2 or more bids on an Auction listing will mean new Buyer Protection Fee becomes a seller fee instead

[pcclubber]

I can't seem to find that anyone has posted about this, so I'm wondering if private sellers have in the main even realised this yet!

So, to explain the point I'm making, ebay is making much of the fact it's now free for private sellers to sell on ebay. BUT once the Buyer Protection Fees are added to a category you're selling in, it will in practise only be paid by the buyer on an Auction style listing if you only receive one bid, that's because if you think about it, with the fees being added into the price the buyer sees, instead of it being shown separately either underneath as postage is, or at checkout when they make payment, the buyer will in practise bid what they think the item is worth to them regardless of where the money is going. They're not gonna think to themselves I feel the item is worth £25 to me, but then say to themselves but hang on a minute I now need to pay my Buyer Protection Fees as well, so I must bid £26.75 to allow for them!

So this means when you get your payout from ebay after the item is delivered you won't get the full £25 the buyer bid if it ends at that after two or more bids are placed, ebay will take the Buyer Protection Fee out of the £25 the item realised & pay you the net amount it then works out at, meaning the seller will still pay the fees when two or more bids are received!

This to my mind is the biggest catch of all aspects of the new fees system, because you will actually be losing money, whereas the delay in paying us till ebay's sure the buyer's received the goods I see being complained about so much recently on forums, is merely a delay in paying you, you'll still get your money though.

So, if the buyer is to truly pay the fees, then ebay needs to change it so the fees are displayed separately underneath so a bidders bid isn't reduced by them when you're paid out, this would also get rid of all the silly weird amounts items will now display at too, which I & I notice other people are also not happy with, it just makes the listings look so scrappy & unprofessional!

[kath3735_wxmjn]

I know it is early but that does not make any sense (just like the e bay changes!).  You put a minimum amount on your item,  say £20, e bay add the BPF  so it shows as say £21.50 to the bidders who then put in £25 (which would include a BPF OF SAY £2)  the seller would then get £23.  You are still getting your starting amount plus a little extra.  The buyer is not interested in where the money is going as long as they get what they want for the price they want.   Seller is not actually losing any money at all as they are still getting what they originally asked for.   

[papso22]

No-one has posted about it because you have misunderstood how auctions and the BPF work.

Also, buyers don't care where their payment goes, all they are interested in is the total.  They certainly won't be factoring the BPF into their calculations of affordability. 

[pcclubber]

I disagree I don't think you've understood, I'm not suggesting you get less than your starting bid, if you only get one bid with the item selling for the starting amount, then yes the buyer does pay the new fees as added on top of the starting price by ebay. BUT if you get more than one bid then things are different, the buyer then only pays the amount they actually bid for the item (with no fees added on top), and the seller then ends up paying the fees out of that winning bid, rather than the buyer paying them added on top of the winning bid. I'll set out examples below using your amounts for all 3 ways fees have or could be applied, for simplification on the basis of fees being at the same rate in each example....

Under the old seller fees:-

Item starts at £20, two bids are received, item sells for £25 as bid by buyer, seller receives a £23 payout & pays £2 in fees, buyer pays no fees.

Under new supposed buyer fees:-

Item starts at £20, two bids are received, item sells for £25 as bid by buyer, seller receives a £23 payout with the other £2 being deemed the new buyer fees & so isn't paid to the seller, the buyer only pays the £25 they bid & hence the buyer pays no fees.

Under my suggestion ebay shows the fees separate to the item price:-

Item starts at £20, two bids are received, item sells for £25 as bid by buyer, seller receives the full £25, buyer pays £25 plus the £2 buyer fees that were shown separately & hence the buyer pays the fees on top as ebay now intends.

Also all starting prices would remain at the amount set by the seller instead of displaying at all kinds of odd amounts after ebay adds the fees onto them, which I'd also much prefer!

[pcclubber]

Hi. Please see my reply to kath3735_wxmjn above which sets out examples that perhaps better explain it.