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.  

[mam98031]

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@behapppybekind wrote:

The updated stated

"And remember—when you sell on eBay, we don’t charge a separate fee for payment processing." And in the fees section it states "We charge one final value fee when your item sells, and you don't have to worry about third-party payment processing fees. This fee is calculated as a percentage of the total amount of the sale, plus $0.30 per order.

Clearly that means that the .30 per order fee is for payment processing along with a portion of the final value fee.

Am I missing something here?

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@behapppybekind 

What?

When Paypal was are money processor, we paid them 2.9% for money processing AND a 30 cent per transaction fee.  So NOT "clearly" the 30 cent fee is NOT a money processing fee.

[azzysdesignworks]

Why should shipping be refunded if a buyer changes their mind?  If I had a brick and mortar location  for the same item, would I be expected to pick up my customers and drive them home to browse?

[wastingtime101]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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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That changed before they implemented it last year. 30 cent fee is refunded on all cancellations except OOS.

Source: https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/About-the-30c-fee/m-p/32867426#M1984118

Because OOS and SNAD are considered by eBay to be seller error (even though buyers lie to get around return policies which happens a lot) I don't think we'll ever see the 30 cent credit in those scenarios. Just an opinion.

[seller_update@ebay]

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@azzysdesignworks wrote:

Why should shipping be refunded if a buyer changes their mind?  If I had a brick and mortar location  for the same item, would I be expected to pick up my customers and drive them home to browse?

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Hi @azzysdesignworks. When a seller refunds a remorse return through the refund flow process, they have the option to deduct the shipping cost.

[valueaddedresource]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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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@mam98031  that changed sometime early last year. It was a bit confusing with a lot of back and forth about when exactly the change went into effect, but we received confirmation of the change from Velvet in April 2022.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/About-the-30c-fee/m-p/32869798/highlight/true#M1984720 

[azzysdesignworks]

Ebay lost a lot of market share when the US stopped subsidising so much Chinese postage. We used to pay for all the "free" shipping.  Then all those sellers flocked to Amazon, because FBA would allow them to continue to sell knockoffs and cheap trash by the pound. 

Why do you think more platforms are offering their own warehousing and delivery services?  To get more of that sweet, sweet CCP cashflow, which also allows them to operate in China.  

[mam98031]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

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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That changed before they implemented it last year. 30 cent fee is refunded on all cancellations except OOS.

Source: https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/About-the-30c-fee/m-p/32867426#M1984118

Because OOS and SNAD are considered by eBay to be seller error (even though buyers lie to get around return policies which happens a lot) I don't think we'll ever see the 30 cent credit in those scenarios. Just an opinion.

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Thank you.

[fern*wood]

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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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I'm confused about this on faulty INAD returns.  I thought it had changed recently were the fvfs were refunded on the returned part, but I recently had one where I qualified for the TRS protection and so kept the shipping.  I refunded the whole purchase price without deducting any of the percentages allowed, but I received no FVF refund at all.   Never even thought about the measly thirty cents. 

[wastingtime101]

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@behapppybekind wrote:

The updated stated

"And remember—when you sell on eBay, we don’t charge a separate fee for payment processing." And in the fees section it states "We charge one final value fee when your item sells, and you don't have to worry about third-party payment processing fees. This fee is calculated as a percentage of the total amount of the sale, plus $0.30 per order.

Clearly that means that the .30 per order fee is for payment processing along with a portion of the final value fee.

Am I missing something here?

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Funny you brought that up @behapppybekind. I was just talking about that with someone else. This is what I said to them:

I'm not surprised about the fee increase, and I'm not complaining about the fee increase (even though it does hurt). But I think this line from the update was kind of insulting:

"And remember—when you sell on eBay, we don’t charge a separate fee for payment processing."

eBay does not charge a separate fee, which is not entirely accurate because there's the thirty cent fixed transaction fee. They do charge a baked-in consolidated variable fee. The implication from eBay's statement is that fees are lower because they consolidated the bulk of the fee when that's not the case.

We're sellers: we know free shipping is not free and we know the absence of a separate variable payment processing fee does not mean there isn't a payment processing fee.

When eBay consolidated payment processing fees into FVF, sellers saw an increase in overall fees - at least the ones enrolled in MP before the consolidation did. Trying to make the absence of a separate fee seem like a positive isn't fooling us.

Like I said - I expected the increase and I'm not complaining about it, but that attempted spin was dumbfounding. In my (not so humble) opinion, that sentence gives the appearance eBay thinks little of sellers' intelligence.

"We strive to maintain the lowest selling fees in the industry."

^^ That's a strong statement and can be backed up. That's where it should have ended.

[azzysdesignworks]

Some option. Give the buyer money when they already used the shipping service.  

I dont get a lot of returns. We make the things we sell, and we make good products. Lately, we found some buyers are scamming us on one product, buying the chinese made knockoff (sold here,  reported multiple times, not taken down) and then buying our US made and licensed version, taking our materials and accessories, and returning the package looking for full refunds that you and Amazon promise. 

These policies damage our culture and hurt all business.  

[dottrar]

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

[joels-retrocade]

I was just hoping to get an answer from eBay lol not sure how the community would know what eBay is doing to attract more buyers. They mention they are doing things to get more buyers in so I was just curious what those things were.  I generally love eBay but never happy to see I’ll be making less money. The correct answer is they are losing members and increasing fees to cover those losses. Of course that would never be directly said cuz it would look very bad. That is the truth of the matter though sadly. 

[motorsm]

If you are increasing a seller fee, when you decrease buyers return scam? You still have no instrument to fight with it, only option "report" which does not work at all. 

[behapppybekind]

100% Correct. 

[behapppybekind]

And what do you think that fee is for? And why do you think the selling fees went up when managed payments took over??? For the payment processing.....