Any other Ebay sellers think the charges are unfair?

[SuzieSunshine]

I've recently started selling unwanted items on ebay and while I find it's a great way of selling stuff and de-cluttering my wardrobes and cupboards, I find the fact that in addition to them charging 10% on the final sale price, they also charge 10% on the postage charge. So for an item you've sold for £10 plus £3 postage (which you don't profit from as you spend the £3 straight back out on posting the item) you get charged 10% on the total of £13.00. It's only 'pence' at the end of the day but it soon adds up!! I did email MoneyExpert about this and they send me a link to an article which explains that ebay are trying to get sellers to offer free postage - why? It doesn't make sense to me because if you're going to offer free postage then you're going to have to bump up the selling price by £3 which will put off a lot of buyers looking in the first place. Any thoughts??

I always look at the total cost and will almost always go for the one who is offering free postage and costs the same as the one who has cost+p&p.

I also avoid fabric offered by the 1/2m (sold like that so it looks cheaper) and those who offer a "sample" for 99p to again be at the top when you search by price.

It was a way to crack down on sellers who had the lowest starting prices but bumped up postage to get the money they wanted. There's less need to overcharge postage now.

It doesn't stop buyers to moan because they can't understand that "postage and packing" covers a lot more than the cost of stamp!

Yes, I've bought plastic postage bags, bubble wrap, brown paper and loads of sellotape as well!! Although I do recycle bubble wrap and strong envelopes. Shouldn't moan really as I said it's only 'pence' at the end of the day, but it does seem unfair on sellers who are not trying to fiddle the postage rates but who are genuinely trying to sell an item at a reasonable price.

eBay is a venue - if you don't like their TOCs, then you are free to use another sales host. Their TOCs are clearly laid you out, you aren't being conned. What do you think the commission is at a live auctioneers?

You price you auctions so you get the end price you want, taking into account the 10%

It's an auction site, not a charity. They're there to make money by being able to get your item out to a wider audience. Try another site if you don't like their T&Cs.

I don’t bother with eBay now due to the sheer number of people trying to scam me every time I list anything. Just a warning: if someone asks for your paypal and claims that for whatever reason they can’t pay through eBay - IGNORE AND BLOCK!

are you on Facebook? Tried marketplace selling on fb? I’m a 15yr+ ebayer but I’ve been selling a lot on marketplace recently, the bonus being it’s completly free. WORTH a shot if you haven’t tried it yet.

Unfortunately there were sellers who took advantage of eBay's rules. They would sell something like a laptop for £5, with £150 postage. When the buyer complained they had received only an empty box, they'd say, OK, here's your £5 back! In those days you didn't have to refund postage if you had proof of posting/delivery.

However, it really bugs me to pay a percentage of the postage charge and then to pay another percentage to Paypal for it - especially as they are (or were?) owned by the same company! If you sell something for £5 inc P&P, you're lucky to receive £1.50 after all the costs. At least if you sell at an inclusive price, people can tell the total without needing to work it out. And if they buy 2 items, you can post them together without needing to offer a postage discount, because you're 'not charging anything for postage.'

I still use Ebay after almost 20 years. There are always changes. If you don't like it you could try Ebid.

You learn to adapt and roll with the changes, you need to think ahead and learn how Ebay works, read the information they give and check out the tutorials, visit the Community section and read the boards, it is there to discuss the site and ask for help.

You can't expect to use the site for nothing, PayPal is a different company now so the fees are for PayPal not Ebay. As has already been mentioned charging on P&P was to stop the gouging of postage prices although some sellers still list at 99p with £150 P&P to try to get to the top in listings, or perhaps they don't realise things changed a few years ago.

Having said all that, I do groan when there is another fee hike but as I am just clearing out the house I am happy to sell stuff and adjust the prices accordingly. It is money that was spent to buy the stuff, so getting some back to get rid of it is a good thing.

IAskTooManyQuestions; I can't see that I ever mentioned that I'd been conned just that I don't think being charged commission on the postage is fair.

To all the others: Thanks for your input!! Have tried Gumtree without much success but then it's only local so FB/Marketplace sounds like another option. Paypal charges also eat into it but then you don't get nowt for free!!

I use Marketplace too. Much easier and quicker.