Buyer Protection

[newsandels]

Just noticed all my items listed this week Ebay have increased  my starting price by 75p+ 4% this will impact on my sales as some items are listed low to sell. If Ebay want to get Buyer Protection from the Buyer they should add it at checkout so not to make it look like the Seller is on the make.

Is this legal to alter the sellers listing price? I think this could be the end of Ebay for Private sellers. I have been a seller for 20 years this is the worst I have seen it   

[gazfromnuneaton]

A 76p buyer protection fee on a 99p listing is absolutely ridiculous. Go back to charging sellers or remove for items below  £2. Most of my items are 99p and have stopped selling. Will all come off shortly and do joblots to get rid of all my listings if Ebay doesn't change this stupid fee. Then they'll get nothing from me after 23 years.

[goldenwolfman]

I ended most of my listings over a month ago - put some back as testers to see if SD had been enforced as yet - still accepting postage as my choice ...at the moment. Not sold a thing and views are practically zero.

Obey has shot themselves in the foot, there are so many glitches and blatant errors. In fact go as far as to say the whole issue is a disaster - must be pressure coming soon on those who formulated this mess.

I took my listings to another site, e bid, its slow but I made some sales - so all is not finished. I'm still monitoring daily and will take down the remainder when SD is enforced. Not purchased a thing for months - and will not do so until I'm able to make some money here.

[fordedison]

the holy grail for ebay would always have been a buyers premium and this looks to be just that in all but name !!

[anna_e_c]

Hi I've been a private seller and buyer on ebay for 24 years,  I've never seen anything like it around so called buyer protection fees, I've lost £5:69 from the sale price for buyer protection fees and money on hold until the items arrive and is released this can be upto two days after receipt.  What a joke, whereas the sellers protection,  why am I now being expected to sent out items on the promise that buyers will firstly be honest and that ebay release the funds? 

More under hand ebay fees in the UK, so much for selling for free 

[itrustu08082008]

Agreed, since Ebay has copy vinted, buyers pay for the postage, they copy with buyer pay for the commission and not the seller, which is silly as the buyer is shocked to find the extra cost added at the end of the auction of fixed amount or offer amount. I have to reduce the price by the buyer protection, but still the buyer think they are paying for it so they ask more, it is terrible, now I used to have lots of sales, but now it is one per many months and I do not bother with ebay. Ebay has really shot themselves in the foot. 

Maybe we should report this to the commission of standard practice or any, as they are adding extra cost at the checkout which was banned by airlines, if all remember. 

[foredeckunion]

Agree - let’s be clear this is a straight rip-off by eBay to line their own pockets at no discernible benefit to either buyer or seller - and they couldn’t care less .

I’ve  bought and sold on eBay for 20 years, never had an issue on either side of a transaction.

The feedback system keeps 99% of people straight already. If there really is a case for this fee, then show us the hard evidence, because I don’t believe it.
Classic monopolistic abuse by a market dominator whose customers have little realistic option to go elsewhere.

Used to recommend eBay to others, but no more.

[walkers17]

I agree. This is a ripoff. I’m a private seller. Most of my items are priced under £10. Purchases have now dropped through the floor as the addition of buyer protection (whatever that means!) makes my items unattractive to purchasers. I’ve always sent sold items by Royal Mail and have never had an issue with that. 

[foredeckunion]

Buyer protection also leads to incomprehensible sale prices like £9.63 or £321.04, which make no sense to buyers used to the logical pricing that used to be possible and that is universally used by retailers, such as £10 or £14.99.

Very bad, unnecessary and greedy call by eBay, and very reputationally damaging.

[foredeckunion]

Buyer protection also leads to incomprehensible sale prices like £9.63 or £321.04, which make no sense to buyers used to the logical pricing that used to be possible and that is universally used by retailers, such as £10 or £14.99.

Very bad, unnecessary and greedy call by eBay, and very reputationally damaging.

[doobiedoobieday]

I’m not happy with this recent buyers protection fee.  There’s confusion for buyers specially when making best offers ! Some getting refused as they are not including this addition fee ! It’s confusing to see that on my fee breakdown it clearly states buyer protection fee (paid by buyer) and it’s also taken from my seller account. This can’t be correct ?

[foredeckunion]

It's simple - eBay aren't listening to their customers.

[lees_sales21]

For sure! 

Unless it is because they want to push sellers into setting up a business account (with a fee), interest gained on delayed payments, charging a promotion fee, or taking a cut of all the postage, then I genuinely don't get it. 

All I can see happening is private sellers who are not businesses, nor sell sufficient amounts to pay a monthly fee, will leave.

And those private sellers, will be a fair number of buyers too. So in a relatively short space of time they will leave. 

Sales will be down

Purchases down

eBay income down.

Makes no sense to me.

[doobiedoobieday]

eBay is no longer an enjoyable platform. The whole concept has changed now buyers sit & wait for sellers to make them offers like the pre Xmas sales ! and it’s full of business sellers & Chinese knock offs. I’m probably going to wind it up. 

[doobiedoobieday]

eBay are suspiciously taking buyer protection fees from the buyer and then also deducting that same amount from seller’s sales funds of each item. Is there a link to follow to make complaints to eBay or does it require a phone call ? I think their new practices are despicable and even possibly illegal. 

[gjalp]

I noticed something interesting today. On listings or viewing offers it says ‘…protection fee for UK buyers…’, soooo how come a buyer protection fee has been added to my European buyers? Once the buyer has paid, if I view the transaction it has item total, buyer protection fee and ebay collected tax (or whatever its called). I hadn’t noticed until today as today I was looking to see when payment would be available and spotted it.

[doobiedoobieday]

Buyer protection is a double rip-off the buyer pays then eBay take from seller funds also. Is that fair or even legal ? 

[tressygirl]

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@doobiedoobieday wrote:

Buyer protection is a double rip-off the buyer pays then eBay take from seller funds also. Is that fair or even legal ? 

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You ask is it legal?

eBay will have the best ' lawyers' in town that money can buy,  and would have crossed every T , and dotted every i , in any legality route,  before putting this forward.

It's not liked by many,   but it is legal.

@doobiedoobieday 

[emw-designs]

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@gjalp wrote:

I noticed something interesting today. On listings or viewing offers it says ‘…protection fee for UK buyers…’, soooo how come a buyer protection fee has been added to my European buyers? Once the buyer has paid, if I view the transaction it has item total, buyer protection fee and ebay collected tax (or whatever its called). I hadn’t noticed until today as today I was looking to see when payment would be available and spotted it.

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Not all UK buyers pay the BPF. I recently had an order from someone whose eBay account is registered in a different country, but they wanted the item sent to a UK address.  Ebay didn't charge them the BPF. As it was an auction, they won the item for less than another bidder would have paid, because the other bidders would have had to pay the BPF.

[gjalp]

That seems to indicate its an almost random charge then. I read it as that if an item is going to a UK address, then BPF applies. This suggests that this is not true. 

[emw-designs]

It was explained to me like this: if the buyer is registered in another country and logs on to ebay in that country and buys the item on their own country's site to be delivered to a UK address, then they don't pay the BPF.

In my buyer's case, they bought the item on ebay.com.au but provided a UK address for delivery. It's not clear whether they would have had to pay the BPF if they'd logged on to ebay.co.uk to buy it using their Australian ebay account.

I didn't even know my items would show on other ebay sites around the world as I only ship to the UK.