# Ebay costs per auction, 2010 **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 26, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238 "2011-08-26T22:24:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![curious11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ac91a4/32.png) [@curious11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curious11)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/1 "2011-08-26T22:24:34Z")
Hello, I’m debating with a friend and my POV is that eBay is making WAY too much profit. To defend that position I’m trying to find the number of auctions completed in 2010. Then, with the information in the 2010 Annual Income Statement, I could figure out how much each transaction (on average) cost. Total Revenue (US$)9,156,274,000. Total Profit or Net Income (US$)1,800,961,000. So far I can only find the dollar value of the auctions completed, not the number of auctions completed. Thanks in advance for your help. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/2 "2011-08-27T00:35:38Z")
[This articles](http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2010/04/20/ebay-wins-patent-online-auction-process/) cites 14.5 million auctions in 2010. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/3 "2011-08-27T00:48:55Z")
With that answered, I’m curious; what does “too much” profit mean? ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/4 "2011-08-27T00:56:58Z")
Since Ebay is involved in many other businesses, (PayPal, for one) you’re going to have a hard time coming up with accurate numbers if those revenue figures aren’t broken down and exclusive to their (American) auction-listing operations. Besides (American) Ebay auctions and Paypal, here’s some other stuff Ebay is involved in: > [@](#): > > eBay Inc. provides online marketplaces for the sale of goods and services, as well as other online commerce, platforms, and online payment solutions to individuals and businesses in the United States and internationally. The company’s Marketplaces segment provides the infrastructure to enable online commerce on a range of platforms, including the [eBay.com](http://eBay.com) platform, and its localized platforms. Its online platforms also consist of StubHub, a secondary tickets marketplace; [Shopping.com](http://Shopping.com), an online shopping comparison Website; [Rent.com](http://Rent.com), an apartment listing service platform; and [Half.com](http://Half.com), a fixed price media marketplace. This segment also operates classifieds Websites, such as Den Bla Avis, BilBasen, Gumtree, Kijiji, LoQUo, Marktplaats.nl, and [mobile.de](http://mobile.de), as well as eBay Classifieds, including eBay Anuncios, eBay Kleinanzeigen, and eBay Annunci. In addition, its [eBay.com](http://eBay.com) platform provides services comprising feedback forums, safeharbor programs, verified rights owner programs, customer support, pre-trade and post-trade tools and services, powerseller programs, eBay top-rated seller programs, top buyer programs, coupons and buyer rewards, and eBay buyer protection services. The company’s Payments segment operates online payment solutions, such as PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to send and receive payments online; and Bill Me Later solution that enables the United States merchants to offer, the United States consumers to obtain, credit at the point of sale for ecommerce transactions through Bill Me Later’s relationship with a chartered financial institution. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/5 "2011-08-27T01:00:10Z")
I’m not sure the total number of auctions tells you much anyway, as eBay’s total revenue includes lots of things unrelated to auctions, including PayPal, Skype and Marketplaces. So if you divide total net profit by 14.5 million, you get $124, but I doubt that is the average net from each auction. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/6 "2011-08-27T03:25:45Z")
Recent related post [I really need to keep better track of what eBay is charging me to sell stuff!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=618327) > [@](#): > > I sell stuff on eBay all the time, mainly thrift finds, but it more of hobby than anything else so I haven’t really been keeping up with all the little internal charges the apply against the sale until the other day when, as a favor, I sold a watch for the head of my real estate firm. I then had to break out the charges for him to tell him how much it cost him to sell it … and wow! > > I thought my total transaction costs would be around 7 or 8%, they are actually around 12%. I also see they snuck in a new fee to charge me a percentage on my shipping costs! What bastards! > Watch - Sold - (290.00) > $ 1.00 for pictures – eBay charge > > $ .45 final value charge for shipping > > $ 26.10 - eBay final selling fee charged by eBay > > 8.85 - Paypal fee charged by Paypal 36.40 – Total cost to sell > > Net $ 253.60 ---
**Author:** ![jeffsdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/aca169/32.png) [@jeffsdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffsdad)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/7 "2011-08-27T03:39:03Z")
Ebay is a terrible place to sell things. they have hidden costs, and its now almost impossible to sell without going thru paypal. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/8 "2011-08-27T04:23:11Z")
> [@jeffsdad](#): > > Ebay is a terrible place to sell things. they have hidden costs, and its now almost impossible to sell without going thru paypal. It’s a balance. It’s a great place to sell things from a marketing point of view. I got far more high quality action for my items off ebay than I ever got off CL. It’s simply that they have accelerated the costs to sellers, made buyer’s rights far more important than seller’s rights, and turned large chunks of ebay into virtual storefronts for commodity products. My biggest bitch is that the huge paypal and ebay fees seem utterly disconnected from the utility of the service they provide, but if you want the highest number of buyers for your stuff they are the main game. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/9 "2011-08-27T15:56:53Z")
> [@jeffsdad](#): > > Ebay is a terrible place to sell things. they have hidden costs, and its now almost impossible to sell without going thru paypal. And an example of a _good_ place to sell things would be… ? ---
**Author:** ![curious11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ac91a4/32.png) [@curious11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curious11)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/10 "2011-08-29T16:31:12Z")
AudioBottle -\> Obviously there is no commonly held belief on what constitues “Too Much Profit.” Based on the income statement, eBay is making 19.67% profit on all business in 2010. Rigamarole -\> eBay has essentially no competitors. Paypal, Yeah, when I heard eBay bought paypal I was thinking, “Woot! Now the fees will be LESS!” Cause now they could let you use PayPal for free while making money off the auction fees. Right? 🙂 huh? wait, what? Yes, it will be difficult to tease out the auction only income from all the other income. ---
**Author:** ![curious11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ac91a4/32.png) [@curious11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curious11)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/11 "2011-08-29T16:41:33Z")
well on Friday the yahoo profile for eBay listed no competitors, today the yahoo profile is listing Amazon, Google, and Yahoo as direct competitors. Didn’t Yahoo close their auctions? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/12 "2011-08-29T16:42:00Z")
> [@audiobottle](#): > > With that answered, I’m curious; what does “too much” profit mean? You know, like “too happy”. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/13 "2011-08-29T16:54:58Z")
> [@curious11](#): > > well on Friday the yahoo profile for eBay listed no competitors, today the yahoo profile is listing Amazon, Google, and Yahoo as direct competitors. Didn’t Yahoo close their auctions? Ebay is much bigger than auctions. They are an internet retailer, much like Amazon; both have affiliates that advertise on their respective sites. Don’t know how that compares to Google and Yahoo. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/14 "2011-08-29T17:02:53Z")
> [@curious11](#): > > eBay has essentially no competitors. So eBay is the only platform in the world where you can sell things? Pretty sure that’s not correct. What eBay does provide to sellers is a search engine where millions of potential buyers from around the world can find your product and potentially buy it. If you don’t like that service then sell your stuff on Craigslist, through your local newspaper, or at a yard sale. They don’t care. ---
**Author:** ![curious11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ac91a4/32.png) [@curious11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curious11)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/15 "2011-08-29T21:25:36Z")
What other online auction service provides a search engine where millions of potential buyers from around the world can find your product and protentially buy it? That also has over 9 billion in revanue? Anyone? Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/16 "2011-08-30T13:21:18Z")
> [@curious11](#): > > What other online auction service provides a search engine where millions of potential buyers from around the world can find your product and protentially buy it? That also has over 9 billion in revanue? Anyone? Anyone? Well if it’s so easy to do, why don’t you start Cbay to compete with them? The biggest barrier to entry is capital. Microsoft and google have plenty of that. The problem is that eBay has name recognition and huge brand awareness. When you think of buying or selling used things on-line most people immediately think of eBay. That’s the large nut to crack. But to say they make to much profit??? Comrade, get back in your line to buy toilet paper. ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-costs-per-auction-2010/594238/17 "2011-08-30T14:47:55Z")
The only real competition to Ebay is in fixed price selling - and the fees in that are just as high as at ebay - for example being an [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) third party merchant gives just as much exposure as ebay for most items. Much of Ebay is basically fixed price commodity stuff direct from China as stated above though - lots of cases/accessories/chargers, etc that are buy it now or are “faux” auctions where there are a million and no one ever bids more than the minimum bid. For auction stuff though ebay is the way to go as a seller though. There are a huge number of bidders who pay more than, or almost exactly replacement cost for used merchandise; such that I could get a refurb or second from the manufacturer or a legit reseller for the same price or less. For example I sold a wifi kindle on ebay with two cases and the final selling price with shipping was $153. The wifi kindle was selling as a refurb from amazon itself for $99 w/free shipping at the time, and the cases were originally direct from China via ebay for about $10 each - the buyer paid a $33 premium to get used merchandise from a seller of unknown providence. That kind of thing is why people sell on ebay regardless of fees.