Am I being thick?...Or have I been paying more than necessary on "Low Cost Item" fvf promotion?

[oceanartsnorthdevon]

As the title suggests, am I being thick (don't all rush to answer that question!) when it came to me signing up to the promotional "Low Cost Offer" for final valuation fees a few years back.  From what I can vaguely remember, and my understanding at the time, I thought it came about when managed payments started and ebay charged 30p per sale plus fixed fee after taking over from paypal.  As this was an issue in the early stages with low value items, I thought offer at the time meant I would only be charged 15p per sale plus fees on lower value items (unless I dreamt it? Or this was something else?).  Now it seems I obviously didn't read all the terms and conditions as apparently this offer would also charge 15% (customer services are telling me it is now 18% after speaking with them today?) across all items in my inventory + 5p and the operating fees, so unsure if this offer changed some where along the line? 

I didn't realise I had been paying 18% on all my listings for however many years, which I still am along with the regulatory operating fees and the fixed order fee which is 6p. A majority of items are low cost, the main categories I sell in charge 9.9% and 10.9%, if I add on the 30p if not in promotional offer per sale surely that is less than the offer I signed up to? It came as a bit of a shock when I looked at the fees on higher value item sold on auction where no promotional fees were involved and I couldn't work out why I was paying so much as it did not equate to 9.9% plus the other fees but turned out I was being charged 18% as I signed up to this deal?  I was trying to find out from agent if this deal was of any benefit to me, which I did not get a clear cut answer, but it turns out, after running for several years it finishes on 1/5/25. Am I understanding this correctly?  Have I been paying way to much in fees over the last few years with this offer or has it been saving me money and I am just not getting it?

[4_bathrooms]

If you opted in to the LCIP promotion (15% + 5p) + VAT is applied to all your listings; not just the low value ones. The only way around it was/is to have two eBay accounts and only list the low cost items on the account that is enrolled in the LCIP promotion.  

[oceanartsnorthdevon]

If I understand it correctly, even on the low cost items it would still work out dearer? Say an item for £6.99 + 15% + 5p before vat would be £8.09 (apparently it is now 18%, not sure when this changed, making it even dearer) then say £6.99 + the higher fee in my category at 10.9% + 30p would only be £8.05?  

[wyntersemporium]

I’m on that as well. Didn’t know I was paying a higher percentage.  Most of my items are low value the cheapest is £1.70 free postage .

[technthread]

Have a check on here with different categories and put a sold price under £10. 

https://www.ebayfeescalculator.com/uk-ebay-calculator/

@oceanartsnorthdevon for eg would only pay 10p fixed fee on the sub £10 art prints under the normal fee structure and then the (approx) variable fee of 9/10% exc VAT depending on their seller level. 

I haven’t done the exact maths on it but to save 5p on fixed fee doesn’t seem like a good trade off for a 15% exc VAT variable fee. 

*edit I stress that the reduced fixed fee of 10p on under £10 sales only applies to certain categories, it isn’t across the board.

[4_bathrooms]

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@oceanartsnorthdevon wrote:

If I understand it correctly, even on the low cost items it would still work out dearer? 

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It depends on the category FVF % which affects where the cut-off point is. At some point the 30p + VAT becomes a more significant portion of the total fee under the standard FVFs.

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@oceanartsnorthdevon wrote:

Say an item for £6.99 + 15% + 5p before vat would be £8.09 (apparently it is now 18%, not sure when this changed

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All eBay's fees for business sellers are displayed excluding VAT. (15% + 5p) + VAT = 18% + 6p.

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@oceanartsnorthdevon wrote:

then say £6.99 + the higher fee in my category at 10.9% + 30p would only be £8.05?  

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In a 10.9% category the cut-off point is £6.00; this is the point where you would pay exactly the same whether the fees were (15% + 5p) + VAT or (10.9% + 30p) + VAT; i.e. £1.14 (including VAT). Anything less than £6.00 attracts a lower FVF under LCIP whilst anything over £6.00 attracts a lower fee under the standard FVFs. This is due to the 30p + VAT becoming a more significant element of the fee under the standard FVF calculation.

[oceanartsnorthdevon]

I chatted with customer services again to get clarification if, for what I sell, I would be better opting  out, or if it had saved me money over the years but still none the wiser with no definitive answer.  I decided to opt out and by doing so I will get 10% off fvf fees as a top rated seller, which to be honest, I thought I was getting but turns out this  "low cost item fvf promotion" of 15% + 0.05p will not work in conjunction with any other offers so probably would have been better off staying as I was and got the extra 10% off as not all my items are low cost plus I have buyers who buy group lots for more and the categories I sell in are 9.9% and 10.9% rather than being charged 15% plus 0.05.

[oceanartsnorthdevon]

As an update, after a lot of stress, hassle and hard work, higher fees charged on more expensive items recently sold, I have eventually managed to opt out of the 15% + 5p low cost item fvf  fees promotion.  So far I have checked fees charged since it ended and it has saved me quite a bit in fees, also, which I wasn't aware of, I had been missing out on the 10% top rated seller discount as this offer does not run in conjunction with any other offers so for me, it has definitely been worth opting out as it has been cheaper and I will now get the additional 10%.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

The extra 10% for TRS, is only 10% off the total fees paid.

So is in fact not an awful lot at the end of the day.

It's an extra that is worth having, but not something that you should be worrying about.

It is however something that you should get with the LVF's.  So the chances are, that your listings are not fully compliant with TRS for the discount.  Which would be why your not receiving it.

As you have discovered, the 15% +5p can be expensive as it's generally only worth it for item sub about £7, depending on category.

The best way to do it with this discount, is to actually run a second account, with just low value items on it.  That way you can take advantage of that and not lose out on the higher value items.

So something that you might want to consider.

[oceanartsnorthdevon]

Thanks.  I would say around 90% of my items are set up to get the top rated seller discount which includes free p&p, same day delivery and an option for a tracked/fast delivery, if you read in the small print for the low cost fvf fee offer it cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers which includes the TRS discount and this was confirmed by customer service.  The rate at which fees are rising the 10% probably adds up to more than you expect!

[technthread]

Did the reduced 10p fixed fee come in after the low cost item offer you signed up to? It seems to be totally at odds. 

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Strange, I used to have that on a different account and still got the extra discount.

I've actually just added it back on as well, but can't check until it's all sorted.

But if I remember, I will update.  🙂

[oceanartsnorthdevon]

On the fees charged they don't actually show the breakdown of figures so it is not very transparent.  The breakdown was given on a higher cost item when I initially queried with customer services, the sale inc post (item was not promoted so no promotion fees)  was £199.99 inc postage, the category it was sold in was 9.9% and I was charged £36.90.  As I didn't realise the low value fee promotion included everything, what I assumed would be 9.9% of this amount plus regulatory fee and a fixed fee of what I thought was 30p I couldn't work out, I was told the breakdown was £36.00, 84p for regulatory fees and fixed fee of 6p (inc vat).

An Item I sold for £9.99 inc postage, no promotion fees, whilst on the low cost fvf fee promotion, I was charged the one lump sum fee of £1.72 - no breakdown, the same value order again no promotion fees and since opting out I have been charged £1.34, same category, again not showing the breakdown.

Below is the link to offer, it was last updated in 2022

Pay a Final Value fee of 15% + 5p | ebay.co.uk

[technthread]

It seems like a legacy offer that the shine has well and truly worn off of. I could say a few naive things about how unethical it is to let sellers carry on paying more fees than needed once they moved the goalposts but never mind, at least you have changed it now.

[oceanartsnorthdevon]

It is my fault for not noticing before, at the time I obviously didn't fully read terms and conditions and just saw the words "low value item fvf fees offer" at a set rate + 5p so stupidly, just assumed it would only apply to the lower items, which at the time a high percentage of my items were around between £6.99 & £8.99, thinking it would be a good deal, also I think it came about not long after ebay took over from paypal and introduced their own pricing and set a fixed rate fee across the board which upset sellers who sold items for a few pounds, so assumed this offer was to rectify this.  I also didn't realise it meant I would no longer get the 10% top rated sell discount, I thought this was an extra reward for "giving a good service" offering free p&p, 60 day returns, next day delivery and option of a tracked service and maintaining a good seller level, how naive I am!

Yes a reminder would be nice when offers no longer work in our favour and end up costing us more.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Freind of mine is using the LVF promotion and IS getting the TRS premium discount.

So I think your most likely not following the requirements for that.

For your ref:

Offer a free domestic delivery option within 3 working days.*
Offer an express delivery option within 2 working days for no more than £10.
For items over £20, all of the delivery services must be designated tracked services and valid tracking must be uploaded within the dispatch time (this includes auction-style listings and Best Offers where the final price is over £20).

[oceanartsnorthdevon]

Thanks, a large proportion of my listings are set up as free p&p plus the option to use a tracked service, same day delivery, 60 day returns and anything over £20 is sent using a tracked service.  I was going on the advice from an agent at customer services, his quote below:

"As of now, the better option for you is to opt of this offer as if you opt out you will be qualified to get 10% offer in the final value fees."

[therenewalworkshopltd]

And how often are the customer services actually correct?  🙂

So many of them haven't got a clue, which is a sad state of affairs, but unfortunately true.

I know for a fact that someone else is getting it, so if your not, then you have something not setup correctly.

You need to check your listings and make sure that you have everything right, or you won't get it anyway if you haven't previously.

[oceanartsnorthdevon]

Yes, I know what you mean about customer services sometimes offering incorrect advice, which when you think about it, a large company like Ebay, should have their staff trained to offer accurate information.  What other large corporations get their customer services to ad-hoc answers just to give a response? Not very professional.

I was previously getting the discount, here is what it shows about their terms and conditions for the Low-Cost FVF offer:

Can the I use the Low-Cost FVF with other offers and discounts?

No, the Low-Cost FVF cannot be used in conjunction with any other final value fee promotions or discounts.