
eBay is justifying a new method of collecting fees by calling it "simpler" and "more modern." But sellers have grown wary any time eBay justifies a change by calling it simpler for sellers - and this change is no exception.
Currently, eBay sends monthly invoices so sellers can pay certain fees and expenses by whatever payment method they choose, once a month. Soon, it will phase out the monthly invoice and will instead hold back fees when it disburses sellers' sales proceeds (aka payouts).
A seller
warned us a month ago this change was on the way and said the move would actually make things more complex for her. "Business fees for tax purposes are readily segregated through my credit card monthly reports," she told us. "Now it's going to require pulling them from what masquerades as "sales reports.""
She also said the move would prove more costly. "For anyone who uses, as I do, a cash-back business credit card to pay business fees, this becomes another "added" cost of doing business while eBay, yet again, "adds" to their bottom line at sellers' expense."
Upon receiving the announcement, one seller said eBay needed to provide more information, wondering how eBay would deduct their monthly Store subscriptions - would it mean sellers would not receive any funds until their Store fee was covered?
Here's the letter eBay sent to sellers today:
Simplified fees
eBay has created a simpler and more modern billing process to pay your eBay fees and expenses. Beginning in late March, eBay will phase out the billing of selling fees and expenses via a monthly invoice. Instead, eBay will collect fees and other expenses, such as those resulting from refunds, claims or disputes directly from your earnings. If your earnings are not sufficient to cover these amounts, we will charge your payment method on file (debit or credit card, and/or linked bank account).
- Examples of eBay selling fees include but are not limited to: insertion fees, promoted listings, listing upgrades, and store subscription fees.
- You may find information on fees and expenses via the reports functionality in the Payments tab in Seller Hub.
- Depending on your monthly billing invoice date, you may continue to receive invoices for both March and April. You must still pay any outstanding amounts that are reflected on billing invoices that you receive during this time. Charges will not be duplicated.
Expanded support for international selling
- If you offer to ship internationally, your listings may surface in buyer searches on supported international eBay sites. You may also limit the countries you ship to by selecting specific regions in your listing settings.
- You may create listings on select eBay sites outside of the United States, such as the United Kingdom (www.ebay.co.uk), Germany (www.ebay.de), and Canada (www.ebay.ca). Your earnings for these sales will be disbursed to you in US dollars. We will continue to expand international selling to more countries in the coming months.
- For more details on international selling on eBay, click here. Additional fees may apply if either the buyer's registered address or the delivery address for the item is located outside of the United States, but you will no longer pay third-party processing fees for international transactions.