EBay plan to add fees for buyers - hurts businesses even further

[vintagefunk01]

From the sky news article here which is obviously a press release https://news.sky.com/story/ebay-selling-fees-are-scrapped-to-boost-to-reselling-13225638

It seems clear ebay is following in the footsteps of other selling marketplaces by adding fees for buyers in the early new year,  but since fees remain in place for business sellers adding another fee on top of this is another hit to our bottom line.

We will now be expected to absorb the buyers fee and our own business selling fee (and shop fees etc).

This seems crazy to me - although eBay say it'll be 'small' , if it's 8% like elsewhere that's a massive hit for us to take.  Yes it's for the buyers but we all know prices will drop because of it - for example a 350 item will now cost 379 to the buyer with an 8% fee that is currently used by another platform, so ofc sellers will drop the initial price so that the item actually sells and to offset this.

Fine for private sellers who have no fees to compensate, but insane for business sellers with hefty fvf and shop fees already 

[leon9503]

Not that simple though is it, you can't sell, say, a £5 comic for more to a collector or someone who knows the true value, if it's only worth £5, as he'll never sell anything if overpriced and as they say, increased postage on top.

It's not always about what a seller lists an item for, it's also what the buyer will pay and I never pay more than I want to for something, so if my regular sellers increase prices I'll stop buying from them.

[leon9503]

"This only applies to private sellers.private sellers do not buy stock, only business sellers need to do that."

Not genuine ones, if a business has to buy stock and it's low value then wara_rat has a valid point.

[leon9503]

The item is the sellers responsabilty until it's delivered, in hand, to the buyer, if it goes missing or not 'delivered', it's up to the seller to claim from the courier.

Unscrupulous buyers will just report the item stolen to the police if left on the doorstep, get a crime reference number as the police in the UK do nothing, then the buyer gets a refund and the item.

It's a scammers delight waiting to happen and be assured already is.

[har_234653]

This is their typical devious rhetoric speak.

What this essentially means is that the seller will end up paying the fees.
Why?

Well because the market exists beyond the ebay platform, therefore all items sellers on ebay list will become 4% +75p more expensive than elsewhere.
If you wish to sell to an ebay buyer, then you must lower your selling price retrospectively.

See how it works. You the seller then are effectively covering the ebay 'buyer' fee with your loss.

Open your eyes people.
Time to leave.

[leon9503]

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@cobwebcottage wrote:

On collection only items, the buyer has to pay first and then you can send them your collection details . No cash. You need to enter the numerical code on collection or scan the QR code to  show it has been collected and for your protection.

If they decide not to go ahead with the sale after inspecting the item,  you can cancel the sale.

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After the cancellation, the buyer arranges to come back and pay cash after the refund hits the bank and the seller doesn't relist, not hard to get around these things and shows EB's lack of thinking.

[papso22]

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@leon9503 wrote:

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@cobwebcottage wrote:

On collection only items, the buyer has to pay first and then you can send them your collection details . No cash. You need to enter the numerical code on collection or scan the QR code to  show it has been collected and for your protection.

If they decide not to go ahead with the sale after inspecting the item,  you can cancel the sale.

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After the cancellation, the buyer arranges to come back and pay cash after the refund hits the bank and the seller doesn't relist, not hard to get around these things and shows EB's lack of thinking.

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I think ebay would expect members to adhere to the user agreement and not break the rules for personal gain.

[cobwebcottage]

What is the point in that unless you are trying to hide transactions from HMRC?

If that's your objective then best of luck to you as I certainly won't be risking my Ebay account.

[leon9503]

Sorry what are you talking about, the example I gave was to show how easy it is to get around EBs silly games, did I say that's what I do, no I didn't, you do know they don't own anyone or how they do business off EB.

Lot's of private sellers used COC so nothing to do with HMRC! And no one is asking you to, think you need to stop taking the assumption pills.

[leon9503]

That's really quite a naive view of some EB users. [Buyers & Sellers] it's also naive for people to think EB was going to let private sellers sell for free and not claw back to revenue loss elsewhere, it cares not one jot for anyone, only money.

Gezz, some folk really are EB indoctrinated.

[dandrius7]

I'm a private seller and a commission artist. I take on projects for buyers and who pay upfront (covering materials) and then send it about six-eight weeks later. eBay's never had an issue with me doing this. I pay my taxes on everything I sell (HMRC self assessment). These new changes are basically going to completely nuke my ability to do this. Been a seller for 16 years and now I'm sad that I'm basically being forced out 😕

As you say absolute madness. Hopefully eBay will hear the collective outrage and rollback at least some of these changes in the coming weeks and months

[cobwebcottage]

'did I say that's what I do, no I didn't, you do know they don't own anyone or how they do business off EB.'

You don't need to start your post with 'Sorry' .

You are the one giving advice to others of how to break the rules. Not an assumption as it's in black and white.

My question was, what is the point? There isn't one. 

[corn4659]

Exactly that. Absolutely - a scam by Ebay to help scammers rip off genuine sellers! And it's more than what the old fees were. I thought no sellers fees was too good to be true! There will be a hell of a lot of stuff coming up on ebay between now and February wnen it comes in!

[leon9503]

You really should get out more in the real world as you sound quite sad but as you live for EB it's too be expected.

[irande-28]

Yes they are.  It is going to be 8% plus a basic 75p.   I work on a very small profit and will now lose out as I will have to put more on my prices to attract customers.

[irande-28]

There are going to be fees to buy on ebay, and I got this from ebay themselves, not from newspapers.  

[papso22]

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@wara_rat wrote:

The 75p minimum addition will kill low value items. I sell a lot of cheap comics, but the postage has already snuck up to £2.10,. Having the basics cost £2.85 on an item that's worth a couple of quid is broken, and that's presuming its something you have lying around. If you have to buy stock that's not workable.

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If you buy stock you need a business account.  They are not affected by these changes.

[papso22]

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@themartian82 wrote:

Thanks for the clarity all. I had 3 high value (to me compared to my other items) electronics items (LED TV, Vintage S-VHS Camcorder, Sony DAB MP3 Hifi) which I was selling as Cash on Collection, and have just ended these listings. 

Its not worth the hassle of a dishonest buyer, and cash on collection safeguarded sellers of that. I'll look into Facebook MarketPlace or Gumtree. These items were not selling on ebay anyway so no loss there.

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You should have seen that cash was no longer an ebay payment option, putting cash in the description does not override the cash ban.

[71camshaft]

That's life . We just need to do what you think is best

[71camshaft]

I agree hooray

[71camshaft]

You have it all worked out