I am mad. This happens a lot – but this time, it is about eBay. They have just announced changes to their final value fees. When you sell an item, eBay take 10% of the final sale price in fees. This has slowly been increasing over the past few years, and of course, we are due another rise.
Except this time, they have changed the final value fees to include not only the item’s selling price, but also the postage you charge. So, if you sell an item for £10 and charge £3 postage (which is what it costs to send a small parcel First Class), you’d pay £1 in eBay fees. Now, under the changes announced, you will pay £1.30 in eBay fees.
My issue with this is that eBay buyers can rate your postage costs, and if they deem them to be unfair, your seller rating can go down. A low seller rating (different to feedback) can implement listing restrictions on your account, as well as taking away your eligibility to take part in free listing promotions. I have received a lot of low ratings for my postage costs – which really frustrates me when I charge exactly what I have to pay. I cover envelopes, jiffy bags, bubble wrap, labels and parceling tape out of my own money, and I do not pass these costs on to my buyers. But now I am going to be another 30p (at least) down for every sale.
I am definitely going to rethink everything I list on eBay now. There are some great alternatives, and I certainly won’t be selling low value items. Currently, if I list something for 99p and charge £3 postage, this is how it breaks down:
Listing fee – FREE for 99p listing
Final value fee – 9p
Paypal fee – 34p
Profit – 56p
After these changes (coming 4th September):
Listing fee – FREE for 99p listing
Final value fee – 39p
Paypal fee – 34p
Profit – 26p
You can read the announcement here.
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