Shocking big bill to pay...

[rose-dee]

OK, I knew I'd have to now pay 15% HST on my monthly seller fees.  I was prepared for that.  But I opened my usual email from eBay today advising me that my account was ready for viewing and OMG -- the fee bill amounts to nearly 33% of my earnings this month!  

This feels a bit like highway robbery -- how is it I'm selling far less yet paying far more percentage-wise?  Partly because, with sharply declining sales, I've now lost TRS.  Partly because I was obligated to move to .com to sell once $US dollar listings were no longer available on .ca, and therefore lost the benefit of lower FVFs on shipping.  For years (over 10 in fact) my fees were a steady 10% to 11% of monthly sales, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less.  Over the past 8 months or so, the monthly fee percentage has been rising.  Today's number is the worst yet. 

I am locked into a (basic) store subscription until May, 2019, but will be rethinking that option.  I feel that if eBay can't provide a site where my items will sell as they did 2 years ago, despite my best efforts, if they can't fix all the stuff that is broken (including the hopeless checkout), if they can't generate enough interest to keep my buyer base returning, then there will be little point in continuing simply for the pleasure of paying fees to be here.  

It was a sad realization today.  The next few months will determine whether my longstanding boutique store on eBay will have to close.   

[2nd-time-around-jewelry]

My highest fee was a few months ago, also at 33% of my earnings. I pay for a premium store, normal fees including tax now. And now they want us to pay for promoting our listings too. And our FVF fees credit was cut downto 10%. I agree this is a very sad state of affairs for us sellers.

[ricarmic]

I've always considered my total fees (eBay and PAYPAL together) and traditionally they were in the 12.5%-17.5% range.

Now generally it is a good month if the combined total is below 20%

(ebay itself runs about 20% in a "normal" month now).

Having said this:

-I'm HST registered so there's the about 2.5% that should be factored out

-I've also traditionally listed everything in 2 categories which also inflates my fees another 4% (this I am reducing over time by listing more items in one category only)

Unlike what seems to be the case for others, eBay remains the cheapest site for me personally, my costs in the other venues are ranging much higher, often higher than Rose's experience here.

[reallynicestamps]

It may be the choice of other sites.

In generalist sites, I found Bonanza and iCrater have no customers. I spent more time on them removing items already sold on eBay than completing sales.

Etsy was just a bad fit for my vintage books and sewing patterns. And fees were higher than my profits. Actually I think fees were higher than my gross sales.

Amazon is not friendly for pre-ISBN books.

I tried one other auction site (iBid perhaps) but found it so rife with blatant fraud that it made Chinese penny sellers look like a church rummage sale.

We also used our own website, which worked well when we had a dedicated employee to run it, and Zillions of Stamps which was intermittent, but definitely catered to the low end, surprising when they are run by the American Philatelic Society.

[ricarmic]

Actually it isn't the fault of the other sites, it is the cost to get my somewhat different from the usual stuff noticed on them (which costs money, same as is the case here). Same problem as here, except I'm better at it here, economically speaking....

[mrdutch1001]

I don't have a store on eBay, so the only shocking thing about my current eBay bill is that it is only $1.18, due to the so few sales...

Although I have listings on free sites like Bonanza and eCrater,  those sites are DEAD! so may just close up shop there too as already closed up shop on Etsy due to no sales. eBay sales trickle in now & then but nothing like 6 months ago, not like a  year ago and definitely not like 2 years ago when I actually had no problem maintaining top rated seller status.

[jt-libra]

I opened a store for my media account in April (12-month subscription) and, shortly after, my sales took a nose-dive .... not due to the store but because there is a decreasing number of people who want hard copy movies and music.  I was aware of that, of course, but I thought I might still have a year or two to sell off my inventory ... but sales are so-o-o-o- slow.  In a 30 day period, I only get 4 to 6 views per item.

So, yes, my fees are extraordinarily high in relation to my sales ..... often 40 to 50% of my sales.  I certainly won't be renewing my store subscription and, hopefully, by then, I'll have determined other ways to sell my items.  I don't fit into a craft sale and to rent a table at a community event doesn't work because visitors want garage sale prices -- $1 for every item, regardless of their value.

Thank goodness, people still want make-up and skin care.

[cooltoycars]

The HST was the final straw for me! After looking at the percentage of fees compared to actual sales I decided to close my store after 15 years of selling on Ebay. I was sick and tired of all the hassle so that I can make money for Ebay and PayPal!!! I closed my subscription and paid the blood money for the privilege of closing my store and sold off all but my most valuable items to a local dealer. Now I use the 50 free items per month and have never been happier!  No more of the BS for me! I'm free of the all the headaches. Many more will follow my lead no doubt!