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Thursday, February 7

Ebay fee increase bad for artist

Well last week eBay announced some changes in fees and feedback. The new fees mean an increase for most sellers in the amount that eBay takes from each auction. Additionally, sellers will no longer be able to leave feedback for buyers. Here is an example of how the fee increase will look (borrowed from Ebay Morons Galore!)

Item starting at $9.99, ends at $17:

CURRENT FEES:

listing fee: .40
gallery: .35
FVF: .89

total: $1.64

FUTURE FEES:

listing fee: .35
gallery: free
FVF: 1.49

total: $1.84

Difference: $.20

eBay is becoming less and less friendly for self-represented artists, who are supporting themselves with their art. This confirms that my decision to move to Etsy as a wise one, and I don't think I will be going back. Etsy is only one of many other online sales sites seeing an increase in new members since eBay made their announcement. Online Auctions is another auction format site that has been welcoming former eBayers with open arms. They even graciously created a category specifically for OOAK dolls.

Feel free to leave a comment and let me know how are eBay's new fees going to effect you. Will you be sticking with eBay, or looking for a new home?

There will be a worldwide boycott of eBay starting Feb 18-25th. Click here for more information.

4 comments:

luminarumbra said...

I don't really buy a lot of stuff online as it is, but as far as art stuffs go, I'd rather do it through Etsy or deviantArt, or if the option is available, directly from the seller. eBay, for all its convenience, has always been sketchy with their products. You can never be quite sure what you want is what you will be getting.

BabesbyBarb said...

Megan I agree about Ebay and not only the price hikes they are doing away with the sellers right to leave negative feedback for the buyers that
dont pay or take forever to pay or any other reason you may need to do this. I sell on Ebay also and have never left a negative nor have I got one but I feel like it should be equal on both sides if I cant leave them one they should not be able to leave me one either especially since they are now using the feedback to decide whether or not paypal can hold your funds for up to 21 days and also if you have feedback dsr ratings below 95 they will not put your auctions up there with the others instead they take your listing fees and bury it behind all of the ones with good dsr ratings now this is bad business.
I have also been looking for other sites to sell on and like Etsy, Bidsville, Online Auction and the one I am most excited about is a new one created just for artists called Morethan-Dolls it is absolutely free to list there with no final value fees or listing fees and is an auction type also.
I will also be honoring the strike on ebay and hope that this will make them realize that we the people created them why do they want to shaft their sellers like this if they all left who would the buyers buy from
thanks for this post
barb

Megan said...

Good point about the feedback, Barb. It is very distressing and I have to say I don't have much faith that the feedback changes will lead to any good.

Anonymous said...

If you're a eBay seller and you're not getting the results you want and you are tired of paying fees, then it makes sense to take a look at other options.

Online classifieds are a great choice for casual eBay sellers who want a quick turnaround and profit on the goods they sell.

It's important to list your items in as many different places as possible - you just never know what website is going to be your key to success and sales. Luckily posting on classifieds website is quick and easy - if you spend a little time to post each week, you'll soon have exposure to a large number of potential customers.

If you are a small business or store or a casual eBay seller looking for free alternatives to eBay, then I encourage you to visit http://whypayfees.info for more information.

Why pay fees? Sell for free!
http://whypayfees.info