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.”

[nortvent50]

I just can't believe the audacity of Ebay to jack it up to 9.9%. Now I am not a big seller by any stretch. But recently i sold a big ticket item for $2600.00. The Ebay fee was $102.10 and Pay pals cut, $62.70, total of $164.80. If it wasn't for Ebay's and Paypal's horrendous fees, they would still be a good place to trade.

[philip2727]

The eBay marketplace is slowly dying, or has no one yet noticed? In the meantime the performance bonuses for the headless turkeys running around in circles in the eBay executive suite have to be paid for by someone, hence the latest "reduction" in eBay fees—LOL

Oh no, not another "reduction" in eBay fees ... http://bit.ly/YvxFEg

[jacaranda_antiques]

Hi there Sellers from Collectables - antique furniture.

I wonder if you have any comments ?

I am in antique furniture which now are classified as "Collectables". Unless the buyer is a museum (and which museum will buy on eBay ???) how anyone in his right mind can call wardrobes, tables, chairs, bookcases, desks etc  collectable items ? After all how many tables one does need ? They are just furniture like any other furniture, just different style and like any other furniture (old or new) are not collectable for your everyday person. The fact that antique furniture are old - does not make them collectable. Collectable items are small items of special interest and that's what makes them collectable, regardless if new or old. I used to have basic store for $19.95 then was pushed to featured store for $49.95. Now eBay is going to re-instated basic store from 1 May together with the new FVF. Well...it is a trap, don't switch back. FVF for collectables sold in Basic store is 9.5%, in Featured Store is 8.5%. I have done my calculations.

Example:

By swiching back to Basic Store you save $30 a month on subscription fee:

$49.95-$19.95= $30

If you sell 2 items in a month for $ 1500 each, your FVF in Basic Store at 9.5%= 2x$142.50=$ 285.

If you sell 2 items in a month for $ 1500 each, your FVF in Featured Store at 8.5%= 2x$127.50=$ 255.

FVF in Basic - FVF in Featured = $285-$255 = $30.

What you saved on subsription fee ($30) is gone in FVF ($30) after those 2 sales and any more sales are going out of your profit.

I have been selling on Gumtree as well as on eBay for a while now. It actually works quite well. Mind you Gumtree is a 'branch" of eBay.... You have hardly any restrictions and more direct contact with buyers, there are no fees at all when posting the listings or FVF on sale, you conduct sales on private basis, there are no stores. The only fees you pay are if you want your listings up the top of the page or mark them as urgent etc. You can put 10 photos in a listing which are MUCH bigger so the details are better visible. For antique furniture it is definitely worth a try, eBay is half dead now and if not for Gumtree I would have had hardly any sales. 

Best of luck to us all !!!......

[acrowsa]

When is the 'better' time to change from a store (Featured to Basic to Standard or any vice versa etc.) come May 1?

I know there is pro rata calculations for sellers when making a store change, but it the change better done as of my next account due date (14 May) or done close to May 1 or it just doesn't matter when?

Thanks.

[suitcase_of_memories]

It doesn't matter how many FREE listings any of us receive if NO ONE can find you ! Has it occurred to anyone that is the possible intention with this new re-structuring ? Sure we can list but if we end up with ZERO buyers we will eventually stop wasting our time & go away won't we.

List 40 items & get buried under 10 thousand chinese or huge favoured sellers items....who is going to search THAT hard - especially when the Search process itself is so convoluted, changing minute by minute every time, [what you saw a minute ago is often different to your next search].

I have done soooo many searches using Keywords [e.g. only >] Kootamundra Postcard = nil results  [simple ???] ... type in 'Kootamundra'   ONLY    & up comes a 'Kootamundra Postcard'....& this happens often, so where was the  Kootamundra Postcard in the FIRST search ???

I feel a lot of collectors have given up & gone back to B&M auction houses for their goodies, ebay has made it SO hard to find anything on here.

Thanks for your threads phillip, very interesting !!!

[davewil1964]

If you're downgrading I would be doing it before the 1st of May. If you do it on 14th of May you pay for the featured for the first half of the month. The later you leave it, the more you pay.

[our_stuff_for_u]

I just to make a few extra dollars for myself and my daughter, even just trying to sell 25 things a week, for what I do, initial fees were around $30-40 a month and now that will just double. Have no choice but to sell below their minimum of 40......Least gumtree is free..."at the moment"

[jacaranda_antiques]

Hi there antique furniture Sellers,

I am an antique furniture seller.

In Featured Store I will be able to list 200 pieces of furniture in one category for free from 1 May. At a glance it seems that there will be a saving for me on fixed price items: 200 x $0.20 = $40 a month. Good saving !

However, on a closer look, in order to list 200 items I have to find them first and then buy them. I wonder if there is a person in Australia who can find 200 pieces of quality antique furniture a month and who can afford to purchase 200 pieces of antique furniture a month so they can be consequently listed and sold ?

An average small eBay store like mine can find and list on average 8-10 pieces of antique furniture a month at the most. So the actual saving on free listings is: 10x $0.20 = $2.

An average small eBay store like mine can sell 3-4 pieces of furniture a month.

For arguments sake lets assume average selling price is $1500.

FVF on 4 x 8.5% of $1500 = $510

I will save $2 for listings and will pay FVF $510 a month from 1 May= $508

Currenntly FVF are 7.9% capped at $100.

Currently I am paying $2 for listings and FVF $400 (4x $100) for the same pieces = $402

I will be on average out of pocket $106 a month from 1 May in comparison with the current structure based on the above example.

How is the new structure going to encourage me to continue trading on eBay ?

[digital*ghost]

Antique furniture will not attract the higher FVF after May 1st (that is for collectibles and fashion categories, primarily), so the only thing that will be costing you more is whether or not the sale price on an item exceeds the old cap of $100. (FVF is 7% with a featured store, and I do realise that a jump from $100 to $250 for the cap is phenomenal, and not in a good way 😞 ). 

Insertion fees are 20c without upgrades, the upgrades are never free. 

[jacaranda_antiques]

Hi,

I looked up categories on eBay and was surprised to find antiques in Collectable category so I actually wrote to eBay CS to clarify where antique furniture belong and asked if FVF will be 7% or 8.5% for antique furniture in Featured Store and they replied that it will be 8.5% after 1 May. Combined with removal of $100 cap, as you said, the increase is "phenomenal".