eBay sellers fees are ridiculous

[strict]

Just sold my OnePlus One on ebay for $410. ebay charged me 10% in fees ($41) on top of the 4% PayPal fee ($17). Essentially 15% of the the final value of the item going into ebays pocket. 

[paicrai]

gee might as well be ebay selling it

[Lain1911]

Try Craigslist?

[fohat.digs]

This is all from memory, which may be faulty, but when I started with ebay, most of my sales were in the $10-$50 range. At that point, there were listing fees of about $1-$2 plus "final" fees of 3%-4% not including shipping charges. Paypal fees were only about 1%-2%.

After a couple of iterations of "revisions" (from my perspective) over the course of a decade or so, listing fees have pretty much disappeared (for me at least, but maybe I somehow just graduated out of them), shipping is now part of price (partly to encourage "free shipping" which I prefer), and seller fees are pretty much at 10% of final price including shipping.

Paypal is about 3% + $0.30 per transaction (except for "gifts") and if you go the gift route, there are no guarantees for anybody and Paypal does not list the address of the recipient (because who gives money to strangers or asks for a gift to be returned?).

These fees are totally rapacious since it costs ebay and Paypal an infinitesimal amount to "host" these transactions, but it is still well worth it because they are "the only game in town". Seriously, how else can you place your wares in front of the world, literally? Ebay alone is the most universal worldwide marketplace, and you are almost sure to get your best price there.

So, after all the hating and anger is expended, I still use ebay and recommend it to everybody else as well.

But if you see one of my sales and want to contact me directly through Geekhack so that I can bypass ebay's fees, I will gladly give you a 5%-10% discount!

[trizkut]

These fees are totally rapacious since it costs ebay and Paypal an infinitesimal amount to "host" these transactions, but it is still well worth it because they are "the only game in town". Seriously, how else can you place your wares in front of the world, literally? Ebay alone is the most universal worldwide marketplace, and you are almost sure to get your best price there.

Reminds me of the absurd "convenience charges" from Ticketmaster/Livenation, not to mention the fact that they even charge you when you want to print your tickets.  And the venues are trapped into using these websites or they will lose access to a wide number of artists

[noisyturtle]

Yeah, I actually feel tricked. I read the listing guide as 'Selling on Ebay is free and easy' which is exactly what it says, but got hit with a $37 fee yesterday. I honestly feel like I was lied to.

[eth0s]

maybe buy some ebay.com stock?  Become one of the swindlers, rather than the swindled.

http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/ebay

U live in a capitalist country.  Act like it.

[nubbinator]

maybe buy some ebay.com stock?  Become one of the swindlers, rather than the swindled.

http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/ebay

U live in a capitalist country.  Act like it.

*Assumes everyone has money to invest*

[tjcaustin]

maybe buy some ebay.com stock?  Become one of the swindlers, rather than the swindled.

http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/ebay

U live in a capitalist country.  Act like it.

*Assumes everyone has money to invest*

If you got a savings account, you got money to invest.  Waywaywayway better return than any savings account.

[nubbinator]

That's assuming your investment is a positive investment and that you won't lose money on it.  Additionally, it assumes that you can invest the sum of your account.  Some of the more worthwhile investments require a minimum of a certain dollar amount, an amount greater than the savings accounts of some people.  Additionally, some people need fluid assets due to job instability and other factors, so they cannot invest those assets without fear of being out on the street at a future date.

While it is nice to think that everyone can invest, there is a sizable percentage of the population who cannot invest or whose investment options are poor choices for them.

[Belfong]

Yeah, what Nubbs said - the rich gets richer. The poor get screwed by ebay  , he he he.

[engicoder]

Just sold my OnePlus One on ebay for $410. ebay charged me 10% in fees ($41) on top of the 4% PayPal fee ($17). Essentially 15% of the the final value of the item going into ebays pocket. 

Yes, it blows, but they kind of have you by the balls because where else can you (as a seller) reach so many potential buyers with such little selling effort. Craigslist is free, but reaches only your local area and you have to deal face to face with people, both honest and dishonest, with little or no avenue for recourse.

I've sold many things on both ebay and craigslist....if its something with a very wide audience I look to craigslist, otherwise it goes on ebay.

[ezrahilyer]

I am so sick of Ebay charging 10% on top of listing fees, that ads up fast.
then Paypal takes their share too.
I'm with you on this.

[usno_oj]

The eBay fees are a bit much, but I feel its better than craigslist unless the person can actually come to you.

[strict]

I am so sick of Ebay charging 10% on top of listing fees, that ads up fast.
then Paypal takes their share too.
I'm with you on this.

I really don't mind paying a fee for the convenience and the audience, but 10% feels extremely greedy. Then losing another 3-4% to PayPal is like salt in the wound.

I agree I should have done my research and seen that the fees were as high as they were. If I had seen those percentages I would have tried to sell the phone somewhere else, either here or on something like swappa. It just pisses me off that I can sell a phone for $50 more than I paid for it and still lose money.

[GL1TCH3D]

Sold $1300 headphones + shipping on ebay

Got charged something like 4% in paypal fees + 2.5% fee for the currency conversion + 10% final value fees

The final value fees are not charged on shipping but the paypal fees are.

In the end I came out with roughly $1115 on headphones worth $1200-1250 which sold for $1300 on ebay + shipping

[yicaoyimu]

taobao is so much better.

[pichu23]

Lol, I just got an invoice as well. It was for something I sold last month through their bidding system. WELL THEN.

[fohat.digs]

The final value fees are not charged on shipping but the paypal fees are.

Are you sure about that? I have been charged on the full amount whether shipping was "free" or separate.

[GL1TCH3D]

The final value fees are not charged on shipping but the paypal fees are.

Are you sure about that? I have been charged on the full amount whether shipping was "free" or separate.

At least in my case it was. EBay fees were $130 while PayPal fees were $55ish (not counting exchange rate fees which hurt even more after)

[saturnotaku]

FleBay also takes a 10% cut of your shipping charge if you had one. Though that one I can somewhat understand as it basically stopped people from listing an iPhone for $0.99 with a $250 shipping charge. But if you're mailing something like a keyboard that can cost $10-$20, it's just more money out of your pocket.

I've all but stopped selling there, not more than a handful of stuff over the last 5 years. It really became a lousy place after 2008 when they stopped allowing sellers to leave negative or neutral feedback for buyers.

Besides, I have much better luck selling on forums such as this. I don't get as much money, but at least I get a buyer and don't have to worry about filing false buyer protection cases.