Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!

One more reason to get off ebay!

 

I sold a painting yesterday on ebay (ebay's role was to host it on their web site).

 

When I listed it, the ebay fees maxed out on a single item at US$250.   If I know the ebay fee would be $C853,16, there is no way I would have put it on ebay.

 

Last night it sold.   I knew ebay fees were going up, but a fee of $853.16 to sell one item, is too much.

 

That does not include the paypal fee (it hasn't been paid for yet, so I don't know how much that fee will be).

 

To rub salt in the wound.   I've been a top rated seller for ages, based on performance, and gross sales.

 

Sometime recently ebay added the new requirement to top rated sellers that they must have at least 100 transactions, per year, regardless of the gross sales receipts.

 

This month, ebay decided I didn't sell 100 items in the year prior (but not including the month in which this transaction occurred, only the 12 months prior), so I lost my 20% power seller discount.

 

Next month I'll be a top rated seller again based on sales volume.   

 

I understand ebay can make whatever nasty rules it wants, and we have to follow them.    However I really feel ripped off when an item is purchased in a month that will qualify for top rated seller status (based on sales volume), but is denied the discount because of sales volume in prior months.    Add to that the fact this item is being paid with a paypal echeck that won't clear until the next month (which will be top rated).    In law, the transaction doesn't occur until the date of the exchange event (ie payment).   

 

Put me done on the long list of people looking for an ebay alternative.

 

My ebay listings are prefect for their own web site.   

 

This is the last straw to make that happen.

 

Note to Ebay - buy taking too gready a share today, you will loose out of a much bigger share in the future.   That is very short term thinking on Ebay's part.

Message 1 of 45
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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!

Auction listings versus fixed price....

 

Final Value Fees...

 

Link to .....

 

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/fvf.html

Message 2 of 45
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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!

Why don't you have an eBay store?  It is your decision not to pay a monthly store fee.

 

You would save a fortune in fees with a store.

 

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/storefees.html

Message 3 of 45
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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!

Your mistake.

 

The information is there.

Message 4 of 45
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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!

Maximum fee is $750 US dollars  = $870.28 Canadian dollars

 

two links

 

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/fees.html

 

for maximum FVF

 

and then 

 

http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/#

 

for currency converter....

 

 

Message 5 of 45
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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!

Maximum Final Value Fee with a store is $250

 

Link to 

 

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/storefees.html#fvf

 

 

 

 

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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!

Looks to be an 

 

OOPSie .....

Message 7 of 45
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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!

I may be wrong, but my understanding of the recent promotional $250 cap on FVFs for auction items was that it was a time-limited offer and it applied not to when an item was listed, but the date on which it sold, so you may have missed the window of opportunity -- is that what happened?  As others have said, the cap for stores is $250.

 

If you think you did qualify for the lower FVF within the time limit, you may want to re-check your eBay seller account in a day or two to see if a discount has been applied.  Sometimes eBay debits the full amount of certain fees, then applies the promotional credit later.  You could call eBay and check. 

 

As far as the 100 transaction requirement is concerned, that has been in place ever since the TRS programme began.  In other words, to continue to qualify for TRS you have to have the required minimum dollar value in sales as well as the required number of sales in a 12-month period.  As you say, depending on your sales in January of 2014, you may bounce back up over the 100 transaction ceiling once you get to the January evaluation, and you'll get your TRS back. 

 

Unfortunately eBay's final value fees are the price of having world-wide exposure, and a prominent place in front of U.S. purchasers in particular.  Most of us can't get that sort of exposure with our own websites.  I think it's important to consider eBay's/Paypal's fees against what a seller would be paying to run a brick and mortar store (which would be far more expensive), or what you'd be losing in monthly sales by trying to sell from a private website.  

 

The TRS programme has been fairly generous from the beginning, in my view.  It takes very little effort to achieve the required Bronze seller status, somewhat more to keep over 100 transactions in a year, but the 20% discount is well worth it.  My total selling fees (including eBay store fees, listing fees, FVF fees and Paypal) average between about 7% to 11% over the year.  

 

I might be able to run my own website for something close to 10% in fees (credit card fees, web hosting fees, currency exchange fees, etc. etc.), but I doubt I'd have anywhere near the market presence I have on eBay.  I'm a realist -- as long as I can make a profit after paying eBay fees, I'll stay.  Yes, $853.16 is a big FVF, but what was your selling price, and what was your profit margin?  Would you have easily sold that piece (or others you've sold on eBay) privately, and at what expense?  

 

You might want to consider adding some small, relatively inexpensive ancillary products to your selling line, to make it easier to keep the 100 per year transaction steady.  That's what I and, I suspect, a lot of other sellers have had to do in order to hang onto the 20% TRS discount.  

Message 8 of 45
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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!

On checking, I see the standard $250 fee cap (for non-store sellers) was raised on November 24th: 

 

http://announcements.ebay.ca/2014/10/23/7642/ 

 

"Fee update for sellers without an eBay Stores subscription. The maximum standard final value fee—the maximum fee sellers without an eBay Stores subscription will pay per sold item—will be raised from $250 to $750. This change only affects items that sell for more than $2,500. Note: The current $250 maximum final value fee for sellers with an eBay Stores subscription is not changing."

 

It's a good idea to keep a watch on the Announcements page on a regular basis for changes.  This was a big one, and no doubt intended to encourage non-store sellers to get on the store bandwagon. 

 

However, as I mentioned, I do recall there was a recent promotion offering the $250 maximum for a limited time for non-store sellers.  

Message 9 of 45
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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!

A Basic store for one month...  is $20

 

would have been a winner....  a saving of $480

 

 

Message 10 of 45
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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!


@cumos55 wrote:

A Basic store for one month...  is $20

 

would have been a winner....  a saving of $480

 

 


I wonder if the reference to "store subscription" in the announcement I quoted above means that only if a seller subscribes to a yearly subscription will the $250 cap apply?  

 

EBay has really started to promote ongoing store subscriptions.  I think it's possible the $750 cap might apply to a month-by-month store -- although I can't find the link to that information at the moment. 

Message 11 of 45
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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!

Go back to the link in Reply 6....

 

No difference between monthly and yearly subscription.

Message 12 of 45
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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!

Anonymous
Not applicable

I think it is an error.  I doubt that eBay wold charges final value fee of $853.15 for a $250.00 item.

 

You need to call eBay right away to find out.  I am sure it is an error.  I sure hope it is an error on eBay's side unless they are drinking too much eggnog with real rum???

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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!


@rose-dee wrote:

@cumos55 wrote:

A Basic store for one month...  is $20

 

would have been a winner....  a saving of $480

 

 


I wonder if the reference to "store subscription" in the announcement I quoted above means that only if a seller subscribes to a yearly subscription will the $250 cap apply?  

 

EBay has really started to promote ongoing store subscriptions.  I think it's possible the $750 cap might apply to a month-by-month store -- although I can't find the link to that information at the moment. 


I have a month by month store sub and I have the reduced maximum promo (which is $200 not $250).

 

Even without the reduced maximum the reduced FVF's that Store subscribers have would have saved the OP quite a nice chunk of change.

 

 



"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.
Message 14 of 45
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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!

The painting sold for C $13,917.05

Message 15 of 45
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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!


@Anonymous wrote:

I think it is an error.  I doubt that eBay wold charges final value fee of $853.15 for a $250.00 item.

 

You need to call eBay right away to find out.  I am sure it is an error.  I sure hope it is an error on eBay's side unless they are drinking too much eggnog with real rum???


The item in question was not sold for $250, it was sold for MUCH more.

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Original-Robert-Bateman-Painting-Acrylic-Canadian-Listed-Wildlife-Artist-/281460693107



"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.
Message 16 of 45
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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!

OP sold a Robert Bateman painting for $11,999 US.... $12,000... 

 

Definitely something ....to crow... about... especially considering what is shown in the painting.

 

Looks to be a domestic rooster....

 

 

Message 17 of 45
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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!


@pierrelebel wrote:

The painting sold for C $13,917.05


Holy crow -- and $853.16 is too much to pay to have made that kind of transaction?  

 

Yes, it could have been lower had the OP opened a store, but in any event I think the OP needs to give his/her head a shake.  

Message 18 of 45
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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!

We should also consider how much was paid for the painting?

 

Was it a owned by OP? ...   or ... Was it a consignment?

 

And suddenly that eBay fee could very well eat into the profit dramatically...

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Sold one item - ebay selling fee C$853.16!

Thank you for all your comments.

 

The ebay store item is something I'd considered the past, but does anyone actually look at store items?    

 

I don't.    

 

I don't see them in my searches - or at least I don't think I do.

 

I was under the impression that store items show up way down on the search standings list - way below those of top rated sellers.

 

As for my ebay listings - all are items I've personally identified, vetted and purchased.

 

I don't mind paying a web site.    

 

My point is C$853.16 is a lot to pay to host an item listing, and in my view, is way over the top in terms of value for money.    One of the reasons it was worth while using ebay for high dollar items is because of their prior $250 max FVF per item.    If you sell an item for $10k, then its 2.5% to ebay.    

 

This business of ebay taking 10%, as they do at the lower price points, is ridiculous in my view - given that we do all the work.    In comparison, I can put an item in an in person auction, negotiate a 5% sellers fee, and the auction does all the work.    Why pay more to ebay, and have to do all the work yourself!    If you show up with a low value item at a live auction, they will charge a higher percentage to auction a low value item, so those sellers find ebay to be good relative value.    At the higher end, its a different story.

 

Lastly, the comment about Top rated seller requirements.     I am highly confident it used to be 100 transactions OR more than a certain number of sales volume.    Iv'e been top rated for longer than I an remember.

 

The change I'm referring to, is the replacement of the OR with an AND, or in the alternative, the removal of the AND, and just the firm requirement that you must do 100 or more transactions.    That has caught me by surprise, as I don't sell that many painting in a year, but the total sales volume will be higher than those who sell thousands of sub $10 items.

 

 

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