Thread: Seller's handling fees.

If I am not wrong the handling fees have to be incorporated in the shipping charges, at least that's how I read the rules.
If the fee is charged after may be you should open a dispute and see what eBay thinks of it.
My last time I had an argument was because an overcharge shipping. The listing had fixed shipping fee but the postage was 3 times cheaper, the seller told me the difference was for his time and gas to get to the PO. eBay decided that was Ok. I feel that all fees should be incorporated in the shipping fee listed, and also explained in the listing. In my case I am not sure why one would charge for their time when they are willingly selling items, no one makes them to do it.

[QUOTE=mainaman;567534]If I am not wrong the handling fees have to be incorporated in the shipping charges, at least that's how I read the rules.
If the fee is charged after may be you should open a dispute and see what eBay thinks of it.


Ebay allows sellers to add this fee after the auction, buy it now or whatever. The handling fee can be added on when they send you your total.

If I won an item and then the seller suddenly added more fees onto the end, I'd open a dispute and refuse to pay until the issue was sorted.

If I ended up having to pay, I'd leave negative rep..!

I agree with Holli4. Sellers should be up front about all costs and not try to shlack the buyer with additional costs after an auction ends.

I agree with all of the above.

An additionaly handling fee might affect me bidding on an item. I may not bid on it at all. Or it may put a lower ceiling on what I am prepared to bid.

I have a feeling that this fee is being added after the fact when the seller does not get as much as they wanted for the item. In which case, is just a shady eBay practice. Not unlike a seller that removes an item within minutes of auction closing so that they don't have to pay the listing fee on an item that isn't fetching a high enough price.

I refuse to pay for extreme shipping costs. And I refuse to pay for handling fees.

Adding non-disclosed fees AFTER the end of the auction is problematic. I don't think this is legitimate and would dispute it.
Other than that, if you bid based on your total cost, which I think is the only rational way to bid, then it shouldn't matter to you whether you pay $100 and free shipping, or $1 and $99 shipping. However it does matter to ebay and the seller as ebay doesn't charge fees on the shipping portion, so this determines how your money is subsequently split between ebay and the seller. I am pretty sure ebay now has something on reasonable shipping fees and will cause trouble to a seller who goes over them.

Originally Posted by gugi

I am pretty sure ebay now has something on reasonable shipping fees and will cause trouble to a seller who goes over them.

That is the new policy. Also insurance is now the seller's responsibility and the buyer is not supposed to be charged for it. A nominal handling charge is allowed but the shipping and handling charges are supposed to be appropriate for the item and the destination without being a profit making scam for the seller. Report him to ebay and you'll probably get a partial refund.

Was there a "shipping" fee listed in the original listing?
If you click on see all details on the shipping amount
or "Shipping and Payments" there is a tab
"shipping and handling"... Also there is a change log
for each auction . If something changed between
your bit and the close of the auction....

I'm not disbelieving anyone specifically, however, I have a hard time believing that it's an allowable practice for a seller to tack on completely undisclosed fees after an auction ends and then force a buyer to pay said fees or be dinged as a buyer for not doing so. I'm not clear if that's what's being described here, but if true, why would anyone want to buy on Ebay if the actual price would potentially be unknown and the buyer penalized for not paying?

Chris L

I cannot find the original Ebay invoice or my correspondance sent to the seller as this happened just before Xmas I was able for find two of his responces to my complaint of him adding his handling fee after the auction ended. The shipping was listed in the auction and was borederline unreasonable there was no mention of any handling fee in the auction. I had the cost of shipping already factored it into my max bid. Here are his responces after I refused to pay and told him to make a second chance offer to the next bidder.


I 'm not sure of you're meaning...?
I have re-invoiced you for just your calulated shipping rates which were in the eBay ad....
Once your payment has cleared I will get the item to the post office ASAP & on its way to you safely insured.
Sorry for the confusion & happy holidays....
Thank you



I did not understand your one message.
Are you having problems paying for the item you bid on & won...?
Payment is due within 5 days after the auction close.
I sent you a new invoice & I took off our handling fee to lower your shipping cost and yet no word from you?
To be fair to you I will wait until 11:23 tomorrow to hear back from you.
Your follow through as a ebay buyer is in question...?
Thank you very much

It's a violation of eBay rules to "require the buyer to pay an amount beyond the final price and a reasonable shipping fee." eBay considers this a form of seller fee avoidance, and is listed here under "Offering or requiring additional purchases":

"You can’t offer or require the buyer to:

• Make an additional purchase
• Pay an amount beyond the final price and a reasonable shipping fee
• Sign up for a service with the purchase
• Take any unrelated action (such as pay for a hotel room) as a condition for receiving the item or its benefit (such as free or discounted airfare)"

There's always wiggle room for interpretation of "a reasonable shipping fee," but the seller's "handling" is baked into the very concept of selling on eBay: if the seller doesn't want to get off their behind, pack something, and take it to the post office to ship it, then they probably shouldn't be using eBay to sell it. The local Classifieds, Thrifty Nickel, Yard Sale, or Flea Market table might be an option for them.

If the seller wants to ensure their valuable time and effort is equitably rewarded by the final eBay selling price, they should simply set a reserve. Otherwise, it's a straight-up auction - you list it, folks bid, and you sell it for the highest bid you get. The allure of eBay to sellers is that they get access to a worldwide customer base to buy what they're selling.

In my experience, I think it still works like this: money = work