O/T Ebay to start collecting final value fees on shipping!

D. Bergin · #1 03-15-2011, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

"That's why to encourage low-cost shipping, starting July 6 Final Value Fee rates for Store sellers--Fixed Price and Auction-style--will be reduced and then applied to the total amount of the sale--including shipping."

It only applies to eBay stores and they are going to reduce the final value fees for the sale, but add on final value fees for the total amount of the sale (including shipping). So, isn't it kind of a wash? Besides, if it's really an issue, just raise your BIN price by $3 on your store items and offer free shipping. Wouldn't that resolve any problem? I just don't see a big deal.

It's not a wash and also applies to auctions...........not just BIN items.

mintacular · #2 03-15-2011, 12:29 PM

Could someone crystalize for me the impact on how these changes:

Help/hurt (big vs small sellers)
Encourage/discourage what type of listing (bin vs. auction)
Spur/deter small $ dollar listings (under $10 listings)

i.e. are they zagging back to a free-wheeling smaller dealer online flea market after failure to turn it into a big seller fixed priced amazon?

vintagetoppsguy · #3 03-15-2011, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

It's not a wash and also applies to auctions...........not just BIN items.

When eBay makes changes to their fees, you can either go along with it, or make changes yourself. 2 ways to do this:

Auction style listings: just raise the shipping price by $.25. Shouldn't this cover the additional FVF?

BIN: offer free shipping, but raise the price on the individual items.

You have to pass the additional costs on to the customer. Sorry, but that's just the way business works. If you had any type of brick and mortar retail business and the cost of doing business went up, would you eat that cost or would you pass it along to the customer? It a shame it has to happen, but it's a part of doing business.

ChiefBenderForever · #4 03-15-2011, 12:36 PM

You can also do what many big time sellers have done and that is just leave ebay and go elsewhere. Shows are going to continue to get stronger and ebay will be left with mainly overpriced BIN sellers who maybe sell 1-2 cards a month which is fine with them but not so good for ebay. I said a months ago sell your ebay stock it will only continue to drop, more fees-less profits but what do I know.

celoknob · #5 03-15-2011, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

Auction style listings: just raise the shipping price by $.25. Shouldn't this cover the additional FVF?

Yes, that will happen. But isn't it strange that Ebay's whole justification for this new fee structure is that it will lower shipping costs when everyone knows it will do the opposite? There is the cost of business and then there is doublespeak.

I also think this new structure will hurt sellers and buyers who deal at the low end, where shipping is a higher percentage of the total cost. Since I am not a high roller and also mostly sell cheap items, it seems it will hurt those buying and selling less expensive items.

steve B · #6 03-15-2011, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

When eBay makes changes to their fees, you can either go along with it, or make changes yourself. 2 ways to do this:

Auction style listings: just raise the shipping price by $.25. Shouldn't this cover the additional FVF?

BIN: offer free shipping, but raise the price on the individual items.

You have to pass the additional costs on to the customer. Sorry, but that's just the way business works. If you had any type of brick and mortar retail business and the cost of doing business went up, would you eat that cost or would you pass it along to the customer? It a shame it has to happen, but it's a part of doing business.

That's true, but with the DSRs tied to discounts you've also got a situation where the customers satisfaction reasonable or not determines part of your overhead. The place I work for has never had the landlord tell them that "customers are happy so you'll get something off the rent"

DSRs could be a really valuable diagnostic tool for customer service if they weren't anonymous. Sadly it's just being used as a revenue enhancement for Ebay.

Steve B

ctownboy · #7 03-15-2011, 12:38 PM

Below is part of the E mail I received from eBay this morning. So, based on this, it looks like I will no longer list my items for sale to over seas buyers.

David

Coming April 19: List Auction-style FREE, any start price, all the time. Add Buy It Now FREE.

Dear :

Your upfront cost of selling on eBay is about to be dramatically reduced once again!

Starting April 19, Standard Auction-style fees will be changing. You'll be able to list FREE at any start price--up to 50 items a month. Plus you can add the Buy It Now option FREE to grab those buyers who don't want to wait for your listing to end. In short, you can now list even your higher priced items free--pay only if it sells.

Also, we know online buyers pay attention to shipping costs when deciding what and where to buy. That's why, to encourage low-cost shipping, Final Value Fees for all sellers will be applied to the total amount of the sale, including shipping. Just keep your shipping costs low to get the lowest overall fees.

keithsky · #8 03-15-2011, 12:49 PM

UPS, FEDEX and the Postal system raise there rates and the clowns at Ebay want the sellers to lower them.

BleedinBlue · #9 03-15-2011, 01:01 PM

I know the maximum Final Value Fee on Auctions used to be $50. I just read on their site it is now $100. Can anybody confirm this? Is this a new change or did they raise this fee earlier and I missed it...

BleedinBlue · #10 03-15-2011, 01:12 PM

Here's another beautiful feature they failed to mention in their press release. FVF discounts for Top Rated Sellers do not apply to the FVF charged for shipping charges. No 20% discount on this new fee either.

vintagetoppsguy · #11 03-15-2011, 01:15 PM

eBay wants to become one big online store and do away with auction style listings. All of their changes suggest this. This new change is nothing different and is just another step in doing so. They want sellers to offer free shipping and this is one way to make it happen. Think about it, you can't even charge for insurance anymore (or at least state that in your description). This new change is one way of forcing the seller to offer free shipping. Sellers who list true auction style listings aren't going to offer free shipping because if they take a loss on the card, they sure aren't going to take a loss on the shipping as well. So, why not just offer BIN with BO options with free shipping? That's what eBay wants and they'll get their way one change at a time.

t206hound · #12 03-15-2011, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BleedinBlue

I know the maximum Final Value Fee on Auctions used to be $50. I just read on their site it is now $100. Can anybody confirm this? Is this a new change or did they raise this fee earlier and I missed it...

I believe this to be new. Most of the items I sell go for under $555, so I won't be impacted. Anyone who's typical sale was $555-$1111 is going to feel the pain on this.

My crystal ball also is telling me that my shipping rates are going to increase by 10% on April 19.

Matt · #13 03-15-2011, 04:48 PM

I'm sorry to be an obvious shill here, but you all can do something about this by moving your items over to http://www.GrandSlamBids.com. For store items, we have a great 2-click eBay import tool and for the regular site, we're currently offering 0 listing fees on both fixed and auction style listings. The final percentage is significantly less then what eBay was and this change will only grow the difference. We created the site with the understanding that eBay looks like they will increasingly make things more and more difficult for collectible dealers and at some point, folks will say enough is enough.

danc · #14 03-15-2011, 05:45 PM

Ebay just doesn't want to be known as an auction outfit anymore and simply wants this to be a giant cyber mall.

If I wanted a Warren Spahn autograph, I would go to eBay. There are 569 choices. Of those, only 37 Spahn autographs are up for auction, while the rest are in eBay stores/BIN. Historydirect wants $899 for an inscribed ball!

Everytime I get an e-mail from eBay, I know they will creatively put it in words to make it look like I'm getting a deal, but in truth, I'm being bent over.

DanC

ctownboy · #15 03-15-2011, 08:55 PM

Seriously, if I had the money, I would do a take over of eBay and split them into two companies; one strictly for stores and the other strictly for auctions. Either that or I would find a way to start a strictly on line auction company without all the bells, whistles and drama that eBay is now.

David

baseballart · #16 03-17-2011, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt

I'm sorry to be an obvious shill here, but you all can do something about this by moving your items over to http://www.GrandSlamBids.com.

Shill indeed! Ban him, and ban anybody whose name sounds like his

Other than that, I agree that ebay is doing a death spiral. As has been pointed out, instead of responding to the concerns of sellers and vendors, they are now beholden to their investors and the capital markets. Instead of a innovative presence in the market (as ebay was in 1997), it has become a lumbering bureaucracy.

bcornell · #17 03-17-2011, 07:22 PM

Brief & amusing summary from Motley Fool on the latest fee manipulation: eBay's Latest Bonehead Move.

By the way, the stock has been going in the opposite direction of down since last year. PayPal profits are driving that.

FUBAR · #18 03-21-2011, 01:13 AM

while it might suck for some, the reason they are doing this is because some sellers sell their items for .01 and charge $9.99 for shipping, so they make all the money via their shipping charges and keep the money out of ebay's hands.

D. Bergin · #19 03-21-2011, 07:50 AM

Funny, as we speak I just lost my Top Seller status and the discount on Ebay for getting another ding in the "Shipping & Handling Cost" category.

This, despite the fact I plaster exact shipping costs and terms in bold on every one of my listings, give deep shipping discounts for more then one win, try and ship as sturdy as possible, insure when I think necessary, cover losses whether I insure or not, and don't make any money on shipping.

If I'm lucky at the end of the month, I've broken even. With the USPS losing more and more packages lately, or customers taking advantage of erratic tracking habits (I wonder sometimes)...........I'm usually in the hole.

Also just noticed this little nugget while looking at my seller dashboard:

Quote:

Starting in May 2011, we're going to evaluate your global seller performance separately from your domestic activity. When you sell to buyers outside of your home country, you'll need to meet global standards based on the detailed seller ratings you receive from all of your buyers.

Based on the fact about 1/4 of my auction winners tend to be out of country, airmail is getting more and more unreliable, and Priority and Express costs unreasonable, it's only going to get worse.

Guess I've officially stopped chasing the carrot. There's really no point. Guess I could ship free overseas to. That would make for some fun sales of The Ring Record Books.

Okay, whine over. Thanks for letting me vent again.

D. Bergin · #20 03-21-2011, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUBAR

while it might suck for some, the reason they are doing this is because some sellers sell their items for .01 and charge $9.99 for shipping, so they make all the money via their shipping charges and keep the money out of ebay's hands.

Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to just get rid of those sellers, instead of alienating the larger portion of honest sellers?

ctownboy · #21 03-21-2011, 11:21 AM

I thought the days of overinflated shipping charges was supposed to be over when eBay started making sellers:

1) tell what type of container they were using (envelope or box).
2) tell what company was being used to ship the item (USPS, UPS or Fed Ex).
3) tell what size of envelope or box was being used
4) tell the weight of the item

With all of this being entered in the listing, I thought that the buyers were supposed to have a better idea of their shipping cost and thus total cost, if they won an item?

David

peterose4hof · #22 03-21-2011, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctownboy

I thought the days of overinflated shipping charges was supposed to be over when eBay started making sellers:

1) tell what type of container they were using (envelope or box).
2) tell what company was being used to ship the item (USPS, UPS or Fed Ex).
3) tell what size of envelope or box was being used
4) tell the weight of the item

With all of this being entered in the listing, I thought that the buyers were supposed to have a better idea of their shipping cost and thus total cost, if they won an item?

David

I have never had to enter this information for any of my listings. Are you sure that it isn't optional?

slidekellyslide · #23 03-21-2011, 03:48 PM

I've never had to enter that kind of info either...it does ask for what type of shipping you will use, but never for box or envelope.

ctownboy · #24 03-21-2011, 06:44 PM

Here is what my page looks like for that section:

It says "Give buyers shipping details.

US shipping. Then has a drop down box which you can choose options from (Cost varies by location, flat rate - same cost for all buyers, freight, local pick up only).

Then it has package type and a drop down box with options (letter, large envelope, package or thick envelope, large package) then it has boxes to fill in for number of inches for height, width and length.

Then it has weight and a drop down box to choose the weight of the package.

Next it says services and has a drop down box to choose how you want to mail the item (USPS Priority Mail, First Class, media rate, UPS, etc) or free shipping.

Next it says offer additional services and gives an option for either combining items or no combined shipping.

Next is a drop down box with options for handling time.

Last is additional options and that is for whether you want to add a handling charge or not.

Then it goes to the International shipping information.

So, if I sell a book, I have to weigh it and the box I am shipping it in and then add a little weight for wrapping and insulation, say whether I am going to mail it Priority Mail or media rate and tell if it is going in a box or an envelope.

If the box is oversized, then I have to measure the lenght, width and height and put that info in.

Based on all of this info, the buyer will be able to see approximately how much shipping is to their Zip Code based on my ZIp Code. The approximate cost info shows up on the auction listing and changes based on where you are looking at it from.

I.e., if I look at my own listing from my computer in my house, I will get the approximate shipping cost to send the item within my own Zip Code. However, if I were to go to California and look at my listing from there, it would show the cost to mail the item from Indiana to California.

David

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