Buyer fee - how to calculate total? + Shipping: charge separately now or not?

[jimthing]

Q1: What is the spreadsheet calculation to work out the FINAL buyer price, that's accurate? 

The new abysmal listing page does not allow you to enter a FINAL price the buyer will pay, but instead gives you a single box for your price then works out the fee that'll be added on afterwards?!

Q2: Also, is it better to break the postage back out again from a total sale price now? As previously (before free private sellers for the last 6-mths, since Oct.2024 until now) Ebay would charge fee on everything regardless of shipping cost being in price or separately extra. But AFAICT, now seemingly the buyer fee is only charged on the main price with postage not having the fee on it.

See here: 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/selling/pricing-items/buyer-protection-information-sellers?id=55... 

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Separate issue: I should also add that Ebay's system doesn't charge the right fee either, on the list an item page! Example: 

27.95 - item price

= 1.868 - buyer fee [ 1.118 (4%) + 0.75 (fixed)] – which should round up to 1.87 fee

Yet on the list an item page, Ebay fee shows fee as 1.84!

[magpiecorner1]

Ah, the penny drops!

I thought of doing exactly the same thing, and I've made up a list from 99p to 39.99 if that what you want?  Couldn't work out a formula, I'm a bear of very little brain, but did come up with a 'price list'. 

selling	4%	£0.75	TOTAL		% DIFF	actual
price						increase
0.23	0.01	0.75	0.99		330%	0.76
1.19	0.05	0.75	1.99		67%	0.80
2.15	0.09	0.75	2.99		39%	0.84
3.12	0.12	0.75	3.99		28%	0.87
4.08	0.16	0.75	4.99		22%	0.91
5.04	0.20	0.75	5.99		19%	0.95
6.00	0.24	0.75	6.99		17%	0.99
6.96	0.28	0.75	7.99		15%	1.03
7.92	0.32	0.75	8.99		13%	1.07
8.88	0.36	0.75	9.99		12%	1.11
9.85	0.39	0.75	10.99		12%	1.14
10.81	0.43	0.75	11.99		11%	1.18
11.77	0.47	0.75	12.99		10%	1.22
12.73	0.51	0.75	13.99		10%	1.26
13.69	0.55	0.75	14.99		9%	1.30
14.65	0.59	0.75	15.99		9%	1.34
15.62	0.62	0.75	16.99		9%	1.37
16.58	0.66	0.75	17.99		9%	1.41
17.54	0.70	0.75	18.99		8%	1.45
18.50	0.74	0.75	19.99		8%	1.49
19.46	0.78	0.75	20.99		8%	1.53
20.42	0.82	0.75	21.99		8%	1.57
21.38	0.86	0.75	22.99		8%	1.61
22.35	0.89	0.75	23.99		7%	1.64
23.31	0.93	0.75	24.99		7%	1.68
24.27	0.97	0.75	25.99		7%	1.72
25.23	1.01	0.75	26.99		7%	1.76
26.19	1.05	0.75	27.99		7%	1.80
27.15	1.09	0.75	28.99		7%	1.84
28.12	1.12	0.75	29.99		7%	1.87
29.04	1.20	0.75	30.99		7%	1.95
30.00	1.24	0.75	31.99		7%	1.99
31.00	1.24	0.75	32.99		6%	1.99
31.96	1.28	0.75	33.99		6%	2.03
32.92	1.32	0.75	34.99		6%	2.07
33.88	1.36	0.75	35.99		6%	2.11
34.85	1.39	0.75	36.99		6%	2.14
35.81	1.43	0.75	37.99		6%	2.18
36.77	1.47	0.75	38.99		6%	2.22
37.73	1.51	0.75	39.99		6%	2.26

[doumind_7]

This is completely nuts! You're all barmy if you accept this *bleep*. How dare they hold on to your money for 14 days. Its insane. Leave. Go anywhere but don't stay with this excuse for  an organisation. After 8 years I'm off as soon as.

[jimthing]

@the-nutwood-collection - Yeah, that's not relevant here. 

[jimthing]

Called Ebay, under Ebay ref. SR# 1-490456846512

They investigating 2 bugs under it for these private sellers listing issues, after I sent them screenshots: 

1. The buyer fee amount calculation error, on List An Item/Revise Item pages. 

2. While most do show with fee added, some item pages still show publically and on search results without the fee added. (some of mine show with fee, others without!)

[sportex-uk]

Reverse formula is easy, just set 4 columns in excel:

A1 : Desired final price

B1 : =D1*0.04

C1 : = 0.75

D1 : =(A1-C1)/1.04

Enter into column 'A' desired final value and you'll get base price you need to set in listing in column 'D'.

It's all based on a formula that is applied properly.

[doumind_7]

Sorry what language are you talking in?

[sportex-uk]

Maths language

[vintique*violet]

Thank you for doing that - does it also include the VAT? Or is VAT not on the BPF I can't recall? 

[jimthing]

It's included, per the Help section. Hence the error I reported still needs dealing with by Ebay. 

[vintique*violet]

Thank you... oh my everything seems such a huge fuddle... 

[wintersdawn1]

Thanks magpiecorner1 for the table and sportex-uk for the formula 👍

[jimthing]

When they fix this, I'm also editing all my listings to separate out the postage costs to be on top of the price not part of it. 

They don't charge the buyer fee on shipping anymore, so it lowers the overall seller price by proxy. 

[mawels_87]

It much easier on Vinted. The listing the buyer sees as an example £10.00 + total £11.20 with buy protection fee. It's all hidden here on eBay.

[mawels_87]

So much easier on Vinted. 

[jimthing]

---

@sportex-uk wrote:

Reverse formula is easy, just set 4 columns in excel:

A1 : Desired final price

B1 : =D1*0.04

C1 : = 0.75

D1 : =(A1-C1)/1.04

Enter into column 'A' desired final value and you'll get base price you need to set in listing in column 'D'. It's all based on a formula that is applied properly.

---

Just to clarify the meaning of these columns for others reading, lol!... 

4 columns:

A1 : Desired final price

B1 : =D1*0.04 [fee: variable amount, 4%]

C1 : = 0.75 [fee: fixed amount, £0.75]

D1 : =(A1-C1)/1.04 [SELLER PRICE, pre-fee]

Or you can combine B1+C1 together as: 

=(D1*0.04)+0.75 [fee: variable 4% + fixed £0.75]

Don't forget, if you hit £300+ item price (up to £4000, when no fees apply), you'll have to add another part to the equation to lower the fee to 2% for the part above £300. Dunno the equation for that, sorry!

(Can see private sellers selling-off old electrical/computer equipment hitting this quite easily, for example.) 

[wellingnorth]

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@mawels_87 wrote:

So much easier on Vinted. 

---

It always annoyed me a bit on Vinted that they didn't show just the final price, after all it doesn't really matter to me as a a buyer how much the seller gets and what cut Vinted takes, BUT now I've seen this on ebay I can see the benefit, at least you understand up front why the price is an odd number rather than it being hidden. Particularly the way best offer works with it seems quite confusing. 

[wellingnorth]

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@jimthing wrote:

The list-an-item page works it out incorrectly as: 

£20 - Item price set by the seller

-£0.75 - minus fixed fee

= £19.25

£0.77 - Buyer Protection fee (4% of £19.25)

= £1.52 - TOTAL FEE (£0.75+£0.77)

£21.52 + postage - Price that buyer sees for the listing

£20 - seller earnings

This is ENTIRELY THE WRONG WAY according to Ebay's own help page! 

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Well spotted and interesting, the implementation of this in general seems like a work in progress.

Just now looking at a £25 item, I saw £26.72 on the search results page, then clicking through to the item page £25, then after clicking "buy it now" I got £26.72 again on the checkout showing the breakdown with the buyer fee.
Ten minutes later looking again I see £26.72 on the item page, but no breakdown when I click through to buy it now, just the total £26.72

[jimthing]

See post # 24 - reported and outstanding bug fixes. 

[mawels_87]

The buyer should always know exactly what they are paying in Fees as Bugs and Fee Hikes, so that the buyer  doesn't get caught out with nasty unseen surprises.

[insidethe93]

jimthing wrote: ...Private sellers may want to set rounded prices (eg. 29.99 or 44.00...

As a buyer, I'd like to see in search results if each and every item is offered by a private seller or a business seller, as a way to tell if the new buyer fees apply.  So far there's been no sign of this distinction, and no mention by eBay.

Non-rounded prices might be the only sign, one that would be very helpful!