buyer protection fee

[thegardeningman]

Hi

I don't usually take part in these discussion groups but there appears to be no other way of getting feedback to management. Like any business in the UK eBay is going to see its cost base rising because of the increases in national insurance and the National Living Wage ( although I'm not sure if they have many employees on this wage as most tech firms pay more ) and shareholders to satisfy. The Buyers protection fee may be the name it has been given but there appears to be very little detail behind it and eBay  has I believe the policies and procedures to deal with any buyer/seller problems it encounters already.

However, what the fee  does in reality is punitively punish sales at the lower end, I sell my excess cigarette cards with many of the lots being advertised from £1.00 upwards and have tonight packed an order where a buyer has bought 5 lots at £1.35 each a total of £6.75 and paid an additional £3.85 in buyer protection fees or 57% of the cost price.

Looking at this on a risk basis or a cash basis, this is excessive for both the buyer or eBay, the net effect will be three fold :

1. I and others will sell less  through eBay , I will need to look for other outlets as will others.

2. For private sellers considering a shop in a similar hobby or collectables in general will be put off. Shop income falls.

2a. Conversely business sellers may see an increase in sales but most charge fixed postage costs of £3.99 or higher in the cigarette card sector just to meet the current business fees and make a living.

3. Because of the loss of contribution from private sellers to eBay profits, business seller fees may have to rise causing businesses to leave.

4. eBay fees come under pressure once again, increase buyer protection fee?? Repeat 1-3 in downward spiral.

Of course eBay may have a strategy to remove regular private  sellers or try to move them to business sellers however I believe the latter is totally flawed especially in collectables, collectors just wish to recycle their money to develop their collections and from talking to business sellers some already feel the business fees are too much.

eBay disrupted the auction market when it first appeared, putting an auction portal in every house to help reuse, recycle household items, buy and sell collectables and for some develop businesses but the current buyer protection fee structure puts it in danger from emerging competitors and I would suggest it reconsiders it as a matter of urgency.  eBay should consider removing the flat 75p buyer fee and making it a risk based % approach, only eBay have the facts, figures and strategy and know the requirements of the shareholder, but I would suggest a 5%-10% order fee as opposed to lot fee may be appropriate. 

Perhaps then the buyers who were buying 16 or 17 lots from me the last two months may return and we may all get back to "business" as usual.

Regards,

thegardeningman.

P.s if this gets me thrown out of eBay then may I say I have had fun over the last 22 years

[parsley2003]

They won't remove the buyer fee, it's copying the opposition as is simple delivery (similar but worse). The bpf replaces the seller fees. Free to sell for 3 months to get people back from Vinted and Depop then whack on the buyer fee, simple delivery make money from that, and keep our money for weeks to make interest and they get it all back - and more. Only problem is sellers will not be forced into being a business they can't be and will leave. They leave and they also don't buy. Business sellers may be delighted right now but they will lose business from the leavers and less people selling interesting things less visitors to the site.

It's a vicious circle or maybe  death spiral as you say

I agree with what you the whole thing is wrong a seller paying a fee on every single item is very different to the buyer paying it, i had put all my postcards into sets but then combining them was a problem. Had to refund each item. Was lucky someone asked first so i took them off and listed the 9 sets as one lot for him and he paid fair combined postage and 1 x 75p.

But it's all too stressful i've taken everything off again. It sounds like even now they are fiddling and messing with it. Still no clue as to what the end product will be. 

[britanniabug_stamp_store]

You, Me and thousands of Other Sellers are now in the same boat with the new BPF. Buyers seeing they will have to pay a flat fee of £0.75p per item on say 6 items selling for £0.99p will not do so and I agree, I would'nt either.

The BPF was I believe designed to suit business sellers, after all they have been complaining for years that private sellers were undercutting their prices and hence damaging their bottom line.

Ebay is no longer thee platform for selling off collections or unwanted items and eBay I believe have had this agenda in place for years. There have been so many major changes and upheavales over the past 6-12 months and many of these changes have been brought in at very short notice, so little time to adapt or push eBay to roll back their enforced changes.

There are other selling platforms that will continue to grow for people selling off collections and unwanted items and I for one am ready to move if the SD does not exempt low weight, low priced items.

Good luck to you and the many thousands who's time at eBay has been enjoyable but are now being forced out by these changes.