Reduce eBay Fees

When you sell items on eBay, you are charged a variety of different fees by eBay in exchange for using their website to host the sale of your items. The types of fees you will pay as a seller on eBay include insertion fees for listing an item, fees for extra photos you include in your listing, final value fees after your item sells, and more. As a seller, there are a variety of different strategies you can implement into your eBay practices that will reduce the amount of fees you are required to pay. Continue reading to learn how you can reduce your eBay fees.

Steps

  1. Begin your auction listings at lower prices to save on insertion fees.
    • Insertion fees are mandatory fees that you will pay for each item you list for sale on eBay.
    • You will pay the lowest insertion fee rates when you start your auction listing price at lower than 99 cents (0.72 euros). Insertion fees will increase gradually when you start your auctions at higher prices. For example, if you begin an auction for an item at 25 dollars (18.28 euros), your insertion fee will be 75 cents (0.54 euros); whereas an auction item you begin at 50 dollars (36.57 euros) will have an insertion fee of 1 dollar (0.73 euros).
    • View the eBay website provided in the Sources section of this article to view the current insertion fee rates.
    • If you create listings for fixed-price items instead of auctions, your insertion fee will always be 50 cents (0.36 euros) for items priced at 99 cents (0.72 euros) and higher.
  2. Reduce the amount of Listing Upgrade features you currently use.
    • Listing Upgrades are additional features you can add to your listings for a fee, such as formatting your item's title in bold text for 1 dollar (0.73 euros), or placing a border around your listing for 3 dollars (2.19 euros).
    • Limit your Listing Upgrades to higher-priced or rare items that you specifically want to stand out from all your other listings. This practice will help reduce your accumulation of extra eBay fees.
    • A complete list of different types of Listing Upgrade features can be viewed on the eBay website provided in the Sources section of this article.
  3. Use a free photo hosting website to upload photos of your items to eBay.
    • EBay will allow you to post 1 photo of your item for free, however, each additional photo you add to your listing will cost 15 cents (0.11 euros).
    • If you use a free photo hosting website to upload extra photos of your item, you will not have to pay additional photo fees to eBay.
  4. Post your reserve price in the body of your listing to prevent bidders from losing interest in the auction.
    • Reserve prices represent the lowest auction bid you are willing to accept on your listing and begins at 2 dollars (1.46 euros) for items priced up to 199 dollars and 99 cents (146.28 euros).
    • When potential buyers bid on your item with a price that is lower than your reserve price, they will receive an automated message from eBay stating that the reserve has not been met. If buyers are unsure what the reserve price is, they may give up on the bidding process and move on to another auction.
    • Most sellers will start their auctions at low prices to encourage bidding, but add reserve prices to their listings to prevent buyers from paying too little for an item.
  5. Apply for final value fee credits when buyers return or do not pay for the items you sold them.
    • As a seller, you will pay final value fees on every item that is sold, starting at 7 percent of the final sale amount for fixed-price listings and 9 percent of the final sale amount for auction listings.
    • All final value fee credits can be requested through the Resolution Center, which can be found in the My EBay section when you are logged in to eBay. You will have a maximum of 60 days after your listing ends to request the final value fee credit.
  6. Begin with the Basic store level when you open an eBay store.
    • EBay stores are eBay sales platforms that will list all your items on a customized page for you or your business and require you to pay a monthly subscription fee.
    • The monthly fee for the Basic store level is 15 dollars and 95 cents (11.66 euros) and is ideal for sellers who are new to eBay or have minimal inventory. Upgrade later to the Featured or Anchor store levels when your eBay store begins to sell a higher amount of items.
    • The monthly subscription fees for the Featured and Anchor store levels are 49 dollars and 95 cents (36.51 euros) and 299 dollars and 95 cents (219.27 euros) respectively.



Tips

  • If you become a PowerSeller on eBay, you will be eligible for additional savings with the United Parcel Service (UPS), receive unpaid item protection, and receive other promotional offers that can greatly reduce your eBay fees. To learn how you can qualify to become a PowerSeller, visit the eBay website in the Sources section of this article and click on the "Becoming a better seller" link on the left.

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Sources and Citations

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