Final Value Fee on CALCULATED SHIPPING costs

[krillbert]

Since eBay collects a final value fee on auction+shipping, how are you suppose to ship items with out loosing money when using calculated shipping? This shipping option charges the buyer the exact amount the seller would need to buy the postage, yet eBay takes a final value fee on this!? Well now I don't have enough left to buy the postage. And don't tell me to set the "handling fee" because a heavy package to the opposite coast could easily be $40 more than to the east coast, so you can't predict how much to set the fee if someone near by buys it they won't want to pay what someone far away needs to pay. And don't tell me to set the weight higher, because again, even if you double the actual weight, if it goes to the opposite coast, something already heavy doesnt go up that much in shipping price to proportionally account for the percentage collected by the final value fee. So it seems that it's impossible to NOT loose money during shipping...?

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@cwhite1898 wrote:

Charging a FVF on shipping is outrageous. I realize that they are combatting the old days when people would sell their item for a fraction and charge high shipping to avoid fees. That was an issue. However, if you charge $14 say for shipping and then purchase the label for $14 in the system, then the FVF on that $14 should be credited back to the seller.

The rule could be that if you pay for shipping through eBay and the cost is equal to or greater than the amount in the listing, then the FVF gets refunded the shipping.  If you buy the shipping at the post office or otherwise off of the system, then the fee stays in place.

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You ever seen the joke on the boards about when a buyer asks for lower or free shipping on an item and the op or a commenter says sure give them that and just add the cost of shipping into the item price...😂. 

Yeah that's what eBay would do.  If they took the final value fee out of shipping the final value fee percentage would go up to account for the revenue lost.  

When they initially change it to charge fvf on shipping they lowered the %. And they quit announcing fvf hikes every year after that.  It makes a level playing ground for those charging free shipping too.  

The only thing I would say that would be a good idea is lower final value fees in categories with heavier items.