Gloves off in pre-loved price war as eBay scraps private seller fees

eBay UK has scrapped the fees private sellers have to pay to access the online marketplace, in a move designed to see off competition for the rapidly growing and hugely profitable pre-loved sector.

eBay is second only to Amazon as the biggest online marketplace in the world.

Earlier this year, eBay UK abolished fees for private users selling pre-loved clothing, which, the company claims, drove a double-digit increase in listings for items including jeans, shirts, and dresses.

Now eBay has gone a step further by scrapping seller fees across almost all categories, with the change kicking in immediately.

The new policy means private sellers will no longer pay final value or regulatory fees, except for cars, motorcycles, and other large vehicles. However, business sellers on eBay will still have to pay fees.

Kirsty Keoghan, general manager of eBay UK, emphasised the benefits to buyers and sellers of the change: “eBay is constantly improving the marketplace experience in order to deliver on what our customers want.

“Removing selling fees across categories is designed to give buyers access to greater breadth and depth of inventory, while creating a simplified and streamlined experience for sellers.

“If you sell anything on eBay as a private seller, you will not pay any fees. So, if you sell an item for £20 (€24), you will be able to pocket the £20 (€24).”

eBay responds to fierce competition

eBay’s decision to scrap seller fees is seen by industry analysts as a strategic response to increased competition from younger,** more nimble resale platforms, such as Depop and Vinted.

Vinted, Lithuania’s first “unicorn” company (a private startup with a valuation of at least $1bn – €906,000m), was founded by Milda Mitkute in 2008, who set up a website to clear her closet of unwanted clothes.

The company grew exponentially and now has 16 million UK users. Vinted, like many resale platforms, charges buyers rather than sellers. There are no fees for uploading or selling items on the site. Instead, buyers pay a “buyer protection fee” of between 3% and 8% of the pre-postage price on each item, plus between 30 and 80 cents.

In March, Depop, the London-based circular fashion marketplace that encourages its 35 million registered users to choose secondhand, and extend the lives of their clothes, removed its charge for sellers.

Its 10% of the total sale price charge for all newly listed items, has been replaced with a “marketplace fee” for UK buyers of up to 5% of the purchase price, plus a fixed amount of up to £1 (€1.19). Depop sellers still have to pay a payment processing charge.

The pre-loved market is worth billions

eBay research conducted in August suggested that an estimated 294 million unused items across the UK could generate more than £9bn (€10.5bn) in resale income, with half of households (50%) valuing their unused items at between £50 (€59) and £300 (€356).

Nearly a quarter of households (24%) were sitting on items worth more than £500, the research found. The most common categories included adult clothing, DVDs, CDs and gadgets.

The site’s consumer research also found that the majority of people (56%) sold items they no longer used in order to make money, with almost half (47%) finding it more sustainable than throwing them away, 55% wanting to clear space in their home, and 23% selling things to fund new purchases.

Germany led the way for eBay

When eBay’s German site dropped selling fees last year, it gave the business a much-needed boost. eBay claimed that not only did more people there start selling on the site as a result, but more than 250,000 German sellers started buying, and they ended up buying twice as much as buyers who did not sell.

Speaking to Euronews Business, eBay said: “We introduced free selling for private sellers in 2022 in Germany to eliminate the biggest barrier consumers faced when selling on eBay.de, strengthen private online trading during economically challenging times, and invest in the broader eBay marketplace ecosystem.”

“The results have been consistently positive, with consumer-to-consumer volume returning to growth. Drawing from this success, we have initiated a similar approach in the UK, initially focusing on the fashion sector in April and subsequently expanding to other categories.”

eBay told Euronews Business that there are no immediate plans to suspend seller fees across all European territories, saying: “Each market has unique needs. What is right for the UK market isn’t necessarily right for other markets. That said, we’re always looking for new ways to deliver what customers want, and improve our experience to best serve buyers and sellers around the world.”