MSE News: eBay sellers beware - its fees now eat into postage costs

soolin

kennyjosiah wrote: »

cuddly ebay, arent they lovely rewarding all their sellers who offer free postage (hugs) ..... How are they rewarding sellers who offer free postage ? are ebay going to share out the extra fvf revenue to those sellers ? ... not all sellers inflate their postage costs as ebay put a cap on what you can charge and since royal mail increased their prices this is now in some cases lower than actual postage costs (not counting the packaging side of the P&P) .... in the old days sellers overcharged on the postage to avoid the fees but ebay (rightly) closed that loophole years ago come on ebay stop over egging your good citizenship status ... youve increased fees by the back door ! simplesss

Actually, some of the FVFs are given back to sellers who achieve TRS status.

RFW

kennyjosiah wrote: »

cuddly ebay, arent they lovely rewarding all their sellers who offer free postage (hugs) ..... How are they rewarding sellers who offer free postage ? youve increased fees by the back door ! simplesss

Well they've levelled the playing field so 'free' postage sellers are paying the same fees as non free competitors. It does look to me as though it's raising fees by the front, not back door. That said as a 'free' postage seller with a shop my overall fees are quite a bit down with the change in listing fees.

Rotti

RFW wrote: »

I looked at this and initially agreed that it was steep and unfair. Then again not everyone sells like that, £21 item, £68 postage it's not the best business model. You could always use bricks and mortar auction houses, there'll be less work involved for you, the commission may end up being more.

I suspect we'll be seeing more posts like this for a while from those who haven't read updates and/or forums. If you are running a business that involves Ebay or Amazon or any third party, not keeping up with their pricing and policy changes is sheer folly.

I love how your way is the right way and you have it completely the wrong way round! I BUY at terrestrial auctions - big mixed lots for pennies - and then split up lots and SELL on eBay - single replacement china items for pounds, and selling at terrestrial auctions brings in very little as most there are buying to sell at boot sales and the like. My sales are also worldwide and I agree with others that it is very unfair to have to charge overseas buyers 12% on top of the cost to recoup that 10%. They are still buying because they want what I am selling but I consider it immoral to charge them extra just to line eBays's pockets. You need to understand that when you decide to sell discontinued china the "business model" is different. I have started items of obscure vintage Staffordshire pottery dinerware at £4.99 having no idea of what they might actually fetch. One item, a 1930s Doulton Casserole dish, made £91. The buyer was in New Zealand and had to pay £78 to get it there as it was too large and too heavy for airmail so had to go by Fedex. The buyer wanted it as they were trying to rebuild a cherished family service partly destroyed by the earthquakes. In those cases sentiment plays a bigger part than any "business model" and they were thrilled to get the piece. I had another buyer in Australia who bout 4 items of 1940s pottery at a total cost of £22. Cost to ship that by Fedex - 2 large covered veg dishes, platters and a teapot - was £108. Now that would rocket to £121 to cover the extra fees. Only last week I sent 2 Doulton platters to the US and had to charge the buyer £58 - she was happy as it was again to add to a cherished inherited set but I hate having to charge these people so much.
Sometimes you need to look beyond the "business model" and consider that what you are doing is providing a service and filling a need - not just peddling Far Eastern tat for the most you can get!

Rotti

Percy1983 wrote: »

Surely you just add 69p to your postage and be happy?

I'm not sure how the previous poster got to 9% of £7 unless there is a reduced fee rate for business sellers but on postage of £7 an ordinary private seller like me would have to add 84p - 12% - to get the 10% back. That is something a lot of sellers are still not grasping and are still out of pocket as they are only adding 10%. I am still coming across sellers who are not aware of the changes as they are only occasional sellers and have been caught out. Local pickup items is the way forward - gives you a smaller marketplace but it has surprised me how far some people will come for seemingly ordinary items. Let's see eBay take 10% of that!

Rotti

RFW wrote: »

Well they've levelled the playing field so 'free' postage sellers are paying the same fees as non free competitors. It does look to me as though it's raising fees by the front, not back door. That said as a 'free' postage seller with a shop my overall fees are quite a bit down with the change in listing fees.

What do you sell on eBay? Maybe you could give us your username so that we can see this wonderful business model you operate?

campdave

Rotti wrote: »

I hate having to charge these people so much.

Sell off ebay then.

lovinituk

Rotti wrote: »

Sometimes you need to look beyond the "business model" and consider that what you are doing is providing a service and filling a need - not just peddling Far Eastern tat for the most you can get!

eBay is not a public service for Rotti, Rotti's customers or anyone else. Its a business and if you can't sell on there due to the fees eating in to your profit and you decide you don't want to pass the additional cost on to the buyer, then tough luck to be honest.

If what you are selling is that sought after then stick it on ebid or your own website and people will find it. Either everyone else who sells the same products as you are affected in the same way (so its a level playing field) or they are managing to sell on ebay and still make a profit without moaning about it.

RFW

Rotti wrote: »

What do you sell on eBay? Maybe you could give us your username so that we can see this wonderful business model you operate?

I never claimed my business was wonderful, I just don't spend all my energy whining about everyone else's;)

RFW

Rotti wrote: »

I BUY at terrestrial auctions

I've run my own auction house and sold off a couple of pottery factories, who knows you may have been a customer of mine? I should have upped our buyer's premium;)

RFW

Rotti wrote: »

Sometimes you need to look beyond the "business model" and consider that what you are doing is providing a service and filling a need - not just peddling Far Eastern tat for the most you can get!

So your business is a philanthropic one?
Your FedEx fees sound quite excessive, have you checked if they are immorally earning a profit on what they charge? More seriously, have you tried getting lower rates with FedEx or other couriers via an account?