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Fees paid by very large sellers on E-Bay?

Started by jkrk,

16 posts in this topic

jkrk

jkrk

Posted
Posted

I have bought a few items from a seller on E-Bay who moves multi million dollars worth of coins every year.

 

My question is ..... What percentages does a mega seller pay in fees to E-Bay and Paypal for each transaction?

 

Thnx,

Jay

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Raisethis2

Raisethis2

Posted
Posted

The average E-Bay Seller pays 6% plus another 3% to PayPal as I recall. The mega sellers who have an E-Bay Store get discounts and free submissions which save them costs. Their total as I recall isn't as much as you'd think.

 

I believe they save about 2% but again, thats my recollection from a conversation with another Seller some time ago. The key is to have the E-Bay store.

 

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lehigh96

lehigh96

Posted
Posted
The average E-Bay Seller pays 6% plus another 3% to PayPal as I recall. The mega sellers who have an E-Bay Store get discounts and free submissions which save them costs. Their total as I recall isn't as much as you'd think.

 

I believe they save about 2% but again, thats my recollection from a conversation with another Seller some time ago. The key is to have the E-Bay store.

 

This is correct, but the 20% discount on E-Bay FVFs is based on Top Rated Seller status. There are strict requirements for obtaining and keeping Top Rated Seller status. Once you have it, your E-Bay FVFs are 4.8% + 3% for Paypal + a monthly cost for your E-Bay store which varies by store level. I think a basic store is $15.95/month for a 1 year subscription.

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GoldFinger1969

GoldFinger1969

Posted
Posted

As I discussed on my Saint Gaudens Thread, this is certainly why most of the selling prices on Ebay are way high. But they are higher than 9% above 'fair value' or so that the Ebay/PayPal consortium charges. Many of the coins were purchased at higher prices and the Ebay sellers don't want to sell at a loss.

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FishyOne

FishyOne

Posted
Posted

When thinking of the really Big Dogs like APMEX selling coins in the Bullion category you are exploring a different realm.

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James_OldeTowne

James_OldeTowne

Posted
Posted

If a seller produces enough revenue for eBay, he can negotiate more beneficial terms than what is "officially stated". I suppose that a seller putting up millions of dollars in sales a year can get a pretty deep discount off eBay fees.

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kryptonitecomics

kryptonitecomics

Posted
Posted

For those of us that charge a shipping fee...maintaining top rated seller status is all but impossible. I bend over backward to treat folks right, offer a 2-week no questions asked return policy, offer combined shipping, but because I charge $3 for shipping Ebay allows buyers to rate me 1's and 2's for shipping costs in my detailed seller ratings. The only way to not be rated is to give free shipping. Since I sell on a consignment basis I can't charge the shipping back to the consignors and I can't afford to eat $10,000 a year ion postal fees.

 

I have had the top rated status for most of the past 3 years but right now I haven't had it for 4 months because folks see what you charge for shipping in your listing...they agree to it when they place a bid...and then they screw you over by leaving the low DSR rating for no valid reason. To make matters worse...your DSR...detailed seller rating is based on your feedback and DSR scores left over a 3-month period...with one huge caveat.....everything bought by the same person in a full weeks time counts as 1 rating. So when I have a person buy 5 coins on Sunday and then 8 coins the following Saturday and leave me 13 positives....it counts as 1.

 

That's a great racket for Ebay as I get shorted several hundred feedbacks a months and if those were factored into my DSR...I would never lose Top Rated status.

 

I lose about $500 to $600 a month by not having the top rated seller status.....and yet Ebay will do nothing to protect me from the Ebay crazies I run into.

 

Right now I have 2 neutral feedbacks in my rating...a guy bought 2 coins on December 30th, paid on the 31st.....post office wasn't open on the 31st or the 1st of Jan due to holidays so his coins were shipped when the post office opened on Jan 2nd. The buyer left me neutral feedback for both that said very slow shipper. :censored:

 

So I reported it to Ebay so they could remove the feedback as I shipped the 1st available day.....and you know what Ebay did.......yep absolutely nothing and the feedback is still there.

 

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coinman_23885

coinman_23885

Posted
Posted
Since I sell on a consignment basis I can't charge the shipping back to the consignors

 

Why can't you?

 

Agreed. Shane, I think you should have all of your consignors sign a written contract that outlines all of their responsibilities and duties to you and vice versa. In addition to offering a layer of protection to you, it could provide for this.

 

Edited: You could start a simple web page with a contract template, and make everyone consigning coins to you sign it and submit it with their coins. I also think you would be very wise to do this for your coin photography business as well.

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e1cnr

e1cnr

Posted
Posted

I have bought stuff where the sellers have used eBay shipping to print the shipping label, and the item was not presented to the PO for a few days... although the tracking info was uploaded soon after paying.

 

 

The 7-13% paid by sellers may seem like alot, especially to the cheap buyers - but it is definitely less expensive than a storefront and keeping it open/manned. A few years ago I checked on fees for a kiosk in Mall of America, and besides the monthly fees they wanted 15% of the gross receipts.

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copper toning

copper toning

Posted
Posted
For those of us that charge a shipping fee...maintaining top rated seller status is all but impossible. I bend over backward to treat folks right, offer a 2-week no questions asked return policy, offer combined shipping, but because I charge $3 for shipping Ebay allows buyers to rate me 1's and 2's for shipping costs in my detailed seller ratings. The only way to not be rated is to give free shipping. Since I sell on a consignment basis I can't charge the shipping back to the consignors and I can't afford to eat $10,000 a year ion postal fees.

 

I have had the top rated status for most of the past 3 years but right now I haven't had it for 4 months because folks see what you charge for shipping in your listing...they agree to it when they place a bid...and then they screw you over by leaving the low DSR rating for no valid reason. To make matters worse...your DSR...detailed seller rating is based on your feedback and DSR scores left over a 3-month period...with one huge caveat.....everything bought by the same person in a full weeks time counts as 1 rating. So when I have a person buy 5 coins on Sunday and then 8 coins the following Saturday and leave me 13 positives....it counts as 1.

 

That's a great racket for Ebay as I get shorted several hundred feedbacks a months and if those were factored into my DSR...I would never lose Top Rated status.

 

I lose about $500 to $600 a month by not having the top rated seller status.....and yet Ebay will do nothing to protect me from the Ebay crazies I run into.

 

Right now I have 2 neutral feedbacks in my rating...a guy bought 2 coins on December 30th, paid on the 31st.....post office wasn't open on the 31st or the 1st of Jan due to holidays so his coins were shipped when the post office opened on Jan 2nd. The buyer left me neutral feedback for both that said very slow shipper. :censored:

 

So I reported it to Ebay so they could remove the feedback as I shipped the 1st available day.....and you know what Ebay did.......yep absolutely nothing and the feedback is still there.

 

Shane I have sent you coins a couple of times.

 

A few dollars in shipping would not have bothered me.

 

The way I see it I probably paid it anyhow.

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jkrk

jkrk

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I'm glad Apmex was brought up since the comparisons are relatively easy.

 

On their site they sell a gold $20 Liberty MS64 for $2004.

 

On E-Bay (with Paypal) they are charging $2005.

 

How are they able to charge the same price after factoring in E-Bay fees?

 

Are they simply using E-Bay fees as a loss leader in order to advertise their name and attract buyers to their site directly?

 

I'm wondering why there is no surcharge when buying from them through e-Bay?

 

 

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coinman_23885

coinman_23885

Posted
Posted
Shane I have sent you coins a couple of times.

 

A few dollars in shipping would not have bothered me.

 

The way I see it I probably paid it anyhow.

 

I agree with you fully, and I consigned a couple of dozen or more pieces to Shane in the last year and a half or so. I wouldn't have had a problem with paying for the shipping, and I agree with Copper Toning, that the sellers are paying for it in a way anyway - rational bidders are going to factor the shipping charge into their bid and adjust accordingly. So instead of bidding $45, they'll bid $42 + $3 shipping for instance. Of course this assumes rational bidders and we all know how that works on eBay sometimes. :sorry:

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Nutmeg Coin

Nutmeg Coin

Posted
Posted

Even top and power sellers need to be extremely vigilant on feedback to their accounts. All it takes is a few neutrals, and power seller/top seller status can be lost sometimes over petty sums of money. And then goes the discounts too.

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lehigh96

lehigh96

Posted
Posted
For those of us that charge a shipping fee...maintaining top rated seller status is all but impossible. I bend over backward to treat folks right, offer a 2-week no questions asked return policy, offer combined shipping, but because I charge $3 for shipping Ebay allows buyers to rate me 1's and 2's for shipping costs in my detailed seller ratings. The only way to not be rated is to give free shipping. Since I sell on a consignment basis I can't charge the shipping back to the consignors and I can't afford to eat $10,000 a year ion postal fees.

 

I have had the top rated status for most of the past 3 years but right now I haven't had it for 4 months because folks see what you charge for shipping in your listing...they agree to it when they place a bid...and then they screw you over by leaving the low DSR rating for no valid reason. To make matters worse...your DSR...detailed seller rating is based on your feedback and DSR scores left over a 3-month period...with one huge caveat.....everything bought by the same person in a full weeks time counts as 1 rating. So when I have a person buy 5 coins on Sunday and then 8 coins the following Saturday and leave me 13 positives....it counts as 1.

 

That's a great racket for Ebay as I get shorted several hundred feedbacks a months and if those were factored into my DSR...I would never lose Top Rated status.

 

I lose about $500 to $600 a month by not having the top rated seller status.....and yet Ebay will do nothing to protect me from the Ebay crazies I run into.

 

Right now I have 2 neutral feedbacks in my rating...a guy bought 2 coins on December 30th, paid on the 31st.....post office wasn't open on the 31st or the 1st of Jan due to holidays so his coins were shipped when the post office opened on Jan 2nd. The buyer left me neutral feedback for both that said very slow shipper. :censored:

 

So I reported it to Ebay so they could remove the feedback as I shipped the 1st available day.....and you know what Ebay did.......yep absolutely nothing and the feedback is still there.

 

Shane,

 

I am sure that you have done the math, but depending upon your average price for coin sold, offering free shipping in order to ensure the 20% discount on E-Bay FVFs might still be a financially prudent decision. I calculate my S&H costs at approximately $2.50 per coin and my average sale price is over $200 so I always offer free shipping. I also think that there is some logic in that many bidders will calculate shipping costs into their bids for auction style listings.

 

That said, I don't understand why E-Bay can't offer automatic 5 star DSR for shipping costs if the seller charges the exact amount of postage paid through the E-Bay shipping system. Those costs are calculated when you ship the label based on shipping service, weight, and insurance. All of which could be calculated and placed into the listing before it is listed. But E-Bay wants every seller to offer free shipping so they won't do that.

 

I think you should charge your consignors $2 per coin for shipping costs and offer free shipping on your auction listings. The amount of money that you would save overall would enable you to waive the shipping fee for large consignments or even repeat consignors.

 

You are never going to get rid of the E-Bay crazies and you know it. The only way to neutralize them is to get as many auto 5 star DSRs as possible. The only way to do that for S&H costs is to offer free shipping. FWIW, I had a guy give me a neutral feedback because I refused to give him positive feedback within my 14 day return period. This is feedback extortion which is prohibited by E-Bay rules but E-Bay never even responded to my complaint.

 

Paul

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