eBay to scrap seller fees?

[Davidt]

This could be an interesting one. It's being reported that eBay are going to scrap final value fees on most categories, to be replaced by a buyers fee.

Could be a positive move depending how the buyers fees are implemented.

I know a lot of people don't like eBay but I've bought and sold on there since around 2003 and although care is needed for both buying and selling to make sure you're covered for various scenarios, I love it as a platform.

https://news.sky.com/story/ebay-selling-fees-are-scrapped-to-boost-to-reselling-13225638

 

[Gav1967]

Just received this email confirming. There may be exceptions/conditions. Haven't explored the small print.

 

[dsio]

It’s going to mean so many more junk watches posted to sift through lol

 

[Davidt]

dsio

It’s going to mean so many more junk watches posted to sift through lol

I've got nothing else to do once the kids are in bed!

 

[gbesq]

It will be interesting to see how other platforms like C24 respond to this.

 

[cristos71]

Davidt

I've got nothing else to do once the kids are in bed!

Wait till they become teens...your bedtime will be when the action starts!

 

[Dan S]

Just UK?

 

[Davidt]

Dan S

Just UK?

I believe it was trialed in Germany so i would assume the plan is to roll it out globally in response to sites like vintage where selling is pretty much free.

 

[Dan S]

Davidt

I believe it was trialed in Germany so i would assume the plan is to roll it out globally in response to sites like vintage where selling is pretty much free.

Yeah, I'm finding some info online about eliminating fees in Germany, and eliminating fees in the UK for "fashion" starting back in April, and now for everything in the UK. Nothing yet about the US, but it makes sense that they would pilot in other markets.

Is there any detailed information about a change to buyer's fees? I wonder if they will be as complex as the old final value fees, with different fees for different price ranges for different categories.

Edited: Tues. 8:01am

 

[Davidt]

I can't see any detail on what the new fee structure will be. Presumably they'll want to keep it simple as not being able to quickly understand how much an item will cost is an obvious barrier to sales.
Then again, when have eBay ever made fees simple!?

 

[Dan S]

Davidt

I can't see any detail on what the new fee structure will be. Presumably they'll want to keep it simple as not being able to quickly understand how much an item will cost is an obvious barrier to sales.
Then again, when have eBay ever made fees simple!?

After reading some articles about the policy change in Germany, it seems that the business model is to eliminate final value fees for private sellers as a loss leader because their data show that private sellers are very active buyers on the site. (There will still be insertion fees for private sellers, but at the moment they are trivial.) So apparently, eBay is betting that the new private sellers attracted to eBay will increase purchases from business sellers, who still have fees.

 

[PatinaPete]

This is the grailzee model, and shifting more costs to the buyer doesn't improve the model imo. Just lets more junk into the ecosystem.

 

[JwRosenthal]

Dan S

After reading some articles about the policy change in Germany, it seems that the business model is to eliminate final value fees for private sellers as a loss leader because their data show that private sellers are very active buyers on the site. (There will still be insertion fees for private sellers, but at the moment they are trivial.) So apparently, eBay is betting that the new private sellers attracted to eBay will increase purchases from business sellers, who still have fees.

This sounds like a good course correction for them. I’ve been on the platform since ‘99 and as a seller since around ‘05. I sold a lot (vinyl records) and found myself being crowded out by business rather than other private sellers by the late 00’s. I did another round of selling in the mid-teens and found it very inhospitable to an occasional seller as it kept trying to push me to create a “store”.

There is no doubt that many of us have stopped really paying attention on eBay (you get the skimming brain) as most of the same shit from the same sellers at the same prices clutters the field. I hope they also offer a filter option for private sellers versus eBay stores as that would really cut down on the clutter- but then the store people would cry foul.

 

[Larry S]

Invisible hand at work.