Wake up eBay and stop charging so much already! Reduce your fees back down to acceptable levels!

[crakka]

Just got a message from eBay that they removed my item because it had "Make an offer" in the description and this was breaching their "policies". In fact I did have the item previously listed as a "Buy it now" and forgot to proof read the description as it didn't make sense after I "sent to Auction". WEll a silly blunder it may have been, but I had a pretty wordy email from them on how doing this and that and making offers outside eBay and all is considered unfair amongst other lines that were quite presumptuous on their part, such as: "These practices are considered a way of avoiding eBay fees. Listings that try to avoid fees put sellers who pay their fees at a disadvantage. Also, they can create a poor buying experience."

What the blazes? ARe they the police? What happened to the good old easy going eBay of yesterday? and what about how much we all pay when selling now? Isn't it about time for everyone to wake up and demand a reverting back to fairness and fair fees, without the pretense of giving free listings and all that being "good compensation" for the amount you pay on final values? Come on people, you are really getting the wool pulled oer your eyes. Do the maths, look at how much more you pay over all now as opposed to when the sellers fees were 4.7% and there was no such thing as a fee on the postage as well. Even Paypal went up too. Did the value of providing a monetary highway go up, or did it get more expensive for them to run their servers? Bull! They are making squillions more now than ever, so if anything, since they get more  traffic than everyone else, they should be reducing the cost of listing and selling if anything. They are all acting like banks!

So I sent them these following words to consider. I suggest a few million more people say something before all of your rights dissapear and you are just milked for all you can bare to let go of. Seriously!

In response to:

"MC018 Your listing has been removed: Direct Sales"

I have reviewed the item that was listed as not within eBay policies. This was including the phrase "make an offer". I apologize that this was an oversight as the original listing which was a "Buy it now or best offer" type, I sent to auction without realizing that the wording breached the policies of eBay.
It is relisted as a revised version.

I do however regret that I don't agree with all of the accusations in the warning message, and further to that, I believe that eBay procures far too much in the way of "fees". The recent hike from around 5% to around %10 of the final value was a shock to many, since for high priced items, eBay makes insane profits. Also I believe that it is dishonest and money grabbing opportunism to include a fee on top of postage and freight costs, as most people realize that that service is not really a part of the purchase and do not want to pay additional fees on their postage but only what it literally costs. This means a further deferral in most cases of the additional fees to the seller, who if they are just a back yard blitz seller of their personal items, are mined for their goods value as well as their spare change too. It doesn't stop there, but since eBay has procured Paypal as well, they now receive fees three times on only ONE sale. How much do they think is really fair to sting people for simply using their handy service which runs on the smell of an oily rag, basically electronic blips and keystrokes, and who rarely enforce any breach of the law when a buyer decides to renig on their purchase.

I regret to say that I feel their is a very large imbalance of service verses costs on eBay, internationally and on the home front. It's about time people woke up to it!

regards,

An annoyed loyal seller for more than a decade.....

[davewil1964]

So relist without the offending phrase, which shouldn't be in a BIN listing either. That's what the 'Make an Offer' function is for.

The easygoing eBay? I've been a member for 7 years and this has always been a rule, so I'm not sure how long ago you mean.

My seller fees have never been 4.7%; they are now as low or lower than they've ever been.

Btw eBay and Paypal split earlier this year and are now unrelated companies.

If you're going to spit at least grab some facts first.

[crakka]

Sorry but i know the facts. I've watched it evolve for a longer time than you've been a member. The fees were only hiked up less than four or five years ago from memory. Have you been asleep? The postage fees came in less than two years ago and the fees have never come down, only up. A re-shuffle ie. where they give you free listing fees to  make it look like you are getting something more, is only to lessen the shock of the final value fees escalating so much. The end result is a near 200% profit rise for eBay in half a decade.

DO THE MATHS!

[phorum_junkie*]

I have done the math and my fees are around the same percentage now as they were 10 years ago when you paid for every listing, even those that did not sell, I can't remember how many years ago I opened a store but back then you had to pay $49.99 per month to get 200 included listings.

Do you really think you should have special dispensation for breaking the rules? There are not many of us I am sure who have not received the dreaded listing removed email, I inadvertently listed the same item twice when I was reopening my store, it was entirely my mistake and I took the peprimand on the chin and tried not to transgress again. If I do then I expect to be treated the same way as any other member who does the same.

[*tippy*toes*]

Put an ad in the local paper and see what it costs. Even getting a stall at the local markets is a bit rich these days.

I don't begrudge anyone making a profit for their business, it's how they stay operational. Would you consider selling your items for cost or below cost? I doubt it. You want to make a profit too. I made 2,000% profit on an item the other day. Another will be close to 6,000% when it sells over the weekend. I guess that makes me even more vile than eBay!

The money you pay in fees doesn't just sit there making someone's pockets fatter. There are these things called overheads, that all businesses have to pay. Building rental, electricity, wages, water charges, stationary, toilet paper, cleaners, tea/coffee, sugar, milk, furniture and fixtures, computers and other technology, phone calls, insurance (both for employees and building and contents), just to name a few.

Yes, of course eBay makes a profit from fees paid, but all businesses do, regardless of how large or small they are. If they didn't, they would go bust pretty quickly. You only have to look at corner stores. How many of them do you see around these days compared to say 20 or 30 years ago? They couldn't make enough profit to stay in business, so had to shut up shop.

If you think you can do a better job and create a site where fees are what you'd consider reasonable, go right ahead. Plenty have already tried......and failed. No-one is forcing anyone to buy and sell on here. I don't like the fees as much as the next person, but I have accepted that's the way they are if I want to use their site. I could sell some of my items at an auction house, but at 20 or 25% fees, this is a much cheaper option for me.

[x3n0m]

I made 2,000% profit on an item the other day. Another will be close to 6,000% when it sells over the weekend. I guess that makes me even more vile than eBay!

No IT makes sense as those are the margins one needs to actually make a quid here .. lol ..

[rocket2retro]

As a long time seller I've only ever seen fees go up. This is based on fees as a percentage of my sales (now hovering around 17% with PayPal fees included). With my sales declining dramatically (down 10% last financial year and an estimated 33% this financial year) I won't need to worry about eBay fees, should this trend continue, as it won't be worth selling any longer.

[5kazam]

"The money you pay in fees doesn't just sit there making someone's pockets fatter. There are these things called overheads, that all businesses have to pay. Building rental, electricity, wages, water charges, stationary, toilet paper, cleaners, tea/coffee, sugar, milk, furniture and fixtures, computers and other technology, phone calls, insurance (both for employees and building and contents), just to name a few"

I don't have a problem with any business making a profit.  

I do have a problem with the exhorbitant salary/packages paid to the higher echelons of eBay, and obviously, not enough of our $fees is put into ensuring this site WORKS PROPERLY.  Too much bot carp about minor infringements on listings.

But I like the spirit of sellers who are not prepared to be herded like sheep, and who do express their views on this forum.  

[gec2002]

"I have done the math and my fees are around the same percentage now as they were 10 years ago"

Then you need new batteries for your calculator. You have claimed this multiple times please provide hard numbers that show a direct comparison between now and 10 years ago.

In 31/1/2003 fees increased from 5% to 5.25% with a sliding scale. An auction item that sold for $150 fees were $4.38 that then went up to $4.75

Then on 22/09/2011 fees went from 5.25% to 7.9%

Then on 6/05/2014 postage was added to final value fees

So now our $150 item (with no postage) has fees of $14.85 with Paypal fees of $4.20

[davewil1964]

Here's some math -

In 2009 I had to pay for every listing, with the occasional freebie for under $1.00 AUCTION listing thrown in . FVF 9.9%

Now - with a $19.95 per month store I can list 200 with no listing fee (10c per) and pay 9.5%. And BIN listings are now 5c per, rather than 30 or 40 cents per.

To me, that means the costs have reduced.