How will I be Affected by the New eBay Fees?

Ebay just announced some very large changes in their fees. I will break down the main points for you below:

• Reduced eBay fees: the fees have been changed so it costs less to list, but this is really just a fee increase, as there is a higher final value fee. eBay does not lose at all in this situation, they just shifted their source of income.
  
• If you used to list a 7 day auction item for $20, with a gallery picture, it would have cost $.95 for the insertion fee, and if it sold for $20, an additional $1.05 would be taken out in final value fees (FVF). A total of $2.00 paid in fees.
• Now with the new fee structure, if you do the same listing, gallery pictures are free, and insertion prices dropped, so it would only cost $.55 to list the item. But once it sells, the FVF has raised from 5.25% to 8.75%. So it will cost you $1.75 in FVF, and $2.30 total.
• If you used to list a 7 day auction item for $100, with a gallery picture, it would have cost $2.75 for the insertion fee, and if it sold for $100, an additional $3.75 would be taken out in final value fees (FVF). A total of $6.50 paid in fees.
• Now for a $100 item, it will cost $2.00 to list, and the FVF will be $4.81. The total for new fees will be $6.81
• Store fees have increased as well, from 10% to 12%.

Take a look at eBay's new 2008 Fees for yourself.

Steve Weber, just wrote a new book about selling on eBay. I will let him explain the rest of the changes at eBay :

1. Rewards for seller performance
   There will be discounts and incentives for sellers with the best customer satisfaction rates according to the anonymous five-star Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs).
   • More search exposure through Best Match
   • Fee discounts for PowerSellers
   • Increased protection for PowerSellers
   
   
2. Feedback Changes
   The strategy is to "increase buyer confidence" and "showcase good sellers."
   • Buyers will only be able to receive positive Feedback.
   • Positive repeat customer Feedback will count and Feedback more than 12 months old won't.
   • Negative and neutral Feedback left by the buyer will be removed for transactions in which a buyer doesn't respond to the Unpaid Item (UPI) or if the member is suspended.

From: Selling Books: eBay bans negative feedback for buyers, cuts listing fees