When did final value fees on eBay get so expensive?

[Vegas-guy]

It's been quite some time since I sold some things on ebay. Not sure if I listed wrong or if the fees are just outrageous now??? Example card sold for over $250.00 and the final value fee was over $25.00.. Is it now 10% of the final value??

[bobbyw8469]

Yep...Ebay has almost priced themselves out of the market. A lot of the baseball card auctions house can usually beat 10%.

[Exhibitman]

Between eBay and PayPal fees you are only around 2%-7% less than an AH and you get the joy of packing the items and dealing with returns. I haven't sold on eBay in a while.

[Brian Van Horn]

This is why I don't sell on eBay any longer.

[Hankphenom]

I wondered why eBay had died as a source of quality material. Great going, eBay!

[prestigecollectibles]

I have an Ebay store so I pay 9% and I get 20% off the final fees because I'm a Top Rated seller. Ebay also gives you a discount on First Class Mail.

[kmac32]

Haven't sold on ebay for a while due to not having much to sell and a few whacko's for buyers and the fact that eBay does nothing about the whackos, but when I did sell, between ebay fees and paypal, the effective rate was right around 14%. A little steep but if you had to buy your own advertizing to sell things, still a decent deal. Guess it depends on your perspective.

[swarmee]

Depends on the type of cards you're selling. I have no problem paying 13% commission (eBay + PayPal) since they're allowing me access to millions of buyers. I sold some cards to people in Brazil, China, Sweden, and Italy which might not have sold at nearly those prices without international bidders interested.
I don't sell top end items (everything I've listed has been under $400 each), but I do love the free listings compared to 10 years ago when they used to charge listing fees. When you're selling $5-10 items and have to pay a quarter for items that don't end up selling, it always irritated me.

[bbcard1]

Back in the day when I did shows I virtually never did a who where my expenses…table fees, travel, food, sometimes lodging…didn't ring up to 15% or more. Plus I had to get up early, pack my stuff, and haul it sometimes hundreds of miles, deal with shoplifters, check bouncers and chiselers…ebay is ok in my estimation. That's not to say that I wouldn't pick an auction house for a higher end item, but on the low to mid items…lets say a group of 12 to 20 lower grade T205s or T206s…you will do much better on ebay breaking them up than you will with an auction house. At least that's my experience.

[rjackson44]

Feebay

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by kmac32

and the fact that eBay does nothing about the whackos

This isn't true. Ebay seems to protect and reward the whackos

[ibuysportsephemera]

Originally Posted by prestigecollectibles

I have an Ebay store so I pay 9% and I get 20% off the final fees because I'm a Top Rated seller. Ebay also gives you a discount on First Class Mail.

+1

I am in the same situation and I really don't have a problem with eBay fees. Every business has a cost for overhead and 11 or 12% with pp fees is not too bad to get in front of millions of interested consumers. The problem that I have with eBay is the lack of support and appreciation for the loyal and "good" long time sellers.

Jeff

[keithsky]

Yeah they don't care about long time dealers or customers. I have been on Ebay for 12 years and they sent me an email last week saying it was my Ebay annivesary for being on there 12 years and thanks for all my support. Really? 12 years of paying fees and all they say is thanks for my support? No 10% off my next purchase or some money off on buying or selling something no just a thanks for my support. Real personable. The same form letter they send to everyone. Idiots

[Exhibitman]

If it makes business sense for you to front the costs for a store, then you get discounts. The cheapest possible store is $15.95/mo and gets you a 1% discount on fees. The break-even point is $1,595/mo in gross sales.

[Vegas-guy]

Thanks for all the feedback.

I only sell some cards from time to time and maybe the occasional "other" items so I won't need an ebay store. It's probably been a few years since I sold anything, I just don't remember the final value fee being so much?

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Vegas-guy

Thanks for all the feedback.

I only sell some cards from time to time and maybe the occasional "other" items so I won't need an ebay store. It's probably been a few years since I sold anything, I just don't remember the final value fee being so much?

It used to be a stepped down % based on the sale price of an item. For example they would take approximately 8% of the first 25 bucks, 6.5% from 25 to 50 bucks and 4.5% above that.

They got rid of that and now get a full cut of the entire pie, essentially more then doubling what their prior fees were on anything worth a bit of coin. Plus they get a full cut out of the S&H charges.

Auction %'s also used to be a little lower then "Buy It Now" %'s. That is also no longer the case.

You can save a little bit of money if you sell at a certain level, and keep on top of various criteria Ebay establishes for sellers, but that is also getting harder and harder to keep up with.

[4815162342]

The maximum eBay final value fee is $250, so in other words there is no fee on an item's hammer above $2500. I have never consigned to an eBay seller such as Just Collect, Probstein, etc. Do they limit their fee as well?

[kmac32]

One of the issues that I have with their final value fee is that eBay takes a percentage of your postage and handleing. If you charge for the supplies and postage at what cost is to yourself, then you are in the hole with respect to postage and handleing. If you add a little on to cover their fee, then people complain about being charged too much for shipping. Either way, you lose.

Also with the new no questions asked return policy, if a buyer doesn't want something, you have to basically pay for them to ship it back to you so you really are out the dollars. Not good