Are eBay Fees Worth It To Use The Platform?

Are eBay Fees Worth It To Use The Platform?

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To be a reseller on eBay, you have to pay eBay fees. Are eBay fees worth it to be able to use the platform?

Why eBay Charges Fees

eBay is huge and was the first Internet platform that sold used items, so of course there will be fees. Amazon is around now, but it isn’t a good comparison because it’s a different model. eBay has been a platform to resell used items for a long time. They currently have around 160 million registered users, so it’s a platform that people from around the world use. 

One reason eBay charges fees is because they can, but they’re also a company. They have overhead, employees, and new technology to pay for. They’re constantly bettering their platform, which doesn’t happen for free. They’re working to make it a better experience for the buyers and us. That does take money, so it’s something to consider when using eBay. 

People often say, “Well, I don’t want to sell on eBay because I don’t want to pay the eBay fees.”

Most of the fees are charged after you sell the item, so you’re not paying them upfront. 

Insertion fees are one category where you might pay upfront when doing the listing, but the rest are paid after the sale. 

Why Sell On eBay?

Some people ask us why we don’t just sell items locally on Facebook Marketplace. We certainly could, especially since we sometimes pay several hundred dollars in eBay fees on our higher profit items. 

But it’s worth it because we can make much more money with the fees. After all, eBay reaches a bigger audience.

One example is a sale we had last week — the Crown Wave. It’s a lifting machine you stand on, drive it around, and it picks up 300 or 400 pounds of stuff in the front so you can load it onto a high shelf. We cross-posted that locally on Marketplace and eBay for the same amount of time, and it did not get any bites locally. Locally, not many people need a lift. But when you open it up to eBay’s nationwide audience, it reaches many more people. 

On that one, we had to pay $202 in fees plus $250 for the promotion. So we paid under $500 total to eBay, plus $575 to ship. We sold the wave for $7,500, so our profit was just about $6,500. Was the $500 in fees worth it to make that profit? Absolutely!

Are eBay Fees Worth It To Use The Platform?

Why We Sell On eBay Despite Fees

We use eBay because it works for us. It reaches so many people. We’ve thought about creating our website, but then you have to drive traffic to your website, and that costs money too, plus time. It’s worth it to us to have eBay do all that work.

When you Google an item, you’ll see eBay listings come up on the first page because eBay has been in business so long and has its search optimized. That’s how I’m able to sell something and get it on the first page of Google because of what eBay can do with their behemoth platform. 

Are eBay Fees Worth It To Use The Platform?

We also look for good deals when making our purchases. We always say the profit is in the buy. And when you have enough of that profit, the fees don’t matter as much. eBay might not be the right platform for you if you’re only making a couple of dollars on the items you’re selling. But it weighs out to use the platform when you don’t pay much for items and can sell them for so much more on eBay. 

Don’t let eBay fees scare you off. Make sure you know your numbers and that it makes sense in your business to use the platform. Know how much you’re spending on items, how much fees are, your profit, and your time invested. 

Show Notes

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Robert Stephenson

I grew up in Central Florida and have lived here my whole life. I first got into buying and selling items when I was 16 years old, and have been hooked ever since. It has mostly been a hobby that makes some extra cash, but sometimes it serves as my main income as well. I don't plan on stopping any time soon. I find too many fun toys for my family (or myself), and just love the whole process.

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