eBay

tnekm.sell · ‎08-24-2022

eBay's fees page says, "If you use supplemental services, such as buying and printing shipping labels on eBay, or if you participate in any of our advertising programs, additional terms and conditions may apply, and you'll pay any costs or fees associated with those services. " That makes it sound like there are fees on printing shipping labels - are there? I can't find a fee schedule for that, so it's not clear.

If I choose to NOT use eBay's shipping/labels (use Pirate Ship, instead) - does eBay still include what the buyer pays for shipping in my final value fee calculation?

a_c_green · ‎08-24-2022

@tnekm.sell wrote:
If I choose to NOT use eBay's shipping/labels (use Pirate Ship, instead) - does eBay still include what the buyer pays for shipping in my final value fee calculation?

Yes, the FVF is a percentage of the buyer's payment to you, so if you are including a Shipping charge to the buyer, that will be part of the FVF (regardless of how you ultimately purchase the postage).

monroe67 · ‎08-24-2022

"eBay's fees page says, 'If you use supplemental services, such as buying and printing shipping labels on eBay, or if you participate in any of our advertising programs , additional terms and conditions may apply, and you'll pay any costs or fees associated with those services.' That makes it sound like there are fees on printing shipping labels - are there? I can't find a fee schedule for that, so it's not clear."

That quote, which I've bolded, is from the "Other terms and conditions" section at the very end of the Selling Fees policies. I can't say that I have ever heard of "buying and printing shipping labels on eBay" being a supplemental service. Maybe way back in the first years of eBay?

I think the important words in that quote are these, in red with one word underlined: "If you use supplemental services, such as buying and printing shipping labels on eBay, or if you participate in any of our advertising programs, additional terms and conditions may apply, and you'll pay any costs or fees associated with those services."

For now, eBay charges no additional special fees for printing shipping labels. At least I've never paid any additional fees to eBay for having chosen to print shipping labels through eBay.

Could eBay be reserving the right to start charging additional fees for printing shipping labels at some future point? Am I too cynical? Should I have even typed that?

At any rate -- eBay's Final Value Fee (FVF) is charged on the total paid by your buyer, including postage. (Unless you sell something with "free shipping", in which case you pay the postage cost.) Then what you, the seller, choose to do with that amount of postage paid by your buyer is your own decision. You do NOT need to buy postage through eBay, although it is easy to do so. You could use it to buy postage through PirateShip. Or you could even take the package to your local post office and probably have to spend more money on postage than your buyer paid.

BTW, and this is not what you asked, but IF you end up spending more money on postage than your buyer paid, you are not allowed to ask that buyer to give you more money for that postage.

a_c_green · ‎08-24-2022

@monroe67 wrote:
I think the important words in that quote are these, in red with one word underlined: "If you use supplemental services, such as buying and printing shipping labels on eBay, or if you participate in any of our advertising programs, additional terms and conditions may apply, and you'll pay any costs or fees associated with those services."

For now, eBay charges no additional special fees for printing shipping labels. At least I've never paid any additional fees to eBay for having chosen to print shipping labels through eBay.

I took that to be a reference to their lumping the buyer's entire payment into the Final Value Fee calculation, so in effect, they are already charging a "fee" on the buyer's payment for the Shipping label, if the buyer did indeed get billed by the seller for Shipping.

Yes, the postage paid by the seller is actually an expense, not income, and it's the only expense for which eBay charges the seller a percentage, but I gave up arguing that detail years ago now. The FVF is what it is.

ajs_coins_and_alchemy · ‎08-24-2022

I wish more people read or browsed the forum before posting on the forum...

nobody*s_perfect · ‎08-24-2022

@tnekm.sell wrote:
eBay's fees page says, "If you use supplemental services, such as buying and printing shipping labels on eBay, or if you participate in any of our advertising programs, additional terms and conditions may apply, and you'll pay any costs or fees associated with those services. " That makes it sound like there are fees on printing shipping labels - are there? No, you only pay the actual postage cost. I can't find a fee schedule for that, so it's not clear.

If I choose to NOT use eBay's shipping/labels (use Pirate Ship, instead) - does eBay still include what the buyer pays for shipping in my final value fee calculation? Yes, the final value fee is based on the buyer's total payment (Item, shipping, and sales tax) regardless of where you purchase postage or how much you pay for it. They're just not connected.

luckythewinner · ‎08-24-2022

Is there a fee on shipping LABELS? Is there shipping counted in final value if I don't use ebay?

No there is not a fee on your shipping labels.

There is a fee on the shipping amount you collect from your buyer, whether or not you spend it on a shipping label.

monroe67 · ‎08-25-2022

"I wish more people read or browsed the forum before posting on the forum..."

I almost think it should be required before a new seller tries to sell on eBay.

For myself -- I started reading through these community pages while spending time with an aged parent who watched a certain TV "news" channel all the time. I would sit in another room with my laptop and read everything I could find. I was newly retired and thought I would try my hand at selling on eBay . . . . . . .

I think these forums (fora?) are about the best way for new sellers AND buyers to get acquainted with eBay.