10% on shipping

[scot_lynn]

I've been using ebay for years now, mostly buying but selling some items here and there. Recently I helped out a friend whose elderly father passed away during this COVID crisis by selling some vintage stereo components and, when taking a close look at the invoice for the first time, noticed that ebay is profiting off the actual shipping charges!

Here's what happened: I included shipping in the final price for the items. For example, one sold for $380 and the fed ex shipping, which I purchased through ebay, was $33.82. Yet ebay took its 10% off the $380 when they should have subtracted the actual shipping fees from the $380 and charged me a FVF on $346.18.

When I talked to ebay they explained that it was done that way to make it fair to all sellers because some don't include shipping in the sale price and then pad shipping charges for extra profit, which is a ridiculous excuse. If ebay wanted it to be fair to all sellers then the right thing to do is to deduct the actual shipping charges from the final price of an item (sale price plus shipping fee charges) and then take their 10% off that amount. That's the fair and equitable thing to do. As it is now, ebay is just double dipping and making money off of the out-of-pocket expenses that the seller incurs for shipping. That's just greed.

I've been a member since 2001. But one thing I can't stomach is a company with over $10 billion in revenue nickel and diming their costumers and, to add insult to injury, coming up with such a transparently nonsensical justification to continue doing so. That's it for me; I'm done with ever selling anything on ebay.

[rock.star]

Good Bye and Good luck.

[fern*wood]

It's been that way for years now.  I just try to make sure I include all costs into my pricing so I can hopefully end up with the profit I want.

[sakic92710]

Exactly!  The 1% of cheaters now cost the other 99% - 10% for absolutely NO SERVICE whatsoever!  Never understood how that was legal.  (Does Trump run eBay?? lol)  I stayed around & tried to make the best of it.  However, the decision has been made for me to leave .com due to MP.  Later this month, as a Canadian seller, I cannot sell here unless I have a business attachment to the US.  I'll stick around on .ca until MP changes there.  Stay safe all.    🙂      

[nobody*s_perfect]

eBay has been charging a final value fee on the buyer's total payment including shipping and handling since 2011. This is the same way that PayPal has always charged their percentage.

Too many sellers were avoiding fees by charging a low price and then inflating the shipping. Also, eBay wanted to encourage sellers to offer free shipping.

It is not possible for eBay to know the shipping cost because many sellers don't use eBay shipping and eBay cannot force them to do so; small sellers often take their items to the PO, and larger sellers often have their own shipping departments that serve multiple venues.

[scot_lynn]

No, they can't force sellers to use ebay's shipping interface. But the fair thing to do is to deduct the actual shipping charges from the final price for sellers who do use their interface and can verify actual shipping charges. If folks want to use their own shipping method and can't substantiate their actual shipping costs, let them pay the 10% on shipping fees. Their choice. The excuse that ebay offers that they're just leveling the playing field is a pretense for making more money because, apparently, they don't make enough now.

[heakal-54]

You do have a point but...

Yes, actually it would be easy for ebay to subtract the cost of shipping IF the label was purchased through ebay ... But, then they'll simply have to recover their money elsewhere and believe me one thing, sellers will still be paying for it.

Let me put it another way, the CEO isn't sacrificing a nickel of their Christmas bonus for you or me.

Our only option if it still bites is to raise prices.

If you wish to leave, I wish you the best.

[soh.maryl]

So you have been a member for a very long time, but evidently didn't notice that the FVF schedule changed about 9-10 years ago because you are an infrequent seller?  

[mrdutch1001]

not sure that you are understanding how Canadian sellers will still have the ability to sell on .COM with MP;  as it was more clearly dealt with on the .CA community board> please see eBay Tyler's reply in this thread:

https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/MANAGED-PAYMENT-QUESTIONS/td-p/440712/page/2

[monroe67]

You are Not.  Getting.  It.  Other responses have explained what happened -- nine years ago, in 2011 -- when eBay actually did attempt to level the playing field, so that certain cheating sellers could no longer cheat on paying (to eBay) the 9% or 10% fee on the selling price.  

Example:  listing, I don't know, say, a Coach handbag for $10.00 with $450.00 being charged for "shipping and handling."  Before 2011, that seller would owe eBay One Dollar (10% of $10.00), but spend much, much less than $400 to send the bag to the buyer.  And the seller, of course, pockets the money. 

A non-cheating seller in 2011 might have listed the same bag for $400.00 with $25.00 postage and shipping costs.  The fee that eBay would have charged to that non-cheating seller was the same percentage, 10%, and the non-cheating seller would have paid eBay $40.00.   That non-cheating seller was able to pocket less money, but they played by the rules.  

As many, many others have said before, the true fact is that this is eBay's metaphorical playing field.   eBay can decide what can be played on that field and how much to charge the players.   And if the fees seem exorbitant or somehow unfair to you, the only rational and logical action you can take is not to play there.   

[mam98031]

Either you haven't sold since 2011 or you haven't noticed that you have been paying FVFs on your total sale price less sales tax.  Either pay it has been around for many years now.

All similar sites to Ebay also charge FVFs on shipping.  

It is always important to review the rules again when you have been away for a period of time.  Especially selling fees.  Besides unless you actually know what the fees are going to be, you can't accurately price your item you are selling.  And when you are selling for a friend, pricing things correctly is even more important because you have the responsibility to take great care in developing the listing, describing the item and pricing the item.

You made a mistake.  Learn from it and move on to the next item.  

[scot_lynn]

Oh, I get it. Its you who are missing the point. In your scenario (the same one ebay reps want to pitch) the obvious (and equitable) solution for a "cheating" seller  who sells a coach bag for $10 and charges $450 for shipping is to share them for a FVF equal to $460 minus the actual shipping charge as verified through ebay's shipping platform. If a seller chooses not to ship through  ebay's shipping platform then they pay the FVF on the full $460. That's their choice.  Your view is that if I don't game the system, sell the bag for $450 and add on an actual $10 shipping fee through ebay's shipping system I should have to pay the fee on shipping because some jackwad tries to game the system. That's the right way to make cheating sellers pay without punishing non-cheating sellers.

And yes, I also get that this is ebay's platform. But that fact doesn't make trying to squeeze every penny out of sellers and then making up some excuse for doing so doesn't make it right.

[scot_lynn]

Like I said, only sold occasionally and small things, like some LP's here and there. So never paid attention - didn't matter to me. Until these bigger ticket items for a friend in need and I'm turning over the proceeds to him. It's not about making a mistake - I got as much for the items as I could. It's about what's fair and what isn't fair. You think it's ok, I don't.

[kensgiftshop]

Have you complained about Pay Pal charging a fee on the shipping charges also?

Ebay, just like Pay Pal, bases their fee's on the total amount of the transaction.

The only difference, Ebay separates the FVF from the shipping and item and Pay Pal doesn't.

[mam98031]

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@scot_lynn wrote:

Like I said, only sold occasionally and small things, like some LP's here and there. So never paid attention - didn't matter to me. Until these bigger ticket items for a friend in need and I'm turning over the proceeds to him. It's not about making a mistake - I got as much for the items as I could. It's about what's fair and what isn't fair. You think it's ok, I don't.

---

That does not excuse you from knowing what your fees will be BEFORE you post a listing anymore than it will insulate you against breaking some rule here on Ebay.  You need to or should know the fees BEFORE you price an item, just as you should know how much your shipping is going to cost if you are doing a Free Shipping item.  It is your responsibility to know this stuff.  And a rule that has been in place for a decade should be something you are aware of like the FVF on shipping.  Your lack of attention isn't an excuse.  

It is fine if you don't like the fee.  Many of us don't.  But that isn't at all the point.