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.”

[acrowsa]

oops above it shows $3.35 relist fee (should be $3.50).

[digital*ghost]

The only other reason I can think of to why I am being charged $3.50 (instead of $1.50) is that there are 5 items in that one listing (1 listing with 5 items to sell @ $25 each=$125).

That is actually the way it works without a store - the insertion fee is calculated on the total value of items available.

If these are BIN listings and you don't (or rarely) sell 5 before the listing has ended, just change the quantity to 4 as $100 exactly will get the $1.50 insertion fee. 

The only other thing I would suggest, if you want to have them end at different times, is to list the items over several days rather than shorten the duration, especially for multiple quantity BINs, just to get the most value out of them, and if a few sell, it should still benefit from a bit of a boost in BM ranking for the remainder of the time (auctions I think benefit from a shorter duration).

[acrowsa]

Thanks for the info digital*ghost

(I'm not sure to quote properly - can't see any quotation mark image)

"That is actually the way it works without a store - the insertion fee is calculated on the total value of items available."

Damn - I obviously was unaware of that.

" just change the quantity to 4 as $100 exactly will get the $1.50 insertion fee."

mmm, good point.

" is to list the items over several days"

Yes, that was my original intention (list some 3 days to spread listings out, then when finished list all for 10 days and so on).

But it seems even doing this I am going to fall short of getting free listings for 20-25 listings over a month (eg: list 20 for 10 days, then relist for another 10 days only gets me 20 day of the month). 

This will start costing me more than $20 a month, so I reckon I need to go back to a store (Basic for $19.95). 

Will get 80 free listings, good 'til cancelled (which I presume has a 30 day duration -  not 10 days as in a no store structure), & Selling Manager Pro.

Thanks again D*G

[aussiecoincollector]

I completely agree with all of these sentiments.

Charging $1.50 for an item that is being listed for say $2.00, $5.00 or $10.00 is ridiculous and a complete rip off.

On top of that, if you have an ebay store, you dont get any free auction listings!!!!!

I will be also joining the throng of other sellers who will be leaving ebay to search for better online alternatives - unless they revise this unaacceptable price hike

[misterforgetfulsbooks]

I wouldn't be calling it Swan fee's, more so right wing Hocking fees like their proposed baby bonus to mums on big salaries.

Honestly who other than an o/seas seller can compete here now what with the postage increase on top and GST we have to charge?

Wish I was selling from the UK or elsewhere GST free and lower postage to boot.

The new fees are just the nail in the online selling coffin.

[jessieqld]

Ebay have so many sellers in China. They are their bread and butter with 1000's of listings.

I sell genuine items. If I say it is Sterling silver or Gold to the best of my knowledge it IS Sterling silver I do not deceive my buyers..

I have experimented with buying from several Chinese sellers whose jewellery is STAMPED Stg. I just wanted to check out the quality and didn't buy to resell. After a few weeks the silver just wears off. Which explains why they can sell so cheaply.

I only found this out after already leaving feedback. It looks ok at first.

How can Australian sellers hope to compete with these shoddy sellers???

We sell way below retail already but can't compete with the false promises of huge Asian sellers.

These sellers are Ebays profit makers, not small sellers like me.

Ebay has always been Greedy.

I must be doing something wrong???? I would like to be able to find other ways to sell now.

Not Gumtree either. I will be watching these postings with interest.

[jessieqld]

That is all so true. Small sellers are buried under 1000's of the big players from
Asia!

[davewil1964]

I must be doing something wrong. My sales are about average, the fee changes mean I pay $34 less per month.

I sell books, which is a category dominated by foreign dropshippers, yet I still sell. Maybe local service outs. Whilst I never look at my listings with a buyer's eyes, I doubt I run anywhere near the top according to 'best' match. Maybe buyers don't always use 'best' match when looking for items to buy? I wouldn't.

[lehtonen]

So I've been with eBay for 13 years now. Back when I started they still sold zoo animals, listings were 15c? and eBay didn't own Paypal.  

I run a very small business, selling second-hand goods. After the recent fee rise by both eBay and Australia Post, I've decided that I'm no longer going to sell on eBay as I once did. Although Gumtree is owned by eBay, it does offer me a free way to sell. For the last 6 months I haven't paid a single cent to Gumtree, and yet I've sold 100's of items on there. So... thank you eBay! You've totally lost any profit from me. 

I feel like eBay is just opening the door for another provider to come in and save us little guys. Preferably an on-line auction site that let me sell second-hand goods at a profit that's worthy of my time and effort. It's just a matter of time. 

[ozstockman]

I must be doing something wrong. My sales are about average, the fee changes mean I pay $34 less per month.

Things may have changed for somebody since the beginning of this thread.  I was complaining here  in this thread at the begging of May  that I was getting almost zero sales in May. However it looks a bit better now. I hope it will keep going the same way.