Upcoming ‘Buyer Protection Fees’

[lady4838]

I’m a member for 14 years - I have today complained fiercely to EBay with regards to 4% + 75p charge on each item purchased as we all know this is a Back Door way of recovering the Seller Fees which were scrapped recently - Buyers already have adequate protection - as to payment 2 days after delivery - we’re at the mercy of Royal Mail to scan all  items when collected (not guaranteed) 😡

 Fellow  members I urge you to let your disproval known - SHAME ON YOU Ebay😡😡

[jonestim6]

There is a collectors site. It’s called Delcampe.

[*devils.advocate*]

Delcampe changed recently and has a Buyer's Fee applied.

[hamsteruk23]

I've been using ebid for years not much traffic but the more people use it the greater it would be.

[chillem10]

I totally agree. Since Royal Mail increased their 2nd class large letter fees to £1.55, I decided to swallow the packaging costs in order to keep my prices down (around 30p per £3 item), so I am left with £2.70. The new buyer fees will increase the purchase price to £3.87 plus £1.55 postage. This makes it impossible for me to be competitive. I also find it outrageous that eBay expect me to wait for my payout until after the item has been delivered (2 days after proof of delivery has been received). I wonder how many items will be damaged or won’t arrive? If I made a purchase, on line, on any other platform they would think I was crazy if I suggested that I don’t pay until after my item had arrived. The extra for proper tracking will mean I will receive next to nothing. I have been an eBay member for 21 years but this could be the end of the road.

[lucy_farmer]

'If I made a purchase, on line, on any other platform they would think I was crazy if I suggested that I don’t pay until after my item had arrived. '

It's not that the buyer *doesn't* pay until the item arrives; the buyer pays as normal when buying. It's that the money doesn't arrive with the seller until the item is delivered. (and marked as delivered)

If you send the item untracked, so it can't be marked as delivered, you still get your money.

You just have to wait 2 weeks for it ☹️

[akemp1]

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@chillem10 wrote:

I wonder how many items will be damaged or won’t arrive?

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I haven't seen anything to suggest that a buyer is more likely to make a claim just because they know the seller's money is being held longer by ebay. On rare occasions when I have needed to made claims as a buyer for whatever genuine reason it hasn't occurred to me to consider if the seller has received payment I just want my money back and know the sale is covered by the ebay MBG so wherever they get the money from isn't my concern.

[jma2815]

Judging by the number of people on here who are saying ‘there’s no way I’m sending anything until the money’s in my account’ or think that the buyers are not going to be required to pay for 14 days / 2 days after delivery its going to be a right mess come the 4th…

I’d love to know how many sellers will actually try holding out until they’re paid (they won’t be) to post out? As an infrequent seller who’s had a few new accounts over the years I’ve been subject to 30 day holds on most of my sales so the concept of getting paid within hours or days of the order seems mad to me! 

Just to be clear, I’m not in favour of the changes and will not be selling going forward as I will not accept the new T&Cs. 

[akemp1]

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@jma2815 wrote:

I’ve been subject to 30 day holds on most of my sales so the concept of getting paid within hours or days of the order seems mad to me! 

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On more established accounts it's been totally normal to just get paid and have the money available to re-spend on ebay that evening. I can't remember ever having a payment hold or delay of more than a few days in my nearly 25 years when their systems have been working properly. By putting a pointless payment delay on my account they will get less re-spending from me as when I sell something valuable or have a few small sales then the feel good adrenaline will often cause me to go on to buy something on my wishlist with the money.

I can understand why they do it on new accounts, high risk categories, high value items and unusual sales patterns but to do it to my account is just shooting themselves in the foot as all 100% of my sales proceeds go back into my buyer activity and honestly I probably don't have enough patience to have the same buyer adrenaline rush 14 days later and would be even less motivated to buy with the new buyer tax so will end up spending less here and more elsewhere.

Bring back seller fees - I can't say it enough times.

[*devils.advocate*]

With a few sites now having applied a Buyer’s Fee, there’s usually a “domino effect” is there not - in other words, others will eventually follow?

If other sites begin to adopt this type of fee, to which people object, are those people going to stop buying online altogether?

[trevdbowler]

<meta charset="UTF-8" />

Does Simple Delivery mean that overseas sales will be posted by ultra-expensive International Signed For at around £7 cost to buyer ?

That will kill overseas sales for anything under say £20.

[jma2815]

I’ll still buy online, just not from resale platforms that show me an itemised ‘buyers fee’ at checkout.  

Silly? Nonsensical? Maybe. I don’t care. 

[*devils.advocate*]

But if the price is right, the price is accepatable, does it matter how it's made up?

If the price is right, no matter when/where it might be, what is the difference between the price being right now and the price being right now with a fee attached?

Surely you'd be prepared to pay the same amount in any case?

I'm not saying it's the same price - but it's the right price

Not just at you, but everyone.

[akemp1]

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@*devils.advocate* wrote:

But if the price is right, the price is accepatable, does it matter how it's made up?

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As a buyer it really does matter if I see a fee for something I don't value as part of the order summary at checkout. It makes me far more likely to abandon the order and keep looking elsewhere. I guess the evidence for that is that I don't currently buy on any sites where they put a fee on like V, Justeat, etc. It irritates me so I just don't even look at those sites. Possibly irrational but that's the way I feel about the matter and I suspect a lot of existing ebay buyers will feel the same way which is probably why they are currently buying on ebay by default not at those other places.

Ebay will no longer be my default place to start looking for stuff but a last resort if the item is not available elsewhere. Ebay isn't always the cheapest but being my default it probably gets a few orders that might have been cheaper elsewhere.

It's not always about the price but how you feel treated as a buyer.

As a seller I am happy to pay a fee as ebay are helping me shift an unwanted item.

This awful change is bad for me as a buyer and bad for me as a seller.

[*devils.advocate*]

So, if you saw exactly the same something elsewhere at exactly the same price, you'd buy it there - just because it didn't show a fee?

In other words, the right price for you?

[akemp1]

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@*devils.advocate* wrote:

So, if you saw exactly the same something elsewhere at exactly the same price, you'd buy it there - just because it didn't show a fee?

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Of course if I had the choice between 2 places and one was showing a fee and the other was't and the total was the same price I'd certainly give the business to the place without the fee. It's a no brainer supporting places with agreeable business practices.

[*devils.advocate*]

Fair enough.

Personally, can't see the difference.

But each must follow their own path. 

[jma2815]

Right price or not, if I see an itemised fee for buying that isn’t postage, that means its not the ‘right price’ so I’m not shopping there. I’m not messing about asking sellers for discounts or making offers so I’m just out. 

I don’t go in Amazon shops or other supermarkets where you have to scan your payment card to enter either. Its much the same feeling. I don’t want money ringfenced against the possibility of shoplifting and I don’t want ‘protecting’ from my seller. 

As a seller I was happy to pay 15% or so for the use of the platform and the checkout process, and as a buyer I of course knew that the seller had factored those costs in. Play your username all you like, that’s not the same thing as the new buyer fee and you know it. 

[*devils.advocate*]

So everyone was happy over the last couple of decades to buy things here just because it didn't show the 10%, and latterly the approx 13% fee in their calculation of what they had to pay?

Really?

[jma2815]

That’s about the size of it. 

Human psychology doesn’t always make sense but it is predictable. Which is why I still can’t really believe ‘pay to buy’ has become a thing. 

[akemp1]

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@*devils.advocate* wrote:

Personally, can't see the difference.

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It's just human nature to tend to give money to places that make you as a buyer feel welcome.

Like the pub where they remember your name, the fish and chip shop that knows your usual order, the hairdresser that asks about your kids, etc.

Similarly it's normal to avoid restaurants where the service is slow, the staff are indifferent, they make you feel an unwelcome inconvenience yet still put mandatory service charges on the bill, etc.

The buyer tax is taking you for granted and not valuing your custom. Ebay can expect less sales.