I Was Just Charged 18.15% Final Fee

[regularguy56]

I decided to take a closer look at my fees on a recent small sale and couldn't believe what I saw. 18.15 % final fee. I'm in Sarasota and the buyer is in New York, yet I was charged an international fee (eBay said the buyer was registered in Barbados. However, photos tell a different tale.

[dhbookds]

Ebay says he's registered in Barbados.........and so you are charged the International fee no matter where he has it sent............the shipping address can be anywhere the buyer wants.........

[donsdetour]

International fees happen.  Nothing you can do about em: Buyer uses a US addy (possible freight forward) and are registered is some other country:

Personalty eBay (and their payment provider) should change the buyer the fee instead of the seller:

You get charged the fee, again it happens.

[regularguy56]

Thanks for your input. Maybe I'll try asking the buyer.

[regularguy56]

So actually, eBay could say every buyer is registered internationally on every sale and really increase profit.

[monica-sells]

I don't see 18.15% on any calculation there...

I see 12.9% and 1.65%

even with 'creative' calculating it is 14.45%

that may be a forwarding company...the buyer may be in the country for a few months...regardless, the card used was registedred outside the USA, thus the charge

[monroe67]

Well, if I was Lester I would not like that you revealed my name and address on this or any forum.  

As for photos not lying -- hahahahaha.   Not that I am suggesting you used photoshop or any other editing program on this second image you posted.  

If your post is about the International Fee, well, yes, eBay does charge USA sellers an International Fee of 1.65% of the Final Value (total amount paid by buyer) when the buyer either has a mailing address outside the USA OR is registered on eBay with an address that is outside the USA.   

My selling ID has sold many things to people with first names like Valerija or Olga or Tatiana who all had mailing addresses in the state of Delaware -- and I was charged an international fee on all of those sales.  Because all of those buyers had eBay registrations in Russia.  

Maybe Lester has a cousin or former classmate or co-worker who now lives in New York.  You don't know Lester or anything about him, I would imagine.  What you do know, or really should know, is that your buyer paid and you now have to go ahead and mail the item he bought at the address he gave to you (through eBay, of course).  

If you are asking about why your final value fees are 18%, I don't see that.  You were charged the same final value fee of 12.9% as sellers in most eBay categories are.  That percentage is charged on the final value, the total amount paid by your buyer ($14.13).  12.9% of $14.13 is $1.82.  
Then you were charged 1.65% on the same final value:  1.65% of $14.13 is $0.23.
AND eBay charges a 30 cent fee on each order.  So the three portions of your fees on this sale are:
$1.82 + 0.23 + 0.30 = $2.35 fees on $14.13, the total amount paid by your buyer.  
$2.35 divided by $14.13 = about 16.63% of that final value in fees.  

But, of course, if you are one of the many eBay users who prefer to use your own calculation method, and compare your fees to the price of the item alone, you could think your fees might be 18% on this sale.   Some guy recently posted that eBay kept a 40% fee on his sale of a sleeping bag.  I don't subscribe to that theory, but there are others here who may agree with you.  

[monroe67]

"So actually, eBay could say every buyer is registered internationally on every sale and really increase profit."

No.  
Your computer knows where you are.  Your cellphone knows where you are.  
eBay knows where you are when you register.
Why would you lie?  Why would eBay lie on your behalf?  

 

[dhbookds]

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@regularguy56 wrote:

Thanks for your input. Maybe I'll try asking the buyer.

---

check his feedback page.............it should show Barbados

[heckofagame]

The buyer could be a student and actually currently live in the states. It doesn't always have to be the freight forwarder scenario. 

It was a sale. Better than no sale. No rules broken. Nothing illegal. Move on.

[laststopgeneralstore]

That makes absolutely zero sense... When you made your account did eBay try and force you to say that you lived in a different country when you don't? I didn't think so. eBay doesn't just choose where you live when someone makes an account. Not to mention the fee's are laid out VERY CLEARLY in the terms and conditions that YOU accepted prior to selling on this platform. Also you are getting charged 12.9% just like it shows in the breakdown plus the 1.65% international fee(also stated in the Terms & conditions). Nowhere does it say 18.15%. Stop making things up and blaming eBay for your lack of due diligence prior to selling on the platform. The amount of sellers complaining about not only fee's but sales in general is getting absolutely out of hand these days.

Good Day Sir!

[wrong66]

I've always thought that. The seller has no way of knowing until he's hit with the fee. eBay has it BACKWARDS!

[wrong66]

And stay in business how long?

[dbfolks166mt]

     You can pull up the buyers registered address by viewing the order details. In the shipping details the first section will be the address you shipped to but down at the bottom there will be a button to "see buyers address" and it will show you where the buyer is registered. 

     You didn't provide the specifics with regards to the item you sold so no way to validate or verify your final value fee percentage but it will be the 12.9% + 1.65% or 14.55% applied to the total value of the transaction which is (item cost + shipping cost + sales tax + $.30) 

[simply-the-best-for-you]

You can very easily see where the buyer is registered, in several places.  eBay would have no reason to lie about something that is so easily verified.  

They are just hard for sellers to notice when the address is US.  You wouldn't notice unless you happened to check for some reason.   It's annoying, but such a small fee, I'm fine paying it, to make the sale.