EBAY FEE ON TAX??

[findsandfounds]

After 22 years of selling on eBay, I thought I'd FINALLY look into a monthly statement in detail to see what I'm paying for.  Is this for real???  Ebay charges 12.9% not JUST on the sale of an item including shipping, they also charge 12.9% on the sales tax??  And, if you want to open a dispute to talk to them about it, there's a $20 dispute fee.  No wonder I'm not making any money on eBay any more.  If I increase my prices to cover JUST their fees, I lose buyers.  If I don't, I lose my shirt.  

[12345jamesstamps]

I just bought food at the grocery store with my credit card and there is no tax on food...as least not in  California...in a big city. However, there is tax on alcohol which is 8.65 per dollar.

[titipeo]

Another 20+ year eBayer that had no idea on fees. SMH

[soh.maryl]

Not sure how that's relevant to the OP's complaint.  You are referring to state sales tax on food items bought at the grocery store.  Some states charge state sales tax on food, some don't.  In my state, Ohio, the state sales tax is not charged on most foods, but it is charged on soda pop.  

However, the OP's complaint is that eBay charges their final value fee on the state sales tax.  Evidently just realized this.  

[laststopgeneralstore]

This is nothing new and has been going on for over 30 years now. Same thing happens at your local grocery store or gas station. The merchant(store) gets charged a "merchant fee" every time you swipe that piece of plastic in your walled whether it's a debit or credit card.  The fee gets charged on the FULL amount which could include shipping & tax. Also, you've been on eBay for 22 years & you have never read the terms of service or the plethora of seller updates over the years? I'm sorry but that is on you for not doing your due diligence. eBay's fee structure is very very clearly and blatantly laid out in the terms of service that YOU accepted before selling/buying on this platform.

[jodieblue57]

I brought this up a couple of weeks ago, as well. As I stated then, it is just another way to rip off sellers. I am surprised though, that you are just now realizing this since you are such a long time seller. Someone said, "just incorporate it into your cost". Well, if you do so, then you have no buyers.

After all the fees we sellers pay, it's almost like giving your item away.

[tinsoldierunderground]

I don't doubt that, but everything I've bought on here in the last 12 years has been a good value, or something that's impossible to find elsewhere.   So for that, I'm OK with the sellers trying to maintain a slim profit margin any way they can (after all the fees, it seems like it ain't much in most cases).... My point was this, as a buyer, I don't have to put up with the never ending grief that sellers do, and I FEEL for them.  That's all.

[findsandfounds]

When I have an item to sell, the first thing I do is check what similar items are selling for currently, and what they have already SOLD for.  I select a dollar figure and, from there, try to calculate what the final fee might be, and what the postage fee would be (separately).  If, for example, a media mail book is $3.19 to ship, I add in .36 for the fee and 15-cents for an non-tear mylar envelope, and round the figure to $4.00.   Postage becomes a "wash".   If I think the book averages let's say $5.00, my ebay fee would be about 65 cents, so I back that out of the price in my head, trying to determine if $4.35 is a reasonable profit.  I'd forgotten about the sales tax (which shouldn't affect my pricing, except that I also wasn't deducting the eBay fee on the sales tax amount.  So the buyer ends up paying about $11.00 +/- for the book, which I think is too much, so I lower my price in order to sell it.  At any rate, by the end of all these calculations, it seems like I'm making about $2 to $3 +/- for a book that I spend a LOT of time searching for that was affordable enough for the buyer to bid on.  What exactly am I doing wrong???

[findsandfounds]

As I stated above -- here's my response:  

When I have an item to sell, the first thing I do is check what similar items are selling for currently, and what they have already SOLD for.  I select a dollar figure and, from there, try to calculate what the final fee might be, and what the postage fee would be (separately).  If, for example, a media mail book is $3.19 to ship, I add in .36 for the fee and 15-cents for an non-tear mylar envelope, and round the figure to $4.00.   Postage becomes a "wash".   If I think the book averages let's say $5.00, my ebay fee would be about 65 cents, so I back that out of the price in my head, trying to determine if $4.35 is a reasonable profit.  I'd forgotten about the sales tax (which shouldn't affect my pricing, except that I also wasn't deducting the eBay fee on the sales tax amount.  So the buyer ends up paying about $11.00 +/- for the book, which I think is too much, so I lower my price in order to sell it.  At any rate, by the end of all these calculations, it seems like I'm making about $2 to $3 +/- for a book that I spend a LOT of time searching for that was affordable enough for the buyer to bid on.  What exactly am I doing wrong???

[findsandfounds]

You KNOW I was exaggerating when I said I hadn't looked at the fees/rules in 22 years.  I do not, however, re-read the entirety of eBays rules each time one changes.  Next they're going to be charging a fee if we have to call them for any reason, so they can pay their help.  I just feel like I'm working harder and longer, and making less and less.  The market is changing, and I seem to have missed something along the way.

[findsandfounds]

Okay... going to post this again, because it is so complete.  Your thoughts??  (P.s. -- I was exaggerating when I said I haven't looked at the fees in 22 years...I just never spent hours reviewing all the fees/schedules in such detail as I did this week)....

When I have an item to sell, the first thing I do is check what similar items are selling for currently, and what they have already SOLD for.  I select a dollar figure and, from there, try to calculate what the final fee might be, and what the postage fee would be (separately).  If, for example, a media mail book is $3.19 to ship, I add in .36 for the fee and 15-cents for an non-tear mylar envelope, and round the figure to $4.00.   Postage becomes a "wash".   If I think the book averages let's say $5.00, my ebay fee would be about 65 cents, so I back that out of the price in my head, trying to determine if $4.35 is a reasonable profit.  I'd forgotten about the sales tax (which shouldn't affect my pricing, except that I also wasn't deducting the eBay fee on the sales tax amount.  So the buyer ends up paying about $11.00 +/- for the book, which I think is too much, so I lower my price in order to sell it.  At any rate, by the end of all these calculations, it seems like I'm making about $2 to $3 +/- for a book that I spend a LOT of time searching for that was affordable enough for the buyer to bid on.  What exactly am I doing wrong???

[findsandfounds]

First -- I'm 75  -- not an excuse for any incapability on my part, except that I don't file income taxes any more -- I am permitted to make MUCH more than I do, and have never gotten to the level of a "professional" seller -- it is merely a means to help live on my social security.  Yes,  my prices are low because I was a buyer before becoming a seller (I do both now), and I LIKE being able to offer items to sellers at the most reasonable price that I can, and NOT lose my shirt!!  

Prior to retirement, I was Vice President of a moderate sized national cosmetic company and executive director of a national charitable foundation.  so I am NOT unfamiliar with red tape and legalese.  I merely recently discovered the "fee on a tax" and it irritated me.  I once fought an ad agency who charged us 8% on everything, including the tax on their phone usage.  I don't mind paying for the phone charge and their time, but I fought them on 8% on phone tax, and I won.  Seemed like the same thing here to me.

[findsandfounds]

Today, it appears to be yours....

[soh.maryl]

We don't know you personally and our contact with you is online, so we don't see your facial expression.

So how were we to KNOW that you were exaggerating?

Won't bother to point out that it behooves smart sellers to keep up with the changes.

[downunder-61]

---

@soh.maryl wrote:

We don't know you personally and our contact with you is online, so we don't see your facial expression.

So how were we to KNOW that you were exaggerating?

Won't bother to point out that it behooves smart sellers to keep up with the changes.

---

And to report you income profit to the IRS

[monroe67]

Your comments to soh.maryl:  "You KNOW I was exaggerating when I said I hadn't looked at the fees/rules in 22 years."

Your comments to me:  "(P.s. -- I was exaggerating when I said I haven't looked at the fees in 22 years...I just never spent hours reviewing all the fees/schedules in such detail as I did this week)."

How was anybody supposed to know you were exaggerating when you said you "FINALLY" looked at your monthly statement and discovered eBay was including sales tax when they calculate their final value fee?  After being an eBay user for 22 years, no less?  

Do you know any of us in real life, such that we should recognize the way you phrase your thoughts and recognize your post -- "Oh, there goes 'Finds' again, exaggerating!  Hahaha!" 

Credibility, anyone?   So irritating.  

You also say:  "I am NOT unfamiliar with red tape and legalese."

So, here's a suggestion:  Find the eBay User Agreement.  Hint:  there's a hyperlink at the very bottom of this page. 

Open the User Agreement.  You will see that Item 5 of the User Agreement is about Fees and Taxes. 

Open Item 5.  In the second paragraph of that item, click on the hyperlink "Seller fees."  You'll see a list of topics on the left side of that page; click on the second topic from the top: Final Value Fees. 

The Final Value Fees are explained without much legalese.     

I still think you have underpriced some of your listings.  Compare your sewing patterns to sold items of the same pattern.