Couldn't believe the fee....

I had a 100 pack of $2 bills the other day and I put them up on ebay... bidding got up to $248 and I thought, "wow" --- I just made $48!! Well this evening I was looking at my ebay account and there was a fee for $23! Now, I haven't SOLD anything substantial on ebay for a long time. I was shocked to find this to be the fee for selling those $2 bills. 9%!!!! wow.... Now I know why all the sellers are whining all the time and coin prices are high...

I guess I'm grateful the bidding went as high as it did or I'd have lost money!!

Is it just me or is ebay greedy? $23 commission for a $248 sale? They lost my business...

 

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Don`t forget that ebay owns paypal now as well....which negates the possibility of someone starting another online auction house to undercut ebay.

 

yes, in response:
eBay has become a bunch of pigs with their fees.

 

Feebay, I know the feeling but it is still the best place to sell coins !

 

GDJMSP, I was actually looking into one auction house here in Europe and the fee´s there were just redicilous. 20% added to price of auction. Both for seller and buyer. And that´s not even getting you in the catalog. So your right maby when you think ebay stinks you should remeber that it´s still the biggest croud you cand find in one place.

 

I'll count my blessings everyday I wake up and see the sunrise, kiss my children goodbye to school, and get on with my day.... ebay I'll complain...

 

:yes:

 

Remember, in my experience when buying at most auction houses there is a buyers as well as a sellers premium invloved. I know ebay can be a huge pain but for the small collector it is still the easiest place to buy and sell coins (but be carefull)

 

:thumb:

 

ebid.net isn't bad. There are some other auction sites that are gaining popularity due to how ebay treats it's sellers, not just fees, but feedback and other issues.

 

Yep, the big auction houses are definitely in the business to make money.
In large part the larger fees are because of advertising, particularly publishing and mailing their glossy auction catalogs.

I'm old enough to remember when there was ONLY a seller's fee and it was 10%.
But as time went by and expenses grew that percentage went to 15%, then 20%.
Then seller's quit consigning.
So the auction houses split the fee, 10% to the seller and 10% to the buyer.
Not surprisingly business picked up but bids got lower (buyers taking into account their fee).
Now it appears 15% to each is the norm.

eBay is now about where the auction houses were about 30 years ago.
I'm sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I can see eBay splitting the fees between the buyer and seller in the future.
The seller volume is dropping.

 

The average joe, seller is fortunate to break even. It takes a very Savvy ( buyer/seller ) to make money after all is said and done. One would do better , to consider joining that local coin club and participate in their auction nights .

 

Does that $23 include the Listing fee or is that just the final value fee? And don't forget the 3% paypal fee of $7.44

The last few European auctions I've bid in have had a 20% buyers fee. But I still have an advantage over the European collectors that are bidding. I don't have to pay the 15 - 17% Value Added Tax. If I lived in Britain I would have to pay fees and tax of 35% of the hammer price.

 

For me, Ebay provides a way for me as a small collector, to sell some coins at a bigger profit than working with a auction house.
I approached an major on-line auction house a few years back to sell some of my coins. After all was said and done I sold most of them on ebay for quite of bit more than what the auction house indicated I could received for them after their take.

 

Those fees are really rather cheap. When I buy on Heritage, not only am I paying the standard 15% buyers fees that everyone pays, but Heritage has now started charging us Californian's our state's share of 8.25% as well, plus an additional 2% local tax. So, I get to pay an added 25.25%. I don't complain about Ebay's 9% at all.
Guy

 

Remembrance Of A Wonderful Experience

Those were the days!! I also remember when you could really locate some nice coins in major international auctions (e.g. Heritage Auctions) at a fair market price without exorbitant fees. The selection was awesome!! How things have changed!!

As I read the whining complaints concerning eBay, and as an eBay Power Seller having just discussed some critical issues with customer service, I realize that eBay is metamorphosing, alike other internet auction venues where "competitive" products are virtually unavailable.

While discussing critical buyer/seller interface matters with the eBay portion of the organization dedicated to assisting "top performers", I asked why like eBid, the eBay organization had removed the general telephone access number from their help section. I was informed that they were inundated by calls from individuals who generally weren't preferred eBay buyers/sellers, who just wanted to "vent". Their system had become overloaded, not allowing preferred customers to access assistance, with wait times extending to double digit minutes, approaching an hour.

It appears that in the not to distant future, eBay customer service will only be accessible through the "chat line", generally alike eBid and other internet sites.

It also logically appears that future availability of the competitive products currently available on eBay will be relegated to browsing at coin shows, and negotiating with dealers. I personally still enjoy the opportunities available through eBay, and hope the malcontents will locate another target for their general unrealistic expectations.

:hail:

 

I hate ebay's fees, but at the end of the day I'm grateful that it exists because if we didn't have ebay, most of us would have a lot of junk coins lying around the house and we wouldn't be able to get such good deals on some of the pieces in our collections.

 

I think it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. A Sellers net P&L depends on their buying capabilities. I think for the most part, though I may be incorrect, that the majority of EBAY sellers are not coin business Dealers. They are the average folk, who for whatever reason is selling part or all of their inherited coins or personal collections. While sellers try to pass on a good portion of the costs associated with a sale, there is a tipping point where a seller must absorb a large percentage of those costs. Personally, I know of no one who makes consistent " profits. " with each and every sale . Overall, EBAY sellers pay a big price for marketing their coins. For the market reach, EBAY is presently the best there is, taking into account the auction houses require a minimum dollar value for consigning in their auctions.