So I'm a silver power seller on eBay which basically equates to $36K+/year in sales. I keep meticulous records of the fees I pay to eBay. In July they instituted a final value fee on shipping and handling but they lowered other fees. Prior to July my fees to eBay were 8.47% of my sales (PayPal added an additional 3.56%). From July 1st through last week my eBay fees rose to 9.4% which is less than a 1% increase overall. What is more disappointing to me then these small fees which I happily pay are the much lower final selling prices over the past few years. I'm not sure if it is indicative of this "challenging economy" or fewer eBay bidders or what I fear most (yet believe to be true)... a decline in our hobby.

When eBay instituted the FVF on S/H they claimed it was to encourage sellers to offer free shipping. There were also some other incentives such as best search match & higher placement to those sellers that offered free shipping. With Amazon, Zappos and other heavy hitter online retailers offering free shipping eBay wanted their sellers to provide it as well. It wouldn't surprise me that if some future point eBay requires all its sellers to offer free shipping.

But the bottom line for me as a business owner is that there are few better lead generation tools or the ability to get the exposure that eBay gives me for a low 9.4% of my sales which is why I will continue to use their service.

Dave
Cheques in the Mail, Inc.