eBay Makes Major Fee and Feedback Changes in New Spring Release

by: Ming the Merciless

Hmmmm..who or what was it that a few years ago referred to small sellers as "emotional," "narcissistic," "noise," etc. during the early stages of their sophistifcated psychological warfare campaign (see the ebay employee exposé posts I re posted here a few days ago) against the small sellers they wanted to exterminate from their sales site?

My "emotions" are based on what I found out using a MY calculator.

While these changes might have accidentally benefited a few sellers, most of us will have to raise prices AGAIN to compensate for these extraordinarily greedy and high fee increases -- especially for those who sell higher end items.

No amount of enabler spin will change the facts.

by: Ina

@Herb (from page 9): "Will Ebay continue to pay Google Product for Ebay listings in many categories, such as Collectibles, China, etc...which are appearing now?"

Actually, last week eBay said those ads aren't as effective as they thought they were.

"Google Forced to Defend Ad Program in Response to eBay Report" (March 15)

http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y13/m03/i15/s02

by: WOODJUNGLE! ON EBAY

Wait until ebay starts charging for photos again. That will be coming back eventually.

by: BB2

@Marie - ''What category currently has a 6% FVF?  I'm not in any way trying to minimize what you are saying.  I'm asking because I don't know.  Nothing more than that.''

Roughly 98% of my sales are over $50 in Home and Garden. See here: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html

by: BB2

@Marie - Meant to add that yes, indeed, the fees for the first $50 of the sale is slightly lower. But, in general, my original comment is true. The 2% decrease in fees on the first $50 on an order ($1) is more than offset by the increase in fees above that.

I would have to crunch the numbers to come up with an exact equation. But, the overall percentage is not that far off. For all intensive purposes, my fees increased 50%.

by: elpereles

@16mmfilmseller, sorry. As I said before I'm not a super mega cosmic omnipresent power seller. Good luck in your business.  

by: PowerSeller2007

There should be quarterly boycott weeks.  

Use disruption to disrupt against ebay's moronic disruption.  

by: nsc

@marie,
If you sell in a category that today has fvf schedule of 11% up to $50, 6% up to $1,000, and 2% over $1,000, then if you sell an item for $1,062, you will have an effective fvf rate of 6%. Under the new rates, the fvf rate will go up to 9%, a 50% increase.

Both the new and old fvf rates cap out at about the same point, as the item price goes above $2,900. Note the old fvf cap was $100, while the new fvf cap is $250.

by: Marie

@BB2

Thank you, I now understand what you were previously explaining.  I'm aware the first $50 is at 11% and the balance at 6% up until the cap.  And yes as nsc states, at certain dollar levels that can average 6%, but all that info wasn't in your original post, so I was confused.  I didn't meant to make a big thing about it, I just wasn't aware there was a category at 6%.  But your sales have to be way over $50 to get an average of 6%, again as NSC states.

*******************************

Also when you are figuring out the cost impact of the fee changes, make sure you consider all the cost changes and not just one part of them otherwise you may not make a fully informed decision.

This new fee structure is going to hit higher priced things the hardest and then the casual seller.  Those in the middle will come close to breaking even and a few will even pay a little less.  But it will depend on how much your items average selling for and how many listings in any combination you run in a month.

It's a little complicated to figure out, but it is in your best interest to keep working with the numbers until you come up with the combination that will work the best for you.  Doesn't matter what others say.  YOu have to figure out which store is right for you or if a store is right for you.  If you should sign up for a year or do the month by month.  There is no right or wrong answer.  You just need to figure out what is best for you.

For me, I will change from a premium store to an Anchor store because it is going to be more cost effective for me.

by: andreaprior

You all have it made with the eBay fees you now have in the USA!
Here in Australia we have no Basic store level, only Premium and Anchored at a cost of $49.95 and $499.95 respectively.  We do not get any free listings in those store subscriptions.  We pay 20 cents per 'Buy It Now' listing, (5 cents for books and media), 50 cents for auction listings and get no discount on final value fees for being a Top Rated Seller.
I'd love it if these new fees came to eBay Australia as I know that I would save loads of money every month.

by: Digmen1

Yes ebay have always screwed Australia as that is the only economy in the western world that did not go into recession, and people there have very high wages and the aussie dollar is high.

by: Ina

I thought it was interesting that eBay's Griff said in the eBay Radio program he would be better off switching from a Basic Store to a Premium Store, but during the Town Hall Meeting, he said he discovered - using eBay's Fee Illustrator tool - that he would be better staying at a Basic Store after all.

by: Al G

@Ina

A little birdy whispered in Griff's ear saying

"Do the math stupid!".

Old Chinese proverb:
Best to be quiet and appear to be a fool than opening one's mouth and removing all doubt.

by: Herb

Hi Ina, Can you still pay by the month, if you opt for a yearly plan?

I've read the Ebay info showing the percent of the penalty month by month , if you cancel before the year commitment...

But, I still don't see anywhere that you can continue to pay by the month ( and not a full year in advance).

Thank you very much...

by: Frankcoins

They are really screwing the store owners who signed up to guarantee ebay a minimum monthly income (very few people actually bother to cancel a store during slow months and reopen it later)  So for a $2500 coin sale, the non store owner sees the FVF go from $225 to $250...what eBay calls a 1 PERCENTAGE POINT increase is really an 11.1 PERCENT increase.
But as a store owner, I currently pay $41.25 plus 2% of the amount over $1000...for a total FVF of $71.75.  The new 7% flat rate for the coin category for store owners will now hit me with a $175 FVF.  THAT'S A WHOPPING 144% INCREASE!!!

by: Ina

@Herb See this page.
http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/feesupdate2013ta
ndc.html

I believe eBay said it is working on a system to allow sellers to pay the yearly fee in one lump sum but it is not available now.

Be aware of the early termination fee should you cancel your eBay Store IF you have committed to a year.

And be aware that if you sign up for a yearly subscription, it will auto-renew!

by: Marie

Lets look at some numbers.  As many of us have said many times, you have to run the numbers to figure out what is best for you.  This is NOT a simple change.  There are MANY variables that each of us need to look at for our own personal needs of our businesses.

As of May first:

Basic Store
19.95 x 12 = 237.40
15.95 x 12 = 191.40
Difference    48.00

Cancellation fees per the schedule, you'd have to cancel your subscription with MORE than 9 months left on the contract before the cost would exceed the $48.00 savings.

Premium Store
59.95 x 12 = 719.40
49.95 x 12 = 599.40
Difference   120.00

Cancellation fees per the schedule, you'd have to cancel your subscription with MORE than 8 months left on the contract before the cost would exceed the $120 savings.

Anchor Store
199.95 x 12 = 2,399.40
179.95 x 12 = 2,159.40
Difference      240.00

Cancellation fees per the schedule, you'd have to cancel your subscription with MORE than 4 months left on the contract before the cost would exceed the $240 savings.

by: gizmo192

They left out more than paypal fees with that comparison, don't forget items in Amazon sell for 10%-30% higher price than on eBay which justifies paying them a higher commission.  

by: Herb

@Gizmo, Not necessarily so. It all depends on the items you sell. Antiquarian/Collectible books sell at higher prices on Ebay, regularly. The new Fee structure for books if you sell collectible is a DECREASE in Ebay fees.

by: Herb

Edit above that New Ebay Fee structure for Antiquarian/Collectible books is a DECREASE for the most part with a store.