As we mentioned last week the first eBay seller releases are now out for both eBay.com and eBay.co.uk, and sellers now know the fee changes that will affect them from April in the US and May in the UK.
There is a marked difference this year in the fee changes at different sides of the Atlantic. In the US there is a modest 1% or 2% decrease in fees, but for the first time eBay fees will be levied on shipping charges. In the UK out go the free tranches for Business sellers which are replaced by flat rate fees representing an increase for most sellers.
This is fantastic news for sellers who already offer free shipping as it equates to a real and actual decrease in your eBay final value fees. You’ll benefit by a 1% or 2% decrease
eBay.com Fee Changes
eBay.com keeps the fee tranches for final value fees, so you’ll pay a variable amount for the first $50, $50-$1000 and a third rate for the portion of your final value (including shipping) over $1000. In most categories the amount you pay drops by 1%, although for Clothing Shoes & Accessories, Motor Parts and Media your final value fees will drop 2%.
This is fantastic news for sellers who already offer free shipping as it equates to a real and actual decrease in your eBay final value fees. You’ll benefit by a 1% or 2% decrease in your fees. For sellers who’s shipping price is low relative to their final value fees the decrease will cancel out, result in a small decrease or at worst be a modest increase in final value fees. The sellers who will be hardest hit are those whose shipping charges are high in comparison to the final value of their item. In this case there will be a rise in final value fees.
Charging final value fees on shipping costs is something many sellers have called for a number of years. The effect will be to remove all financial advantages for those who move some of the sale price of their items into the shipping cost thus avoiding eBay fees. However now that it’s coming into effect in April it is naturally causing alarm for those who will see their eBay invoices rise.
If you ship internationally or if you offer a one-day shipping option eBay won’t charge final value fees based on these costly options so long as you also offer a standard domestic shipping option. Whenever your buyer selects international shipping or a next day service your fees will be assessed on your quoted cost for the first non-one-day shipping service offered.
eBay.co.uk Fee Changes
The fee changes for eBay in the UK are more radical than those in the US. In the UK all business sellers will pay flat rate fees of between 3% and 12% dependant on the category that they trade in. Most sellers will pay fees of 10%, unless they trade in Clothing Shoes & Accessories (12%), Media (9%), Motor Parts (8%) or Tech (3%).
It’s when you delve deeper into the fee structure the differences really start to show large fee increases. For instance for a fixed price sale of £100 in the past you would have paid 9.9% of the final selling price up to £49.99 plus 5.9% of the final selling price in excess of £50.00 totalling £7.90. Under the new final value fee structure coming into effect in May this year you’ll pay a flat 10% in most categories resulting in a £10.00 selling fee – that’s a 26.5% increase.
The rise in fees will affect sellers of higher average selling price (ASP) than those of low ASPs. The increase in fees for a £10.00 item is just a penny or 1%, but for a £1000.00 item final value fees rise from £45.00 to £100.00, that’s an increase of 122%.
Sellers will need to examine the new fee structures carefully to understand the impact on their business. In all categories with the exception of Clothing Shoes & Accessories you’ll be saving money or paying very minimal increases for items with a sub £50.00 selling price. However if your items have a high ASP then you should be prepared for significant increases in the cost of selling on eBay in the UK.
Visit us today at Frooition.com and contact us to see how we can help improve your selling experience.
