May 2013 Fee Structure Changes

[CmtyGuide@ebay.com]

eBay will be introducing a new fee structure on May 1, 2013.

For some sellers fees will be going up, while others will see notable reductions.  We encourage you to take the time to visit the newly launched Seller Centre to see how the changes will affect you (http://sellercentre.ebay.com.au/fs5).

You will notice that to offset the fee change, we have worked to remove the major barriers to listing and have continued to reduce upfront fees to make selling on eBay easier and fairer. Most sellers should only be paying fees on an item after it sells – not before.

Your fees contribute to eBay’s ability to significantly invest in the overall experience for both sellers and buyers.  Enhancements on the buyer side of the equation are aimed squarely at driving traffic to your listings and ensuring the 7.3 million Australians who visit the site every month continue to do so. For example, investments in marketing, social media promotions and mobile commerce applications helped sellers to capture a greater share of online sales in 2012 and saw a 21% year on year increase of visits to eBay.

After reviewing the changes it should be clear that the new fee structure also encourages sellers to adopt the behaviours that we know buyers increasingly prefer (eg: fixed price over auction in some categories) – therefore increasing your chances of a successful sale.

In 2013 we will be working even harder to respond to the rapid pace of change in our industry and to ensure you are taken along on the journey. You will see a number of innovations announced in the coming months and throughout the year which support all of our sellers, no matter what their size or business aspirations.”

[surplus2myneeds57]

Ebay own Gumtree, they brought it a couple of years ago

[kimprod2]

eBay is so greedy, they need major competition. As far as I know they failed in China becuase of their high fee structure,

Furthermore as far as I know they dont contribute to the GST revenue, I never see GST on any invoices, so not only are they ripping off the sellers, they also don't pay the tax like the rest of us.

Why does the ATO allow this ?

[flossy69]

I agree, I too am the mum/dad seller and only list what i can for free each month

Yes the 100 free listings was FANTASTIC...they dont do it often enough and totally right about the extra they made in FVF, i sold more last month than in the past 3

So sad ebay!! Look at a big picture... no just the cents, that will make you dollars

[yeoldecoinco]

So right. eBay is Registered as eBay Australia, they have offices and staff in Australia, their computers are set up in Australia, yet they bill from Switzerland and pay not one single cent in GST.

How fair is that?

I am a small business and I have to pay GST. Maybe I could Registered myself in Switzerland too?

There is one rule if you are big enough to get away with it and have fancy lawyers and another rule for everyone else.

[7297thaddeus]

I only sell an item once in a blue moon. What good are 40 insertion free listings to me? I don't have a store front subscription and don't plan to. I sell high end limited edition collectibles from my collection to make space...It's hard enough as it is with the current FVF, high aussie dollar and niche market. I can't imagine what it is like for some of the people on here who depend on it.

This is just ridiculous and I will be dealing on hobby message boards from now on. In these tough times ebay should lower fees not increase them. They should bring the tiered system back too. I have no use for 30-40 insertion fee free listings.

[viewmont1071]

The copy and paste from from August 2012

... I was looking for the speel that ebay gave on "visibility" when they originally retired the basic store.

You may see sellers opn the forums talking aboput having their "switch' turned on and off or that Cass... cass... cass... Cassini (crikey I have trouble typing that word without breaking my fingers Cassini will probably get reported by an intrepid seller for vulgar and obscene language :|)

ie that an anchor store was more visible than a featured store subscription and in turn a featured store  was more "visible" to prospective buyers as compared to a basic store.....

I wondered given that many sellers whinge that their featured store now is pretty well invisible for some parts of the month

.... just how much visibility am I going to get if I drop back to basic subscription ?:| and how can you factor visibility intp your maths when you do not know what you are going to get

The copy and paste below indicates that ebay dropped the basic store level last year because to many of the wrong type of sellers were using it. I ama thunkijng that ebay usually gets what it wants and it appears the cull last year did not get all the targeted unwanted sellers.

So I wonder whether the return of the basic store is just the final reaming of same by denying or severely inhibiting basic store visibility thereby finishingwhat they already started late last year???

http://tamebay.com/2012/08/ebay-au-hikes-stores-fees-to-discourage-use.html

The reason eBay gives for the fee hike is that for $24.95 too many sellers are subscribing and it’s the wrong sort of seller.

Stores they say are indicative of a business and buyers expect a higher level of services than from a private seller.

However private sellers are attracted to the low insertion fees and final value fees that come with a store.

Private sellers, eBay say, should be taking advantage of the 30 free listings available every month and not subscribing to eBay stores.

[viewmont1071]

The timing in the month of items will also be critical...did anybody else notice that the "glitch" that wrongly ended items queued their more expensive listing fee items to start towards the end of the month??

ie If you sell collectables and books or media 5 cent lists that by using as many of the the free listings as possible utilizing collectable auctions listed in two collectable categories, your 50 cent list items and trying to get some 10 dayers on the 20th and then listing the cheaper media GTC listings late in the month therefore if you overrun your free listing allocation you are paying for the cheap listings and not the expensive ones.

To me it seems logical to do that minimize costs and maximize exposure ?:| but I wonder whether I am being sublimally herded 😐

[phorum_junkie*]

I am pleased that more store sellers are actually doing the math and discovering that they will be either better off or at least no worse off than they are now.

The increase in listing fees for auction items under $20 will hopefully put an end to all the 99c listings for rubbish items, people will only list if they think they can get over $2.49.

After all the years I have been on ebay I never start moaning about changes until after they happen and I see what the actual effect is, I don't rant and rave in advance.

[croybooks]

I believe it was eBay who promoted the 99 cent sale as it breeds the word they love "competition" A word monopolists hold dear to their hearts.

I would have given credence to you except one word ... "Rubbish", this is a value word. There are some very rich recyclers!

[robertverhey01]

Unbelievable....10% to sell....PLUS PayPal fee, which eBay also own

and even more insulting is all the "it's good for you" guff you have to wade through....'tis corporate greed, nothing more, nothing Less.

No doubt the bean counters at eBay au have weighed up the reduction in business against the increased slug on those who remain, but history will show that it was a short term profiteering move, as they are creating a more competitive marketplace into which someone will eventually step.....and THEN watch eBay backtrack and offer loyalty rewards etc etc.

suits are the same the world over.

pathetic