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.

[sebastian4ever]

I know it unlikely but what happens if feeBay stopped trading,  went bust, whatever.

All the money that they keep from sales in some unknown bank account would disappear.  It is very shady.

[andha-21]

There's actually a very specific warning regarding that on the FCA's page for eBay UK. 

As they aren't registered that way it appears there would be no way to claim.

[lucy_farmer]

'Parsley, is there any way to contact you?'

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It's easy to contact other members on these boards 😊

Just click on the member's name at the top of their post. This brings you to a page about that poster, and on the right of the 'header', there's a button marked 'send a message'.

[sebastian4ever]

Mmmm.

Not good.  

[springfields60]

Just sold an item for £1.25 and the Buyers Protection Fee was 78p, that is
over 50% so no wonder sales have plummeted.

[gblcfc]

Well I'm down by 49% in sales - traffic has fallen off a cliff

For the sake of balance I won't put this all down to the BPF - UK Consumer confidence has been sliding for months and won't be picking up anytime soon.

So the market is depressed yet ebay choose this time to reduce sales (and their income) further. An interesting 'growth' strategy

[ett1954]

"So the market is depressed yet ebay choose this time to reduce sales (and their income) further." - Prior to BPF you were providing eBay with no income so how are they reducing their income further?

You are, in the main, reprinting to order from National Archive photographic records which constitutes a business activity.  Your solution is easy.

However, in addition, as I indicated in a previous post, whereas the downloading of images from National Archives is allowed as no copyright exists; they are not allowed to be then used for commercial benefit as is explained in their terms of use:  "digital copies can be downloaded for non-commercial private use and educational purposes only".

[gblcfc]

I pay £20 per month for my shop and have done for a long time

Prior to 'it's free to sell' I paid the FVF & Item Fee on all my sales. ebay have advised me (on three seperate occasions) to stay using my current account as their 'Business Seller' options will not work for me.

I comply with all HMRC requirements and have been doing so since before ebay started sharing sales info with them 

I have over 11,000 items listed, of which less than 100 are re-prints which have been sourced under a Common Domain Licence - none have been sourced from National Archives. My WWI images are all sourced from an Archive and are credited on the item when it is sent out (which fully follows the terms of the Licence).

I find it interesting how so many business sellers rush to check a contributors listings but don't actually look beyond the first page of the listings and never actually comment on the substance of the contributors actual comment

[vintique*violet]

Prior to BPF you were providing eBay with no income so how are they reducing their income further?

What proof do you have of this on any individual? 

eBay chose to implement " free to sell " for private accounts  and many regularly used  " pay to promote"  which was a feature to gain visibility as visibility was almost impossible on many items, in order to actually sell something.  Private Sellers did not ask for this change... and I expect would prefer it to have been as it was i.e fees for listing and FVF which was the norm.    eBay have given with one hand and taken with another... this persecution against private sellers has to stop, if they are masquerading and truly a business  then they will have to deal with the consequences, but for those who are genuine , it is tiresome and unwarranted. Not only do they now have to deal with the BPF and the effect on sales, they have had their choice of postage and access to their funds interfered with, resulting in probably 1000's of genuine loyal private account holders who are now unable to manage their account in the way they did due to numerous different personal circumstances, and through no fault of their own! 

 "free to sell" was a " honey trap" and being as they are still advertising as such, and many sellers find themselves having to cover the costs of  BPF and more....it is actually a misnomer. 

[ett1954]

"ebay have advised me (on three seperate occasions) to stay using my current account as their 'Business Seller' options will not work for me." - In effect eBay are therefore complicit in advising you to break UK law.  Good luck with that excuse should you be taken to task with illegal trading.  Do you really think eBay will stand behind you on that?  Ask them again and request it in writing.

"I comply with all HMRC requirements and have been doing so since before ebay started sharing sales info with them" - It is nothing to do with HMRC; it is to do with the Consumer Rights Act - 2015 in relation to online selling whereby it is illegal for a business to misrepresent themselves, not have contact details displayed.  In addition a business seller must have a compliant returns policy.

[lucy_farmer]

'Ebay have advised me (on three seperate occasions) to stay using my current account as their 'Business Seller' options will not work for me.'

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Was this advice given by ebay CS?

Ebay CS in general have a dreadful record of talking complete cobblers about any and all topics of ebay.

But when it comes to the 'private or business' account decision, there's a very good reason *not* to believe them.

Because the rules on whether to be a business or private seller, aren't made by ebay.

They're not even made by HMRC.

In the UK, they're made by UK Consumer law.

Ebay CS aren't based in the UK . They won't have the first clue about UK law.

(And I don't suppose for a minute they'll get training in something as official as that!  It appears that the only thing they're trained in, is to get callers off the line as quick as possible...)

[ett1954]

"What proof do you have of this on any individual? " - I wasn't referring to any individual, just one; and I should have clarified I am referring to selling fees. 

"Not only do they now have to deal with the BPF and the effect on sales, they have had their choice of postage and access to their funds interfered with, resulting in probably 1000's of genuine loyal private account holders who are now unable to manage their account in the way they did ............" - I agree 100% and have every sympathy with private sellers on this new fee.

Just for the record I have nothing against private sellers; I welcome them.  The seller in question has since intimated they are a business seller - "I comply with all HMRC requirements and have been doing so since before ebay started sharing sales info with them"  Do you condone illegal trading?  This is one of the reasons you now have the BPF.

11,000+ listings and "I pay £20 per month for my shop and have done for a long time."  (It is actually £27 with the VAT element waived for a private seller).  Do you realise how much it would cost a business seller to maintain listings at this level every month?  How would they begin to compete.

[the_book_seekers]

'Ebay have advised me (on three separate occasions) to stay using my current account as their 'Business Seller' options will not work for me.'

From what you say it sounds like you are a business except where your ebay account is concerned. You also say you comply with HMRC regulations, do you also comply with the EU's GPSR as you post to EU countries?

[the_book_seekers]

£524.40 including the Vat. So a significant advantage of roughly £500 per month. 

[dch2112011]

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@gblcfc wrote:

 ebay have advised me (on three seperate occasions) to stay using my current account as their 'Business Seller' options will not work for me.

I have over 11,000 items listed

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Personally I don't really care where you get your stock from but find it very odd that as a business you believe that ebay advised you not to trade as a business seller, certainly I cannot imagine ebay contacting you and simply saying:

'Hey just wanted you to know that you should not become a business seller because it will not work for you - Have a nice day' 

Perhaps this conclusion was formed following you talking to ebay cs about other matters and put forward a biased opinion to cs as to why you believe that you should not trade on a business account  and to be honest cs don't care  it has nothing to do with them - wrong department so they probably just agreed or told you to carry on as you are to end the discussion which they have no interest in .

If I am wrong and ebay contacted you out of the blue to inform you not to register correctly that would be interesting ?

In reality a business account would massively benefit your business but you can't or don't want to see that  -

the new rules on private accounts are going to severely damage your sales and method of operating so it might just be time to bite the bullet and become legit.  buyer fees - restriction of payments and listings -  ebay tracked delivery it's all on the way but not for business accounts.

Do it properly and you could genuinely increase your sales  and continue to list as you do but you would have to pay seller's fees  which you claim to be happy to do and have done in the past so can't see it not working for you !

No good whingeing about how poor your sales are or how ebay are spoiling your free ride - it is exactly the result ebay want 

[jusali]

Yep my sales have gone through the floor. I'd be interested to see if this buyer protection protects the seller too?

So if buyer demands full refund, does ebay take the hit or the seller?

Also ebay need income from private sellers.

So I guess the interest they earn from money in sellers accounts isn't enough?

Also extra fees for visibility seems to be extortion in any other way. Because our visibility is in effect being reduced to gain more money.

So yeah times are hard and I am finding it harder and harder to make sales. I'm selling my model car collection to make space in my little house. Also known as death cleaning. 

All I want is to keep selling at the rate I have been used to, and watch my space increase.

[sid.123]

Despite ebay taking the money for the bpf. I can't see ebay ever paying out for anything. The seller will always foot the bill. Its just a fee for a protection that's always been in place.
I've heard they try to justify it by saying you now have 24/7 customer service access. But we all know what that's like.

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[23sandlane]

@jusali
I'm in the same position as you and, I imagine, many true private sellers.
Most of my sales are £2.99 postcards which now show a price of £3.83 - a
ridiculous price hike of what is, essentially, mythical buyer protection.
And what really upsets me is that there seems to be no obvious indication
to buyers that eBay is the one getting the extra 84p, not me.

[cobwebcottage]

'Despite ebay taking the money for the bpf. I can't see ebay ever paying out for anything. The seller will always foot the bill. Its just a fee for a protection that's always been in place.
I've heard they try to justify it by saying you now have 24/7 customer service access. But we all know what that's like.'

The BPF that your buyers are paying is down to you, not Ebay. 

They should not be paying it at all if you were trading correctly as a business.

You are not paying any selling fees but your buyers are incorrectly paying BPF when they buy from you.

You are not in a position to moan about the new changes.

[gblcfc]

Who introduced 'Selling is free on ebay' please?