Ebay's new bright idea. Charge buyers to buy off Ebay!

[indielad]

I've just received an email off ebay that from Feb 4 they will charge buyers 75p plus 4.5% of the sales price for mandatory buyer protection that they had always received with a couple of extras.

I thought ebay wanted more buyers? any thoughts on why they have decided to do this?

[murdered_by_ebay]

it is supposed to make selling more attractive

ebay have been running a policy of seller destruction. it is likely the effect of mass suspensions of recent accounts

this policy does not only hit bad actors but many legitimate people who wanted to sell , got suspended and left. it is us who know that it is possible and necessary to try over and over again but joe sixpack gets suspended once and will never come back

[agent006140]

are there many cases of buyer protection?
We in US have not received such/

[hotadvice]

lol i can remember when i mentioned something about the FREE selling being part of a greater scheme of something they planning to launch in the near future.BOOM! There you go

[murdered_by_ebay]

they want to reduce / remove fees for some or all sellers trying to make selling more attractive , especially now with mass suspensions of new sellers and tax reporting they likely fear that sellers will be leaving on their own if they have not been suspended yet by ebay bots

ebay have been actively destroying sellers , they created a mine field on the marketplace where one wrong move is enough to get kicked out

for example the stories about sellers who wanted to update their address on ebay and got suspended because the address is new , it is not in the credit agency databases yet so they allow 2-3 doc uploads and kick people out. a few weeks later the address will be in the databases but ebay will not care anymore , their asian reps will just be repeating the same: you are a risk to community , go sell elsewhere

being honest on ebay essentially means being stupid

[hotadvice]

Originally Posted by hotadvice

i said its taking the paypal approach.They want to be the only payment processor on their platform.funds go into ebay balance, and then it can be used to either pay for items on ebay or withdrawn.There is a bigger plan behind the scenes and its not 'saving sellers money".

I still feel they have an overall objective to get paypal off their list of payment options and single it down to just "ebay balance only"...maybe with the option of buyers who make use of ebay balance only, not having to pay "this new fee" they introduced.

[Mr_Blue_Sky]

Originally Posted by indielad

I've just received an email off ebay that from Feb 4 they will charge buyers 75p plus 4.5% of the sales price for mandatory buyer protection that they had always received with a couple of extras.

I thought ebay wanted more buyers? any thoughts on why they have decided to do this?

Either you've not read the message properly or are trying to scaremonger.

They are not charging all buyers. 99.9% of purchases made on ebay are from businesses, for them the buyer protection is free.

It is only being applied to private sellers and then, it isn't being added to the purchases amount, it's being added to the listing price. Buyers won't see it as an additional charge and private sellers have the option to amend their prices if they feel it is necessary.

As @hotadvice said, many of us kinda new the free to sell wheeze wouldn't last long.

Here's the bottom line. It wont make an iota of difference to sales on ebay and if it discourages business sellers from using private sellers accounts then I'm all for it.

Genuine private sellers will just have to suck it up. Shouldn't be a problem, they had no issue paying fees this time last year although I will concede it's going to sting a little given they have become used to enjoying free listings for a short while.

[indielad]

Originally Posted by Mr_Blue_Sky

Either you've not read the message properly or are trying to scaremonger.

They are not charging all buyers. 99.9% of purchases made on ebay are from businesses, for them the buyer protection is free.

It is only being applied to private sellers and then, it isn't being added to the purchases amount, it's being added to the listing price. Buyers won't see it as an additional charge and private sellers have the option to amend their prices if they feel it is necessary.

As @hotadvice said, many of us kinda new the free to sell wheeze wouldn't last long.

Here's the bottom line. It wont make an iota of difference to sales on ebay and if it discourages business sellers from using private sellers accounts then I'm all for it.

Genuine private sellers will just have to suck it up. Shouldn't be a problem, they had no issue paying fees this time last year although I will concede it's going to sting a little given they have become used to enjoying free listings for a short while.

99.9% of purchases are from business sellers.? Have you any proof for that or did you cook it up?

You're right in that it would make ebay increasingly corporate. Corporations tend to snuff out the smaller competitors then raise their prices accordingly.

[rsot]

Originally Posted by indielad

99.9% of purchases are from business sellers.? Have you any proof for that or did you cook it up?

I doubt the figure is that high...proof required

[Mr_Blue_Sky]

Originally Posted by indielad

99.9% of purchases are from business sellers.? Have you any proof for that or did you cook it up?

You're right in that it would make ebay increasingly corporate. Corporations tend to snuff out the smaller competitors then raise their prices accordingly.

I 'cooked it up', it was a figure of speech but you get the idea. Indeed, I bet it's not that far from the true figure. In any event, my comments are pretty much true.

Ebay are not trying to snuff out smaller sellers, a lot of the recent and ongoing changes are a response to regulatory requirements and many private sellers will voluntarily quit the site as a result.

Could you blame eBay if they did indeed want to wash their hands of private sellers? I'm not comparing like-for-like but it hasn't hurt Amazon has it?

If I was running eBay I'd take one half decent business seller for a dozen private sellers any day. Business sellers will surely be their target going forward.

[indielad]

If the ebay adverts are to be believed. The demographic they are trying to attract to ebay are people selling unwanted gifts and attic clearance. These will be mainly private sellers.

[Mr_Blue_Sky]

Originally Posted by indielad

If the ebay adverts are to be believed. The demographic they are trying to attract to ebay are people selling unwanted gifts and attic clearance. These will be mainly private sellers.

I bet it isn't going into 2025/6, it was a last hurrah before folk get spooked and walk away.

The profit from private sellers must be tiny and set to get even smaller. You don't strengthen a business by targeting this kind of seller.

[indielad]

Originally Posted by Mr_Blue_Sky

I bet it isn't going into 2025/6, it was a last hurrah before folk get spooked and walk away.

The profit from private sellers must be tiny and set to get even smaller. You don't strengthen a business by targeting this kind of seller.

You say one thing, but ebay's billions in advertising says another.

I'll take that over what " you bet will happen'

I've never seen any solitary advert to attract " business sellers"

[Mr_Blue_Sky]

Originally Posted by indielad

You say one thing, but ebay's billions in advertising says another.

I'll take that over what " you bet will happen'

I've never seen any solitary advert to attract " business sellers"

It matters not, the fact is your initial post was misleading and I was merely trying to clarify. I'm also not convinced eBay has spent billions advertising for new private sellers on ebay UK. Did you just cook that up?

Going forward private sellers are set to be of even less importance to them, borne out by the facilities being taken away - fees reintroduced, multi-buy gone, 300 maximum listings etc etc.

What do you think will happen to their private seller base when they demand NI numbers or suspend them? We've seen many threads on here from folk who are frantically trying to find a way to address this, many will simply walk away or go legit.

Lets not forget that if you're a genuine private seller disposing of your unwanted tat you are welcome to use the site. The only folk getting wound up by all this IMO is business seller using private seller accounts and as I said above good riddance to them.

If you make your living on ebay then their changes and the impending regulatory demands wouldn't bother you at all. If you're truly a private seller then it is what it is, like it or lump it or find another platform to sell on.

[greenlaurel]

https://www.valueaddedresource.net/e...bruary-4-2025/

Such news was published.

[indielad]

No it's not hyperbole. I don't have ebay's 2024 figures, but ebay spent over 1.3 billion dollars in advertising.

You said my post is completely and utterly irrelevant, as 99.9% of sales are business on ebay, then accuse me of being misleading !. You have just taken affront to the post as it does not apply to you, and also that private sellers are not paying the same fees. I have both types of account, and I don't wish private sellers, many are very small time, to lose money on fees or buyers to have to pay higher prices buying off then. Especially as ebay is one massive tax dodger itself, ditto the many corporates selling on ebay. You seem to wish to protect. If I were you I'd care a bit more about the massive tax avoidance performed by corporations, rather than some single parent woman boosting her income with a part time job(for example) paying less fees.

[agent006140]

Originally Posted by rsot

I doubt the figure is that high...proof required

In the early days,most buyers are individual collectors,then comes small retail shops ,they need to have something new ,else customers would find it boring looking at the same old stuff.
Then dealers found out they can have antiques for less than going to dealer auctions.
Then the individuals who bought from you end up with drawers full of junks,so they become resellers.
These days you have all of the above.
Worst are the wholesalers/distributors and manufacturers,there is no way to compete with your suppliers.

[Mr_Blue_Sky]

Originally Posted by indielad

No it's not hyperbole. I don't have ebay's 2024 figures, but ebay spent over 1.3 billion dollars in advertising..

Lets keep it relevant, how much do you think they spent in the UK to attract new private sellers or to encourage private seller to use their platform. Answer...it wasn't billions.

Originally Posted by indielad

You said my post is completely and utterly irrelevant, as 99.9% of sales are business on ebay, then accuse me of being misleading !. You have just taken affront to the post as it does not apply to you, and also that private sellers are not paying the same fees.

I didn't say it was irrelevant, I said it was misleading as you didn't read, or understand, the content of ebays announcement. Your thread is entitled "Ebay's new bright idea. Charge buyers to buy off Ebay!" and your opening post makes no reference to how this new policy is to be applied, you simply suggest that you thought ebay wanted more buyers and in some way this will reduce them.

I simply highlighted that it only applies to private sellers and they make up a tiny proportion of sales, set to get much smaller a fact you seem to have missed.

Given neither of us know the exact answer, how many sales per 1000 on ebay do you think are made by bona fide private sellers?

Originally Posted by indielad

I have both types of account, and I don't wish private sellers, many are very small time, to lose money on fees or buyers to have to pay higher prices buying off then. Especially as ebay is one massive tax dodger itself, ditto the many corporates selling on ebay. You seem to wish to protect. If I were you I'd care a bit more about the massive tax avoidance performed by corporations, rather than some single parent woman boosting her income with a part time job(for example) paying less fees.

Trust me, I'm not trying to 'protect' ebay, not sure why you would think that I too have a private seller account that I ditch my tat on and I'm not planning on closing it - I am still able to recognise that my fees will still be less than they were 12 months ago and still offer great value. I will give them my NI number when asked and not worry about the possibility of answering to HMRC if they ever come a knocking.


The fact still stands as I asserted earlier, this will only impact a small number of sellers, set to get smaller and the fees they pay will still be less than 12 months ago, is not a charge to all buyers and is very unlikely to impact on site sales. Not sure why you've taken umbrage with me over this clarification.

[james_112233]

All great points.

In my opinion this move in the UK means registered, tax paying businesses should see an increase in sales.

Professional sellers using private accounts will now leave the platform or go legit and change their accounts to business on the platform.

[indielad]

I haven't been able to find the proportion of ebay sales on ebay that are business or private online, but a simple search on many items revealed to me, many sales are private. I did a search on clothing, and I was expecting business accounts to be on the top of searches as they obviously sell more on average, but it was swamped by the sheer number of private accounts. Your assertion that 99.9% of sales are associated with business accounts is laughable.

Regarding HMRC, ripping ebay off and HMRC are 2 different things! HMRC can put you in prison or send the bailiffs to break your legs! I hope you don't believe it's the same thing as HMRC do spend taxes on valuable things like schools as well as wasting it! Ebay's profits go to shareholders and CEOs!

People who are knowing their elbows off because some very small part time businesses avoided a few fees, needs to a) get a life b) have a sense of proportion. Ebay and Amazon station their business in Luxembourg and Ireland to evade wrapping amounts of tax. So do many of the corporates that sell on ebay. I do actually have to pay tax. So maybe you could write an equally impassioned article why you believe a private seller who avoided a few hundred in fees is worse than ebay and other corps who avoided billions in tax? They are the real freeloaders. If they paid their tax, it would be lower for us all, allied with better public services.

[Mr_Blue_Sky]

Originally Posted by indielad

I haven't been able to find the proportion of ebay sales on ebay that are business or private online, but a simple search on many items revealed to me, many sales are private. I did a search on clothing, and I was expecting business accounts to be on the top of searches as they obviously sell more on average, but it was swamped by the sheer number of private accounts. Your assertion that 99.9% of sales are associated with business accounts is laughable.

If I was going to hazard a guess which sector you'd choose to discredit my 'throw away figure for illustrative purposes' argument I'd have bet my life savings on 'clothing'. . Now that is laughable.

But I'll play along, give me your search terms to check this private seller 'swamping'.

Then we'll play the same game with sectors of my choice.

Originally Posted by indielad

Regarding HMRC, ripping ebay off and HMRC are 2 different things! HMRC can put you in prison or send the bailiffs to break your legs! I hope you don't believe it's the same thing as HMRC do spend taxes on valuable things like schools as well as wasting it! Ebay's profits go to shareholders and CEOs!

People who are knowing their elbows off because some very small part time businesses avoided a few fees, needs to a) get a life b) have a sense of proportion. Ebay and Amazon station their business in Luxembourg and Ireland to evade wrapping amounts of tax. So do many of the corporates that sell on ebay. I do actually have to pay tax. So maybe you could write an equally impassioned article why you believe a private seller who avoided a few hundred in fees is worse than ebay and other corps who avoided billions in tax? They are the real freeloaders. If they paid their tax, it would be lower for us all, allied with better public services.

Calm down, you're in danger of losing sight as to why you started the thread where you claimed ebay wanted to 'charge buyers' when in reality it is a very small sellers fee for a relatively low number of genuine private sellers.

[murdered_by_ebay]

it is not the proportion that matters but the fact that small private sellers are needed to attract buyers so that mass exodus of small sellers would have a negative impact on traffic