Listing Fee being charged

[prints_culture]

Hi all, 

first of all pardon me if this question has been asked and answered but i'm a long time buyer, new seller. 

My issue is that i am currently being charged $1.65 for a new fixed price listing, even though i have 40 free listings per month. At the moment i only have 21 active listings, So i'm pretty sure i didnt exceed the quota. Not only that, on my 40 free listing promo overview, it still shows i am "Eligible", Used 0 Left 40. The items i am listing are under men's fragrances, which i believe is not in the excluded categories as well. 

Everything worked well in June and July, however the issue starts in August. Before the item is finalised, there will be a $1.65 fee before the final step (which changes to free if i select auction but since the free listing is for either type, this shouldn't happen). I talked to a few eBay staff through chat and i seem to get a fairly generic "it is a known issue", "no time frame of fix" and "we will credit you the listing fee" replies. I thought this issue will go away once the September promo period starts but it's still there. 

My invoice for August was creditted once i chat with a staff, but i find it annoying having to spend a good few minutes actively asking for a credit for something that shouldnt happen to begin with, especially when there wasn't any issues early on. Not only that, i worry that there will be a time when they decided to decline my credit request and i'm stuck with 

So really my question is

1. Does anyone face this issue as well, or am I the only one due to some incorrect settings? 

2. Is there any communication from ebay about this issue to anyone affected as well? 

Thanks in advance!

Brendan

[purplemon18]

about 20 listings, each with 2 varients. That adds up to 40. I would double check the terms for varient listings, but I've not got the time right now.

[purplemon18]

After checking, variants are supposed to be excluded from insertion fees. It's possible that this is the bug you are experiencing though.

Only other thing I can suggest is to read through this page and see if you can find something that is triggering the fees.

https://sellercentre.ebay.com.au/selling-fees/quick-view

[prints_culture]

Cheers for looking into it, but i’ve checked through them. I tried listing after removing all variants, the fee still shows up.

I’ve also ended a few listings to bring it down to 19 items (38 variants) and then try a new listing, and the fee still shows up.

The thing is in August, none of the 40 free listing was used , so it should mean that its not due to exceeding 40. If its due to an excluded category, i’ve tried listing under different categories (like decorations, and books) and the fee still appears.

It’s really baffling, and the person who credited me 3 listing fees didn’t give me any reason why they aren’t free too.

[brerrabbit585]

Are they on GTC? I assume they were because some were listed back in July. They use up one free listing every time they renew (on the same calendar day each month) but with only 19 listings you should still have plenty to spare.

Sometimes really weird stuff happens on ebay and unless it happens to a lot of people ebay never seem that interested in getting it fixed, unfortunately. That means the isolated glitches are the most devastating for the sellers concerned. I think it pays to have a second selling ID to fall back on if things start to go wrong with the main ID.

[purplemon18]

My only other thought is that you have selected a 2nd catagory when you try to list something new. 2nd catagories are never free.

Maybe try opening a second ebay account in a different browser and see if it still charges the fee.

[prints_culture]

Yeah its on GTC, and you are tight at this stage i am well below my 40 limit. In fact i am still at full 0 used 40 left, it would be a different matter if i hit the 40 cap immediately at the renewal date of my listing. So it seems like they are all “excluded” for some reason.

And i am sure i’ve not selected a second category. Actually if i did, changing the item to “Auction style” would still show me the fee, but when it goes to auction it became free.

Really appreciate all the replies and ideas guys, trust me i’ve been playing around with most/all the settings for days, before resorting to posting here.

[davewil1964]

Pyro said he'd tried 'sell similar' on one of my listings and still got the listing fee showing. None of the items on this ID are multiples, and I don't use second categories or subtitles (50c currently) on any ID.

It seems to be a glitch on the specific account. I would go with the new ID at least to eliminate, or confirm, that as a possibility

[prints_culture]

Cheers, i think i will give it a try.

Otherwise i’ll just keep on having to chat to a CS to credit the fee once a month to get them back, until they fix it or give me a reason why my listings are “excluded” from the free listing, which at least then i can fix.

[brerrabbit585]

It's pretty obvious you're only listing in one category so that's obviously not the problem.

You could always try auctions with make an offer, and maybe even say in the description what price you've got it set up to auto accept. That's a pretty messy solution but it may be less painful than having to ring ebay every month.

It'd be a shame to have to use a new ID to sell when you're already an established seller.

Have you tried clearing cookes and cache, just in case it makes a difference?

You could try clicking on the "number used" in your promo counter to see whether it's showing any item numbers that are supposedly already listed. If there's anything showing there it might at least help ebay to get to the bottom of things (assuming they actually try).

[prints_culture]

Did a few things past few days:

1. Opened a new account and try listing the same item and category, no fees charged on that.

2. Reduced all items to 1 each, so at the moment i have 19 listings, 2 variations each with 1 item each so thats 38 TOTAL items, still being charged fee.

3. Cleared cookies and cache too but no difference. Besides it shows on all devices, home computer, work computer, iphone, ipad so i doubt its cookies related.

Essentially, my account is affected without any particular reason. My number count still sits at Eligible, 40 left. Thats the same in August, and still is now in September.