What gives, nothing left after fees and shipping?

[njfleamarket]

Starting the week with a zero balance, I had one item sell in 7 days, it went for $15, plus $9 shipping. I printed the label, shipped the item, the label cost me $8.96. It sold through the global shipping program. After fees, I see ebay sent $2.25 to my bank account.

I've seen a few other sales that didn't add up right, but figured there was maybe some fee that didn't catch up from a past item, but this time it was clear, only one item sold, no balance positive or negative. The customer paid $24, after fees it showed $19, then minus the $9 shipping, it should have been $10.

Regardless of the odd payout, what they don't say in the fees listing is that since they take fees from both the shipping and tax total, the actual percentage in the end is more like 33%. (Buyer bid $15, I shipped for a few pennies less than it quoted, and balance should have been around $10 by my math, but it was somehow $2.25).

On average, the shipping is less than quoted, so shipping isn't the problem, the extra shipping charged should cover what they take. But when the total sales amount for an item minus the shipping actually charged and the final value fee is 2/3rds of what it sold for, that's not 15%.  I can't see how if they charged 15% of the $24 the buyer paid, which would leave me $20.40, then minus the $8.96 shipping label, the balance should have been $11.44.  On most items I've checked on individually, the total balance after fees that I collect has been closer to 67% or so of the sell price, a few were far less.

One item that comes to mind sold for $380, and I collected $270 after fees and shipping were paid. I didn't lose anything on shipping, so it had to all go to fees. It was the only item sold in a 14 day period and it showed no listing fees when I put the ad up.

The only thing I could figure was that eBay charged the final value fee off of what he paid for global shipping.
I think the buyer total was around $444. I charged only $11 shipping, which is what the calculator came up with for flat rate shipping to Global shipping center.

Do we lose money that way when an item sells globally?

I don't generally list anything under $50, but it was the last one and it hadn't sold so I dropped the price to move it. I'd have almost been better off if I just threw it away.

I see sellers listing low dollar items all the time, there's no way its worth the hassle to sell when you figure the time it takes to pack, print a label and ship each item.

After checking, every time the balance didn't add up, it was a Global sale. Are we paying fees on the added shipping they charge the buyer to ship overseas? Nothing else would explain the amount being charged.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@cottoncandy57 wrote:

Right now im questioning the handling of buying shipping labels as reported income   i sold a item for 25 dollars and the actual shipping was 11. so they said i made 36 dollars minus their fee  and tax after all said and done it was 20.18 but they are reporting 31.18.. how did i gain 6 dollars .. a shipping label is not income .. then i talked to a lady .. she did the best she could but .. they have her brainwashed .. the post office made the 11 dollars not me .. once I get all my stuff listed im going to check out mercia

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ALL money you receive is reported. It's up to you to deduct allowable expenses (shipping and fees are two of many deductible expenses) to reduce your income.

Mercari will be the same way - you'll still need to deduct their fees and shipping (if you use "Free" shipping or your own labels there).  I haven't sold on there in a while, but I believe if the seller uses buyer paid shipping Mercari provides the label, and that's where the shipping cost is paid to, not the seller.

Edit: I was thinking this is the tax thread, but the info is still good.

[fashunu4eeuh]

"Regardless of the odd payout, what they don't say in the fees listing is that since they take fees from both the shipping and tax total, the actual percentage in the end is more like 33%..."

"The only thing I could figure was that eBay charged the final value fee off of what he paid for global shipping..."

eBay does spell this all out. See the link below.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/ebay-stores/ebay-stores?id=4071

"The total amount of the sale includes the item price, any handling charges, the shipping service the buyer selects, sales tax, and any other applicable fees."

"If you offer 1-day or international shipping as well as a cheaper or free option (like domestic shipping), the total amount of the sale is calculated based on the cheapest domestic option you offer. If you only offer 1-day or international shipping but no cheaper option like domestic shipping, the total amount of the sale is calculated based on the service the buyer chooses."

[stainlessenginecovers]

@singular-source    Fees are not even close to 12%.  Expect to pay 20% or more with every item you sell.

That's far from true. You are NOT applying the math correctly. The fees are on the Total of the Item. Taxes only add about 1% ($100 item, 8% tax, $8 x 12.55% is $1 on a $100 item)

Shipping is part of the sale of an item- for instance; what about all the sellers that offer FREE shipping? 

A $10 item with $5 shipping is a $15 item. You get charged a fee on a $15 item. Doing the math and NOT including the shipping just means you are applying the math wrong.

[stainlessenginecovers]

@cottoncandy57 how can e-bay add the price of the shipping label to your income .. when the post office gets that money

Because a $10 item with $5 shipping is a $15 item.

Just ask any seller that does Free Shipping.

Ask any buyer how much they paid for that item?

Did they pay $10? No; they paid $15.

So, that is part of a sellers gross income. Then they (the seller) subtract shipping cost, cost of item, fees, shipping materials and other misc (if a business for tax purposes). 

[buyologist-3]

This is the spooky part that almost everyone denies here. The more it's told, the more 'they' defend ebay's system.  Hidden fees, re-wording of descriptions (sooo errieeee!)  and more.  'Terms of Service' (TOS) that we rush to click, Agree to, makes it all legal.  Reading all the policy stuff doesn't erase all of this.  Good for business (ebay's) but keep your eyes peeled!  Between 'Item Specifics' and spooky changes and hidden fees, sellers are married to ebay.  Always thinking...always worried...always thinking strategy....Are the scammers/thieves here?...hours on hours......invades dreams.....gotta make money...can't leave.....

[glgenterprise]

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@singular-source wrote:

I've had so many disputes with them over the phone.  It all turned out to be accurate.  was angry to find out they charge fees on the taxes as well.  I'm about to turn off international shipments.  Fees are not even close to 12%.  Expect to pay 20% or more with every item you sell.

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I don't know about this - I had a international sale on Monday - I use GSP for shipping (not up for debate, I'm willing to lose some buyers for a much simpler shipping experience for me) - and I just checked my fees for it.

It was:

$100 sale price with free domestic shipping

I paid my usual 11.7% less my TRS 10% discount

and

1.65% international fee

That's it - hard stop for fees from eBay

not including my domestic USPS shipping that I paid to get it to PB in Kentucky for GP, I netted $87.51, which was the amount that eBay deposited in my bank account.

Of course I do have to factor in the small percentage of my store subscription to each sale, but that's pennies over all of my listings.

When it comes to the fee on the sales tax - it has long since been established that online sellers who use platforms like eBay and Amazon are not going to be exempt from collecting sales tax. Frankly, for the small fee I pay on sales tax, I'm happy to let eBay handle the reporting and remitting of that money. It would be huge hassle, liability, and expense to have to process that for many of us small sellers - it is currently 45 states and DC that require collection of sales tax on internet purchases.  Do you want to remit up to 46 different reports and fees every month? Not me. My time is better spent sourcing and listing product than buried in government reporting.

[glgenterprise]

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@cottoncandy57 wrote:

absolutely right they can be making any money.. how can e-bay add the price of the shipping label to your income .. when the post office gets that money

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As others have said - the cost of your postage is an allowable deduction against your 1099 income from eBay.  There are lots of other deductions that you can legally use - cost of you shipping material, boxes, padding, tape, etc... If you drive specifically to drop items off at the post office and back - that is deductible mileage at the federal rate. Depending on how you handle your personal vehicle, you may even be able to deduct a percentage of the yearly maintenance costs (talk to a tax professional about all of these - I'm not a licensed tax professional).

Many sellers pad their shipping cost over and above what the shipping costs them in the end. Anything that is over and above what you paid the post office for shipping is indeed income.

There is no one to blame for buyer paid shipping being subjected to FVFs other than the **bleep** sellers 10 years ago that would charge $1 for a item and $99 for shipping, thus avoiding the FVFs for what was a actually $90 item with $10 in shipping fees.

[winterpalace25]

Exactly what I was going to say. I'm glad I read yours before I wrote mine. Perfect.

[chapeau-noir]

Those inch pitch chain rings are works of art.

[reelworks]

I manage two accounts at work, both selling similar items to what the OP has listed.

We generally do not list or sell anything under $25.

I had the same thing happen a few weeks ago.

I was told to drop the price on several items to get rid of them for the holidays. They had been listed for months with no action. 

I had intentionally only listed a couple items that first week so I could see what was going on because i wanted to see if lesser items were even worth the time to sell individually vs grouping them in big lots just to dump slow movers.  (My boss buys out dead inventory and sells it here, since I used to sell a lot on ebay in the past, I got the job to handle their online sales.)
An item sells to Malaysia for $14. The buyer had zero feedback so I was watching that item closer than usual.

The item, which would sell over the counter for maybe $10, sells, $14, plus $14 shipping. I saved the item number and was watching the progress of the package because up till lately we didn't ship to so many countries. I wanted to know how long it took, and if we got feedback.

The package gets boxed and shipped that day, actual shipping billed as $10. and change. 

No sales tax was charged.

The final value fee charged was $10.80, which I assumed it was charged on the total cost the buyer paid. The item sold for $14, we charged $14 shipping as per eBay's calculator for Priority Mail ebay prices, and an additional $44 was added on to the buyers bill for shipping from ebay's GSP location to Malaysia.  (The item weighed about 2 lbs boxed).

After shipping and fvf I figured we should have been paid $7.20. I watched the total on the account, it was the only item that sold that first weekend. The buyer paid, the balance right away showed as $22. (less than the $23 and change I had expected, but the FVF was showing as $4.20. I ship the item as advertised, the shipping charge going through label checkout showed as $9.82. I pay and print the label, it leaves a balance of $13.98. Two days later eBay sends the payout and the balance is $9.78 with an unknown deduction of $8.40 on the log. The item listed for free, I intentionally look to make sure no fees are incurred by any 'add ons' when I do the ads.

Why on earth would eBay charge the seller for the import duties?

When I buy things myself from other countries, they charge me that fee as a buyer, are they charging the buyer and seller import fees?

I have a list of items ready to list at work, all are in the $50 range. USPS shipping will be $12. If they sell Globally to the UK, Australia, or maybe SIngapore or Malaysia, what should be the total eBay charges on such an item through the GSP?

[njfleamarket]

I agree, why would the seller pay customs duies on a sold item? I thought the GSP held no fees for the seller. I can understand a small handling fee but not the whole cost of the item.

I too have had strange eBay charges on my bank account, I called about a few and they stopped but every so often I get a charge from ebay when I've not bought anything. The charges are from ebay not Paypal. I pay with Paypal when I buy something, and those charges are clear and easy to ID.

I also noticed that the ebay totals under 'reports' are way higher than any amount I collected. The total numbers are like three times as high as what I've actually collected. They have me over $15k for three months, I've only taken in maybe $3200 total so far. Even if I figure all the amounts they charged customers for foreign shipping, which the way I read it, we're not supposed to pay FVF on, it don't come close.

The only way I get anywhere close to that number is if I tally up each and every listing I put up, sold or unsold, and re-tally the listing amount each time I relist it from day one to now.

It gets better yet, I just got charged an additional $27 .17 for a 'Label Fee' for a pair of wheels I shipped a week ago. The package calculated out at $18 shipping, (9lbs 27x29x8") to NJ to Ohio. The weight and measurements were even rounded up, the actual box was 27"x27"x 6 3/4".

The eBay shipping calculator said $18.41.

I dropped the box off myself and incurred no other charges.

10 minutes ago I see a charge pop up for $27.17 with the following note:

- $27.17 FedEx Shipping Label Fee It was shipped Fed Ex Home Delivery

Tracking No: 286403989239 Bill Wt: 34.0 LB DAS Amt: $4.30 Freight Amt: $24.85 Fuel Amt: $2.36 Pe rf Price Disc: $-7.60 Residential Amt: $3.2

What is all this? I didn't ship a 34lb package, it weighed in 8lb 4 oz.
This means they charged me $45 to deliver that box. I've shipped whole bikes for less across the country off eBay.

[stainlessenginecovers]

Packages over 12" on any 1 side have incurred a 'seperate' "SIZE" charge for years. 

Calculated USPS, would be accurate. For whatever reason UPS and Fedex are not and sellers will get that 'extra' charge later. 

[wastingtime101]

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@njfleamarket wrote:

It gets better yet, I just got charged an additional $27 .17 for a 'Label Fee' for a pair of wheels I shipped a week ago. The package calculated out at $18 shipping, (9lbs 27x29x8") to NJ to Ohio. The weight and measurements were even rounded up, the actual box was 27"x27"x 6 3/4".

The eBay shipping calculator said $18.41.

I dropped the box off myself and incurred no other charges.

10 minutes ago I see a charge pop up for $27.17 with the following note:

- $27.17 FedEx Shipping Label Fee It was shipped Fed Ex Home Delivery

Tracking No: 286403989239 Bill Wt: 34.0 LB DAS Amt: $4.30 Freight Amt: $24.85 Fuel Amt: $2.36 Pe rf Price Disc: $-7.60 Residential Amt: $3.2

What is all this? I didn't ship a 34lb package, it weighed in 8lb 4 oz.
This means they charged me $45 to deliver that box. I've shipped whole bikes for less across the country off eBay.

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When you list something that's going to ship FedEx, you need to factor in dimensional weight.

L x W x H / 139 = FedEx dimensional weight

Whichever is greater - the actual weight or the dimensional weight - is what will determine the base shipping rate before the other surcharges for fuel, residential address, etc.

So when you ship with FedEx, know your dimensional weight and if it's greater than the actual weight, then you need to enter the dimensional weight into the listing form to make sure buyers pay accurate postage.

[njfleamarket]

If eBay would have stated that the seller may be responsible for misc unknown charges when selling Globally, then I'd never sell Global. How can I price something if I have no idea what the fees will be to any given country a buyer might come from?

I've been back selling here for months now, I've not seen any Paypal fees charged to me, let alone fees that nearly total the amount of the item sold. And PayPal fees were never more than 3%. Back when PP was the only way to pay, I do remember getting hit for a currency conversion fee years ago, but it was still only a few percent. Not half the total collected.

Most of the items I've sold show as 12.55% FVF in the statements. A few are higher depending on category but none show more than 15%.  Another item I just sold calculated normally, but when I go over the shipping fees charged, the amount that shows at the time I purchase the label never matches what they deduct from my payout, its always closer to the full shipping price listed or payed by the buyer.

For example, one item sold for $50 plus $14 shipping paid, no tax collected?, they take $7.17 in FVF, the shipping label shows as costing me $8.96. I get $44.08 in payout. Did they tax me for the shipping label or something? It should have been $50+14=64-8.96= $47.87. But when I go back and look at the transaction after its shipped, the shipping charged as $12.75 not the 8.96 that showed at the time of buying the label.

This happens almost always. I just figured so long as the shipping is the same or below what was quoted, I'm fine with it. But this last case isn't shipping, the box was only a few ounces and it went small flat rate box anyhow.  I list flat rate because the shipping calculator burned me a few times on regular Priority mail to the opposite coast.

Are there countries with fixed import fees that we as sellers are responsible for regardless of the item value or cost?

[njfleamarket]

No extras, no store, no fees showing at time of listing. (The item had renewed through almost two 8 week runs before it sold. I dropped the price by half but its an item that I'd likely sell for less in person off ebay. There's no local outlet here so most items go on eBay). I renewed it at the same price twice, I dropped the price after the 16th week listed.
The way I read it, I get 250 free listings each month, I never come close to that. I don't have the time and its not been that productive here to justify doing much more.