eBay is making changes to a number of its optional upgrade fees for private and business sellers.
From 14th August the online marketplace will simplify some fees, which are currently based on an item's listing duration, by introducing a flat rate charge.
Many who use the site for auctions and three- to 10-day ‘buy it now’ listings stand to lose out, however, in some cases the simplification will benefit those that use the 30-day 'buy it now' option.
What’s changing?
Here’s a rundown of what’s changing.
Adding Gallery Plus to listings
The Gallery Plus feature can make your listing stand out from the crowd as it uses a larger picture to display your item when it comes up in eBay’s search results.
This option is free for certain categories like Fashion, Motors, Home and Garden, Furniture & DIY or Pet Supplies and will remain free from 14th August.
But for other categories eBay currently charges 95p for auctions and three-to 10-day ‘buy it now’ listings and £2.85 for 30-day ‘buy it now’ sales.
From 14th August eBay will charge a flat fee of £2.50 for all listings with this added feature, which will be a 35p saving for some but a hike of £1.55 for most others.
Adding a subtitle to listings
Using a subtitle is another way to make your listing stand out as it will display an extra line of descriptive information about your item in search results.
From 14th August the cost of adding a subtitle to auctions or three- to 10-day ‘buy it now’ listings will go up from 35p to £1.
But for those that add this feature on a 30-day ‘buy it now’ listing the cost will drop from £1.05 to £1.
Using the listing designer tool
eBay's listing designer tool helps to improve the look of auctions.
The fee for using it will increase from 7p to 30p for auctions and three- to 10-day 'buy it now' listings, while sellers using 30-day 'buy it now' listings will see the fee increase from 21p to 30p.
Adding ‘Buy it now’ to auctions
The cost of adding a ‘Buy it now’ option to auction listings is going up for all items priced under £25.
Currently the fee is tiered depending on the value you set, regardless of the type of listing. You pay 10p for items priced between 99p and £4.99, 20p for items priced between £5 and £14.99 and 30p for items priced between £15 and £24.99.
But under the changes these fees will be replaced by a flat rate of 50p for all items priced under £25.
The cost of an item listed for £25 or more will remain unchanged at 50p per listing.
Setting a reserve price
The fee charged for setting a reserve price on a listing, which ensures an item doesn’t sell for less than you want, is going up from 3.5% to 4% of the final sale price.
But the total amount you can be charged per listing will remain capped at £150.
Ending auctions early
Currently eBay will allow one auction to be ended early without charge each year. But from 14th August it will allow any auction to be cancelled within 24 hours of being listed. Those that wish to end an auction after 24 hours will have to pay a final value fee capped at £75 (although this is increasing massively to £250 from 1st September, see below) on the highest bid placed.
Other changes
It’s also worth mentioning that eBay is increasing the cap on its final value selling fees for both private and business sellers, from £75 to £250 from 1st September.
For private sellers (which are charged a 10% final value fee) this means they face higher charges for selling an item for more than £750, while business sellers (which are charged an 8% final value fee) will pay more for items that sell over £937.50.
Should I stick with eBay?
The latest fee revamp follows other changes including eBay reducing the number of free listings from 100 to 20 for private sellers and including postage costs in its final value fee.
So if you’re fed up with the rising cost of using the online marketplace take a look at Sell for less: the alternatives to eBay.
But if you want to stick with eBay and want some selling tips take a look at How to sell successfully with eBay.
More on selling online:
Private eBay sellers now face fees on postage
eBay, Amazon, Play.com: where to sell online for less
MusicMagpie vs eBay: how to earn more selling old clothes