eBay UK Makes Last Minute Buyer Fee Changes, Opts For Phased Rollout To Avoid Disruption
UPDATE 2-13-25
Sellers are once again doing eBay's job for them, keeping each other up to date on the progress of the Buyer Fee rollout since eBay has not put out any further announcement.
filey.2wheels
So far, in addition to Electronics, users report seeing the Buyer Protection Fee on at least some items in Crafts, Music, Comics/Magazines/Books, Home & Garden, Business/Office/Industrial, Sporting Goods, CDs & DVDs, and Film & TV.
UPDATE 2-8-25
eBay UK Buyer Fee rollout continues as well as expected, with users calling out difficulties encountered when trying to use the Offers function on listings which have the Buyer Protection Fee applied.
For example, one user said they received an offer at £12 (8% off) and clicked through to find a banner saying "You received an offer of £13.20 (0% off) from the seller."
Others pointed out the new system makes it nearly impossible to negotiate because the buyer and seller do not see the same thing and thus are not bartering based on a shared point of reference.
It's a car crash .. I get notifications from a buyer saying i got an offer of 10, but then that 10 maybe means like 8.67, and I make an offer to a seller of 11, but that possibly means like 12.18 or something, it's impossible to barter because it's so confusing
— Craig Robertson (@dcraigrob) February 8, 2025
Meanwhile just two days into the update, buyers are already sharing tips for ways to workaround the policy and avoid paying the new fee.
Liz Morton
UPDATE 2-6-25
The eBay UK Buyer Protection Fee is finally starting to roll out in Electronics categories - here's what it looks like!
On the listing page, the buyer is shown an item price inclusive of both the seller price and the buyer fee.
And at checkout, eBay shows how much the fee is and that it is included in the price.
UPDATE 2-5-25
eBay's official support channel @AskeBay has confirmed launch of the Buyer Protection Fee has been pushed back until February 6th.
Further update - AskeBay deleted the tweet about an hour later and has made no additional public statements about when Buyer Fees will go into effect.
UPDATE 2-4-25
It's almost 3 PM in the UK and eBay users say they still aren't seeing buyer fees being applied on items from private sellers in Electronics categories.
valueaddedresource
When is the 4% BPF due to go live in electronics? I thought it was today. Only, I've looked at a number of items in that category listed by private sellers, and they are all still showing rounded / standard prices ie, £14.95 etc, no incongruous figures as would be expected with 4% added. Am I missing something?
I can't see it yet either - I'm looking at private seller's listing, buy it now, in the electronics category, the price is a round £150, so the buyer fee should apply as far as I understand it.
When I go to checkout the price is still £150, no breakdown including buyer fee is shown.
Maybe ebay haven't turned it on yet? Can anyone see any listing with the buyer fee applied, just curious to see how it's implemented really.
One seller says they were told by support that the fee would not apply to existing listings in Electronics, only new listings - that would contradict what eBay's announcement and policy pages have said, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time support gave conflicting information.
rainy44
Ive just had an interesting chat with eBay's Customer Service department - it seems that existing listings will not have this crazy new Buyer Protection fee added! Apparently, it will affect new listings only...
Per eBay's FAQ about the Buyer Protection Fee:
Where can I see how much the Buyer Protection fee is?
Where applicable, the Buyer Protection fee will always be included in the item price. At checkout, you will see the fee amount underneath the item’s name.
Click on Buyer Protection to see what protection is included and a detailed breakdown of the price.
I've checked both existing and new listings from private sellers in the Electronics categories while using a VPN with UK location and providing a UK postal code and - I'm not seeing any indication of buyer fees being applied either.
In possibly related news, eBay's community forums are being flooded today with posts about problems with the latest updates to both the iOS and Android apps - and all of the affected users so far appear to be in the UK.
Liz Morton
Could it be related to the launch of Buyer Fees in the UK and if so, is that why users are not seeing the fees applied yet? That would certainly be the kind of disruption eBay had hoped to avoid by changing to a phased roll out.
Let us know in the comments below if you're seeing Buyer Fees on any purchases from private sellers on eBay UK!
eBay UK is making a last minute change to introduction of Buyer Fees, opting for a phased rollout to "minimise potential disruptions".
The news was tucked into a broader announcement about changes launching in February posted in the eBay UK community, informing users the new Buyer Protection Fee will initially be starting only with listings in Electronics on February 4th and then expanding to other categories "in the following weeks".
uk-newsebay
Starting from 4 February, Buyer Protection will be live to give buyers more peace of mind when shopping on ebay.co.uk.
To minimise any potential disruption on our platform, the Buyer Protection fee will be gradually rolled out across items listed by private sellers, starting in Electronics and coming to all eligible categories in the following weeks.
Sellers and investors have all been holding their breath to see out how introducing buyer fees will impact sales on the UK marketplace - and the fact that eBay is pulling back and going with a more cautious phased in approach may indicate they are not themselves confident that the change won't be disruptive to sales on platform.
Previously, eBay had said the Buyer Protection Fee would apply to all private sales starting February 4th, excluding Vehicles, Classified Ads, and Property listings.
Liz Morton
The same UK community post also revealed changes to the new policy about when private sellers will get paid, making a small concession for lower value items allowing payments to be released 24 hours after a buyer leaves feedback for untracked items, instead of having to wait the full 14 days from the order date.
However, that won't go into effect until sometime toward the end of February, potentially leaving a few weeks in limbo where the full 14 day wait will still apply for those untracked, lower value items.
We’ve also heard your feedback and understand that shipping costs are particularly top of mind for low price items.
When you’re selling a single item for £10 or less, and it’s sent untracked, funds will now be available 24 hours after you receive positive buyer feedback. This will be live by the end of February.
It's also important to note that just because Buyer Fees are being phased in and will only apply to Electronics on February 4th, that doesn't mean other changes are also being delayed.
As far as I can tell, eBay is still going forward with the plan to switch all private sellers to payouts being delayed until after delivery on February 4th, they've only adjusted the time frame for items which are £10 or less.
Liz Morton
Time will tell if eBay makes any other updates to the major UK policy changes expected to launch this quarter, like mandatory Simple Delivery shipping for private sales of eligible items.
Liz Morton
Stay tuned for updates in this developing story!
