Application of new \"Buyer protection fee\".

MrAngry · Guest

Hi all.

Anyone else having any issues with the recently introduced \"Buyer protection fee\" and Gixen snipes?

I had set a bid maximum of ?GBP 165.00 on an item but was beaten by a bid of ?GBP 162.96 which worked out at ?GBP 170.20 including \"Buyer protection fee\" for the winning bidder.

Do we now have to include \"headroom\" for estimated \"Buyer protection fees\" when setting maximum Gixen snipe amounts?

Grateful for any advice by return.

Cupid · Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 7936 Location: Bristol, UK

I've been expecting and waiting for this to be raised here.

I guess that so far this only applies to auctions on ebay.co.uk.. or have they rolled this out on any other sites yet ?

The bid you schedule here on Gixen is, as it has always been, the maximum that you are willing to pay.

So, yes that does include the fee that Ebay now take from you as a buyer.

What appears on the bids page is the amount of your bid, less that fee. This is exactly the same as when you place a bid manually.

Where I do see it causing issues for Gixen is when it calculates bid increments, because those are based on the auction price once buyer fees are taken off, not directly on the auction price that you pay. I think Mario might need to look into this aspect... but it could prove a difficult one, since the mechanism now depends on whether you are buying from a private seller or a registered business, so is not even consistent across all auctions on a particular Ebay site.

We may need to discuss this further here before we can reach a solution that fits all cases.
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Mark

mario · Site Admin Joined: 03 Oct 2006 Posts: 7241

I was unaware of this new feature... I will indeed have to take a look now, as this makes it more difficult for buyers to understand why their bid did not win.

mario · Site Admin Joined: 03 Oct 2006 Posts: 7241

Unfortunately this information is not available in the item details Gixen is fetching, so it's indeed more difficult to determine when this fee is applied, and when not. I don't think this fee is going away, however, no new fee on ebay ever has.

It would have been much easier for everyone had they added this fee as part of seller fees.

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MrAngry · Guest

Cheers, folks.

As you say Mario, this isn't going away.

I see quite a few private sellers complaining that their sales have tanked, particularly in relation to low value items, since the introduction of this fee.

It looks like it has the potential to drive private sellers off the platform (probably the intention) and dissuade buyers from spending as much / frequently as they have done in the past.

Cupid · Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 7936 Location: Bristol, UK

There are also issues with private sellers no longer being able to issue combined postage invoices, because this would be 'incompatible' with this new selling option.

Perhaps Ebay will refine it a bit... they don't seem to have yet fully considered all the consequences of what they've done with this.
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Mark

Guest · Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2025 5:19 pm Post subject:

Hey Cupid, please can you add this to the FAQ? I had the same problem as the OP - but I haven't bidded yet, I wanted to know if I needed to add some headroom to my bid for the buyer's protection fee. Your explanation here is perfect, thank you. I read a few threads but this answer is the clearest. Thanks!

Guest · Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2025 5:22 pm Post subject:

Also, maybe you could add a little * next to Current Bid that says \"This does NOT include the Buyer's Protection Fee\", and another little * next to Your Bid that says \"You MUST include the Buyer's Protection Fee\" - perhaps only displayed if your Current Country Setting is set to United Kingdom

benjylad01 · Guest

Funny thing is, if you buy (based in the UK) via the .com site you don't have to pay the buyer protection fees, regardless of having a UK delivery addy. I popped on to see whether it would be possible to use gixen via the .com site (as the bidding servers are US based?) and avoid the fee altogether..

Cupid · Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 7936 Location: Bristol, UK

benjylad01 · Guest

Cupid · Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 7936 Location: Bristol, UK

OK, I've tried it myself and you are correct.

Gixen bids submitted for UK auctions via the US Ebay site are not reduced by the buyer premium and if you win, though the UK Ebay page shows the higher amount (including the premium), you are only required to pay the amount of the accepted bid, which does not include that premium.
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Mark