After I got over the shock.... I was going to add an 11.23% eBay Surcharge (or whatever the exact surcharge is) to all my shipping fees. Then I was going to clearly state in the listing what the increase was for, by saying that as part of the cost to ship on eBay because of the new shipping surcharge. I wanted say why shipping had gotten even higher. The interesting thing is that I was also charged $2.38 FVF on the $22.50 item. That's only 10.58%, which means eBay is charged a higher surcharge for shipping than for the item I sold. eBay actually made more on the shipping surcharge than they made on FVF.
Folks, the shipping surcharge fee is part of the cost of doing business on eBay. But, I charge exact shipping. I don't charge a handling fee. I don't charge for tape. I don't charge for packing materials. I don't charge for making a special trip to the PO so a customer will get it fast for those late in the day orders. Problem is that I cannot absorb an 11.23% fee on top of the exact shipping I charge my customers.
WELL GUESS WHAT????
JUST SPOKE TO eBay. We are not allowed to pass the eBay charges on to our customers. At least not openly. So, what do we do? Do we absorb the new fees. Do we increase our charges for shipping to cover the surcharge (without telling our customers why). Or do we charge the same for shipping but charge more for our items. Or do we do what eBay wants and include the shipping in the price. Since now, eBay publishes the amount the Post Office charges us and we are not allowed to say we are being charged a shipping surcharge, it's difficult to pass that cost on to our customers. If we increase the cost above actual shipping we risk getting lower Star Ratings. And if we get lower Star Ratings, then we pay higher eBay fees or lose our Top Seller Rating. Nice eBay! Very nice. You win at the expense of your sellers AGAIN!
And, eBay! SHAME ON YOU if you don't remove the Shipping Cost STAR! SHAME ON YOU! Because for those of us who charge a separate amount for shipping so our customers know exactly what they are paying, if you keep the Star Rating System, we get punished because you, eBay, are charging a very high surcharge after you sold us on charging exact shipping. eBay, you are now making more money on my shipping costs than for FVF for the items we sell.... But you won't let us pass on this cost and tell customer pay what it really costs us to ship on eBay. Shame on you!
The way I see it I can either A) Eat the higher cost of doing business on eBay or B) Raise my shipping fees and not say why I am doing it and get dinged for over-charging. or C) I can raise my prices on my items by 11% or 12%. That's a problem for sellers who want to charge actual shipping and still want to keep prices low to stay competitive.
The sellers who are going to be hurt by this are the ones who charge exact shipping and have competitive prices. Some sellers won't be hurt. Others will be hurt but won't realize it:
#1) Sellers who still won't care what their Stars look like can just raise their shipping fees and it will be business as usual for them.
WELL GUESS WHAT????
JUST SPOKE TO eBay. We are not allowed to pass the eBay charges on to our customers. At least not openly. So, what do we do? Do we absorb the new fees. Do we increase our charges for shipping to cover the surcharge (without telling our customers why). Or do we charge the same for shipping but charge more for our items. Or do we do what eBay wants and include the shipping in the price. Since now, eBay publishes the amount the Post Office charges us and we are not allowed to say we are being charged a shipping surcharge, it's difficult to pass that cost on to our customers. If we increase the cost above actual shipping we risk getting lower Star Ratings. And if we get lower Star Ratings, then we pay higher eBay fees or lose our Top Seller Rating. Nice eBay! Very nice. You win at the expense of your sellers AGAIN!
And, eBay! SHAME ON YOU if you don't remove the Shipping Cost STAR! SHAME ON YOU! Because for those of us who charge a separate amount for shipping so our customers know exactly what they are paying, if you keep the Star Rating System, we get punished because you, eBay, are charging a very high surcharge after you sold us on charging exact shipping. eBay, you are now making more money on my shipping costs than for FVF for the items we sell.... But you won't let us pass on this cost and tell customer pay what it really costs us to ship on eBay. Shame on you!
The way I see it I can either A) Eat the higher cost of doing business on eBay or B) Raise my shipping fees and not say why I am doing it and get dinged for over-charging. or C) I can raise my prices on my items by 11% or 12%. That's a problem for sellers who want to charge actual shipping and still want to keep prices low to stay competitive.
The sellers who are going to be hurt by this are the ones who charge exact shipping and have competitive prices. Some sellers won't be hurt. Others will be hurt but won't realize it:
#1) Sellers who still won't care what their Stars look like can just raise their shipping fees and it will be business as usual for them.
#2) Sellers who have no idea what it is costing them to do business on eBay and don't know if they are making money or not. (Sad but true). They will plug along selling things at the same prices and get hurt by this new fee without even realizing it's happening.
#3) Sellers who use combined shipping as a selling tool. If they add the shipping to the price of the item can't offer that option.
What eBay wants: Add the shipping costs to the cost of the items to avoid the new, oppressive shipping surcharge. And that might work in most cases. But for combining shipping, there is no way to pass the savings on to the customer and again, eBay makes more money in the process.
#3) Sellers who use combined shipping as a selling tool. If they add the shipping to the price of the item can't offer that option.
What eBay wants: Add the shipping costs to the cost of the items to avoid the new, oppressive shipping surcharge. And that might work in most cases. But for combining shipping, there is no way to pass the savings on to the customer and again, eBay makes more money in the process.
It's certainly clear that eBay is trying to force sellers to include shipping in the price. Sellers charging exact shipping are not being rewarded. How sellers manage shipping is no longer an option. This surcharge cannot be avoid, absorbed or ignored. The new problem though, out of this fee situation is how to manage the items that sell well by combining shipping. The only way to benefit your customers who buy more than one item is by combining shipping. But if you raise your prices by at least 11% so you can offer that option and then the customer loses and eBay wins even more money. But if you add shipping to the price of the item and have no shipping fee to combine and reduce, then you can no longer offer combined shipping, (which you can't do with 'Free" shipping).You can no longer offer a great service by the reduced shipping option and you lose one very value selling tool..
It is fair to mention that one way of selling may result in a slightly lower charge in the fees. Anyone who is already selling items with shipping included will be charged about 1% lower fees. So for example, if the FVF has been 12%, and the item includes shipping (AKA selling an item with "Free" shipping), they will now be charged 11% under the new fee policy and save about 1% as a result.
But over all, I have to ask: What's wrong with this picture? What's wrong is not the honest seller.... And what's wrong isn't the buyer trying to get a fair deal. Since the 3 parties in this are: Seller, Buyer and eBay, I leave it to you who are reading this guide to decide. Thank you for reading this guide.
But over all, I have to ask: What's wrong with this picture? What's wrong is not the honest seller.... And what's wrong isn't the buyer trying to get a fair deal. Since the 3 parties in this are: Seller, Buyer and eBay, I leave it to you who are reading this guide to decide. Thank you for reading this guide.
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