Ebay's new Buyers' protection fee from the 4th Feb

[rsbrickshop]

I'm a private seller. Items I sell are between £2.90 - £10. Is It just me or will ebay's new Buyers' protection fee from the 4th Feb make it near impossible to sell competitively. A few months ago Ebay got rid of Sellers' fees for private sellers, which was a welcome move. But this new change and getting rid of multi-buy discount for private sellers will make it worse than it was with the original fees.

[sammylou40]

I’m sure I read somewhere that they tried this model in the US previously and it has been reversed 

could be wrong 

[kath3735_wxmjn]

the big question though is how much your fellow sellers of postcards are selling theirs for?   Are they less than you or are you all about the same?  If all the same then are they all experiencing non sales?  If all the same (roughly of course) then buyers will basically have the choice of take it or leave it if they want something.

[theelench]

Without doubt many complaining are business sellers pretending to be private sellers. 

But given the distinct lack of private sellers that normally post at all, it's not surprising that there are plenty of new names, the added restrictions have woken some of them up and they are venting their anger and dismay.   Braving the finger pointers and generally unwelcoming attitude towards private sellers shown by some of the businesses that dominate even SC isn't easy for a good many private sellers. 

Especially when they are regularly and IMO very deliberately lumped together with the crooks on almost every thread.

[lotsmorewine]

I've been buying and selling odds and ends, from and for my own stuff - everything from postcards to cars - for nearly 25  years.  I have 100% feedback, no complaints, no unresolved issues.  Why do my buyers need 'protection'??

Seriously looking at alternatives to Ebay now.

[bailey2agd]

I always thought eBay was an auction site FOR private sellers, the auction aspect has long been downplayed in favour of ‘Buy-it-Now’ or ‘offers accepted’but I hadn’t noticed that it had been overrun by business accounts. I suppose since I only really use it to buy collectibles it maybe wasn’t so obvious to me. It’s certainly obvious on this board that we hobbyists aren’t welcome.
It’s a pity it’s changed so much, seems to be just like Amazon marketplace now.

Sent from my iPhone

[theelench]

Thanks for your reply.

The lack of any other reply from business sellers who can quote chapter and verse when it comes to businesses selling on private accounts, but apparently know nothing about the legalities of businesses buying on a private accounts I find telling.

Perhaps the practice is more widespread than I thought and the business community just likes to keep quiet about it?

[cobwebcottage]

'The lack of any other reply from business sellers who can quote chapter and verse when it comes to businesses selling on private accounts, but apparently know nothing about the legalities of businesses buying on a private accounts I find telling.'.

I buy from my business account if its for business ( which can be seen in my buyers feedback) and vice versa on my private account.

I usually choose not to reply to you to avoid a lot of waffle in the reply.

[springfields60]

Ok so what is now happening is buyers are deducting the seller protection fee from the asking price when making an offer, in effect getting me to pay the fee so NOT FREE SELLING at all. this is in fact more expensive than the original sellers fees. It's as if ebay don't want private sellers at all.

[ett1954]

"I buy from my business account if its for business ( which can be seen in my buyers feedback)" - Likewise; in fact I don't have an eBay private account. 

@theelench  "The lack of any other reply from business sellers" - Why was any other response needed?  @papso22  clearly summed up the position.  Just to add; as a business seller I am well aware of the legalities of buying on a private account.

[theelench]

Which is of course your choice.  But you do reply when you're on the more familiar subject of businesses pretending to be private sellers.

[cobwebcottage]

Yes I do. I fight for equality when I am paying business fees and unregistered business sellers are selling on private accounts.

I will also try to help any genuine seller if I can. Do you?

[*devils.advocate*]

And why is that wrong?

[sid.123]

Offers now in general takes a bit of getting your head around it... if a buyer sends you an offer it includes the bpf and will be deducted at sale. If you send an offer to a buyer it will be added so the buyer pays more..
I had a buyer send me a message asking if I would accept £10 for an item I had listed at 14 95 I believe... If I had of accepted that offer through ebay I would have been paid about 8 80.
I replied with an offer of 10.00 but told him ebay would add the bpf and in the end it cost him just over £11 which he was happy with.

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[gblcfc]

'Private Sellers' pay fees

if ebay offered more realistic 'Business Seller' shop options I am sure that many private sellers would move over - I have looked at it many times and have been advised by ebay to keep selling 'Private'

[the_book_seekers]

if ebay offered more realistic 'Business Seller' shop options I am sure that many private sellers would move over - I have looked at it many times and have been advised by ebay to keep selling 'Private'

So does that mean you haven't switched to a business account because its too expensive? You have over 10,000 listings which would be an anchor shop at £437 (+vat).

[23sandlane]

According to what I have been told by Ebay he could actually have a basic
£20 business account as long as only added 300 or less items per month -
however he would have to pay £1000+ to keep his existing catalogue online.

[papso22]

"however he would have to pay £1000+ to keep his existing catalogue online".

What are you basing that on?

[gblcfc]

It's based on the published fee structure

[23sandlane]

What I was told during an Ebay chat when I was thinking of changing - not
because I'm not a proper private seller but to avoid the BPFs

[jonat_broad]

An anchor shop is £473 a month. It includes unlimited listings.

I wouldn’t dispute that it’s pricy (shops are on ebay) but I can’t work out where the £1,000 figure would come from either.