DROP IN SALES SINCE NEW BUYER PROTECTION 4TH FEB 2025

[lo.maggi]

Has anyone else noticed lack of sales since the buyer protection update 4th february 2025. I used to sell quite a lot and virtually sold nothing since 4th Feb. Can anyone else relate to this and what can we do?

[*devils.advocate*]

Buyers see the price they have to pay including the fees.

They have to.

DYOR why - and that includes any online or B&M shop or supermarket.

[twbc123]

Yes, true but eBay don’t declare the split difference to show the sellers price and ebays cut. They ave hidden it from you

Given to choice of buying a £5000 car from auto trader or the same car from eBay for ££5200 with the hidden fee. I think I’ll save my are earned money and buy it from autotrader. I’m sure the seller won’t mind stumping up the commission if it means they actually get the sale.

[t_purdy]

Buyers used to have to pay 13.22% + 30p? I don't remember that but I'm not saying your wrong just to be clear as I did take a long time away from eBay.

I know that the seller used to pay about 11% in total, in fees, before the free to list and admittedly I was one of those "Idiots" who didn't reduce the price when the 'free to sell' came in but I didn't really have the time to and as it wasn't affecting my buyers so I just left it alone, plus I kind of felt it was a little bit of payback (from eBay) after year or two of paying the 11%-ish before.

I admit last night I did have of a knee jerk reaction when I went to buy something and it put the price over what I could afford and I also had a message from a buyer complaining about all my raised prices too. However after thinking about it (see a post on a previous or two page). I figured that if I adjust my prices to absorb the 4% and + 75p for the buyer then its still better than the 11% sellers fee I used to pay just a few months ago and my buyers will still see the same price, or close to. I just need to get around to sorting all my prices now which is a bit of a faff to get it right.

Also as someone said in this post (or it may have been another) most people are savvy buyers and will go where it's cheapest even if it's by a few pounds.

[*devils.advocate*]

And did private sellers declare the 13.22% + 30p fees on their listings or did they hide it from buyers?

Your example of the car - end price rules - does the seller declare their Autotrader fees in their advertisement?

No, they don't.

So why should that apply to other sites?

[twbc123]

It’s not actually about the price you pay even if you reduce it. It’s the principle of paying above the price advertised by the seller. All that’s going to happen is things will lose their value.

Two of my friends who have been eBay members, one for 18years and the other 12 have both sold nothing since the beginning of February. One of them has already ended their account with eBay and I’m due to do the same once all my items are listed on Facebook.

[*devils.advocate*]

It’s the principle of paying above the price advertised

But that's the same anywhere for any item - you don't know what lies behind the price.

If you are ending listings or whatever, I wish you the best.

Don't cancel your eBay account, just stop using it, walk away if that's what's best for you - you never know, things might change and you might, or might not, return - if you do return, at least a proven account is still there.

[t_purdy]

I see your point and I agree, I wish I didn't have to sort my prices it would have been far better, like you mentioned if eBay just said we are lowering the seller fee from 11% to 4% or 5% instead of going free to sell and passing the fee (so to speak) onto the buyer.

I have thought about going to Facebook but I have heard it's a really bad place to sell due to scammers, but maybe it's time to give it a try and see for myself, I'm happy as long as I have some protection as a seller and as a buyer.

[twbc123]

The point is that I as a seller don’t mind paying the commission as long as I get a sale and that’s the whole point made about Autotrader and that’s what all the fuss is about.

You don’t walk into a bakers and buy a loaf of bread for £2 and get told . ‘Sorry were adding 4% plus 75p for buying the loaf because we’re not paying for the electric anymore, you are’.

At the end of the day, from now on I don’t expect to sell anything after eBays stealth add on fee and anything I buy knowing that there’s an add, I’ll either buy elsewhere or just buy outside eBay.

[twbc123]

Very true. But oddly enough they call it a buyers protection fee and yet you’re already protected if you pay through PayPal. So why do you need to pay it twice.

If this idea of ebays is so good, then why are Business sellers still paying the fees themselves? I think they would be the first to agree that most of them would go out of business if the roles were reversed. They’re quite happy with the arrangement.

I notice that eBay haven’t got any adverts on TV advertising this new idea. I wonder why.

[valleyrc1]

Your post got deleted because you called me an "arrogant troll"

An "arrogant troll" Why?

Because I won't indulge the paranoid, vocal minority who are consistently negative as they try to pretend that random ebay buyers come to ebay to make impulse purchases with an exact figure in mind, which they can use as a baseline for whether a 4% difference is a deal breaker?

It's utter nonsense.

Besides anything else, private sellers used to have to pay over 13% in fees plus a fixed sum which was obviously reflected in how much they charged to the end customer, so even with a 4% fee, the typical price of something is going to be lower than it used to, because private sellers get to keep more of their money and do not need to charge as much a before.

4% is too too expensive compared to what?

Explain to me how people come to ebay and start browsing, see something they like on a whim, but decide the price of this item that they have impulsively clicked on is 4% too expensive? What is their basis making that assessment? 

I'm dying to know which metric an impulse buyer is using to determine the price in front of him is 4% more than they were previously willing to pay....

I'm sorry that you guys are so invested in, and so protective of your negative take on everything, but it doesn't change reality.

[valleyrc1]

"I don’t think Tesco’s would very long if they added 4% plus 75p per item when it’s customers got to the till."

The full price is shown in the listing, so that analogy doesn't really work.

[twbc123]

4% extra on a pair of socks, no problem, but 4% on a 10 grand car, forget it, I’ll buy elsewhere.


13% sellers fee and get the sale or 4% buyers fee and not get the sale. I know which I’d prefer.

Ebays slump in sales is all down to two things, their greed and thank god at last, competition. They’ve finally got a well overdue boot up the backside. Which is why I don’t just use eBay anymore. I did once but not now and this latest move is just one more nail in the coffin.

eBay are a bit like the banks. All they have is a large computer, a few staff and people at the top who live a life of luxury at your expensive.

[twbc123]

It does if you know about it. Which is why eBay are clearly not telling you the breakdown of the final fee.

Ebays more expensive sales will just dwindle as the wise ones will just buy elsewhere.

[*devils.advocate*]

..... more expensive sales will just dwindle as the wise ones will just buy elsewhere .....

But that's always been the case - no matter which site you research.

That's nothing new - as I've said before, price rules - that's always the determining factor for many.

[rabwendy]

Everyone understands eBay needs to make money but I think it’s absolutely crazy to charge the buyers.EBay, the business sellers and the private sellers all rely on the buyers.There is no eBay without buyers so they might not mean to but they are punishing the buyers 


Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

[mydeafdog]

Ebay are not interested in private sellers. 

The ONLY reason they removed sales fees was to attack Vinted and wipe them out.

[twbc123]

The proof will be in the pudding.

[*devils.advocate*]

But they did charge the buyers - don't think buyers are that naïve.

Private sellers include their fees in the price they charge - if they're sensible.

Properly registered business sellers include their fees in the price they charge.

Every change brings out all the emotive posts / feelings - it's only natural.

I wish I had a pound for every post over the years that said "there is no eBay without buyers" - yet, after 25+ years, it's still here - and those which have failed to replace it?

[wellingnorth]

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@valleyrc1 wrote:

Besides anything else, private sellers used to have to pay over 13% in fees plus a fixed sum which was obviously reflected in how much they charged to the end customer, so even with a 4% fee, the typical price of something is going to be lower than it used to, because private sellers get to keep more of their money and do not need to charge as much a before.
...
Explain to me how people come to ebay and start browsing, see something they like on a whim, but decide the price of this item that they have impulsively clicked on is 4% too expensive? What is their basis making that assessment? 

I'm dying to know which metric an impulse buyer is using to determine the price in front of him is 4% more than they were previously willing to pay....

---

What you're saying is substantially correct, there are less fees to pay overall now, which should be a good thing, but I would make the following points.

Imagine under the old system a seller set the price of an item at £20

At that time the buyer pays £20 but the seller would have received about £17.30 after fees.

Then ebay removed selling fees - so the buyer pays £20 and the seller receives £20 for the item.

How many sellers dropped their prices as that point?

My guess is not that many, partly because of inertia, but also because the buyer would see the same price - if the seller thought the item would sell for £20 before then why would they think they it should see for any less after? So overall I imagine prices on the site probably stayed the same after that change.

Now ebay are adding the buyer fee 4% + 75p 

If the seller leaves the price the same the buyer sees £21.55

So firstly the addition of the buyer fee has literally made the item cost more than it did last month, but also psychologically the odd pricing is an impediment to the sale, wherever anything before was £19.99, £24.99, etc now it is £21.51, £26.74.

Personally I wish ebay had just left the fees as they were or at least just made the switch straight from the old system to the new one. But at this point it would make things much better if there was something in the bulk lister to adjust prices for existing listings to absorb the buyer fee and in the new listing tool to let sellers choose to set the price they want to receive OR a price that would include the buyer fee if they prefer.

[mydeafdog]

It now means that private sellers are more expensive for the same items than business sellers.