08-15-2022 03:29 PM - last edited on 08-15-2022 04:13 PM by kh-ornesh
Okay, I'm trying to keep meticulous records and Ebay's way of reporting(showing) what we net after fees (including shipping) is absolutely painstaking. I get two numbers:
#1 is in the Orders Listing, where it shows if the item shipped. It shows the "total" as being 18.83
#2 is the Payments Details. And it totally shows a different number than #1. It shows the net as 14.13.
Which one am I using to determine what monies to report?
But if you add the 14.13 and 7.75 = 21.88.
So I'm confused and I wish EB would get its act together. I don't get this grief with other sites.
08-15-2022 04:36 PM - edited 08-15-2022 04:37 PM
If you click the (i) icon next to the $18.83 it will tell you that this number includes the sales tax collected by eBay and remitted to the State.
Your buyer paid $18.83 which appears to have included $0.84 in sales tax.
Your portion of that payment was $17.99 ($18.83 - $0.84).
Your fees were $3.86 bringing your net to $14.13
You then paid $7.75 in shipping bringing your net down to $6.38
The +7.75 transaction means you chose to pay for the shipping label from your Citibank account rather than from your buyer's payment. So eBay transferred that money in and then used it to pay for the label.
08-15-2022 06:02 PM
the buyer paid shipping with the order which was 7.99. The dress sold for $10.
That means the ship fees were 0 if the buyer paid, and EB's fees which = 10% right?
See this makes no sense to me. I just don't understand how other sites make it so simple and EB makes it so hard to figure out the profit.
On other sites I get a report that my earnings are $XXX. Period. Because the shipping is already calculated with the sale. With EB I need an accountant to figure this out.
08-15-2022 06:07 PM
The moderators' responsibilities end at making sure threads/posts comply with Community Guidelines/Rules of Engagement. That's it. They make sure no one is violating any of the guidelines for the discussion boards. They work for Khoros, not eBay. They have nothing to do with the marketing platform.
Maybe you meant to refer to a "mentor?" If so, they're the only ones who respond to the Ask a Mentor board, but also participate out in the wider Community. Is that who you meant with your title?
Beyond that, there are no "moderators" for specific boards within the Community. Who were you hoping would respond to your thread when you referred to "the moderator?"
08-15-2022 06:09 PM
you report all monies as income .. ebay fees and shipping are then subtracted as expenses when you fill out your tax forms
08-15-2022 06:41 PM - edited 08-15-2022 06:43 PM
the buyer paid shipping with the order which was 7.99. The dress sold for $10.
Correct. That is the $17.99 that you see.
But the state you buyer lives in charges sales tax, so the buyer paid an additional 84 cents which eBay collected and sent to the buyer's state. That is the $18.83 that you see.
That means the ship fees were 0 if the buyer paid, and EB's fees which = 10% right?
No, eBay's fees are not 10%. eBay's fees depend upon the total payment, the category, your seller status, your store subscription status, and about a dozen other factors. Yes, they are complicated.
Just to the right of the "Net" column on the screen you took your screen shot form, there is a column called "Details" with a "view" link. If you click that link, it will explain exactly how your fees were calculated:
08-15-2022 08:43 PM - edited 08-15-2022 08:44 PM
Take "amount" found in payment details, in this case "$17.99", subtract transaction FVF fees, subtract any ad fees you may have since those show separately, subtract cost of your shipping label, subtract any shipping materials cost you account for. Thats your net. (Subtract COG for profit)
I do this for EVERY transaction I do. I go to my spreadsheet, take my item amount and jump to payment details and subtract FVF, PLS fee, shipping label, and $0.37 for my padded envelope (if I used a padded envelope -- i ignore bubble wrap which i get super cheap and am not going to measure how much i use to account for a cost per square foot...and boxes which i re-use and are effectively free to me). Boom, net calculated. Takes me all of a few seconds to do every time, thank GOD they put all the info in one spot under payment details. The old version was awful, shipping label, PLS ad fee and FVF were in 3 different places for me. The seller hub puts it all in one easy to access and convenient place.
08-16-2022 12:10 AM
Your Ebay fee is likely 12.9%.
Ebay's fees are based on the TOTAL amount paid by the buyer. That includes for the product, shipping and sales tax.
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/frais-pour-les-vendeurs-particuliers?id=4822
08-16-2022 12:17 AM
Fees vary from category to category and are higher when eBay feels there are too many listings in that category or are dropped when eBay decides they want more listings in a category.
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/store-selling-fees?id=4809
Clothing and accessories fees vary from 7% to 15%, but mostly are 12%.
08-16-2022 12:42 AM - edited 08-16-2022 12:45 AM
So I should be looking at the 14.13 as the NET; correct?
And from that I deduct the shipping 7.75, which is the cost for shipping?
I don't know how other sites make it so doggone easy to just subtract the COG from the Net. Other sites just send me the Net amount (they add up the shipping and taxes, etc.) and all I have to do is Net - COG. That's it.
Now to be honest, the "other" site sends me the prepaid postage, so I don't have to go through a whole complex accounting process to figure out what I get from this sale.
08-16-2022 01:02 AM
I just want something simple. =Net - COG. So IMO the 14.13 is the NET and I should be deducting ONLY the cost of goods?
08-16-2022 04:47 AM - edited 08-16-2022 04:51 AM
@liawrig.nq8rdwqa3 wrote:I just want something simple. =Net - COG. So IMO the 14.13 is the NET and I should be deducting ONLY the cost of goods?
I suspect eBay does not subtract the shipping cost from your transaction proceeds for you because in event of combined shipping for multiple items, they do not want to guess how you would like that shipping cost prorated among the items.
Not everyone accounts for combined shipping the same way. If I sell a bowling ball and a feather to one buyer and there is a shipping charge of $25, I would not want to attribute $12.50 in shipping cost to the feather.
If other sites are doing this, IMHO they are making business decisions for you and IMHO that is not a good idea.
Personally, I always export my transaction details and do my own accounting in a spreadsheet. And I never bother to calculate the profit for a single item because there are factors out of your control that skey the numbers, like international fees. I always look at the big picture.
08-16-2022 05:49 AM
eBay's numbers do not give you profit. It might be best to visit an accountant to help you understand how to manage your financial books.
08-16-2022 06:00 AM
@liawrig.nq8rdwqa3 wrote:I just want something simple. =Net - COG. So IMO the 14.13 is the NET and I should be deducting ONLY the cost of goods?
No.........if you look at message 2............you still have to deduct the shipping cost that you paid.......so net would be $14.13-7.75=6.38......... then you deduct the cost of goods.
08-16-2022 09:15 AM
Nice job explaining this! Just goes to show some eBay sellers have no idea what they doing and then tell eBay to "get their act together". Ridiculous.