eBay

jf300387 · ‎08-19-2021

Hello, so I thought it would be a good idea to sell on Ebay US instead of my own country but I was wrong. I am posting this as a warning to other sellers.

Before selling my items I read that the Ebay fee in my country was 10% of the object sold, which seemed acceptable. This turned out to be much higher.

For example, one item sold at 162.50 USD

- Ebay US charges 12.55% on price sold + shipping fee + tax. Estimated object value was therefore 217.42$, 12.55% = 27.29$

- There was another standard 1.6% fee for selling internationally = 3.48$

- There was a 0.30$ standard commission fee

- There was tax added = 6.52$

- Then Ebay used a ridiculous EUR/USD exchange rate + currency conversion fee, which cost me another 5.15$

Combined I had to pay 42.74$ in Ebay fees, 26.30% of the object value!

Similarly, for three other objects that I sold:

10.39$ on a 25$ item = 41.56% of object value

11.84$ on a 47$ item = 25.19% of object value

18.98$ on a 49$ item = 38.73% of object value

These are the ACTUAL kind of seller fees that Ebay will charge you, not 10% or 12.55% of object value. Please don't be fooled like I was. The higher the shipping fee relative to the object value, the higher this percentage will be. Theoretically, if you would sell an object for free and charge the buyer a shipping fee, you as a seller will have to pay Ebay!

eleanor*rigby · ‎08-19-2021

Other than the wonky math you've posted, all those fees are disclosed on the ebay.com website. It's the responsibility of potential sellers to do a little investigating and calculating before launching into a new venture.

releasethekraken_1 · ‎08-19-2021

Tax is not an eBay fee. If you were getting paid through PayPal in your country, you need to factor in the PayPal fee for payment processing, which is included in eBay's 12.55%. And you also would have paid similar international transaction fees to PayPal.

If you don't care that you're leaving out important info from your comparison, fine. But please don't mislead other sellers with bogus numbers.

wile*coyote*super*genius · ‎08-19-2021

Clearly eBay is creating phony accounts with no history of selling to criticize those who dare to point out that eBay has become a criminal enterprise. I experienced this when I dared to post pointing out that in addition to demanding sellers give eBay access to their bank accounts they also jacked up fees...again. I see very few small sellers anymore. Mostly eBay seems to have become a place where companies list products they have drop shipped from the actual supplier.

jf300387 · ‎08-19-2021

Yes, of course these extra charges will be mentioned somewhere in small letters on Ebay website, that is how all big corp make money on small sellers. They mention 12.55% and then hope sellers will no do further research. Exactly the reason why I am making this post.

All of the numbers are real charges, directly from the Ebay transaction details for the objects, not using Paypal. I am not leaving out info.

dhbookds · ‎08-19-2021

Clearly.........you consider ebay criminal because you don't like the fees...... I doubt that is a criminal offense in any country.......

Likewise, you deem it ebay creating "phony" accounts to point out that it's your responsibility to know the expenses before listing an item.......and trying to explain what you didn't apparently know.

Selling may not be for you..........

soh.maryl · ‎08-19-2021

Since eBay CLEARLY allows members to have more than one account, CLEARLY many of us have at least three, one for selling, one for buying and one for posting on the Boards. Thus our feedback information here is not a true representation of our eBay knowledge or experience.

CLEARLY.

releasethekraken_1 · ‎08-19-2021

@wile*coyote*super*genius wrote:
Clearly eBay is creating phony accounts with no history of selling to criticize those who dare to point out that eBay has become a criminal enterprise.

You're hilarious.

releasethekraken_1 · ‎08-19-2021

@jf300387 wrote:
Yes, of course these extra charges will be mentioned somewhere in small letters on Ebay website, that is how all big corp make money on small sellers. They mention 12.55% and then hope sellers will no do further research. Exactly the reason why I am making this post.
All of the numbers are real charges, directly from the Ebay transaction details for the objects, not using Paypal. I am not leaving out info.

As already stated, if you want call a tax a fee, and if you want to ignore the money processing fees you would have been charged when using PayPal instead of Managed Payments, you're free to do so. You're also posting bogus "data" because you refuse to make an accurate comparison.

Have a nice day.

kare-bearb · ‎08-19-2021

Before selling my items I read that the Ebay fee in my country was 10% of the object sold, which seemed acceptable. This turned out to be much higher.

Check your source again. I believe that 10% would have been applicable if Paypal had been the payment processor. Then you would also have to pay Paypal their payment processing fee.

With Managed Payments, eBay's 12.55% includes the payment processing fee ... and you aren't paying anything to Paypal.

eleanor*rigby · ‎08-19-2021

@wile*coyote*super*genius

@wile*coyote*super*genius wrote:
Clearly eBay is creating phony accounts with no history of selling to criticize those who dare to point out that eBay has become a criminal enterprise.

Your post would seem to belie your username. CLEARLY you're not familiar enough with the Community to be aware of posting ids. A super*genius would be aware of that concept.

@wile*coyote*super*genius wrote:
I see very few small sellers anymore. Mostly eBay seems to have become a place where companies list products they have drop shipped from the actual supplier.

For the things I search for and/or purchase on eBay, I see virtually all small sellers, and I rarely run across sellers who list drop-shipped products. It appears you've drawn a conclusion through inductive reasoning, which can often be unreliable.

jayjaspersgarage · ‎08-19-2021

Honestly I don't care how much the ebay fees add up to. If I hold a garage sale I might get 300 people milling through on a Saturday. If I rent a triple booth at a large flea market I might see 10,000 people pass by and a few hundred stop to say hello if they know me and I could make fifty sales.

On ebay my listings could be specifically searched out by potential buyers 24/7 without the hassle of protecting myself from sick people who don't wash their hands or much worse. Larger antique items are sold on commission through antique shops where I only have exposure to the owner I have know for ten years. Ebay gives people the opportunity to sell smalls for ten or twenty times the amount the same pieces might bring in person.

I rarely read past the first sentence of most posts endlessly complaining about fees and taxes. If you're so upset about the cost of doing business on-line then go make a living somewhere else. Turn the fee structure around and look at it as if you are making 80% profit on everything you sell after ebay fees and personal income tax. In the dead cold of winter when there are no outdoor flea markets and garage sales are poorly attended you can still make 80% profit by selling here.

gjs_16 · ‎08-19-2021

@wile*coyote*super*genius wrote:
Mostly eBay seems to have become a place where companies list products they have drop shipped from the actual supplier.

Yes, it's all just middlemen and it's everywhere, Google and Amazon and even Walmart are now full or filling up with these...

Sorry I hijacked the thread...

eleanor*rigby · ‎08-19-2021

@jf300387 wrote:
Yes, of course these extra charges will be mentioned somewhere in small letters on Ebay website, that is how all big corp make money on small sellers.

Nope. All the letters explaining fees are the same size.

Selling fees

Of course, if you actually read that page and find a fee you've been charged that is "mentioned somewhere in small letters" or any info that has been left out, I'll be glad to retract my statement.