eBay

choochoo510 · ‎09-10-2022

Haven't sold anything on Ebay in a long time, and just recently got back into it. I find the selling fees confusing, and pretty much deceitful. As an example, I'll use the latest low-cost item I sold. The item price was $4.99, shipping was $3.81, and sales tax was $0.26, for a total sale amount of $9.06.

Ebay's so-called "13%" final value fee (12.9% to be precise) is for some reason applied to ALL of that amount, shipping and tax included. Which means Ebay took $1.17 in fees for this order. (Then there's the extra fixed amount of $0.30 per order which they add on for fun, so the final fees were $1.47). The reason this is very strange to me is because the only amount I received on this order which can actually be called MINE is the item price of $4.99. The shipping money I received is not income for me, because obviously I have to pay back that exact amount in order to print a shipping label. And of course the sales tax is not part of my income either: that's just a tax the buyer paid to Ebay.

But nonetheless, Ebay is taking:

13% of the item price (which IS my money, so this makes sense).

13% of the shipping price (which is NOT my money, so this doesn't make sense).

13% of the sales tax (which is NOT my money, so this doesn't make sense).

So where is Ebay's 13% cut for shipping and sales tax actually coming from? It's ultimately coming out of the item price, the $4.99 I made on the item. And $1.17 is 23.5% of $4.99, not 13%. And again, once you factor in the $0.30 just-for-fun fee, then they took $1.47 which is 29.5%. This is the percentage Ebay actually takes from the sellers themselves.

Surely people have already pointed this out before. And I guess you just have to deal with it, or go sell stuff somewhere else. But it's pretty irritating that Ebay would advertise "13% selling fees," when in reality the percentage is more than double that, almost 30%. In my opinion, companies should have more respect for their users (and more self-respect for that matter). This legitimately has me wondering whether Ebay is worth using.

stephenmorgan · ‎09-10-2022

@choochoo510 wrote:
So the logic for the shipping tax used to be to prevent manipulation.
Now the logic for doing it is because they like getting more money from sellers.

Have you looked at the Fee Schedule?

There are different fee amounts depending on what you are selling. For certain items eBay feels they should be entitled to a higher percentage. Why do they charge 14.6% for books? I do not know the logic of this other than because they can. Maybe because other venues get this much or more, I don't know.

It takes no more effort for eBay to list a book for sale than it does to list a screw but there is a difference in the fees.

Fees

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822&st=3&pos=2&query=Sellin...

choochoo510 · ‎09-10-2022

I understand that was part of the original reason behind it. But what about (like in my case) when ebay knows exactly what I paid for shipping, because I purchased my label from them? It doesn't seem like that reasoning holds up anymore. They know what I paid. They know I'm not pricing my shipping in a manipulative way (they themselves are the ones who calculated the shipping cost for the buyer). So why tax me based on my shipping costs?

isaiah53-57 · ‎09-10-2022

But nonetheless, Ebay is taking:
13% of the item price (which IS my money, so this makes sense).
13% of the shipping price (which is NOT my money, so this doesn't make sense).
13% of the sales tax (which is NOT my money, so this doesn't make sense).

So where is Ebay's 13% cut for shipping and sales tax actually coming from? It's ultimately coming out of the item price, the $4.99 I made on the item. And $1.17 is 23.5% of $4.99, not 13%. And again, once you factor in the $0.30 just-for-fun fee, then they took $1.47 which is 29.5%. This is the percentage Ebay actually takes from the sellers themselves.

Surely people have already pointed this out before. And I guess you just have to deal with it, or go sell stuff somewhere else. But it's pretty irritating that Ebay would advertise "13% selling fees," when in reality the percentage is more than double that, almost 30%. In my opinion, companies should have more respect for their users (and more self-respect for that matter). This legitimately has me wondering whether Ebay is worth using.

Sorry this was a surprise to you - It seems it is for many users - All a new user or one coming out of hibernation has to do is click the "Start Selling" link. Its that easy. No mandatory tutorial to insure you are aware of the important things you should know when selling here - Not just how much of your profit they are after, but the scams that are prevalent and well-known here, amongst many other things a new or past seller should be aware of...

I'm sure they count on the naive and ignorant to jump right in not having a clue as what they are getting themselves into - At least you didnt buy into the idea of using the Promoted Listing program they are pushing down everyone's throat - You may have found yourself using their recommendation to promote your item at 8% to 10% and then found yourself paying close to 40% of the items selling price.

sounds absolutely insane doesnt it, but there are people out there either willingly, desperately or unknowingly using the promoted listing option that are paying 25% to even as high as 50% of their items sold price. You see people post about it, but I imagine most who realize what they got themselves into are just too embarrassed to post about it.

stephenmorgan · ‎09-10-2022

@earthdreamer wrote:
For my own sales, it averages out to about 25%, mainly because I add insurance to higher priced items, and cannot add this to the buyer's shipping cost.

Considering ebay provides a world-wide platform for my items, plus manages my transactions, I believe this to be a fair cost of doing business.

Why can you not add the Insurance cost to the buyer's shipping cost?

There is a section to add a handling fee within the listing page. If you have a set price you can figure the insurance cost. If it is a auction you can estimate the insurance cost based on what you think the item should sell for.

mybigsale · ‎09-10-2022

@choochoo510

You are correct. By simplifying the math (instead of calculating it correctly) eBay has turned shipping and tax into a source of revenue paid be sellers. eBay could easily account for the actual shipping costs whether the listing had free or paid shipping. eBay knows the exact amount paid for sellers using eBay shipping. As other shipping services can update tracking on eBay, they could easily be modified to report actual shipping paid for eBay to deduct.

Sponsored Ad fees were based on the item cost. In June eBay started adding the Shipping and Tax before calculating the Sponsored Ad fees.

So now, eBay may be charging fees from 13% to 113% of the Shipping, Tax and Item (Final Value Fee plus Sponsored Ad Fee). Sellers can end up paying eBay more in fees then the total payment the buyer paid eBay.

Companies need to be honest and disclose their fees. I don't believe companies are legally obligated to be fair. Caveat venditor.

isaiah53-57 · ‎09-10-2022

@choochoo510 wrote:
Surely people have already pointed this out before. And I guess you just have to deal with it, or go sell stuff somewhere else. But it's pretty irritating that Ebay would advertise "13% selling fees," when in reality the percentage is more than double that, almost 30%. In my opinion, companies should have more respect for their users (and more self-respect for that matter). This legitimately has me wondering whether Ebay is worth using.

Here is something to consider - Your example is only one item - The problem with a $3, $4, or $5 is the shipping is most often just as much or even more than the item selling price - You will find your Fee percentages on low dollar items to be much higher than say a $30 item with a $10 shipping price, or a $100 item with a $15 shipping cost, etc etc - So what you are selling has a lot to do with your profitability retention in relationship to fees.

Heck, the 30 cent transaction fee alone is 10% of an item sold for $3 item, but only 1% of an item sold for $30. So the worth of selling here has everything to do with what you are selling. Hope this gives you a better perspective...

buyselljack2016 · ‎09-10-2022

Once again. they just went to a simplified system.

Shipping is actually "shipping and handling".

With millions of transactions eBay is not going to go through a convoluted process of determining who is charging exact shipping, and who is not.

Shipping and handling $4. Shipping actual cost $3.39. $0.61 was handling, so just charge on the $0.61 ?

Then the listing that does free shipping (shipping included) and buys the postage at the Post Office, stamps dot com, Pirateship, elsewhere..................... eBay does not know the actual shipping cost, so the seller pays on the full amount, or should eBay guess, or penalize that seller?

Once again they went the easiest, fairest way. Everyone pays the same.

dryophelia · ‎09-10-2022

If you’re looking at the actual “earnings” of a $5 item, eBay may have taken 200% of those “earnings”.

mybigsale · ‎09-10-2022

@choochoo510

@buyselljack2016

Then the listing that does free shipping (shipping included) and buys the postage at the Post Office, stamps dot com, Pirateship, elsewhere..................... eBay does not know the actual shipping cost, so the seller pays on the full amount, or should eBay guess, or penalize that seller?

eBay knows the exact amount of shipping paid by sellers using eBay shipping. Pirateship and other online services already communicate with eBay and at eBay's request could return totals paid to be deducted. A reasonable credit or other solution could be worked out for sellers choosing to physically purchase postage.

Free Shipping is a non-issue as:

Item + Free Shipping - actual shipping (and)

Item + Shipping - actual shipping will give the same fair result.

eBay could easily not overcharge everyone in the name of fairness. eBay made the decision to increase profits. Charging a transaction fee on Shipping and Tax is fine. Charging a Commission on Shipping and Tax is not. That being said, it is what it is, and fees will continue to increase.

Sellers need to adjust pricing to cover the extra fees or find another venue. Fees will continue to increase. The only question is how much sellers and buyers can bear.

reallynicestamps · ‎09-10-2022

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822

You are billed for processing your customer's entire payment.

Product+shipping+sales tax+ 30c non-refundable service fee.

In addition, you may be charged for the OPTIONAL services like Auction Reserve or Promoted Listings.

earthdreamer · ‎09-10-2022

Why can you not add the Insurance cost to the buyer's shipping cost?

Many of my buyers purchase more than one item at a time, sometimes 3 or 4, and that can cause the package value to go higher than is comfortable for me, especially if the package is going overseas.

As I offer combined postage, I have no control over the final value of the transaction.

Having said that, I have started to remove the combined option from items which I know will sell fairly high, so I will only combine them if a buyer purchases a cheaper item with it.

There is no handling fee option on any of my listings. Maybe I don't qualify?

stephenmorgan · ‎09-10-2022

@earthdreamer wrote:
Why can you not add the Insurance cost to the buyer's shipping cost?

Many of my buyers purchase more than one item at a time, sometimes 3 or 4, and that can cause the package value to go higher than is comfortable for me, especially if the package is going overseas.

As I offer combined postage, I have no control over the final value of the transaction.

Having said that, I have started to remove the combined option from items which I know will sell fairly high, so I will only combine them if a buyer purchases a cheaper item with it.

There is no handling fee option on any of my listings. Maybe I don't qualify?

It is a option within the listing when you create or edit a listing. It is available for US and International.

I do my combined shipping manually so anything that needs insurance is already figured as a handling fee. I am always able to reduce shipping cost for two or more items.

Sometimes I have to put everything into one listing so I can combine the shipping, but it is done after an agreement to purchase but prior to payment.

If you are using the old listing tool this information is there as well.

chrispass918 · ‎09-10-2022

Maybe don't sell items less than $15 🤣? Even then if you're going to sell something for $15 or barely over $15 just charge shipping, I sold something for $17 and still came out with $12 even after the shipping label cause I charged $7 for shipping, plus it wasn't something I really cared about so I didn't care what I got for it.

dbfolks166mt · ‎09-10-2022

For my own sales, it averages out to about 25%, mainly because I add insurance to higher priced items, and cannot add this to the buyer's shipping cost.

Considering ebay provides a world-wide platform for my items, plus manages my transactions, I believe this to be a fair cost of doing business.

Add a handling fee to your shipping to cover the cost of the insurance.