As of May, selling watches on eBay, you’ll be paying a higher fee. The fee increase on sales of watches at any price is to pay for eBay’s marketing of high-priced, luxury watches.
• Sellers enrolled in Managed Payments with no eBay Store currently pay 12.35% plus 30 cents for selling a watch up to $1,000. That will jump to 15%. (There are tranches for items that sell for over $1,000.)
• Sellers enrolled in Managed Payments with an eBay store currently pay 11.5% plus 30 cents for selling a watch up to $1,000. That will jump to 12.5%. (There are tranches for items that sell for over $1,000.)
We found one seller reacting to the fee increase on the eBay Seller Discussion Board, who said the 15% final value fee was “profit breaking.”
eBay explained in its April 12th announcement that the fee increase in the Watches category was in order for it to spend more on marketing and product innovation – and it’s clear it’s all about luxury watches:
“Our broad-based multichannel marketing has helped increase new luxury watch buyer traffic on eBay. As we continue to focus on the luxury watches experience, we are increasing final value fees in the Watches (260325) category. This will allow us to invest even more in luxury watch marketing, social media, SEO, and product innovation as we drive towards becoming the leading platform for luxury watches.”
While social media and SEO are not generally areas that require large outlays, eBay wrote, “We’re marketing to watch enthusiasts with targeted campaigns that are resulting in unprecedented numbers of new and repeat luxury watch buyers. We also launched a dedicated social handle to reach watch enthusiasts with a community management team that focuses on this daily.”
eBay announced a new escrow requirement at the same time:
New escrow payment option for high-value watches
“As part of our ongoing focus on creating the best watches experience, starting the week of April 20, 2021, you will see an optional payment via escrow through our partner Escrow.com for luxury watch listings priced at $10,000 and up.
“Escrow can give you greater confidence when you sell high-value items by confirming your buyer’s identity. Escrow services are customary for many high-value purchases, such as home sales and business acquisitions. Both sellers and buyers of luxury items have asked us to incorporate an escrow payment option to facilitate wire transfers for high-value transactions on eBay. If you list watches priced at $10,000 or more, we recommend that you register with Escrow.com. Learn how to create and use an escrow account on Escrow.com
“In addition, eBay covers any processing fees for escrow services so buyers won’t pay any additional fees.”
Source: Ecommerce Byte
