Martin Lewis has issued a warning to eBay shoppers and said: “Beware”. The 52-year-old ITV star and BBC regular spoke out in the weekly Money Saving Expert newsletter, where he warned consumers over eBay charging “new fees”.
MSE said: “Buyers beware… eBay’s charging new fees. You’ll soon pay up to 4% AND 75p/item when buying from private sellers. See new eBay fees.” eBay buyers face new charges when purchasing from private sellers, MSE has advised.
From 4 February, the site will charge a so-called ‘buyer protection fee’ which consists of a flat fee of 75p on items listed above 99p, 4% of the first £300 of the item’s cost and 2% on the portion of the item’s cost between £300 and £4,000.
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There are no further fees on the portion of an item’s cost above £4,000, which effectively caps the total fee you’d pay at £86.75, MSE adds. The consumer group, which was founded by Mr Lewis, says: “eBay’s marketing spin is you’ll now get ‘buyer protection’.
“However, the updates seem like no great shakes to us. Private sellers will soon get paid after delivery and customer support will be available 24/7 (previously just working hours). It already has a Money Back Guarantee scheme, which covers you if you don’t receive something or it doesn’t match the listing.
“This is staying the same.” The new fees means buy an ice cream maker priced at £60 by the seller, and you’d fork out an extra £2.40, plus 75p. That’s a total of £3.15 more than you currently need to pay. A buyer protection fee isn’t applied to items priced below 99p.
The news comes after eBay removed its “regulatory operating fees” for private UK sellers last October, just six months after introducing them in April. ebay said the buyer protection will give shoppers on the website “more confidence and security”.