Getting part of the shipping costs is crazy.

[Anonymous]

I don't think they should be getting a percentage of the shipping costs. It already is at what it costs and sometimes it costs even more than what you think it is supposed to. They are getting greedy. Also, there are times when a package can be mailed cheaper in an envelope that is flat and you don't get a tracking number and then you lose a percentage of there being a top seller, which is crap. 

[monica-sells]

you can thank sellers in the past who sold a 20.00 item for 1.00 (with 19.00 shipping)....

there is no way to distinguish shipping and item and to calculate a fee without using the total amount....this also equals the playing field for the free shipping sellers.....any and all entities charge for the TOTAL of the sale...whether it is on this platform, the other platform(s), or on your own store/account/website......

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I don't think they should be getting a percentage of the shipping costs. It already is at what it costs and sometimes it costs even more than what you think it is supposed to. They are getting greedy....

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"Getting greedy"?  eBay has been charging final value fee as a percentage of the buyer's total payment, including shipping, since 2011.

If your listing is undercharging buyers for postage, then there must be a problem with how you set it up, since the shipping calculator for USPS postage is 99.99% accurate.

[monroe67]

"I don't think they should be getting a percentage of the shipping costs. It already is at what it costs and sometimes it costs even more than what you think it is supposed to. They are getting greedy."

Well, aren't you a little greedy also, thinking the place where you are trying to sell your old figurines and DVDs should get paid nothing, after they've offered you, the seller, reduced postage prices when you sell those (old) trinkets?

If sometimes the postage costs more than you think it is supposed to -- I suggest using usps.com, the website of the United States Postal Service, to look up the wide range of postage costs.  Be sure you input accurate weights and size measurements for the packages you research.  eBay's prices will usually be lower than the prices you see on usps.com.  

[zamo-zuan]

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@monroe67 wrote:

"I don't think they should be getting a percentage of the shipping costs. It already is at what it costs and sometimes it costs even more than what you think it is supposed to. They are getting greedy."

Well, aren't you a little greedy also, thinking the place where you are trying to sell your old figurines and DVDs should get paid nothing, after they've offered you, the seller, reduced postage prices when you sell those (old) trinkets?

If sometimes the postage costs more than you think it is supposed to -- I suggest using usps.com, the website of the United States Postal Service, to look up the wide range of postage costs.  Be sure you input accurate weights and size measurements for the packages you research.  eBay's prices will usually be lower than the prices you see on usps.com.  

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Well the main issue is, we can be sure of the commercial pricing tier that eBay is getting, and we can compare it to all the alternatives (ShipStation, Pirate Ship, etc) and eBay tries to make it look like their prices are competitive. But once you factor fees, they're HIGHER than the competition. It's an illusion.

Which means eBay is banking $$$ off of their "Shipping discounts" they are offering sellers.

This is also two separate issues here. 

Price + Shipping charged of course is factored in the FVF's. That's not disputed. 

But the issue is that the shipping labels sold by eBay ALSO get the fees charged to them. That's the part that isn't quite fair.

When we discuss the past, it isn't really comparable, because these weren't part of the same transaction, they will added to our "bill" which was separate and didn't hit the same level of fees. Back when they switched to MP one of the first things they did was combine everything in to one transaction and claimed it was to "simplify" things. But in reality, it was just allowing them to charge fees on everything, rather than have everything on the bill be separate and not affected by their fees. 

[wastingtime101]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I don't think they should be getting a percentage of the shipping costs. It already is at what it costs and sometimes it costs even more than what you think it is supposed to.

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So if you list something for $30 + $10 ship it's your belief that you should pay lower fees than me if I list the same item for $40 + free ship?

Can you provide an example where shipping costs more than what you think it's supposed to? Are you entering accurate package weight and dimensions into your listing form and using calculated shipping?

Are you charging retail rates to buyers so the cost savings of buying labels online means you have a cushion to cover the FVF on shipping?

[zamo-zuan]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I don't think they should be getting a percentage of the shipping costs. It already is at what it costs and sometimes it costs even more than what you think it is supposed to.

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So if you list something for $30 + $10 ship it's your belief that you should pay lower fees than me if I list the same item for $40 + free ship?

Can you provide an example where shipping costs more than what you think it's supposed to? Are you entering accurate package weight and dimensions into your listing form and using calculated shipping?

Are you charging retail rates to buyers so the cost savings of buying labels online means you have a cushion to cover the FVF on shipping?

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This is what I was referring to in the prior message. 

$30 + $10 or $40 would be what is in the listing for the FVF charges. That's completely fine and expected.

But what about if you buy a Medium label from eBay for another $14 and then pay fees on that $14? That's where the issue is. Because once you factor the fees on top of this $14, it's no longer cheaper than just getting a label from the competition, when you can get a Medium label from them with no additional fees charged upon it.

It's also double-dipping in fees, because in the prior example you ALREADY paid the fees in the $40 collected, so why additional fees on the shipping purchase itself?

At the end of the day it's just a money-grab for eBay as it makes them a less desirable option than competitors. There's no reason anyone should be using eBay shipping - but most people don't even realize they're paying almost $16 for that Medium label.

[coolections]

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@monica-sells wrote:

there is no way to distinguish shipping and item and to calculate a fee without using the total amount....this also equals the playing field.

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@monica-sells   But there is a way to make it an even playing field. Since they charge on the total, all they would have had to do is lower the fees from 12.9 down to 10.

[ittybitnot]

you can thank sellers in the past who sold a 20.00 item for 1.00 (with 19.00 shipping)....

@monica-sells 

I beg to differ.  You can thank eBay who refused to remove/sanction sellers who made a habit of this over a two to three year period.  Even when there were sellers that blatantly did this on a daily basis, ebay refused to act when they were reported.  

eBay needed a "raise" and cut down on customer service.  It was the ideal situation. 

[inhawaii]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I don't think they should be getting a percentage of the shipping costs. 

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You have the right to "think" anything you want.

Do I wish they charged less?  Of course I do.

I wish a loaf of bread was less.

I with a gallon of gas was less.

But it is what it is.

You also have the right NOT to patronize ebay if you think they are greedy and charging too much.

[luckythewinner]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I don't think they should be getting a percentage of the shipping costs.

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Back when sellers had to use PayPal, PayPal got a part of the shipping too. And when a store accepts a credit card, the credit card processor gets a part of the shipping too. 

[monica-sells]

riddle me this then....

how would "ANY" platform police the shipping costs by each seller...where do you draw the line?

How can you possibly determine that a seller is grossly overcharging for shipping?

even a bot can't tell if I am offering an item with ONLY Overnight Shipping for 30.00 instead of parcel post for 8.00 (no other choices)

The listing says Shipping is $30.00 

that's what it costs...how in the world could ebay know that?

if you can explain that, your response will hold water.....

[buyselljack2016]

But what about if you buy a Medium label from eBay for another $14 and then pay fees on that $14? That's where the issue is. Because once you factor the fees on top of this $14, it's no longer cheaper than just getting a label from the competition, when you can get a Medium label from them with no additional fees charged upon it.

-----------------------------------------------------------

It doesn't matter where we buy the label, or if we teleport the item to the buyer. Fee is based upon what the buyer pays us for shipping, not what the label costs.

[slippinjimmy]

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@zamo-zuan wrote:

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This is what I was referring to in the prior message. 

$30 + $10 or $40 would be what is in the listing for the FVF charges. That's completely fine and expected.

But what about if you buy a Medium label from eBay for another $14 and then pay fees on that $14? That's where the issue is. Because once you factor the fees on top of this $14, it's no longer cheaper than just getting a label from the competition, when you can get a Medium label from them with no additional fees charged upon it.

It's also double-dipping in fees, because in the prior example you ALREADY paid the fees in the $40 collected, so why additional fees on the shipping purchase itself?

At the end of the day it's just a money-grab for eBay as it makes them a less desirable option than competitors. There's no reason anyone should be using eBay shipping - but most people don't even realize they're paying almost $16 for that Medium label.

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You seem confused, there is no "fee" when you buy a shipping label via eBay, the fee is on the amount of the shipping offered in the listing that the buyer pays, where you buy the label is irrelevant, how much you pay for the label is irrelevant.

I use Stamps.com to buy/print USPS labels, the rates are the same as eBay (I only use First Class or Media Mail), there is no fee advantage vs using eBay but I use it because it ALWAYS works, there are no glitches, there are no errors, there are no printer issues and ALL USPS services are offered. Oh yeah if you need customer service, access is essentially instant and the people answering the phones actually know what they are talking about.

[retro_entertainment_collectibles]

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

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@zamo-zuan wrote:

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This is what I was referring to in the prior message. 

$30 + $10 or $40 would be what is in the listing for the FVF charges. That's completely fine and expected.

But what about if you buy a Medium label from eBay for another $14 and then pay fees on that $14? That's where the issue is. Because once you factor the fees on top of this $14, it's no longer cheaper than just getting a label from the competition, when you can get a Medium label from them with no additional fees charged upon it.

It's also double-dipping in fees, because in the prior example you ALREADY paid the fees in the $40 collected, so why additional fees on the shipping purchase itself?

At the end of the day it's just a money-grab for eBay as it makes them a less desirable option than competitors. There's no reason anyone should be using eBay shipping - but most people don't even realize they're paying almost $16 for that Medium label.

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You seem confused, there is no "fee" when you buy a shipping label via eBay, the fee is on the amount of the shipping offered in the listing that the buyer pays, where you buy the label is irrelevant, how much you pay for the label is irrelevant.

I use Stamps.com to buy/print USPS labels, the rates are the same as eBay (I only use First Class or Media Mail), there is no fee advantage vs using eBay but I use it because it ALWAYS works, there are no glitches, there are no errors, there are no printer issues and ALL USPS services are offered. Oh yeah if you need customer service, access is essentially instant and the people answering the phones actually know what they are talking about.

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Yep.  Actually might guess(?) that the label charge can be a physical transaction in it's own right in which case eBay would be footing the "Discount rate" (charge commission) should a transactions funds already been ACH'd to the sellers bank?