eBay sellers in Australia are getting some bad news: eBay will extend its commission to include shipping costs, meaning higher selling fees. eBay has already rolled out the policy change in the U.S. in 2011 and in the UK last year.
According to a piece in Australia’s newspaper News.com.au titled “eBay to get a bigger slice of sales,” eBay sent an email to sellers informing them that as of May 6, it will collect final value fees on shipping costs in addition to the sale price. “The move is likely to be unpopular with many sellers who are already paying final value fees of as much as 9.9 per cent – up from 5.25 per cent three years ago,” the newspaper wrote.
eBay told the newspaper it was trying to shift the behavior of sellers into listing items at prices that include shipping, and said those who don’t would be demoted in search.
When eBay implemented the new commission on shipping costs in the U.S. in 2011, sellers were upset at what was a significant fee increase, with some even questioning the legality of charging a commission on shipping costs – see this March 17, 2011 article from EcommerceBytes Newsflash.
eBay is making additional changes in Australia as well, as confirmed by an announcement posted after the mailing. New changes impact seller performance standards, eBay Stores, Collections and categories. See the announcement for details.
