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.”

[beanishells]

I am actually going to be better off. I didnt make enough to cover my ebay store fees last month. But with 80 free listings and going down to a basic store, I will be better off... I am a small seller and I have three other IDs I sell on so I get 40 x 3 free listings on top of that.  It will be better for me

BUT

I still think charging anyone$1.50 for a listing is RIDICULOUS!

I am, however, happy about the free BIN on auctions, I have wanted that for ages.

Its a mixed bag and for some of us it will be okay, for others a disaster.

Ebay management are on a mission to change the face of ebay..

PROBLEM IS

they are NOT listening to their faithful sellers, many of whom have been here for YEARS

😞

[digital*ghost]

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.

"This is a thing of beauty, boss."

I didn't pay much attention to this post yesterday, but now that I've read it through, and with the actual effect of fee changes etc completely aside...

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

Enhancements like off-site, 3rd party competitor's advertising all over eBay and on individual listings? Like on-site competitor's advertising in listings and seller emails? These aren't things that drive traffic to (individual) listings, they are things that are purely intended to drive traffic away. Or, are the (overall) increased fees finally going to get rid of all that advertising. That would certainly enhance the site. Or maybe we'll finally get a cart system here, or the mobile app glitches will actually be fixed. I think most people would really like one of those things more than a Pinterest button or little stars next to the 'Wish List'. 

the new fee structure also encourages sellers to adopt the behaviours that we know buyers increasingly prefer

In that case, I guess I'll stop seeing the "want more exposure? try auctions!" note when I end BIN listings - of course, it would never occur to a seller to adopt behaviours their buyers prefer,  I'm sure most sellers running auctions consistently do so because it never actually works for their business. You don't have to make auctions more expensive to discourage them - market trends have a tendency to do that all on their own. 

Good grief, I think I'd much rather an introductory post that went a little something like...

We're changing fees (insert link to new fees). Get used to it. 

[twyngwyn]

:^O

[j*oono]

So I can have my basic store back for $19.95?  That's good news and I'm happy and I'll get free listings too!  Thank you ebay.  That is perfect for the little ebay hobbyist.

[purple.cow]

Going by a couple of private emails I've received from Chinese Ebay store owners they have already worked out how they will be adjusting their future model for insertions on Ebay to their own advantage.

They appear to be chosing one of two different ways, but it all boils down to saving the costs of insertion fees no matter which way they go.

The Chinese have another thing they have to contend with regarding Paypal fees that Aussies don't have (Chunky fees for withdrawing their money into their private bank accounts from Paypal) so they're used to being discriminated against and adjust very quickly without fuss.

[purple.cow]

I decided today to experiment a little.

There's always more than the one way to skin a cat :^O

It's often only a matter of figuring out which way best suits you 😉

[jasogg]

I am only a little seller - sell off my stuff from around home, the takings of which I usually respend on ebay. Almost all of the items I sell are under $100 and I cannot justify a store, so it does not make it worth my while selling anymore. What's more, as a single mum I buy a lot of second hand items on ebay as it really helps the budget, but now I wont be able to buy these items anymore as people are not going to bother listing them. Ebay has been really helpful to me on a low income, but now I need to find somewhere else or simply buy new and spend more.

It seems really ridiculous to me to cut out the small guy, ebay used to be fun but over the past few years its had less choice and higher fees and I have found that I use it less and less. I guess as of the 1 May, I probably wont be using it at all as it just wont have the types of things I'm interested in anymore.  Actually I had stuff I was going to list next month, but I wont bother. Guess it will be out of the house sooner now.

[aussie*sellers*alliance]

I have slowly wound down sales since their last price hike/gouge and although I was only a casual sellers mainly dealing in collectable, I will not be listing anything now unless I know that it will sell for a very good price but even that is uncertain with the way everything is turning out.

I started another thread about some concerns I had with the search engine and search results which I don't think many have noticed or are aware of but was mentioned by someone else in this thread. If certain items are not visible, why bother wasting your time and money here. You might as well give your money to me. I will thank you 10x for it and say it with a smile.

With the increase in mobile devices being able to connect and list here, they are the people that they are targeting as mentioned in this thread as well, they do not know any better and are the new wave of sellers. Lose a few faithful sellers, gain a few new sellers and to compensate for lost profits and keep the Fat Cats fed, bump up fees. It's the same story every time.

And Yes to those that said PayPal will be next for price increases. Of course they will.

Maybe it's our good economy and mining boom in some parts of Australia, maybe they think we're all rich!

There's no point complaining. If anything they are sitting in their offices having a good laugh. Just think about this... Ebay would still continue if there were no Australian sellers.

So this 10+ year trader they have lost, they won't miss me, not little ol' me... 🙂

[purple.cow]

And Yes to those that said PayPal will be next for price increases. Of course they will.

You may well prove to be right there, but there's also the train of thought that Paypal HAS to conduct its business to remain competitive with other payment methods such as Mastercard/Visa etc.

So that may just be the deciding factor for Paypal to hold back.

There are few real competitors for Ebay so they can afford to hammer at sellers.

Even so, Ebay is still a long shot away from advertising goods for sale costs than just about any other method I can think of.

[aussie*sellers*alliance]

BTW donations can be made to my PayPal account, as a gift 😛