eBay UK Introducing "Buyer Protection" Fee on Buyers of Private Seller Items. How Long until It Hits eBay AU?

endotherm on 04/01/2025 - 05:42
Last edited 04/01/2025 - 05:51

I just received the following from eBay UK (I have bought from there in the past). It's due to start in February.

We’re committed to making it easier for you to shop, and recently changed our fee structure, so it's free to sell for private sellers. This means they can bring you more of the items you love.

As part of this commitment, we’re launching Buyer Protection to give you even more confidence and security when shopping on eBay. From 4 Feb, a fee will be included in the item price when you buy from private sellers, but you’ll only ever pay what you see, so there are no surprises at checkout.

What’s great about Buyer Protection
We’ve added benefits to give you more peace of mind when shopping:
• 24/7 customer support: You 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 your item has been delivered.

We’ve also got you 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.
• You’ll pay up to 4% of the item price, plus £0.75. For example, when you see an item for £20, the fee of £1.49 will already be part of the price (their FAQ page example for a £20 item actually shows it as £1.55, and it is an additional fee, not included in the £20 price like our GST prices).
• The fee is lower on higher-priced items over £300, and there's a cap on the total amount you'll pay.
• For items from business sellers, you’ll get the Buyer Protection benefits at no extra cost.

So a win for private or business sellers, but the buyer gets screwed paying an additional fee if you buy from a private seller. Your £20 purchase is now £21.49 (actually £21.55).

Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me, and will put off buyers using the platform. Trying to sell it as a win for buyers is also laughable.

I wonder if eBay Australia has any plans to implement something similar?

General Discussion

Related Stores

eBay UK
eBay UK

Comments

  • MS Paint on 04/01/2025 - 07:36

    Unlikely as eBay Australia still charges a hefty FVF to private sellers.

    Unlike the UK

    it's free to sell for private sellers

    • Lichen6420 on 04/01/2025 - 09:20

      Off the top of my head it worked out to about 11% for the last couple of items i sold privately.

      UK model is up to 4% on the buyer so it's a net loss for eBay.

      • MS Paint on 04/01/2025 - 09:44
        +3

        My experience says it's closer to 13.5%

        • Alx75 on 06/01/2025 - 08:23
          +1

          Yep, it's 13.6% by my calculations. It's criminal that the postage cost is also included in the calculation.

        • blitz on 06/01/2025 - 10:31
          +1

          My calculations indicate 13.65%

  • MrThing on 04/01/2025 - 07:51
    -4

    People still use ebay?

    its just copy pasta Chinese crapola made from chinesium

    • askbargain on 04/01/2025 - 08:55

      who did ebay copy?

    • Cluster on 04/01/2025 - 10:45

      Yes, I use eBay to sell coins, banknotes, collectables, and other items. Ali/Temu/etc do not stock anything I have.

    • Protractor on 04/01/2025 - 14:27

      "People still use ebay?"

      Their bottom line indicates,yes.

  • Ocker on 04/01/2025 - 09:00

    How do they define a "private seller"?
    For example, we have an eBay store to sell products so would we excluded from the "no fees for sellers" deal?
    If so, then given we would still pay the 13% sellers fee we would be at a pricing disadvantage vis-a-vs a private seller that pays no fees.

    • askbargain on 04/01/2025 - 09:14

      how do you run a store but still don't understand this simple concept of buyer pays fee instead of seller. if buyer is paying the fee, sellers have to lower their prices

      • Ocker on 04/01/2025 - 09:51

        I have run a very successful store for over 15 years fyi !!!
        Seems my simple question was too simple for you.
        So lets put it another way and maybe you will grasp the issue as I see it.
        If the private seller can, and does lower the selling price then they will have a competitive advantage over a seller that will incur fees of 13%.

        • askbargain on 04/01/2025 - 10:00

          to the buyer, it would be the 'same' price?, so what competitive advantage would the private seller have?

          • Protractor on 04/01/2025 - 14:28

            @askbargain: On one level it may eventually reduce or eliminate over time the habit of small sellers creating disposable dupes of shops to sell small cheap tosh.

          • Ocker on 04/01/2025 - 18:01

            @askbargain: Using an input price of $10.00m and a selling price of $20.00 as an example.
            A "non private seller" would pay eBay selling fees of $2.95, giving the seller a gross profit of $7.05
            A "private seller" can undercut the "non private seller" and sell the same product for (say) $19.00, giving a gross profit of $9.00

            • askbargain on 04/01/2025 - 19:07

              @Ocker: Because the buyer might pay $20 instead of $19 + fees?

              • Ocker on 04/01/2025 - 19:23

                @askbargain: So, the private seller lists the item for $17.50 - for a gp of $7.50.
                The buyer pays $17.50 plus fees of $1.45, a total cost of $18.95.
                Who is the typical buyer going to get the product from - a non private seller at $20.00, or a private seller at $18.95?

    • Lichen6420 on 04/01/2025 - 09:21
      +1

      I am sure a private seller would have a small item limit per month of zero fee sales… say 5-10 items.

    • endotherm on 04/01/2025 - 09:30

      https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/fe…

      I don't think it is updated yet to reflect the changes for next month. If you have a store, you would be considered a business seller.

  • Cluster on 04/01/2025 - 10:49
    +1

    This is a non starter in Australia. Buyers hate extra fees.

    Paying the seller only when an item is delivered is a terrible idea for me. I sell many items via untracked letter delivery. There is no confirmation eBay can automatically use to give me the money.

    I sent at item by express post to a buyer on 30 December. Its been waiting in their PO Box since 31 December for pick up. As of 4 January, they still haven't picked it up. Why should I, as a seller, wait for my money because the buyer is away on holidays?

    • MS Paint on 04/01/2025 - 14:39

      This is currently the case in Australia for new accounts. A while back I opened a second account to take advantage of the $10 deal and a bunch of fee free listings/free postage labels. Saved a fortune but…..

      eBay would not release the funds to me until the item was marked as delivered. All of my items had tracking but I recall there was a time frame as well for non trackable items (perhaps 2 weeks?) to give the buyer a chance to complain.

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