eBay introduce buyer protection fee

[Jolietta]

Email received -

Hi Joliet,
We’re committed to making it easier for you to shop, and recently changed our fee structure, so it's free to sell for private sellers. This means they can bring you more of the items you love.
As part of this commitment, we’re launching Buyer Protection to give you even more confidence and security when shopping on eBay. From 4 Feb, a fee will be included in the item price when you buy from private sellers, but you’ll only ever pay what you see, so there are no surprises at checkout.
What’s great about Buyer Protection
We’ve added benefits to give you more peace of mind when shopping:
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•   <strong>*24/7 customer support:</strong> You can connect with a real person by phone at any time of day, or start a chat to get quick answers. 
    &bull;

  

•   <strong>*Seller paid after delivery:</strong> When buying from private sellers, funds will only be sent once your item has been delivered. 
  

We’ve also got you covered with other great free services like eBay Money Back Guarantee and Authenticity Guarantee.
Learn more about Buyer Protectionn_
How the Buyer Protection fee works
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The fee will be included in the item price from private sellers, so there are no surprises at checkout.
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You’ll pay up to 4% of the item price, plus £0.75. For example, when you see an item for £20, the fee of £1.49 will already be part of the price.
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The fee is lower on higher-priced items over £300, and there's a cap on the total amount you'll pay.
•

For items from business sellers, you’ll get the Buyer Protection benefits at no extra cost.

Well they've recently stopped charging private sellers to list on the platform so they can complete with Vinted so have to make the lost revenue back somehow.

This has been common knowledge for awhile but I think they are charging too much too soon and won’t be able to continue to drag buyers and sellers back from Vinted.

eBay adds buyer fees and delays private seller payments | Swindon Advertiser

Yes, looks like they've sent it out everywhere now. I am so cross. Ebay was great for buying small, low value items. That 75p is a huge chunk of a £1.99 item!