Conflicting info on Help Pages for FVF over $2500.0

[cstpos]

Hi All,
I posted this on the Community Chat yesterday. Jasmen replied that it was specific to my account (which it is not) and there is no option to reply to her for further info.

 The text in red below is what is confusing. The first parts say the FVF is calculated on the total amount of the sale and that an order is any number of items...
The text in the box says that the fee is calculated PER ITEM. Since January 2022, I have to dispute the FVF of every sale over $2500.00 - over $1000.00 refunded so far. These sales were all a single  buyer purchasing multiples of the same item shipping to the same address.

From the ebay Help pages:

@cstpos wrote:

Good afternoon.

Could you clarify why ebay keeps charging us higher FVF than they say they will? Every order over $2500.00 has been charged at the full 12% for the last few months. This is from the ebay website:

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.

The total amount of the sale includes the item price, any handling charges, the shipping service the buyer selects, sales tax, and any other applicable fees. If you offer 1-day or international shipping as well as a cheaper or free option (like domestic shipping), the total amount of the sale is calculated based on the cheapest domestic option you offer. If you only offer 1-day or international shipping but no cheaper option like domestic shipping, the total amount of the sale is calculated based on the service the buyer chooses.

If you're in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, or Vietnam and your item isn't located in the US, the total amount of the sale is always calculated based on the shipping option your buyer chooses.

An order is defined as any number of items purchased by the same buyer at checkout with the same shipping method

.

Most Business & Industrial categories, except:

12% on total amount of the sale up to $2,500 calculated per item 2.35% on the portion of the sale over $2,500

We have disputed over $1000.00 in FVF because the reps kept saying that the FVF is calculated PER ITEM. The box above says Per Item , but the text before that says it will be calculated on the Total Amount of the Sale. So, each item has to cost at least $2500.00 to come in at the lower rate? They have refunded (eventually), but it is aggravating and time consuming to have to keep calling. And every rep assure me the refund would be issued. The last refund was for around $350.00. I had to call 5 times over 4 weeks to get refunded.

If you could tell me what the terms actually are, we can go forward and only list 1 of each item, then offer to create a custom listing if a buyer wants more than 1 item (for high-priced items).

Sorry this was so long, but it is really starting to add up.

Thank you

Hey there @cstpos 

Sorry to hear you're running into this, what's listed on the help pages is correct. If it's not being billed properly then it sounds like you've already taken the right steps to work with CS to get it rectified. Unfortunately we won't be able to help here since it's account specific. If you'd like you can reach out to eBay for Business so they can take a deep dive as well! 

Jasmen,
Community Team

[mr_lincoln]

Hi @cstpos ,

What Jasmen meant is that the eBay Support Team during the Weekly Chat does not access individual ("specific") accounts.  eBay has security protocol in place and only certain people within eBay or affiliated with them (CS call centers) have access to Selling accounts. 

You can loop Jasmen in to this thread (using the @ mention or Tagging function and the member's ID) to further discuss it with her if you so choose.  But again, she will only be able to assist with understanding how it works but not have access to your account to take any corrective action if it is warranted.

Regards,

Mr. L

[cstpos]

@mr_lincoln   Thanks, Mr.L! I miss seeing your posts.

jasmen@ebay  Hi Jasmen. Please see below for more info.

I wasn't asking that Jasmen look into my account, I was asking that she pass along the info so that someone at ebay could correct the conflicting info on the ebay website. The boxed text says the FVF is calculated per Item, the text above the box says it is calculated on the total amount of the sale.

It is not specific to my account. It is posted ebay practice and is contradictory. A $10,000 order for 5 units based on the Per Item calculation would be a FVF of $1200.00 vs $476.25 if based on the stated 12% for the first $2500.00 ($300) and 2.35% for the remaining $7500.00 ($176.25) would be $476.25.

I read the updates as they come out, and made note of this particular page when they announced they were raising the FVF %.

Thanks again

[luckythewinner]

The box above says Per Item , but the text before that says it will be calculated on the Total Amount of the Sale. 

I guess I do not see the issue. 

The text at the top tells you that the FVF is applied to the total amount of the order.  It does not tell you what final value fee percentages will be applied or how they will be applied. It simply tells you that the total value of the order is subject to final value fees. 

The text in the box below tells you which FVF percentages will be applied to which parts of the total amount of the order. 

[pjcdn2005]

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.

The total amount of the sale includes the item price, any handling charges, the shipping service the buyer selects, sales tax, and any other applicable fees.

The last 2 lines explain what they mean by total ‘sale’ — item price, shipping and taxes.

The percentage is charged on each sale. 

An order is defined as any number of items purchased by the same buyer at checkout with the same shipping method

That defines what the mean by order and each order has a fee of .30.   

They are charging exactly how they say they will but yes, it can be confusing.

[mr_lincoln]

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@cstpos wrote:

@mr_lincoln   Thanks, Mr.L! I miss seeing your posts.

jasmen@ebay  Hi Jasmen. Please see below for more info.

I wasn't asking that Jasmen look into my account, I was asking that she pass along the info so that someone at ebay could correct the conflicting info on the ebay website. The boxed text says the FVF is calculated per Item, the text above the box says it is calculated on the total amount of the sale.

It is not specific to my account. It is posted ebay practice and is contradictory. A $10,000 order for 5 units based on the Per Item calculation would be a FVF of $1200.00 vs $476.25 if based on the stated 12% for the first $2500.00 ($300) and 2.35% for the remaining $7500.00 ($176.25) would be $476.25.

I read the updates as they come out, and made note of this particular page when they announced they were raising the FVF %.

Thanks again

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@cstpos   Got it, thanks ... hopefully it can be clarified ...

Mr. L

[lacemaker3]

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@cstpos wrote:

...

It is not specific to my account. It is posted ebay practice and is contradictory. A $10,000 order for 5 units based on the Per Item calculation would be a FVF of $1200.00 vs $476.25 if based on the stated 12% for the first $2500.00 ($300) and 2.35% for the remaining $7500.00 ($176.25) would be $476.25.

...

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I'm sorry, @cstpos, but as I read the policy, I think you are misunderstanding it. 

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/selling-fees/store-fees?id=4809

It appears to me the wording in the table (shown above) means that the $2,500 limit for the Variable FVF is applied per item, not per order.

I think that it is only the $0.30 Fixed FVF that is applied per order.

[dbfolks166mt]

     You are quite correct about the discrepancy. I wonder what eBay would apply for the FVF if you had, working with the buyer, canceled all the individual orders, bundled all the items into one customized listing for the individual buyer and sold it as a lot or bundled package? 

[wastingtime101]

It appears the eBay rep told you, "what's listed on the help pages is correct," and neglected the question entirely. Your question was essentially, "what is correct?" You wanted a clarification of how the fees are applied and that wasn't provided.

Fortunately you've received correct information from posters in this thread: the variable FVF percent is on a per item basis, not a per transaction basis.

If you want the lower FVF then you would have to create bundle listings for those buyers.