eBay Makes Major Fee and Feedback Changes in New Spring Release

by: quirkyantiques

@jeff@ebay.
As Annie said-you are indeed a *brave man* for gamely taking on responding to comments! Please understand our anger is not directed at you PERSONALLY, it's frustration with Ebay management and the spin tactics used to disguise what ends up being probably Ebays largest fee increase to date. No one cares if the LISTING price goes down-it's the increase in FVF's that hurts us all.

by: Herb

@Jeff of Ebay...or Ina...

Will Ebay continue to pay Google Product for Ebay listings in many categories, such as Collectibles, China, etc...which are appearing now? Thank you...

by: pace306

No one should be suprised that eBay is raising thier rates ...

1) Amazon just did it 2 months ago so why should eBay be an different (this is thier mind set) and
2) Jet fuel for JDs jet went up, and general costs (read waste) that eBay does with the fees they charge have also gone up - some one has to pay for it! (thats us).

The drive to get people into eBay stores via some kind of discount is how ebay thinks they will stem the tide of good sellers leaving - by boxing them in by making them commit to the store. It wont work - but very little on eBay works unless you're a scammer.

Vero doesnt work
Feedbacks dont work
Fees dont work
Shipping doesnt work
Magic Invisible DSRs dont work

NOTHING eBay does really works. Its like patching the body of an old car with duct tape.

All the free listings is nonesence and in my small opinion - seasoned sellers should know this. Its a come on pure and simple.

1) theres no way to really track it
2) eBay knows that smaller to medium sized sellers dont have the time to think about such things (umm is this listing free, is it the last of my freebee ones, or should I save them up for next week!?)

Its a publishers clearinghouse ripoff - YOU'LL WIN (free listings) oh really?

I'VE NEVER GOTTEN ANY FREE LISTINGS WHEN THEY HAVE BEEN OFFERED TO ME OR NOT - ITS PURE BS AND EBAY KNOWS IT.

As for auctions - eBay STILL doesnt like them - the article is as plain as the nose on your face. By crowding them, by manipulating who sees what etc - they make sure its unpalatable and that you switch to BIN aka Be Like Amazon.

Seller protection is like the Loch Ness Monster or the Yeti - unprovable since theres no "science" to back it up. Sellers loose 60-80% of the time simply because 1) eBay believes that happy buyers come back - and who better to make them happy but "the greedy sellers" 2) JD & Co have said many times that sellers make too much money (which is why theres FVF on shipping - god forbid sellers make a profit).

The stupid pictures BS. Every seller has a right to spend as much or as little time on their listings as they choose. *I* believe that the better your pics and the better your descriptions - the more sales you will make. I spend a TON of time on my pictures. I have at least 2-4 pics in every listing including the main listing pic. I put the title into each pic so that buyers know right away what the item is without confusion. Its assinine that eBay would take that right away - the one that lets me distinguish myself from others by the hard work I do to make my listings special.

I will NOT be a slave to eBay to complete thier catalog - not after the disgusting ways that they have treated me as a seller.

Kick me off if you dare - Im TRSP, Gold level, 99.5% positive feedback and my Amazon sales are already eating your sales for lunch - PLEASE :) go ahead and try.

eBay uses me - I use them - thats how they want it - thats how it is.

by: Marie

@allstarjd74

If your listings were all FP as you stated, then you aren't paying 7.5% FVF, you are probably paying 11%.  7.5% is for auctions when you have a store, not your FP or BIN listings.

So your adjusted figures would be as follows:

50.00 Current store fee
100.00 2000 FP
440.00 11% FVF on 4K sales
590.00  Total

New plan on Premium Stores
60.00  New store rate
 0.00  500 Free listings
150.00  1500 FP Listings
360.00  FVF @ 9% on 4K sales
570.00     Total

So that is actually a small savings and you can add an additional $10 per month savings if you sign up for the 1 year subscription for the store.

Now let me through out something else for you to consider.

200.00  Anchor store new rate
 0.00  2000 FP listings
360.00  FVF @ 9% on 4K Sales.
560.00    Total

And with the Anchor store you would still have another 500 free listings to use for FP or auctions if you choose.

I'm not supporting any one of these models for you and your business.  That is your choice to make.  I'm just trying to make sure you look at the numbers accurately so that you can make an informed decision about what will work best for you.

by: elpereles

@Marie, I'm not a super mega omnipresent power seller, but I learned that even if you are selling stuff to cover the expenses of your hobby. You must see it as a business and run it with math.

Every case is different. I recommend take a deep breath, be serious, sit down with your calculator, convert your Pros and Cons in numbers, resolve, and make a decision.

If you only sell in eBay and want to be more independent. Take some steps and make a smooth transition to other marketplaces. If you decide for it remember to be serious. There is a lot of sites, but they don't have the eBay lifestyle. You know post and wait for a sale. In many sites you get a space for sale, but you most make your own promotion.  

by: Marie

elpereles

I agree.  I'm not sure why you are addressing that to me, but I agree.  That is why I was trying to assist the other poster regarding the various numbers for the various types of stores.

by: 16mmfilmseller

@Marie - your example above is only valid for someone who sells high volumes of low-priced items. People who sell low volumes of high priced items are going to have major increases.

by: Marie

16mmm

You are absolutely correct.  I was specifically addressing the posting of a specific poster with specific requirements.  Nothing more.

by: BB2

16mmfilmseller - Correct again. I am in the category that sells low volumes of high priced items.

My FVFs are going from 6% to 9%. That is a 50% increase in fees. I cannot absorb the additional cost at my current runrates.

by: Marie

@BB2

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.

by: elpereles

@Marie, it is only the 1rst paragraph. The rest is for readers.

@16mmfilmseller, eBay is increasing their fees. It is the fact, but  remember every case is different. It is your responsibility check how it affects you. If you had Excel, you can create a nice table with simple formulas and inputs. So you can see more visually ''old fees vs. new fees''.

by: Jason

Ebay still can't compare to the the listing fee structure of Amazon.

I have 2,200 items on Amzon.  They can sit there as long as necessary, and they never cost me a dime until something sells.

No store subscription required.  No item listing limits.
No listing fees at all.

ALL THE LISTINGS I CAN POST ON AMAZON... for FREE.

Amazon still gets the best (and lion's share) of my merchandise.

Of course they get you in the back end (in more ways than one), but the initial listing cost is ZERO.

Impotent ebay fails again.

by: Marie

@ jason

In the end, it is the overall cost that is important whether you sell on Ebay, Amazon or anywhere else.  A site with free listing fees may have higher FVFs or they may not.  You need to look at the costs over a period of time to see which is really cheaper.  If that is Amazon and it is working for you, that is wonderful.  But Amazon doesn't work for all products.  Esty doesn't work for all products.  Etc.  

All things have to be consider when deciding where to sell and for how much.  Just looking at a small piece of the costs is not the answer nor will it give you an accurate picture.

by: Ed

Jeff@ebay
I was wondering if we will be seeing more of the same sales if we were to sign up for a another years fees.

We are stil a TRS and a silver power seller. Our sales were up about 30% Jan - Nov of 2012 and then for the next 4 months our sales were down about 80% and we lost thousands of dollars. We had to scrap some products because they expired during our sales drop. When sales off $40,000 it can create a number of problems.

Would we be signing up for more of the same? All we hear from ebay is every thing is good... No Problem

If sales don't change our sales will be down $70,000 to $80,000 this year. We are afraid to buy until we see what the future is going look like. How can we rebuild trust in ebay?

by: 16mmfilmseller

@elpereles - you are being just a bit patronizing. I've been selling on ebay since 1997, and I'm quite capable of figuring out what the fees will be.  

by: PowerSeller2007

@Annie
  Free Subtitle?  Hahaha...  
They could actually play this as a trick. Send out another ebay TROJAN HORSE.  They could get sellers to enjoy free subtitles for 1 month.  And make them cost $1 each month later.  Otherwise, each seller has to spend a week, removing subtitles on their 500 to 3000 listings to avoid huge penalties.

by: Digmen1

Now could be the time for a small mass migration to ebid.net.

With a one off joining fee, and then free listings and only 2% fvf fee.

And no rules changes for the last 4 years!

by: Cassie

Well, know they are increasing fees they need to subsidize the push for additional security features. The reason is they are pushing for international sales ....look Obama has enacted an initiative to increase exports mostly for manufacturing but exports the same to increase some where around nearly 50% increase by 2017 from 2009 performance. Why state this initiatives means free govt money if you quality to all businesses via taxes or etc. So yes, Ebay is building a venue to attract small businesses to sell international folks which is dumb as for the next few years go to the govt --- get your import export license the training is subsidized for pennies on the dollar some is free and the licensing process is very very cheap for a limited time. I say get it if you sell your own products on your own web page and have some nerves of steal go international yourself there are subsidies/support to do so ....hope this info helps where to find go fish .want bad you find it like I did start pounding on the govt's door!  

by: bitbybit

@powerseller
You are absolutely right about the free subtitles. Forgot to remove before relisting and got pounded with additional fees. Won't make that mistake anymore.

Also wondering about signing up for an annual store subscription and seeing visibility and sales dropping especially with auctions. A new ploy by ebay to end auctions? By locking sellers into a store for a year and then dropping visibility for auctions will force sellers to go to fixed price. Do I sound paranoid? Seems quite feasible since sellers have been snookered by ebay many times.

Sellers would be wise to not sell high priced items now since the FVFs are a killer. Maybe this was one of the reasons Neiman Marcus left since items on ebay will be downgraded not only price wise but also in quality. I can certainly see ebay as not being the ''best'' match or caliper for Neiman Marcus.

Side note: It burns me up that all these fees and costs from hard working sellers are paying for this overcompensated $30 million CEO. No one deserves to make that much money especially someone who keeps talking about another three year plan.

by: PowerSeller2007

Why is a global company with a global marketplace like ebay has different store rates and number of free listings in different countries?

Could it be that they want to maintain strangle hold on small sellers neck with different amount of pressure?  Isn't this how we train dogs with very short lease?  Woof  Woof.