Transaction fees

[keevvo]

Is there a reason why eBay charges the seller their transaction fee as a percentage of the sale amount + tax amount + shipping cost, instead of just a percentage of the sale amount? I sold a computer for 230 and ended up with 188 because of this ridiculous fee structure. I think at least the shipping shouldn’t be included if we’re shipping though them

[mr_lincoln]

Hi @keevvo 

As a matter of fact there is a good reason internet venues (eBay included) charge fees the way that they do.  With regard to eBay, many years ago they did NOT charge fees on paid shipping from Buyers ... SOOooo, the Savvy Sellers listed their $ 100 item for $ 1.00 and shipping at $ 99.00 thus cheating eBay out of their fees ... from one aspect you have them to thank ... 

[eburtonlab]

eBay can choose to calculate the fee however it makes sense for eBay to do so. eBay has chosen this way.

If eBay chose a different way, the fee percentage would likely be higher to bring in the same amount of revenue.

The reason why shipping is included is because eBay does not want to provide incentive for users to avoid paying fees by inflating shipping costs.

Seller A: $95 item with $5 shipping

Seller B: $100 item with free shipping

Seller C: $1 item with $99 shipping

Which seller should pay the lowest fee? In other words, which model should eBay incentivize?

[inceptions]

It is customary for payment processors to charge their fee on the total payment. They aren't processing only part of the payment, they are processing the entire payment. eBay is no exception.