores also.
libbywebst
·6 months agoThat would make sense then; the item sold in Colorado. Thanks!
reallynicestamps
·6 months agoAnyone know what this "other" .28 cents is that's added into the total amount on which ebay is charging fees? I can't figure it out.
There is a flat non-refundable fee on sales, that most forget about because it is so low.
I think of it as 40c but I am in Canada, so my fees may differ from yours.
spakey
·6 months agoThe fee is a retail delivery fee paid by the buyer. It is a charge on deliveries (by the state) of taxable items made by motor vehicles to locations within the state. It is used to support infrastructure within the state. It is collected by eBay and remitted to the states' department of revenue. It's been in place in Colorado since 2022.
theteamsetguy
·6 months ago@libbywebst ,
Colorado has a new tax charged to online sellers to replace gas tax lost to electric vehicles. It is charged to online sellers.
monroe67
·6 months ago"Colorado has a new tax charged to online sellers to replace gas tax lost to electric vehicles. It is charged to online sellers."
Colorado's "retail delivery fee" is charged to and paid by buyers who buy things that are delivered in the state of Colorado.
This affects eBay sellers who sell things that are delivered to Colorado addresses, but only to the extent that eBay's Final Value Fee (FVF) percentage, charged on the total paid by the buyer, will include a few cents "extra" in FVFs to eBay.
$0.28 x 0.136 (eBay's general FVF percentage) = $0.03808, rounded up to four cents ($0.04).
$0.28 x 0.153 (eBay's highest FVF percentage) = $0.04284, rounded down to four cents ($0.04).
$0.28 x 0.067 (eBay's FVF for guitars) = $0.01876, rounded up to two cents ($0.02).
Remember that those two-to-four cents may possibly be includible as tax deductible business expenses on your federal tax return: they are, after all, fees you pay to eBay.
soh.maryl
·6 months agoYour BUYER is the one who's supposed to pay shipping, either by the seller charging the buyer for it, or by the seller offering free shipping, but including the shipping cost in the price of the item.
Which of those are you doing?
And are you promoting your listings? That has a cost also.
ryry-jj
·6 months agoDidnt you charge the buyer for s/h...or at least cover it in your selling cost?
If you did not, that at least you discovered early on that you selling model has you bleeding, and yes, if you keep doing as you are, you will soon bleed out
caldreamer
·6 months agoEBAY selling fees are charge on total sales (purchase price + shipping + sales tax) plus 40 cent handling charge. Since you paid shipping of $5.20, I assume $25 price included "free shipping" leaving you only $20.80 (selling fees will be deducted from that amount. If that is the case, you would only pay selling fees on $25.00 + sales tax (plus 40 cent handling charge).
Go to ORDERS, VIEW ORDER DETAILS (this will give detailed explanation of where every penny went.
dhbookds
·6 months agoRoughly.......
13 x 25 = 3.25 + 5.20= 8.45
25-8.45= 16.55
So you were promoting?
shire123
·6 months agoThis is going to sound harsh. But ebay fees and shipping are posted and clearly stated. Nothing hidden. What you do with that knowledge is totally up to you. Not sure how you do things, but have your buyer pay the shipping, raise prices, sell something different, et.
m60driver
·6 months agoYes, for low dollar sell items the fees and shipping can take a large cut. But the question to ask is what was your net margin. If you only spent a few bucks on the item then the $13 is a decent net profit margin. But if you are manufacturing your widget than the manufacturing and labor costs must be factored into the cost of goods and that can really cut into your net margin until you are scaling up.
grann-4629
·6 months agoI would assume that the OP already knows about manufacturing costs vs. selling price, as probably everyone here who makes something also knows.
To paraphrase ... your selling price must be higher than your costs to produce and sell it 🤓
kibble-net
·6 months agoSo make your own website, sell directly, and hand-deliver all your products.
Let us all know how that works out.
njtoyreseller
·6 months agoeBays fees haven't really changed much! For the longest time its been around 13.5 percent of the total order (Item+shipping+tax) and a 30 or 40 cent payment processing fee. And could add more fees if you also choose to promote your listings as well.
If you feel the margins dont work for you, you can raise your prices but that could also lessen sales. You need to figure out what works best for you for each item you sell.