eBay has contacted its sellers to advise them that the online marketplace is changing how it calculates its Promoted Listings Standard fees.
Promoted Listings Standard fees are currently based on the final selling price of an item. However, from June 1, 2022, these fees will be based on the total cost of the sale, including taxes, shipping, and any other applicable fees relating to business and private sales.
What will change?
- Ad Fees will now be calculated once a sale has been completed.
- The Ad Fees estimates will no longer be available. This is because the new fee structure will be based on variables, including the buyer’s location and shipping costs which are not determined until the final sale has been completed. However, Ad Fees will still be available to view in the transactions section of sellers’ payments tab or in their sales report.
What do sellers think?
Understandably, some sellers view this policy change as a stealth fee increase, and they are not happy (the comments section of eCommerce Bytes is always illuminating).
However, sellers following eBay listing best practices may see it another way. This fee change will have very little (if any) impact on sellers offering free shipping and transparent pricing. This fact makes us think that rather than being viewed as a cynical way to squeeze more money out of its sellers, eBay is using it as a mechanism to promote listing best practices.
Our research tells us that listings offering free and speedy shipping typically enjoy greater visibility in eBay’s search results. It’s also incredibly important to ensure your eBay listings are fully optimised before paying for promoted listings. So perhaps this move makes better sense to sellers than it might first appear.
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