Base listing fee - Why do I have to pay it? What did I do wrong?
Summary: Ein Teilnehmer äußert Unzufriedenheit mit einem Online-Marktplatz, especially with how sellers are disadvantage due to complex setups that lead to unintended features being activated, such as the 'Basis-Anzeige' option. They ask if there's a way to officially contest this situation. Another participant discusses the issue, suggesting that the system used to pre-select certain costly options automatically, causing inadvertent fees. A suggestion is made for better transparency and confirmation steps in the process. Different responses discuss experiences related to fees and transaction settings, emphasizing the importance of understanding the sales form options to avoid unwanted charges.
I have been involved since 2000 and occasionally sell a few items privately. I have just sold an inverter for 399 euros and am supposed to pay a 52 euro fee for advertising. I can't remember ordering something like that. Can someone explain it to me? Did I click something wrong? If something like this can happen by accident, then I'm leaving Ebay.
cy*ber*liner
·2 months agoI sold my telescope for 499 euros.
Someone bought it today, then asked for cancellation. I cancelled it too.
Then when I look at the payments, I see that a total of 99.58 euros in base fees are incurred... On my listing, I never clicked on promotion. It also says 0 fees. I understand, eBay has to make money somehow, but charging 99 euros on 499 euros is just unacceptable! Above all, nowhere does it say how high the selling fees are supposed to be...
perfect-sally
·2 months agoWith base fees, you set the percentage yourself, and fees for private sellers (if any apply) are shown in eBay Help just like fees for commercial sellers.
And the base fees are only due when a sale is made, and if the purchase was canceled, those fees should also be refunded.
And even if you had never clicked on Promote, it was still activated, and either you didn’t deactivate it, or you went through “sell similar item” from someone else’s listing and overlooked that it was active.
bixtron
·1 month agoAd fees are not refunded since the sale took place. At least that's how I remember it - there were some cases like that.
alix-1200
·1 week agoWith €99.58 in fees on a sale price of €499, I would first check under “Payments → All transactions” which advertising commission rate was actually charged.
With Basic Ads, the fee is usually only due after a successful sale. That’s why it may not be immediately obvious when listing it. In addition, you should check whether the ad may have been carried over via “Sell similar item”.
For future listings, I would calculate the sale price, the advertising commission rate, the shipping costs, and any applicable VAT on the fees separately in advance. That way, before listing, you can already see how high the expected payout will be.
kaska1999
·5 months agoI sold a phone for €100. My listing said that the sale costs €0 in fees. Even so, 10% was deducted from me after the sale.
Thanks eBay 👎
perfect-sally
·5 months agoThen you either used additional options or promoted your listing!
Check under Payments - All transactions there lists what is deducted and paid out for what reason.
synaesthet
·3 months agoThe unwanted promotion has unfortunately now also happened to one of my acquaintances. I think consumer advocates will take a closer look at eBay's business model when it comes to selling. It shouldn't be possible without an extra confirmation button for such a (with items listed for free, in certainly 99.8% of all cases NOT desired promotion).
If such a confirmation window (showing the amount of the fee to be paid for the sale) is then confirmed again, the matter would be clear.
Nowadays this is how it works with every in-app expense (even with in-game tokens). One could use that as a model if one wants to keep the fee structure transparent (otherwise I will simply assume right now that this is not the case, but rather deliberately set traps...)
koreaamangler
·1 month agoSadly, this has happened to me too now, and I am deeply disappointed in eBay. I have been a seller for many years and know the process well. The fact that you now have to read a detailed explanation just to tick the right box and not get scammed is not customer-friendly. I am very angry that the platform is designed so confusingly that honest users are at a disadvantage. Is there a way to take official action against this or have the case reviewed?”
bixtron
·1 week ago@synaesthet @koreaamangler
If you list one of your own articles that has already been promoted as a similar item, then that gets carried over, which can also be justified...
But if you now choose an item from another seller, the "Basic Ad" option must not be carried over. Because as the creator of the listing, you have no way at all of seeing whether the copied listing was set up with this option.
It is true that the Basic Ad button used to be automatically selected in advance. As a percentage, eBay's "recommendation" was, of course, used. But eBay seems to have backtracked pretty quickly there.
That they are losing customers through this fraud (at least morally) doesn't bother them (yet).
I also think there has to be a pop-up or a second checkbox that you have to accept before the listing goes online. So once the Basic Ads setting and once the confirmation incl. selected commission etc. But first there are shipping instructions from eBay and nice new buttons...
hasjana
·1 week agoif you adjust the sales form accordingly and show all options, it should also be obvious what is enabled and what isn’t
... it’s just that a lot of users don’t really deal with the relevant options (whether sales form or account settings, etc.)
bixtron
·1 week agoThe latter is true, of course you’re right about that. But when it comes to copying other people’s offers or the automatic/compulsory enabling of basic ads with arbitrary commission, the “the user is to blame” line stops there. Paid services can’t just be hidden and/or secretly booked in the user’s name.
mottos-spieleecke
·6 months agoGood morning @krambambullie
" Whether I was too stupid or whether eBay slipped it under me is irrelevant ".
Why is that irrelevant? If you weren't paying attention, eBay can't help that.
If you get flashed by a speed camera in road traffic, no one can be blamed except yourself because you were driving too fast, or do you also say, " Whether there was a 30 km/h sign hanging there or not is irrelevant " ?
And why are you making such a big deal out of it, that what you now have to pay in fees is what commercial sellers pay on every sale whether they want to or not, and that's a fact .
I would relax, look a bit more carefully next time, and then the day will be nice too.
】}{krambambullie
OP6 months agoMoney is a matter of trust. I lost money over an option I didn't need. Whether I was too stupid or eBay slipped it in on me is irrelevant. The trust is gone, and in future I’ll sell through other platforms that don’t have these pitfalls. eBay doesn’t need me and I don’t need eBay.
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
·6 months agoHi @krambambullie
well then, good luck.
nina@ebay
·6 months ago@krambambullie Hey. 🙂 I took a look at that gladly. You had set the article with the Base Ads option at 11%.
Base Ads are, as @perfect-sally already mentioned, only calculated after the sale has taken place.
@perfect-sally Thanks a lot for the tag. ❤️
Best regards,
Nina
krambambullie
OP6 months agoIs this option selected by default when creating a sale, and do I have to actively deselect it as a seller?
perfect-sally
·6 months agoSometimes it’s enabled by default and has to be deselected, and sometimes it isn’t. But as I said, if you choose "sell similar item" from other people’s listings, you have to be even more careful.
And actually, when posting the listing, it’s clearly visible if the application is enabled.
krambambullie
OP6 months agoAlright, thanks, then I'll chalk that up to a learning experience and won't sell anything via eBay anymore in the future, only via [not on eBay]. That's too uncertain and time-consuming for me then. Thanks anyway
perfect-sally
·6 months agoThis now reads as if you're blaming eBay, even though all sellers are responsible for their own information and items.
krambambullie
OP6 months agoThanks for the quick reply. I listed the item on May 26, 2025. Since then I haven't actively done anything, or at least I can't remember. After searching around a bit, I came across a campaign that started on 2.09.2025. How can something like this happen without me actively triggering it? The listing was not changed. I also found no hints in my email or in my eBay messages about a campaign start.
perfect-sally
·6 months agoNone of us and nobody from outside can see that. Please just name the article number and an eBay MA can take a closer look at it.
@nina@ebay could you please provide information here? Thanks 🙂
perfect-sally
·6 months agoWell, if the basic ad fee was charged, then you apparently also advertised your item with it, and the fee becomes due with the sale.
I don’t know how you set up your listing, but either something was activated by you or something was not deactivated.
This happens often when you, for example, list items with "sell similar item" and do so from someone else’s listing. A few settings are transferred over.