Ebay's New listing fees WTH!

[thecandlespastore]

So I got an email today from Ebay about their new fees. They are doing away with the gallery fee, which should have been free from day 1. They are also lowering fees in some areas. Now before you go and open a store and list like crazy, they hit you with the big whammy!! Look at the bottom of the page. Not only are powersellers fees going UP (not down) So are fees for selling your item that you have listed in your store (which you already pay anywhere from $15.95 to $499 a month for anyway.) Check out the pricing tier:

http://pages.ebay.com/sell/update08/basic/

Does that even make sense? They make it seem as if you are saving when in fact you are paying more! Looks like they are trying to do away with the stores and the powerseller program by forcing us to list in auction style instead so we can go after the cheaper fees. Ebay is so ridiculous. Glad I switched to Etsy.

[MissMary]

The powersellers part IS going up for under $25 dollars. But the higher cost you list items, the overall fee is actually going down from the original fees they used to have based on the new structure.

It's cost versus demand, really. I mean, they were making a few pennies on some people who would sell for 50 cents, and the cost would be anywhere from double to triple that with the new energy costs (which are hitting tech companies particularly hard).

[thecandlespastore]

I see what you are saying but if the original fees were

10.00% of the initial $25.00, plus 7.00% of the remaining closing value balance ($25.01 to $100.00)

and now they are

12.00% of the initial $25.00, plus 8.00% of the remaining closing value balance ($25.01 to $100.00)

the fee has gone up by 3% . Unless I am having a brain fart:laugh2:

[MissMary]

Sorry, you are correct, I meant $100 and typed in the first part without the -. My bad! I'm the one farting. But not technically 3% overall, it's actually more, but it's too early for math, but I'll try and probably screw up.

Say you sell something for $100.

Before that was a total of $7.75 in fees.

Now it's $11, or a difference of $3.25.

Which would translate to an overall increase of... almost 30%?

Oh god I think I need coffee...

[thecandlespastore]

Sorry, you are correct, I meant $100 and typed in the first part without the -. My bad! I'm the one farting. But not technically 3% overall, it's actually more, but it's too early for math, but I'll try and probably screw up.

Say you sell something for $100.

Before that was a total of $7.75 in fees.

Now it's $11, or a difference of $3.25.

Which would translate to an overall increase of... almost 30%?

Oh god I think I need coffee...

OMG!! Ebay is insane! I wonder if sellers can ask to be dropped from the powerseller status. Its as if you are paying to have status now!

[mizbizzyb]

Didn't gas go up? I think Dairy is going up too? Hell Walmart even raised a bunch of their prices.

What do people expect?

Wax went up. Shipping is going up.

Everything is going up.

Either we adapt or get left behind.

[thecandlespastore]

:rolleyes2 Kind of redundant to have an article that praises lower listing fees when in fact the fees were raised in some areas for some sellers and not for others. And why have fees cheaper for some sellers, such as the ones who do not have stores that only sell in auction and fixed price format versus those who do have stores and are powersellers? To me that is not fair, and even though I left Ebay in the dust a long time ago (6 months after I gained silver powerseller status) I feel for those who do use it as their main selling venue and have to endure these constant fee hikes. What is the benefit now of being a powerseller or have a store if you have to pay extra for it other than what you already have to pay????

The sellers who have stores and/or are powersellers are the ones spending the most money to list on Ebay, so why do they have to pay more out of pocket than anyone else in final value fees? I can't recall going to buy gas or wax or pay for shipping and being told that I had to pay more money for the services because I was a high volume purchaser versus someone who only comes once or twice a week and does not invest nearly as much as I do:shocked2: At least that's the way I see it. I am hoping the chart has typos and they really don't expect sellers to think they are saving money.

So yes, we do adapt, and I suppose people will start realizing that maybe having their own websites and finding other venues to list their products (such as independent sites that don't jack up their fees 2-3 times a year for the heck of it) will be the best way to move on. One hand washes the other, so many give their lives to Ebay and don't get nearly as much back in return in form of appreciate from Ebay's end. Its hard to turn a profit as it is on there.

[mizbizzyb]

lol - they praised lower listing fees. that is just it. lower listing fees. they didn't praise the fees in the other areas.

you have the right to feel the way you do about it. I am pretty sure in the long run if it was a mistake they will see it and make necessary changes, otherwise if things remain the same they will continue business like normal.

[SliverOfWax]

Didn't gas go up? I think Dairy is going up too? Hell Walmart even raised a bunch of their prices.

What do people expect?

Wax went up. Shipping is going up.

Everything is going up.

Either we adapt or get left behind.

This is one time I'll disagree with you re Ebay/Paypal. What they are selling is a non-tangible. It doesn't cost anything for them to produce and there's no shipping involved. They have expenses, no doubt, and perhaps everybody who works there got a raise.

They have lost a lot of customers, good, long-term customers, because of previously hiking costs to list. If they keep this up, they will be a dinosaur. Nothing is a sure thing, especially with commerce. They need to think carefully about what they're doing. With ol' Meg gone now, they could wind up sinking their own ship.

[mizbizzyb]

This is one time I'll disagree with you re Ebay/Paypal. What they are selling is a non-tangible. It doesn't cost anything for them to produce and there's no shipping involved. They have expenses, no doubt, and perhaps everybody who works there got a raise.

They have lost a lot of customers, good, long-term customers, because of previously hiking costs to list. If they keep this up, they will be a dinosaur. Nothing is a sure thing, especially with commerce. They need to think carefully about what they're doing. With ol' Meg gone now, they could wind up sinking their own ship.

It is not about disagreeing or agreeing....I dont use eBay much - so the fees are not a big deal to me. So maybe that is why I don't care. does that make sense?

My philosophy is - people do not have to use ebay....eBay isn't forcing anyone....however there is potential money to be made there...Hell I wish I had time to find a niche to sell on there...but I have enough jobs...lol

[SliverOfWax]

I don't use them much these days, either. My point is they are getting too big for their britches. Look what happened to Yahoo. Google hit the scene and, poof, Yahoo nearly went the way of the Dodo bird. In e-commerce, there's no such thing as a sure thing anymore. People are too fickle.

Now if we could just figure out a way to get rid of Bill Gates. Everytime he makes a move, he screws up worse than before. Lawd, what I wouldn't give for Win98 again. Bailing out to something else is too big of a learning curve for most folks, and Gates just keeps getting richer because of it.

[Ring of Fire]

Stay tuned, Bill Gates wants to buy Yahoo.

Try the new Mac Sliver. I hear it's the bomb. Of course, the price is very steep.

As for ebay, it's greed, pure greed.

[artcwolf]

I wonder what the power bill at eBay looks like with the massive server farm they have to have to handle what they do.

I recieved an e-mail from my hosting company for my websites letting me know of the increase in their load and that the board of directors and other key members of the company are in talks about prices because of the increase cost to operate. These guys are the biggest hosting company in the UK, and are growing massively now here in the US.

Anyone look at their power bill lately? I know mine has gone up.

[Dolphin146]

Thats one of the reasons I don't use my ebay any more. Fees are getting really bad. Also how do you compete with a person who sells a 100 tarts for .99 I have since joined etsy and I love it there. There fee is so much better. Regina

[Violetsexoticcandles]

I too received their email, and at first glance, it looked good and I thought, hey, I should reopen my store. Then I looked at the final value fees- they've gone up. Saw about the power seller fees and such, as well. Then I said, well, forget it, not worth it. I closed my store last Febuary due to increased seller fees for stores- I wasn't getting enough traffic anyway and sold more in fixed price and auction style listings.

I agree with the person who said it's hard to compete on there these days- it is. I also think that you can gain loyal customers by selling some things cheaply on there... but not by giving them away.

I think I'd sell my tarts as cheaply as possible just to get rid of the crappy votive/tart wax I have left. But not 100 for 99 cents! No way... Wouldn't even cover the fees.

[Late Night]

Looks like you aren't the only ones noticing. I got this in an email today;

[mizbizzyb]

Looks like you aren't the only ones noticing. I got this in an email today;

oh shyt I guess I missed his speech.....the sellers and buyers are nothing but noise? hmmmm

[Late Night]

Uh-huh, flea market noise at that.

[MissMary]

That vid is pretty huge propaganda and the quotes that were used were linked from another blog. I may hate eBay with a passion, but what was said on that vid and the actual quote are totally off.

The new CEO John Donahoe (sp?) actually said eBay itself *looks* like a flea market and he wants to improve on the image of the site. Not that the people using it are flea market trash.

In fact, almost all the statements in that video are A) nothing new and have been in place for a while (like PayPal holding money in fraud cases). Your bank can do the same thing. If someone pays you and the payer claims fraud, the money has to stay somewhere until someone's side wins.

And the noise part was from the disgruntled people spreading videos like that.

As for being an extortionist bully - I thought you had a choice whether to use eBay, guess I was wrong.

Considering the cost of energy these days, I'd think I'd be more ticked that they are incurring higher bills overall to pay for their business thanks to our government rather than them having to price hike. How many people on here have already said they either have or will have to raise prices because of the costs of doing business, I don't think eBay is exempt from rising costs, especially when you take into consideration they have employees as well and the wage increases coming, healthcare bills that have recently passed, tax increases for businesses with X employees to pay into the big guns, etc. Hell, we (collectively) have to raise prices on products alone. Throw in the energy crisis and rising employment costs that we don't experience on that sort of scale...

[thecandlespastore]

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000636290&tstart=0&mod=1201823139608

Wow!

It feels like every time I get an email from Ebay its about fees, at least 3 times a year. It seems to be as if they are turning a very good profit off the buyers and sellers, and buying up plenty of little companies along the way (every auction site that dares to try and open a new site, payment gateways so people feel forced to use only Paypal, etc.) so raising fees that often just does not seem to make sense. I am always catching an article about some company Ebay has just acquired here and there. I think the fees are what pays for all these little purchases Ebay makes routinely to keep themselves a monopoly and has little to do with the cost of energy, employee raises etc. You don't think Ebay gets cuts from the government? I bet they get plenty of breaks! I bet they even tried to buy out Etsy, and I know they tried putting their guns out on Ebid, but Ebid held their ground. Do a google check on "best auction sites" and you will see that every list that comes up with a different auction site is redirected to Ebay. Why? Because Ebay bullied them into giving it up.

No people do not have to sell on Ebay, but when you have a company who puts their dukes out of small companies trying to break into the market, its sometimes feels impossible that there are other choices to use out there besides Ebay. Also it can be addicting for buyers and sellers alike.

I love Ebid t, free to bid, free to list. And its available globally, lets you accept so many forms of payment, not just paypal or merchant account. Google Checkout is accepted there too. www.ebid.net. I am devoting a few hours this month on getting my store there stocked up, I know a lot of people who do extremely well on there. Maybe if more sellers realized that there are so many options out there for selling online Ebay would not be so powerful. To me they are biting off their own foot. Something inside me gives Ebay another 10 good years before they go up in flames.