We’ve announced some important changes recently, and we want to take this opportunity to give you more details on these changes, as well as answer any questions you might have.

As you know, Link Giving Works is the dedicated program for charity listings on eBay – sellers can donate part or all of their final sales price to a nonprofit organization of their choice, and buyers can shop for items that support causes that are important to them. Thanks to your generosity, over $81 million has been raised for charity since 2000 from listings sold worldwide!

We hope these changes will enable you to support the causes you care about by listing even more often with eBay Giving Works!

• New lower minimum donation - effective today, 9/14
  
• Adjusted MissionFish deductions for donation processing - effective today, 9/14
  
• New eBay Giving Works Fee Credit Policy - effective 10/1
  

This change is relevant for Community Selling listings only

As we mentioned above, eBay selected MissionFish, a licensed nonprofit service of the Points of Light Foundation, to power the eBay Giving Works program. The area of charitable donations is highly regulated, and we felt it was best to partner with a third-party organization that could be responsible for the complexities of donation processing, nonprofit verification, and providing tax receipts, in order to ensure that together, we could provide you the safest, most efficient cause marketing and fundraising program.

In order to provide these valuable services, MissionFish incurs operational expenses. All nonprofits who participate in the eBay Giving Works program have authorized MissionFish to deduct a small portion of each total donation to offset these expenses.

Until today, MissionFish had deducted a flat amount of $3 to offset operational costs, plus 2.9% for credit card processing fees. Beginning today, (September 14th), they will no longer deduct the flat amount, but rather will move to a sliding scale, with the deduction percentage decreasing as the size of donation increases. The new deduction structure is displayed in this chart:

<table border="1">
<tr>
<td>Donation Amount</td>
<td>MissionFish Deduction</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>$5.00 - $49.99</td>
<td>20% of the donation</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>$50.00 - $199.99</td>
<td>15% of the donation above $50

(+) $10 from the first tier (20%)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>$200.00 - $999.99</td>
<td>10% of the donation above $200

(+) $32.50 from the first two tiers (20%, 15%)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>$1,000 - $4,999.99</td>
<td>5% of the donation above $1,000

(+) $112.50 from the first three tiers (20%, 15%, 10%)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>$5,000+</td>
<td>3% of the donation above $5,000

(+) $312.50 from the first four tiers (20%, 15%, 10%, 5%)

* If the seller pays by check or EFT, the deduction is only 1.5% of the donation above $5,000
</td>
</tr>
</table>

If the Donation Amount is $5.00-$49.90, the MissionFish deduction for processing costs is 20% of the donation amount.

If the Donation Amount is $50.00 - $199.99, the MissionFish deduction for processing costs is 15% of the donation above $50 (+) $10 from the first tier (20%).

If the Donation Amount is $200.00 - $999.99, the MissionFish deduction for processing costs is 10% of the donation above $200 (+) $32.50 from the first two tiers (20%, 15%).

If the Donation Amount is $1,000 - $4,999.99, the MissionFish deduction for processing costs is 5% of the donation above $1,000 (+) $112.50 from the first three tiers (20%, 15%, 10%).

If the Donation Amount is $5,000 or greater, the MissionFish deduction for processing costs is 3% of the donation above $5,000 (+) $312.50 from the first four tiers (20%, 15%, 10%, 5%)... and if the seller pays by check or EFT, the deduction is only 1.5% of the donation above $5,000.

This change is relevant for both Community and Direct Selling listings

We are constantly amazed and awed by the generosity shown by the eBay Community. As we mentioned above, you and your fellow Community members from around the world have raised over $81 million from charity listings since 2000!

We wanted to reward your generosity and encourage more philanthropic efforts. Beginning October 1, eBay will introduce the eBay Giving Works Fee Credit Policy, which will apply to all eBay Giving Works listings that end on or after 12:01 am PT on October 1. Both Community and Direct Selling listings will qualify.

Under this new policy, when a seller creates an eBay Giving Works listing and that item sells, eBay will credit the Insertion and Final Value Fees back to the seller, equal to the percentage of the final sale price that he/she opted to donate. For example, if you donate 30% of your sale price with eBay Giving Works, you’ll get 30% of your Insertion and Final Value Fees back as a credit.

• These credits can not be handled automatically during the listing process, since they are based on the final price. For this reason, sellers will receive a credit to their selling accounts approximately six to eight weeks after the listing ends. (We hope to shorten this timeframe in the future.)
  
  
• For instances in which the fee credit results in a fraction of a cent for the Insertion Fee and/or Final Value Fee, the credit will be applied to the sum of both fees. The invoice will reflect the aggregate fee credit only, not the individual credits.
  
  

  Example:
  
  

  A seller lists a pair of shoes in her eBay Store and elects to donate 10% of the final sale price to a nonprofit. The shoes sell for $80.
  
  

  
  
  Insertion Fee: $0.05
  
  Final Value Fee: $2.96
  
  Total basic selling fees: $3.01
  
  

  Fee credit to seller:
  
  10% x $3.01 = $0.30
  
  

  Sample invoice for the above transaction:
  
  

  Insertion Fee credit: $0.00
  
  Final Value Fee credit: $0.30