Posted on May 14, 2009 - by Brett
eBay’s new promotion for 5 free listings isn’t a bargain
Starting June 15th, eBay will now “give” sellers 5 free auction listings per month. Typically, you would pay an insertion fee and if the item sells, you also pay a Final Value Fee (FVF). The FVF is a tiered structure that’s 8.75% of the first $25, 3.5% up to $1,000 and so on. With eBay’s new “promotion” they will give you 5 auction listings that will be able to skip the insertion fee (from $0.10-$4.00) BUT you will be charged a flat 8.75%! (capping at $20)
If you are selling $25 items all day long, then you are saving $0.55 per listing. For those of you that list something between $65 and $425, you get screwed if it sells! Here is a quick example of that:
Starting price: $9.99
Selling price: $70
Typical eBay fees: $5.77
With “promotion”: $6.13
Starting price: $100
Selling price: $228
Typical eBay fees: $10.32
With “promotion”: $20.00
If you use a 3rd party listing tool such as AuctionSound, you will not get hit with these fees. In order to “take advantage” of this discount, you have to use eBay’s Sell Your Item form.
For those of you that like more numbers (like me), here is a breakdown of the starting price and sold price being the same. ie: started the listing at $50, and it sold at $50.
| Start/sold price | Typical Fees | Promotion |
| $25 | $3.19 | $2.19 |
| $30 | $3.36 | $2.63 |
| $40 | $3.72 | $3.50 |
| $50 | $5.07 | $4.38 |
| $60 | $5.42 | $5.25 |
| $70 | $5.77 | $6.13 |
| $80 | $6.12 | $7.00 |
| $90 | $6.47 | $7.88 |
| $100 | $6.82 | $8.75 |
| $125 | $7.69 | $10.94 |
| $150 | $8.57 | $13.13 |
| $175 | $9.44 | $15.32 |
| $200 | $11.32 | $17.50 |
| $225 | $12.19 | $19.69 |
| $250 | $13.07 | $20 |
| $275 | $13.94 | $20 |
| $300 | $14.82 | $20 |
| $350 | $16.57 | $20 |
| $400 | $18.32 | $20 |
| $450 | $20.07 | $20 |
