eBay

bluemorningglory · ‎09-19-2011

I think that I am not offended by the amount of fees that are charged, but by how the fee structure is frustratingly hidden by Ebay/Paypal. I decided to sit down with a calculator, and find out how much (on average) fees are really costing me. I wanted an average percentage number, so that I could glance at an item while shopping, and say, "Ok, it will cost me this much to sell it. Is it worth buying it to sell on Ebay?"

Let's assume that I am a small seller without a store. I go to a yard sale, and buy some ordinary piece of trash, say the classic frog beanie baby. I intend to sell it on Ebay, and ship it in a small Priority Mail flat rate box. The buyer will use a credit card to send me the money via paypal. What percentage of my selling price will Ebay keep?

I decide to list the item for $10 with buyer paying shipping of $4.95. The auction ends with one bid. I "sold" my item for $10. What percentage of that $10 selling price did Ebay keep?

I started with the Ebay fee calculator, which states that Ebay fees for this item will be a mere $0.90, or 9% of the selling price. I follow a footnote to find that Ebay will also charge me a final value fee on shipping. That is another $0.45 in fees. Why did Ebay put in big bold numbers that my Ebay selling fee was only $0.90?

Next, I go to Paypal. After several frustrating page views, I find that I do not qualify for the 1.9% rate, but the 2.9% rate. This rate is applied to the entire amount sent to me, $14.95. Another $0.43 in fees. I also notice that this 2.9% is in addition to a flat fee of $0.30.

So, add it all up: 0.90 + 0.45 + 0.43 + 0.30 = $2.08

On an item which sold for $10, my selling fees were 21% of the selling price.

We have run several numbers through the calculators, and selling fees of about 20% of the selling price seems to be a fairly consistant estimate for my selling style.

Of course, you should try running a more typical item (high/low price, other categories) for items that you normally sell. For a $1 item with 50 cents shipping, your selling fees would be about 50% of the $1 selling price.

In general, fees would be about 12% of total amount (price plus shipping) sent by seller, plus 30 cents.

artprogear · ‎08-04-2019

And what did that camera cost you to purchase? Did you see any profit at all? Or did the fees and shipping cause you to actually lose money in selling your camera?

artprogear · ‎08-04-2019

@hydraotto wrote:
Years ago I used Ebay to sell a couple of items. Today I am giving up trying to figure out the fees on selling a $20,000 boat. Ebay should give examples of the cost of various items, instead they chase you around and around. If I'm not correct then why is there a book on " Ebay for Dummies". Ebay should stop bouncing you around and make it simple to figure it out like it use to be in the old days. Is there any such thing like an Ebay Geek ???? Guess I won't be selling on Ebay.

Otto

I agree Otto! What a tangled web... I have actually ended up giving away or even losing money on items after the fees tallied up in the end.

mr_lincoln · ‎08-04-2019

@bluemorningglory I use 28% which includes a small estimate for year end taxes, average shipping materials per package, etc.

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

artprogear · ‎08-04-2019

@barabytesnw wrote:
I'm glad I found this thread. I'm a new seller but I've been a member for 7 years. I was SHOCKED. when my $198.88 sold. At first I immediately saw the 2% or thereabout come off the top for PayPal. Although I read (or should I say thought I read) the Seller agreement. I didn't recall seeing anything about 10+ percent plus (insert fee) plus (insert fee). here are the hard numbers. $198.88 SOLD $192.xx when Paypal was done with it (and then the 4 day wait to transfer it to my bank) AND THEN Ebay just Invoiced me and WOAH $20.92 due by Dec 15.. $8.xx something to paypal. $20.92 to Ebay and since I offered free expedited shipping I got to pay $15.72 to ship it ...all said and told. $44.64 in fees and shipping. I'm not a brain surgeon but that looks close to 25%....that's before we talk about the money spent getting the item ready for sale. I wish the Fee Schedule were more transparent. This is the 3rd time Ebay's broadsided me and I'm a little disenchanted....okay ALOT.

I'm right there with you. Disenchanted is an understatement. I started using ebay back in the early 90's. It was a fun place to buy and sell back then. Then things started getting all wonky when they bought out PayPal. Then it started to be an uphill struggle for sellers when the feedback replies were choked off for sellers. I got taken for 20.00 by Square Trade, I had an issue with a buyer which ended up costing me over 250.00 (NEVER TAKE CHECKS!!! Lesson learned the hard way. I had waited the normal amount of time for the check to clear, shipped out the item only to have my bank inform me that the check had bounced). SqT said that they'd pursue further if I paid the fee... I did. They didn't!

Within two days I got a response from SqT, "No response from buyer... Case closed." After so many negative experiences, I feel that it's in my best interest to sell my items elsewhere. I still shop ebay to purchase items for myself but I have become extremely disenchanted with the whole selling process here.

bhs_coconutgirl · ‎08-11-2019

I figured that was the "reasoning" behind the change. However... I think it is lazy, greedy and unfair, not that it matters! I mean, why is it up to us (Ebay's customers who pay them to sell items in order to make Ebay such a prosperous company) to pay for the dishonest sellers out there? It should be considered Ebay's responsibility to police their community and penalize those who do not abide by the agreed upon "rules" and policies. I mean, isn't that why they get paid (err... we pay them) the big bucks?! Thanks for letting me rant/vent.

jasoheat_0 · ‎02-21-2020

my selling fees are thru the roof ...30-40% with shipping included( the new zone dimensional USPS killing me ) , not including materials or cost of goods , then figure in returns ( especially FRAUDULENT returns ) ebay is not any fun

artprogear · ‎02-23-2020

Forums are my "go to" for selling. No fees, no percentages (including postage in fees charges is straight up theft... Hello and goodbye ebay!), no time widows... item(s) stay listed (for free) until sold, no fraudulent returns and feedback goes both ways. Ebay has grown into an anti (small) seller entity.

artprogear · ‎02-23-2020

I wholeheartedly agree with all of your statements! Back in the 90's ebay was a very good selling platform, as far as I recall in my seller experiences. However, now it has become a greeneyed monster for small sellers. We'll see how their stock holds up as small/mid sellers realize the greed which is sucking them dry and abandon ebay as a selling platform.

artprogear · ‎02-23-2020

Forums charge ZERO for selling! Forums are now my selling platform.

artprogear · ‎02-23-2020

So arrange a postage app in which sellers can choose the desired shipping method and print shipping label via ebay. And only charge actual postage within the app.