eBay fees for postage.

[6528marcia]

I too am frustrated by eBay including postage cost in FVF. It seems very unfair. eBay doesn't do anything with post so why do they have the right to profit from the post service? I know sellers brought this upon themselves in the past by reducing the price of an item and increasing the price of postage, But, surely there is someone in eBay clever enough to work out the estimated price of an item now. If we enter the size and weight we get an estimate of post cost. As a casual seller, trying to supplement my age pension, I am disheartened by the result of selling my once precious items. My recent was a book 1911 vintage with a limited interest group. I know it would be very valuable in the USA but I am not experienced enough to deal with international sales. The book sold for $65 incl post. Post cost $15.99. So, by the time eBay finished I received $22.68 for a book that could be worth $50. I am limited in mobility and computer skills, so although angry with eBay, I feel I am stuck to getting meagre amount for my relics. A raspberry to eBay.

[katistrophik]

AFAIK eBay has charged FVF on postage since 2011, not likely to stop now.

You simply need to build this into your Cost of Sales

[gutterpunkz05]

Total Invoice  $65.00  @  13.4%  =   FVF  $8.71  =  BAL  $56.29

Postage    Via ebay or AP                                                    -  $15.99

BALANCE   =   $40.30

Unless you were also paying for additional ebay options or promotion fees.

[jellybirddesigns]

I'm confused - that book sold for $49 PLUS postage of $16, which the buyer paid for, not you.

Fees are approx 13.4% of the TOTAL combined value which would have been just under $9.00.

Not sure how you could have only gotten $22.68 left over. When you click on the Seller Hub - All Transactions and look at the sale - it summarises it for you in 3 columns - Amount/Fees/Net. How much were your fees?

Why are you blaming Ebay though - you're the one setting your prices and choosing whether to charge the buyer for postage or not.

Smart sellers know how to account for all fees so that they never (or vary rarely) run at a loss.

[davewil1964]

As most have said, your calculations are inaccurate (unless you are including purchase cost, which has nothing to do with eBay). The charges have been extant for many years, something, as a seller, you should have kept yourself apprised of.

Your age or disability has nothing to do with it. eBay is an online level playing field.

You could always try other sites - you are not forced to sell on eBay.

[gutterpunkz05]

Apart from the mathematical errors,  the OP seems to be missing the point that sellers charge for postage + packing and handling.  There is no way that ebay can account for individual  handling charges.

[p9games]

If Ebay didnt charge FVF on postage sellers would change $100 listings to $1 + $99 postage.  I'm sure that would be wonderful for the long term future of the Ebay platform and the thousands of sellers who have built a business on it

[neuvecottage]

eBay is not a non for profit orginisation. I too, don,t like giving my money away. But, eBay provide me a platform to make a little money to offset the low interest rates on my savings. I don,t and never expected to make a living out of eBay. They provide a service. You decide if the service is good for you.

[katistrophik]

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@p9games wrote:

If Ebay didnt charge FVF on postage sellers would change $100 listings to $1 + $99 postage.  I'm sure that would be wonderful for the long term future of the Ebay platform and the thousands of sellers who have built a business on it

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This ^^^^^^^

And that was the exact reason eBay took steps to change this in 2011. **bleep** sellers who ruined it for everyone

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

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@katistrophik wrote:

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@p9games wrote:

If Ebay didnt charge FVF on postage sellers would change $100 listings to $1 + $99 postage.  I'm sure that would be wonderful for the long term future of the Ebay platform and the thousands of sellers who have built a business on it

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This ^^^^^^^

And that was the exact reason eBay took steps to change this in 2011. **bleep** sellers who ruined it for everyone

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there are other reasons too.

Back when eBay started charging fees on postage they were trying to get sellers to offer “free postage”.  We all know that there is no such thing as “free postage” and the correct terminology would be “postage included”.

Anyway, eBay claimed to have research saying that sellers who offered free postage were more likely to sell more.  They never released details about their so-called research, but they pushed hard for sellers to change postage habits.

eBay also justified the fee on postage by pointing out that sellers who included postage in their pricing structure paid fees on the transaction total while those that charged for postage only paid fees on item price.  They claimed it “levelled the playing field”, which is true.

At the time, eBay also pointed out that other online selling platforms charged fees based on the total transaction and not just item price.

eBay have continued to encourage sellers to offer free postage through incentives and/or “badges”.