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.