Display rates - VAT notice well hidden | Sell

deep_blue9247 · 2026-02-21T00:04:47.620000Z

I used the feature "Promote offer" for the first time and find the presentation of the costs opaque. Even if you can read it hidden in the fine print or behind an info button, in my view a reputable company should clearly and transparently display the costs incurred!for example, it could say: Ad fee 10 % - Costs of 10% of the achieved sale proceeds are incurred, plus statutory VATIt could be even simpler: if I create a fixed-price listing, the gross fees could also be shown right away. Instead, it only says: Ad fee for offers 10% Only after billing did I discover the additional VAT charged and look more closely again; only when you click an additional info button in the sales form does a note appear: "VAT may apply to your ad fees." It is no problem if a service costs something, but I want to know in advance what costs I will be faced with. Problematic: It only says "10 % ad fee" and only in a hard-to-find area is it explained with the hedging "if applicable" that VAT will be added, even though this regularly applies to private sellers. It was not clearly apparent to me here that VAT would also be added to the fees. The crucial information (that 10 % net is meant and effectively 11.9 % is charged) is not perceived "at a glance" together with the percentage figure. Case law requires that price-relevant additional information be clearly recognizable, easy to read, and in close proximity to the price, so that consumers can immediately understand the total price or effective costs. As a private seller, I assume that the 10% already includes all costs incl. sales tax.I wonder whether eBay really needs to work with such methods, but I also can't imagine that something like this would happen accidentally at such a professional company. I have always enjoyed buying and selling on eBay, but things like this are always a nuisance for me, and if you read the forums, I am not the only one who has fallen into the trap.Is it really more efficient for eBay to mislead customers instead of simply offering maximum transparency?? It is very regrettable that quick profit is increasingly being prioritized over long-term customer satisfaction.

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Display rates - VAT notice well hidden | Sell | eBay Germany