Final Value fee on shipping to Ebay sellers

[clothes2ewe]

This is ridiculous, I charge actual shipping and lose 1.42 which means it costs me that much more to sell on here. I called Ebay and they say it is t protect buyers from sellers who list items for 1 cent but charge 45.00 shipping on small items, but that has nothing to do with me. I am losing more than I am gaining on here, has anyone else noticed this change besides me. I alwys thought that when I bought something if I agreed on the terms I.E. price and shipping that it is a contract, but I guess I am wrong????

[rose-dee]

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@pierrelebel wrote:

"Why do so many, who are leaving, have to announce it to us first?"

Honestly, one has to question if they are really leaving.

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No kidding!  I suspect most of the loud complainers stay precisely because they are still able to make money here, and probably (my guess) because they haven't tried seriously selling on those other platforms.  The grass is always greener...

Sometimes I think those people feel that by ranting publicly they can convince themselves they have other viable options, and that fleeing is somehow a better choice than admitting that personal effort and energy is needed to adapt and make a success of it here.  

[pierrelebel]

Now, a few years ago when eBay introduced a new fee schedule where FVF would be charged on the total value of the transaction (including shipping charge), many Canadian sellers had to stop selling on eBay because the shipping charge was a large percentage of the transaction, often shipping costs were more than the value of the low priced item.

There was no logic in these folks wasting their time here.

Were they able to find another venue where they continued their business?  I do not know but suspect most of them simply gave up over time because many of those "low priced, high shipping" items are not meant to be sold by mail, through eBay or anywhere else, if you are running a business.  It is impossible to pay for your time.

[mr.elmwood]

8% FVF on shipping breaks a seller? Seller has a lot of problems and the 8% is not it.

[pierrelebel]

"8% FVF on shipping breaks a seller?"

In many instances, it did.

For example, FVF is generally 10% in most categories if a seller does not have a store.

If you sell an item for $5 and shipping is $12, the new fee structure works out to paying 10% x $17 or $1.70 on a $5 item (34% of value of item) and that is before paying PayPal 3% or so on the transaction amount (3% x $17 + $0.30 = $0.81 (16% of value of item).

With 50% fee (eBay and PayPal) on the value of the low priced item, many sellers decided it was time to call it a day.  Rightfully so.

"Seller has a lot of problems"

Of course, many of those sellers were trying to sell low priced with high shipping cost "stuff" not meant to be sold through mail order.

[mr.elmwood]

Of course, many of those sellers were trying to sell low priced with high shipping cost "stuff" not meant to be sold through mail order.

That would be eBay's fault, correct?

[pierrelebel]

Of course.

It is a lot easier to blame eBay (or anybody) than to understand what one is attempting to do is not workable.

[bb_cool_stuff]

Sometimes I think those people feel that by ranting publicly they can convince themselves they have other viable options, and that fleeing is somehow a better choice than admitting that personal effort and energy in needed to adapt and make a success of it here.

Ego defence probably, instead of a sense of urgency.

While the " Good Ole Days " are probably over, many sellers continue to do well.

eBay has given us the venue to sell.

How & what we decide to sell is our choice.

I sold on a friends account the first two years until I felt confident enough to make a go of it on my own.

While I was confident, & still am, I made a lot of Newbie mistakes my first year.

Did I learn from them, you betcha, but I have never blamed eBay for the mistakes I have made.

[cumos55]

Rants were usually an interesting read.... such as those that used to be found on  Seller Central on eBay.com

And  sometimes here....

Many times one can learn from those rants.

People who have problems on eBay say just about anything....... Those of us who have been here for many years can understand the problem....  and sometimes learn something new

and above all...  

eBay has changed over the years... and  anyone starting as a seller today has to adjust quickly, or stop and rethink the process..

[mr.elmwood]

BB! I am in year eleven and I still make the same mistakes.

Cumos, there was a full page "manifesto" posted earlier today on dot com. These people and theer rage.

[bb_cool_stuff]

eBay has changed over the years... and anyone starting as a seller today has to adjust quickly, or stop and rethink the process. 

I think we all have to do that as sellers today but the Newbies probably have not yet experienced & learned from the mistakes we have made when we were Newbies.

Hopefully they discover the Forums, like I did back then.

[bb_cool_stuff]

Like we said to our kids, " We All Make Mistakes, That's Why They Have Erasers on Pencils."

Mistakes are a given in business, I think we are all at the maturity level where, hopefully, personal responsibility comes into play.

[cumos55]

It is not so much that we must know what to do...

I have always found that it was more important to know .... what not to do.

The what not to do is what keeps one on the right track....

[bb_cool_stuff]

I have always found that it was more important to know .... what not to do.

Totally agree.

I have found that through the mistakes I have made buying & selling on eBay.

Nothing major, but all in all a good learning experience.

[thegreatcanadiannorthernstar]

Exactly it is all to get more money on the bottom line for ebay.  If a seller is overcharging on shipping, now he will have to overcharge even more to make up for the new ebay fees.  Rather than stop a problem it increases it, but ebay gets its pie no matter what:))

They are running out of games to play however, and Although international is still growing they will soon be suffering domestically, and international will not grow at what it could have. 

[pierrelebel]

" the new ebay fees"

???

This "new" fee has been around for several years. Nothing "new" about it.

If you take the time to read all posts on this thread, you will learn that many sellers actually saved money when the fee schedule was changed.

eBay did two things at the time:

1) lowered Final Value Fees on most fixed price transactions

2) changed the policy so FVF would be charged on the value of the transaction, including shipping charge, in line with its major competitor.

Overall, for all of eBay, it was more or less "revenue neutral".  In other words, for every extra penny charged, a penny was saved somewhere by a seller.  Personally I saved thousands of dollars in FVF the first year since - like half the listings on eBay - I priced my items on a "free shipping" basis.  So I saved money when eBay reduced FVF while not paying any extra on the shipping charge. 

Life is good!

[johntheartguy111]

I have decided to start charging these over cost fees to Handling Costs. Only post my items when there are free listings fees. I have never griped about paying for a service I have received. I will always gripe about a service that eBay imagines they are giving me. I'm amazed they aren't charging me for a wheelbarrow they are using to  haul all this profit to the bank.

[73rhc]

I'm really tied of hearing how sellers have saved money since this change. We seem to forget about the constant increases up to that point!!! Remember when items under $25 were 5%fvf?

[pierrelebel]

Apples and oranges.

If the discussion is specifically about FVF on shipping charges, then it is relevant to calculate the reduction in FVF that took place at that time.  Many newer sellers do not know and many old timers may have forgotten.

We also have to keep in mind, as stated so often, that the change of policy was basically "revenue neutral" at the time for American sellers.  The reduction created by lower FVF more or less offset the FVF charged on the shipping charge for the 50% of American sellers charging shipping (about half offer "free shipping").

Unfortunately, most Canadian sellers were affected to a much larger degree since shipping costs in Canada are generally much higher than in the USA, thanks to Canada Post and the lack of competition in Canada for parcel delivery.

"Remember when items under $25 were 5%fvf? "

Oh yes, I remember the "good old days" when sellers had to pay a listing fee, a gallery fee and 5.25% FVF on items selling for $25 or less.  Today most listings by most "small" sellers are "free", the "gallery" is included at no charge, and the FVF vary based on category and whether a seller has a store or not, and TRS status.  In many instances, sellers are paying an overall lower percentage today than they were paying ten years ago.  On the other hand, many pay more. 

[73rhc]

"Oh yes, I remember the "good old days" when sellers had to pay a listing fee, a gallery fee and 5.25% FVF on items selling for $25 or less.  Today most listings by most "small" sellers are "free", the "gallery" is included at no charge, and the FVF vary based on category and whether a seller has a store or not, and TRS status.  In many instances, sellers are paying an overall lower percentage today than they were paying ten years ago.  On the other hand, many pay more."

Depending on your listing price usually below $9.99, listing fee was 0.25 then went up to 0.30 then I think to 0.35. There were also promotions for free listings!!!. So the listing fee was not a big deal. Unsold items were relisted for free. Also, correction it was 5% before going up to 5.25% in 2002, I believe. Gallery was not used by most at the time, so was irrelevant. So I would venture to say that "MOST" were paying less back then.

[honeyman76]

I just wanted to gripe over my frustration on a recent sale that I had. I charged 50$ shipping which covered only half of the actual shipping cost. I sold my Minelab for 2076$ in US funds. Once I pay the ridiculous FVF of 234$ and factor in the 44$ extra in shipping, I lose a whopping 288$!!!That hurts.

This won't include the transfer of PAYPAL funds to my account into CAD$.

So, what has Ebay done to earn the 234$? Aside from offering a platform to sell, I can say that they have done sweet nothing. Its not like they hired an auctioneer to sit up on a stool, and sweat to sell my detector and earn over 10%.

They need to really wake up here and not be greedy. Regardless of how many emails Ebay sends regarding seller fees and that we should be aware that it costs so much to sell, EBAY needs to take a step back and realize that they are gouging people for doing sweet nothing.

I may buy on Ebay, but at this point I had my last sale on Ebay.