Let’s face it, street photographers go through a lot of gear. For years we’ve relied upon eBay to sell our used equipment but changes to their auction fees could make the cost of flipping a camera too much to bear. Hit the jump for all the details.
It’s All About Maximum Final Value Fee
Ebay earns money through listing fees and by charging you a percentage of your sale. In the past the maximum final value fee was capped at $250.00 USD no matter the sale price of your item. But starting November 24, 2014 this amount has tripled to a maximum of $750.00 USD. Since they charge 9% this change does not affect sales under $2500 but takes a huge chunk out of anything above that amount.
This change alone would raise the cost to you for selling a used Leica M 240 (which typically sells for $5500 on eBay) to a whopping $495.00 in addition to any listing fees! This really hits the used camera market hard and many photographers that are sell one piece of equipment to buy another will have to think twice before listing.
Change Does Not Affect eBay Stores
Oddly, the changes to eBay listing fees are do NOT affect sellers using eBay stores which start at $15.95 USD a month if purchased yearly and $19.95 if purchase monthly. Considering this it would be crazy to not open a store for at least month before selling any high ticket item on eBay!
The requirements to open an eBay store are:
- You must have an eBay seller’s account, with your credit card placed on file.
- You must have a Verified Premier PayPal account.
- To open a Premium or Anchor Store, you cannot have a below standard seller performance rating as shown in your Seller Dashboard.
But doesn’t just add an additional “tax” on selling items? Suddenly you have to pay an addition 19.95 to prevent your eBay listing fees from skyrocketing from what they’ve been all along. Granted, eBay stores offer sellers a lot more than lower fees and include a lot of powerful tools but using exhorbinant fees to make eBay stores mandatory seems out of place.
StreetShootr’s Take
It’s hard to see this as anything other than a money grab by the online auction giant. Sure, they’ve given you an out card by keeping the fees in check IF you open an eBay store prior to listing. But how many people are going to realize this change is in place? I recieved an email from eBay notifying me of theses changes but how many people are going to miss that message?
I think a lot of people are going to find out the hard way that the cost of selling their equipment on eBay tripled after their auction has completed. At least you read this article and know what to do before selling your next big ticket item on eBay.
How do you feel about eBay’s price hike? Is it just another money grab or is opening an eBay store a fair way to keep fees in check? Post your ideas in the comments below and keep the conversation going!