Ebay's new buyer protection scam

[wayne15071965]

So I have been a seller on and off her since June 2001, Over the years I have sent items recorded delivery that either never turn up , or arrive with no notification of delivery.  Now someone wants to charge a buyer a fee for safe delivery, when they would have been charged that in the P&P cost.  Frankly it sounds more like a scam than customer service and Ebay are also trying to force us to use their shipping option, So much for free enterprise, sound like trying to get the monopoly on delivery as well.  As for hanging on the sellers cash til 2 days after delivery, really so post office goes on strike and you don't get paid, Think I may start looking to leave. So much for eBay's loyalty to us .

[wellyb-30]

I added this to the description in my listing. Perhaps all sellers should do this.

PLEASE NOTE!

The price of this item should be £380 but Ebay have introduced a stealth fee and added £14 to the price and called it a "buyer protection fee"

[jma2815]

That won’t do you any favours. Buyers will see a breakdown of what they’re paying at checkout. They’ll just think you’re a stubborn type (not a desirable characteristic when deciding to buy from someone) and be put off buying from you. 

I keep saying it but sellers adding warnings and angry statements to their listings is understandable but unwise. If it makes you that annoyed that you have to rant about it in your item descriptions please consider taking a break from selling to have a think.

If you need to carry on selling through the changes I’d encourage you, for your own good, to take that rant off your listings.

[lucy_farmer]

'they’ll just think you’re a stubborn type (not a desirable characteristic when deciding to buy from someone) and be put off buying from you. '

I agree, to a point..

If it's an angry type statement, capital letters and exclamation marks a'gogo , then yes. That deffo makes the seller look like a bit of a, erm.... twit (or worse)

On the other hand, a small, polite and *calm* note, probably wouldn't put me off.

[jma2815]

‘The price of the item should be…’ is the most unacceptable part (Well it’s all unacceptable to me but we’ll agree to differ on that)

If nothing else it begs the question why, if the item price ‘should be’ £180, isn’t it? Anyone who’s got their buyer’s hat on will ask for a price reduction so that it is £180. 

I would just think such a seller was a controlling, grumpy so-and-so and choose to buy from someone with a straightforward description of the item in that field and nothing else. 

[neutraldensitymedia]

So eBay was free of sellers fee for all of a couple of months before this stupid  Protection Fee was added. For a moment I thought, kudos eBay. They probably make up revenue for the old sellers fee by keeping the money on the platform account rather than paying it out immediately. But now I noticed my listings are not the price I set and will have to reduce my prices to absorb this. This is not fair to buyers and sucks for private sellers. What does the new protection Fee provide that was before - nothing as far as I can tell so just a way to reintroduce seller fees. Very disappointed eBay. 

[capt_rico]

How do you include the fee so the price is want you want visible?  So I want £300 and want the buyer to see £300.  Not £314.27 which looks weird and looks like overseas.   I didn't see an option to roll the fee into the final price.  And doing the math changes the fee depending on your asking price.   

[papso22]

If you want £300 the buyer has to see a higher price.

If you mean you want to set your price so that the buyer sees £300 including the fees, then the maths has been explained on a number of threads. 

[capt_rico]

Ok. Well when I revise listing the buyer fee shows 13.44 or smt.  I subtracted that from £300 and put that on the asking  price but it recalculated it to 297.22 or smt because it's not £300 anymore.  This ebay thing is horse*bleep*. I just want to sell at an even rounded number and now I have to be a fkn math scholar to list something.  😡

[wintersdawn1]

Both you and the buyer can't have £300 once the BPF has been implemented.

If you want £300 the buyer will see £312.75.

If the buyer gets it for £300 you have to list at £287.74

[capt_rico]

I did that, and it shows price at 297.93 now. 🤔 I do have £20 for postage.  I just want £300 (as buyer sees it)  plus 20£ on top for postage.  So £320 total at checkout.     *bleep* is ebay upto?  This makes pricing look totally clownish with random  numbers.   People will think they are looking at foreign goods with exchange rate conversions prices.  

[goodibags]

" I just want to sell at an even rounded number and now I have to be a fkn math scholar to list something."

I hope you don't mind but I'm collecting quotes and I like that one. For the Ebay shareholders Annual Report?

But I still prefer "my items now look like they were priced by a clown"

(shades of Boris Johnson pricing shelves at Woolworths or Wilkos (yes, they did) wearing a big red nose and ginormous shoes)

[wintersdawn1]

I usually include the postage in with the price so the figures I gave you assumed postage was included.

Also, it seems that ebay haven't been working out the BPF correctly at the moment when people list an item.

[capt_rico]

Yeah,  I didn't realise they had changed pricing policy and was miffed at the bizarre asking prices of stuff. I kept thinking it was overseas products.   Ebay has turned the site into a clown show of prices now.  🤨

[goodibags]

Try £287.77. That should work.

(The fixed fee is presently 72p instead of 75p. Ebay are 'working' on it.)

[capt_rico]

It might have been helpful had ebay marketing  put a tick box that worked the fee into the total cost to buyer.   Just to keep it nice and simple.   .75p plus % and shipping calculations is doing my head in. 😵‍💫

[wintersdawn1]

As far as I know it will be 4% of the item price and then 75p added on after (ebay have messed up and its adding 72p at the moment)

I believe there is no 4% or 75p worked out for the postage.

So for the buyer to pay £300 for your item, you list at £287.74 (based on 75p but use £287.77 at the moment as they are using 72p by mistake) and then add the £20 postage, coming to £320 in total.

[goodibags]

You're pretty much doing the work of the Ebay developments testing team.

Another one of those jobs they seem to have 'outsourced'.

[capt_rico]

Yes, I see that. It's weird.  I see one price, then if I log out and look at it it's slightly different.  £297.96  But shows £300 on page.  It's not coming up on the search filed.  I typed 'Tascam 133' and it's not popping to the top like it should.  Just shows as 'something else similar you might like'  after I scroll through about 50 other items.  I'm about ready to dump eBay.    What other sites can I sell vintage electronics? 

[wintersdawn1]

Just clicked on 'View Listings' to see yours and you've got a Tascam 133 coming up as £300 plus £20 postage so all good.

Also just did a general search for 'Tascam 133' from all categories and with 'best match' selected, your listing comes up first/top.

[capt_rico]

Ok good. Does it show up on top if you just search 'tascam 133'?   When I do it it isn't showing unless I type in cassette recorder as well.  Most people just search make model without the whole description.    Algorithm is knackered or smt, unless cookies on my PC are screwing with it.  It only shows up as an item 'similar' to what I was looking for, but only after scrolling through dozens of other items.   Mine should be at the top, since there is only 3 or 4 anyways.