Passing On Ebay Fees To Buyers? - Page 2

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Author	Replies: 22 / Views: 2,683	Page: of 2

texasmick Pillar of the Community United States 751 Posts	Posted 06/24/2006 11:08 am This is the most blatant example I've seen yet: "I will accept paypal if you add the (2% fee or $1.50) whichever is greater, that I get charged to collect my money." http://cgi.ebay.com/1901-BARBER-HAL...cmdZViewItem Report this Post to the Staff
Bigfella Pillar of the Community Australia 853 Posts	Posted 06/24/2006 11:32 am I do not know the law fully in the US but in Australia it is illegal under competition laws for anyone to tell another what they can or can not charge. It is therefore illegal under Aussie law for ebay to specify in their user agreement or to shut down auctions that charge paypal fees or high rates of shipping. ebay being an offshore company (although trading via internet in Australia on the Australian ebay site) get away with it. This shows the morals of ebay who will take measures to disregard the law in the country they operate in. Whether charging high postage or paypal fees is moral or ethical is another question I will not answer but the bottom line is either factor those costs into your bid amount or do not bid. The question everyone here needs to asks themselves is whether they will deal with ebay when they are trying to charge a seller for over $400 of ebay fees for services they have not provided. They are in clear breach of the Australian Trade Practices act by charging for services not provided and have now suspended the seller from ebay for not paying for the services they did not provide. A seller that charges a paypal fee or high postage costs will generally still send you the item you paid for. ebay on the other hand will bill you for something they have not provided!!!! Report this Post to the Staff
SsuperDdave Moderator United States 23522 Posts	Posted 06/24/2006 2:46 pm quote: Originally posted by texasmick This is the most blatant example I've seen yet: "I will accept paypal if you add the (2% fee or $1.50) whichever is greater, that I get charged to collect my money." http://cgi.ebay.com/1901-BARBER-HAL...cmdZViewItem That's completely contrary to ebay and Paypal rules. Did you report the auction, by chance? Report this Post to the Staff
texasmick Pillar of the Community United States 751 Posts	Posted 06/24/2006 3:01 pm quote: Originally posted by SuperDave That's completely contrary to ebay and Paypal rules. Did you report the auction, by chance? I did not. I thought I'd bring it to the attention of this board as a starter. Report this Post to the Staff
toast Pillar of the Community Australia 1091 Posts	Posted 06/24/2006 9:52 pm It seems what people are complaining about is the additional expenses added to the final bidding price. Some auction houses have a buyers fee of up to 19.5% of the final bid price. So if you bid $100 you pay 119.50. In the USA when you go to a shop and buy a hundred dollars worth of goods and go to the checkout, they add any city, state, or whatever tax and you end up paying more than what the cost of the items shown on the price tag. In Australia, The price tag is the final price. Take off the shelf $100 worth of goods and that is what you pay at the checkout. The taxes are already in the Price shown. Now If ebay made it that the minimum bid of your auction covered your ebay fees, your postage and handleing, paypal fees, etc, etc. Then the price you bid for an item would be more expensive to start with, but you would have certainty as to the price you need to pay. ebay probably don't like the idea that the item seem more expensive and therefore less will bid. In fact the hidden fees (undisclosed P&H) just catch the unwary. People think in round numbers. You may think I'll pay $100 for that and end up paying $119.50. As a buyer only, I'd prefer to know that my final bid is all that it will cost me. Report this Post to the Staff
Bigfella Pillar of the Community Australia 853 Posts	Posted 06/25/2006 10:02 pm Toast...what you say is in a world where there is no such things as postage etc. There are always addons such as postage. I do whole heartedly agree with you that all addons...such postage...need to be advertised clearly in the auction. What still gets me here is that everyone shows more than enough concern to the point where it is almost obsessive when it comes to adding extras to final prices on ebay. At least they are advertised. ebay and paypal have stolen from me yet the thread continues without one comment. It appears a paypal fee is a huge crime while ebay overcharging sellers incorrectly and refusing to refund is not. People are happy to boycott a seller that charges a paypal fee which only attempts to cover their cost of selling (not that I agree with it) but ebay blatantly rips a seller off and noone will boycott ebay. What are people more concerned about here...a small paypal fee that is advertised to covers the costs of the seller or a large multi national company that does not advertise they rip people off. Report this Post to the Staff
greekandromancoins Valued Member Australia 205 Posts	Posted 06/26/2006 03:24 am It is not a good practice at all from ebay's perspective. Why? ebay loses money. How is this possible? Well suppose in a perfect market I listed a coin worth $20, and the ebay fees were l $2. If this $2 would be passed on to the buyers, informed bidders would only bid up to a maximum of $18. Thus ebay loses their percentage from the final value fee (x% x $2). As seller's, if this practice became somehow "legal", we would benefit in the short run. In the long run, ebay would simply raise their fees. Passing ebay fees to buyers is a negative sum game: Sellers gain but buyers lose and ebay loses--> thus sellers ultimately lose in long run. Just a little off-topic here: I listed an item today on ebay with featured, border, gallery etc because it is a high value item. Fees were $US 32. That doesn't include Final Value and paypal fees. However, if I were to consign the coin to an auctionhouse, they would take around 20% commission off Final Value, so I guess around $38 total is not bad. I'm not saying ebay doesn't overcharge sellers (they do), but just adding a little perspective. --Peter Report this Post to the Staff
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