How about more Promotions that favour the Seller ?

[santlache_sales]

In my line of selling, in early December 2023 ebay offered certain sellers with so many higher ticket items over £250 a offer which lasted six months until May 2024.

After signing up, this basically meant any new item listed that was over £250, they gave you an average FVF of 10% and this worked on a scale, so the higher the ticket price the more discount you got off this average 10%.

Items didn't exactly fly out the door, but I sold quite a few of these higher ticket items over the six months and it helped a great deal, but it also felt a lot more FAIR. It wasn't as if eBay were sacrificing much as they still got a nice cut.

I'd like to see more or even another offer like this please, eBay ????

[santlache_sales]

I think now there is very little goodwill towards ebay from sellers, primarily from the way they now interfere and control every single aspect of a sale along with the massive increases in fees......for an inferior platform.

When I first started on here, ebay let you get on with it with minimal interference and stood in the background like a responsible adult, ensuring fair play. It worked very well too, they made record profits year in year out and we also did okay.

In fact I used to quite enjoy it on here back then, now it's become a real chore.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Maybe, maybe not.  The particular promotion Anniversary25, is covering a lot more than just clothing.

It may not be what your selling, but it's a lot more than just one type of item.

You could also not be getting these kind of offers, as you don't appear to be TRS.  Something that you may want to consider.  After all, this is what Ebay is pushing for.  ie. Free postage, returns and a fast option.

It's easy enough to incorporate the cost into your items.  And anyone with any nouse, is perfectly able to compare items, with or without postage included.

[santlache_sales]

"No, you stated that "YOU" getting lower fees for a period was fairer."

Circular argument .

[santlache_sales]

You could also not be getting these kind of offers, as you don't appear to be TRS.

I've been a TRS since day one when it was first introduced, never lost it, and in over 20 years can count the Negative Feedback I've had on one hand.

I'm the sort of seller eBay wants and needs on the platform, but do I ever get any reward ?

No, and that offer I mention in the OP is the only one I've had in all my time here. An offer whereby I actually gained something.

[pg_kicks]

Have you ever been offered the pro trader scheme? Thats how I got on the radar for every promo within the quarter, I got the black Friday one and maybe 1 other then after being on pro trader I got 7 or 8 within the space of 3 months as the eBay employee put my account forward for it.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Ok, but your offers are not showing as TRS.  As they can be, only if you apply the rules.

ie the Premium service, such as free post, 30 day returns and faster post.

So if your offers aren't, it may well go against you, which is all that I was saying.

[the_book_seekers]

I'd like to see ebay offer UK sellers shop subscriptions more on a par with those in the US where they get way more for their money.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

I'm not so sure that they get way more for their money, but they get more listings at a lower level.

However, Final value fees are a little more expensive overall.  So it probably works out fairly similar at the end of the day.  But as with anything, it depends very much on what and how many sales you make.

I am surpised that it's not the same though.  But I've never really bothered to look previously, so never noticed.

[the_book_seekers]

These are the US shop subscriptions where sellers have the option to renew on a yearly basis and receive a monthly discount on the subscription price. Auctions are only available in certain categories which would be a minor disappointment. I have a basic shop with 100 auctions & 250 BINs for £27 (plus 20% vat) while the US basic shop offers 250 auctions - 1000 BINs in all categories & 10,000 in certain categories. If we were given the US rates I'd opt for the yearly renewal on a basic shop - $21.95 works out at £17.16 and with vat added that would work out at about £20.60 as opposed to the £32.40 I currently spend. I would also save on the extra listings over my limits which would make it cheaper by about £17 a month with many more listings available. 

Starter $7.95 (Monthly) $4.95 (Yearly renewal) - 250 listings (auctions & BINs)

Basic $27.95 (Monthly) $21.95 (Yearly renewal) - 250 auctions select categories/1000 BINs all categories/10,000 BINs certain categories.

Premium$74.95 (Monthly) $59.95 (Yearly renewal) - 500 auctions select categories/10,000 BINs all categories/50,000 BINs certain categories

Anchor $349.95(Monthly) $299.95 (Yearly renewal) - 1000 auctions select categories/25,000 BINs all categories/75,000 BINs certain categories 

Enterprise (Monthly not available) $2,999.95 (Yearly renewal)  - 2500 auctions select categories/100,000 BINs all categories/100,000 BINs certain categories

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Yes, I literally went and looked at them last night, but as I said, the FVF's are more expensive.  So the calculation is not as straightforward as it may appear.

Particularly so for the starter shop, as that is more expensive again.

[the_book_seekers]

The US don't pay VAT on fees so as you say it's not as straight forward. 

But a basic deal offering at least 750 more BINs for a smaller subscription than I'm paying now I'd take that.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

There is no VAT in the USA. U.S. state sales and use tax rates vary between 2.9% and 7.25%

I'm not so sure that overall it is all that different to be honest.  I'm sure that for some, they would be better off, but for others not so much.  But at the end of the day, we are in the UK and we have to work with what we have, not what we might want.  🙂

I think overall, I would definately prefer the UK system of tax, as it can get a lot more complicated over there with the different states, which is probably why the shops are setup in the way that they are and they different here.

[the_book_seekers]

At the end of the day I'd take ebay matching the US for the number of listings for a basic shop for the same as I pay in the UK. 10,000 in certain categories I could live without, but 1000 BINs in all categories I'd take.  Regardless of who pays what and how, we get a lot less in listing numbers in comparison to the US. 

[santlache_sales]

I'd like to see ebay offer UK sellers shop subscriptions more on a par with those in the US where they get way more for their money.

Yes, I also heard they don't get screwed over for 10% on P&P charges

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Final value fees

We charge one final value fee when your item sells, and you don't have to worry about third-party payment processing fees. This fee is calculated as a percentage of the total amount of the sale, plus a per order fee. For orders $10.00 or less the per order fee is $0.30, for orders over $10.00 the per order fee is $0.40.

The total amount of the sale includes the item price, any handling charges, any shipping costs collected from the buyer (some exceptions apply), sales tax, and any other applicable fees.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822#section6

[santlache_sales]

I am showing as TRS if you go to my Feedback, it's just ebay decided NOT to show it on sellers items if they don't play by eBay's rules, even if their service record totally warrants it.

Maybe you were, maybe you weren't around then, but when eBay decided they wanted all sellers to offer free P&P, they thought they were onto a good thing as sellers would then load it on the price of postage onto the sale price, meaning they got a bigger FVF.

Except smart sellers realised this and told ebay to go and shove the Free P&P and carried on charging it, so that extra income eBay were expecting all but failed to to materialise....so what did they do....

Around six weeks later nasty sneaky eBay whacked a 10% charge on everyone still charging P&P, so in the end they got all their extra income they were hoping for as they fleeced sellers more to boost their profits.

That's the bottom line of it.

eBay then made it part of their so-called 'Premium' service that only sellers giving Free P&P can qualify. My reply to that again was they could still  go and shove it as did many in my line.

So I've carried on the way I always have, with exemplary feedback and I WON'T play eBay's money making games, and it is things like this that totally erroded my confidence in the platform quite some while ago.

Nobody ever praises eBay anymore, every shouts it down and they have every reason to, it's a mere shadow of what it once was before eBay got greedy and lost the plot, then of late decided they wanted total control over every single aspect of a sale.

The Golden era on here as I call it was from 2000 to around 2009, it's been a slow slide downhill ever since.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

You don't show as Top Rated to your customers on your listings.

That's because your not giving the premium service and that was all that I pointed out in the first place.  As a possible reason, for not getting the promotions etc.

Yes, I was here when Ebay introduced the paying on feedback.  Hell, I was around when the internet was invented!  But sellers have an awful lot to do with why that happened, as so many inflated the postage costs, to avoid the fees and make items look a lot cheaper.  It's not all about Ebay's greed at all.

However, you seem to be determined to shoot yourself in the foot in this regard.  You acknowledge that you will be charged for postage, but won't concede that it's worth making the changes needed, to get an extra 10% discount on your fees.  That way lies madness.

[john8150_0]

You've got a slightly warped view of how this site operates.

Yes, some sellers were circumnavigating ebay fees by selling items for pennies and charging $100's for postage. Ebay realised this was a problem so instead of sanctioning the few who were taking the *bleep* they charged all sellers 10% of their postage charges. To police the few rogues the vast majority of sellers who were following the rules were financially punished. If you think that's legitimate business you must be an ebay shareholder.

One of the biggest areas of sellers circumnavigating ebay fees is mentioned a dozen times a day and nothing is ever done about it. Business sellers using Private accounts and just to be clear, anybody buying an item to sell for profit is a business. How much do you think that costs ebay in lost revenue? Way more than the scam on postage ever did would be my guess.

[british-ceramics-and-paintings]

Sellers charging ridiculous postage costs were few and far between, it was not the norm. It was all about Ebay making more money and this was another easy option for them. 

If sellers charge ridiculous postage costs their ratings and feedback would have been / will be very poor.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Not at all.

I was there when this was going on.  The number of sellers that abused postal charges was ridiculous.

It was one of the main constants and a very big bugbear to many buyers.

It was not a "few" sellers that were doing that at all.

And as I have stated multiple times on the forums, I do believe that "private" accounts, should be sorted out yesterday.  I actually go as far as reporting them to Ebay and Trading standards every time I see them.