eBay today announced rationalising (upping the price ;-)) of fixed price final value fees for private sellers. The fees will go up to 10% on the 21st July, which eBay say will make it simpler and easier for you to calculate up-front the fees you’ll pay.
Up until now final value fees for fixed price listings for private sellers have been in tranches of which for most products was 9.9% of the final selling price up to £49.99, plus 5.9% up to £599.99 plus 1.9% of the portion of the final value over £600.00. This will now change to a flat 10% but will be capped at £40.00.
Rises steeper in Tech categories as fees in Tech started at 5.25% dropping to just 1% for the portion of final value fees over £600.00. Fees will not change for Cars, Motorcycles and Vehicles, Property, or Mobile phones with contract (Although quite how a “private” seller can sell me a mobile phone contact I don’t know!)
This does end the anomaly that it was cheaper to sell items as fixed price listings than it was on auctions for private sellers, but I’m guessing those that used fixed price listings won’t be too happy at the price hike. However it might encourage those listing privately who should really list as a business to upgrade their accounts – after all not only do Top Rated business sellers get discounts on their final value fees, but the insertion fees are lower with a shop and in some categories the final value fees are now cheaper for business sellers.
So are you a private seller and if so do you use fixed price listings? auctions do of course get you more visibility but the trade off is you never know what the final price your item achieves will be.
9 Responses
“but will be capped at £40.00”
“it might encourage those listing privately who should really list as a business to upgrade their accounts”
Exactly the reverse I should think for higher priced items in some categories eg four figure jewelry. The difference between the uncapped business fvf and capped business fvf is over £200.00!
If ebay put a cap in for business BIN’s that might encourage more private sellers to upgrade.
“auctions do of course get you more visibility”
Maybe this would merit its own topic and discussion?
I always like the use(or misuse) of the English Language. “Rationalise” as Chris so rightly points out (upping the price). Certainly even somebody who has been through the devalued British Educational system fairly recently should be able to calculate this but in many cases they would have rather have kept the lower more complicated fvf where if they wanted to know the cost would have had to use a calculator rather than the higher fvf which they should be able to calculate in their head. The Misuse of the English Language that always annoys me is from Governmental/Bureaucratic Moronspeak “Review” such as a “Defence Review” which always mean that Ships will be scrapped, Aircraft(even those that have cost £Billions to build and never flown) will be scrapped etc. Not because they are surplus to requirements but because some spotty faced penpusher has decided to “save” 5% or 10% or whatever off the budget and always without balancing the numbers and types of equipment against requirements or indeed threat.
Good news anything that stops ”private sellers” selling at prices honest biz sellers cant as we pay tax and ebay fees etc is good
If they just took 100% of final sale price, surely that would be the easiest to calculate? eBay, you’re just not trying hard enough!