Your thought on eBay fees increase?

Not sure if this belongs here, but since I know some folks sell on eBay here, I thought I'd post it. eBay just raised Final Value fees from already high 7.5% to 9%, AND the fees are now going to be charged on the total amount of sale PLUS shipping. So, for example, if you list an item and it sells for $10 + $5 shipping, before you'd be charged, 75 cents and done, now you will be charged $1.35 (9% of $15). This is in addition to any Paypal fees that they are charging on the sale. Apparently this is being done to discourage sellers charging high shipping prices. I say its BS! Sellers have no control over shipping prices, eBay never figured out a way to count shipping supplies/packaging, and 95% or sellers are rather accurate with their shipping fees anyway. What this will do though, it will raise already high prices on eBay, and sellers will try to transfer even more of eBay fees on buyers. What a dumb move, eBay.

I used to sell stuff on ebay but lately the attraction really has gone and this latest fee hike seems to signal the end of my selling.

If you are shipping things international then the actual costs can vary greatly depending on country of origin to destination and a simple increase in fee to be cost+shipping is simply unfair, especially to those who are running small businesses on ebay.

eBay should find some other way to penalize the 5% who charge exhorbitant rates. I avoid those sellers anyway.

eBay should find some other way to penalize the 5% who charge exhorbitant rates. I avoid those sellers anyway.

Trust me, they are not trying to penalize anybody, they are just thinking about getting more money from sellers for nothing. How else can you explain charging a fee on a service performed by a different entity (postal service)? What about international sellers? I think eBay is bitting the hand that feeds them, and it's a shame, for both buyers and sellers, and for hobby in general.

si Alex, mamma mia...
They raised the 10% of percentage of what u sell, it is definitely too much.
Unless they will keep lower prices I will never use ebay again to sell items.

The problem will be now....where try sell items (as 4ex our model boxes) with the possibility to be seen worldwide? :(

I think this may only affect regular users.

I am a top rated business seller, so I benefit from the lower fees, and also a 20% discount for being top rated.

Personally I would register yourself as a business seller just for the sake of the lower fees. You can then buy and sell as normal.

I think this may only affect regular users.

I am a top rated business seller, so I benefit from the lower fees, and also a 20% discount for being top rated.

Personally I would register yourself as a business seller just for the sake of the lower fees. You can then buy and sell as normal.

This affects everybody, especially business sellers, and sellers with eBay stores.

Not sure if this belongs here, but since I know some folks sell on eBay here, I thought I'd post it. eBay just raised Final Value fees from already high 7.5% to 9%, AND the fees are now going to be charged on the total amount of sale PLUS shipping. So, for example, if you list an item and it sells for $10 + $5 shipping, before you'd be charged, 75 cents and done, now you will be charged $1.35 (9% of $15). This is in addition to any Paypal fees that they are charging on the sale. Apparently this is being done to discourage sellers charging high shipping prices. I say its BS! Sellers have no control over shipping prices, eBay never figured out a way to count shipping supplies/packaging, and 95% or sellers are rather accurate with their shipping fees anyway. What this will do though, it will raise already high prices on eBay, and sellers will try to transfer even more of eBay fees on buyers. What a dumb move, eBay.

No news for me here 360!...

Its just what I have been expecting, I've known this would come for quite some time now.

Can any of us imagine how much money major companies such as ebay and Paypal make, each day!?...

What at first comes as a convinience for the normal person or seller (international market coverage) and was modestly charged at first, has now turned into a way of life that many (millions) of common people and sellers that have based their life on Ebay and Paypal. Its their business, and their way to make a living, they depend on it.

So, it is so easy now to start collecting heavier charges on anyone who depends on it as a way of life. Its like an addiction, you cannot say no, and you have to go along with it, paying more, and more. Or just give it up and find a whole new way of life.Something like that could prove very difficult for some, if not impossible by now!

So, getting to the point. It is just another form of "savage capitalism" that is bound to take a grip on the way we choose to make a living. Quite like the major factors that contributed to the financial crisis we all know about.

Remember this when you go shopping on ebay, and pay through Paypal, try to imagine the unbeliavable "flood" of money some people make from all over the world when millions like ourselves make our daily shopping, or make our monthly choice and get your scale-model.

Try to remember to how many companies you have to pay taxes to get your purchase home (credit cards, Paypal, Ebay ) and how big a monopoly these have become along recent times.

A big part of the world is by now addicted to this way of buying and selling, and some few people are getting very, very rich on it!...while the other part (the enormously big part) is getting poorer and under social recession.

Try Ebay classifieds for local areas, it's free.

i thing that's because charlie sheen own's it.

Im not surprised at all. Ebay is the least of my worries with price of food,gas,taxes, and everything else going up.

Off topic, but my prayers go out to Japan.

Since I rarely sell, but frequently buy, this is a good news. No more stupid $16 domestic shipping for one plastic model kit.

Since I rarely sell, but frequently buy, this is a good news. No more stupid $16 domestic shipping for one plastic model kit.

You think? I sell some, and I, like most, will just delegate the fees to the buyer. Do you even know how much does it cost to ship a kit? $16 for shipping is not a bad price really. There is more than postage in shipping a product, especially for volume sellers.
That for sure means everything will just get more expensive. OR, sellers will stop selling as much, which simply means everything will that much harder (and more expensive) to get. How can you not see this?

Check eBay forums, eBay lost around 1500 sellers just on announcement - today. And this is just the beginning.

Nobody likes it when we hear cost of things go up! And it looks like everything is getting expensive!

>>You think?
Sure, because I will less likely be shouldering the lied part of shipping cost. (assuming that the new system works)

Suppose the final bid was $20, and the shipping cost was $20, and if that happens to be the actual postage (Express mail for something like that), my entire $40 will go to the honest seller, and I'll be totally happy with the trade.

If the item was $20, and I was asked to pay $20 for shipping, but the real postage turned out to be $10, then I'd be handing over $10 for the greed of the dishonest seller, and I don't want to support dishonest people.
If the seller needs $10 for the box and transportation, I want to know that beforehand, so I'll have the choice of either agreeing to the cost or looking for another seller.

If the seller doesn't disclose the real values, the person is essentially restricting or even violating, your rights to freedom of choice. And I think it's a serious problem of eBay for allowing those scam to continue using the system. As I mentioned, I'm more of a buyer than a seller, so I'll support any policy of driving away those lowlives, even if I will have to pay 9% when I actually want to sell something.

>>Do you even know how much does it cost to ship a kit?
A typical Fujimi kit and a box weigh about 2 lb, so it's $8.60 ($7.83 when paid online) from here in Houston to say, NY for example, by USPS Priority Mail. And two kits (2 lb 8 oz) for $10.35 ($9.65 online).

>>That for sure means everything will just get more expensive.
That is if the demand remains constant, but higher price tends to weaken the demand, so there might be a short-term surge, but it will eventually come back down.

>>Check eBay forums, eBay lost around 1500 sellers just on announcement - today. And this is just the beginning.
Relax. Some people are simply over-reacting. Plus, eBay reportedly has 90 million active users, so 1500 sounds negligible. Missed opportunity will hurt sellers (both business and private), so most of them won't act so foolishly, but instead, they'll seek elsewhere to cut cost.

>>You think?
Sure, because I will less likely be shouldering the lied part of shipping cost. (assuming that the new system works)

Suppose the final bid was $20, and the shipping cost was $20, and if that happens to be the actual postage (Express mail for something like that), my entire $40 will go to the honest seller, and I'll be totally happy with the trade.

If the item was $20, and I was asked to pay $20 for shipping, but the real postage turned out to be $10, then I'd be handing over $10 for the greed of the dishonest seller, and I don't want to support dishonest people.
If the seller needs $10 for the box and transportation, I want to know that beforehand, so I'll have the choice of either agreeing to the cost or looking for another seller.

If the seller doesn't disclose the real values, the person is essentially restricting or even violating, your rights to freedom of choice. And I think it's a serious problem of eBay for allowing those scam to continue using the system. As I mentioned, I'm more of a buyer than a seller, so I'll support any policy of driving away those lowlives, even if I will have to pay 9% when I actually want to sell something.

>>Do you even know how much does it cost to ship a kit?
A typical Fujimi kit and a box weigh about 2 lb, so it's $8.60 ($7.83 when paid online) from here in Houston to say, NY for example, by USPS Priority Mail. And two kits (2 lb 8 oz) for $10.35 ($9.65 online).

>>That for sure means everything will just get more expensive.
That is if the demand remains constant, but higher price tends to weaken the demand, so there might be a short-term surge, but it will eventually come back down.

>>Check eBay forums, eBay lost around 1500 sellers just on announcement - today. And this is just the beginning.
Relax. Some people are simply over-reacting. Plus, eBay reportedly has 90 million active users, so 1500 sounds negligible. Missed opportunity will hurt sellers (both business and private), so most of them won't act so foolishly, but instead, they'll seek elsewhere to cut cost.

Just goes to show that you know nothing about how eBay system works. Just thinking about yourself, ignorance is a bliss, I guess.

>>Suppose the final bid was $20, and the shipping cost was $20, and if that happens to be the actual postage (Express mail for something like that), my entire $40 will go to the honest seller, and I'll be totally happy with the trade.

Yes, but your honest seller will pay not 7.5% on $20 (cost of the item), but 9% on $40, which is much more, and totally unfair to the seller. Why would seller pay additional 9% to eBay for a service that is provided by USPS, AND on which he already taxed by requiring to accept Paypal (which takes a fee based on entire purchase) ?

>>If the item was $20, and I was asked to pay $20 for shipping, but the real postage turned out to be $10, then I'd be handing over $10 for the greed of the dishonest seller, and I don't want to support dishonest people.

Easy solution - if you don't like the price - don't buy it. Dishonest sellers make up what - 10-15% max, and while addressing the problem, eBay makes everybody pay for the fact that they can't handle the problem. Disgusting.

>>If the seller doesn't disclose the real values, the person is essentially restricting or even violating, your rights to freedom of choice.

Is that a joke? Are you even believing what you just wrote? Nobody MAKES you buy something that you think is priced too high. eBay is free marketplace, sellers are free to charge whatever they like for their items, and they don't owe you anything - you like it and the price - you buy it. You don't - you don't. Simple as that, so please stop with this BS.

>>A typical Fujimi kit and a box weigh about 2 lb, so it's $8.60 ($7.83 when paid online) from here in Houston to say, NY for example, by USPS Priority Mail. And two kits (2 lb 8 oz) for $10.35 ($9.65 online).

Typical ignorance, which again, shows how much you know about selling, and how quick most people to judge about something without knowing much about it.
Don't forget that shipping a kit requires seller to get a box to ship it in (anywhere from $2.95 to $4.95 depending on the size of the kit), packing materials (bubble wrap or shipping peanuts) which also cost money ($14.95 for a roll of bubble wrap, and $6.96 for a bag of peanuts). Finally, tape, gas to drive to the post office, time wasted packing your product and standing in line at the post office, finally, paper and inks spent on printing postage. Finally, delivery confirmation (require by Paypal by the way) is another $0.80 - adds up, doesn't it? Sure, it might sound like nit-picking, but it all does matter for volume sellers. Nobody pays them for that, and all sellers assume that it is included in postage. So please, don't tell me it cost $8.60 to mail a kit.

Ok, your justifications for volume sellers make sense, but high handling fees for volume sellers are also outrageous given that the costs are spread out over all the transactions.

Justifications for handling fees for occasional sellers are more suspect. Your occasional seller isn't going to use $14.95 for a roll of bubble wrap and $6.96 for a bag of peanuts for one transaction. While handling fees would normally be higher for an occasional seller given a lack of volume in which to spread out the costs, I guess I'm just of the opinion that occasional sellers shouldn't be charging handling fees. Call it a sense of goodwill.

Your typical occasional seller like me uses boxes I already have (I only buy where the item won't fit in a box I already have), and I don't charge for handling because eBay originally was a marketplace for getting a better deal or finding something no longer available, IMO.

I'm not justifying sellers abusing shipping system for their own profits. I'm defending my right to be treated fairly, which is too many people in this country forgot how to do. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Justifying corporate greed as "cracking down on greedy sellers" while getting "better deal on shipping for their customers" is bull crap and you know it. But it seems that everybody is becoming so complacent that even when someone starts to talk about it, he gets knocked down. I'm not going to argue any more about, people are entitled to different opinions and you obviously don't share mine, so I'm not wasting my time. You make your own conclusions, and time will tell who was right.

Ignore the numbers because they will not apply to everyone.
The way I see it is this:

Making the Final Fee based on item cost+postage/handling looks like one way of reducing how much the high handlers charge and an attempt to make it fair across the board.
However, I can't see how they can justify making it a fee based on final sale + postage/handling AND increase the percentage that they charge.
In effect, as Alex is trying to point out, they are increasing the amount charge on final sale AND charging that same 9% on the postage and handling as well.
If it were a total cost based fee but at a lower rate, it would seem more appropriate to me.

Then, as Alex notes, there's the fact that part of the postage and handling is charged by a third party and is a necessity in the process which makes part of that additional 9% totally unfair.

And finally, all this will end up doing is encouraging those who do offer cheap and charge high to simply charge higher. As the fee is now based on total costs, it still doesn't make a difference to how they operate.

Incidentally, since another member has said that they hadn't heard anything about it, I had a look at the UK ebay site and so far, I also don't see any change. Our base fee is still 10% of final item sale.

Well I'm not as worked up as Alex but I've been smoldering over eBay policy for several years now. But EBay is a monopoly and right now there is no direct substitute.

I think this all started when Meg Whitman resigned in 2008 and took her BILLION's to go play in politics (well spent Meg, hahaha!!) . Whatever you think of her politics it's hard to knock her steady hand at the tiller from the companies inception to her departure. When the servers started crashing due to volume she got ahead of it and repaired the sites rep. When the deadbeat buyers were undermining the model she kicked them out and got it back etc , etc.

In 1998 when she left the person picked to replace her was John Donahoe. "Donkeyhole" as I like to refer to him due to his resemblance to a certain part of that animal's anatomy, is one of the most incompetent leaders to run this large a company I've seen in a long time. He thinks that by fiddling with fee structure and other gimmicks he can continue harvesting the cow post-growth AND make bags full of money. They continue to make a lot of money but on fewer and fewer transactions. The wave has peaked and I feel he's driving the business into the rocks. It's only a matter of time.

Many small businesses that once sold on eBay have now moved to Amazon where the founder and CEO Jeff Bazos is still calling the shots and frankly doing an outstanding job. Just look at the Kindle. He commands 80% of the reader market and was a relative latecomer. Whew.

Anyway, eBay reminds me of the moth circling the candle. He'll continue to circle closer and closer to the flame until he burns up. Donkeyhole's drive for ever-higher profit has fundamentally changed the market place from a community of end-users and collectors trying to find rare stuff and avoid middlemen to just a bunch of overpriced retail listings of common items targeted to spontaneous shoppers.

Having free listings and jacking up final value fees has the effect of making lots of overpriced "Buy-It-Now" items that just sit there for weeks or months. Gone are the pitched battles for rare items, the pricing wars and real-time price changes as new info surfaced that used to make eBay fun for me. If there is a silver lining in all this, at least maybe competition from Amazon will cause the board to force Donkeyhole out and revert back to what made eBay great. And if not, competition is always a good thing for consumers. Maybe someone else will create a better marketplace for collectors.

Below is a link to the Forbe's profile on Mr. Donahoe. Publicly traded companies must report compensation of board and officers. Take a look at his 2009 compensation. Then notice how much of it is in the form of options (ie: stock performance). Keep scrolling down and notice he also has about $40 million in accumulated options reported since '06. That means every time the stock price rises a dollar he makes millions in net worth. This is the main motivating driver in decision making once the founder leaves a successful company. It forces on them a drive for better and better earnings reports at the expense of long-term planning. Their trick is to cash out just before the music stops!

http://people.forbes.com/profile/john-j-donahoe/28235

I was a corporate auditor for several years and am a proponent for compensation clawbacks (company takes the money back years later if long-term performance falters) to place a check on the senseless drive for short term profit at the expense of long-term health.

I like the concept of eBay and have had great luck with buyers. I have thousands of transactions and have been doing it for a while. It is a love/hate relationship I have with eBay. Between rising postage, supply costs and eBay/Paypal fees, profits are really eaten away quickly. It's unfortunate, but eBay has a lot of momentum in the market and it will be difficult for a competitor to take significant market share from them. Sort of a Starbucks situation I suppose. Still, there is no easier and cheaper way to reach that large of a market as an individual trying to sell to the world.

Alex - I agree completely. This simply is going to raise the price of obtaining a kit via ebay.

The only was I can see overcoming this is charging a handling fee. Many sellers do not. In your example on a $15 kit, I would charge a handling fee of $1 to offset my increase in fees. That handling fee will increase as the kit price is increase. This increase is really a "handling cost"

I list often, not just kits, I cannot see a way to keep my margins unless it's passed onto the buyer.

Maybe we will see a massive shift for kits on other sites. Maybe this is the push for another player to show up. Remember Yahoo used to have an auction site.

People are starting to get sick of the greed.

Well these are mad times, mad times I tell you, but that doesn't justify a price hike of that extent, and not only that, paypal's stupid fee increased too. That is why I ask private parties to send me money through paypal as "personal." Paypal charge you a fee if it's sent as "personal" payment. That's the loophole for those that didn't know. =)

I've just received an envelope with decals, bought on eBay, from the US.
I paid 14 USD shipping fee and the envelope is labeled at 6 USD!

Should I applaud what eBay is doing? No!
What should I do? Give negative feedback to the seller! This is how it has to be done, not by increasing the already high greedyBay fees!

Well these are mad times, mad times I tell you, but that doesn't justify a price hike of that extent, and not only that, paypal's stupid fee increased too. That is why I ask private parties to send me money through paypal as "personal." Paypal charge you a fee if it's sent as "personal" payment. That's the loophole for those that didn't know. =)

This work if it is between good friends, however there is no warranty from PayPal if you pay this way and the seller decides not to honor his/her part of the deal.

The star rating allows you to rate shipping charges when you give feedback. A low star rating will eventually cause problems for the seller. I'd send them a note beforehand asking for a reduction. I think NFB is excessive for high shipping charges. After all, you knew what they were going in to the transaction, I assume.

I ask before bidding if the charge seems high. If the seller won't reduce the charge and I still want the item, I bid. I then give a low star rating on the shipping cost if it is excessive.

Remember too that its not just the postage that the seller is paying for. It is also packaging, envelopes, labels, etc. An extra buck or two, depending on the item, is not unreasonable. Your case? That's way out of bounds IMO.

Excessive shipping is against eBay policy (because it ultimately takes money away from them since fees are not paid on shipping charges). You can report items for excessive shipping charges if they are still active listings.

Hope this helps.

Brian

I've just received an envelope with decals, bought on eBay, from the US.
I paid 14 USD shipping fee and the envelope is labeled at 6 USD!

Should I applaud what eBay is doing? No!
What should I do? Give negative feedback to the seller! This is how it has to be done, not by increasing the already high greedyBay fees!

The star rating allows you to rate shipping charges when you give feedback. A low star rating will eventually cause problems for the seller. I'd send them a note beforehand asking for a reduction. I think NFB is excessive for high shipping charges. After all, you knew what they were going in to the transaction, I assume.

I ask before bidding if the charge seems high. If the seller won't reduce the charge and I still want the item, I bid. I then give a low star rating on the shipping cost if it is excessive.

Remember too that its not just the postage that the seller is paying for. It is also packaging, envelopes, labels, etc. An extra buck or two, depending on the item, is not unreasonable. Your case? That's way out of bounds IMO.

Excessive shipping is against eBay policy (because it ultimately takes money away from them since fees are not paid on shipping charges). You can report items for excessive shipping charges if they are still active listings.

Hope this helps.

Brian

You are right it is always fair to contact the seller before giving negative FB.
I was trying to get through the point that when it is needed we should not hesitate giving negative FB in order to discourage unfair sellers.

its no ebay but if it would get more advertise it may be good give it a try here's the like http://www.emodelcars.com/ It's free & it easy to use