Sick of Ebay Fees

[abindigo]

I'm so sick of the eBay fees for everything. The picture says it all!

[recped]

How much in fees could you possibly have paid on the $100 in sales you made recently?

$10? $12? Yup that's really horrendous!

[2014sportsterguy]

Well that went well , I suggest you remove your listing and work with the system not much choice, you made a good point...EBay is not for everyone.

[pjcdn2005]

from your listing....

"Why should we have to pay fees for something a customer is buying. It's great if you are a big store but most of us do not make big money on eBay."

So ebay should pay for staff, web space, servers etc so that you can sell items for free??

[2014sportsterguy]

Well I may be wrong but why do we get charged a fee on shipping if we charge the exact amount?

[recped]

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@2014sportsterguy wrote:
Well I may be wrong but why do we get charged a fee on shipping if we charge the exact amount?

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Nobody is forcing you to "charge the exact amount".

As far as the concept of a FVF on shipping, I know a lot of Sellers who used "free shipping", they seemed to think they were being disadvantaged as they had been paying fvf's on the full shot all along.. Of course nobody forced them to offer free shipping but eBay did strongly urge sellers to do so.

It was a fairly costly change for me and all sellers with unfavourable item price to shipping cost ratios. The reduction in general fvf percentage did help to take some of the sting out.

[craftycanadianarts]

But too be honest.....This is something I have been hearing since my first Ebay selling experience a decade ago.

[rose-dee]

Are you saying you weren't aware of the fees before you started to sell?  If so, you should do some comparison shopping on other sites.  

Certainly there are sites like Kijiji which charge nothing, but you can't handle transactions online; the sale has to be done one-to-one, in person.  

Secondly, on eBay you're paying for international visibility and a prominent online market presence (especially in the U.S., which is the biggest market for many Canadian sellers).  You are more likely to sell here than on a minor commercial site with far less traffic.  

Thirdly, overall fees have actually decreased on eBay in the past few years, and eBay does provide tools to reduce fees even further, for sellers who want to use them.  

I really don't understand these general complaints about paying fees.  If you're "renting" space on someone else's site (or in someone else's mall or store, for that matter), you'd expect to have to pay for the privilege. Yes, fees could probably be lower, but they're still quite reasonable as a percentage of sales.  I also have to honestly say that eBay hasn't indulged in the kind of gouging and constant fee hikes that some commercial selling venues are apt to engage in.  

[mr.elmwood]

Well, my fees run around 16%. The dollar is at 14%. Fees end up costing me a net of around around 2%. I buy in CDN and sell in American. 2% is too much?

[nuvistors]

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@2014sportsterguy wrote:
Well I may be wrong but why do we get charged a fee on shipping if we charge the exact amount?

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If you live in Canada and pay GST you should be used to being charged extra for shipping.

[2014sportsterguy]

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@nuvistors wrote:

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@2014sportsterguy wrote:
Well I may be wrong but why do  we get charged a fee on shipping if we charge the exact amount?

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If you live in Canada and pay GST you should be used to being charged extra for shipping.

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So buyer and seller are the same on Ebay NOT

[pierrelebel]

"why do  we get charged a fee on shipping if we charge the exact amount?"

Charging or not charging the exact amount for shipping has nothing to do with eBay fees. When eBay changed its fee policy three years ago (to more or less match Amazon, its largest competitor) the concept was to charge fees on the total value of the transaction. 

So, it does not matter of a seller makes some money on shipping, breaks even on shipping or loses money on shipping.  It is irrelevant.  FVF are now based on the total value of the transaction, including shipping and handling. 

As recped indicated earlier that was a fair way to even the fees between sellers absorbing the shipping charge in their selling price and those charging extra.

Since a large majority of online buyers (on eBay and everywhere else) prefer the concept of "free shipping" (shipping included in the price), it made sense for eBay to encourage sellers to offer "free shipping" (shipping included in the selling price).  That is the reality of online selling in 2014: buyers prefer "free shipping".

Whether sellers offer "free shipping" or not it remains their choice, their decision.  However, those who do so to attract buyers are no longer handicapped as they were previously.

All in all when you think seriously about it the new policy implemented three years ago does make sense.

[rose-dee]

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@nuvistors wrote:

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@2014sportsterguy wrote:
Well I may be wrong but why do we get charged a fee on shipping if we charge the exact amount? 

If you live in Canada and pay GST you should be used to being charged extra for shipping.

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Sorry, but I don't see any connection at all between these two statements.  The topic was seller fees on shipping, paid to eBay, not GST on postage paid to the federal government.  The two are completely unrelated. 

As I mentioned above, if you find the fairly reasonable FVFs charged by eBay are still too high, they can be reduced or avoided completely by using strategies that eBay makes available.

Also, as Pierre explained, the amount of the eBay FVF on shipping has nothing to do with charging exact shipping or not.  You will pay a FVF on shipping even if you only charge $1.00 for shipping.   However, remember that the fee is charged on the first domestic service.  So (and I'm saying this for the umpteenth time probably, so those who have heard it before can skip this part), if you sell mostly to the U.S., you can avoid almost all FVFs on shipping by setting your first domestic shipping price to $0. Or roll shipping into your selling prices and work toward TRS, which will reduce your overall FVFs by 20%.  

As I said earlier, one of the few complaints I can't honestly make against eBay is the amount of seller fees, at least not at present.  Mine run between about 7% and 11% (with TRS, and that includes listing fees), and frankly, the lower the $Cdn dollar gets, the closer that overall percentage is getting to 0%.  

[mr.elmwood]

eBay is not for everyone, particularly those who have limited math skills.

The CDN dollar is at 16.3% today. ALL of my eBay and PP fees are now being paid by the exchange rate.

Compared to when the Looney was at $1.04 just two years ago? Well, that is another four percentage points in my favour. eBay is now paying me to sell.

I buy in CDN and sell in American. That is a 20%+ swing, to me, in cash.

[2014sportsterguy]

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@recped wrote:

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@2014sportsterguy wrote:
Well I may be wrong but why do we get charged a fee on shipping if we charge the exact amount?

---

Nobody is forcing you to "charge the exact amount".

As far as the concept of a FVF on shipping, I know a lot of Sellers who used "free shipping", they seemed to think they were being disadvantaged as they had been paying fvf's on the full shot all along.. Of course nobody forced them to offer free shipping but eBay did strongly urge sellers to do so.

It was a fairly costly change for me and all sellers with unfavourable item price to shipping cost ratios. The reduction in general fvf percentage did help to take some of the sting out.

 Well my only concearn was is it normal to pay fee on shipping when we are not selling shipping but a widgit? Seems just another fee grab........yes we get offset with exchange rates but I'm selling widgits not cpc or ups ....

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[2014sportsterguy]

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@mr.elmwood wrote:

eBay is not for everyone, particularly those who have limited math skills.

The CDN dollar is at 16.3% today. ALL of my eBay and PP fees are now being paid by the exchange rate.

Compared to when the Looney was at $1.04 just two years ago? Well, that is another four percentage points in my favour. eBay is now paying me to sell.

I buy in CDN and sell in American. That is a 20%+ swing, to me, in cash.

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It''s amazing how some people can state the obvious.

[pierrelebel]

"is it normal to pay fee on shipping when we are not selling shipping but a widgit?"

Actually you are selling the item and the packing and the handling and the shipping.  That is what the buyer is paying.

So if a buyer pays $50 for a transaction, it could be made of

$30 for item + $20 for shipping and handling

or

$40 for item + $10 for shipping and handling

or

$50 for item with "free shipping"

Either way the buyer pays $50 and the seller pays exactly the same FVF.

Seems fair to me.

Otherwise, we go back to the old days where sellers sell stuff for $1 and charge $49 for shipping (same $50), avoiding FVF and making buyers rather unhappy.

Unhappy buyers do not come back and all sellers on eBay suffer.

There is no point in fighting the fee policy established three years ago... it is here to stay..

[2014sportsterguy]

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@pierrelebel wrote:

"why do  we get charged a fee on shipping if we charge the exact amount?"

Charging or not charging the exact amount for shipping has nothing to do with eBay fees. When eBay changed its fee policy three years ago (to more or less match Amazon, its largest competitor) the concept was to charge fees on the total value of the transaction. 

So, it does not matter of a seller makes some money on shipping, breaks even on shipping or loses money on shipping.  It is irrelevant.  FVF are now based on the total value of the transaction, including shipping and handling. 

As recped indicated earlier that was a fair way to even the fees between sellers absorbing the shipping charge in their selling price and those charging extra.

Since a large majority of online buyers (on eBay and everywhere else) prefer the concept of "free shipping" (shipping included in the price), it made sense for eBay to encourage sellers to offer "free shipping" (shipping included in the selling price).  That is the reality of online selling in 2014: buyers prefer "free shipping".

Whether sellers offer "free shipping" or not it remains their choice, their decision.  However, those who do so to attract buyers are no longer handicapped as they were previously.

All in all when you think seriously about it the new policy implemented three years ago does make sense.

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Yes it is clear why, but it is also clear Ebay collects unfair fee's from people who charge honest shipping as to those that cheat.It still remains honest sellers are punished by Ebay , Shipping fee is a rip off no matter how you do the math.....but life goes on..

[pierrelebel]

"who charge honest shipping "

???

What does that have to do with anything?

The fees are charged, whether you are honest or not, on the value of the transaction.

In any case, what does "honest" mean?

Someone may have to carefully package a fragile item where the cost of handling and packing maybe $10 and Canada Post postage may be $10 (based on printed schedule) for a total of $20. 

Such seller may charge $25 for shipping and handling.  Is that honest?

Such seller may charge $20 for shipping and handling.  Is that honest?

Such seller may charge $10 for shipping and handling (absorbing part of the cost in the price).  is that honest?

Finally another seller may offer "free shipping" (absorbing all the shipping and handling cost in the price).  Is that honest?

Not so easy to define "honest", is it?

And what does "honest" have to do with paying fees based on the transaction value?

What about the seller charging the buyer $20 shipping when getting 18% rebate from PayPal to purchase postage online.  Would that be "honest'?

Or the other seller who puts $20 worth of stamps on the parcel yet only paid $14 for them (30% discount from face value).  Would that be honest?

[rose-dee]

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@2014sportsterguy wrote:

Yes it is clear why, but it is also clear Ebay collects unfair fee's from people who charge honest shipping as to those that cheat.It still remains honest sellers are punished by Ebay , Shipping fee is a rip off no matter how you do the math.....but life goes on..

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I don't know how long you've been selling on eBay because you're posting under a "stealth" ID, but the FVFs on shipping have been around for quite a long time.  

The shipping FVFs may have been introduced to correct some unfairness for sellers (as 'recped' pointed out), but more importantly, to stop some really unfair practices on the part of sellers who were fleecing buyers with outrageous shipping charges to offset, or try to avoid, the FVFs on their item prices - i.e. reducing the item price, but hiking up the shipping charges. 

So the point is that this policy may be seen as unfair if you don't use any of the eBay strategies to reduce or avoid the FVFs on shipping, but it was necessary to correct much bigger injustices.  As I said, to mitigate the impact on sellers of the FVFs on shipping, eBay allowed us to make use of certain strategies and introduced the TRS programme. Regardless of the current $Cdn exchange rate, those two things greatly reduced the sting of the FVFs on shipping.  

Many years ago, as a buyer, I got suckered into one of those early eBay seller shipping scams -- a $50 item with $150 shipping.  And those were the days when sellers didn't have to show their shipping rates in advance, so there were a lot of such abuses.  Talk about sticker shock!  I paid for the shipping because I needed the item and wanted to avoid the rabid FB that would result if I didn't pay, but I didn't come back to eBay for quite a while afterwards.  

Those were also the days when eBay had few rivals as an online shopping venue.  Can you imagine the effect today were FVFs to be removed from shipping and sellers be "let loose" to charge whatever shipping rates they thought they could get out of buyers?  Mass exodus, I would think -- and there are a lot more choices for shoppers these days than there were several years ago. 

Sometimes correcting a really big wrong with a small unfairness is better than letting those wrongs continue unchecked.  So I agree with 'pierre' that this is one of few policies eBay has introduced that, on balance, has been quite fair to buyers and sellers alike.