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 

[theelench]

I always advise people to read the Selling Plans carefully and think about which is economic for what you might list there 🙂  Don't just jump on the 'Special' 😉 Offer.  

[amazonharvey]

EBay does not care about you and me or private buyers as we leave others
will follow. and they will just get more private buyers to replace them.
They will join with new rules I have been on eBay selling since 2007 and
buying from there launch in America. Giving them thousands of pounds and
much more as a buyer. This new buyers protection of 4% is gross .protection
from whom. Anyone would think the private sellers are the blooming mafia.
It is eBay job to protect us all they get enough money and do little to
help. Now they will get 4% more from every buyer. And keep are money for
14days .EBay and some big sellers say leave but .if we did all leave
what a sad place eBay would be .eBay is made up of all characters big small
But there is no other selling site like eBay its first port of call for
everyone . As for simple delivery well it’s not for me another broken item
from Evri again. Others say we are protected with packlink .still there
will be buyers who are not happy. and pack link eBay says everything needs
to be tracked postage. again I see pound signs. I went on eBay postage and
what I saw was price then pack link says you need to insure .well after
seeing there price it was twice as deer as parcel force.com .yes eBay needs
business sellers but as important is the private sellers .but are buyers
should not have to pay protection money .buyers should be safe and guarded
from all sellers as there is bad and good on eBay. If eBay did there job we
all should be safe on eBay . Or are they so big they can not see what is
happening

[knittedinkintyre]

I have now left ebay and waiting on them closing my account.
And, ok, they might not miss me too much as a seller but I sure they will really miss me as a buyer because they won’t get another purchase from me.
eBay has a very short memory as I was there from the very start and at that time it was all private sellers and it was fun and exciting.

Elspeth M. Christie

[theelench]

..and with growing numbers of sellers and buyers with sales growing exponentially as were profits.  All because it was EASY and CHEAP to use and ebay didn't control every aspect of every transaction. 

[lucy_farmer]

Hi amazonharvey, I'm really not trying to be rude here, but..... paragraphs are your friends! 

A bit of spacing makes long posts an awful lot easier to read 😊

[amazonharvey]

Yes you are perfectly right I have been with eBay as a member right from
there launch when we were there bread and butter .we made eBays market
place come alive. us little sellers buyers . it was a fun place every name
was there on bidding we knew most of are sellers .back then eBay even gave
us a voucher on are birthday they have taken that away .I find it hard to
get any come up and go now. EBay says if you are not happy you know what to
do. We are of no use now unless we make more money. .so they have decided
to charge are buyers 4% on purchases saying it’s a new buyer
protection plan .I am a buyer too so how does that make sense .if a seller
is unfair simple we do not go back again .being on eBay now it’s like
swimming in shark infested waters .but who are the sharks ? If the small
fish disappear who feeds the sharks .they eat each other .its a shame
because eBay as stated was a fun place .

[amazonharvey]

Point taken

[bilboles]

Couldn't agree more, 100% right.

[vintique*violet]

It is also a generational thing, the 20 somethings are not interested in glass, stamps or whatever else, and as the years pass less and less people will show an interest. Maybe they will inherit someone's collection and either throw it away or sell it for next to nothing on Facebook because they don't know what they have got or no one wants that old stamp collection anymore.

Not sure I would agree with this, I know of kiddies as young as 8 who are avid stamp collectors  and some in their 40's collecting toy cars or toy figures. I think there will always be " collectors" for so many things, the only way it would die out is if they become " unavailable" for whatever reason, and then those who do will demand higher prices etc. 

[amazonharvey]

I am a collector of many things and being a seller and buyer if the private
sellers are lost then what . Because what I have found out over the years
buyers go looking for that childhood toy that memory of some one that
collector piece you need to finish your project. .as a doll collector
there are many new buyers now who have started a collection .eBay needs
private sellers buyers need private sellers if the private sellers are lost
.then what .they may think they do not need us but us small buyers sellers
are the heart of eBay if that all stops believe me the place would never be
the same. With the internet we can buy what we like eBay is not always
first port of call .but if you are looking for that special thing .eBay
private sellers are first on the list.

[doumind_7]

Folks check out my angry thread "EBay Is Conning Us". I've suspended all my items today and will most probably be moving to other platforms. Its a mess and was far simpler a few years back. Private sellers will be leaving in droves as its just not worth it if you sell low price items. eBay is moving to a Business only site, they don't want the small seller. They don't even respond to our concerns. No stars.

[valueaddedresource]

FYI for anyone who missed it - they are now saying Buyer Fees will not apply in all categories tomorrow. Instead, they will start with Electronics and do a phased rollout "in the following weeks."

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Seller-Central/ICYMI-Last-Minute-Buyer-Fee-Change-Will-Be-Phased-In-... 

[wara_rat]

What exactly do buyers need to be protected from ?. If the item is a no show, broken or INAD then there's the return system/not received. If its a complicated scam chances are there new protection won't be much help either.

[dls-online]

As a regular buyer on ebay for over 22 years, I'm really disheartened by ebay's new move to push their unfairly disproportionate fees onto the buyers. Furthermore, the way these fees are levied on the buyer, now makes lower value purchases no longer worthwhile. And the sheer audacity of ebay to criticise AMEX for the 4% fees the credit card provider charges! Honestly, the hypocrisy is breath-taking.

I've noticed that Ebay don't ever seem to quite get it right when they bring out new changes like this. It seems they'll make changes, review the outcome, then modify it (often close to the original design), as a reactive measure to a detrimental outcome. Basically live trial-and-error testing using buyes/sellers as the guinea pigs, rather than doing some proper offline impact testing and customer feedback analysis.

And then when we actually look at what we get for this buyer protection...it's an overpriced scam. 24/7 customer support?! It's a joke! It's so, so, so hard to get to the option to actually speak with an agent. Like a *bleep* nightmare!

Paid after delivery - do I really give two hoots? What does that do for me as a buyer? Why am I paying my money so ebay can hold onto cash and delay paying out to the seller?! 

Secure transactions. Well...that should be taken for granted.

Honestly, the fees buyers have to pay are a joke. Absolute greed from ebay, which I'm sure will come at a detrimental price for sellers and in turn ebay itself. So all three parties suffer because of some idiots who push it too far. The buyer loses out (higher prices), the seller loses out (less custom), and ebay lose out (again, less custom). Seriously, it doesn't take a genius to work out that this is a very, very risky move by ebay. Idiots! 

[bilboles]

Totally agree, you make excellent business sense, Ebay have got it so wrong.

[amazonharvey]

I fully agree with everything you say .remember when eBay took are names
off listings saying it was due to money laundering so that we can bid
knowing not who is bidding against us. Taking money off sellers total sale
including postage .making small sellers having to put in the shortfall
which eBay said it would Kurb sellers who hike postage.
Excuse me they knew this was going on but rather than sort out these
sellers they put it across the board making every small seller pay . They
have made a fortune from every seller since. Then changing the
categories no antique dolls no nothing so everything is in children’s play
things. Loads of different items in one search . ask for buttons you get
jumpers and so on .now this buyer protection rubbish protect us from small
sellers it’s a joke .
The buyers can effect a sellers sales if there out of order word spreads .I
have been on eBay 20 yrs as a seller from 2007 find it very hard that my
buyers who I always go the extra mile are having to pay protection against
me ..my buyers only have to look at my feed back to see my record of
thousands of sales etc .
are we in the real world for gods sake .as a buyer now I have to pay if I
use small sellers .If eBay keeps moving the goal posts it will only take
one new market place to finish them . EBay does not have to be like this
.but one day if they continue on this path the only thing they will be is a
memory . But the saddest thing of all it’s us little sellers buyers who in
the beginning made them what they are today .when all they were was a
giant carboot site .we looked after each other and welcomed new members we
do not need to pay protection .thats eBay’s job . I alone have paid them a
fortune .to give back does not effect there fortunes .everything they do
no one checks it out first but one day there maybe a time when they can not
stop members from leaving for a greener more happier pastures .so some one
needs to keep a eye out .
EBay knows every one’s first port of call is eBay so look after those
sellers buyers for your future or they will leave .
every one on eBay sellers buyers make a great mix but to just pick on the
small sellers and buyers .thats not fair at all

[johnwash1]

You're forgettng that the CEO has to bring in changes so he looks good to the shareholders.  Though a better way of doing that would be to do things that help the share price to rise.

His objective is to continue getting millions.  For himself.

These boards are so little visited that comments here will have zero impact.  Trustpilot and social media, those have greater visibility. 

[bilboles]

Spot on, no wonder so many are heading to other sites with less red tape
and cheaper charges. And don't get me started on their flaming awful search
system.

[amazonharvey]

We all know what eBay is up to but it’s the dirty tricks they are playing
now that makes us fume. It’s all out to silence us small private sellers
saying buyers need protection from us .bul—— there are just as many big
boys with more dirtier tricks then us .the ones with so many negs who do
not give a fig .buyers protection should be across the board .
I have told many as a buyer I will make an appointment at spec savers for
glasses for them . But as a seller my aim is to give my buyer a good sale
be polite and fair and welcome them back .which so many do. So how does
that make me feel as a seller that every buyer has to pay a fee for
protection against me and as a buyer I have no choice
.buyer protection should be for all big boys little boys and the ones who
know how to play the system .after 20 years I have met my fair share .but
the difference is they get eBay protection for free but us little people
who are what holds eBay together never once do they say thank you . but
what I do know is if the walls start falling in it’s us little people who
bind eBay together we go Rome falls
No quick quick money makers and no one to blame but themselves .it is a
shame when all it is .is greed no matter who gets hurt

[ett1954]

"buyer protection should be for all big boys little boys and the ones who
know how to play the system .after 20 years I have met my fair share .but
the difference is they get eBay protection for free but us little people
who are what holds eBay together never once do" 

Business sellers don't get protection for free, irrespective of what eBay say.  It is a buyer's right when buying from a business seller under the Consumer Rights Act - 2015, and has always been the case long before the BPF was thought of.   That was the message eBay gave to business sellers to try and convince business sellers they were getting a 'perk'.  The vast majority of fees, which is what holds eBay together, is paid by business sellers.