eBay fees going UP again!

[RogerP]

They're getting so greedy....

http://sellercentre.ebay.co.uk/changes-fees-business-and-private-sellers

 

[Spindle]

Stop using Ebay - it's the only way to influence them

 

[RogerP]

I agree, I'd love not to use them, but there's nowhere else with sheer number of potential buyers - and they know it.

 

[nev]

... but there's nowhere else with sheer number of potential buyers ... .

and thats not worth what they charge???

 

[Spindle]

Hi

My wife sells through Ebay but also has her own web site - every Ebay sale is accompanied by a card detailing her web site. It's a slow process but it's working

Regards Mick

 

[wizard]

its only to stop people cheating the system

 

[brianhabby]

Also what a lot of buyers and even sellers don't realise is that eBay take a 10% cut of any shipping charges you make. So if you genuinely charge only what it costs you to post something you are out of pocket by 10%

Yes you can stop using them but for an awful lot of people around the world there simply is no alternative now and eBay know that.

regards

Brian

 

[wizard]

Also what a lot of buyers and even sellers don't realise is that eBay take a 10% cut of any shipping charges you make. So if you genuinely charge only what it costs you to post something you are out of pocket by 10%

Yes you can stop using them but for an awful lot of people around the world there simply is no alternative now and eBay know that.

regards

Brian

plus paypal take there bit off the shipping

 

[RogerP]

... but there's nowhere else with sheer number of potential buyers ... .

and thats not worth what they charge???

... is that three questions or one?

One more round of fee rises and I don't think their services will be worth it.

eBay and PayPal's combined take is now about 15% of my gross sales plus the same now on shipping costs so I think it's getting close the parting of the ways so far as I'm concerned. This last hike is the penultimate straw for me.

Perhaps I'll take the same route as Mick's wife. I've had an unused website for years ....

 

[Baldhead]

its only to stop people cheating the system

It's not the only way that eBay can stop people cheating the system, they can start by making it easier to report shill bidding, and when shill bidding is reported they should take it seriously, instead they turn a blind eye because it makes them more money.

Baldhead

 

[gregmcateer]

It's not great, but simple Demand and Supply - if they get too greedy, people will find another way, until then....

And anyway, they have to charge lots in order to not pay their taxes :?

 

[Charlie Woody]

You could try Gumtree instead, free if you don't want to pay for highlighted ads.

 

[StevieB]

What does a standard auction cost? One where people turn up and bid? Must be 15% at least. Most of these seem to have web bidding as well now - I presume the same fees apply. E-bay is not significantly different in terms of its prices to these are they?

Steve

 

[KevM]

What does a standard auction cost? One where people turn up and bid? Must be 15% at least. Most of these seem to have web bidding as well now - I presume the same fees apply. E-bay is not significantly different in terms of its prices to these are they?

Steve

My local auction house charges 19.5% for buyers and 15% for sellers (both plus VAT) - the sellers % can be negotiable for a number of reasons including regular sellers and special lots. If you buy online through http://www.the-saleroom.com/ the buyer pays an additional 3 %.

Interesting to read lately that Ebay and Sotheby's are in a partnership to put higher end auction-room stuff into online auctions. Also, I didn't realise that Gumtree have been owned by Ebay since 2005 - that's one way of dealing with competition!

 

[marcros]

this argument comes along every now and then. at least a couple of times a year.

For me, the issue is that most traditional auctions are either filled with stuff from house clearances, where the base cost is very low, and people take whatever they can get to clear the items. with their fees, eBay is still competitive, albeit where somebody is clearing a shed, house or garage and any money is a bonus. Purchase cost of the items is probably irrelevant, it is often "too good to send to the charity shop, we may get a few quid". Art, Antiques etc are a specialist market- I can understand the link between the online auction experts and the art experts, although I hadn't heard about it.

eBay started as an alternative to traditional auctions. I think it then developed into an alternative to a shop, with new and secondhand lines. At the moment, it seems to have gone a stage and is now taking on the likes of alibaba. A large percentage of the stuff on there is from the far east, but in small units- no longer do you have to buy a container load of stuff to get things cheap. I found an item on there the other day (several listings) where I could buy 10 of an item for £2.50, whereas my trade cost price was EUR1 + VAT and I had to buy 100 to get that rate. I want to clear stock, it isn't even worth listing them for what I would likely get. I gave up on eBay some time ago, because the items that I had to sell made a margin of about 30% and it wasn't worth the fees.

In my opinion the only ways to make money on ebay is to sell a huge volume, or make a huge margin. Both are getting harder and harder to do. I was looking at pneumatic fittings earlier today. Put in the search, sort by "price including p&P, lowest first). Anything that was 5pence more than the cheapest didnt get a lookin because it was on page 2 or 3 of the listing. I will probably not need any more, but there is no loyalty to that seller if I did. I dont even know what the sellers name was!

 

[RogerP]

What does a standard auction cost? One where people turn up and bid? Must be 15% at least. Most of these seem to have web bidding as well now - I presume the same fees apply. E-bay is not significantly different in terms of its prices to these are they?

Steve

Significantly different in many other ways.

Selling on eBay you do all the work from filling in the listing form, taking photos, parcelling up and posting (or arranging a carrier). Plus guaranteeing the item, accepting returns (for any reason and losing at least one lot of shipping costs), being available at any time to answer potential bidder's questions.

Sell at traditional auction house and they do all the work, take photos, produce a catalogue and do all the handling. The item is seen, handled and approved before folk bid and there's no guarantee or comebacks (except under very exceptional circumstances). Basically you just dump the goods at the auction house (or they will collect) get your cheque after the auction and that the end of it.