eBay and Paypal fees!

sultryabyss

After being very pleased with myself for selling a bunch of items on eBay, I am really annoyed to see the amount that Paypal charge for receiving a payment!!!

On £63 sales I have had to pay £17 in fee's - £10 to paypal and £7 to eBay. I understand that I have to pay eBay fee's but Paypals astronomical charges are ridiculous.

Paypal charge a fee based on the amount that is received, which includes postage. So even though I make no profit whatsoever on postage I am being penalised for it. On a 99p sale with £3.00 postage I pay 40p in fee's. On 99p profit it's hardly worth it!!!

Paypal charge 3.4% + 20p - of the total sale (incl. P&P) and eBay charge 10% of the total sale of the item (I managed to avoid listing fee's due to last weekends free listings).

Is there any way I can get around these fee's next time?

soolin

sultryabyss wrote: »

After being very pleased with myself for selling a bunch of items on eBay, I am really annoyed to see the amount that Paypal charge for receiving a payment!!!

On £63 sales I have had to pay £17 in fee's - £10 to paypal and £7 to eBay. I understand that I have to pay eBay fee's but Paypals astronomical charges are ridiculous.

Paypal charge a fee based on the amount that is received, which includes postage. So even though I make no profit whatsoever on postage I am being penalised for it. On a 99p sale with £3.00 postage I pay 40p in fee's. On 99p profit it's hardly worth it!!!

Paypal charge 3.4% + 20p - of the total sale (incl. P&P) and eBay charge 10% of the total sale of the item (I managed to avoid listing fee's due to last weekends free listings).

Is there any way I can get around these fee's next time?

You can reduce the amount of ebay fees you pay by being clever with starting amounts or, if you are a private seller- using free listing weekends that are almost continous now. For paypal fees though you are stuck with them.

The other obvious answer would be not to use ebay, and to use a different venue for selling your unwanted items. However, if you find somewhere else to sell online you still have to set up a payment method, and buyers aren't daft they want protection and that pretty much means you are stuck with paypal.

Otherwise take your unwanted stuff to a car boot, or try Facebook selling.

sultryabyss

Considering that eBay and Paypal are owned by the same company why charge double fee's?! I understand that where there is a service there is a charge but 3.4% + 20p - you know damn well it doesn't cost them that much to process payments.

It's the last time I sell on eBay I can tell you!

soolin

sultryabyss wrote: »

Considering that eBay and Paypal are owned by the same company why charge double fee's?! I understand that where there is a service there is a charge but 3.4% + 20p - you know damn well it doesn't cost them that much to process payments.

It's the last time I sell on eBay I can tell you!

Actually compared to other merchant accounts that process card payments paypal is actually quite reasonable.

New.Beginnings

sultryabyss wrote: »

After being very pleased with myself for selling a bunch of items on eBay, I am really annoyed to see the amount that Paypal charge for receiving a payment!!!

On £63 sales I have had to pay £17 in fee's - £10 to paypal and £7 to eBay. I understand that I have to pay eBay fee's but Paypals astronomical charges are ridiculous.

Paypal charge a fee based on the amount that is received, which includes postage. So even though I make no profit whatsoever on postage I am being penalised for it. On a 99p sale with £3.00 postage I pay 40p in fee's. On 99p profit it's hardly worth it!!!

Paypal charge 3.4% + 20p - of the total sale (incl. P&P) and eBay charge 10% of the total sale of the item (I managed to avoid listing fee's due to last weekends free listings).

Is there any way I can get around these fee's next time?

Yes, you are totally right about how much they both charge, everyone who uses E bay and Paypal is aware of it.

Bangton

I've completely stopped using Ebay for this reason....that and the fact some sellers sell items for more than they are worth in the shops !

soolin

Bangton wrote: »

I've completely stopped using Ebay for this reason....that and the fact some sellers sell items for more than they are worth in the shops !

Sellers do not force buyers to buy, if sellers are selling for more than high street prices then that sounds like a good business plan.

27col

Bangton wrote: »

I've completely stopped using Ebay for this reason....that and the fact some sellers sell items for more than they are worth in the shops !

If you put an item into a public auction you would pay at least 10% commission and probably 20%.
If sellers can get more for an item than you would pay in the shop, who is the mug. If people are too stupid to know what they should be paying for an item then how is that the fault of the seller.
As for Paypal, well, they are a secure money transfer service. They never see the goods , they just move the money between two people and that is all. The money obviously includes the postage. If you included the P&P in the sale price it would not make any difference to the commission to Paypal. But you would pay more to Ebay..
I hold no brief for either Ebay or Paypal, but overall they provide a good service and you know exactly how much it will cost you before you start.
Anyway you can avoid all charges by having nothing to do with either of them, that is your privilege.

el_cloughie

I sometimes sell a few bits n pieces on eBay as a trader. The fees are miniscule compared with leasing a retaail premesis, paying rates and insurance on it, fitting it out and staffing. I'd take 3.4% + 20p any day.

Dan

MikeR71

Often you have no choice, but when I sell large items which I for pick up only, I insist on cash on collection.

In the past I have even cancelled the sale to avoid ebay fees once I have found a buyer via their messages

droopsnoot

sultryabyss wrote: »

Considering that eBay and Paypal are owned by the same company why charge double fee's?!

Well, they each provide different services and they aren't necessarily linked. You could sell on eBay without taking the money by PayPal as you can offer other methods of payment, just as you might use PayPal to pay for stuff that you haven't bought on eBay. They have the same owner now, but it wasn't always the case.

sultryabyss wrote: »

I understand that where there is a service there is a charge but 3.4% + 20p - you know damn well it doesn't cost them that much to process payments.

Cost of processing is only one facet, they also have to cover insurance in case anything goes wrong that they are liable for, staff costs, and of course, as they are a business like any other, they have to make a profit.

I begrudge them the continual little charges here and there, but mainly because I wish I'd thought of it.