Online retailer eBay has scrapped fees for private sellers across almost all of its categories as it attempts to keep fast-growing rivals such as Depop and Vinted at arm’s length.
The move means eBay’s UK sellers no longer have to pay transaction fees, except for cars, motorcycles and other vehicles.
In April this year, eBay removed fees for private sellers of pre-owned clothes, and the company said it was “now evolving the experience even further.”
Photo: Bloomberg 照片：彭博社
The site said ditching seller fees for fashion had already led to a double-digit increase in listings for popular items such as jeans, shirts and dresses, while at the same time keeping items out of landfill.
The move comes amid increasing competition from rival platforms such as Depop and Vinted.
Many platforms charge buyers rather than sellers. For example, there are no fees for uploading items or selling them on Vinted, but buyers pay a “buyer protection fee” of between 3 percent and 8 percent of the pre-postage price on each item, plus between 30p and 80p.
Photo: AP 照片：美聯社
In March this year, Depop removed its selling fee — which was 10 percent of the total sale price — for all newly listed items, and introduced a “marketplace fee” for UK buyers of up to 5 percent of the purchase price, plus a fixed amount of up to ￡1. However, Depop sellers still have to pay a payment processing charge.
On Oct. 1, eBay said its move, which has taken effect immediately, meant private sellers would no longer pay so-called final value fees or regulatory operating fees when they sold on the site.
A survey for the Web site suggested that an estimated 294m unused items across the UK could generate more than ￡9bn in resale income, with half of households (50 percent) valuing their unused items at between ￡50 and ￡300.
Photo: Bloomberg 照片：彭博社
Nearly a quarter of households (24 percent) were sitting on items worth more than ￡500, the most common categories including adult clothing, DVDs, CDs and gadgets, the poll found.
When eBay’s German site dropped selling fees last year, it reportedly gave a boost to the business. The company claimed that not only did more people there start selling on the site as a result, but more than 250,000 German sellers started buying, and they ended up buying twice as much as buyers who do not sell.
The consumer research, carried out in August, also found that the majority of people (56 percent) sold items they no longer used in order to make money, with almost half (47 percent) finding it more sustainable than throwing them away, 55 percent wanting to clear space in their home, and 23 percent selling things to fund new purchases.
(The Guardian)
線上零售商eBay取消了幾乎所有類別的個人賣家費用，以便與二手買賣平台Depop和Vinted等快速成長的競爭對手拉開距離。
這表示eBay英國站的賣家不用再支付交易費用，但汽車、摩托車和其他種車輛的交易除外。
今年4月，eBay不再向販售二手衣的個人賣家收取費用，表示該公司「現正進一步改進這體驗」。
eBay表示，不再向時裝賣家收取費用已讓牛仔褲、襯衫及連身裙等熱門商品的上架數量出現兩位數成長，並讓它們免於被丟到垃圾掩埋場。
此舉正值eBay與對手Depop和Vinted等平台的競爭日益激烈之際。
許多平台向買家收費，而不是賣家。例如，在Vinted上架或銷售商品不需支付任何費用，但買家則需預付商品價格（不含運費）3%至8%的「買家保護費」，另加30至80便士。
今年3月，Depop取消了所有新上架商品的銷售費（佔總銷售價格的10%），並向英國買家收取可達購買價格5%的「賣場費」，外加1英鎊以下的定額費用。不過，Depop的賣家仍需支付收款處理費。
eBay在10月1日表示，新措施立即生效，因此個人賣家在網站上售出商品時將不再需要支付所謂的成交費或監管營運費。
該網站的一項調查顯示，英國各地估計有2.94億件未使用的物品，轉售後可產生90億英鎊以上的收入，其中有一半的家庭（50%）估算家中未使用物品之價值在50至300英鎊之間。
調查發現，近四分之一的家庭（24%）有價值超過500英鎊的物品，最常見的種類包括成人服裝、DVD、CD和電子潮物。
去年eBay德國站調降了銷售費，據報導這刺激了業績。該公司稱，這不僅讓更多人開始在該網站上賣東西，而且有超過25萬個德國賣家開始買東西，其購買量最後還超出只買不賣的買家一倍。
8月進行的消費者研究還發現，多數人（56%）會為了賺錢而出售不再使用的物品，近一半（47%）的人認為把東西賣掉比丟掉更環保，55%是想要騰出家裡的空間，23%的人會把賣東西的所得用來買新的東西。
（台北時報林俐凱編譯）
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