Selling Fees (Final Value Fee)

[cellison078]

I needed some cash, so I did what I haven’t done in years, and sold a precious belonging on eBay. When I looked at the cost breakdown, I was in shock. The final value fee was INSANELY high. I’m very unhappy with eBay about this.

[mr_lincoln]

Hi @cellison078 

If it has been a while since you sold on eBay hopefully you have signed up to get paid for your sales.  PayPal is no longer the Payment processor so eBay sends your sales proceeds to your bank account instead ... and not immediately.

Getting paid for items you've sold | eBay

The name on your bank account has to match the name on your eBay account.  You also have to provide your SSN.

eBay fees are levied on the Item price - the paid shipping and sales tax if applicable.  

Since you have a low activity account eBay may put your money on hold for up to 21 days for sales under $ 1,000.

Payments on hold | eBay

[cellison078]

I always sold very low price items on eBay. Since the last thing I sold on eBay years ago, I’ve had the opportunity to use other selling venues to sell much more expensive items. I guess it just gave me perspective. Their cut was under half of eBay’s cut. I know I could’ve researched it, but dummy me was in a hurry. It’s just one person’s opinion. I suppose for many, eBay is all they’ve ever used. It was all I had ever used at one point for sure.

[cellison078]

I always sold very low price items on eBay. Since the last thing I sold on eBay years ago, I’ve had the opportunity to use other selling venues to sell much more expensive items. I guess it just gave me perspective. Their cut was under half of eBay’s cut. I know I could’ve researched it, but dummy me was in a hurry. It’s just one person’s opinion. I suppose for many, eBay is all they’ve ever used. It was all I had ever used at one point for sure.

[soh.maryl]

Glad to hear you've found a cheaper place to list and sell.  Hope it offers as much exposure for your things as eBay does.  

If you don't mind, I'd like to suggest that you make sure you are well acquainted with the fee schedule at this new venue. Their fee schedule will probably be readily available to sellers just like eBay's is.

[cellison078]

You’re right about the tax. It was years ago that I sold my previous items. I don’t believe back then there was a tax on internet sales. And I always sold very low price items on eBay. Since the last thing I sold on eBay years ago, I’ve had the opportunity to use other selling venues to sell much more expensive items. I guess it just gave me perspective. Their cut was under half of eBay’s cut. I know I could’ve researched it, but dummy me was in a hurry. It’s just one person’s opinion. I suppose for many, eBay is all they’ve ever used. It was all I had ever used at one point for sure.

[cellison078]

The highest consignment I’ve ever paid in an actual storefront was 25%. But I guess in a place like California, 50% might be customary.  Not that you live in CA… just saying.

[soh.maryl]

If the highest fee you have ever paid for a consignment shop was 25%, then 13.25% should have looked  pretty good to you.  

[cellison078]

I think using a different online venue to sell much more expensive items for the past many years just gave me perspective. Their FVF is so much lower. Before, the items I sold were very inexpensive. And for a long time, tax wasn’t applied also. It’s all just a matter of opinion.

[mtgraves7984]

I know I could’ve researched it, but dummy me was in a hurry.

@cellison078 

Oh, my. Yes... eBay is not a good place to be in a hurry for returning sellers. Hang in there...

[cellison078]

Not paying attention is definitely on me. Being in a hurry isn’t smart. Like I mentioned in other replies, the items I sold before were inexpensive, and it didn’t matter as much. I guess having used a different venue to sell much more expensive items the past many years maybe changed my perspective. Their fees were less than half of eBay’s. Maybe I just got used to it. For the longest there wasn’t tax also. Maybe all the above. It’s all just an opinion.

[bonjourami]

And when you sold previously, Paypal was probably taking their cut, so your fvf here was lower. But with PP no longer in the picture, you have noticed that fvf was increased. But it all evens out.

[cellison078]

Yes, it’s saying a couple of things in different places. In one place, it says eBay releases the pay-out within a day after me shipping the item and entering shipping details. I think this was in general for sellers. This actually doesn’t bother me at all and makes sense to me. This would protect the buyer and is a good thing. But the other thing it said, which I think was directed to me specifically and is very concerning and upsetting, was my pay-out will be on hold until the 25th, which would be about 2 weeks after sold. This is going to put me in a bind, seeing that the only reason I sold my last item was for quick cash for an emergency deadline that now I will miss. I’m about to go ship it now. I hope the first scenario will happen.

[marnotom!]

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@cellison078 wrote:

You’re right about the tax. It was years ago that I sold my previous items. I don’t believe back then there was a tax on internet sales. And I always sold very low price items on eBay. Since the last thing I sold on eBay years ago, I’ve had the opportunity to use other selling venues to sell much more expensive items. I guess it just gave me perspective. Their cut was under half of eBay’s cut. 

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Yeah, when I started reading through the comments your post was getting, I started thinking that your experience with selling on eBay was with lower-priced items, @cellison078.  It's pretty easy not to give too much thought to how the percentages work when you're selling twenty-dollar doodads.

Yes, there are less expensive places to sell than eBay.  They probably have less infrastructure and overhead to support which helps keeps their prices down.  And I bet they don't process payments.

eBay isn't the best place to sell everything, just as Walmart isn't the best place to find everything you need.  However, a big difference between eBay and many other online marketplaces is exposure.  You have a potential worldwide audience for your items here and your listings have the potential to come up in Google search results.  I wouldn't recommend making an item that could be weaponized available to the international market, mind you, but just know that possibility is there with eBay.

But, yeah, if you're looking for a quick $400 before fees, selling your doodad on eBay probably isn't the best way to go about it.

[cellison078]

It was definitely a combination of things. Before, I sold very inexpensive items and for the longest there wasn’t tax. And also maybe having used a different online venue for the past many years to sell much more expensive items and that had a dramatically lower set of fees gave me a different outlook. I suppose I got used to it.

[isaiah53-57]

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@toysaver wrote:

EBay is a bargain.   Before the internet if you wanted to sell an item the choice was usually consignment with a 50/50 split.   

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Bargain? Wow.. Have some more Kool-aide.

So you're saying its worse to pay someone 50% of your ITEMS PRICE to do all the work in selling that item, take all the risk, and pay all the overhead as opposed to paying ebay 25% of the ENTIRE TRANSACTION(13.25% + 11.75% Promotions), which likely amounts to 30%-35% of the items price where YOU do ALL the work, take ALL the risk, and pay ALL the overhead? On a site where you actually cringe when you make a pricey sale knowing the money isn't yours for 6 months down the road until it passes through all the fiery hoops of buyer fraud? On a site where you are lucky to have a 10% sell through rate as a reward for the other 90% of your wasted time? On a site where you won't list your pricey items due to the high chance they will be thieved? On a site where your 1200 listings can be taken down in a heartbeat, finding yourself banned for some arbitrary or inconspicuous infraction(or even a glitch)? On a site where your visibility is, in large part, no longer a function of your seller performance? On a site where the recommended rate for promoted listings has gone from 3% to 15% in a matter of a few short years?  On a site where there is no longer any real customer service to help deal with the minefield of problems? I really dont need to go on...

No...Give me the consignment option ALL DAY LONG.