eBay

romo.designerbags · ‎06-23-2021

Hi,

I just got off the phone with a eBay and the Rep. did confirm you are now paying 12.5% on your shipping total.

Therefore if you charge $16 for shipping they take 12.5%. eBay is taking money for a service that you don't make money off of. Now, if you do make money on the overage of the shipping label price than I could see that being a part of the 12.5% . So you charge the above $16 under shipping but the label you purchase is actually $10. Then the difference of $6 should be under the 12.5% not the hole price. You would loose $1.25.

$16 x 12.5% = $2.00

$6 x 12.5% = $0.75

Two eBay Reps have confirmed this. If you know anything different please let me know. I would love to be wrong!

quincydepot · ‎06-26-2021

Here's a solution. Works great and No Grousing from buyers since they are in charge. (I also do this with "problem children" buyers that you have a weird feeling about. That way I don't lose money on shipping.

1. Start listing items with "LOCAL PICK-UP" as an option.

2. Ensure your item costs cover the item being "shippable as sold." (i.e. In a box that meets carrier requirements.)

3. Annotate the items shipping information "In Your Listing". (Weight, Length, Width & Depth)

4. When "Mr. Doofus" wins your item or "Buys It Now" send him your shipping address.

5. Have "Mr. Doofus" buy the label from HIS Carrier of choice, save it as a PDF and send it to you.

6. If they don't have a discount shipping account, they'll pay more than I would for it but the upsides are:

A. No Final Value Fees on Shipping (Saves Buyer from 5 to 18%)

B. No Sales Tax Collected on Shipping (Saves them their local tax rate on the item shipping.)

Most Buyers don't realize that:

1. eBay charges FVFs on shipping.

2. eBay charges sales tax on shipping.

3. eBay MAKES A PROFIT on shipping. (Yes they do. I compare my 3rd party rates to eBay and it's significant.)

4. Sellers have to either inflate the price of the item to cover #1 & #3 or manipulate the dimensions to cover the addition costs associated with numbers 1 and 3. (Even if we designate a "Handling Fee", eBay imposes fees and Sales Tax on that.)

Good Luck and Be Proactive.

allthingssurplus · ‎06-26-2021

Yes with the volume eBay buys labels. They should be lower than any rate I can get. They just are not lower and it is a profit center for them.

allthingssurplus · ‎06-26-2021

Response like these drives me nuts. Just because eBay has been charging FVF for 10 years does not change the fact its wrong to do so. People that sell small items under or at a pound really do not feel the loss of profit as the Seller of heavier larger items does. It can cause the profit loss to the Seller any where between 5-20%.

I know you are proud of the fact that I said eBay ships many hundreds of thousands a day, which I did, however in the context of eBay Selling that many or more shipping label that they make a profit on. Not PACKAGES as we all know they do not. What a petty statement.

marnotom! · ‎06-26-2021

@allthingssurplus wrote:

Please be clear how not being charged a fee and increasing profit can have unintended and unpleasant consequences to the Seller? I guess you are anti money or really pro all of eBay's programs.

Because it's not all about the seller. eBay believes that its main income source is buyers, not sellers, as the buyers provide sellers the money they need to pay fees and whatnot. Buyers can't adapt the way sellers can to changes in how the site operates. Goodbye potential revenue.

@allthingssurplus wrote:

I was very clear about Sellers that choose to have free shipping should be charged FVF on the whole sale. It would their choice to do so. I get this type of sale eBay would not be able to figure out how much was shipping and how much was the item. As stated the Seller included all of their costs in his/her free shipping price. We do free shipping on most items that go USPS First Class. Its easier for our accounting and is more presentable to the Buyer. In our business the larger heavier item those Buyers assume they will pay shipping. This is where paying FVF on shipping reduces our profits and eBay gains for no reason. Sellers should have options on how they would like to be charged. In order to be competitive we have to show the real cost of the item to the Buyer in order for them to know exactly what they are paying. On larger DIMM and weight items shipping will vary greatly all over the country so selling with free shipping is doing a disservice to both the Seller and Buyer.

Just out of curiosity, why don't you offer free shipping? Surely it can't be that difficult for a multi-million dollar seller to work out deals with their shippers that would allow them to calculate an average shipping rate that could be added to the item price?

allthingssurplus · ‎06-26-2021

Now you are talking about the chicken and egg theory. Here is truth and not eBay Kool Aid in the office. 10% of the Sellers produce 40% of eBays income. Now they make this money on the backs of people like myself that rent warehouses, hire employees, purchase all the equipment, trucks and supplies to run an online business. In addition, like our company, purchase and shelve $4mil in inventory. None of that is done by your walk on water Buyer. Now you will say without the eBay Buyers all of what I said above is needless. If that were true I would not be currently selling $2mil or our $2.4 annual sales on other venues. eBay needs Sellers like me not Buyers. If eBay would make it more about the Seller perhaps the volume would grow organically and allow the law of supply and demand and free market to move forward the platform and increase long term growth and profits. Instead the practice of short term gain, ie fee based revenue system to a fault is the thought process. I fully believe eBay would be better served by may additional $2mil in sales flowing through their system and not other platforms. When its their way or the highway folks like myself move on, prudently. By the way no product to sell (Sellers) there will be no Buyers to buy, so yes it is all about the Seller.

By the way I did state we do ship free shipping on some item when it makes sense to do so. Low dollar light small item where the FVF will not be a large hit to the profit of an item. Again that is my choice as a Seller and at that point I'm willing to pay FVF on the free shipping item.

inhawaii · ‎06-26-2021

Old news.

Highway Patrol - Junior Brown

allthingssurplus · ‎06-26-2021

You are mistaken. Yes when selling light items in small DIMM size you are correct. However in a category where you ship items that weigh 5-70 lbs and a large DIMM you will increase your fees by 5-20+% digging into the profit of an item you priced to meet the market. So using your flat shipping plan reduces the Seller profit. However eBay comes out the big winner. Sellers need to make reasonable profits in order to grow and keep listing product on the platform. Inexact and punitive system.

marnotom! · ‎06-26-2021

@allthingssurplus wrote:

Now you are talking about the chicken and egg theory. Here is truth and not eBay Kool Aid in the office. 10% of the Sellers produce 40% of eBays income. Now they make this money on the backs of people like myself that rent warehouses, hire employees, purchase all the equipment, trucks and supplies to run an online business. In addition, like our company, purchase and shelve $4mil in inventory. None of that is done by your walk on water Buyer.

Some of it must, at least. Your business can't exist solely on financing. Dependency on financing and bad business plans have been the downfall of many of Donald Trump's business ventures.

jimsvinylvault · ‎06-26-2021

Without taking my time to read all 53 responses, let me just say that since Managed Payments went into affect, what you/we are paying as a Seller has gotten worse then you original posting: We pay 12.4% + $0.30 for each transaction....that 12.4% is not only applied against the Item Purchase Price AND your applied Shipping Charge, but it also includes whatever taxes the Buyer paid. But of course, all three of those collected amounts are part of what eBay states was your transaction was worth to you. Are we having fun yet?

marnotom! · ‎06-26-2021

PayPal also charges on the total transaction value, which would include taxes paid by the buyer and the seller’s shipping charge.

I don’t think you’re seeing any fees through MP that weren’t there in the “PayPal era.” The percentages may be a bit different, but the “before and after” examples I’ve seen suggest that in most cases, the difference between the two sets of fees is negligible.

allthingssurplus · ‎06-26-2021

How could you possibly say my business "solely on financing....."? We have no debt, I own everything and put product on the shelf to sell online. Please explain your response?

marnotom! · ‎06-27-2021

So where does this money come from then?

marnotom! · ‎06-27-2021

I realize that this is really none of my business. You may have a family inheritance, a shareholder system or lottery winnings that you don’t want to announce all over eBay. But when you say things like, “None of this is done [paid for?] by your walk on water buyer,” my eyebrows jump.

allthingssurplus · ‎06-27-2021

Don't know what you mean "None of this is done (paid for?), explain. Secondly I find you offensive. I've been working since I was 10 years old and full time at 14 when I was fully on my own and still working 60 hours a week at age 74. I spent almost 3 years in jungles of Vietnam. I never went to college. Everything I have earned in life, including saving my life, i earned using my own two hands and my head. At no time have I shown you any disrespect in any of the questions I have answered of yours. Have you served your country, are you a self made man, owing no one and earning your own way or are you one of those that feels better than the rest. My thoughts are the later not the former.