Why do EBAYS fees mathematically not addup even close to 13% no matter how you calculate it?

[tuf6641]

CAN ANYONE LIST THE EXACT MATHEMATICAL EQUATION EABY USES TO DETERMIONE IT'S FEES?

I've ran the math everyway possible, even adding every possible dollar amount to the final price then, calculate ebays fees, then the tax, then ebatys fees on the tax "there magic mystery number" and add that to the total im still up around 20+% thats with including "$1.00 insertion fee not .70".  **bleep** can someone explain this?  Looks like fraud and theft to me??  NO???  I'm not a math expert but is there really a equation to calculate all fees possible add a service fee based on percentage, tax that then charge a service fee on the taxed amount?  Seems like they would be using a mystery number for that equation to work.  If anyone has the answer please make me look like an idiot because i dont like wrongfully holding accusations and even more so enjoy holding seeing people held accountable for their actions.  Ya know real JUSTICE for all.

PS

I've also noticed every fee is calculated, deduction, charge whatever is geared to make sure the number rounds to EBAYS side.  Someone put in ALOT of effort to swindle every penny they could out of every transaction.  "probably cost alot to do,which I'm sure the cost was passed on to the consumer

Unless EBAY or someone else can tell me otherwise to compatent sastisfaction I have no choice but to believe the Ladder.

Bad companys only pave the way for good companys to take its place,.........

Then turn bad

[heckofagame]

You will need to post an example if you want someone to explain the numbers. 

[ebooksdiva]

Fees for coins total amount of the sale (price of item + shipping + sales tax) minus 13.25% plus $0.30 US per order. 

If you go to your payments tab, under recent activity click on one of your orders. The fee break down is there for you to see. 
It will look similar to the image below. I sell in books category so my FVF is higher than yours. I have free shipping, my shipping costs are added the price of the item. 

[luckythewinner]

Why do EBAYS fees mathematically not addup even close to 13% no matter how you calculate it?

13% of what?

If you are calculating the percentage against your selling price, that is not how eBay calculates its fees.

eBay describes in detail how it calculates fees, but it is extremely complicated:
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822

"(The) fee is calculated as a percentage of the total amount of the sale, plus $0.30 per order.

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."

The fee calculation factors in selling price, shipping cost, sales tax, category, buyer location, seller rating, seller metrics, store subscription level, listing upgrades, and probably a dozen more things.

[monroe67]

"Why do EBAYS fees mathematically not add up even close to 13% no matter how you calculate it?"

To answer your question, yes, eBay's Final Value Fees (FVFs) do add up.  The FVF has two parts:  (1) $0.30 per order and (2) a percentage of the total amount paid by your eBay buyer.  Read that carefully:  "The Total Amount Paid By Your eBay Buyer."  

Trying to answer your question specifically, the first step I did was to look at your sold listings, because different categories carry different fee percentages.  Guitars, for example, carry a smaller Final Value Fee percentage than costume jewelry.  
You are in Canada.  I have a pretty good handle on eBay's USA fee structure.  I'll switch to the Canadian site, see what the differences are, if any, and try to help you understand . . . . .

[monroe67]

So . . . . I got a distracted by a minor emergency in/around my home yesterday.  All is well now . . . . . .  I think . . . .

Here's the best and simplest formula for calculating eBay's Final Value Fees (FVF):  

Total Amount Paid By The Buyer X (times) the FVF percentage, plus $0.30 = the total Final Value Fee.  

This is explained in the User Agreement, Item 5, Fees and Taxes.  The language in the USA and Canadian User Agreements is essentially the same:  

"Final value fees

We charge one final value fee when your item sells, and you don't have to worry about third-party payment processing fees. This fee is calculated as a percentage of the total amount of the sale, plus $0.30 per order.

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. . . . .  

An order is any number of items purchased by the same buyer at checkout with the same shipping method. . . . ."

At the beginning of the listing to sell Any Thing, there is no way to know three of those four pieces (addends) of the Total Amount Paid by the Buyer. 
The seller will usually* know the item price, and the seller will also know whether he/she had added a handling charge to the listing.  (BTW, the seller's handling charge is added into the shipping cost shown to viewers of the listing.)  
*(If the listing is an auction, however, the seller will not know what the final winning bid will be.)
Shipping:  Will the buyer choose to pay the lower shipping cost or the higher shipping cost, hoping it will arrive earlier? 
Sales Tax:  Will the Thing be sold to a buyer in Los Angeles who has to pay sales tax of more than 10%, or will it be sold to someone who wants it shipped to an address in Delaware, where there is no sales tax? 
Will the Thing be sent to an address in a state which charges sales tax on not only the price of the Thing but also on the cost of postage? 
"Other":  Will there be "any other applicable fee"?  (That's usually a state-mandated fee, such as California's electronics recycling fee.)    

What many sellers do, when they list an item, is estimate in their own heads what eBay's FVFs will be.  As my selling ID, I usually estimate 30% of the Item's price as eBay's FVF.  If that estimate seems too low, I will raise the item's price.  If it turns out that eBay retains less than 30% of the item's price , so much the better for me.  

It is important to remember that this is an explanation of the Final Value Fees, which are charged upon the sale of an item.  If an item does not sell, no Final Value Fee will apply.  

[coolections]

I don't think you realize you cannot go by what Ebay says with 13% fees. They charge an additional 13% on your shipping. I see one sold item where your buyer paid $26.36 to ship. Ebay takes money from that too. Yes, a scam but that is how it works.

[buyselljack2016]

My eBay "fees" fall right in at the correct amount. %age of full buyer payment + $0.30.

"Selling costs" are another thing, and they are understandably higher.

Creative mathematics can be used to dispute the "fees" %age being accurate.

I don't pay insertion fees.

[wes-4507]

The fee for your AMD Ryzen sale ($45 + $5 shipping) should have been about $6.50. If the buyer paid sales tax, it would be a bit higher.

If you think your eBay fees for that sale were around $11.50, keep in mind that your postage cost isn’t an eBay fee; it’s a separate expense that was paid by your buyer.

[stuff4divas]

@tuf6641   wouldn't u get a more accurate answer if u posted on your registered country, the Canadian site?

[iamalwaysright]

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@coolections wrote:

I don't think you realize you cannot go by what Ebay says with 13% fees. They charge an additional 13% on your shipping. I see one sold item where your buyer paid $26.36 to ship. Ebay takes money from that too. Yes, a scam but that is how it works.

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It's not a scam

[soh.maryl]

The seller's final value fee is calculated on the item price, the shipping cost, if any, and the state sales tax, if applicable plus 30 cents.  It is not 13% plus 13%, as you imply by saying "an additional 13%.

Since the fees are clearly explained in several places, how are they a "scam"? 

[ms.rodriguez*]

I have yet to see Ebay make a mistake in the math when they calculate the fees and I have been here since 1998.

[downunder-61]

[reallynicestamps]

a more accurate answer ... on ... the Canadian site?

We Canadians, and all other non-US sellers, also have different standards to get Global Top Rated Seller status.

The value of the loonie is constantly changing against the US dollar.

There are some differences in subscription costs, again currency exchange differences.

Canada Post and eBay have negotiated a pretty good deal for SfSB account holders.

We pay international fees on all US orders, and over 80% of our sales are probably to US customers. 

So, yeah.

There are some Canadian sellers still grandfathered into dotCOM accounts, but we are all in Managed Payments, although we can transfer our payments into  a US dollar account, it has to be with a Canadian bank.