eBay UK Buyer Fees Coming February 4, 2025 - What You Need To Know!
eBay has finally released details of their plans to introduce buyer fees for private sales in the UK - here's what buyers and sellers need to know!
The move to introduce buyer fees was first reported in October and comes as part of larger consumer to consumer (C2C) shift for eBay in the UK which removed selling fees for private sales in most categories.
Here's how eBay plans to remonetize those sales, starting February 4, 2025:
Buyer Protection Fee
eBay is touting the "benefits" of paying a protection fee, saying it gives buyers more peace of mind when shopping:
- 24/7 customer support: Buyers can connect with a real person by phone at any time of day, or start a chat to get quick answers.
- Seller paid after delivery: When buying from private sellers, funds will only be sent once their item has been delivered.
- We've also still got buyers covered with other great free services like eBay Money Back Guarantee and Authenticity Guarantee.
- Secure transactions: All payments are encrypted end-to-end and handled by our trusted payments partners.
That last part isn't particularly new as payments been encrypted and handled by trusted payment partners since eBay began managing their own payments in 2018.
How the Buyer Protection fee works
- The fee will be included in the item price from private sellers, so there are no surprises at checkout.
- Buyers will pay up to 4% of the item price, plus £0.75. For example, when they see an item for £20, the fee of £1.49 will already be part of the price.
- The fee is lower on higher-priced items over £300, and there's a cap on the total amount they'll pay.
- For items from business sellers, they'll get the Buyer Protection benefits at no extra cost.
While the initial announcement doesn't get specific about the fee breakdown for higher priced items, the full policy page does - including a chart to show how the fee is calculated.
The Buyer Protection fee will be calculated as:
- A flat fee of £0.75 per item, and
- 4% of the item price up to £300, and
- 2% of any portion of the item price from £300 to £4,000
There is also a cap on the total fee amount you'll ever pay. Any portion of the item price over £4,000 will not incur any additional fee.
Note: while these fees looks like quite a savings compared to the average ~13% standard final value fees (varies depending on category), it's important to remember that previously private sellers were often not paying the full FVF amount, due to eBay's very generous and frequent promotional discounts.
Before going fee-free for private sellers in October 2024, eBay used to send FVF discount promotions to most private sellers every 2 weeks or so, offering 70-80% off of the standard fee.
To keep the math simple - if you had a sale at $100 total in a category with 10% FVF = $10 in fees, 80% off of that would be $2 or 2% of the original sale, plus a fixed charge of 30p per order.
eBay stopped giving out those promos a couple weeks before announcing fee free selling.
Liz Morton
Many sellers would wait for the promo before listing items and presumably set the pricing with that discounted FVF fee in mind.
Since it's now fee free for private sellers, they no longer have to price anything in for fees - but starting in February eBay will basically be doing that for them with the buyer fee at 4% plus 75p per item (instead of per order).
That means on many items, eBay will likely end up making more than they would have previously with the private seller setting pricing to account for the discounted FVF.
The new policy also shows that buyer fees and buyer protection will not apply to items listed in Vehicles, Classified Ads, and Property categories and items sold by business sellers will still qualify for the buyer protection benefits, but will not have any additional fees added into the item price.
Private sellers will be able to see how much the buyer fee is on the listing - here's how it will be displayed on the seller side and how eBay will handle the buyer fee for auctions and offers:
How is the Buyer Protection fee added to my item price?
When setting the item price, UK-based private sellers will see the Buyer Protection fee amount added to the total item price that buyers will see on the listing. Sellers will be able to see the fee amount before completing the listing.
Where do I see the Buyer Protection fee in my listings?
When listing your item, you will see the Buyer Protection fee amount added to your listing price. You can also view the fee amount from your Active listings.
How is this fee calculated for Auctions when the final selling price isn't known yet?
When you enter a starting bid, we add the Buyer Protection fee so you can see what the buyer's minimum bid amount will be. As the Buyer Protection fee is variable, the fee amount that the buyer actually pays is calculated as part of the final auction selling price.
By including the fee in the buyer's bid price, we're making it simple and transparent so buyers always know what they'll pay and sellers know how much they'll receive.
What happens to the Buyer Protection fee if the buyer makes a counteroffer?
When a buyer sends a counteroffer, we'll show you the buyer's price breakdown, including the amount you'll receive and the Buyer Protection fee paid to eBay, so you'll have all the information you need to accept or decline the counteroffer.
The Buyer Protection fee will be automatically added to all existing Buy-It-Now private listings (excluding Cars, Motorcycle & Vehicles, Classified Ads, and Property) on February 4, 2025, including relisted listings and to any auctions which are created on or after February 4,
While private sellers pay no Final Value Fees on these sales, they do still have the option to use listing features and advertising products which do incur fees - and eBay has not given details on how exactly the buyer fees will impact the calculation of those other selling fees.
Since Promoted Listings advertising fees are charged on the total including shipping and tax, it's likely the total amount including the buyer fee will be used when calculating ad fee costs - a fact that sellers will want to keep in mind when selecting their ad rate percentages.
Additional details about Buyer Protection can be found at:
Improvements for Private Sellers
eBay also tried to paint recent changes as improvement for private sellers, though many in the eBay community would likely disagree on some points.
The announcement about the buyer fee says as part of their "ongoing mission to be the best marketplace for buyers and sellers", eBay has provided the following "improvements" for private sellers:
- It's free to sell (excl. Vehicles) so you can bring buyers more of the things they love.
- It's simpler to list so you can get your items out faster.
- It's easier to get your items to buyers with the launch of Simple Delivery.
Having funds held until after delivery has been a major sticking point for many UK private sellers, with some saying they will cease trading on the platform once that change goes into effect.
Liz Morton
And Simple Delivery may turn out to be not so simple once mandatory usage for private sellers goes into effect.
Liz Morton
The move comes as other marketplaces have been experimenting with shifting fees from sellers to buyers - mostly with disastrous results.
Mercari shifted the fee burden from sellers to buyers in March, leading to lower sales as buyers abandoned the site due to sticker shock when seeing additional fees reflected out checkout.
The results for Mercari were bleak, leading to a layoff of 45% of US staff, the resignation of Mercari US CEO John Lagerling, and a new "new" fee structure launching January 6th.
Liz Morton
Poshmark speed ran their own version of this test, splitting fees between buyers and sellers and quickly reverted back to the old fee structure 3 weeks later after massive user pushback.
Liz Morton
eBay at least appears to have learned a bit from Mercari's troubles, opting to keep the buyer fee included in the item price instead of stating it separately at check out, but despite their claim that makes for a more "transparent"experience, some buyers and regulatory bodies may disagree.
What do you think of eBay's plans to introduce buyer fees to the UK? Let us know in the comments or contact VAR!
