Top Rated eBay sellers slash both shipping costs and final value fees.
Selling on eBay isn’t cheap. Many sellers have been grumbling about climbing eBay fees for years. Ebay sellers shell out cash for many things including: listing fees, store subscription fees, listing upgrades, 10% eBay final value fees, and 2.9% + $0.30 domestic Paypal fees, among others.
Despite high fees–and whether you like it or not–eBay still exposes items to a larger buyer market than many other cheaper selling platforms like Bonanza.com.
Although steep eBay and Paypal fees cannot be eliminated, there are three easy ways to cut your eBay and Paypal fees and keep more money in your pocket.
1. Become a Top Rated Seller on eBay
Save 2% on eBay final value fees
Top rated sellers on eBay enjoy a 20% discount on final value fees. For example, a typical final value fee is 10%. The 20% Top Rated Seller discount reduces the final value fee to 8%.
The basic requirements for becoming a Top Rated Seller include:
– at least 100 eBay transactions with U.S. buyers during the last 12 months
– at least $1000 in eBay sales with U.S. buyers during the last 12 months
– must have 1 business day handling time
– for additional requirements and the most detailed and up to date information on becoming a Top Rated Seller, see eBay’s official page, Becoming a Top Rated Seller and qualifying for Top Rated Plus
Top rated Sellers also earn discounts on postage
Beyond saving 2% in final value fees, Top Rated Sellers also earn Commercial Plus pricing when you use eBay labels for postage. See eBay’s page entitled Savings from the U.S. Postal Service.
2. Pay your eBay fees with a cash back debit card or credit card
Earn 1% Cash Back
If your monthly eBay fees are $500 and you pay using a 1% cash back debit card, that means you get $5 back each month or $60 back each year. Where can you get a debit or credit card that offers 1% cash back? The easiest place to look is Paypal–Paypal offers a 1% cash back debit card.
3. Enroll in the Paypal Merchant Rate Discount Program
Save 0.4-1% in Paypal fees
UPDATE: Paypal eliminated all Merchant Rate discounts on October 1, 2015
If you consistently get purchase payments of more than $3000 each month on Paypal, you may qualify for a Paypal fee discount of at least 0.4%. Paypal does NOT automatically enroll you in the merchant fee discount program–you must opt into the program yourself. Read the BrickingTips.com article The Hidden PayPal Merchant Rate for more details.