Variable fees on Crafts section - 10.67% and 12.9%???

[fuzzbuttfabrics]

I'm updating my Excel spreadsheet that works out fees and profits so I checked a few fees breakdowns of my recent sales to make sure my forumlas work, and *bleep*.  All my fabrics are listed in the Crafts section but it appears I'm getting charged different rates on different listings.  How on earth am I supposed to work out accurate profits with this going on?  Examples attached, I'll post the next example in the next message.  The majority of my fabric listings are under £20 so why am I getting charged the Rate for £0.00 - £5,000.00 of 10.67% on some listings, and then the higher rate of 12.9% on others?

[fuzzbuttfabrics]

Here's the other fee breakdown.

[andha-21]

I have zero knowledge of your market but just thinking out of the box, could point of origin be a factor?

If anything you sell is imported of course.

[fuzzbuttfabrics]

I don't specify the country of origin in any of my stuff but I add the barcode if there is one, not sure if info is gleaned from that but the examples I've shown all had a barcode added so hmmmm........

[andha-21]

I know it sounds abstract but I wondered if there might be a Halloumi cheese tye deal among your fabrics. Something that has special status and is protected as such.

Normally that would equate to more expensive as you are getting the "real" thing.

[fuzzbuttfabrics]

Pretty much all of my fabrics are "big name" brands but if they are going to vary fees by manufacturers then I've never ever read about anything like that and it'd be near impossible for them to have lists of every manufacturer of every item on the planet with a separate fee assigned to it - that'd be madness 😮

[4_bathrooms]

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@fuzzbuttfabrics wrote:

All my fabrics are listed in the Crafts section but it appears I'm getting charged different rates on different listings.  How on earth am I supposed to work out accurate profits with this going on?  Examples attached, I'll post the next example in the next message.  The majority of my fabric listings are under £20 so why am I getting charged the Rate for £0.00 - £5,000.00 of 10.67% on some listings, and then the higher rate of 12.9% on others?

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According to eBay's fees for business sellers the Crafts category attracts a blanket 12.9% (+VAT) final value fee. No category has a 10.67% FVF including those with variable FVF rates depending on the item value so I'm not sure where that percentage came from.

However...it appears there may be more than one Crafts category. The one mentioned above is a top-level category but the item you posted is in a "Crafts" subcategory of "Sports, Hobbies & Leisure":

 

I can't find that subcategory navigating from "Sporting Goods" (10.9% +VAT); it's one of those categories whose parent can't be found by going back through the breadcrumb trail. You might have to look at the category information in the listing to solve this one.

[fuzzbuttfabrics]

Oooh interesting, I will check all my listings!

[fuzzbuttfabrics]

OK I downloaded my listings from eBay and they are all in 28162 which is sewing & fabric > fabric so that's a mystery 😕  I checked the categories here https://pages.ebay.com/bd/en-us/categorychanges/crafts.html and here https://pages.ebay.co.uk/categorychanges/UK_Category_Changes.html and found nothing that reflect a Sports, Hobbies & Leisure crafts category?

[4_bathrooms]

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@fuzzbuttfabrics wrote:

OK I downloaded my listings from eBay and they are all in 28162 which is sewing & fabric > fabric so that's a mystery 

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If you go into the listing template in "Manage active listings" for the first item you posted in this thread (item 135540789480) what does it state under "ITEM CATEGORY"? The actual category will be in bold and underlined (i.e. Crafts); underneath that the category path will be shown in light grey as "in top category > subcategory > subcategory".  

The important part is the category path in grey as that determines the FVF rate.

[fuzzbuttfabrics]

It was "Fabric - Crafts" for that listing.  And just this past half hour I've sold some charm packs and I checked the category on there and it's the same but I've got the 10.67% fee charge on it.  It seems to be something to do with this strange Rate for £0.00 - £5,000.00 that appears on some of my fee breakdowns but not on others.  I'll post a screenshot in next post.

[fuzzbuttfabrics]

Here you go.  PS I export my ebay listings directly from my SHopwired website using their eBay plugin but I checked the settings on each listing for my website and they all say to list in the Crafts > fabric section too.

[4_bathrooms]

Are the sales showing the reduced FVF rate (10.67%) domestic; i.e. are they being shipped within the UK? Also, do you list directly on other eBay international sites?

I really can't work it out. None of the published category FVF rates for eBay.co.uk have a "£0.00 - £5,000.00" variable FVF portion nor a rate of 10.67%. It isn't some domestic VAT issue on eBay's part either as the reduced FVF would have been 10.75% if it was.

[andha-21]

Again, may be wrong, but if so, something else to discount.

Could this be some kind of business seller deal you have. Everything upto £5000 on 10.67%, everything over at 12.9%?

Or possibly listed at a time when you had discounted fees/offer.

[fuzzbuttfabrics]

I opted in to the international programme but I don't think I've mande many, if any, of my listings eligible for it - I may opt out of it TB as I can't be doing with the faff of overseas shipping and potential returns.  've never had anything offering me promotional rates or I'd hafve snapped their hand off.  This just seems to be very random for my listings.  Gonna have to escalate it to customer support.

[4_bathrooms]

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@fuzzbuttfabrics wrote:

Gonna have to escalate it to customer support.

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You do realise the "fix" for this "problem" would involve you paying the published 12.9%+VAT on all of your sales, right? eBay are undercharging you on some of your sales; they're not overcharging you. 

The odd thing is the old FVF rate for private sellers was 12.8% including VAT; so 10.67% excluding VAT. Has the account you are posting from ever been a private account? 

[fuzzbuttfabrics]

OK so I found this thread where someone has the exact same problem:  https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6379089/ebay-private-seller-fees-wonder-if-i-may-be-... and someone suggested the 10.67 was the fee before VAT added.  But why then would other fee breakdowns quote the full 12.9%?  And in the fee breakdowns where it does quote 12.9% there is still VAT added on at the end, so that can't be right.  No mention in the forum about the mysterious Rate for £0.00 - £5,000.00 part though.

[4_bathrooms]

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@fuzzbuttfabrics wrote:

OK so I found this thread where someone has the exact same problem:  

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They didn't have the same problem; that post was made by a private seller before FVFs were abolished for private sellers. Private sellers were charged a blanket 12.8% including VAT - you can see the VAT breakdown in the picture. They were being charged correctly: 10.67% + VAT = 12.8%.

That is why I asked if the account you are posting from has ever been a private account as it is about the only explanation that makes sense now. In fact it doesn't make sense; it's just less nonsensical than any other explanation I can think of. eBay rarely charge FVFs incorrectly and yours is the first case I have ever heard of where they have been undercharged! 

[andha-21]

Nothing to see here ....

😆

[fuzzbuttfabrics]

Well we were all private accounts at some point in time so yes, I was, but I upgraded a while ago.  So this could be just a residual fee thing?  Well in that case I'll shut the hell up LOL!!!