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Ebay "no insertion fee" auctions - good or bad deal? HOW TO LOWER your Ebay fees now

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  • Ebay "no insertion fee" auctions - good or bad deal? HOW TO LOWER your Ebay fees now

    UPDATE: the new fee schedule (April 2010) at Ebay is no listing fee on your first 100 items, and a HEFTY 9% (capped at fifty dollars) for the Final Value Fee (FVF).
    See:
    http://www.modeeworld.com/forums/for...on-fixed-price

    This post is still useful for figuring out how much Ebay gouges you on the FVF on moderately priced items.

    Selling fees

    The usual deal with EBAY is that you pay a small insertion fee
    Selling fees
    for your auctions (ranging from $0.10 to $4.00), and then if it is a typical auction (not fixed price sale), you pay a certain percentage (a "final value fee")
    Selling fees
    based on the end selling price:
    8.75% of the first $25., plus 3.50% of the amount from $25. - $1000., and another 1.50% for any amounts over $1000.

    But lately EBAY is offering this free insertion deal
    Selling fees
    for the first 5 eligible auctions listed during a thirty day period. (Which pretty much means, for most of us, the first five auctions, period.)

    All no insertion fee auctions are charged a final value fee of 8.75% of the entire amount due, or $20., whichever is less.

    Before assessing which auctions are eligible, let's examine whether or not this is even a good deal.

    Now, if you are selling an item under $25., this is a no brainer - since the final value fee is 8.75% either with or without the no insertion fee deal, you will wind up ahead by saving on the insertion fee. So if the item you sell is $25. or less, you naturally want to avoid the insertion fee since the final value fees are the same whether you are placed into the "no insertion fee" category or not.

    And then, if your item is rather expensive, say $2000., then your final value fees in the normal category would definitely be more than $20., so that's a no brainer too - best to get placed into the no insertion fee tier. (Since the maximum final value fee in the "no insertion fee" category is $20.)

    But what if your listing is in between? For example, what if you are selling a $200. item?

    Well, in such a case, in the normal category your fees would come out to:
    $0.35 insertion fee
    $2.19 final value fee for the first $25. @ 8.75%
    $6.13 final value fee for the last $175. @ 3.50%
    For a total of $8.67

    NOW, if you did this under the "no insertion fee" category, your fees would be:

    $0.00 insertion fee
    $17.50 final value fee (8.75% of $200.)

    Now, that is quite a difference! DOUBLE.

    Now the question is, what is the cut off point? At what dollar values is it better to go with the regular auctions versus the no insertion fee auctions (assuming, that is, you have a choice in the matter! - but in some ways, you do! (see below)).

    Well, without getting into the algebra (or calculus depending on how fancy you want to get) needed to determine this quickly, the answer is (assuming an insertion fee of 35 cents):
    Above $31.67, but less than $523.93, you are better off going with the regular auctions.

    So if your auction ends at $31.67, it would cost you the same - $2.77 - either way.

    But if your auction is say, more than $31.67, but less than $523.93,
    let's say, $500., with the no insertion fee method you would pay the maximum $20. (actually $19.99, but for our purposes we will just say $20.) -
    And with the regular way you would pay the $0.35 insertion fee + $2.19 for the first $25., plus $16.63 for the remaining $475. for a total of $19.17

    And the difference between the two forms of auctions gets worse, as noted above, for auctions that are, for example, in the $200. or so range. Some fancy calculus or statistical analysis would show you where the "no listing fee" auctions are the WORST deal, but for our purposes, let's just say that this happens around the $200. range.

    So - considering that the first five auctions during each 30 day period are automatically placed into this "no listing fee" auction fee calculation category,

    SO, if your item is going to sell for more than about $32. but less than about $524., you are better off just paying the listing fee (assuming it is 35 cents) rather than going for the no listing fee deal. The no listing fee auctions become the WORST deal around the $200. closing price range.

    And if your item is over $524., especially much over, you are better off with the no listing fee deal.

    BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, what does this mean to us? If EBAY is going to just pretty much assign the first five of the eligible auction type listings (Except for motor vehicles, real estate and certain types of commercial heavy machinery and equipment) during a rolling thirty day period to these "no listing fee" categories, then what difference does it make if we know for which dollar amount auctions we will wind up ahead, and which we will wind up behind, fee-wise?

    Well, if you sell less than five items per thirty day period - then there is no benefit in knowing or not knowing how your fees will be calculated - all your auctions will end up in the "no listing fee" category.

    BUT, if you list more than five auctions per month (which most all of us, being heavy EBAY sellers do), AND they fall into more than one of the below ranges:
    A. Below $32.
    B. Between $32. to $524. range
    C. Above $524. range,

    (in other words - if you sell items that fall into different price ranges)

    then there are things you can and should do to try and manipulate your listings.

    First of all, if you can figure out which five auctions are being placed into the "no listing fee" category (that is, which are the first five auctions of a given thirty day cycle), you can determine WHICH ORDER you should submit auction listings to try and keep some in or out of the "no listing fee" category.

    AND, if you run multiple EBAY accounts, you might want to stagger the more expensive listings to be sure to land into that "no listing fee" category (and, to try and land OUTside of that category if they are say, around the $200. range especially). In other words, you can use multiple EBAY accounts to your advantage to try and pay lower fees on your auctions.

    Now both of these methods require a bit of work, and they are not worth it unless we are talking about saving some real money. But, first of all, why give EBAY anything more than they deserve?

    I mean, why pay $17.50 fees on a $200. item when all you have to pay is $8.67?

    Or, why pay $66.66 fees on a $3000. item by the regular method when you you could pay the flat rate maximum $20. if it lands in the "no listing fee" category?

    So you can see, that you can save hundreds of dollars if not much more really on an annual basis in EBAY fees (assuming you pay any fees at all - which my methods to not pay fees still seem to work), by just timing your listings the smart way.

    Good luck - and don't ever assume that EBAY has your best interests at heart! when it comes up with these new ways to "pay less fees." Just like gambling games where it appears that the house is giving you an edge (such as, for example, open card blackjack where both of the dealer's cards are dealt face up), at the end of the day the house has figured out some way to wind up ahead. EBAY is no different! So, be careful.
    Please read the forum rules before you post.

    And if you need extra help:
    Modee Tech Support

  • #2
    The latest version of the "no insertion fees" Ebay fees

    Starting March 30, 2010 selling on eBay will be a better deal than ever!

    List Auction-style FREE--no Insertion Fees--when you start your Auction-style listing under $1.

    Get new, lower Insertion Fees for all other start prices.

    Either way, pay one easy Final Value Fee of 9% of the winning bid (but never more than $50)-and pay only if your item sells.

    List in Fixed Price for 50¢, with Final Value Fees for the most part staying the same.
    This new standard fee structure will replace the current "first 5 listings free"--you'll pay no Insertion Fees whenever you list Auction-style and start pricing under $1!*


    In other words, now you can control whether you want the "no insertion fees deal" by putting your starting price above a dollar (say, at $1.01).

    Complete details here
    2016 Spring Seller Update | eBay Seller Center
    Please read the forum rules before you post.

    And if you need extra help:
    Modee Tech Support

    Comment


    • #3
      Ebay making a lot of phone calls lately to explain their new fee schedules

      Especially to PowerSellers, Ebay is making a lot of phone calls lately to offer phone appointments to go over your selling practices and to determine how best to lower your Ebay fees.

      This is a call that could be helpful to you, but just as important, make sure your phones work and are not disconnected or mere voicemails! Missing even one call from EBay or PayPal can result in issues for your account.
      Please read the forum rules before you post.

      And if you need extra help:
      Modee Tech Support

      Comment


      • #4
        Well at the moment, Ebay fees are the low low rate of ten percent! (with a $750. maximum)


        Fees are changing May 1, 2015 (although the ten percent should remain constant)

        Fees and Features | eBay Seller Center

        Starting May 1:
        • Unlimited insertion fee credits for auction-style listings that end in a sale. As an incentive for using the auction-style format successfully, sellers will be credited for the insertion fee on auction-style listings when that item sells (See details).
        • Listing duration and feature fee updates
          • The 10-day duration on auction-style listings will no longer have an added feature fee. Sellers can maximize visibility and enjoy our longest auction-style duration.
          • Sellers who choose 1- or 3-day auction-style listing durations will be charged a $1 special duration feature fee per listing. Charging this fee will help discourage the use of shorter durations where they are least successful.
          • The feature fee for Reserve Price will increase to the greater of $3, or 2% of the reserve price (minimum price that must be met for your item to sell), with a cap of $100. Consider using fixed price with a Best Offer option if you know the market value of your item, but may be willing to accept a lower price.
        • Adjustments to monthly allotment and insertion fees. To complement the unlimited insertion fee credits on auction-style listings that end in a sale†, we’re adjusting the monthly allotments of free listings*—zero insertion fees—for all sellers.
          • All media category items listed in the fixed price format will now have the same insertion fee as other category listings.
          • For sellers with an eBay Stores subscription, the monthly allotments of free listings* will now be dedicated to fixed price listings, and, for listings in Collectibles categories, sellers will receive 100 additional free auction-style listings* per month.
        Some of these changes are good, some, not so good.
        Please read the forum rules before you post.

        And if you need extra help:
        Modee Tech Support

        Comment

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