Out of control FEES!

[mohillbillyme2]

Ebay charges fees on shipping and state taxes, tax money I never see or have anything to do with. Ebay is pricing itself out of business.

[buyselljack2016]

A good eBay "business model" also covers to the costs.

[zero29zero]

Your "out of control" fees will usually run 14-18% of your item price no matter what part of fees go where, far from unreasonable, look around

On a side note the usual answer "payment processors always charged this" not quite believable, no payment processor charges 12.9% for their service, ebay is raking off another 10%

In the end, who cares? ebay's charges for completing a sale to a worldwide audience of millions of buyers is not a bad deal

[maxine*j]

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@house*of*paws wrote:

Hi @mohillbillyme2 

...  I wonder if it would be tolerated better if the fees were 1% higher … but not charged on tax.  [It seems to be the tax portion that bothers sellers the most.]

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I don't think that payment processors are going to change their way of doing business, not after all these decades of doing it one way, the same way for everyone, no matter who or where they are, no matter what is or is not included in a sale.  This way is clean, clear, simple, straightforward, and it has always worked fine just as it is. 

And the merchant fees are, after all, an ordinary business expense for tax purposes, another reason that it puzzles me that people whine about them constantly.

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[soh.maryl]

Amazingly, eBay's current fee schedule has been in place for quite awhile, is clearly visible to all sellers and yet eBay seems to still be in business.  

[cordell1]

You have to pay because sellers were cheating ebay out of fees by selling item cheap and charging high shipping fees.  Ebay solved that  with fees on shipping.  Ebay processes all your out of state taxes so  you don't have to.  They don't do it for free.  It's called the cost of  doing business and most sellers pass that fee along to buyers.

[rjm0222]

And again, a computer program can be written to eliminate a fee based on another charge by the same vendor like shipping. To say, ALL PAYMENT PROCESSORS DO IT THIS WAY is **bleep**. Its Ebay that dictates the rules to the payment processor. And if that processor wont do it there are other payment processors. Fees should absolutely NOT be charged for sales tax. And YES a payment processor can eliminate sales tax from the total so a fee isnt charged on the sales tax. So please stop with this: payment processors blah blah blah on the total and it cannot be changed. Please.................................. 

[inhawaii]

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@maxine*j wrote:

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@inhawaii wrote:

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Figure the fees into your pricing, TRIPLE THEM, and make the buyer pay.  That's the American way.  God bless America!   😃

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Figure the fees into your pricing, TRIPLE THEM, make the buyer pay, and then scream that you're forced to do this because of the (a) The Disgusting Communist Democrats or (b) The Repugnant Fascist Republicans.  That's the American way.  God Bless America!

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Gotta blame someone. It can't be my fault. That's the american way! God bless America!  😉 

[rjm0222]

You cant always do that either because your price will be higher than what the market is and your item wont sell.

[rjm0222]

But now that you purchase the shipping from Ebay the fee for that amount should be eliminated. 

[blingfling123]

Do I like the fees, heck no, but I get my monies worth. 

I do not have to pay to maintain the infrastructure, security or the availability of a huge site. 

The same site reaches billions of people all over the world. 

I do not have to file and pay sales tax (and if you have never had to do this, count your lucky stars)

PS, some sites charge more than eBay. 

[johnrj1226]

eBay started charging a fee on shipping in 2011 or  several years (like 5) after you became a member.  PayPal used  to charge on the entire amount the buyer paid including sales taxes collect by eBay and sent to the  appropriate state in a timely  manner.  Now eBay fees are the  the of theprevious eBays fees plus PayPal fees  all wrapped up into one.  Sales tax charges to the buyer had nothing to do with eBay - the majority of the states wanted  more revenue period.  Oh if you sell over 600 bucks  in stuff this year - you will receive  a 1099K from eBay and  any other on-line selling site you are a  selling member. as  required by Federal law (Internal Revenue Service).  Looks  like those  4 items you sold  in June, July and August put you over the  hump of  600.

All this stuff was posted in the eBay ANNOUNCEMENTS for all members to read.

[dnasilver]

What would it cost you to collect the sales tax and remit the sales tax to the taxing authority.......that differs all across the country? Think about it. Also, your business model should have the customer aka buyer paying all the fees. 

[monroe67]

"Ebay charges fees on shipping and state taxes, tax money I never see or have anything to do with."

It is so refreshing that you appear to understand!  Yes, eBay does charge the Final Value Fee (FVF) on the total paid by the buyer, including cost of the item, state sales tax when it applies, and postage/shipping.  And yes, you don't ever see that sales tax money or have anything to do with it.  

The highest amount of sales tax on any of my transactions this year was around $9.50, if memory serves. The FVF in that category is 12.9%.   $9.50 x .129 = 1.2255.  

I had to pay eBay the whopping amount of $1.23 to compensate them for taking care of sending that sales tax to the appropriate state, not missing any deadlines for doing so, etc.  One dollar bill, two dimes, and three pennies.  I think that's a bargain.  I don't have to do that task.  But that's just the way I look at things.  You believe what you want to believe.   (Yes, I do like Tom Petty.)  

"Ebay is pricing itself out of business."

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  We've been hearing and reading that for about 24 years now.  I'll believe it when eBay says they're going out of business.    

[theteamsetguy]

Next time when you go to your neighborhood diner ask the owner what he/she thinks of the credit card fees charged for the sales taxes and tips. The owner in most states can’t pass the fees charged on tips to the waiter/waitress.

A good restaurant owner will build the processing fees into the price of the meal just like myself when I sell here on eBay or when I was also on Amazon. I also charged more for the same item on Amazon because the fees were higher than here on eBay.

[theteamsetguy]

Then you have to find things to sell that allow you to make a good profit. You have to be disciplined in acquiring your inventory. 

You make your money by buying right.