Fees & Financials

[seller_update@ebay]

We continue to look for ways to improve our marketplace to help you manage your business more efficiently, accelerate your sales velocity, and bring more buyers to you. For example, we recently launched spendable funds, a new way for you to pay for items on eBay using proceeds from your sales, and introduced additional payment options for higher priced items.

To help support changes we’re making to our marketplace that benefit all eBay users, we're increasing some final value fees. At the same time, we’re decreasing the cost of some optional listing upgrades that give buyers more purchase options and make it easier for you to manage your listings.

We’re also expanding the fee credit we give you when you provide great service by fully refunding a buyer’s return. And as we continue to roll out eBay International Shipping, we handle the international logistics for you at no additional cost, while also waiving the International fee for sellers.

Edit: Please ensure that all questions and comments remain on topic. Any off topic posts will be moved to the appropriate board, so they can be answered by Community Members.

Please allow us 24-48 hours to provide an answer to your question.  

[toomuchstuffagain35]

------- EDIT to correct info.
For a remorse return, if the seller refunds the buyer through the returns flow and deducts shipping from that remorse return, that is considered a full refund and is also eligible for the $0.30 fee credit.

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That should be made clearer in the T&C as right now the knee jerk reaction from sellers is going to be "wth? I only get my fvf & transaction fees returned if I lose out by paying the buyer back their shipping for their errror?"

[seller_update@ebay]

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@dottrar wrote:

Two things were said in the reply. That I was correct that if shipping was not refunded, the credit would not be given, and the edit says the opposite. 
Is it safe to presume the edit is correct? If it is a buyer remorse return, a "full refund" does NOT include buyer paid shipping?

This would make sense to me. Otherwise, the "credit" would not be worth it and it would be a false "benefit".

Thanks

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@dottrar That is correct that the edit on the original response is correct. 

[gracieallen01]

But, think how much money it saves ebay not to have to program in the line item cost of the processing fee.  🙄

[skifftrader]

Keep raising the prices ebay - ever think that buyers would be more flexible and this would be a more appealing marketplace if you LOWERED the fees? Try it - there's something to advertise instead of squeezing .35% that just seems desperate and all your sellers are now just going to pass it on to customers. Since most of us cross-sell, that just means our items will be cheaper elsewhere

[steamcloudexpress]

Say a $100 item in 2013 sells for $120 today due to rising costs. A static final value fee of 10% would earn eBay a 20% fee increase ($12 up from $10) just by virtue of rising costs. 

But eBay keeps raising the final value fees, and it just feels greedy. Instead of a 10% fee, they've gradually ticked up to 13.25%. Instead of my example $120 item netting eBay a 20% fee increase, they're collecting a 59% increase ($15.90 up from $10).

Besides the icky feeling of small sellers being squeezed for more money, I'm concerned where this all ends. Does eBay eventually increase final value fees to 20% or more?  Shouldn't rising costs mean percentage-based fees should stay the same while eBay inherently earns more to cover expenses? If eBay can't operate without raising percentage-based fees, how does it plan to survive? Eventually sellers will not have any more percentage points to give. We've already faced this reality on several products.

[seller_update@ebay]

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@mam98031 wrote:

Why is the 30 cent fee that is refunded to the seller during the return processed limited to Buyer Remorse Returns?  The update reads:

Last year we announced that we’ll give your $0.30 per-order fee back to you when you approve a buyer’s cancellation request before you ship your item. Based on positive feedback we received from sellers, we’re expanding the per-order fee credit when you provide excellent service to the buyer by issuing a full refund. Starting February 15, 2023, when a buyer returns an item for any of the following reasons, we’ll extend the $0.30 credit for returns that you voluntarily refunded.

• Ordered by mistake 
• Don’t like it 
• Changed my mind 
• Doesn't fit 
• Found a better price 

We’ll also credit the $0.30 per-order fee when you issue a full refund of the order through the Send refund flow.

All those reasons are ONLY Buyer Remorse.  What about INADs?  Do we not get the same benefit if we refund in full on an INAD?  Knowing that most buyers don't file a true Buyer Remorse return because many would then have to pay for return shipping.  So they file an INAD and just get creative on the reason they choose.

Also a separate question regarding the refunding of this fee on a Cancellation.  Has this changed?  When this was introduced it was ONLY for buyers that requested a formal cancellation within the first hour after purchase.  Then you could get the 30 cent refund too.  But if the buyer requested a cancellation after than via an email, the seller did not get the 30 cent fee refund.  Is this the same or has it changed?

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Hello @mam98031, the bullet points you posted are currently the reasons the $.30 fee is credited.  At this time, INAD's are not credited.  However, this is great feedback and we appreciate your comments.

And as @wastingtime101 mentioned here, the fee is credited whether or not the buyer requested the cancellation within that first hour.  

[dtmedin]

DIscovering that the FVF is imposed not only on the shipping amount, which has been a thorn in sellers' sides for over a decade, and an unethical move since the beginning for sellers who charge actual shipping, I discovered that the full FVF is also charged on the sales tax charged the buyers, which the seller never sees and for which ebay only performs funds clearance, has helped me make the decision to discontinue my store when time comes to renew this Spring, and treat ebay as only a casual sales venue from now on. With the falling page views, why lose money on a store every month? When it costs ebay less than 2.5% to clear the sales tax payment, but sellers get charged around 13% or more is just plain unethical profiteering. eBay just doesn't get it!

[revenue-collector]

I know that most of the replies are negative, as mine typically are as well, but I just wanted to say that I'm happy that eBay is FINALLY dropping the $0.10 scheduled listing fee. I was considering signing up with a third-party service to handle all of my eBay listings partially due to wanting to schedule weekly auction listings for a certain category, but this now saves me from having to do this (or at least for this particular feature).

[dtmedin]

Yeah, Promoted Listings have been a joke since inception. I tried them, no difference, but for eBay's detriment, I just happened to have a promoted listing cancelled for being in the "wrong category" where I'd sold most of these items for over a decade. Talk about a debacle. I also hate promoted listings, which already get in the way of me finding something I'm searching for, so I pass them by.

Ebay needs to understand what their uniqueness was and get back to basics. This percentage price rise on top of shipping increases is the marketplace's death knell. Do they intend to fund more of the loser ad campaigns I've seen on streaming media? Yeah, like those have raised by page views...

[somethingneat]

Just absurd!!

Amounts to nothing but greed.  This is very short sighted.  The increase in fees with little to no return is borderline theft.  2 wk notice as well to adjust.  Not one actual upgrade.  What cost are increasing for eBay?

What needs to be paid for?   

[dtmedin]

Yes, let me agree that showing competitors' products along with mine, and showing off-site ads on the same page, leads to a very cluttered page. My advice to eBay? GET BACK TO BASICS! Try to remember who you were and what your niche is.

[tsme35]

Why is ebay only adding enhanced protections for charge backs and not charging the 1.65% fee for EIS when I have international buyers ship to US addresses(1.65% fee) and we have NO protections against charge backs "even" when the buyer lost a return case.

[somethingneat]

Not to mention that the fee is calculated AFTER tax and shipping.  Criminal corporate greed at hand.  Where this ends is eBay's short sight will be their downfall.  

[somethingneat]

This is eBay's short sight that will be their downfall.  Greed

[tsme35]

I have a question about dropping the $0.10 scheduled listing fee, above the notice its says for listings starting over $150, is free or is only free when the auction starts above $150?