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!

[d_rock]

I just sold my first two items on ebay using Paypal and see what you mean about the fees.  I didn't think I would be charged random fees just for receiving a small payment.  After the fees and shipping it is hardly worth it - I'll go back to craigslist to avoid having my profit taken. 

[kathybme]

Thanks for explaining that.  I've been so confused as to why I didn't get my full amount.  I don't usually sell on Ebay, I'm mostly a buyer.  Of course I couldn't find my charges anywhere.  It would have been nice to at least list the amount they are grabbing.

[sandypurins]

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@kathybme wrote:

Thanks for explaining that.  I've been so confused as to why I didn't get my full amount.  I don't usually sell on Ebay, I'm mostly a buyer.  Of course I couldn't find my charges anywhere.  It would have been nice to at least list the amount they are grabbing.

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Your PayPal fees are shown on your PayPal Account Overview or History page... in the "Fees" column.  Your PayPal fees are also shown on each payment's Transaction Details page... click on the "Details" link in your PayPal Account Overview or History page to view the transaction details.

Your eBay fees are shown in your "My eBay" seller account... login to your eBay account and click on the "Account" tab to view your seller account fees. 

[sandypurins]

If you have a Personal PayPal account, you may not see a "Fees" column on your PayPal Account Overview or History page.

[cnpthe3rd]

Now for the big kicker, if you sell a lot on ebay then you will have a lot of items that do not sell so when you sell that $10 item you have to figure in the listing fees for all the items that didnt sell and wow pay for shipping and you could be comming out of pocket to pay ebay

[itank22]

I sold $450 worth of stuff over the past month and they're charging me almost $50!  Nevermind that doesn't even take into account the $40 in shipping.  How the heck is anyone supposed to make any money without literally swindling someone or having to steal whatever you're selling to begin with?  I would much rather pay a listing fee for every item I list instead of pay this insane tax levied on me.  Why can't we have some sort of choice.  I really don't see how anyone can really continue selling with the fees this high.  I can't believe this.

[byebyeEB]

Wow, ive been away from the selling side for a while now and I just sold a 14.00 item and got surprised with a (2.9% + .30) = .70 fee from Paypal.  Now i get hit again from Ebay with another 9%? Total, I will lose 2.00 off a 14.00 sale? Are you kidding me???? WTF has happened in the past few years?  Well its not worth my time to sell stuff here anymore. I cant help but feel sorry for all the .99 auctions with free shipping I see.  Do they even realize that they will lose money?  Well i guess its off to Craigslist to do some selling....FIX YOUR PRICING EBAY/PAYPAL if you dont want to become a thing of the past....

[LOLomgROLGimao]

Same happened to me to. I sold my wii. I listed it for i think it was $130 ad people bidded and i got  $147.46 or something like that. In the end i got $120! I thought they take like 2.1% or something not $27. And thats not including shipping!!!! Then i got this random invoice that said you need to pay $13!!!!!! Then ebay had to hold my money for 21 days and i thought it was kinda a good idea for them to do that for saftey reasons. After the twenty one days i still couldnt access my money. USE CRAIGSLIST IT IS FREE AND U DONT GOTTA PAY ALL THESE DUMB BILLS FOR NO FRIKEN REASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nascaracsan]

And yet there is another hidden / unforeseen fee....that very few are aware about...But its right there in the PayPal User Agreement:

5.2 Assignment of Interest to PayPal. You agree that you will not receive interest or other earnings on the funds that PayPal handles as your agent and places in Pooled Accounts. In consideration for your use of the PayPal Services, you irrevocably transfer and assign to PayPal any ownership right that you may have in any interest that may accrue on funds held in Pooled Accounts. This assignment applies only to interest earned on your funds, and nothing in this Agreement grants PayPal any ownership right to the principal of the funds you maintain with PayPal. In addition to or instead of earning interest on Pooled Accounts, PayPal may receive a reduction in fees or expenses charged for banking services by the banks that hold your funds.

Lets break this section down.   In consideration for your use of the PayPal Services.....wait.....aren't we paying a fee for that already? 

Then  the last sentence... PayPal may receive a reduction in fee or expenses charged, for holding our funds ... in other words...they pay banks, that are holding your funds, for expense that incur in doing so.   So your paying PayPal to use their service, your paying them, the interest they earn off your money, and now you have to pay the bank expenses for holding your money .   Factor that into the your earning equation and tell me how much you make.

[robpalo]

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@Nascaracsan wrote:

..... tell me how much you make.

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Nothing, I earn nothing when using eBay and Pay-eBay-again-Pal.

i'm done with that money pit and will be moving to ... us.eBid.net