Guest Author - Kim O´Shea
When you list your item you will be charged a listing fee. This fee depends on various options you choose as you go through the listing process. For low value items the basic listing is probably the best option but for higher value goods you have a wealth of upgrades to choose from.
At the end of your auction if your item has sold, you will be charged a final value fee. This is a percentage of the final sale price.
If your item fails to sell you can relist it at the same or lower starting price for free. If it fails to sell a second time you will then have to pay to relist.
If your highest bidder doesn’t pay and you have other lower bidders, you can choose to contact them with a second chance offer. If they accept, eBay will charge the fee based on the lower figure. If you do not have the option of offering a second chance offer and your item therefore does not sell, eBay will not charge the final value fee.
The current listing fees are available on the eBay site. Books, Music, DVDs & Movies and Video Games categories have a lower insertion or listing fee than other categories. These fees start at $0.10 for a starting price of $0.01 to $0.99 up to $4.00 for a starting price of $500.00 or over.
The final value fee on the above categories is calculated at 8.75% of winning bid price between $0.01 and $25.00. For final values over this price eBay charges 8.75% up to $25.00 and then a lower percentage for the remainder. Other categories have their own fee structure so you will need to check these in advance. The current percentages and rate bands are all available on the eBay site.
Fixed price listings start from $0.15 and the final value fee from 8%. The listing fee for multiple item listings are a flat rate fee regardless of the number of items but the final value fees are multiplied by the number of items sold.
When you list your item you will find that the first photograph is free. Any extra pictures or super-sized images will incur extra fees.
Placing a reserve on your item will also attract an extra fee along with adding extra features to your listing like bold type, themes, featuring your items and other upgrades.
For most items the basic listing works fine. Your title should be strong enough to draw customers in and your description should be enticing enough to hold them there.
What every professional seller should know. Available to buy now from Amazon.
