In today’s world, nothing is free, and that is proven to be true when thinking about online retailers such as eBay. Furthermore, on that site, many feel they are being charged a fee for almost everything. However, do you actually know what are they charging you for?
Well, many people are unsure as to what they are paying for. So, in this article, we will be discussing one of the many fees eBay charges sellers for – a final value fee. Continue reading if you’d like to learn about what it is, how they calculate how much your fee will be, and more!
What Is a Final Value Fee on eBay in 2024?
A final value fee is a charge made by eBay after you make a sale in 2024. Furthermore, this fee is calculated as a percentage of the total sale amount after all applicable charges, such as shipping and handling, etc. are applied. On average, this charge is around 10% of the final sale.
Continue reading the article below if you’d like a more in-depth explanation of eBay’s final value fee, how they calculate it, and more!
What Are Final Value Fees?
When you use eBay, you are charged a series of fees so the company can make a profit.
Furthermore, one of these charges is a final value fee, and it happens when a sale is made on its site.
Additionally, it’s calculated as a percentage of the total amount of the sale (including shipping and handling charges, however, excluding sales tax).
Now, normally this is around 10% up to a maximum of $750, except in a few categories listed below:
- Food Services (Food Trucks, Trailers, Carts, Restaurants)- 2% or a maximum fee of $300
- Heavy Equipment (Parts and Attachments)- 2% or a maximum fee of $300
- Printing (Commercial and Graphic Arts)- 2% or a maximum fee of $300
- Men and Women (Footwear)- 0% for seller prices of $100 or more
- Musical Instruments (Gear and Instrument Bases)-3.5% or a maximum fee of $300
- Books, Movies, and Music (DVDs)- 12% or a maximum fee of $750
Fortunately, even though you have to pay a final value fee through eBay, you won’t need to worry about any third-party processing fees.
Plus, your fees are now all deducted after each sale, instead of a monthly bill of every fee being sent to you.
However, although in most cases if you don’t sell your item, you won’t be charged a final value fee, that is not always the case.
Rather, you can still be charged this fee if you’re offering or referencing your contact information to a potential buyer, or if you ask for theirs in the context of buying or selling outside of eBay.
If this happens, eBay will charge you a final value fee for introducing you to the buyer and vice versa.
If this happens, then the final value fee is based on the highest of the fixed price, Auction start price, Buy It Now price, Reserve price, or the price made up between the buyer and seller.
What Are Final Value Returns?
Luckily, if something happens, eBay will refund you your loss depending on what happened, as a buyer or seller.
As a seller, if a buyer doesn’t pay for their order, then it’s possible for you to apply for an eBay Final Value fee credit, which you can get refunded into your account.
However, to be able to get a credit refund, you will have to either report the listing as an unpaid item or cancel the sale.
Furthermore, to request a refund for the final value fee you were charged, follow the steps listed below:
- Verify your credit balance by visiting your Seller Account
- Check that all your personal information is updated (Address, Phone number, Email)
- Contact eBay’s customer service portal and request a refund. These will take up to 30 days to process.
Is It Possible to Reduce My eBay Fees?
In the end, any seller on eBay will have to pay a fee at some point, so there is no getting around them.
However, it’s possible to lower them a little bit, and that is by buying store subscriptions.
For example, with a store subscription, your final value fee can go from 10% down to 4%, depending on the package you have.
Here is a list of subscriptions eBay has to offer its users:
- Starter Store– $4.95 (annually) $7.95 (per month), 250 free listings, 25 cents for each listing thereafter
- Basic Store– $21.95 (annually) 27.95(per month), 250 free listings, 25 cents for each fixed-price listing thereafter
- Premium Store– $59.95 (annually) $74.95 (per month), 1,000 free listings, 10 cents for each fixed-price listing thereafter
- Anchor Store– $299.95(annually) $349.95 (per month), 10,000 free listings, 5 cents for each fixed-price listing thereafter
- Enterprise Store– $2999.95 annually, 100,000 free listings, 5 cents for each fixed-price listing thereafter.
Are There Other Online Retailers That Are Cheaper Than eBay?
One aspect of eBay that customers don’t particularly like are all the fees they need to pay in order to use this site.
That being said, below is a list of online stores that do not charge at all or very little in order to use their services:
- Craigslist
After being created in 1995, Craigslist is still one of the biggest online communities for people to post classified ads and the company doesn’t charge anything to post them.
- Bonanza
Bonanza is relatively new to the scene of online shops and is quickly gaining lots of popularity, as it allows people to list items freely and they are only charged a fee if the items sell.
Additionally, the company automatically sends your listings as ads to places like Google and Bing for free as part of their services, so your items are more likely to be seen by the public.
- Etsy
Although you are still charged fees to sell on Etsy, they are noticeably lower than eBay’s, and you receive a fixed-price commission.
- eCRATER
Unlike eBay, eCRATER’s functions are completely free and you can open a store without being charged.
In fact, you won’t even be charged if you bring in sales by means of your own marketing.
To know more, you can also read our posts on eBay insertion fees, what is an import charge on eBay, and what is a bid on eBay.
Conclusion
There are many positive qualities eBay has, but many have said that how much they charge sellers is not one of them. However, in fairness, it depends on what category you’re selling in and how much you’re listing the item for, to know how much you will need to pay.
Furthermore, most of the time, you will only be paying around 10% after the final sale amount to eBay for using their site. However, if you aren’t interested in paying this fee and others, then using one of the other online stores listed above will work, too.
