2012 Spring Seller Update
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Fee update
NEWS FLASH!
For updates, including picture quality requirements and enforcement, please click here.
If you’re paying for pictures now, this change can mean significant savings. For example, on Auction-style listings with 8 pictures, free pictures can mean a savings of 16% on an item that sells for $60. Other fees are staying the same with the exception of the maximum standard final value fee for Auction-style listings.
Highlights
- Free pictures on all listings submitted starting on July 2 (excluding eBay Motors vehicles).
- Starting May 1, the maximum standard final value fee for Auction-style listings will increase to $250. This will only impact fees on transactions $1,111 and above, and only applies to sellers who do not have an eBay Stores subscription.
Take Action
- Upload more pictures to showcase your item and show it from all angles. Buyers make faster purchase decisions when listings have more photos. Later this year, all listings will be required to have at least one picture.
- Learn about the new picture requirements coming this fall, and, if any of your listings are impacted, start to make necessary changes now.
- Take advantage of the new eBay Photo Center for tips on taking pictures that attract buyers and best showcase your item.
- Use the Fee Illustrator to see how to get the lowest fees based upon what you sell, and the way you sell, on eBay. To calculate your fees for a specific listing, use the fee calculator. Both tools will be updated just prior to the May/July dates to reflect the new maximum standard final value fee, free pictures for all sellers, and the new requirements for eBay Top-rated seller discounts.
- If an eBay Store subscription is right for you, learn more about eBay Stores and all the benefits of having an eBay Stores subscription.
Frequently Asked Questions
Two fees are changing:
- Free pictures on all listings submitted starting on July 2 (excluding eBay Motors vehicles). This applies to new listings, renewed/relisted listings, and revised listings starting on July 2. The Picture Pack listing upgrade option will be retired at that time.
- Starting May 1, the maximum standard final value fee for Auction-style listings will increase from $100 to $250. (Standard fees are the fees paid by sellers who do not have an eBay Store subscription).
No. The standard final value fee rate for Auction-style listings is not changing—only the maximum final value fee amount that can be paid for any transaction. The maximum fee only applies to transactions of $1,111 or more.
Sellers who do not subscribe to an eBay Store will still be able to list 50 Auction-style listings FREE each month. On top of the 50 Auction-style listings free each month, pictures on all listings submitted starting on July 2 (excluding eBay Motors vehicles) will be free.
Both of these changes will only impact sellers who do not have an eBay Store subscription (Store subscribers already get free pictures). The maximum standard final value fee change will primarily affect sellers with a high average selling price as it only applies to transactions with a selling price of $1,111 or more.
If you’re paying for pictures now, this change can mean significant savings.
- Example: You list an item Auction-style, add 4 pictures via eBay picture hosting, and sell your item for $40. There would be no insertion fee (under standard fees, you can list Auction-style free up to 50 listings each month), you’d pay $0.45 for photos + $3.60 in final value fees. Total fees = $4.05. After pictures are free starting July 2, you’ll pay $3.60 in fees for this same listing. That’s an 11% savings in fees.
- Example: You list an item Auction-style, select the Picture Pack option adding 7-12 pictures to your listing, and sell your item for $60. There would be no insertion fee, you’d pay $1 for Picture Pack + $5.40 in final value fees. Total fees = $6.40. After pictures are free starting July 2, you’ll pay $5.40 in fees for the same listing. That’s a 16% savings in fees.
There are no changes to subscription fees or any selling fees related to eBay Stores. Pictures are currently free for eBay Store subscribers.
The new maximum standard final value fee for Auction-Style listings for non-Store subscribers will increase to $250 beginning 00:00 (midnight PDT) on May 1, 2012. Listings submitted at midnight or later on May 1, 2012, will be charged the new fees, regardless of when they were created (e.g. through a listing tool or through the Sell Your Item from using the listing scheduler feature).
Pictures (up to the maximum of 12 per listing) will be free effective beginning 00:00 (midnight PDT) on July 2, 2012 (excludes eBay Motors vehicles). This includes listings that are scheduled to start after July 2, 2012.
Pictures (up to the maximum of 12 per listing) will be free effective beginning 00:00 (midnight PDT) on July 2, 2012 (excludes eBay Motors vehicles). This includes listings that are scheduled to start after July 2, 2012.
If you revise an existing listing on or after July 2 to include additional photos, those additional photos will be free. For example, if you list an item on June 25 with two photos, your invoice will show a fee for one photo (the first photo is already free). If you edit your listing on July 4 to include three more photos, you will not be charged for these three new additional photos (because you added them on or after July 2). You will not be credited for the original one photo. All five photos will then be free with subsequent renewals or relists after July 2.
As we look towards giving away free pictures, we want to make sure the experience is the best it can be not only on eBay.com, but for our mobile applications and some of our international sites as well (like Canada and Australia who will also remove the cost of pictures). We are working with all of these parties to deliver a consistent photos experience and July is the soonest we will be able to have our seller tools, invoices, and third party applications ready.
All listings that begin at midnight (PDT) or later on May 1, 2012 will be charged according to the new maximum fee. In this example, if the final selling price is $1,111 or more, the new maximum fee would be charged regardless of when the listings were submitted.
All regular categories on eBay.com, eBay.ca (English and French), and eBay Motors (Parts & Accessories only) are included, except those mentioned under the exclusions.
New maximum standard final value fee: The following categories are excluded: Professional Services, Classified Ads, Real Estate, Vehicle categories on eBay Motors, and the following Business and Industrial Capital Equipment categories: Tractors & farm machinery (91952), heavy equipment (25249), concession trailers, carts (67145), imaging and aesthetics equipment (92036), forklifts and other lifts (97185), manufacturing equipment (92080), metalworking equipment (92082) and commercial printing presses (26247).
eBay Motors vehicle listings are excluded.
eBay picture hosting is the feature that allows you to put your picture at the top left-hand corner of your listing on the Item page and next to your item's title in Search Results. As you add more pictures to eBay picture hosting, they’re added next to your first photo on the View Item page. All photos are displayed above the fold on the Item page for buyers to easily and quickly view the item for sale. Pictures in eBay picture hosting stay in your completed listings for up to 90 days, and can be re-used when you relist or sell similar items.
Yes, you will still be able to self-host your pictures and display in your item description pictures that are stored on a website other than eBay. However, it’s recommended that you use eBay picture hosting and move your self-hosted pictures from the item description to eBay picture hosting for several reasons:
Note: If you work with a third party provider and your third party provider hosts your images (images displayed in the item description) and also uploads images to eBay picture hosting, this will continue to be allowed when the new picture requirements become effective this fall.
- You can add up to 12 eBay hosted pictures per listing. Pictures will be FREE on all listings submitted starting on July 2 (excluding eBay Motors vehicles).
- eBay picture hosting displays pictures “above the fold” on the Item page where buyers don’t have to scroll down to see them.
- Moving your photos from the item description to eBay picture hosting also lets buyers using mobile devices see your pictures. Photos in the item description may not render properly across every mobile platform.
Note: If you work with a third party provider and your third party provider hosts your images (images displayed in the item description) and also uploads images to eBay picture hosting, this will continue to be allowed when the new picture requirements become effective this fall.
Currently eBay picture hosting does not support listings with more than 12 pictures, except in Motors Vehicles. If you need more than 12 pictures to showcase your item, you can continue to include additional photos in the body of your item description.
Free pictures will apply to all listings submitted starting on July 2 (excluding eBay Motors vehicles). Picture Pack, the feature that offers special pricing for multiple pictures, will be retired on July 2. The fee for Gallery Plus, the feature that allows buyers to zoom in on your picture right from the search results page, is not changing and will still apply.
Pictures are not required now, but this fall all listings will be required to include at least one picture. Pictures will also be required to meet minimum quality standards. eBay will give you advance notice before these requirements take effect. Get details.
When the new picture quality standards take effect this fall, they will only apply to new, revised and relisted listings. To help you prepare for the new quality standards visit the Photo Center and download a free guide that includes tips for taking great pictures and do's and don'ts for meeting eBay's new picture requirements.
This fall when new picture quality standards take effect, pictures with watermarks that include specific details about an item or customer service will not be allowed. Watermarks are allowed for ownership and attribution but not for marketing information. Your watermark should be no bigger than 5% of the total image area, have the opacity of no more than 50%, and never obscure the items. Links are not allowed in watermarks.