topic Re: eBay fee on postage in VIC Seller Community Connect

eBay fee on postage

tardis33 — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 02:26:00 GMT

Charging a fee on actual postage costs is unfair and should be removed. Of course I understand that eBay charges a Final Value fee from the final price the item sold for, however postage costs are outside of our control. They are controlled by Australia Post and they keep increasing. As sellers on eBay we have no control of this.

Please pass on feedback to eBay management that the fee on postage isn't fair. I certainly understand the fee on final sale price but the fee on postage (that was probably designed to hurt the China sellers) has also hurt everyone else

Re: eBay fee on postage

padi*0409 — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 02:52:47 GMT

Fees on postage have been in place for many years now, they were introduced for many reasons by eBay and there is no chance they will be rescinded.

At the end of the day it's the buyer that pays for postage (and the fees) when you build it into the item price.

BTW, you are not talking to eBay here, just members like yourself.

Re: eBay fee on postage

petersbargainshop — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 05:15:10 GMT

eBay claims to provide a 5% discount on Australia Post shipping costs. But is that really a saving?

Consider this example. You can buy the postal service from Australia Post for $10, but eBay sells it to you at a 5% discount, so the cost is $9.50. However, if the selling fee is 12% of the total price, inclusive of postage, then the actual postage cost is $10.64. If you buy the satchels in bulk from Australia Post the cost is $9.45 per item.

In reality, there is no 5% discount because eBay currently charges $9.70 per ordinary parcel item and prepaid satchels are $9.70 anyway.

Re: eBay fee on postage

k1ooo-slr-sales — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 06:39:28 GMT

@tardis33 wrote:
. . . however postage costs are outside of our control. They are controlled by Australia Post and they keep increasing. As sellers on eBay we have no control of this.

while the 'actual' cost of postage is set by AP, the postage charged on a listing is set by the seller (just insert postage cost rather than letting eBay insert the cost).

Savvy sellers take advantage of the fact that eBay allows for a 'handling fee'. That's why it's called Postage & Handling.

eBay don't allow unreasonable handling charges, but just add a handling fee that will cover the fee on postage. Just add around 15% to the postage.

For your items with a $9.55 postage charge, change it to $11

For your items with $5.10 postage charge, change it to $5.90

A modest increase, but one that means the fee on postage does not bite into your bottom line.

Something to note . . . DO NOT mention anything about fees on postage in your listing, DO NOT tell potential buyers that your postage includes the fees on postage . . . if asked, just say it is a postage & handling charge and anything above stamp/satchel price is the handling component. DO NOT ever give any detailed breakdown of the postage.

An alternative approach would be to add half the 15% increase to the buy-now price and the other half to the postage.

Re: eBay fee on postage

padi*0409 — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 07:13:57 GMT

@petersbargainshop wrote:

eBay claims to provide a 5% discount on Australia Post shipping costs. But is that really a saving?

Are you using eBay for your postage rates ?

If you are, with the amount of sales you're getting an MyPost Business account might well give you significant savings, check it out below.

https://auspost.com.au/business/shipping/mypost-business

Re: eBay fee on postage

sparesguru — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 01:58:53 GMT

Yes the only way to use Auspost on eBay is via Auspost Business. The integration tool is a bit clumsy (you'll have to delete description field as it's too long and in some cases add a 0 to the front of the phone number etc) but the savings are ridiculous. I'm on Band 5 savings (spend at least $2000 per month on postage) and compared to eBays 5% this is what I get:

-40% off eligible standard and express parcel sending within the same major city

-20% off eligible standard and express parcel sending to another major city

-5% off eligible standard and express parcel sending to rural locations within Australia

Re: eBay fee on postage

gutterpunkz05 — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 04:01:49 GMT

Has been in place for many years, was introduced to stop sellers selling items for 99c + $1000.00 postage, to effectively avoid ebay fees. All approved by ACCC. So work with what you have got, as it is not going to change.

Re: eBay fee on postage

grogeybear — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 08:17:45 GMT

In a perfect world we would all like not to pay fees on the cost of postage. However I do see fees as the cost of running my business, just like I'd have to pay rent/power/water etc if I had a bricks & mortar store. I only began selling on eBay at the end of January this year and I didn't realise I was charged fees on postage costs for some months, and because of that I was very hesitant to include free postage on my listings. As I've learnt more overall, gotten my AusPost Business account, and discovered that fees are charged on the prospective postage cost - I now see it's to my benefit to move most of my listings over to Free postage and get that Top Rated Seller stamp of approval.

Cheers

Leanne

Re: eBay fee on postage

tardis33 — Sat, 25 Feb 2023 07:17:53 GMT

Of course I understand that these eBay fees on postage have been with us for a long time. I was annoyed when they were introduced. And there is absolutely nothing I can do about them except accept that there are part of an eBay business.

I use My Post Business to get the cheapest postage I can although sales have dropped off recently so I have reverted to band 2

Re: eBay fee on postage

templeofthesun — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 11:55:53 GMT

The problem with no fee on postage this is that sellers could charge less for the item and more for postage to counteract the payable fees I guess eBay worked that out long ago. They use to offer a discount if you bought shipping labels through the eBay site that reimbursed the fee they charge for shipping so it worked out the same price as standard post fees but when Aust Post jacked up the price on the shipping around 2019 the discount no longer applied. I was using ebay shipping for quite a few years and over paying for shipping until I opened my Aust Post Business Account in 2021, that is useful to save a few dollars here and there but it depends where the item is going so its not always cheaper than standard prices, hence you end up paying the standard price plus ebay collects their 12% so its costing more than standard. I wish they would sort something out too because Aust Post are really cashing in on the online trading game with price rises every 6 months. so annoying. When I started selling a 500gm satchel was $6.50 they are now $9.65 and climbing.

Re: eBay fee on postage

sandypebbles — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 17:40:17 GMT

That is exactly the reason , as was said by the member you are replying to

Re: eBay fee on postage

hookemsinkem — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 18:09:39 GMT

My advise is to open up a business account with Australia Post (Free) Pay as you go, and they will put you on a discount band depending how much you spend. I am on band 3 and l can pay as little as $7.90 for 5kg satchel. Well worth it as l sell sinkers which are heavy.

https://auspost.com.au/ and log into my post business.

Enjoy the savings.

Andrew

Re: eBay fee on postage

toyzaramaonlinestore — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 06:11:29 GMT

is it even legal to charge commission on postage ? for example i sell an item for $20 overseas ,and postage is $30 charged ,which i pay the actual $30 but ebay takes their cut from it ,add it to the commossion from the $20,lucky if i end up with b$10,i lose money,their commission on the sale price i have no objection but the postage should be exempt.

Re: eBay fee on postage

toyzaramaonlinestore — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 06:17:02 GMT

yes buyer pays for postage ,but than the seller has to make up the commission taken away by ebay,which can be substantial amount especially on heavier boxes going overseas,the amount can be almost as much as the sale price

Re: eBay fee on postage

toyzaramaonlinestore — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 06:20:04 GMT

adding fees to postage ,already high ,deters buyers

Re: eBay fee on postage

padi*0409 — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 06:25:33 GMT

@toyzaramaonlinestore wrote:

yes buyer pays for postage ,but than the seller has to make up the commission taken away by ebay,which can be substantial amount especially on heavier boxes going overseas,the amount can be almost as much as the sale price

The ~~"commission"~~ FVF on postage has been in place for many years now ALL sellers need to factor that into their sale price of goods - it's not going to change, so you'll have to deal with it.

Re: eBay fee on postage

sandypebbles — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 06:26:04 GMT

Are you intending to reply to everyone who commented a year ago?

You seem to believe the fees and charges every seller has to pay should not apply to you

They do

You know what they are and how much they are

Spamming the forum won't change it, won't be seen by eBay and if you have to ask 'is it even legal' maybe actually read what you tick as having read and agreed to every time you list

Or report it if you really do question how 'legal' it is

Re: eBay fee on postage

kh-jean — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 07:49:42 GMT

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.