Think you are quite right about this.

Bobbie

I used to sell and quit last time they raised their fees.

I went into the affiliate business. I'm one of the many who actually send people to your listings through website links - or should I say "was" one of them.

ePN (eBay's affiliate program) has been screwing us since last year, changing their commissions awarded to us. In their favor, of course.

Being a member of many forums for affiliates, I can tell you that thousands have removed links to eBay and have converted sites once dedicated to eBay listings into Amazon sites, or other companies that sell products.

We thought it was just stupidity on the ePN side. Now it seems that they have taken it to a new level. Not only are they losing those who drive traffic to eBay, but they are losing those who sell the actual products, as well.

I've never seen such a good company so intent on self-destruction. In trying to become another Amazon.com they are forgetting the foundation of the business that made them a giant. Unique items that are hard to find at a cheap price. Yard sale, garage sale, and attic items.

eBay is going to be left with nothing but cheap Chinese knockoff items.

I have 640 items x .03= $19.20. NEW fees 640 x .20= $128.
Difference of 108.80 MORE per month!!! I called Ebay support and ask to speak to someone with the STORES. I was told that I could ONLY talk to them on LIVE HELP! Ask if someone could call me, answer was NO! to go to Live help.
I will NOT be buying anymore NEW STOCK!

After surviving the hardest year I have ever had, I had high hopes of just maybe rebuilding and starting over. I have closed down other websites, stopped advertising, and cut my inventory just to make it by. Now with a slight chance of rebuilding, I ordered new inventory and based my budget by the information I had in January. This increase and change in fee is now going to kill my business. The changes are going to cause my slowest months in the year to actually cost me about the same as my busiest month in the past. I will be lucky to brake even. I survived the storm, but the snow plow ran me over.

Unfortunately, Mr. Ebay...you can talk about your free insertion, or .20 all you want you are still raising our FVF to insane amounts, enough so to run off a lot of sellers, that can't pay you 9% or 8.75 + store fees, and still make much of a profit.

So, even though your insertion fees might be free, you are providing a different type of "insertion" that none of your sellers want!

I re-ran my December & January invoices line by line with the new fee structure.... I run 80-120 auctions a month combined with about 10 FP30 listings and about 1,350 store listings and have a basic store. I'm top-rated and get the 20% discount... Nov 15 - Jan 15 Current Fees: $477.35 Option 1 - Keep Basic Store New Fees: $877.42 (increase of 83%) due primarily to store listing fees moveing from $.03 / $.05 / $.10 to $.20 per insertion... Option 2 - Upgrade to Premium Store New Fees: $565.62 (increase of 19%) due primarily to increase in monthly store fee from $15 to $50 and increase in FVF's Option 3 - Upgrade to Anchor Store New Fees: $1,036.68 (increase of 117%) due primarily to increase in monthly store fee from $15 to $300 Obviously option 2 is the "best"......I just have to decide if having the listings searchable in core is worth 19% more in fees assuming everything else remains constant.

Roblin's Garage - Classic Auto Salvage Demorestville, Ontario, CANADA

i am similar to you with just more items.

i think i will save about $400 per month

Responding to 113:

Hey, I admitted it: I was dumb!

You pay more, you get more. That's a principle I understand. My point, perhaps stated poorly, was that the pink reply diminished the value of the (arguably) stingy thing I have -- not very diplomatic.

Also, my own searches included stores, so I never felt that as a buyer I was missing opportunities. I imagine most savvy buyers turn on the option to search stores.

As for you paying 35 cents each in order to obtain a competitive advantage, you will now be competing with millions of others who upgrade from 3 cents to 5 cents. Our increase in costs might be covered by an increase in sales. But your decrease in costs might be lessened by a decrease in sales, which would occur because of the all the newly arriving former 3-centers.

Again, eBay has the right, etc., etc. But the spin they put on it is most amusing.

Responding to the pink reply above:

Is eBay admitting that the 3-cent listings have been essentially worthless and discriminated against in buyer searches?

It would seem so, since we're being told that a 20-cent listing will make an item more visible.

I guess I was a little bit dumb to think that I could trust eBay to give me something for my meager, but assured $40 per month for 800 items.

Now the 800 items will cost me $90 per month, and eBay is comforting me with the thought that my years of $40 were a waste of money -- NOW eBay will come through for me!

Well, even this is not such a comfort: If eBay is making many MILLIONS of former 3-cent items more visible, along with mine being made more visible, then my competitive situation is the same.

I will be saving 25% on my fees. We list all FP35 listings, to increase exposure. Did .03 store inventory listings in our other store, and didn't like them at all. Currently (based on 1000 items per month, which is our average): 1000 x .35 = $350 plus $16 for basic store = $366 New Structure: 1000 x .05 = $50 plus $50 for premium store = $100 Our average Ebay bill including FVF is $1050 per month. Our FVF have not changed (clothing, shoes, accessories). So new total will be less than $800. HUGE savings for us.

Check out my cooking blog: http://cookingupsomethingspecial.blogspot.com/

I've been selling via auction since 9-08 and auction/store combo since 1-09. (Space-Coast-Vintage!!) Using the fee illustrator my monthly cost wil be $64 if I dont subscribe to the basic store format., and $66 if I keep my "Basic" store. The $66 estimate is calculated using a very modest anticipation in sales increasing and reducing my store inventory from 100 items (all the $5 stuff) to 50 items (stuff with an asking price of $10 give or take) .
My heart goes out to the countless peple who depend on eBay as their main income. Reading all their comments is alarming! I do this as a hobby with plans to increase my sales and inventory as my experience and ambition allows. Its appalling to read some of the comments left behind by selfish and inconsiderate sellers who glot and brag "sweet, sweet, sweet!" etc.
The only silver lining I can see to any of this , for me and hopefully for others, is that this change will cause me to explore other venues and possibly change completely or at least diversify to Amazon, Bonazle, Ranch or one of the other online sale sights.
P.S. Auctiva is a great 3rd party listing sight I pay $9.99 monthly for their service and think its well worth it!
Good luck and Best Wishes to all those suffering through this. Hopefully I will see you on the otherside be it here or our next online selling opportunity.
Jerry "thewalzexperience" Walz

well for me I am going to river where the water taste like wine and jump in the water and stay drunk all the time