Deceitful fees from eBay

[sennajc]

I promoted a listing and understood that if it sold during a certain period I would be charged a promotion fee.

I subsequently received an offer and eBay showed me how much I would receive.

’You’ll receive £1070’ (I took a screenshot) and this was lower than the offered price by ~£30. I was happy (enough) with that and accepted the offer.

Some days later, eBay took an additional 10%, £107 + VAT (~£128) leaving me with ~£940…which I would not have accepted.

This is very misleading and I believe deliberately deceitful. Has anyone experienced this and won a case against eBay?

Thanks for any helpful advice.

[tobiasd4]

If buyers make an offer, it is what they want to pay, so will include BPF. 

If seller makes an offer, ebay add BPF on to amount. 

[papso22]

The first deduction was the buyer protection fee,  the second is the promotion fee.

[red_magpie]

This is very misleading and I believe deliberately deceitful.

No, it isn't, you just didn't understand how eBay's fees are taken.

The first deduction was the buyer's buyer protection fee. This £30 fee was payable by the buyer to eBay, not to you. This is always the case when offers are made to private sellers; the buyer offers the price they're willing to pay, inclusive of eBay's fee. On payment, eBay takes its BPF fee, as they're entitled to, and the balance is paid to the seller.

Promotion fees are entirely separate. Listing fees including special promotions are not taken from the sale proceeds, but are invoiced monthly. You chose to promote the sale, accepting that there would be a fee if the item sold within the specfied period. It did, and so you were charged the promotion fee, plus VAT. 

I think you can br reassured that eBay charged you correctly, and in accordance with the guidance on its fees.

[sennajc]

I appreciate your view, but don't understand it!

When I received the offer, beneath the offer price it said 'You will receive £XX'. On that basis I made a decision.

That value accounted for the BPF but did not account for the promotion fee. That to me is misleading and deceitful and I would like to understand how you see it otherwise! 

If I knew I would receive £130 less due to the promotion fee, I would have declined the offer and made a counter offer. Now I am £130 worse off!

[papso22]

The best way to understand how ebay works is to check out their published guidance.

Too many people make costly assumptions. 

Promotion fees are listing fees, they are billed separately and not part of the order notification which tells you how much you will receive from that order.  You might not agree with it but that's how it works.

[sennajc]

 If dealing with a reputable/ethical organisation, it is normally safe to assume that they will do what they say.

Ebay said 'you will receive £XX' but I did not. Further they deducted one fee and not another to give me a number that means nothing. That I maintain is deliberately misleading and deceitful.

You are clearly an 'experienced mentor' and I am an infrequent user. I (and others) should be able to assume when ebay tells me something that it is accurate. They can easily provide an instantaneous number that is accurate, but they chose not to! 

[papso22]

No they can't. 

And I am an Experienced Mentor,  no need for quotation marks. 

[sennajc]

Why can't they?

'Experienced' I can't argue, helpful I would question!!

[john1297576]

If you had not used the promotion then you would have received the amount stated. 

If you agree to pay a promotion fee, then you will be charged.

I have agree a small promotion fee, only 5%, as it is supposed to attract more visits, it does not, but when I sell something the fee is deducted from what I receive.

Because I now only list items that are exempt from SD, being low value, when charged even 5% charged on sale price plus postage, PLUS vat works out at around 10%.

[kh-david.f]

Just a friendly reminder to keep this discussion respectful and on-topic. No need to get personal!

[sennajc]

I fully understand and chose the promotion to improve probability of a successful sale. 

My point is that at the moment I needed to accept or decline an offer, ebay told me I would receive a certain amount of money. This was misleading (overstated by £130), and deliberately so. They can easily subtract 10% + VAT and provide the accurate number.

I believe (not 100% sure) that the promotion fee only applies for a period and depends on when the buyer first clicks on the listing. I don't have that information and rely on ebay to tell me when I need to make a decision how much I will get. 

Hope that explains?