eBay just can’t stop tweaking its listing rules. In the latest round of changes, sellers actually get something: up to a dozen free pictures on every listing. But the news isn’t so good on insertion fees.
Picture by Ricardo Diaz
Right now, eBay charges 25 cents for each image if you want to add additional pictures. From May 2, you’ll be able to include a dozen without charge. Presuming you have an item for sale that would benefit from multiple photographs, this could be a welcome change.
What’s potentially less welcome is the simplification of insertion fees. For casual sellers, the flat rate of 7.90% with free listings if you list less than 30 items in a month remains in place. After 30 items, you pay insertion fees. Right now, these are in a six-tier structure, ranging from 30 cents for items listed for under a dollar and rising to $3.50 for items above $400:
[block]
[left]
Start price
$0.01-$0.99
$1.00-$19.99
$20.00-$49.99
$50.00-$99.99
$100.00-$399.99
$400+
[/left]
[right]
Insertion fee
$0.30
$0.50
$0.75
$1.50
$2.50
$3.50
[/right]
[/block]
From May 2, there will be just three tiers:
[block]
[left]
Start price
Under $20.00
$20.00-$99.99
$100+
[/left]
[right]
Insertion fee
$0.50
$1.50
$3.00
[/right]
[/block]
This means that if you want to sell a lot of items cheaply, you’ll now be paying a minimum of 50 cents per insertion after the first 30 items, rather than the current 30 cent minimum.
eBay is also adjusting final value fees for Store sellers and revising its Store structure. The other minor change will be a capped on final value fees at $100; that will benefit you if an individual item sells for more than $1265.83. All up, it’s consistent with eBay’s long-stated ambition to be a general retail storefront rather than that auction site.
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