The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Criticism of eBay and griping about eBay is a common occurrence here, much of it well justified. Over the past 18 months I’ve become used to, and at peace with, their new “Managed Payments” system. However, watching many other auctioneers earn up to 30% buyer “premiums” in addition to similar seller premiums, plus credit card fees, eBay stands up pretty well against them.

Recently I discovered (the hard way) of something that has actually improved by virtue of the new “Managed Payments” system: Refunds. I had to refund a buyer recently (first one in several years) and eBay refunded him the entire amount, but only charged me the net amount I originally received.

Might sound only fair, you say? Well, check with PayPal. or a merchant credit card handler. They will keep their commission on refunds. Their attitude is “we did our job and deserve to get paid”. So, if you sell an item independently for say, $1,000, and receive $960 net from PayPal, they will debit you the full $1,000 on the refund, resulting in a loss of $40, even if the buyer canceled right after paying and you never even shipped the item.

When PayPal changed their policy about refunds, and I contacted Wells Fargo and was in the process of setting up a merchant account with them, they advised me that all credit card merchants are subject to the same “we keep our commission” policy. That means when you return something to a store, they suffer the same loss on the fee end. I never knew that.

Just thought I’d pass this discovery along to those members of the TMF that actively sell on eBay. It’s not a game changer, but it is something, and worth keeping in mind. Until eBay changes their policy, which wouldn’t surprise me.

Raphael

Many auctioneers now charge fees of 30% and more, but few actually earn them.

That's good to know Raphael. Thanks for the update.

I learned about the credit card companies keeping the commission the hard way, several years back. And the person I talked to when I called about it said just what you recounted -- ''we did our job, we keep our fee." On a $10,000 sale that was a costly learning experience.

Where it might come into play for some is, say, selling an item on eBay, then discovering the buyer to be a problematic soul. With buyers new to me, I always look at the "Feedback Left For Others" section. One can glean a lot of information there. If the buyer seems to too often find fault, it's best to decline the sale and issue a refund. With eBay's policy, nothing is lost.

Raphael