Ebay Fees On The Rise Again

[uniquebaseballcards]

Our (little?) hobby is full of dominant players that operate similar to monopolies and/or have dominant market share...

...funny how some people readily accept the position of some of these players but not others.

 

[rsmath]

... as well as allowing items to remain for sale even if someone hits buy it now and does not pay right away.

I wonder how that works, considering I thought a contract was formed by hitting the BIN. Will it say something like "the item is not yours until payment is made!" or will there be lots of contract breaking for those who hit the BIN and someone else swoops in and hits in the BIN and pays right away.

 

[ronniedp23]

Our (little?) hobby is full of dominant players that operate similar to monopolies and/or have dominant market share...

...funny how some people readily accept the position of some of these players but not others.

I think the issue here stems more from loss of money than the actual monopoly. Its easier to accept the appearance of the monopoly (and that's all topps really is, the appearance of one) when you know that the price wouldn't really be different.

Costing someone money will get their attention in a hurry. Just look at all the "what is this crazy seller doing" conversations.
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[BowmanChromeAddict]

My prices went down. I have a premium store. I'll get 500 free listings a month, plus my FVF's are going down. I'm pumped.

 

[zach]

Well... maybe it is. Its more than I'd prefer to pay certainly.

But until there is a company competing with Ebay... you're kind of stuck.

Ebay makes it simple, and somewhat safer than trying to work your own deals, as well as allowing you to reach a broader range of customers.

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Don't disagree with anything you say.

I wish it was more like 7% but understand the costs involved on Ebay's end.

 

[cstmleather]

The thing that worries me is the addition of "Same Day Handling". I bet that will be a new requirement for the 20% off FVF. :-(

 

[Pinbreaker]

I wonder how that works, considering I thought a contract was formed by hitting the BIN. Will it say something like "the item is not yours until payment is made!" or will there be lots of contract breaking for those who hit the BIN and someone else swoops in and hits in the BIN and pays right away.

If you hit a BIN that is set up like that.. You have to pay for the item before it ends..

I have had some of my items set up that way, and I get an email payment has been sent and then an e-mail that the item has been sold..

 

[rsmath]

Picture quality requirements now being enforced

Great pictures help sell your items—especially to the growing ranks of mobile buyers. That's why eBay introduced picture quality requirements for all pictures. Starting July 1, listings that don't meet these requirements may be blocked from upload or removed from the site after listing. You'll be able to access a rundown of listings with non-compliant pictures through eBay's bulk edit and relist tool later this year.

I think I'm going to like that as a buyer - I hope the new requirements also will delist any of those auctions whose picture is just the logo of the seller's card shop or online shop. Do you know what a PITA it is to find in a search some patch cards or other unique per-card relic cards that have good pricing and shipping costs only to not be able to find out what the patch or relic looks like because the megasellers only upload pics of their logo? Pass!

 

[phillyfan0417]

Our (little?) hobby is full of dominant players that operate similar to monopolies and/or have dominant market share...

...funny how some people readily accept the position of some of these players but not others.

Wow, talk about a stretch. Is there a contractual reason someone cant compete with Ebay?

 

[craftysouthpaw]

Wow, talk about a stretch. Is there a contractual reason someone cant compete with Ebay?

Exactly. Apples-to-oranges. Topps, MLB, etc. have contractual or government protected monopolies. Completely different than eBay essentially establishing one (or gaining a dominant market share) via a great business model and execution. The primary barrier to entry for a potential competitor is the ability to put up a viable product at a competitive cost. That is obviously difficult but hardly the definition of a monopoly.

No one here would list on eBay if they could net a higher price on a more timely basis via alternative methods. It is by far the best option out there for people that want to sell and being upset about a 10% fee is missing the bigger picture IMO. Some of their other restrictions and policies to sellers warrant some criticism but the fees-for-value equation seems very reasonable if you step back.

 

[cmnkb8]

The thing that worries me is the addition of "Same Day Handling". I bet that will be a new requirement for the 20% off FVF. :-(

I sure as hell hope not. If that's the case, I won't bother trying anymore. I'm already busting my balls to stay over 90% on 1-day handling. If it becomes same day handling, ebay can go yuck themselves.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

So I have a rinky dink $17/month store. I get $.20 listings rather than $.50 with the store. If I get 50 free listings a month, and want to list another 50 items that would cost me $25 w/o the store, or $10 with the store -- I'm essentially breaking even either way ($25/$27).

What's the benefit of having the store in my scenario?

 

[Pine Tar]

I sure as hell hope not. If that's the case, I won't bother trying anymore. I'm already busting my balls to stay over 90% on 1-day handling. If it becomes same day handling, ebay can go yuck themselves.

Go to the op's post and read the specify same day handling. It does not say you have to ship same day only if you specified same day and you can use a cut off time, for all orders made by a certain time.
It will be an option and not forced on you.

Regards,Richard

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[cmnkb8]

So I have a rinky dink $17/month store. I get $.20 listings rather than $.50 with the store. If I get 50 free listings a month, and want to list another 50 items that would cost me $25 w/o the store, or $10 with the store -- I'm essentially breaking even either way ($25/$27).

What's the benefit of having the store in my scenario?

With the store, your FVFs will be 1% lower. Although the new fee structure will have non-store owners paying $0.30 instead of $0.50 for fixed price listings, so you would need to list more stuff to break even with the store.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

With the store, your FVFs will be 1% lower. Although the new fee structure will have non-store owners paying $0.30 instead of $0.50 for fixed price listings, so you would need to list more stuff to break even with the store.

Which means it's time to end the store.... because 50 free + 50 at $.30 is cheaper than 50 free + 50 at $.20 (assuming that stays) + $17/mo.

 

[cmnkb8]

Which means it's time to end the store.... because 50 free + 50 at $.30 is cheaper than 50 free + 50 at $.20 (assuming that stays) + $17/mo.

The $17 store will go up to 150 free per month. If you list at least 107 items, the store is a better deal off the bat, even before FVF calculations.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

The $17 store will go up to 150 free per month. If you list at least 107 items, the store is a better deal off the bat, even before FVF calculations.

That's what I wanted to hear. Thanks.

 

[nosterbor]

I have read all this about ebay fees going up. Wait till paypal rise their's.then what will you be paying.Ok list an item for 99cents with free shipping,you get one bid. Ebay takes 10 cents you are ahead 90 cents. put a stamp on an envelope to mail out . now you have 40 cents left. now lets take the 2.9% + 30 cent paypal fee.you have 10 cents. OR DO YOU? How much is your time worth? I am talking about the avg card collector that sells now and then. The fees are a joke!

 

[cmnkb8]

I have read all this about ebay fees going up. Wait till paypal rise their's.then what will you be paying.Ok list an item for 99cents with free shipping,you get one bid. Ebay takes 10 cents you are ahead 90 cents. put a stamp on an envelope to mail out . now you have 40 cents left. now lets take the 2.9% + 30 cent paypal fee.you have 10 cents. OR DO YOU? How much is your time worth? I am talking about the avg card collector that sells now and then. The fees are a joke!

It's quite clear that ebay have been trying and still are trying to get rid of these types of sellers and cater to the larger full time sellers. They may lose a little fee revenue (and to them, it's pocket change), but they realize savings in having to maintain less infrastructure if their sellers were a smaller concentrated group that brought in a high revenue stream.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

I have read all this about ebay fees going up. Wait till paypal rise their's.then what will you be paying.Ok list an item for 99cents with free shipping,you get one bid. Ebay takes 10 cents you are ahead 90 cents. put a stamp on an envelope to mail out . now you have 40 cents left. now lets take the 2.9% + 30 cent paypal fee.you have 10 cents. OR DO YOU? How much is your time worth? I am talking about the avg card collector that sells now and then. The fees are a joke!

The .99 seller is what COMC, and the other sportscard marketplaces are for.