ebay and paypal fees

[boingboing]

Ok I am probably stirring up a hornet's nest and I realise that this subject has surely been discussed here before, apologies if it has. I would simply like some feedback. I sell regularly on ebay, always minor sales - books, cds, dvds etc postage free most items selling for less than £1. I am simply trying to clear some space and am not concerned about making a profit. My argument is this: I am happy to pay listing fees where necessary to ebay, after all I am using their website to sell my items. My main gripe is with the fees I have to pay to Paypal. If I sell a cd single for £0.79 approx. 20pence of that goes to paypal. This does not include any fees to ebay (admittedly much smaller). Cost of posting a cd single in a padded envelope is 50p 1st class (not much less 2nd class). Total profit to me for the transaction is 9pence. I am lucky that I work somewhere where fellow staff are happy to give me their used jiffy bags so at least I don't pay for these but this is not an inexhaustible supply. Like I say I am not in this to make a profit but I am angry that I, like other ebayers, are having to pay 2 different fees to sell an item. I may be wrong but I had heard somewhere that ebay "owned" paypal? Any comments greatly appreciated...thanks!

[AlBags]

I agree .. Ebay (who own Paypal) is not the cheapest place to sell .. but the most likely and easiest, given a time frame.
If you are a private seller .. I think you classify ... Check this
http://www2.ebay.com/...html#2010-04-01143105
That just leaves Paypal fees, which for items selling at less than £1, dear.
How about listing them all with 99p start and using thin cd cases instead of heavier thick ones, using those bubble hard envelopes. That will get postage down. Not sure you can use a realistic low price as a BIN price. A few that actually are after an item will prefer a fixed or BIN price!

[MarkRae]

I do all my selling on Amazon.

[horseshoes]

I sell regularly on eBay too, and what I get annoyed about is that when you pay your Paypal fees you are paying on the total price ie Item + P & P. I don't think that P & P should be liable to Paypal fees.

[hc4361]

PayPal is charged at least 2.5% of the total transaction for processing the payment if a credit or debit card is used, as is every retailer. I don't see why it should be free to the customer. Think how much it could cost to accept payment by cheque, as well as the inconvenience and time.
If you are only making 9p a transaction and just want to clear space, why not donate the stuff to a charity shop?

[sanden]

Can I just add another point about Paypal and Ebay. Last November I purchased 4 tickets for Whitney Houston for next Sunday at the 02. As is normal with concert tickets, I didnt expect to receive them straight away. Over the last month I have tried to contact the seller who has not responded, and I have now found my purchase was not genuine. In other words I have been stitched up for £560!! I have contacted Paypal and ebay and they both state that they only cover up to 45 days after a purchase. I find this really crazy that when purchasing something so far in advance the same rules apply as if I had sent off to buy a jumper or cd. I honestly felt that when making any purchase through paypal that it was totally secure. I just wonder if others thought the same, and were under the impression that Paypal ensured a safe purchase. I have now reported this fraud to the police, and hopefully will get the money back from my credit card, but feel very let down by ebay and paypal. I have bought many tickets in the past, but I definitely will not make another purchase through ebay. Its very annoying, and paypal wont even confirm the ID of the fraudster because of data protection!!!!!

[helpmepls]

WOW!!!!!!!!! My thoughts exactly. PAYPAL are W****er's!!! Lets start a petition...it might work. NO MORE FEE'S!!! or a fee for transactions over a certain amount not for every little transaction.

I got a partial refund from a seller due to false description-paypal even took fee's from my refund!!!

[joko]

the buyer is supposed to pay the postage, not you...you need to add that on

also send the cds in plastic sleeves in a normal envelope, with a piece of card either side - cereal boxes etc.

[boxtops]

joko is right, you should be selling for 99p (if that's what you want) so you get a free listing, but then you should be charging the going rate for postage - I sell a lot of small-value house-clearance stuff on eBay and my standard postage charge is £2.50 - it'snot just for postage, also for buying the jiffy bag or bubble wrap. eBay are quite clear about what you can charge for without going over the top. If teh thing is tiny and finally the postage is say £1.25 then I would refund something to the buyer so as not to get poor charging feedback.
Re sanden's tickets,I'm sorry to hear that but the site is very clear that you have to raise disputes in 45 days, I have had buyers default and been able to reclaim all the cost via the system, but you have to adhere to the timetable which is not unreasonable in my view. I must admit it wouldn't cross my mind to buy something like that from eBay, you don't know the tickets are genuine, you have no redress and there ARE clever scamsters out there selling.
I don't see they are doing anything wrong, so no petition please - before you sign up they make it very clear what you are going to be charged, there are no surprises. I have two ways of getting round the PayPal fees (although I insist on PayPal for overseas transactions) - either people collect on occasion, or sometimes people send me uncrossed postal orders which you can cash straight away. This doesn't happen often but when it does - final fee paid to eBay, you have used their facilities after all, but no PayPal fee.

[boxtops]

^ Can I just make it clear (there was a paragraph in my post not on the site now!) - I don't think PayPal/eBay are doing wrong - it looks like I meant sanden's dodgy sellers, definitely not!

[alavahalf]

So you take a photo...create a listing...upload it, and then answer any questions that may arise during the auction...before wrapping it up, and then adding an address.
Before finaly travelling to the post office and mailing it.....and then making a 9p profit.

Put it in the bin .... it would give you more spare time.

Or better still give it to a Sue Ryder Charity shop. They will register you with gift aid and after your donations have been sold, they write to you telling you exactly how much your items sold for.... and then they will offer you your money back..!

But if you are still intent on making pennies on CDs this will make it a lot simpler...
http://www.musicmagpie.co.uk/index.asp

[smurfchops]

In your listing, type in capitals and bold that you would prefer to be paid by cheque or postal order, instead of Paypal. Then you get out of the fee.