[Exhibitman]

I decided to see what the new eBay fees would really cost me using an actual sale I had and the details eBay released on the new fee structure. Here is information I pulled directly from eBay’s communique on the new structure:

“We charge one final value fee when your item sells, and you don't have to worry about third-party payment processing fees. This fee is calculated as a percentage of the total amount of the sale, plus $0.30 per order. The total amount of the sale is the entire amount the buyer pays, including any handling charges, the shipping service the buyer selects, sales tax, and any other applicable fees.”

Final Value Fees

11.5% on total amount of the sale up to $2,500

2.35% on the portion of the sale over $2,500



Buy It Now Fee

$0.99-$9.99 $0.05

$10-$24.99 $0.10

$25-$49.99 $0.20

$50 or more $0.25



Background: I have the least expensive store ($4.95 a month). Provides me with 100 free listings a month. That will continue, so my base listing fee is a wash. I am a top rated seller so I do not absorb the penalty % that sellers not rated “above standard” or better get hit with, but I refuse to allow 1 day turnaround and 30 day returns so I do not get the top seller discount (10% of the FVF, aka 1% of the total) so that is a wash also.



Example: I listed a card for auction with a $300 BIN that sold for the BIN. Buyer paid $5 shipping and sales tax on the whole amount ($25.16) for a buyer out of pocket total cost ("OOP") of $330.16.

The costs to me with the old fee structure and PayPal:

Listing fee $0.00

BIN fee $0.00

Final Value Fee on card $30.00

Final Value Fee on shipping $0.50

Final Value Fee on sales tax: $0.00

PayPal Fee $9.87

Total Fees $40.37

My Net: $259.63


I took the above figures directly from my eBay invoice and my PayPal invoice, so there are no calculation errors. They are actual hard costs I paid.


Now the same sale under the new fee structure with integrated payments:



Listing fee $0.00

BIN fee $0.25

Combined Final Value Fee $38.27 (11.5% of the OOP $330.16 plus $0.30)

Total fees $38.52

My Net: $261.49



The hard numbers prove that by making this switch to integrated payments eBay lowered my costs. As far as I am concerned, that ends the debate over whether the switch is good or bad, though I have to believe that once eBay finishes off PayPal it will jack up the fees and f*** it all up somehow.