eBay Store Fees Explained
The whole concept of marketing has undergone a complete metamorphosis in recent years with the Internet providing unbelievable ease and convenience. Online selling has become a home business that can be done by anyone in their spare time. Out of all the online selling options, selling on eBay is the most convenient option. The start-up cost is low, and it is possible for a person to work from home and at their own pace. However, before venturing into the business of selling on eBay, it is necessary to understand the modus operandi and the different fees that are applicable for different facilities. If one does not understand the fees structure, he/she might not show any profit at the end of the month. The different applicable fees are explained below.
Subscription Fee At the time of opening an eBay store, a monthly store subscription will be applicable, which will be effective immediately when a subscription is made for a minimum 30-day period. It is advisable to start with the lowest priced monthly subscription because it is possible to upgrade whenever there is any need to do so. Since the success of the store cannot be estimated at the start of operations, paying the top subscription is probably not a good idea. If the subscription level needs to be changed or cancelled within the 30-day period, the bill for the entire 30 days will have to be paid. However, after the first 30 days, the store subscription fees will be pro-rated if any changes are made. The subscription fee for Basic store level is .95 per month, for Premium level, it is .95 per month, and for Anchor level, it is 9.95 per month.
Insertion & Final Value Fees Besides the subscription fees, insertion and final value fees are also applicable, based on the subscription fees. Whenever an item is listed, an insertion fee will be charged by eBay. In order to minimize this fee, it is important to know how this system works. There are different thresholds of the selling prices and these thresholds end in .99. While setting the auction price, it is important to end it at .99 below the next threshold. For example, if you want to sell an item for 0, and if the thresholds are .00-.99 and 0.00-9.99, the insertion fee will be a dollar higher if the item is listed at 0. The item should be listed at .99. If an item does not sell, and if the eBay store owner wishes to relist it, eBay will credit the insertion fee if the item sells. However, eBay will not refund the insertion fee if an item is relisted more than once. The insertion fees for auction-style format when the store owner has an eBay stores subscription are shown against the price ranges below.
Insertion Fees for Stores Starting or reserve price Insertion fee* .01 – .99 .10 .00 – .99 .25 .00 – .99 .50 .00 – .99 .75 .00 – 9.99 .00 0 or more .00 *eBay Stores sellers aren’t eligible for the 100 free insertion fees per month on auction-style listings.
Final Value Fees for eBay Stores Final sale price Final value fee Item not sold No fee .01 – .00 8.75% of the final sale price .01 – ,000 8.75% of the initial .00, plus 4.0% of the remaining final sale price balance (.01 to ,000.00) ,000.01 or more 8.75% of the initial .00, plus 4.0% of the next .01 – ,000.00, plus 2.0% of the remaining final sale price balance (,000.01 – final sale price)
Fixed-Price Format Fees The fixed-price format can be used to list items at a fixed price so that buyers would be able to buy items without bidding. When the items are sold, a final value fee would be charged to the eBay store owner. The fixed price insertion fee for Basic Subscribers is .20, for Premium Subscribers it is .05, and for Anchor Subscribers, it is .03. This applies to each listing, no matter how many items are in the listing.
Fixed Price Format Final Value Fees for Stores Final sale price Electronics* Clothing, Shoes and Accessories, Motors Parts & Accessories Books, DVDs & Movies, Music, Video Games All other categories Item not sold No fee No fee No fee No fee .99 – .00 8.0% of the final sale price 12.0% of the final sale price 15.0% of the final sale price 12.0% of the final sale price .01 – 00.00 8.0% of the initial .00, plus 5.0% of the remaining final sale price balance (.01 to ,000.00) 12.0% of the initial .00, plus 9.0% of the remaining final sale price balance (.01 to ,000.00) 15.0% of the initial .00, plus 5.0% of the remaining final sale price balance (.01 to ,000.00) 12.0% of the initial .00, plus 6.0% of the remaining final sale price balance (.01 to ,000.00) 00.01 or more 8.0% of the initial .00, plus 5.0% of the next .01 – ,000.00, plus 2.0% of the remaining final sale price balance (,000.01 – final sale price) 12.0% of the initial .00, plus 9.0% of the next .01 – ,000.00, plus 2.0% of the remaining final sale price balance (,000.01 – final sale price) 15.0% of the initial .00, plus 5.0% of the next .01 – ,000.00, plus 2.0% of the remaining final sale price balance (,000.01 – final sale price) 12.0% of the initial .00, plus 6.0% of the next .01 – ,000.00, plus 2.0% of the remaining final sale price balance (,000.01 – final sale price) *This category also includes: Pro Audio Equipment, Computers & Networking, Car Electronics, Cameras & Photo, and Video Game Systems.
Business & Industrial Equipment Fees The specific fees for Business & Industrial capital equipment categories are: Insertion fee: .00; Reserve fee: .00; and Final value fee: 1.0% of the final sale price with a maximum charge of 0.00. The specific list of business & industrial capital equipment categories and sub-categories is available on eBay’s website.
Optional Features Fees Certain optional listing features can be added in order to boost the chances of selling your items.
Buy It Now Fees: A fixed low price can be assigned to the items so that the customer can use the Buy It Now option. eBay will charge a nominal fee ranging between .05 and .25 and depending on the price fixed for the Buy It Now offer.
Listing Upgrade Fee: A large number of listing upgrades are available. Some of these are very useful but others are not very useful. Items that are expensive will receive a better value from these upgrades as compared to other non-expensive items.
eBay Picture Hosting Fees: It is possible to host pictures in order to convey a better idea of the products and to advertise the usefulness of the same. However, it is only possible to upload one photo for free; a fee will be incurred for uploading more than one photo. If it is necessary to upload many pictures, use a free photo-hosting site like ImageShack. In the categories of collectibles, art, pottery, glass, and antiques, all listing formats and durations are free for eBay-hosted pictures, Picture Pack and Gallery Plus.
Reserve Price Fee: Buyers can be informed in the listings about the reserve price for the item, which is the lowest price that the seller is willing to accept in a given auction so that it is met. If the reserve price is not met, eBay will charge a fee.
PayPal Fees:The eBay store owner will have to open a PayPal account for accepting payments on eBay. For accepting credit card payments, a premium PayPal account would be necessary. Transaction fees increase with each credit card payment and, as such, it is advisable to avoid credit card payments for small amounts. For example, the transaction fee for a credit card payment of would cost the seller .33, which is 33% of the sale amount!
Points That Need Attention • If a seller account gets suspended for any reason, all charges on that account are due for payment immediately. If any amount has not been disputed previously, it will be charged on the billing method by eBay. • eBay does not guarantee exact listing durations and as such when any listing is submitted, it might take many hours for it to appear in a keyword or category search. • Good ‘Til Cancelled listings are renewed every 30 days automatically till the sale of the item or till the listing is withdrawn. Insertion fees are charged on a 30-day period cycle. • If eBay’s current applicable subscription requirements are not met, the stores’ subscription level of the store owner can be changed by eBay by giving 30 days notice via email. Billing for the entire 30 days will be done by eBay if the above change is done during the first 30 days of the subscription. After that period, the stores’ subscription fees will be pro-rated. • It is possible to see account activity of the last four months on the Account Activity Page. • Each listing will attract relevant fees. • eBay has the right to place third-party advertisements on any page of a store’s website without any consent from the owner, without any payment, and at its own sole discretion. A shopping business on eBay is a great way of doing a home business. However, several types of fees will have to be paid whether or not the items are sold in an auction or an eBay store is set up. It is advisable to understand the eBay fee structure in order to avoid paying back the entire profit by way of fees to eBay.
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The fifth installment of The 7 Essential Steps to Successful eBay Marketing workshop series. In this presentation, we’ll cover some advanced marketing techniques and topics. My name is Phil Dunn, marketing and advertising writer for Fortune 500 companies. I’m here with Janelle Elms, eBay University instructor and co-author of our book, “The 7 Essential Steps to Successful eBay Marketing.” We’re not going to go over general eBay mechanics here. Instead, our aim is to assist you in going beyond the basic nuts and bolts of eBay and delve into some more advanced marketing approaches.
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