eBay "Buyer Protection" (New charges for buyers)

Hostile_18

Hostile_18

Hostile_18

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I knew no fees was too good to be true and wouldn't last.

Just received this email;
We recently changed our fee structure, so it's now free for private sellers to sell, and there are no barriers for you to list the items buyers will love. As part of this change, we're launching Buyer Protection to give buyers more confidence and security when shopping.

We wanted to share what this means for you and your buyers. From 4 Feb, a fee will be included in the item price when purchasing from private sellers, but buyers will only ever pay what they see, so there are no surprises at checkout.

What's great about Buyer Protection
We've added benefits to give buyers more peace of mind when shopping:

•24/7 customer support: Buyers can connect with a real person by phone at any time of day, or start a chat to get quick answers.

•Seller paid after delivery: When buying from private sellers, funds will only be sent once their item has been delivered.

We've also still got buyers covered with other great free services like eBay Money Back Guarantee and Authenticity Guarantee.*

How the Buyer Protection fee works
•The fee will be included in the item price from private sellers, so there are no surprises at checkout.

•Buyers will pay up to 4% of the item price, plus £0.75.** For example, when they see an item for £20, the fee of £1.49 will already be part of the price.

•The fee is lower on higher-priced items over £300, and there's a cap on the total amount they'll pay.

•For items from business sellers, they'll get the Buyer Protection benefits at no extra cost.

Learn more about the Buyer Protection fee

How we're improving things for private sellers
As part of our ongoing mission to be the best marketplace for buyers and sellers, we recently announced:

•It's free to sell (excl. Vehicles) so you can bring buyers more of the things they love.

•It's simpler to list so you can get your items out faster.

•It's easier to get your items to buyers with the launch of Simple Delivery.

Now, to give your buyers even more confidence when shopping, UK-based private sellers will be paid after item delivery, from 4 Feb. Your funds will be available in your eBay balance two days after delivery confirmation.*** We know it's important to get your money fast, so we recommend using a tracked delivery service either through Simple Delivery, or arranging for local collection.

Learn more about what's changing for sellers

We're also updating our User Agreement to reflect the Buyer Protection service. If you have any questions or concerns, just get in touch—we're here to help.

Thanks for being part of the eBay community.
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I'm confused, does that mean the seller has to pay extra, or that the price is factored into the buyer?

Basically means everything on eBay just got a bit more expensive?
 
BUDFORCE said:
I'm confused, does that mean the seller has to pay extra, or that the price is factored into the buyer?

Basically means everything on eBay just got a bit more expensive?
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This may help, crossed posted from the other thread:

LiE said:
Here we go eBay, the master plan has been revealed!


How the Buyer Protection fee works

  • The fee will be included in the item price from private sellers, so there are no surprises at checkout.
  • Buyers will pay up to 4% of the item price, plus £0.75.** For example, when they see an item for £20, the fee of £1.49 will already be part of the price.
  • The fee is lower on higher-priced items over £300, and there's a cap on the total amount they'll pay.
  • For items from business sellers, they'll get the Buyer Protection benefits at no extra cost.
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BUDFORCE said:
I'm confused, does that mean the seller has to pay extra, or that the price is factored into the buyer?

Basically means everything on eBay just got a bit more expensive?
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I imagine its going to be that say if you sell an item for £20, ebay will add "upto 4%" + 75p that the buyer pays and ebay will pocket for themself.

So your listing will end up costing the buyer £22 or whatever so i assume all goods will cost more for buyers and sellers will find it harder to sell goods.
 
So it went from free, to now buyers will have to pay a fee each sale of 4%!? They state it is included in the live price so how will that work for 99p no reserve auctions? The 99p will actually go live showing as 99p + 4% + 75pence? Or it goes live as 99p but it's actually truly less? What about offers sent? You offer £20 for something...does the seller see £20 as the offer but it's actually 4% + 75pence less or will we see the true value to the seller?

With these changes it also sounds like as a private seller we now pretty much have to use expensive tracked deliveries each time to prove to ebay the item is indeed delivered so we can get our money released? Unless the buyer can manually update that it is in fact delivered?
 
This is what vinted do.

I wonder how much I can sell in January?

On plus side it's 4pc not 10 percent like before.
But there will probably be no 80pc off listing days. Which was only time I sold.

So really basically yes. They have shifted fees from buyers to sellers.
If you sell something for 99.99..to try and sell under 100. It'll actually appear as 103.99 to buyers?

As a seller I think this is worse.
 
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It’s far better for a seller than the previous 10% though it would have been better if they left it as it is currently. If there’s buyer protection to be had the buyer should pay for it. I guess the buyer scams need to be covered by eBay somehow.
 
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Hostile_18 said:
Good point been made on the site;

What is the legal standing forcing people to buy "Customer Protection" when we already have those rights by law?
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They can call it whatever they want, they describe it as being for:

•24/7 customer support: Buyers can connect with a real person by phone at any time of day, or start a chat to get quick answers.
•Seller paid after delivery: When buying from private sellers, funds will only be sent once their item has been delivered.

Not sure I'd wrap that up in a label called Customer Protection but gotta give a price rise a marketable name.
 
TonTom said:
It’s far better for a seller than the previous 10% though it would have been better if they left it as it is currently. If there’s buyer protection to be had the buyer should pay for it. I guess the buyer scams need to be covered by eBay somehow.
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Yeah, definitely better than the 10-12% that was in place before - but it's definitely going to impact some buyers 'buying' something for X price and then messaging to cancel because they suddenly have an additional few quid to pay.

The other part that I didn't like was that the payout now only occurs a few days after delivery is confirmed too. Does that mean the buyer has to confirm delivery in order for the seller to receive the payout? I already ship using tracked (and typically swallow those costs as part of selling on eBay and make the shipping free for the buyer) but am I now dependent on the buyer then confirming item receipt?

If it's going to be anything like feedback, I sometimes wait 30+ days for a buyer to leave feedback on a received item.
 
There's a lot of small item sellers upset as 75p+ 4% + tracked delivery adda up to quite a lot.

Someone said on Reddit (so take with a grain of salt) that according to the terms and conditions if you don't send tracked ebay hold your money for 14 days.
 
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