Ebay Fees

Nomad · #1 09/07/12, 11:19 AM

I haven't sold anything for a while and didn't realize they were charging commission on the shipping cost. I sold a box of fishing stuff a couple of weeks ago and the shipping was $23+. It actually cost me about $1 more than that to ship the box. Then Ebay charged me over $2 on that $23+ amount. That hardly seems fair. I don't mind paying on money I get to keep, but the shipping cost is used to send the box. So I lost over $3 between the actual cost of sending the box and the commission. I know there were people who were charging 99 cents for an item and then charging $20 for shipping. I'm sure that's why they now charge the fee. So I guess you have to add an amount to the shipping to cover the fee unless you want to lose money. What are other people doing?

Nomad

Nevada · #2 09/07/12, 11:28 AM

I've always sold at eBay with free shipping, but of course shipping isn't really free. What it really means is that the my shipping costs are included in the purchase price. EBay offers incentives to sellers who offer free shipping.

I guess I've been paying fees in shipping costs all along.

Dusky Beauty · #3 09/07/12, 11:30 AM

When I was listing on ebay a lot about 10 years ago we were pretty much forced to inflate our "shipping" with a "handling fee" that covered ebay fees and paypal commissions-- the handling we just tacked on to the shipping costs... and if ebay has the shipping amount capped (like they do on DvDs and video games) we just had to make the item a little more expensive.
At 9% ebay fees... it's pretty much not worth it to use ebay if craigslist or etsy or a barter board will do.

Nevada · #4 09/07/12, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dusky Beauty

At 9% ebay fees... it's pretty much not worth it to use ebay if craigslist or etsy or a barter board will do.

It depends on the product. For collectibles and vertical market products (such as unique parts for particular laptops), eBay is the only place you'll find a market. You really have no choice.

But I always use craigslist where I can.

IMFoghorn · #5 09/07/12, 11:39 AM

I've started adding 12% to my shipping charge to allow for ebay and paypal fees.

Nomad · #6 09/07/12, 02:02 PM

I worry about getting negative feedback if what I charge for shipping is more than it really costs. I know when someone charges me $5 and I see it only cost $1 when it arrives, I get a bit steamed. The other thing is the cost of postage just keeps going up. I used to sell a lot of inexpensive things, but it's difficult now. People don't want to buy an item for $2 and then have to pay $5-6 for the shipping. Can't say I blame them.

Nomad

DaniR1968 · #7 09/07/12, 06:21 PM

Speaking of Paypal fees. When did they start charging for none credit card linked payments? I've mostly been buying the last few years, but I don't recall being charged a fee when I sold something in the past and got paid through them.

I recently made a private sale. I didn't realize Paypal would take a piece so only charged for the item plus shipping. Total was $650. Paypal took $20. So, now I"m going to be eating that $20 because I'm not going to go back and ask the buyer to make up the difference.

IMFoghorn · #8 09/08/12, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nomad

I worry about getting negative feedback if what I charge for shipping is more than it really costs. I know when someone charges me $5 and I see it only cost $1 when it arrives, I get a bit steamed. The other thing is the cost of postage just keeps going up. I used to sell a lot of inexpensive things, but it's difficult now. People don't want to buy an item for $2 and then have to pay $5-6 for the shipping. Can't say I blame them.

Nomad

I've seen some auctions where the seller put a short note in the body of the auction about having to charge a little more for shipping now that ebay and paypal have started taking their commission on the shipping charge as well as the selling price.

I've just adjusted the price of my widget to reflect the extra cost to me and left the shipping charge at the actual cost of shipping. I do my multi item shipping discounts manually so I let the buyer know I have to charge more that the actual shipping to cover commission costs. My primary widgets are a fall and winter item so we will see how it goes. Sept. sales have been about the same as last year so I'm hoping for the best.

Cindy in NY · #9 09/08/12, 08:06 PM

I used to offer to ship worldwide on anything I listed. Now I don't because the cost of shipping can be so high which means ebay gets that much more. It doesn't help to charge more for a handling fee because then the buyer just gives you a low star rating for your shipping fees!

PaulNKS · #10 09/09/12, 07:49 AM

I ship worldwide from eBay and from my website. From eBay, I only use First Class and First Class International. I add the extra cost of ebay's fee on shipping to the cost of the item. Problem solved. It's just a cost of doing business.

On my website I let the customer choose between First Class or Priority mail both domestic and international. It keeps my shipping costs to a minimum.

hippygirl · #11 09/09/12, 10:46 AM

I guess they decided if some sellers were going to continue to gouge on shipping by charging $15 to ship a $5 t-shirt (just one of the many examples I've seen), they wanted a piece of the action.