Yes there is always extra fees on fees on fees on fees on fees.
That's a bit of an exaggeration.
I had international shipping that was 4-5 x the local shipping so ebay charge 4-5x their fees
eBay sellers are allowed to choose whether they offer shipping outside their own country's boundaries. If you think it's too expensive to send your eBay sales outside Australia, simply tell that to your potential buyers who happen to have delivery addresses outside of Australia. You "tell" that to potential buyers by changing your Selling Preferences to No International Shipping.
Then there was another "international fee"
Yes, eBay does charge what they call an "international fee." You can look it up in Item 5 of eBay's User Agreement. Be sure you're looking at the proper User Agreement for the eBay site you use, whether it's ".com" or ".au"
Then there was the fees on the buyers15% VAT that you had to pay,
If your country charges a "VAT" -- which we in the United States do not have -- and you do not like that "VAT", then maybe you don't have to live in that country any longer?
then there is the listing fee
If you are paying eBay a listing fee, I guess congratulations are in order because you have listed enough stuff to surpass the 250-items-per-month-free-listing allowance.
then thereis the promotion listing fee
Again -- you are not required to promote your listings on eBay. If you pay a promoted listing fee, it is only because you choose to do so. Moreover, you can choose the percentage you want to pay to promote your listings. It generally is kind of - um - unintelligent to complain about something you choose to do.
Then their [sic] is monthly subscription fee
That applies to eBay stores, I believe. My selling ID does not have a store. My selling ID never pays a monthly subscription fee to eBay.
Then there is the gst
Again, I believe that is a tax or charge that is unique to your country and a number of other countries. Unless you mean eBay's Global Shipping Program, or GSP. I don't use that service so I don't know what it costs.
So the final valuation fee advertised at around 10-12% ends up being
30- 40+% of sale
No. Just -- no.
You refer to a "final valuation fee." eBay calls it the Final Value Fee (FVF).
Here's the important word: final. The Final Value is the Total Amount Paid By The Buyer.
By definition, that Total Amount includes (at least for American sellers and buyers) (A) the price of the item + (B) any handling charge that the seller put into the listing + (C) any sales tax required by the US state to which the item will be sent or delivered + (D) the cost of postage or other shipping (such as FedEx) + (E) any other charge that may be required legally, such as a recycling charge that might be required by the buyer's state.
A+B+C+D+E = The Final Value.
eBay's Final Value Fee percentage is calculated on that Final Value. The Final Value. The Total Amount Paid By The Buyer.
Those last words in that quote -- "30- 40+% of sale" -- are just so wrong. There currently are NO FVF percentages charged by eBay that are anywhere close to 30%. I believe the highest FVF percentage is 15%, for jewelry, including costume/ fashion jewelry and watches. Maybe on ebay.au there might be higher FVFs; I sure hope not.
So yes your right If your doing "free shipping" then cost of fees and shipping could be 40-50+%
Again -- No. Incorrect. That is a false statement. I sure hope you are not one of those sellers who think "free shipping" means that the US Postal Service or Federal Express or Australia Post will not want to be paid for delivering Things to your eBay buyers. Of course, those organizations do want and need to be paid.
Ebay Final valuation fees are a "bit" deliberately misleading, but who would sell on ebay if ebay was less deceptive disclosed that full ebay fees are 30-40% of a sale for small store?
eBay's Final Value Fees are only "misleading" if the reader doesn't know the meaning of the words Total Amount Paid By The Buyer, or doesn't take the time to realize that the Final Value is not the same dollar amount as the Listing Price. (Or euro amount or pounds sterling or whatever . . . .)
Now, having said all that, my selling ID, among many other eBay sellers who regularly post here, does recognize and accept that the Listing Price will almost always be less than the Final Value, precisely because the buyer will pay the postage and the buyer will usually have to pay sales tax. Those amounts are unknown to the seller.
At the time any of my listings go "live" I never know if somebody in Los Angeles will buy it, and have to pay 10% sales tax, or if somebody in, say, Iowa will buy it, and have to pay "only" 6% in sales tax. And I don't know if somebody in Texas will buy it; Texan buyers pay sales tax on both the price of the item AND the cost of postage.
What my selling ID has done is look at some of her past sales on which the buyer paid expensive postage and high sales taxes. She then compared the FVF percentage (at that time, 12.9%) to the listing price. Some of those calculations showed that eBay's fees were roughly 18% of the listing price, and some others came closer to 30% of the listing price.
SO !! My selling ID generally assumes that eBay's fees will be approximately 30% of the price she puts in her listings. Approximate. This has to be an approximation because the sales tax percentages and shipping costs paid by the buyers are unknowns. I don't know them. eBay doesn't know them.
My selling ID currently has an item listed for $29.99. For simplicity, let's round it up to $30.00. It is in a category that carries a 13.25% FVF percentage. But I estimate -- in my mind -- that eBay's fees will run around 30% of the listing price. So, 30% of $30.00 is $9.00. $30.00 - 9.00 = $21.00. I estimate I would earn $21.00 if that item sells. If I earn more than $21, so much the better.
Then there are the monkeys
Yeah, OK, whatever.
