7.9% fee far too high!

[aeltaarion]

This is a complaint to eBay.

I've just sold 2 things on eBay for the first time in a while, one of them went through without a hitch, the other one the buyer is trying to defraud me by masquerading as PayPal - trying to get me to send the item without paying.

Now on the auction that did go through fine for $575 AUD, PayPal took $14.10 and I thought okay that's probably just the eBay fees and the PayPal transaction no big deal there.

But then I was shocked to realize eBay charges 7.90% of the auction as a fee! - a further $44.24 AUD.

So my total amount was $575.00 AUD, subtract $58.34 AUD in PayPal & eBay fees and I was left with $516.66 AUD.

Now when I posted the auction I did realize there would be a fee but in the past when I've used eBay it was only ever $10 or $20 at most per auction, so to suddenly be slugged in total nearly $50 for this 1 auction alone is outrageous.

So on the other of the 2 auctions the guy who won was trying to con me into sending the item without paying - for this eBay charged me AU $37.60 which after 4 days I can go through a process of claiming it has not been paid and possibly get it credited back to me.

eBay is becoming a cesspool of fake buyers and there is not enough being done.

eBay forces sellers to accept PayPal who then if the buyer chooses to pay through is provided with your PayPal E-Mail address and this is how they get my/your address to masquerade as PayPal.

Given the large fees you guys are taking why don't you do more to stop this!?

For instance don't EVER provide buyers with my E-Mail address, force people to only communicate through eBay and if they win PayPal should provide the buyer with a 1 time use E-Mail address for payment for instance "259295732fdsa9e@paypal.com" which can only be used to accept the payment internally and route the payment to the actual sellers account, this would block 99.999% of the fraud on eBay if you insist on forcing sellers to accept PayPal.

It's not good enough that we give you guys such a large cut and you still let us get conned. Shouldn't happen.

[phorum_junkie*]

However if you want sell Chinese junk, which is either fake, or has programmed obsolescence built into it, eBay is the place to be.

I sell very successfully on ebay without listing any fake, junky or obsolescent items as do many other people. Ebay is also the first place I look for rare books and replacement china when I am in Aus.

For a very valuable or rare item most people on the boards advise people to look at a B&M auction house, horses for courses but even with a network of clients no auction house is going to have the worldwide exposure that you can get listing on ebay.

[nifty_sven]

what has me stuffed is as a new member you ticked 'agree' to the terms and conditions when you signed on, and now your are bitching about the agreement YOU agreed to??

Get serious!

[flashback_deals]

Another thread about fees too high:-D

I will keep it simple: I would rather pay a total of 11.3% (ebay and PayPal fees) and have a worldwide potential customer base than sell in an auction house where they take 20% and only locals go to

[thesoulyearns]

I honestly have never been to an auction house (or simply can't remember going to one) but I imagine that many things get sold for a good price. Even with eBay, there's no guarantee of a sale as you're competing with so many of other sellers.

Having said that, if you know how to offer something that people will buy, then yes the 7.9% fee is nothing. If you think the fee is too high, either adjust your prices/selling practices or don't do business with eBay. A big company like eBay won't change their fee rate much, as they already offer lots of other incentives.

[flashback_deals]

Some things go very low.

I find secondhand dealers who have a shopfront store just bid up up and up if people are bidding against them so they push the bidding to a price they would sell it at in their shop.

Usually antiques, CDs, DVDs sell quite well - even junky LPs the past few months

Sometimes auctioneers will say something like 'couch is worth $3000 new' and 2 got no bids at $100 last weekend so are they really worth $3,000?. secondhand dealers would grab them if they were at $100!

Websites that say like 'RRP $99' and advertise it at $25 are just as bad because you can look for the same product on eBay and you will usually see it for the same selling price at $25 as them. DD is a bad one for that

[lisakpatton]

I think the US fees are absolutely ridiculous.  I wouldn't mind them so much if there weren't insertion fees or at least only paying insertion fees once per item.  For those of you who say, oh but they give us 50 free a month, give me a break that's far from what we deserve after the other things we have to put up with such us DSR's, Shipping Fees, Paypal Fees, Feedback One Sided System, Buyer Protection Issues. 

[cq_tech]

TB, you should really change your name to long_winded.. I think it is a far more fitting name

Depends upon whether you prefer accuracy in a response as opposed to brevity. 😐

I for one greatly respect TB's well-researched knowledge and appreciate the time he takes to post what he does, which is ultimately for the benefit of everybody else anyway.

If his posts annoy you that much, there's always the 'ignore' button. 🙂

[davewil1964]

I think the US fees are absolutely ridiculous.  I wouldn't mind them so much if there weren't insertion fees or at least only paying insertion fees once per item.  For those of you who say, oh but they give us 50 free a month, give me a break that's far from what we deserve after the other things we have to put up with such us DSR's, Shipping Fees, Paypal Fees, Feedback One Sided System, Buyer Protection Issues. 

I don't mind at all because I'm not in the US. maybe that's why you get so many NPBs? When they realise you're on the other side of the world?

[thesoulyearns]

Some things go very low.

I find secondhand dealers who have a shopfront store just bid up up and up if people are bidding against them so they push the bidding to a price they would sell it at in their shop.

Usually antiques, CDs, DVDs sell quite well - even junky LPs the past few months

Sometimes auctioneers will say something like 'couch is worth $3000 new' and 2 got no bids at $100 last weekend so are they really worth $3,000?. secondhand dealers would grab them if they were at $100!

Websites that say like 'RRP $99' and advertise it at $25 are just as bad because you can look for the same product on eBay and you will usually see it for the same selling price at $25 as them. DD is a bad one for that

On TV there's the occasional ad for Quicksales and they are sending the message (without directly stating) that that you can buy an iPad for under $100 (I forget the actual price). Their catch is "upto 95% off retail" and obviously they are basing that off something that did sell for 95% off... but it almost definitely was not an iPad. Yet, it's the subconscious message, without actually stating you can get the iPad at under $100. It's the "thought" of getting it (or "any of their products") at 95% off...

[tall_bearded]

PJ, you may be satisfied with the limited business opportunities that eBay now affords, but most serious sellers aren’t, and that is the reason why, when it come to out of print books and replacement china so many have left, be it to other specialist sites or by opening their own web shops.  By serious sellers’ I mean sellers who make a living from selling things instead of those who use eBay to supplement other forms of income; and had I not retired, I would have, as so many of my associates (competitors) have already done, left eBay years ago.

For instance, when it comes to older out of print or rear books eBay is the last place the serious buyer now looks.  As an example look up “Hunters History of British India”.  On eBay there is one early edition listed from a seller located in Australia and another two listings for reproduction copies available from a seller in the US.  Now if you do a search on just one of the dedicated book selling sites you end up with 150 copies of this title listed. Finally though the two early editions listed on eBay are priced at below half their true value, they have been listed for well over a year and have not yet sold.  So much for the benefits of worldwide listing exposure. 

As for replacement China, a few years ago the china category was one of the most vibrant on eBay with up to million local listings.  Today it is a mere shadow of its former self.  As an example do a search for Mikasa Paprika.  A few years ago there would have been literally hundreds of local listings.  Today there are 4 local listings and 6 from a seller in the US.

So what happened, when eBay increased its store cost from 11 cents a listing to 40 cents, just about every serious book and replacement china seller left the site and few if any returned, nor will they ever return.

As for my reference to Chinese junk, you should really do your research before you type, because I  used the words “programmed obsolescence” not obsolete. 

Now I note you sell clothing.  So where does it come from.  Is it manufactured locally or in China, India, Bangladesh or some other third world country, because if it is, then it more likely than not has obsolescence programmed into it  

As to what this term means, simply Google “Programmed or Planned Obsolescence”.