Free but not free?

[patzkek1]

So I listed three items none of which have sold yet. It said “ list 200 items for free February to March... but I got a notice of a $5.00 bill from eBay ? I don’t understand . 

[candd205]

Read the fine print in the offer. It could say the free listings are only in a specific category or only for auction listings or only for buy it now listings. Anyway, look closely at the offer. The only other reason could be that you paid for extra features, like bold, or set a reserve, or list in multiple categories. You can tell if you are paying extra fees if you look at the cost to list just before you press the final click to list your item. If there is a cost there, go back and see what extras you are using.

[coastaltechsolution]

Did you add extra listing features?

Auction with reserve? 

What did this bill say?  Just "You owe us $5.00"? 

[nobody*s_perfect]

Every seller who doesn't have a Store subscription gets 200 free basic insertions each calendar month. On March 1, the counter will re-set to 200 again.

However, you will still be charged a final value fee if the item sells, and you'll be charged for any listing upgrades that you choose when setting up your listings, such as subtitles or a reserve price.  You can see details here:

Fees for sellers who don't have a Store: https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4364 

Meanwhile, go to your account details in My eBay and look at your itemized invoice to see what the $5 charge was for.

https://my.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MyEbayBeta&_trksid=p3984.m2295.l3921&MyEbay=&CurrentPage=MyeBay...

[ra_201044]

It's probably the reserve fee on your rice paper parasol.

[femmefan1946]

If an auction with a Reserve does not sell, the fee for the Reserve is still payable.

This is eBay's passive-aggressive way of telling sellers not to use Reserves, which buyers dislike.

The opening bid in an Auction is the lowest price it can sell for, so it is a sort of Reserve in itself, with no charges.

More to the point, eBay uses Auctions as a branding mechanism since few other venues offer them.

The reason they don't is that online auctions are not popular with buyers, who prefer Fixed Price listings where they can buy immediately and may even have their purchase before your auction ends.

More than 85% of listings on eBay are Fixed Price.

For good reason.

With Fixed Price you set the price (you could use your reserve). You can add Immediate Payment Required and the item stays available until someone actually pays you for it.

You can add Best Offer, and give parameters, so the customer has something of the auction thrill while learning your "real" price.

And you will never have to deal with selling an item to the only bidder for 99c.

EBay is your landlord, not your friend.

[ra_201044]

... online auctions are not popular with buyers ...

You really need to look at how many online auctions there are out there and how many buyers participate in them - along with the prices realized.

You will eventually come to the realization that auctions are going gangbusters anywhere on the web. Just not for basic or commodity/NIB items.