eBays Shipping Fees charged to Seller???

[huntsman53]

eBay's Shipping Fees charged to Seller

Hey Treasure Net Folks,

Does anyone know why eBay charges Sellers a Shipping Fee on items sold on eBay and shipped or even how they can justify charging a Shipping Fee? I thought that this Shipping Fee might be tied to purchasing the Shipping Labels through eBay, so this time around, I decided to forgo purchasing the Shipping Labels through eBay and ship everything sold directly through the Post Office. A couple of days after I shipped the sold items, I go in and check my' account on eBay and notice that once again they charged me a Shipping Fee on top of all of the other fees they charge! Isn't it enough that we often lose money on items that we sell on eBay due to the fees that they and PayPal charge us but they have to take it to another level and charge us a Shipping Fee and at the same time, we cannot charge the Buyer for the Insurance that we purchase to protect the items from loss or damage??!!


Frank

 

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[jerseyben]

Hey Treasure Net Folks,

Does anyone know why eBay charges Sellers a Shipping Fee on items sold on eBay and shipped or even how they can justify charging a Shipping Fee? I thought that this Shipping Fee might be tied to purchasing the Shipping Labels through eBay, so this time around, I decided to forgo purchasing the Shipping Labels through eBay and ship everything sold directly through the Post Office. A couple of days after I shipped the sold items, I go in and check my' account on eBay and notice that once again they charged me a Shipping Fee on top of all of the other fees they charge! Isn't it enough that we often lose money on items that we sell on eBay due to the fees that they and PayPal charge us but they have to take it to another level and charge us a Shipping Fee and at the same time, we cannot charge the Buyer for the Insurance that we purchase to protect the items from loss or damage??!!


Frank

Frank,

Ebay is a capitalistic company. They exist to make a profit. Do you propose ebay allows people to use its platform for free?

Also, they have charged a fee on shipping since 2011! This is nothing new. It was implemented to combat the ever growing trend of charging high shipping fees to get around paying ebay fees.
Also, it is the seller's responsibility to safely get the items sold to the buyer as described. If purchasing insurance facilitates this, then yes, it is a cost of doing business for the seller.

 

[Beans]

One reason is sellers would sell an item for 1.00 and charge a big shipping fee. At the time ebay did not get any money on the shipping charge.

 

[huntsman53]

I can understand eBay going after the POS Sellers that over charge on shipping but their solution is to penalize every Seller! I have never over charged any Buyer on shipping costs for items I sold on eBay and even reimburse a Buyer if my entries in the Auction Listing causes them to be over charged. Besides, Shipping Charges/Costs are not products, they are services added to the Buyer's Invoice for them to get the item they purchased!


Frank

 

[jerseyben]

I can understand eBay going after the POS Sellers that over charge on shipping but their solution is to penalize every Seller! I have never over charged any Buyer on shipping costs for items I sold on eBay and even reimburse a Buyer if my entries in the Auction Listing causes them to be over charged. Besides, Shipping Charges/Costs are not products, they are services added to the Buyer's Invoice for them to get the item they purchased!


Frank

Frank,

Your understanding of how ebay works seems to be oversimplified and your own personal interpretation. I would suggest reading ebay's policies directly.

 

[Nitric]

Frank I quit years ago....When they changed to paypal only.

They were upset with people being creative and selling something for a buck and charging $15 to ship. Because they were missing out on profit. So, just like the rest of life! Just give them all your money and let them figure out how much your entitled to! I think ebay has lost a lot of good sellers! I've heard horror stories from sellers....End result was losing the items and the money. I'm back to local auction, or selling stuff to people face to face, if I sell anything.

 

[NHBandit]

Frank,

Your understanding of how ebay works seems to be oversimplified and your own personal interpretation. I would suggest reading ebay's policies directly.

Do you work for Ebay ? You seem to be one of their biggest cheerleaders. Just curious..

 

[dieselram94]

I hate paying fees like everyone else. However it's important to understand that eBay is giving us a worldwide market that us as individual sellers could never access. Overall I think the fees all combined are reasonable, that being said eBay does need a serious competitor...something more substantial than etsy.


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[NC1]

They have been charging the standard 10% on the collected shipping, along with the 10% of the item purchase price, for some time now. I just figure I am losing 10% across the entire transaction, plus the PayPal fee. Once that is figured in, I go ahead and price my items accordingly to leave me with what I expect to get.

That change a while back, along with the new return policy that has sellers VERY upset, has resulted in eBay losing boatloads of good honest sellers. I have been backing off using their services for quite a few months (maybe a year by now) in favor of selling locally face to face.

So far this year I have sold a total of 2 items on eBay - compared with over 100 last year. In my case they have lost a lot of money by my not listing with them due to their policies and fees. I still get my price but now I keep the 10% they would have received, along with pocketing the PayPal fees too.

A serious alternative to them would be nice but remains to be seen.

 

[GibH]

The only serious competitor Ebay ever had was Yahoo. There was a lot of fraud and their numbers dropped when they started charging a fee for their auctions as well. Ebay then paid them off to drop their auction site in the U.S.

Ebay may have claimed they were charging fees on shipping to combat fraud, but anyone with a lick of sense should be able to see through that BS. They could have weeded out unscrupulous sellers easily. Also, if that is the case, why do they still charge fees on shipping in categories they cap shipping prices?

 

[Paleo_joe]

It irritated me when they first start charging their commission on total dollars including shipping, and it still does.

I am another who bailed out after ebay's policies became punitive. I was averaging several thousand bucks in revenues per month last year but I've sold maybe one item in the last six months.

The market is still the market. Some things sell for more at a physical auction than online. I like the things I sell to remain sold.

ebay is flailing. They've convinced their buyers that their sellers are potential criminals, constantly looking to rip people off and restrained only by ebay's policies. That is not a sustainable model.

If they had a good competitor, they'd be in trouble.

 

[diggummup]

This is what happens in all forms of life. All it takes is a few idiots to screw up any good thing be it ebay or what have you. Dumbazzes charging $20 to ship an item they sold for .99 that costs $2 to ship just so they didn't have to pay the 10% final value fee, that was the cause. As the saying goes... One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.
As far as ebay goes, I have a love hate relationship with them. I agree with GibH, categories with shipping price limits should be excluded.

 

[toolmanbutch]

I list an average of 100 items a week on eBay. I have made up to 90K a year, average is 35K. you can overcome eBay Fees by just adding the estimated shipping costs of eBay Fees, PayPal fees, shipping fees to the starting price of your item, or charge an additional Handling fee.
Its not complicated. a Business must make money to survive. They employ many people. I think eBay is a great venue to sell your items.
Toolman Butch

 

[mugsisme]

I was charging $3.75 to ship a first class package. Without ebay fees, it was costing me $3.79. I was losing money off the bat with shipping. I upped my shipping rate to $4.00, and I barely break even.
For me, the fact that I can reach a ton more people makes it worth it. Selling locally stinks. I picked up a bangle I knew was underpriced. I sold it in one night on ebay for double what I paid (still underpriced, but I wanted to move it fast). Meanwhile, It had sat in the store for months before I got it. (I think I got it for half off, so now I am thinking I made 4x my money.) Anyhoo. There are plusses and minuses. Ebay just revamped their seller policies. Some of looks good, except for the crap about 30 day return policy. that is NOT happening for me. I can lose my top rated plus status. I think 2 weeks is plenty. I'm not amazon or walmart to give a 30 day return policy.

 

[huntsman53]

Frank,

Your understanding of how ebay works seems to be oversimplified and your own personal interpretation. I would suggest reading ebay's policies directly.

You know Ben, after a rough start I thought that we were getting along pretty well. However, I guess I was wrong as it appears that you are calling me an idiot. Just to let you know, I don't sell enough on eBay to keep up with their changes in their' policies which they sometimes seem to change more than they do their' underwear. I have suffered a lot of losses of family members and personal health and financial issues/problems ever since 2011 that put stymies on my gumption to sell on eBay but every time I decide to sell on the venue, there is a whole new bunch of crap that I and others have to deal with when it comes to their' policies and views. It is evident that eBay as a corporation is run by a bunch of Left-Wing Anti's and Commie Pinko Fags that do nothing but think of ways to screw their' Sellers and I for one have had enough of them. Once this round of my' Auctions ends, I am done with them and they can flounder in their' own mire that they have created. I know that eBay just like any auction venue has to make money to survive and I don't mind paying a reasonable amount of fees to do so but eBay wants too much of the share of what I make. As I understand it, eBay is losing thousands of Sellers every year and possibly every month because of their' policies, views and antics, so if you are an investor in eBay stock, it might be wise to sell and invest the money elsewhere.


Frank

 

[mugsisme]

Frank, what are your other options? I sell locally via consignment stores. They decide the prices. They take anywhere from 50-50% of the money. I had one stupid store decide that the 14K earrings I gave were not, and priced them at $5. I called them up and said PULL THOSE OFF THE SHELF RIGHT NOW. I had another one sell a ring for $30, giving me $15. It as a sterling and gold ring that they should have sold for a lot more. Again, they didn't listen to me when I told them what it was. One thing I like about ebay is I decide the price, and 13% between Ebay and PP is not terrible compared to the local stores. And again, as I mentioned above, I reach a lot more people. I send a lot of stuff to CA, TX, NY, and some southern states. Is it a hassle? Yeah. I hate a lot of aspects, but I do like the money it brings in. Let's me buy more.

 

[Nitric]

Frank, what are your other options? I sell locally via consignment stores. They decide the prices. They take anywhere from 50-50% of the money. I had one stupid store decide that the 14K earrings I gave were not, and priced them at $5. I called them up and said PULL THOSE OFF THE SHELF RIGHT NOW. I had another one sell a ring for $30, giving me $15. It as a sterling and gold ring that they should have sold for a lot more. Again, they didn't listen to me when I told them what it was. One thing I like about ebay is I decide the price, and 13% between Ebay and PP is not terrible compared to the local stores. And again, as I mentioned above, I reach a lot more people. I send a lot of stuff to CA, TX, NY, and some southern states. Is it a hassle? Yeah. I hate a lot of aspects, but I do like the money it brings in. Let's me buy more.

Yes, I had a few things I wanted to sell and the local consignment/antique shop wanted 40%!! After talking to them for a few minutes I was able to sell the stuff for about 80% of what I wanted for it(didn't care what they thought it was worth) to begin with to the shop. Some of these places you just have to talk and deal, most of the time(not all) are willing to work with you if it's within reason. If not move to the next one!

Ohh and the shop owners or their friends were probably buying your items! So, they get a ring for $15 and ear rings for $2.50. Hate to think that way but........have seen that type of stuff happen!

Also, it helps if you find out what the shop owner or person running it collects! If you run across a great deal on something they are interested in? Give it to them for a great deal! Sometimes that goes a long way and pays off in the long run! Sometimes it backfires too!

Ohhhhh Never mind me!!! The baby was up crying, so now I'm wide awake talking nonsense on the computer, not even sure what I just wrote above!

 

[diggummup]

I have no problem with the amount of fees they charge. I do however agree that ebay is not too user friendly when it comes to the occasional seller. Their lists of rules, regulations and compliances reads like the IRS tax code. They are always putting up new hoops to jump through, so to speak. One thing they are not doing is attracting new sellers. A business cannot grow without new customers and as sellers, we are their customers. They should remember that without us (sellers) they have no business.

 

[trdhrdr007]

I don't like paying a portion of my sales to anyone. Unfortunately that's a part of doing business. If a 10% fee on shipping is enough to keep you from making a profit you need to change your business model.

I heard yesterday that eBay is changing it's seller defect system. It's my understanding that the only thing that will be counted as a seller defect is cancellations & escalations. If you sell an item & then cancel the sale for any reason besides a buyers request it's a defect. If your item arrives broken, is lost in the mail, etc & you can't work something out with the buyer without the case being escalated you get a defect. No more defects for low star ratings, neutral or negative feedback. That seems to be a better way to do things. Unfortunately I also hear they are lowering the percentages needed to maintain top rated seller status.

 

[NHBandit]

I have no problem with the amount of fees they charge. I do however agree that ebay is not too user friendly when it comes to the occasional seller. Their lists of rules, regulations and compliances reads like the IRS tax code. They are always putting up new hoops to jump through, so to speak. One thing they are not doing is attracting new sellers. A business cannot grow without new customers and as sellers, we are their customers. They should remember that without us (sellers) they have no business.

I've been doing business on Ebay since 1999 and the "new improved" Ebay sucks.. When it was conceived it was a great way for the occasional seller to liquidate a few things and make a couple bucks. The honor system with feedback being available to buyers as well as sellers was a new idea and kept everyone honest. They got greedy. They want to be Amazon and prefer dealing with the huge volume corporate sellers who can absorb a few fraudulent returns and who are willing to let Ebay double dip on the fees and so forth. Welcome to 2015. Ebay dosn't give a rats azz if you stay or go.. Sorry but it is what it is.