Fees on fees!

[terrysbears]

Here is what I have realized -----> When you sell on eBay and use PayPal you end up paying even more that you think and here is why: You list your item for $10 and it costs you $3 to ship it. You study everything well and you figure it will cost you 9% of the sale price to pay eBay (this does not include listing fees) and 2.9% + $.30 that will go PayPal. Totaling these will give you11.9%. You do the math and finally figure that it will cost you $1.19 to do this transaction and  you will end up with $8.81 ($10 - $1.19 = $8.81). You decide this is good enough and so with a sigh you proceed. You sell your item, get paid with PayPal, buy and print your shipping label, and send off the item you sold. You think all is well until you go look at your PayPal account and you see $9.32.

Here is what has happened so far: Paypal collected $13 from your buyer. They charge you $.68 for the transaction ($13 x 2.9% + $.30 = .68) and deduct $3.00 that you paid for shipping. So . . . 13 - 3 - .68 = $9.32

You immdedately think that's not so bad and so you go list another item. Where is the problem? YOU HAVEN'T PAID eBay YET! You have already paid fees on the $9.21 in your account but you have to pay them again. eBay will invoice you monthly and they will charge you 9% of the sale price for final value fees, so in this case, $10 x 9% = .90. When you subtract that from what you see in your account you end up with $8.42.

THE TOTAL YOU PAID TO COMPLETE THE TRANSACTION IS $1.58 or 15.8% !!!!!!!!!!!! Surprise!

The worse part of all this is that a substantial part of what you pay for every transaction is actually fees on postage and fees on fees! OUCH!

[mlfehir]

I have been on e-bay/ pay pal for a short time and have been trying to figure out the fees. I'm so happy you have made it clear for me. I will only sell when I receive a reduced fee. It helps but I still feel they have taken advantage. Yhank You!

[lcpl4life]

I agree now there is a perfectly understandable reason for all these fees it is because eBay and paypal are running what is know as a monopoly. Now eBay and paypal will say they are not running a monopoly but when it comes down to it there is no real competition for a site like eBay and the only reasonable way to send or receive money on eBay is thru paypal. My only question is why? There are other programs out there like Google checkout but eBay and paypal don't want any competition because then they couldn't charge all these fees on fees. For example the other day I purchased something on eBay that cost about $4.80 and after I used paypal to make this purchase I quickly realized I used the wrong bank account and check card to make that purchase a honest mistake and even though the transaction with my bank and paypal had not been completed I could not change which bank account that transaction would use even though it was not a fully completed transaction, well the bank account accidentally used for that transaction only had $1.30 in it so paypal charged the $4.30 causing the account to over draft. Then paypal charged a over draft fee of $27.00 only they charged it twice and then my bank charged a overdraft fee of $25.00 so now my account is negative $79 on a $4.80 purchase all because I accidentally clicked on the wrong bank account at checkout with paypal

[Brundog]

I cannot Agree more! what a rip off!! i have used pay pal for years but never recieved a payment through paypal until now im sitting here wondering where all these fees have come from and who is collecting on these fees i am paying!?!?!? this doesnt seem morally right here.  Not cool at all pay pal!! not sure i am going to continue using paypal after experiencing these fees and on top of that the .30 fees! and when i called customer service for some simple answers to my questions the lady hung up on me! I tell ya.!!.... nothing short of ridiculous!!!!

[packratmom]

I am tired of the redundant fees for ebay and Paypal, especially on the shipping costs  that are'nt even a plus for me. Usually cost me more so that I can cover myself with insurance from the post office, who likes to toss fragile items over a six foot fence. The reason I stopped buying glass on ebay, because they would never honor the insurance anyway.  I tried to post in my listing that I would gladly accept postal money orders, ( the only safe way that I used to pay sellers a couple of years ago when I was buying on ebay) but the system flagged my auction listings saying that this form of payment was banned from ebay to protect everyone. What a load of crap, they just want the monopoly of Paypal and its fees. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the ease of use with paypal (not the fees) but I am not a business, just trying to downsize, but to poor to donate my treasures. Would like to make something on my stuff. I think the days of ebay are coming to a close. No one is buying, and sellers that are selling are unhappy. Time for a new revolutionary idea. ANYONE, ANYONE?

[Komodo]

>>>I tried to post in my listing that I would gladly accept postal money orders, ( the only safe way that I used to pay sellers a couple of years ago when I was buying on ebay) but the system flagged my auction listings saying that this form of payment was banned from ebay to protect everyone.>>>>

--- Tell eBay they have no legal standing to force you to use PayPal. I've seen other auctions that list multiple forms of payment. If eBay insists, find out what they intend to do (other than threaten you.) If you a seller is in good standing, they aren't going to stop you. You paid your listing fees and they will be getting part of the shipping fees. I have seen people who were sellers take the buyer's money and never ship the item many many times and yet those sellers are still operating on eBay. I think if they can bluff you and have you buy into it, they will continue to bully and intimidate. Why? Because (a) you are letting them, and (b) because they can. They have tried stuff with me, too,  but I have a legal background and a pretty good idea about what's allowable and what's pushing the limits.

Recently I wanted a quote from Sears for a new roof. The ONLY roofing the rep would talk about was their most expensive. (I believe a lot of these sales people are only getting paid on commissions so the sales forces these days are becoming HORRID LIARS to get you to bite down on the bigger bite of the apple.) I have also experienced this with DirecTV and other companies like AT&T.

eBay is not the only answer out there. I have not become a seller with eBay, even though I have received multiple invitations from them over time. When they wrote to know why, I told them: "until you get your act straightened out, I'm not going to participate in the blood bath hosing the sellers are getting at the hands of really cold and selfish corporate policies."

As for revolution... nothing changes if nothing changes. You can move a beach one grain of sand at a time, (but personally, I prefer a bull-dozer.) If you want a revolution you are going to have to change the corporate stranglehold these businesses have on this country and you are not going to do that unless YOU get involved in the fight.

Search the internet for Progressive radio (like AM 620 KPOJ that you can get on your computer with a set of speakers from your computer guy.) Then educate yourself on the issues and on what all has and is being done to us in the name of "obscene profits". Then listen for an activist group that appeals to you and join (the talk show hosts on KPOJ can help you there). As long as you keep pretending that what is going on in DC has nothing to do with you, this raping and pillage is going to go on. YOU count. YOU are important. Get in there and fight to stop this k-rap. Tag. You're it.

[Komodo]

Other places you can sell are: Street fairs, flea markets, garage sales, Etsy and Craig's List. Try some of these.

🙂

[fineline]

Using paypal is for those who do not want to set up a merchant account, service provider and purchase or lease shopping cart software. For many years I used a merchant account, etc. etc. With the economy I chose to shut it off for a while. My products were also too much many to sell on paypal's account. Realize if you you use a merchant account such as Wells Fargo it will cost you a minimum of $30-$40 a month in fees, just for having it. This is to take MC, Visa, Diners. If you want to take American Express you will pay another $6 a month plus transaction fees. The transaction fees run from 2%-2.6% depending on how much you sell.

You will then need to have a website compatible to shopping cart software. It won't be a free one somewhere. You will also need to either purchase shopping cart software as I did or rent it (Monthly fee based). Your cart SW will cost +/- $500 - $1000 to purchase and your going to have to upgrade it once a year. This is usually 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of the original software. If you use a feebased hosting it will run anywhere from $300 - $600 a month. Then you'll need a clearing house that will facilitate the purchase. This is so you don't have to set up a secure server and software on your own domain ($3500-$5000). Depending on what shopping cart software you lease or purchase, this can be free but you can also pay for it.  If you use Verisign or one of those you will have a transaction fee with them also.

Sorry but I lean towards the stop whining crowd.

[Komodo]

>>>Sorry but I lean towards the stop whining crowd.>>>

--- I understand what you're saying but it comes off more as a justification than an analysis of the excessive fees being charged. Going in, eBay would have us believe that to be a seller you will only be paying 2-3% on each transaction but by the time eBay finishes up with the fees-on-fees you are paying anywhere from 11-15.9%. This is brutal on the casual/non-commercial seller.

A lot of the things being sold are second market; not from a manufacturer's wholesaler. In other words, not much  if any, room for mark-up. Many of the people selling are not business people; just your neighbors. To be slamming what is basically a garage sale like this is predatory. If anything, eBay should have two schedules for fees: one for the casual seller and one for commercial sellers.

More and more I'm seeing on the feedback lists that so-and-so seller is "no longer a registered user". If eBay keeps going the way that it is, they are going to drive all of the decent sellers away.

I have been on eBay since around 2004-5, something like that. In the beginning you could trust the sellers. But the trend is toward only the scammers being left. Recently I purchased a mahogany desk. I paid the seller immediately. I waited over a month. He never sent the desk. Once he had the money he was gone. And eBay is reluctant to get rid of these types of sellers because they are losing the good sellers and just can't seem to figure out why.

Whomever is setting eBay policy needs to be replaced; he really doesn't know what he's doing. These types of policy makers don't ever see the difference between a short field **bleep**-over and a long field profit. With the former you make a quick profit but when your clients realize you are greedy and/or dishonest they leave and you may or may not get them back. With the latter, you maintain good will with your clients and don't go through any boom-and-bust cycles.

Whomever is running eBay now believes in boom-and-bust and people are leaving because of it. I would like to become a seller and have for a long time but as long as eBay persists in these types of business practices, I'm not going to wade in. The Chicago School of Economics and Free Market Trade is a proven failure but some pinheads just won't give up the ghost.

***

[Komodo]

>>>not sure i am going to continue using paypal after experiencing these fees and on top of that the .30 fees! and when i called customer service for some simple answers to my questions the lady hung up on me! I tell ya.!!.... nothing short of ridiculous!!!!>>>

--- It's NOT ridiculous. What it is is patently and in-your-face abusive. But as long as you don't perceive it as "all that" and keep accepting it, what is their incentive to change? You know that old saying, "it takes two"? Well, you are making up the second half... willingly and happily. If you don't like it, stop acting like it's okay. That woman's message to you was, "I'm in charge of you and I can do anything I want to you; I'm God and you're dirt." How do you like that corporate message? Once upon a time "the customer is always right". Now, the customer is never right. Stop acting like it's okay when it's not. You're sending them mixed messages and they are going to think you're stupid and continue to treat you that way. Remember: It DOES take two.

[FedUpwithFees]

How is it possible that for a .99 cent sale plus 5.95 for shipping - paypal took out .50 cents - so along with ebay .09 cents - I paid .59 cents in fees so I netted a total profit of .40 cents.  How can this be???