Does this sound right? 33.3% of sales goes to ebay fees?

[hifivearch0]

My last 5 sales totaled $507.91 (including shipping) but my take home total is $309.21 after shipping and ebay fees. My total shipping costs were $29.15. That leaves $169.55 (33.3%) paid in ebay fees (promoted listings average 10% plus final value fees)  These fees seem a bit excessive.  Does this sound right? How are sellers supposed to survive with competitive pricing and fees that far exceed profit margin?

[caldreamer]

Something doesn't sound correct.   To  find out exact fees deducted for "each item" go to ORDERS, ALL ORDERS (click on VIEW ORDER DETAILS). 

[wilsonharborsales]

Promoted fees, taxes, FVF fees can easily add to 30%+

[robbie31415]

Seems about right.

You chose to give around say $50 dollars in ad fees.

The FVF around $66.

Can't get exact numbers without exact data for each transaction.

Your 10% average on promoted is really high. I'd drop that ad rate down.

[hifivearch0]

---

@robbie31415 wrote:

Seems about right.

You chose to give around say $50 dollars in ad fees.

The FVF around $66.

Can't get exact numbers without exact data for each transaction.

Your 10% average on promoted is really high. I'd drop that ad rate down.

---

Even with the 10% promotion my listing views seem to be very low, and these are relatively popular types of items (vintage jewelry and coins) I'm seeing an average 25 to 50 views sometimes less than that. I'm afraid if I lower the promotion percentage, my views will drop even further.  

[robbie31415]

I'm sorry you might be giving eBay free money.

You get less and less value from higher promotion rates.

The slight increase at the sake cost probably won't net you the sale.

Best you can do is tweak listing to make it as visually appealing as possible and keep your prices competitive.

5% decrease in price with a 5% ad rate could actually net you more traffic.

Heck, a 10% decease in price with a 0% ad rate could net you more sales.

[johnrj1226]

IMHO views  mean very  little - they are like window shoppers at the mall - they general do the walk on by.  The key to selling success is to get the shoppers to stop and read your listing.  As a seller I often searched and viewed others listing with no intention to buy but rather gather info. to price  position my new listing and become a competitor.  As a buyer I  will view  listings to  see if  the seller makes me comfortable to buy from and meets  other needs.  Lowest  price is not necessarily a prime motivator in my buying  decisions.

[mam98031]

---

@hifivearch0 wrote:

My last 5 sales totaled $507.91 (including shipping) but my take home total is $309.21 after shipping and ebay fees. My total shipping costs were $29.15. That leaves $169.55 (33.3%) paid in ebay fees (promoted listings average 10% plus final value fees)  These fees seem a bit excessive.  Does this sound right? How are sellers supposed to survive with competitive pricing and fees that far exceed profit margin?

---

The first issue is you are counting shipping costs as an Ebay fee and they are NOT.  Those are carrier costs, which is a cost of sales, but it is NOT an Ebay fee.

Promoted listings fees are an OPTION a seller may use, but YOU set the percentage.  If you feel you are paying too much, then lower the percentage.  While this is money paid to Ebay, it is you that controls it.  So if you feel it is "excessive", then lower the percentage to a more tolerable rate or stop using the tool.

All of these figures you should have calculated before even listing the item so you can develop the amount you wanted to price your item at.  If you don't know all your costs, you can't accurately price your items.  This is something you really should know up front.  You won't be exact, but you can be darn close.

[hifivearch0]

I noticed that the fvf of my items ranges between 13.25% - 15%. This seems like an insane jump from the 2.5% average fvf for sellers 20 years ago.  

[brightlightbookseller]

It was never truly 2.5%.  When it was lower, there were PayPal fees and/or other charges.  The FVFs haven't really jumped in a long time.  13.5% is the FVF for most categories; some are lower, some are higher, but that's a decent average unless you're selling primarily in a category you know is different.  It's really fairly industry standard too.

[monica-sells]

---

@hifivearch0 wrote:

I noticed that the fvf of my items ranges between 13.25% - 15%. This seems like an insane jump from the 2.5% average fvf for sellers 20 years ago.  

---

Is it 33.3% or is it 15%?

33% is not sustainable, and most likely entailed a few optional charges. If ebay took a $33.00 FVF from a $100.00 sale then there is something wrong. If they took $14.75 or so...that would be normal.

You at least brought a laugh out loud smile to my face....

"....20 years ago..."

I never paid only 2.5% total fees for selling (I don't think)...heck, PP was that much, no?

[albertabrightalberta]

---

@hifivearch0 wrote:

I noticed that the fvf of my items ranges between 13.25% - 15%. This seems like an insane jump from the 2.5% average fvf for sellers 20 years ago.  

---

13.5-15% is correct. And promoting your listings (optional) adds more.

In the olden days, final value fees were lower but listing fees were higher. 

Back then, insertion fees were based on the starting prices of auctions - the higher the start price, the higher the insertion fee. 

BIN added to an auction was extra. 

Listings included 1 picture for free. Additional pictures cost 15 cents each. 

Each upgrade or add-on carried an additional charge.

These were my fees for listing an item in Jan. 2007 -- This item had an auction start price of $89.99:

Listing fees:

$3.45 (Insertion fee: $2.40; Buy It Now fee: $0.25; Value Pack: $0.65; Photo: $0.15)

Sure FVF were at a lower percentage but overall, my total costs were higher back then! 

[monroe67]

"That leaves $169.55 (33.3%) paid in ebay fees (promoted listings average 10% plus final value fees)  These fees seem a bit excessive.  Does this sound right?"

You are not required to promote your listings at any percentage.  
Many eBay sellers consider any percentage for "promoted listings" to be excessive, and they don't use that eBay feature.  

[redlinear]

I average right at 30%
That's eBay fees AND shipping costs combined

[monica-sells]

When MP was initiated....sellers can see the REAL costs too easily...

all they remember is getting a few shekels from Paypal after a sale and being happy, not seeing all the costs at once..........

You think for one second, those that can't figure 13.25% +.40 transaction fee per sale can calculate the cost of selling an item 10 years ago (with insertion fees, photo fees, monthly statements, paypal fees, etc...etc...) and compare it?