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.”

[davewil1964]

I sell mass market paperbacks - average price $5 + postage.

The changes will allow me to either drop my prices or make a decent profit. The difference eBay makes vs markets or local classifieds is the reach. I rarely sell to Canberra residents, as there is a surfeit of 2nd hand bookstores here. In the rest of the country there seems to be a demand.

So Gumtree, any other online pickup site, local papers don't suit my market.

Horses for courses. And if your sales are local then eBay is obviously not for you. As you should have worked out erenow.

[mens_choice_ladies_lingerie]

I have already found other methods of selling other than eBay.

And I am glad I did, clearly eBay have not finished bending over their Customers(the Seller).

[zenremix777]

Yeah, the fvf has gone up a bit but I'm liking the other changes. FREE Scheduled listing, free BIN option to auctions and 40 free listings a month. For a casual seller, it's great. If you're selling cheap things from your store and don't get the 40 free listings (or have run out), it might be worth selling those items on a casual seller account and sticking with the pricey things for your Store.

[mad4400]

Yep Ebay is killing for sellers.

We can't even warn other seller about non paying bidders as we cannot leave negative feedback and now this fee hike. Ridiculous.

I didn't ask to be made a Power seller last month and lose my 30 free listings this month.

I am currently unemployed and need ever damn cent I can get.

I will not be selling on this site for very much longer.

[i-once-was-bump]

I haven't been able to read all the posts on this thread so maybe this has already been asked so I apologise if I am repeating the questions.

Will all the sellers based in China and selling jewellery etc for about $1.00 with free postage be paying these new fees?

Will sellers based in Australia be given preference over sellers not based in Australia and go to the top of the page when sorting listings?

Surely on australian ebay those based in australi should be ahead of any listings from overseas sellers.

[alison30482]

So let me get this right.  I get an extra 10 free listings a month (up from 30 to 40), free schedule listings, (which I have never had to use in the past, and doubt if I will use in the future), free to add a buy it now to an auction listing, (which I have used extremely rarely  in the past), and in return for this FVF will rise to 9.9% and any extra insertion fee that month will go up by 300%, and I am being told this is a good thing?  I think I would have seen this in a  more favourable light if the free listings went up by 300% or least doubled (30 to 60) to give a viable off set to these increases. As most of my items I sell are between 99c and $1.50 these new changes just will not work for me.  Might be time for a change. I will use the free 40 listings but any extra listings I have a month I think I will be trying quicksales.com.au, its free to list and their FVF is cheaper. It may take longer to sell but hey it cost nothing to list so I really haven't lost anything!  

[party_buzz]

WHY IS NOBODY PROTESTING' Its time to make a stand people!! With Low sales - eBay fees going up , pay pal fees and shipping fees whats the point any more. My eBay fees at the moment are higher than the money i have made to pay the fees' I am working so hard to get sales and get my feedback on track its just not worth it when i am not making a profit any more. I made $1500 from my eBay sales in March after all my fees and purchased stock i made $75 not even enough for petrol for the 4 weeks i was sick to my stomach. I think all sellers on eBay need to select a day and we all put our store on holiday mode and select hide our listings in protest again Low Sales and Fees.. Imagine how much money eBay would lose in a day if thousands of seller did this? Who's with me?

[vintagemodcar]

Has Ebay forgotten not long ago that they were ramping up the .99c Action start price. Now they seem to be saying sell for .99c and we will charge you $1.50 plus selling fees to do it.

[Who is your accountant. Definitely not a good one.]

The 1:64 scale Diecast model market is about to die. Most of these are sold on the AUCTION market with a start price of 0.99c.

If you sell one at $3.50 now after fees you will make $2.71 . Take of the cost of the item [$2.00] makes a profit of .71c . To get this on the new scale you will have to sell them for $4.60 . An increase of $1.10 .

It may not seem much to Ebay but to a buyer it is a HUGE amount in this scale model.

This is peoples businesses that you are killing off

To me it seems as though Ebay no longer want the small sellers, only the major players that they can make a quick buck on.

Seems as though they have forgotten about were they started and who got them to were they are now.

To the researchers [if you read these]

Take your heads out from where ever you have stuck them and research this properly and postpone this till you do.

For a featured store it cost $49.95 plus [for 200 models, listing cost ] $100.00, total $149.95  On the new listing for the same items it will cost me $349.95, and that's before I sell any thing.  Are you nuts.

Remember once you lose customers it is very hard to get them to return.

Especially when they have established them selves on other sites.

Sorry,  but come may I will be changing sites to sell my 1800 1:64 scale models.

[kg5collector]

eBay knows there is no other selling site that comes near them.

So the changes are very primaeval in there heavy handed way.

eBay is culling out the weak and slow and quick to give in.

Forced to go nowhere ! Only the fittest will survive.

[supagiftau]

Can someone make this clear to me pls:

Featured store Free Listing Entitlement -

200 Fixed Price a Month, auction listings in "collectable" categories included

So these 200 free listings are for BIN only? 

The only way to sell my clothes are via auction, would I get in trouble if I list all the dresses in "collectable" category? 

Or maybe open many new seller accounts.... ? (for 40 free auction/month)