Author Topic: eBay Hikes Auction Fees To Discourage Auctions (Read 11826 times)

da_ewok · « **on:** July 26, 2011, 11:33:20 AM »

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2011/07/ebay-hikes-auction-fees-to-discourage-auctions/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LifehackerAustralia+%28Lifehacker+Australia%29

Quote

On September 22, eBay will increase the percentage final value fee charged on auction listings from 5.25% to 7.9% — the same rate it already charges for fixed-price listings. eBay is quite up-front about wanting to switch people to fixed-price formats. In its press release, it proclaims:

eBay WHO?

We're screwed

*wheels* · « **Reply #1 on:** July 26, 2011, 12:06:36 PM »

That link is such a "sky is falling" over-reaction!

One of the comments on that article sums the fee changes up best.

Kimota
July 26, 2011 at 11:25 am

True, true…

However, where the benefit may lie is in avoiding paying out on unsold items – which I know is the bane of my existence.

Taking your example – if I sell 30 items from my garage, but only 15 sell at an average of $10, then under the old system, I’m looking at 0.30+0.59 gallery fee (who doesn’t?)X30=26.70 plus final value fee of $10x15x5.25% = $7.875 which comes to $34.58.

Under the new system, it comes to $11.85 and the unsold items go to the Salvos.

So, yes, if I sold everything I listed, eBay wins. But how many of us sell everything? If anything, this may ENCOURAGE more people to list items they are unsure about whether they would sell or not as it reduces the risk.

da_ewok · « **Reply #2 on:** July 26, 2011, 12:31:47 PM »

as a second hand seller, school books and the like. I get the feeling that ebay no longer want people like me.

I don't sell anything new.

I honestly believe this will drive MORE AU sellers off and we'll end up with MORE crappy O/seas seller

*smee* · « **Reply #3 on:** July 26, 2011, 03:12:54 PM »

I have just done some very quick calculations on auction ites tha sell between $1 and $55.95
and it appears as though on every occassion the total new rates charged will be less that the current rates
that is based in the adds having a gallery picture
and of course if the item doesnt sell under the new rate structure then no charges at all apply

as I say its only very quick calculation that I have done on various figures in the above range so happy to stand corrected if anyone
has an example to the contrary

PRICE CURRENT RATES NEW RATES

1.00 1.14 .08
4.95 1.34 .39
9.95 1.61 .79
15.95 1.92 1.26
19.95 2.14 1.58
25.95 2.60 2.05
29.95 2.91 2.36
39.95 3.43 3.16
49.95 3.96 3.94
55.95 4.43 4.42

*Yibida* · « **Reply #4 on:** July 26, 2011, 04:28:34 PM »

Quote from: *smee* on July 26, 2011, 03:12:54 PM

I have just done some very quick calculations on auction ites tha sell between $1 and $55.95
and it appears as though on every occassion the total new rates charged will be less that the current rates
that is based in the adds having a gallery picture
and of course if the item doesnt sell under the new rate structure then no charges at all apply

as I say its only very quick calculation that I have done on various figures in the above range so happy to stand corrected if anyone
has an example to the contrary

PRICE CURRENT RATES NEW RATES

1.00 1.14 .08
4.95 1.34 .39
9.95 1.61 .79
15.95 1.92 1.26
19.95 2.14 1.58
25.95 2.60 2.05
29.95 2.91 2.36
39.95 3.43 3.16
49.95 3.96 3.94
55.95 4.43 4.42

How come the Amigo Inc annual financial statements never look as good as these figures ? ... BTW how much did that diamond encrusted Hernia bag cost ya ?... mmmmm

tellomon · « **Reply #5 on:** July 26, 2011, 04:35:22 PM »

This is a Crusty Thread.

Start chopping it....

*smee* · « **Reply #6 on:** July 26, 2011, 05:21:55 PM »

just done a few more calculations on higher amounts and it appears that an auction sale value of $76.95 is about the break even point anything of higher value than than and the new rates may be more expensive

a sale price of $76.95 attracts total fees of $6.08 on both the old and the new rates if a gallery pic is used

the above figures may alter by some cents if you start your listing low and get more than the price where the next insertion fee bracket kicks in , but on double checking appear to be correct if your starting price is within cooooo---eeeeeeeeee of your obtained price

*CountessA* · « **Reply #7 on:** July 26, 2011, 05:30:18 PM »

This may be good for people listing a fair amount of stuff under $70.

It's not good for the occasional seller who wants to sell something for which he wants at least $100.

It does seem to me to be discouraging certain types of sellers; it will hit antiques sellers particularly hard.

*smee* · « **Reply #8 on:** July 26, 2011, 05:42:04 PM »

yes Countess , quite correct
here are a couple of comparisons for items listed at a starting price of $100

if it sold for $110 old fees $7.99 new $8.69
if it sold for $150 old fees $9.09 new $11.85

if selling real expensive stuff with a starting price of over $400 once the price gets over about $2100 you once again would be better off on the new rates

*wheels* · « **Reply #9 on:** July 26, 2011, 07:29:20 PM »

The new selling structure may well encourage more occasional sellers with the zero listing fees. Especially those who want to list high value items and start them at a realistic price, ie not 99c. The extra dollars they will pay in FVF will more than outweigh the listing fees for unsold items.

tellomon · « **Reply #10 on:** July 26, 2011, 11:03:36 PM »

Wait till they start 'padding the listings' again!
Then, EVERYBODY loses.

pra666 · « **Reply #11 on:** July 28, 2011, 05:41:42 AM »

Quote from: *smee* on July 26, 2011, 05:42:04 PM

yes Countess , quite correct
here are a couple of comparisons for items listed at a starting price of $100

if it sold for $110 old fees $7.99 new $8.69
if it sold for $150 old fees $9.09 new $11.85

if selling real expensive stuff with a starting price of over $400 once the price gets over about $2100 you once again would be better off on the new rates

I'm not sure that is correct smee.
The FVF will be a flat 7.9% for auctions so you will always be worse off under the new rates.

How long until ebay ban auctions completely?

pra666 · « **Reply #12 on:** July 28, 2011, 08:15:11 AM »

Just looking at final value fees:

HAMMER PRICE STORE AUCTION AUCTION
[NOW] [AFTER SEP]
50 3.95 2.63 3.95
100 7.18 4.63 7.90
200 12.18 7.38 15.80
500 27.18 15.63 39.50
1000 52.18 29.38 79.00
2000 87.18 44.38 158.00
5000 192.10 89.38 395.00
10000 367.10 164.30 790.00

It is hardly worth auctioning anything you expect to fetch more than a few hundred dollars.

*smee* · « **Reply #13 on:** July 28, 2011, 09:36:49 AM »

move away from the bottle of scotch Pra

....Pra you have obviosly misread the new rates or not read them at all , the new rates are capped at fvf of $49.95 so if you sell something for $10,000 its $49.95 not $790 also all your figures are wrong the figures of mine above are correct as in your auction now rates you are not including the insert fee or gallery fee which under the new rates is free which I pointed out in my above posts

again I reiteterate for auctions with a Hammer price of less than $76.95 you will be better off
for hammer prices $76.95 to about $2100 you will be worse off
for hammer prices over about $2100 you will be better off

and again I repeat, but with a word added ......as I say its only very quick calculation that I have done on various figures in the above range so happy to stand corrected if anyone has a CORRECT example to the contrary

shyer · « **Reply #14 on:** July 28, 2011, 10:26:56 AM »

Smee,,

Thanks for the ideas that got lost in the server problems here. Looks like I'll be selling nearlly all the boxes. I think this change is an experiment with the OZ market. Feebay have expirmented with OZ before then implimented the changes that worked ( ie more short term profit) into their core north amercian and european sites.

The headless fools that run ebay, have not factored in there is no amazon competition in Australia. This will kill the $300 to $1500 price bracket. All internet selling is on rock bottom margins. !0 years ago ebay took 2% and intenet banking free the norm. Now with Pay$pal being forced on sellers as buyers only read ebay propoganda, fees will be nearlly 20%. While Pay$pal fees may be 3% rolling money holds interest costs and uncontested chargebacks make that total in my experience to over 10%

pra666 · « **Reply #15 on:** July 28, 2011, 11:05:15 AM »

Quote from: *smee* on July 28, 2011, 09:36:49 AM

move away from the bottle of scotch Pra ....Pra you have obviosly misread the new rates or not read them at all , the new rates are capped at fvf of $49.95 so if you sell something for $10,000 its $49.95 not $790 also all your figures are wrong the figures of mine above are correct as in your auction now rates you are not including the insert fee or gallery fee which under the new rates is free which I pointed out in my above posts

again I reiteterate for auctions with a Hammer price of less than $76.95 you will be better off
for hammer prices $76.95 to about $2100 you will be worse off
for hammer prices over about $2100 you will be better off

and again I repeat, but with a word added ......as I say its only very quick calculation that I have done on various figures in the above range so happy to stand corrected if anyone has a CORRECT example to the contrary

Smee, I wish I was drinking a scotch.
Unfortunately, you do not have the cap on the fees if you are a powerseller or if you have listed more than 30 items in a month.

This is from the ebay announcement; I've put the relevant parts in bold.

Changes to non-Store fees

* Eligible sellers will be able to list up to 30 single quantity listings per month in any format with zero insertion fees (excludes Powersellers, Stores or sellers registered as a business on eBay)

* Final value fees will increase from 5.25% to 7.9%, capped at $49.95 for each of the first 30 listings per month

* Insertion fees remain as they are today for sellers who have exceeded the monthly 30 free insertion fee limit as well as PowerSellers, Store holders and sellers registered as a business on eBay, with no cap or sliding scale on the new final value fee of 7.9%

*smee* · « **Reply #16 on:** July 28, 2011, 12:53:03 PM »

Pra you are correct in that my figures above were directed at those sellers that qualify for the 30 free insertiions per month for auctions , and I should have specified that point

power sellers are of course ineligle and different rates apply .... so if you are a powerseller that doesnt have a store and registered as a private seller and you want to be eligible for the rates shown in my examples above ( lists 30 or less auctions per month) then opt out of the powerseller status program and you become eligble....
http://pages2.ebay.com.au/News/InsideSelling/September_2011_fee_changes_-_C2C_sellers/
6. Are sellers who have opted out of the PowerSeller program eligible for the 30 free insertion fee listings per month?
Yes. Sellers who have opted out of the PowerSeller program are still eligible for the free insertion fee trial.

there seems to be conflicting info in regards to this bit though (storeholders)
* Insertion fees remain as they are today for sellers who have exceeded the monthly 30 free insertion fee limit as well as PowerSellers, Store holders and sellers registered as a business on eBay, with no cap or sliding scale on the new final value fee of 7.9%

as in the link below it does show a sliding scale does apply to the fvf for both auctions and bins for closing prices over $75 for store holders under the new proposed increased september rates ..... so thats a bit confusing as it seems to be conflicting info to that above in italics ???????????

http://pages2.ebay.com.au/News/InsideSelling/September_2011_fee_changes_-_Basis-and-Featured_Store_sellers

I havent really done much homework on this though as I rarely sell by auction nowadays so the impact on me is minimal at best / worst , I guess it will effect different people in different ways depending on what they sell how much they sell for and what format they sell under amongst other things , some will benefit and some will be worse off as I see it

*wheels* · « **Reply #17 on:** July 28, 2011, 03:00:19 PM »

The wording above is a bit ambiguous.

I think it is meant to say that if Casual sellers exceed the 30 free monthly listings then the current listing fees apply and there is an across the board FVF rate of 7.9% for all sales.

If you look at this page you can compare non-store to store and see that the new FVF sliding scale will still apply for store holders for auctions and BINS.

7.9% of the initial 75.00 plus 5% of the
initial (75.01 to 1,000) plus 3.5% of the
remaining closing price (1,000.01 - closing)

http://pages2.ebay.com.au/News/InsideSelling/September_2011_fee_changes_-_C2C_sellers

Or try the Fee Illustrator

http://tools.ebay.com.au/feeillustrator/

shyer · « **Reply #18 on:** November 20, 2011, 12:12:28 PM »

In the fiercely price competitive sector I sell in, before the fee increase I sold $2000 a month average last year on feebay. Last two months since the price increase lots of looks, questions and watchers .

Lots of wasted time and money with fees.

"Sales" a few BINs, ALL cancelled for various excuses, real reason buyer found cheaper elsewhere post BIN . Result ZERO receipts, I note my competitors’ are all in the same situation.

AND this is in the pre Christmas rush!

Result I am now purchasing ZERO new stock for greedbay.

News:

Author Topic: eBay Hikes Auction Fees To Discourage Auctions (Read 11826 times)