Ebay...price gouging fees.

[TXFlyGuy]

I have had it with the Bay. Just sold a new G-1, retails at $510, for $179. I included free shipping ($26).
Ebay now charges me $17.90, plus about $9 in listing fees. PayPal hit me for $5.50.

Total fees = $32.40, with shipping it's $58.40.

My net was $120. One fourth of what the jacket cost me.

I lost on this deal. It's my fault, should have kept the jacket. But no more Ebay selling for me. Period.

I had it listed here for $199. Surprised nobody was interested.

Oh well, live and learn.

 

[Doctor Damage]

Public service announcement: eBay and PayPal are not charities.

 

[Monitor]

Yeah, it's beyond idiotic. I was doing some math just the other day and realized that everything that I had sold until now, which wasn't that much to begin with, has actually left me with a considerable loss. I had to re-sell a couple of jackets I got dirt cheap just to stay at a some kind of positive zero.

It's no wonder prices of leather jackets have gone insane, people are just trying not to lose money.

Sure they're not charities but it's not that they actually do anything to actually help you sell your stuff, other than provide a server space and some ancient crap layout. You have to do everything on your own to sell stuff with zero help from either of them and all they do at the end is charge you insane amount of money that they use to further monopolize the market with their crap service. Try setting up your Shipping details if you're outside the States. You literally have to cheat the system in a way that it will allow you to proceed.

They don't need to be charities but they don't need to be the opposite of useful, either. They're borderline cancer right now.

 

[TXFlyGuy]

Public service announcement: eBay and PayPal are not charities.

I agree 100%. But their fees are getting high enough that it makes it hard to realize a profit, or in my case, minimize your loss.
It's fine for a buyer. But I will never sell on the Bay again for this reason. The item will either remain in my possession, or it will be donated.

 

[casechopper]

I haven't sold much on Ebay recently due to this. I stick to trying to sell through the classifieds here and on other forums. The best is if your buyer trusts you and sends payment by paypal friends and family so that there are no fees spent in the transaction. I'm willing to charge quite a bit less to avoid going through Ebay and their fee structure.

 

[Justhandguns]

I only have sold a handful of stuffs on ebay and I have stopped doing that recently. They basically want to split 50/50 with you at the end of the day (maybe that is why Ebay and Paypal are chopped up into two separate entities so that they can charge more individually....).

 

[Cooper A-2]

I have had it with the Bay. Just sold a new G-1, retails at $510, for $179. I included free shipping ($26).
Ebay now charges me $17.90, plus about $9 in listing fees. PayPal hit me for $5.50.

Total fees = $32.40, with shipping it's $58.40.

My net was $120. One fourth of what the jacket cost me.

I lost on this deal. It's my fault, should have kept the jacket. But no more Ebay selling for me. Period.

I had it listed here for $199. Surprised nobody was interested.

Oh well, live and learn.

Sell it here, better and faster and no need to go for Paypal...Ebay USA and UK force you to use PayPal...No more Paypal obligation in EU...Ebay fees only

 

[l0fielectronic]

You just have to rememember when you list/sell something that they take about a third of whatever price you get - if you did charge postage they also take a cut of the actual price you pay out in postage too, even though its nothing to do with them (I know thats just to try to bully people to sign up to use their global shipping service but still.)

There is a usefull UK based fee calcultor here, http://finalfeecalc.co.uk/ I'd expect there is one set up for dollars too out there.

Agree its a lot, and a lot more than they used to. I wouldn't mind quite so much if they updated the site and fixed some of the bugs. On US ebay you get a different image uploader to the UK options, one that works all the time from what I've seen.

 

[Cyber Lip]

Public service announcement: eBay and PayPal are not charities.

Yeah, but a 13% commission and the fact that they also take 13% of the shipping cost is way excessive

 

[Dickie Teenie]

I don't list things that often on bids but when i do i put a high shipping cost as they don't take a percent of that in fee's.
I have guys asking to lower my shipping, nope.

 

[TREEMAN]

Free shipping was definitely not a good idea....

 

[OceanBreeze]

Selling things is almost always a huge pain in the rear. Best thing is to keep purchases down to things you will keep for a very long time. Easier said than done I know....

 

[Guppy]

I have had it with the Bay. Just sold a new G-1, retails at $510, for $179. I included free shipping ($26).
Ebay now charges me $17.90, plus about $9 in listing fees. PayPal hit me for $5.50.

Total fees = $32.40, with shipping it's $58.40.

My net was $120. One fourth of what the jacket cost me.

I lost on this deal. It's my fault, should have kept the jacket. But no more Ebay selling for me. Period.

I had it listed here for $199. Surprised nobody was interested.

Oh well, live and learn.

eBay does suck for a lot of reasons, but it has the gravity of its customers. I really wish a better competitor could replace them. But until then...

Simple solution is to list at the minimum you're willing to sell it for, and include about 20-25% of that cost going to eBay in your determination of value. Be willing to wait a while for it to sell. You could use a reserve price too, but they charge extra for that service. Or do a Buy It Now listing at a price you feel is fair value.

 

[Guppy]

I don't list things that often on bids but when i do i put a high shipping cost as they don't take a percent of that in fee's.
I have guys asking to lower my shipping, nope.

Not sure when you last sold something on eBay, but they DO charge a final value fee based on the cost of shipping AND the cost of the item, and have for years.

 

[Cooper A-2]

Best is to use Ebay as a show room only...whenever someone asks for a deal outside Ebay and his offer is right...go for it...cancel the auction. You then only pay a very little fee for the " show room rent"... Avoid Paypal by using bank transfer or Money Order etc...hence sell at minimum costs...
Cancelling the auction early is not very "ethical", for sure, but nowadays Ebay calls for it.

 

[Guppy]

Yeah, but a 13% commission and the fact that they also take 13% of the shipping cost is way excessive

13%? They must have just raised fees. It used to be 10%, which was still excessive...

 

[l0fielectronic]

Best is to use Ebay as a show room only...whenever someone asks for a deal outside Ebay and his offer is right...go for it...cancel the auction. You then only pay a very little fee for the " show room rent"... Avoid Paypal by using bank transfer or Money Order etc...hence sell at minimum costs...
Cancelling the auction early is not very "ethical", for sure, but nowadays Ebay calls for it.

See to me people messaging me to buy things cheaper 'off eBay' are one of the other annoyances I dislike. I wish eBay would police that more, I also like the PayPal protection and have found it useful in the past as a seller and a buyer.

 

[tmitchell59]

plus about $9 in listing fees

I've never paid listing fees like that. My listing fees are usually 0 or some change. The cost of shipping is what is hurts me as a seller. A USPS flat rate large box is 18.75 and they don't hold much.

Final value fee is around 10% of sale. Paypal around 3%.

I think it would be difficult to do business without taking paypal. I am all for something that cost less.

I also like the PayPal protection and have found it useful in the past as a seller and a buyer.

Yes I have too. International shipping is another program I have used as a buyer and seller.

 

[TXFlyGuy]

I've never paid listing fees like that.

I just checked, and the listing fee was $9.60. That's fine. But they should not then confiscate an additional 10% from my sale!

It's just like if I take out an add in the Dallas Morning News. I pay a fee, but they don't turn around and rob me for an extra 10%.

 

[ton312]

@Cooper A-2 nailed it. Use eBay as a show room and direct invoice your buyer. That way you are both protected and the seller avoids the greedbay fees. The only time I sell thru eBay is if I've got it marked up enough to cover the fees on a buy it now. I never auction things anymore. I used to and enjoyed some success but the penalty for not completing a transaction as a buyer is nothing, whereas the seller must re-list and this might raise suspicion in some buyers. PayPal invoice is fair and far more satisfactory. Even here, among this crowd, I would insist on an invoice, as both buyer and seller. It just makes the most sense.