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New Ebay Seller Fees - Spring 2013


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[(eBay's Good 'Til Cancelled requires a store).

Actually you can do a GTC without a store.

I agree with your other point though, they are just trying to steer sellers towards stores because it gives them a more predictable stream of income.

From my standpoint my final value fees on most of the items that we sell changed by exactly 0 with this update. 9% * .8 = 7.2%. The only thing that's really different are the monthly vs. annual subscription amounts. The anchor store actually became less expensive.

To the rest of the forum...eBay/PayPal reward volume sellers over sellers who sell under a certain volume threshold. Find something low cost that you can sell a lot of and make a profit, ship quickly, have a return policy, and meet the criteria to be a top-rated seller and that will offset some of the final value fees that you are being charged on the higher-priced larger sets that you're selling. It's not that tough to sell 100 items per year at a profit, or even 100 items per month. Do enough volume and shipping starts getting cheaper and even PayPal eventually gives you a discount.

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To the rest of the forum...eBay/PayPal reward volume sellers over sellers who sell under a certain volume threshold. Find something low cost that you can sell a lot of and make a profit, ship quickly, have a return policy, and meet the criteria to be a top-rated seller and that will offset some of the final value fees that you are being charged on the higher-priced larger sets that you're selling. It's not that tough to sell 100 items per year at a profit, or even 100 items per month. Do enough volume and shipping starts getting cheaper and even PayPal eventually gives you a discount.

And the big issue with keeping Top-Rated Seller Status is maintaining the ridiculously low (0.5% aka 1 out of 200 items) number of eBay-resolved Buyer Protection Cases. EBay essentially wants all sellers to just roll over when they get a Buyer Protection case and give the buyer a complete refund, regardless of the reason.

That's why ALL sellers need an official eBay return policy. With a return policy, when a buyer files a "not as described" case, they are at least (supposedly) forced to return the item to you to get a refund. Without a return policy, a buyer can still file a "not as described" case and eBay will give the seller the option (and encourage them) to allow the buyer to keep the item AND give them a complete refund (to supposedly avoid paying for return shipping fees). However, sellers can (mostly) avoid return shipping fees by NOT joining eBay's Managed Returns process.

Once you have Top-Rated Status and are hooked on the 20% discount (like an addict), you may do things that you may not want just to keep it, which is precisely what eBay wants.

As a seller, I try to keep the 20% discount out of any calculations I make about selling margins and profitability. I treat is as a "bonus" at the end of the month.

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And the big issue with keeping Top-Rated Seller Status is maintaining the ridiculously low (0.5% aka 1 out of 200 items) number of eBay-resolved Buyer Protection Cases. EBay essentially wants all sellers to just roll over when they get a Buyer Protection case and give the buyer a complete refund, regardless of the reason.

Honestly I don't see myself as being addicted to anything. Seriously, you think someone is "addicted" to a 1.8% discount? Let's reflect....

I can really only speak for our accounts personally, but 1 of 200 is nowhere near the rate that we even see buyer protection cases opened. If someone is getting 1 out of 200 or more then yes, I'd agree that's a problem and they probably shouldn't have top-rated seller status. Perhaps I've been incredibly lucky for the 10+ years I've sold things on eBay, but I can count on less than one hand the number of cases I've dealt with over thousands of transactions and multiple accounts.

I've also maybe only ever done 3 refunds and only after the item was returned in original condition. I agree that eBay wants everyone to have a return policy, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Having a return policy that's clearly stated actually benefits the seller. Return my item and you'll get your money back...

I think a bigger issue people have with maintaining their DSRs is when they charge separately for shipping and then get a low rating for shipping charges, because no matter what you charge, someone will always be unhappy with the amount they paid for shipping. This is why I always roll shipping into the overall cost and list items as free shipping...prevents them from even rating you on this.

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I think the real benefit you get from eBay and Amazon are the size of the markets they offer. We've never sold on Amazon, so I really don't know anything about that, other than my perception is that a major fault is that Amazon actually competes against it's third-party sellers, whereas eBay doesn't. Everyone loves the free-market until a player in that free-market does something that affects them personally. eBay can charge whatever fees they want. Sellers will either make a profit or they won't, and if they don't they'll flee eBay. eBay, nor any other company, owes any of us anything. I had a mortgage at a bank a couple of years ago that I really liked. I also had my business accounts at the same bank. One day, out of the blue, my bank decided to sell my mortgage to another bank. This new holder of my mortgage was a bank that I don't like doing business with, and I very quickly took steps to refinance my mortgage with a bank I want to do business with. When I went into my original mortgage-holding bank to withdraw all of the money we had there, and close all of my business accounts, the woman asked me why? I told her it was because my mortgage was sold to another bank that I don't want to do business with, and I also don't want to do business with a bank that would do something like that. She said, "Well, we're free to choose who we do business with and what mortgages we want" (the implication being that my really low interest rate mortgage was not profitable to them). To which I said, "Right back at you!" The point is, no company owes any of us anything, nor do we owe any company our business. Everyone wants a smooth transaction and I think overall buyers are on eBay because they want to buy stuff, not because they want to cause drama. While there are always drama-hounds, the fact of the matter is if the cost of selling on eBay (fees+cost of drama+other costs) causes someone to not make a profit then they will leave that market and seek alternatives. I just don't see eBay trying to influence seller behavior by encouraging them to create stores as all that negative. If anyone's margins are so tight that 1% kills you then you probably need to be selling somewhere else. It's not like top-rated seller or the powerseller levels are some secret club that you have to know the right handshake to get into. eBay is clear about the requirements and many many people have met these requirements and benefitted. Anyone on this site that wants to can by following a few simple steps meet top-rated and powerseller requirements and have your fees discounted.

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Ebay just announced details on the Seller Updates for Spring 2013 - Many changes (free store listings, flat rates, etc).

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/springupdate2013/overview.html?sspagename=SIC:springupdate2013:overview:dynamicemail

It is always presented as a positive, & yet it always ends up costing you more. Lots of details - I am still analyzing the effect of the changes. The flat 9% (store) or 10% (no store) regardless of how high the sale is, will hurt with big $ items.

Once you analyze the new rules, jump through all the hoops & calculate how to best work the system, it doesn't need to end up too bad - but most sellers aren't going to want to deal with doing all that (and ebay knows this).

There does seem to be some positive changes being made - I just wish that I didn't need to keep adjusting my selling strategy once or twice a year.

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Well 10% flat fees would be AWESOME, if that would include free transfer of money on paypal account not the same company charging me TWICE!

Agreed! Paypal is like the henchman of Ebay that shakes people down after the fees. I wish it was all up front instead of disguised behind another website though it's all owned by Ebay.

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...

Everyone wants a smooth transaction and I think overall buyers are on eBay because they want to buy stuff, not because they want to cause drama. While there are always drama-hounds, the fact of the matter is if the cost of selling on eBay (fees+cost of drama+other costs) causes someone to not make a profit then they will leave that market and seek alternatives. I just don't see eBay trying to influence seller behavior by encouraging them to create stores as all that negative. If anyone's margins are so tight that 1% kills you then you probably need to be selling somewhere else.

It's not like top-rated seller or the powerseller levels are some secret club that you have to know the right handshake to get into. eBay is clear about the requirements and many many people have met these requirements and benefitted. Anyone on this site that wants to can by following a few simple steps meet top-rated and powerseller requirements and have your fees discounted.

Agreed. Good sellers adapt to their (selling) environment(s)

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It's not like top-rated seller or the powerseller levels are some secret club that you have to know the right handshake to get into. eBay is clear about the requirements and many many people have met these requirements and benefitted. Anyone on this site that wants to can by following a few simple steps meet top-rated and powerseller requirements and have your fees discounted.

Well, first I must say that I love ebay & find that the fees are more than worth paying. As far as the fee discounts, I think that they do continue to squeeze out more & more people who don't know, or don't have the ability to comply with the ever changing rules - but if that is how they decide to get those additional fees (instead of a 5% increase in fees), then it is better (since, with some effort - it can be avoided). By the way, this is the first fee change notice I have seen in years that didn't try to proclaim that "fees are being reduced again!"

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Well, first I must say that I love ebay & find that the fees are more than worth paying. As far as the fee discounts, I think that they do continue to squeeze out more & more people who don't know, or don't have the ability to comply with the ever changing rules - but if that is how they decide to get those additional fees (instead of a 5% increase in fees), then it is better (since, with some effort - it can be avoided). By the way, this is the first fee change notice I have seen in years that didn't try to proclaim that "fees are being reduced again!"

I also really like ebay and find it is the best for selling my Lego and other assorted items currently. I didn't have options before then other than to have boxes of collectibles and odds and ends I didn't want but didn't want to give away either.

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Well, first I must say that I love ebay & find that the fees are more than worth paying. As far as the fee discounts, I think that they do continue to squeeze out more & more people who don't know, or don't have the ability to comply with the ever changing rules - but if that is how they decide to get those additional fees (instead of a 5% increase in fees), then it is better (since, with some effort - it can be avoided). By the way, this is the first fee change notice I have seen in years that didn't try to proclaim that "fees are being reduced again!"

I also really like ebay and find it is the best for selling my Lego and other assorted items currently. I didn't have options before then other than to have boxes of collectibles and odds and ends I didn't want but didn't want to give away either.

Yes, sell anything & buy anything. A couple years ago, I somehow got to talking with my kids about my favorite toy that I had received from the Tooth Fairy. It then suddenly occurred to me that maybe I could find it - I did find it, and it is now sitting on my desk.

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The new fees are going to kill the large set sellers. Based on ebay store rates the old/new fees work out roughly as follows: A $50 sale will be $1 less - 4.5/5.5 $85 is the breakeven point - 0/0 A $250 sale will be $5 more - 17.5/22.5 A $400 sale will be $10 more - 26.5/36 A $750 sale will be $20 more - 47.5/67.5 A $1000 sale will be $38 more - 62.5/90 Now here's were it really starts to hurt - the old rates currently go down to only 2% for anything over 1K, the new rates are 9%. A $1500 sale will be $62.50 more - 72.50/135 A $2500 sale (UCS Falcon) will be $132.50 more - 92.50/225 It looks as if they have decided to tax the rich!

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For anyone that wants to see more about how the new fee structure will affect their sales, here is the updated eBay Fee calculator on eBay that will show the current price and the new price. I know everyone doesn't go out selling a $2000 item everyday, but it is still quite a shock if you wanted to. http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/Feecalculator.html

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This increase will also skew BP's price guide a little

Well you have to look at it this way, it will become the new norm. This is what people will be willing to pay for a particular item, so yes, even if the price does increase, that is what people are willing to pay for it, so it doesn't really change anything. We are showing prices of what people are currently paying on the secondary market in the largest LEGO marketplace. If this makes the Falcon go from $2400 to $2700 and it stays that way, well then that's what people are willing to pay for it on ebay at that time. In our heads the set may be worth less because you know they are passing the costs on, but the number is the number.

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It looks as if they have decided to tax the rich!

It is just apparent that eBay (like Amazon) has taken a look at the profit margins/percentages of selling prices that sellers get and adjusted their fees accordingly. Books/movies/toys have historically very high margins for sellers while computers/electronics do not so fees for computers/electronics will go down while others will rise.

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