Re: Ebay
 

It's the price of the fees. If you're a business, and don't put much on ebay, 10% could be a significant portion of your profit. Especially if you are in a tight margin business. Not to mention that my credit card processor charges over a percent less than PayPal, which they almost force you to take.

My personal example; the racing parts business is pretty competitive, with tight margins. We don't generally list anything but old inventory on eBay, as there isn't any money to be made. Their "service" is not worth over 50% of my profit in some cases.

Re: Ebay
 

I have no problem with reasonable fees. I do have a problem with being forced to use a service I do not like or trust, because I use another service I was already using and subscribed to.

Profit is not a dirty word. I do not have the slightest problem with a man making a living. However, I have no use for a bunch of executives making a killing.

Re: Ebay
 

I can understand that reasoning. What I don't understand is the "evil" portion. They are a business and/or provide services for which a fee is logical and expected. The fact that these fees may be a bit higher than you or I may deem appropriate does not make them shady...the fees are well explained up front. We can make our own decision pertaining to the use of their services without any pressure. Ebay and Paypal both have some built-in protections for buyers and sellers alike...you won't find anything like that on Craigslist.

Re: Ebay
 

Alan - Is it just me? That reminds me an awful lot of the Affordable Healthcare Act. :D

Re: Ebay
 

It shouldn't. Obamacare is forced upon us by law.

Re: Ebay
 

Actually, ebay has shifted to almost exclusively "protect" the "buyer", who pretty much has only to claim some sort of slight on the part of the seller, who really has no recourse. And they use pay pal to enforce their penalty on the seller.

Their fees are not always so "upfront", either, and they change their "user agreement" on a regular basis. Their commissions are also rather high, considering the service they offer.

No one is claiming that they were forced to use ebay. They are merely stating their opinions and experiences as to what ebay has become, as opposed to what it once was.

Re: Ebay
 

Understood - I use ebay at times to both sell and buy. Usually when selling it is vehicles in my case...the greater audience of that site is my main reason. User agreements change on a regular basis for all businesses...we all get the letters in the mail from credit card issuers, banks, ect. We all make choices on a daily basis on just what we are willing to tolerate/accept when it comes to business dealings. If one is trying to conduct a business thru Ebay there has to be some motivation...profit at the forefront, if none is to be had they will soon abandon the venture. I personally would not want to operate/conduct any business dealings thru Ebay.

Just out of curiosity because selling for me is rather sporadic...what were the fees/policies that were acceptable prior?

Re: Ebay
 

Keep in mind that the fee that ebay charges is based not only on the final selling price of the item, but they also charge a fee based on the cost of the shipping. Triple fee for them. Fee for the final selling price, fee for the shipping cost and the paypal fee.

Ken Kopecky
1454 E/SA

Re: Ebay
 

Doug,
That sounds high but like someone else said I don't know how the auction was listed. I sell a lot on E-bay and always figure its going to cost me 10% of everything including shipping. Here is a link to the E-bay "fees" page. Looks like it should be 10% but don't know if you used any optional services like buy it now etc.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html

Re: Ebay
 

Some one give this a try and see how it comes out... http://www.fees.ebay.com/feeweb/feecalculator