04-03-2026 8:42 PM
Just today I realised that if I list "buy it now" items with offers and I accept an offer I don't get the full amount.....for example if I list an item for £100( with offers) and it sells for £100 I recieve the full amount but....if I get sent an offer for say £75 , I dont actually receive £75 . The £75 offer includes buyer protection so im affectively paying the buyers protection myself.....and I would only receive say £70 ....how can ebay get away with this ? I complained and all they kept repeating was" we tell you before you accept exactly how much you receive and it includes buyer protection " but that's not the point.... if a buyer offers me £75 I should receive £75 and the £4 buyer protection should be added on to the offer price their end ... they do this with a normal transaction so why is it different if you accept offers .it should be exactly the same....why is nobody annoyed by this? I can't find anyone talking about it ....ebay claim its free to sell for private buyers now so why am losing that £4 my end? It's sneaky and immoral.... the only solution I can see is no longer allow offers... if I list something for £40 I receive £40 .....I would advise everyone to do this.....
04-03-2026 9:02 PM
Ebay do tell you this when buyer makes an offer, but it is not clear.
If buyer makes an offer, it is what they want to pay, so includes BPF.
If seller makes an offer, ebay add on BPF so buyer sees total to pay.
Lots of complained about it, but ebay haven't changed it.
04-03-2026 9:04 PM
Sellers are not paying the fee
Buyers make their offer based on the maximum they are willing to pay including the fee
Your buyer didn't want to pay more than £75 including the fee, this is shown to you when you receive the offer as
You have received an offer of £75 You will receive £71 or would you rather pay the old fee of around £10 from your sale?
04-03-2026 10:22 PM
eBay would say - correctly - that whether a buyer bids on a listing or makes an offer, the price they pay includes eBay's buyer protection fee.
The confusion arises because when you sell through a listing, the buyer pays eBay's buyer protection fee in addition to the sale price. But when you accept an offer, the price offered is inclusive of the buyer protection fee. So when eBay has taken this fee the seller receives less than the full amount offered.
From the number of questions and complaints we receive it's clear that many users dont understand this, and sellers in particular often feel cheated. So far, eBay has shown little inclination to change it, or to explain it more clearly.
04-03-2026 10:33 PM
05-03-2026 8:54 AM - edited 05-03-2026 8:58 AM
This just proves what I have always thought, buyers do not like paying the Protection? fee so pass it on the seller.
For all the extra protection it offers, it is just a money spinner for ebay, as it is in addition to the money back guarantee which costs the buyer nothing.
This is what the fee covers, and how often is it needed?
With Buyer Protection, you benefit from: