Sneaky Ebay Seller Fees!?

313 followers

Updated 7 years ago

When I first started selling on eBay, I automatically listed two categories because I figured that I would reach more customers this way, based on similar interests as they shopped. So the first month when I didn’t sell very much I noticed that I was charged a small fee of somewhere around $4.50, but I didn’t have much time to find out WHY, and truthfully I put it in the back of my mind as a cost of being in business. At that time, I didn’t think that the fees being under $5.00 wouldn’t hurt me.

Now, fast forward a few months and I noticed where the fees were originating.

Ebay charges seller a small fee for listing under more than one category for one item! And guess what? Had I paid close attention to the grey text near the area where you list additional categories, I would have noticed this!

IT'S IN PLAIN SIGHT!! They clearly said, "Nerissa, if you want to list your item under more than one category, then we will charge you an additional fee, but the decision is up to you.") Hahaha!

When listing, keep in mind that the first category is FREE; however, there is a fee for that second category I kept listing. At the time of this article, the fee is $.30 per additional category.

In the picture above, you notice how there is only one category listed, and it says "fees may apply" as it references a second category listing option.

That meant that the $4.50 worth of additional fees I had incurred were from me listing 15 items that particular month-- ALL WITH SECOND CATEGORY LISTINGS!

Hmmmmm. Now, I was mad with myself for throwing away money needlessly. This defeated the whole reason why I was selling on eBay!

Any hoo-- I'm guessing that you knew what I did next? Well, just in case you need a hint... I went back to every listing I hadn't sold and TRIED TO REMOVED that second category!

Notice that I said, "TRIED." Ebay wouldn't let me remove the second category to those listings I had up already-- even for my listed items that were only scheduled to be active.