eBay Spin – Leak news of lower fees for sellers for weeks, then raise the fees

Product Information

Much has been written in recent weeks about the coming fee reductions for eBay sellers.

Market analysts and eBay sellers themselves recommended the lower fee structure and it looked as though eBay was listening. We have all read in many industry magazines and blogs about the new lower listing fees in the future... It was all spin...

eBay has taken on the panache of a high powered political campaign. Leaking stories about fee reductions and changes in search while a changing of the guard at the CEO position is orchestrated. This was and is a very nifty piece of politicly styled spin. It worked for awhile, but now the truth is out.

While auctions listed with a starting price of less than $1 will cost 15 cents in Insertion fees (down from the current 20 cents), eBay will no longer allow sellers to list items in fixed-price format for under $1.

• Final Value Fees increases are larger than expected - more than offsetting the small reduction in listing fees.
• Items that sell for under $25 are currently charged 5.25% of the closing value - this will be increased to 8.75%.
• The FVF for items that sell for between $25.01 - $1,000 are currently 5.25% of the initial $24, plus 3.25% of the remaining closing value balance; this will change to 8.75% and 3.5%,
• Store Inventory listing Final Value Fees will rise from 10% to 12% for items that sell for $25 and less.
• For Store Inventory items that sell for between $25 and $1,000, the fees will be 12.00% of the initial $25.00, plus 8.00% of the remaining closing value balance.
• Reserve fees will no longer be refundable if the item sells.
• The Good News is.... Drumroll Please...Gallery Fees are no longer charged!

Will the reduction, small as it may be, of initial listing fees help your overall bottom line costs when the increase of almost 3.5% is added to your final value fees?  Even with the removal of a gallery fee, a 3.5% hike in final value may be hard to swallow.

We all will benefit from the initial reductions, but the compensation on the back end seems a bit extreme.

eBay sellers should always be aware of the value they receive from listing items on eBay while at the same time being aware that eBay is a business, and they are in the business to make money. We still feel that even with these recent fee changes, there is no better place to advertise your products and your brand than in an eBay store.  You may need to be even more diligent about how you go about doing this however.  Make sure you have tight controls on your eBay listing habits and know your cost per unit sold before launching any new eBay inventory.

For your convenience we have included all of the details of the new fee changes below. Please refer to these graphics as released by eBay today as the real fee structure moving forward.