Ebay commissions and bank payments

[anthem_996r]

Hi everybody

just got scammed by a buyer with the help of ebay - 1st time in almost 20 years

Only sell good quality personal property

But wondering how many people are questioning ebay's burgeoning control over sellers, generally, and the healthy 13.4% commission that includes the postage cost.

And the latest, in Australia at least, of cutting Pay Pal out altogether - instead being a stakeholder of the sellers funds on each transaction then forwarding to your bank account after a few days.

Any incremental or substantial policy change is always accompanied by the advice that it will be of benefit to ebay users (us) - one of the most notable being removal of listing fees and replacement with a much 'fairer' flat rate commission that began at 7% I think - now it's double that unless you are a commercial seller

I even recall ebay asking us what we thought about it, a bit of a joke.

The original system was excellent - pay a tiny sum to post the listing, with a sliding scale of sale fees - decreasing as the sale price increased.

Now you really have to figure out what you are left with after ebay's cut. That is, on some items, is it even worth the trouble to package & post just to get it out of the house.

As a result I don't do auctions anymore. I price the item with what I need to get - no sale, no problem. Would rather give away than have ebay get most ot the money.

Where else to sell though, that's the question? In Australia there's Gumtree & it's not a brilliant option

Ebay too big & powerful - a seismic shift towards genuinely protecting sellers wouldn't hurt

[jellybirddesigns]

How did you get scammed? Was it the Louis Vuitton items?

Did the buyer open a case? Did you respond in time?

Ebay's fees have been just under 14% for years (depending on category) and are clearly outlined it the sellers guide. Smart sellers know how to include all fees and charges into their pricing.

[digital*ghost]

There is probably nowhere where it is impossible to be scammed - once in 20 years is actually a darn good run, IMHO. I've been selling since 2009, and I can tell you I've been scammed (stolen from) a heck of a lot more than once. 😕 

I stay because at the end of the day, it's worth it. Like any shop owner who keeps their shop open even though a small percentage of the people who come in have sticky fingers - that's easier for me to say and do, I warrant, since I am running a business and my items aren't anywhere near the value of the designer items you had listed. Unfortunately, eBay is a bit of a gamble when you list both desirable and valuable items,  and so the old adage applies - never bet more than you can afford to lose. 

When it comes to INAD claims (referring to your other post in the forum), unless you can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt the buyer is lying, the "best" course of action is to accept the return, the ball is then in the buyer's court and they have to return the item to get a refund (though it's generally at the seller's expense, if it is a high-value item, as grating as it is, getting the item back and losing 2 lots of postage is the lesser of 2 evils, so to speak). 

I understand none of this helps with the situation that has already occurred, but sadly there isn't a lot of help that can be offered for that, mostly it's just consolation, but it may help in the future. 

[sugar249]

I'm unclear what you rant is about,  that eBay are charging you the fully available fee's or that you just didnt bother to investigate before you listed the item.