While eBay may not be what it once was in terms of online commerce, it's still responsible for more sports cards and collectibles changing hands than any other entity. That means that when the company decides to change its fees, the hobby pays attention.
The last time eBay decided to overhaul its fee structure, the general consensus was that it favored high-volume sellers at the expense of the person who only made occasional sales. This week, the company announced a new series of fees that will go into effect on March 30 that seem to reverse this trend, at least at first glance.
The biggest change is that for auction-style listings, there will be no insertion fees for items with a starting price under $1 - which is the case for vast amounts of sports cards. After any seller exceeds 100 items sold in a given month, an insertion fee will be charged for subsequent sales.
In return, eBay will collect a 9% Final Value Fee on every auction listing that ends with a sale. This will represent a small increase for many items that close under $25 (the old rate was 8.75%), but because the fee is capped at $50, it may actually reduce costs for people who sell very expensive items.
Fixed price listings are also undergoing a fairly big overhaul, with an all new rate structure for eBay Stores. Listing fees are being cut across the board, but sellers with an eBay store subscription will have to pay monthly fees which range from $15.95 at the Basic level to $299.95 at the Anchor level.
One improvement that people who sell using eBay Stores will be happy to see is that all of their items will now be included in general search results. In a FAQ addressing the new fees, eBay admits that this change will add many new listings to search results, but the company feels confident its often maligned search technology is up to the challenge.
That FAQ and a chart listing all of the new fees is available here. For comparison purposes, the current eBay fee structure is listed here
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Steve | Jan 31, 2010 | Reply
eBay’s a waste of time and money.. I stopped using them a long time ago.. They charge WAY to much! I’ll stick with using Sellbits.com. They’re much cheaper and easier to use.