Fees are very high

[rusticweddingsigns]

I can’t believe how high the fees are for selling. Over 13% is taken out of the sale including the postage. I was shocked when I sold something for $15 plus $9 postage and paid $3.5 in fees to eBay. I already sell things at a cheap price so people actually buy things. Now I’m adding an extra $5 on everything to cover fees. Now with postage I really made $10 on my sale. I put it at $15 because it was the minimum I wanted to receive as it’s worth a lot more. Over 13% seems greedy to me!

[jellybirddesigns]

The fees have nothing to do with greed - every platform has the right to decide what its fees are and as a seller, you either accept the fees, or find another avenue to sell on. All the fees are outlined in the seller handbook, so if you don't familiarise yourself with the costs, you can hardly blame Ebay. Amazon has much higher fees - around 18%, so Ebay is relatively cheap considering the type of exposure you get.

It sounds like you put the item into an auction? Sellers should always be prepared to get only one bid, so it's prudent to start it at a higher price ie: if the item was worth $40 second hand, then start it close to that price. Instead of an auction you could also make it a But It Now price set at the figure you desire.

Not sure if you're on the new MP system yet, but 13%-14% has been the average on Ebay for a very long time.

In the past the fee was split between Ebay and Paypal. It was around 10% on Ebay, and PP made up the balance. Now it's all deducted in one go, upfront.

In terms of your $9.00 postage. If you're sending as a parcel, the cost is $9.15, of which Ebay will take a percentage. Savvy sellers increase the the postage cost by around $1-$1.50 to take into account the fees and any additional packaging.

[jimmiejam09]

The fees are too high. Since the split with Paypal the Fvf has skyrocketed and made it not worthwhile to sell on ebay. I have been on Ebay since 2009, won’t be using it anymore. I got hit with a $50 fee on one item sold for $375. It was already a bargain, I am regretting selling it on this platform.

[padi*0409]

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@jimmiejam09 wrote:

The fees are too high. Since the split with Paypal the Fvf has skyrocketed and made it not worthwhile to sell on ebay.

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The fees have not changed much at all since Managed Payments was introduced, if anything they've dropped slightly.

[imastawka]

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@jimmiejam09 wrote:

The fees are too high. Since the split with Paypal the Fvf has skyrocketed and made it not worthwhile to sell on ebay. I have been on Ebay since 2009, won’t be using it anymore. I got hit with a $50 fee on one item sold for $375. It was already a bargain, I am regretting selling it on this platform.

The fees are roughly 14%.....same as before with Paypal

So $50 on a $375 sale is about right.

Didn't you check how much the fvf's were when you listed?

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[p9games]

13% is not unreasonable.  You get a huge marketplace with a huge number of buyers.  You have a robust buying and selling system.  You get a huge ecosystem of software vendors, a mature API for systems integration and so on.

You alternative is to start your own site and tip truckloads of money into search engine marketing, advertising and so on.

I'd love fees to be lower of course, but 13% is reasonable

[love_of_cars]

Every platform has its ups and downs as well as particular fee structures.

So the solution is to add some extra amount into your selling price here at eBay.  For example, I add about $2.50 onto my prices here compared to the prices on my website and that helps to cover the fees eBay calculates from both the sale amount and also the shipping amount.

If your profit margin isn't satisfactory then increase your price and/or find other things to sell which allow you to mark up enough.  If people really want it, they will pay you for it.  If they can find it somewhere else for a different price, change to selling other things which will keep them buying from you.

[tashie001]

Agree!  I just sold something and got $388 (included $18 postage fee). EBay has taken $105 in fees!!! 

[*sons_n_daughters*]

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@jimmiejam09 wrote:

The fees are too high. Since the split with Paypal the Fvf has skyrocketed and made it not worthwhile to sell on ebay. I have been on Ebay since 2009, won’t be using it anymore. I got hit with a $50 fee on one item sold for $375. It was already a bargain, I am regretting selling it on this platform.

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I know the member I'm replying to won't see this, as it's a dead thread, but 18 months later, still selling, despite the threat of leaving. Do people threatening to leave really think ebay care? Do they think they are so important that if they leave, ebay will shut down? Pfffft.

[sugar249]

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@tashie001 wrote:

Agree!  I just sold something and got $388 (included $18 postage fee). EBay has taken $105 in fees!!! 

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Hang on,

The last item you sold was listed for $420 plus 18 postage,  so 438 total.  But looking at the sale you took a best offer, so less then that.

Can you explain how you paid 105 fee's but still manage to get $388,  have I missed something