More unwanted enhancements coming
Summary: The discussion, titled 'More unwanted enhancements coming,' touches on dissatisfaction with certain policies and features related to an online platform's payment system for sellers. Participants express concern about the potential financial impact of delayed payments for new sellers who do not meet specific requirements. Some mention issues with language settings and speculate on the motivations behind recent platform changes. The conversation includes speculation about potential legal consequences, with a focus on user experience and policy transparency.
From an email just now:
An update to selling on eBay
Coming at the end of April, we're introducing updates to improve our online marketplace and make selling easier. Learn more about the changes and what they mean for you below.
What this means for you
We’re updating our subscriptions for sellers who want more flexibility and control or who sell higher volumes.
This includes a new Pro Starter plan subscription for sellers who use advanced selling features, like multi-quantity and multi-variation listings.
Based on your usage of these selling features, we believe you’ll have the best selling experience with a Pro Starter plan.
- The Pro Starter plan reflects your current selling experience and includes access to advanced selling features, as well as expanded shipping and payout options and additional customer support.
- This plan has no monthly cost and you will continue to pay final value fees, as you do today.
Free selling |
We’re introducing free selling in late April for Australia-based sellers with up to $25,000 in sales annually. Eligible sellers will no longer pay transaction fees when they sell on eBay.com.au, across all categories.
Learn more about selling fees and how your sales are evaluated.
Free selling is intended for sellers with simpler selling needs and does not include access to advanced selling features or scheduled payouts. These sellers will have to buy labels on eBay for eligible items. A Buyer Protection fee will also be added to their listings and paid by the buyer to eBay.
Based on your current selling activity, you'll qualify for free selling.
You don’t need to do anything right now; we’ll confirm your eligibility in late April and explain how you can cancel the Pro Starter plan if you would rather take advantage of free selling. If you choose to cancel, you will lose access to the selling features available in the Pro Starter plan.
twyngwyn
·2 months agoAnd another owned by eBay:
https://share.google/rLkNAsNt8XhFLkD8W
twyngwyn
·2 months agoInteresting read:
https://share.google/EtSkJyX1CLxNl6h4D
twyngwyn
·2 months agoHow similar, no wonder all the changes - who’s running scared? They use Adyen too
padi*0409
·2 months agoNow the AI is in Spanish for me...................FGS.............
sandypebbles
·2 months agoYep, I've been seeing that a lot
And it usually happens right after someone posts something George doesn't like
It's a little tanty he has
twyngwyn
·2 months agoWhat a heap of interest eBay will be making on all those ‘free sellers’ who have not read the requirements, and will not be paid, potentially…..🤑💰💵 so many threads now.
Will be interesting to see whether this will end up in court
*casey*
·2 months ago · EditedUnless a dispute has been opened , new sellers who are free selling will be paid 31 days after payment if no tracking has been uploaded.
twyngwyn
·2 months agoif they remember to come back & request payment
twyngwyn
·2 months agoOK, so this thread is now ‘unlocked’ so am bumping while able.
pnc75
OP3 months agoI listen to the radio all day & I notice it's now being flooded with adverts: 'It's now free to sell on ebay' But they don't say they inflate your prices and charge prospective buyers a fee. Certainly not 'telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth'.
twyngwyn
·3 months agohttps://share.google/hfsvBQSuEMnUJE4Pw
annieoakley2000
·3 months agoAnd so I was automatically put on the "free selling" journey by E-bay (having to use E-Bay postage labels/having another so called "buyer protection fee" added to the actual listings, which turned the end sale prices into weird uneven amounts, e.g $56.14/ $19.72/ $ 14.01, just to make things so much more attractive to my buyers, having to pay really odd amounts.
I tried to fiddle with my sale prices to somehow get the end prices into normal even amounts, but that turned into a very time consuming mathematical disaster.
Next I looked into the compulsory E-bay postage labels and never, ever having used E-Bay postage labels before, that looked just as uninviting and cumbersome as everything else.
Lucky for me, I hadn't sold anything at that point (!!), so I looked at the Pro Starter option, which appeared to eliminate all the unbearable interference by E-bay (so far anyway) and I received a "free" store as part of the deal.
Not sure what the benefit of a store is these days, other than E-bay "advising" re upgrading/advertising/promoting the store left, right and center, attracting all these buyers, desperate to come to my store in droves, if only I throw myself at them.
Considering E-bays track record, I wonder how long the benefit of the "free" store will last 😄😃😃
pnc75
OP3 months agoYes, I have wondered exactly the same thing.
twyngwyn
·3 months agoThe benefit of a store is: categories, 2 per item….and being able to highlight same
pnc75
OP3 months agoSorry for being dim, twyn, but what do you mean by highlight?
twyngwyn
·3 months agoLook at my store: Popular, Featured, Best Sellers, Newly Listed
pnc75
OP3 months agoDo you have to physically organise your listings like that or does it happen automatically?
twyngwyn
·3 months agoPhysically….I change them all the time.The only one that’s automatic is Newly Listed. You can choose what you want to highlight.
This is why I’m miffed about not being able to change the look of my store on the app. It’s just disappeared….have reported 3 times 😞
twyngwyn
·3 months agoI’m also running auctions, so they drop off after 10 days….then I choose new ones.
I’ve had to educate a lot of buyers (who use the app) on how to get to store by clicking round avi twice….then they can see categories instead of scrolling through 2000+ items.
What you don’t want is buyers going to See Other Items…..no storefront!
*casey*
·3 months agoHave any Free Selling sellers had accepted offers yet ?
Or questions about it ?
I wonder what buyers will think about offers they receive !
We know the listing shows the full price to a buyer.
and Checkout shows the breakdown.
This is an offer I received:
mc43-76
·3 months agoIt seems to me that the new Buyer Protection fee benefits no-one except eBay. If a buyer has a problem with something he has bought from me he can complain to me and get a refund if his complaint is reasonable. In 99.99% of cases buyers are perfectly happy with their purchases. This new fee seems to assume that problems buyers encounter are extremely common. Both sellers and buyers are penalised by the fee. The buyer has to pay extra for a service which he will most likely not need whilst for the seller the increased selling price makes items less attractive. eBay profits, however, by effectively increasing their commission without offering an improved service.
*casey*
·3 months ago" The buyer has to pay extra for a service which he will most likely not need "
The buyer's already covered under the eBay Money Back Guarantee
The 'Extras' for Buyer Protection are:
1) 24/7 customer service: Chat live with a real person whenever you need help
Better Help is given by experienced members here on the forum
2) Risk monitoring and fraud detection: We actively monitor marketplace activity to identify risk and potential fraud and take action to keep you protected
Absolute Rubbish
3) Secure transactions: All payments are encrypted end-to-end and handled by our trusted payments partners
Already in place for all buyers
sandypebbles
·3 months agoeBay are obviously trying to make something grow out of a patch of dirt
They point blank refuse to do anything about scammer buyers/scammer sellers/hijacked accounts etc etc etc
Anyone who has spent more than two minutes on here/eBay knows it
domino-710
·3 months agoAll 3 of you nailed it. LOL
countessalmirena
·3 months agoEeeeeeexactly.
I’ve animadverted on precisely this. It’s ridiculous and insulting.
mc43-76
·3 months agoIf this new fee meant that if an order was lost in the mail or arrived broken the buyer would claim a full refund from eBay there would at least be some value for the seller (not worth the extra fee).
davewil1964
·3 months agoeBay profits, however, by effectively increasing their commission without offering an improved service.
How do you work that?
They are replacing a 12.18% + 30c commission with 8% max + 30c commission
michael_cullis
·3 months agoIf that's the case I take it back. Still, I would rather keep the old commission rather than have my list price increased, making my item appear more expensive than it is.
davewil1964
·3 months agoThen subscribe to Pro Starter
gec2002
·3 months agoAre you suggesting that eBay aren’t making anything out of the compulsory “must buy labels on eBay” (yes I know there are exceptions). I don’t think so, nice little earner at the rate they would be paying.
sirbuzzmx
·4 months agoHey guys,
I have some confusion - like the rest of us lol.
The postage thing sucks but its whatever, I assume its like the colesworth home brand thing where they run it cheap till they drive out competition then jack up the price - ethical no but reality yes.
My thing is the buyer fees - so if i'm selling a $40 item from my free account the buyer pays $40 plus seller protection fee.. or whatever theyre calling the fees.
But if i'm selling from the basic store - I sell a $40 item, the buyer pays $40 with no fee.. and I pay ebay the % of the sale like in the past.
Does the buyer get the notification that they're paying the fees on my sale but not someone elses, does the buyer pay the same fee no matter what kind of account the seller has?
If the fee was the same we could all just mutually agree to absorb that fee but if its based on the sellers account then what is to stop a customer choosing someone elses item over mine, even if theyre priced the same...
so everyone loses?
Hopefully my ramble is making sense..
twyngwyn
·4 months agoThey will see the buyer’s fee listed in your item if you don’t have a Pro store. If you have a Pro Store there is no buyer’s fee, just your fvf to consider
sirbuzzmx
·4 months agoThanks,
Thats massively lame.
Like, i get it.. but booooooooooo
lol
davewil1964
·4 months agoReduce your prices to cover the buyer fee, which is significantly less than the current FVF.
*casey*
·3 months ago"My thing is the buyer fees - so if i'm selling a $40 item from my free account the buyer pays $40 plus seller protection fee.. or whatever theyre calling the fees.
But if i'm selling from the basic store - I sell a $40 item, the buyer pays $40 with no fee.. and I pay ebay the % of the sale like in the past.
Does the buyer get the notification that they're paying the fees on my sale"
The buyer won't see it on the listing page.
With Free Selling, when you list an item , eBay will add the buyer protection fee to your price .
eg: You list an item for $36.90 and eBay adds a buyer protection fee of $3.10 = $40
You'll see the breakdown but the buyer will only see $40 on the listing page.
BUT
If it's going to be displayed the same way as the UK site, when the buyer goes to Checkout, they'll see
$40
INC $3.10 Buyer Protection fee ...... plus postage
This is where the problems started on the UK site with buyers hitting the back button.
UK sellers were inundated with questions about it as some buyers thought it was a seller fee and some thought it devalued their item.
dragonlass-aus
·4 months agoSo basically the current fee you pay will simply be added on to the final price that the buyer pays? So in reality, on some items I'll need to set the price lower anyway to make up the extra cost that the buyer will see in the price.
I guess they don't want small sellers any more?
twyngwyn
·4 months ago….but you won’t pay fvfs with free selling
davewil1964
·4 months agoThe buyer protection levy is 8% or less plus 30c, so less than the current fees (13.4% + 30c) even if you lower your prices to compensate. All in the information made available to all members over a month ago.
Apparently this is already a thing in the UK and buyers are resistant to the levy.
Which is one of the reasons why I will be using Pro Starter on my currently non-store account.
domino-710
·4 months agoLOL - Me2..................
bjlcr
·4 months agoThey havent wanted small sellers for a long time/We have been pushed out slowly for a number of years.
lezned-toycollector
·4 months agoBwahahahahahaha... thanks for the laugh... much appreciated 🤣🤣🤣🤣
bjlcr
·3 months agoDont you believe that
bjlcr
·3 months agoWhat is so funny?
batsniper
·4 months agoTheir communications are very vague from a professional view. They say they roll out the changes "at the end of April". Can't they just say "from 1 May 2026"?
Maybe I'm naive but as a casual seller (under $25,000 p.a.) they changes seem positive: no absurd* final value fees and Australia Post will print the label for you. Both of these things have been a pain point for me.
*I call the current Final Value Fee absurd because as a seller you're being charged on postage fees and international customs. That does not seem fair or logical to me... I recently sold a $45 item, however the buyer was in the UK. eBay slugged its Final Value Fee onto customs and shipping and suddenly I had to pay $13 (nearly 33%) in total fees... It's a far cry from the advertised 13.2% for the Final Value Fee. You're ultimately being penalised for shipping internationally as it attracts higher shipping and customs.
I took down all my listings and am holding out till May so I won't have to pay that obscene Final Value Fee. Good riddance... those fees have gone out of control. eBay Germany abolished most fees two years ago due to competition (Amazon, Ali Express, Vinted) eroding their customer base.
twyngwyn
·4 months agoas of now:
twyngwyn
·4 months agoFor granny & others:
love_of_cars
·4 months agoI haven't received any notification about these changes. Is it only affecting select users?
pnc75
OP4 months agoEveryone. Unfortunately. You should've received emails about it a month ago. Maybe go back & check, as there's a lot in it.
pnc75
OP4 months agoI was under the impression that that (pro starter etc) was all starting today too, and that payments on demand are being introduced on 1 st May, but everything is such a mess right now I don't think any of it matters.
twyngwyn
·4 months ago😃 I have had a bid today, so something is still working
twicetoldau11
·4 months agoJust wasted my time asking questions with the eBay bot so I'm assuming that the changes aren't ready yet.
I just want to check my understanding with people here.
At this stage I automatically get put in the Free Selling category (I'm more of a hobby seller) but that would mean I can't use prepaid Aust post - so back to weighing and measuring like the "good old days"
I read I could manually choose the "Pro Starter" (not an option yet) and nothing would change with how I currently do it...?
I'd prefer to be Pro Starter as I have pre-paid satchels I have to wind down, plus its way easier for me as someone not set up with proper scales, and still not sure where to source bags outside of the Aust Post system, etc. I can then reevaluate how I go forward as this all settlers in.
I'm also happy with the pre-paid as they fit my style of safe packaging which is (I think a feature of my service and reflects in my feedback) - as opposed to just a padded bag or bubble wrap.
anyway, let me know if I'm misreading this change and/or my options.
pnc75
OP4 months agoYes, I'd like to know how to choose pro starter too, but there are so many other problems atm that's probably the least of our worries. I'm currently out of my account again, yet I can still post here.
twyngwyn
·4 months agoYes, I’ll be choosing Pro Starter as well. The original notification says it starts May 1st, and that we will be given options beforehand
countessalmirena
·4 months agoeBay is playing the Black Knight move: “NONE SHALL PASS.”
https://youtu.be/zKhEw7nD9C4?si=9iWhpWRnVcqUUnR6
twyngwyn
·4 months agoBumping for another thread…..
anyone noticed changes yet?
davewil1964
·4 months agoNo changes.
Tried to subscribe to Starter Pro and it's not an option.
pnc75
OP4 months agoI was trying to find how to do it yesterday too, Dave. Do you know where or how to try to find it? That's of course if it's an option yet.
As ana aside, it's nice to be able to post. Yesterday, all day, I coudn't post and couldn't even 'like' anything. Hopefully things are better at ebay today.
sandypebbles
·4 months agoYes but today eBay keeps telling people they're bots when trying to do things
And also claimed there were no issues other than signing in
Tres boring
davewil1964
·4 months agoSeller Hub.
Selling Tools>Subscriptions.
Still not showing Pro Starter this arvo.
merfar2107
·4 months agoFrom Today's 'Seller Scoop'
While listing, you'll see that a Buyer Protection fee will be added to the item price. You'll be able to review your item price, the Buyer Protection fee, and the total item price the buyer will see before completing your listing.
While listing, you'll see that a Buyer Protection fee will be added to the item price. You'll be able to review your item price, the Buyer Protection fee, and the total item price the buyer will see before completing your listing.
You may want to revise your item price on existing listings when Buyer Protection is introduced.
How is the Buyer Protection fee calculated?
When an Australia-based seller who doesn't have a Pro plan lists an item on eBay.com.au, we add a Buyer Protection fee to the listing price. This fee is paid by the buyer to eBay. You can review the listing price, the Buyer Protection fee, and the total item price the buyer will see before you complete your listing.
It may take some time to see the Buyer Protection fee reflected in your listing. Typically this delay is only a few minutes but may take up to 24 hours. Australian buyers will always see the total item price.
The Buyer Protection fee is calculated as:
Any portion of the item price over $5,000 won't incur any additional fee.
So all of the items will be more expensive which will mean less sales unless the seller drops their original asking price.
lezned-toycollector
·4 months agoOf course.
Currently as the fee structure stands, the seller pays the 13.4% FVF.
So by reducing their asking price to eat the 8% buyer protection fee, the buyer ends up paying the same amount as now, and the seller increases their profit.
I don't think the issue is going to be the item price, but rather the additional buyer protection fee being shown to the buyer. Many of them have no idea how much eBay charges sellers now... and there's also a large number who don't know eBay charges sellers anything at all.
So who knows how a buyer will react when they see an extra fee added on to the price they have to pay.
domino-710
·4 months agoStill want my choice of delivery.
*casey*
·4 months ago"So all of the items will be more expensive which will mean less sales unless the seller drops their original asking price."
It's all about how a buyer evaluates the total price they pay.
Right now, a seller can include their fees in the asking price and the buyer happily pays that plus postage.
But the problems that have occurred on the UK site are that when they get to checkout they see
eg UK example
£ 250.31
inc £ 10.32 buyer protection fee
and buyers are then hitting the back button.
UK sellers have been inundated with questions about it as some buyers think it's a seller fee and some think it devalues their item
gudasnu2005
·4 months agoIf I'm a 'free seller' and am required to BUY ONLY ebay postage labels, will ebay STILL CHARGE a FEE on the POSTAGE I bought from them? I wonder.
eBay cannot claim that I profitted from this amount and am dodging fees. They will know exactly how much I paid them for postage.
They can determine the fees and charges AFTER the seller has bought the eBay postage labels, so that the postage cost will not be charged!
If they already charged fees on the postage after transaction completion, surely they can refund the fees they charge on postage after! But that is, If they really want to!
gudasnu2005
·4 months agoOOPS! SORRY, CAN't READ - Free selling NO FEES!
gudasnu2005
·5 months agoWith this new User Agreement, why is eBay DISALLOWING LOCAL PICK UP?
How about big and bulky items to post like used Mobility Walkers or Wheelchairs?
Sellers would NOT be able to sell them with the cost of postage + the effort of packing them up AND surely buyers will NOT be interested to pay for postage when they just live within my neighbourhood!
They can and will cheaply buy them from FB Marketplace where they can conveniently pick them up - no postage!
Lately, I noticed that MOST of my buyers come from INTERSTATE and NOT AS MANY from the same state or neighbouring suburbs. I reckon more and more buyers are buying from FB(ay) Marketplace!
domino-710
·5 months agoWhere on earth did you come up with ' disallowing local pickup ' - the truth is no longer cash on pick up.
twyngwyn
·5 months agoHere’s a screenshot of 1 of the questions on a survey I did in Jan this year (for those who didn’t get asked):
pnc75
OP5 months agoAnd some news from a friend who was at today's Roadshow in Melbourne:
News from today's eBay Roadshow.
Apart from the new 'pro' accounts and 'free selling' accounts that have already been announced -
eBay is going to introduce its own postage integration service i.e. its own version of Sendle around mid-year with 3-4 carriers available to choose from.
eBay is going to introduce an Australian version of the global shipping program in the second half of the year.
eBay is going to go hard promoting eBay live and free casual selling.
I wasn't at it, but this is what someone in a seller group posted. Take it for what you will.
twyngwyn
·5 months agoBingo…..otherwise they will be accused of a monopoly with A.P.
Will they undercut each other in another price war?
Will they be the ‘useless’ others we already have or re-branded or new to market?
Would love to see the contracts…
I suspect they’re skimming off the top, hence free fvfs…..
countessalmirena
·5 months agoI am not going to pay eBay a protection fee.
Were an item that I wanted available solely on eBay, it would entail my rethinking this position. It’s unlikely to happen, though, since the world is full of online shopping sites.
On principle I’m repulsed by this change, as well as by the planned cessation of cash on pickup.
Many other buyers will no doubt disagree, if the bottom line is the same. Pity the unfortunate sellers who will choose to subsidise this ridiculous fee.