Buyer Protection is coming soon

[nutrafituk]

Just announced - finally some sort of good news for business accounts basically saying ONLY PRIVATE SELLERS will have this fee added (£0.75 fixed + various %). Hopefully that will make a difference for genuine business sellers and make those dodgy ones re-think their position:

We’re excited to announce that from 4 Feb, buyers will benefit from a brand new protection every time they shop on eBay. What’s even better is that this comes at no extra cost to you or your buyers. To give your buyers more confidence and security when shopping, Buyer Protection will be included on every purchase on ebay.co.uk. We’ve kept things simple for you, so there’s nothing you need to do to access this protection. These are all part of our efforts to make eBay the best marketplace for our community. Here’s how the recent changes will benefit you.

Why Buyer Protection is good for your business As a business seller, Buyer Protection is included for free for you and your buyers. They’ll get the protection, without the cost. With Buyer Protection, all buyers and sellers will now get 24/7 customer support where you can connect with a real person by phone whenever you need, or start a chat to get quick answers. We’ve also still got you covered with secure transactions, thanks to payments that are encrypted end-to-end and handled by our trusted payment partners.

We’re always looking for more ways to help drive sales to your business, so from 20 Jan, Coupons, Multi-buy and other discount tools will only be available to business sellers. You can look forward to more exclusive benefits in the future. Learn more about Buyer Protection What’s changing for private sellers

• We recently made changes to our fee structure so it’s free for private sellers to sell on eBay (excl. Vehicles). As part of this, from 4 Feb, a Buyer Protection fee will be added to listings from UK-based private sellers so we can make investments into these protections. This fee will be included in the item price and be paid for by the buyer. As a reminder, this is free of charge for business sellers.

• To give buyers more protection and encourage timely shipment, private sellers will be paid once the item is delivered. There’s no change for business sellers and you’ll still receive your payouts as quickly as you do today.

• We know it’s important to have a fair and equitable marketplace for all business sellers. That’s why we’re monitoring trading activities on eBay to help business sellers using a private account transition over to a business account, or restricting selling activity as necessary.

[papso22]

The second point was on MSE, and double checked by a mentor, the first is actually my opinion based on how ebay has historically dealt with charges to non business customers.

It works with the buyer being aware of the fee value (I.e the total they will pay), if the fee is inclusive of VAT.

There is no legal requirement for ebay to separate the VAT out for private buyers (or private selling accounts where fees might still apply, such as listing enhancements).

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure that no BPF on auctions would work, it will lead to some very confused buyers.

I see something I want on an auction which starts at 50p. I put a proxy bid of £1.75 in.  Someone else comes along and bids 60p, so now I'm the leading bidder at 65p. Second bidder comes back with 95p, so I become the leading bidder at £1 - so what happens then? If the BPF is added, because it is now over 99p,  my bid would have to be £1.79, but I only put £1.75 in. Will it show me as the highest bidder at £1.75? Will it leave the 2nd bidder on top at 95p? Will the jump from £1 to £1.79 mean that sellers get more abuse from would be buyers calling them scammers?

How many auctions that ended at 98p, because the seller was trying to avoid the BPF, and isn't happy to let the item go at that price, will end as cancellations?

What a mess! 

Also when has MSE been the go to place to find out about ebay policy that isn't mentioned on their (so called) help pages? Do we now have to rely on other sites to make announcements?

What a mess!

[padanpcparts]

It did make me feel like a naughty boy tbh. Thanks for the discussion 😉 

[discre]

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@papso22 wrote:

The second point was on MSE, and double checked by a mentor, the first is actually my opinion based on how ebay has historically dealt with charges to non business customers.

There is no legal requirement for ebay to separate the VAT out for private buyers (or private selling accounts where fees might still apply, such as listing enhancements).

---

So, we now have to rely on unverified third party sources for detail about eBay fees.

I had never mentioned private buyers, for whom the accounting for VAT has no relevance. My post related to the treatment of business buyers who buy from private sellers.  A VAT registered business has to account for their input VAT and so it needs to be clearly stated on the documentation.

As of now, and for all of eBay history, all transactions for any sale on eBay were directly between the buyer and the seller. From 4th Feb, part of any transaction between a private seller and a buyer will be between eBay and the buyer.  If the buyer is a VAT registered business,  ANY VAT  on the eBay part of the transaction (the BPR fee) has to be accounted for by both parties, eBay and the buyer.  Nowhere that I can find on eBay is this explained in any way and CS clearly know nothing about it.

[bzmotman]

Would a comparable case be where Ebay collect foreign taxes under IOSS. I believe they take over from the seller and become the reseller thereby being responsible for issuing the tax invoice to the foreign buyer. The foreign buyer can download the invoice from somewhere in their dashboard.

Happy to be told I'm wrong and it wouldn't surprise me if Ebay have overlooked this issue.

[discre]

Just received this from CS.

'To answer your query: starting from 4 February, if a buyer purchases from a private seller, they will indeed incur the fixed fee of £0.75 and a variable fee of 4%. These fees are considered charges.. As such, they will include VAT according to eBay's policy.

For VAT-registered buyers, the VAT amount will be included in the total fees, allowing them to reclaim it, provided they have the necessary documentation. eBay will issue a VAT invoice to the buyer to facilitate this process.'

[dion5feb2016]

Thanks for the info. I am a little confused (tried to find out about this)
as to whether postage is to be increased by the ‘fees’ too? If I charge for
example £3.39 for postage will a 4% charge be added?

[discre]

I've just asked them that very question, although at the current rate of their replies the 4th Feb will have come and gone before I hear back.

[dion5feb2016]

Hahaha. Know where you coming from. Thanks so much, appreciated.

[jow1995]

Just upgrade to a business account, i see you have sold 15k  items in less than 10yrs, this way the new rules will not apply.

[discre]

The Buyer Protection Racket still applies if you are buying from a private seller, which almost all of us will do at some point. So, it hits everyone!

[dion5feb2016]

Racket, yes I think you have hit the nail on the head there. 

[game_raid]

Not really, I will buy based on price whether there is a fee or not. If the seller isn't prepared to absorb some if not all the fee they will lose the sale comprared to those that do.

[discre]

For most purchases it's also nowhere near 4%

Item cost now   Item cost with BPR  Increase
£ 1.00                    £ 1.79                              79%
£ 2.00                   £ 2.83                            42%
£ 3.00                   £ 3.87                            29%
£ 4.00                   £ 4.91                             23%
£ 5.00                   £ 5.95                            19%
£ 7.00                    £ 8.03                           15%
£ 9.00                    £ 10.11                            12%
£ 10.00                  £ 11.15                            12%
£ 15.00                   £ 16.35                         9%
£ 20.00                  £ 21.55                         8%
£ 25.00                  £ 26.75                         7%
£ 30.00                  £ 31.95                          7%
£ 35.00                  £ 37.15                           6%
£ 40.00                  £ 42.35                        6%
£ 45.00                  £ 47.55                         6%
£ 50.00                  £ 52.75                         6%
£ 60.00                  £ 63.15                          5%
£ 70.00                  £ 73.55                         5%
£ 80.00                 £ 83.95                         5%
£ 90.00                 £ 94.35                         5%
£ 100.00               £ 104.75                       5%
£ 150.00               £ 156.75                        5%
£ 200.00              £ 208.75                      4%
£ 250.00              £ 260.75                      4%
£ 300.00              £ 312.75                      4%
£ 350.00              £ 363.75                     4%
£ 400.00              £ 414.75                      4%
£ 450.00              £ 465.75                     4%
£ 500.00              £ 516.75                       3%
£ 600.00              £ 618.75                       3%
£ 700.00              £ 720.75                      3%
£ 800.00              £ 822.75                      3%
£ 900.00              £ 924.75                      3%
£1,000.00            £ 1,026.75                    3%

[dion5feb2016]

Some sellers are really greedy, same with boot sales at times, apparently trying to get rid of their stuff they no longer want but wanting to get the purchase price they paid for it or just greed! 

[discre]

Almost ALL sellers in any market will try to get the highest price they can for anything they are trying to sell. To do otherwise would be absolutely crazy. No seller in their right mind is going to give an item away just because you don't want to pay what they are asking. If the seller has a rare item and no competing sellers they will of course expect a high price. That's the market place.

It's up to a buyer to decide how much they are prepared to pay for any item. Different buyers will have completely different attitudes. 'One man's meat...'

[game_raid]

Of course all sellers want the highest price they can get and they can set this as they wish but it's the market that ultimately decides the price, so a seller either follows the market or they have items sitting around for months on end, most businesses can't afford to have stock gathering dust like a private seller can who is in no rush to sell.

A lot of business sellers have a 90-180 day rule and if that item hasn't sold they let it go for cost or less to free the cash.

It also depends on the seller, they maybe be looking for a quick sale to raise some cash to pay for a car repair or whatever else so will price accordingly to get the sale.

[discre]

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@game_raid wrote:

Of course all sellers want the highest price they can get and they can set this as they wish but it's the market that ultimately decides the price, so a seller either follows the market or they have items sitting around for months on end, most businesses can't afford to have stock gathering dust like a private seller can who is in no rush to sell.

A lot of business sellers have a 90-180 day rule and if that item hasn't sold they let it go for cost or less to free the cash.

It also depends on the seller, they maybe be looking for a quick sale to raise some cash to pay for a car repair or whatever else so will price accordingly to get the sale.

---

Agree 100% but many private sellers will have exactly the same financial pressures as a business: rent, mortgage, loan, bills etc.  Not all are doing it just for a bit of extra cash, especially in today's climate.  For some it will be a case of survival.

[insidethe93]

Good points though certain times of year alter things. For gifts, greeting cards and crafting Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Halloween are busy times and items often sell well a year or more later. Mainstream items such as dies/stamps/stencils/embellishments tend to be small (or small and almost flat) so stock takes up little or very little storage space.

A buyer who misses out on the new Christmas ranges released around late June* or just not wanting to buy that early will then browse the year before's collections and often earlier. Last Christmas I bought some items from Christmas collections dating back to 2021. As they remain in demand, prices tend to be the original price.

Old collections have a run of buyers and you can find yourself too late to buy, though not as bad as items for the forthcoming Christmas. Last year's scramble for "festive berry red" glitter drops was insane: available for a few days only, sold out everywhere I looked; I bought what I think was the very last one (we're all looking for the most authentic shade, and they're rarely made!) Manufacturer didn't make any more - didn't they want the money? Anyone who bought those glitter drops who then decides to sell, either new or having used a few drops, could well make a killing any time from June 2025.

[insidethe93]

The * in my post is a mis-type. Sorry.