What, exactly, is included in ebays final value fees?

[bargainbasement101]

I know the items selling price and shipping charges.  But do sales tax get included?  I ask because last month was horrendous for me in sales.  So much, ebay  took money out of my  bank account to cover their charges.

My gross was a lousy $151.00. My net after they took their share was $39.18. That net does NOT include my cost of goods.   Looking back through my records, I have been losing money for the last 8 months.

My bank statement shows, without buying merchandise), has been dropping steadily for 8 months, instead of increasing.

HHHHHHEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLP_P_P_P_P_P_P_P_P_P_P_P_P_, I am drowning.

[mtgraves7984]

I know the items selling price and shipping charges.  But do sales tax get included?

@bargainbasement101 

Yes... FVFs are imposed on the total sale. Item + s&h + sales tax (if applicable). 

[solidguitar1961]

it is charged on the complete sale price . Price + shipping + Tax

[buyselljack2016]

per a "help &contact" search

Selling fees | eBay

[redlinear]

What's included in eBay final value fees?

[rosszonebricks]

One example from your store that also doesn't help with 'bleeding money':

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225767281465

$3.99 + free shipping.

3.99 sale price

0.28 sales tax (based on 7%)

----

4.27 is what a buyer would pay.

-4.26 (estimated from WA to NC) 4 oz Ground Advantage

-0.57 FVF

-0.30 per transaction fee.

------

-0.86 LOSS

And that doesn't even include CoGs.

[kensgiftshop]

On those cheaper items, when the shipping is almost as much as the item, you're not going to make much if anything.

[mtgraves7984]

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@redlinear wrote:

What's included in eBay final value fees?

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@redlinear 

Very, very good. But let's not confuse the OP... those drain stoppers  are NOT included. 🤣

[soh.maryl]

eBay's Final Value Fee (paid by the seller to eBay) is calculated on the item price charged to the buyer, the shipping cost and the state sales tax, if any, and, in most categories, is about 13.25%.  

The "cost of goods", by which I assume you mean the amount the seller paid to obtain the item that he then sold to a buyer, has no play at all in eBay's Final Value Fee.  The shipping cost paid by the buyer to the seller is used by the seller to pay the cost of shipping the item to the buyer.  The state sales tax, based on the buyer's delivery address, is paid by the buyer to the seller and is then remitted by eBay to the treasury department of the appropriate state.  

[jameshen1 · Accepted solution]

If you have been losing money for 8 months and just now noticed that, you need to stop and change everything about your business plan. 

[luckythewinner]

What, exactly, is included in ebays final value fees?

The eBay fee schedule explains exactly how fees are calculated.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822

Teach a man to fish ...

Looking back through my records, I have been losing money for the last 8 months.

It's a shame you did not notice or wonder for 8 months. How did you arrive at your item prices if you did not know what price was profitable?

[bargainbasement101]

I think you are correct.  After selling on ebay for more than 20 years, I need to sell somewhere else before ebay finds another way to siphon money out of my sale.  Personally, I don't see how shipping and sales tax adds to the value of the item, other than an excuse to charge more. For example, when I first signed up on ebay, the basic store was $9.95 a month, now I am pay 27.95. Did ebay ever send a price increase notice?  NO, they sneak stuff like that into your account

[anasazirose]

I remember well when ebay started charging FVF on shipping.  Sellers were selling a $100 item for $5 and charging $110 for shipping.  Ebay fees were based on $5.  Ebay was getting cheated.  I understand their move.

I disagree with charging a FVF on tax. 

But, ultimately it's their game and their rules.

[dbfolks166mt]

      For someone that has been selling for so long your post seems a bit odd. Others have already addressed the question about what the FVF's are applied to. You need to step back and take a serious look at your business model paying particular attention to your cost model if you have one. If not you need to develop one that you can use to help you figure out what price you set on an item BEFORE you list it in order to make a profit or an acceptable ROI. The model should include ALL expenses including federal and state income taxes. If you are taking a loss just from your eBay expenses it's going to be worse when you factor in other expenses. For example. 

[reallynicestamps]

And OP has a Store , so that's another $25 or so every month.