Why does ebay take a percentage of the shipping cost as a fee?

[mannteuffel]

Why does ebay take a percentage of the shipping cost as a fee?

[kasta504148]

I've recently started selling on eBay and trying to wrap my head around this, because it's a dealbreaker for me.

I sold a $15 book to the US with shipping charges at $30+. That wasn't me inflating the price, that's what it cost to ship. eBay took $9 in fees based on the shipping charges. Since I didn't earn money on shipping, I essentially sold my $15 item for $6. eBay took a 60% cut of my actual sale. That's ludicrous, and I'm now looking for alternative selling methods because I have a whole bunch of items I wanted to sell in that price range but not for 40% of the cost I'm selling for. 

[mrdutch1001]

I shall  repeat what I posted earlier in this thread:"fees on shipping are common for just about any site worth utilizing..."

and IF that is "a dealbreaker " for  you, then best to list and sell'em on FBMarketplace!

[ricarmic]

@kasta504148  It is worth noting that you only pay fees based on the domestic shipping rate. (Note also that one pays fees on the taxes assessed to the buyer too)

For example, I sold a $12 C item to a buyer in Thailand with free shipping to Canada, $13 shipping internationally (except USA $9 and Russia/China $40).

So the buyer paid $13. C shipping costs.

Because my domestic rate is "free" shipping, ie domestic shipping is ZERO I only am charged ebay fees on the original item price, there were no ebay fees for anything else, so in this case I was only charged fees on the $12 item sale price.

This is an often forgotten benefit of "free" domestic shipping. 

[flipistics]

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@ricarmic wrote:

@kasta504148  It is worth noting that you only pay fees based on the domestic shipping rate. (Note also that one pays fees on the taxes assessed to the buyer too)

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Their domestic shipping rates are extremely high too (also $25 to $30 or more).

@kasta504148 , you really need to be buying your labels through eBay or other 3rd party sources. There is a MASSIVE price difference vs over the counter with Canada Post.  For the USA, if you haven't gotten into the international shipping program yet, then you might want to consider not selling there right now or, given your location, using a service like Stallion Express or Chitchats.  

[john_koenig99]

Well...It's still a ZOMBIE THREAD from 2024!

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[mrdutch1001]

Yes, Indeed!

[mrdutch1001]

@kh-shawn 

ZOMBIE THREAD FROM 2024!

[hold-my-chawowah]

Because they can.

[mrdutch1001]

@kh-shawn 

ZOMBIE THREAD FROM 2024>

nothing of relevance being added, so this thread has outrun its usefulness

[kh-shawn]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.