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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to think Ebay should feck off with their stupid new fees?

34 replies

Portakalkedi · 20/04/2025 16:45

I had to give up with Vinted last year when they stopped allowing my chosen postage option of Royal Mail collected from my home. I am disabled, live rurally miles from the nearest town, and going to any dropoff points would mean time, effort, petrol and parking costs, so not viable. So I moved back to Ebay - just decluttering, not a business.
They trumpeted 'free to sell' but then started adding fees at the buyers' end (copied from Vinted). Great for the seller you might think, but it means 15-20% increase in prices for the buyer, so you have to reduce prices to be competitive.
I listed a bundle of items and had a buyer ask to buy three of them. I agreed and said I would relist these at xx and if she made an offer for the listing price I would accept. Well, what a fecking pantomime followed this. I had her offer, lower than the xx we had agreed. She said she DID offer xx, but of course ebay deducted fees from that so the amount that was in the offer was lower for me. We were both confused and at cross purposes, until I worked out that ebay had added fees to the xx I listed at, which she then saw as higher than what I'd told her, etc etc.
Fecking ebay - I cannot understand the sheer greed of a multibillion dollar company and why they can't just add a simple fixed fee per item, if even that is needed given the tons of ads shoved in your face on every page. What absolute grabbing bastards. They have also just implemented the same delivery system as Vinted, eg where they profit from it, Royal Mail collection from home NOT included, so will not be able to list there anymore. I cannot get my head round it, both the sickening greed. and their not taking into account that there are many people who do not live in a town centre, or may be disabled, not have transport, or otherwise unable to use the many crappy dropoff delivery companies (evri, yodel etc, clearly giving a huge bung to ebay for this).

OP posts:
Notsolongthistime · 21/04/2025 10:00

ReesesCupcake · 21/04/2025 09:55

But why should people send items before they get their money? It is the concept of sending your possessions to a stranger without having received any payment that is fundamentally wrong. Of course their is no law to prevent this, that’s not what I am suggesting.

eBay has gone to the dogs. Their Trustpilot is 1.2/5 now.

They either need to employ some people with more dynamic thinking or they will die a death.

They cannot keep ignoring the general discontent at their treatment of private sellers.

Edited

“Fundamentally wrong”

not according to the law

so you are saying…. Morally?!

Notsolongthistime · 21/04/2025 10:01

Vinted it the same re payment
thriving

DuckBushCityLimit · 21/04/2025 10:05

Yes, on a £5 item: 4% + 75p = very nearly £1 in fees, or 20% of the item price. Even higher percentage if you are selling lower value items.

Notsolongthistime · 21/04/2025 10:09

DuckBushCityLimit · 21/04/2025 10:05

Yes, on a £5 item: 4% + 75p = very nearly £1 in fees, or 20% of the item price. Even higher percentage if you are selling lower value items.

Clearly eBay is carving itself out a more higher value auction site than very low value items where 75p hits hard

I use eBay for high value
vinted for low value
works well

Danceswithweasels · 21/04/2025 10:21

Portakalkedi · 20/04/2025 19:48

I'm sure the simple delivery system is fine if you live near or go past the dropoff points every day. There are many people who find them difficult to access, as I do, and the cost of using this would mean it's not worth bothering. They do not comprehend, same as vinted, that there are sellers who need packages to be collected from their home (or workplace). I have been using Royal Mail tracked 48 with Click and COllect, works great, no problems, full tracking, but sadly no longer available at either ebay or vinted. I realise the buyer is not bothered, as they want whatever is cheapest, and it is covered by the site/seller until it reaches them so doesn't matter if it's the truly dreadful Evri or Yodel etc.

As regards the postage, I am similar to you, live in a rural area, WFH and have Parkinsons. I do not sell on Vinted because of their Postage rules but as others have said you don't have to use Ebay's postage scheme, just click on "custom postage" and select Royal Mail tracked 48 or whatever and do your own thing, have just packed an item and booked pick up for tomorrow.

Tomikka · 21/04/2025 10:24

The overall fee has come out at 20%

£5 sale
Buyer paid £5.92

75p fixed amount
4% of £5 is 20p
That would be £5.95 total

(OP may have given approx figures)

The fixed 75p equates to 15% of the £5 sale

The overall fees on a £5. / £5.95 sale come out to about 20% but that is the minimum plus 4%
If it was a £10 sale then it would still be 75p plus 4% making £11.15 and an overall fee outcome of approx 11.5%

404ErrorCode · 21/04/2025 16:58

YANBU. The website is so outdated too and has not changed in decades.

I sense they are struggling though as I keep getting emails offering me vouchers if I sell on there. Perhaps they will have a rethink when they realise how shite they have become?

Waterlooville · 21/04/2025 17:09

I use Royal Mail collected tracked 48 hours on eBay. It's a faff as they direct you to other options but you absolutely can use Royal Mail collected, as others have said. You just need to select the correct options.

I also use eBay for higher value stuff and Facebook marketplace for low value stuff as I can just put that on the doorstep in a bag and person puts money in letterbox.

abnerbrownsdressinggown · 21/04/2025 17:16

DuckBushCityLimit · 21/04/2025 09:53

OP is talking about the new "buyer protection" fees, which as noted above are 4% plus 75p. That adds a significant percentage to the cost of low value items, way more than the old FVF of 10% plus 30p (which sellers could often reduce if they waited for the special offers). And they make everything a ridiculous odd number, which puts people off.

Ebay can claim it's still 'free to sell' all they like, but sellers have to reduce their prices to take the fees into account if they actually want to sell anything.

I had absolutely no idea this had been brought in - I did see the buyer protection fee when I listed but assumed this was something optional.

I've just searched my listings (I tend to sell low value but cheap to post items and cover postage myself not to make a profit but to cover my cost of use of the item) and they are all about 25% higher than the price I set - no wonder I haven't sold anything recently! And if I cover the buyer protection fee I will make about 25p an item which just isn't worth it.

What a load of rubbish - no wonder I haven't sold anything recently!

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