eBay has announced the elimination of seller fees. The decision is eBay's counter to the growing popularity of competitor platforms like Vinted and DePop - and could inject a £9 billion boost into the economy through increased sales of unwanted items. Anticipating a surge in private sellers and buyers on its platform, eBay's fee removal comes ahead of the pre-Christmas rush and is expected to extend well into the future.
The initiative follows a successful pilot in Germany where eBay scrapped fees for private sellers, and an earlier move this year to abolish fees for private clothing sales in the UK. eBay's revamp also includes AI-powered listing simplification, streamlined delivery processes, and the promotion of a local pickup scheme, enhancing the overall user experience. With the rise of alternative platforms such as Depop and Vinted, which have been attracting British consumers by charging buyers instead of sellers, eBay has felt the pressure.
For instance, Vinted does not charge for listing or selling items, but imposes a "buyer protection fee" ranging from 3% to 8% of the item's price before postage, plus a fixed amount between 30p and 80p. March of this year saw Depop drop its 10 percent selling fee for newly listed items, while introducing a new "marketplace fee" for UK buyers capped at 5 percent of the purchase price plus up to £1. Yet sellers on Depop are still subjected to a payment processing charge.
The move is expected to see a huge increase in both the numbe.