What Are Shopping Fees And How To Avoid Problems And Errors
We’re always looking for ways to make our lives more hassle-free, and there’s no doubt the world of online shopping has changed our lives for the better. Online shopping has exploded in recent times and it has become the number 1 way to create a business and market new products. Due to the sheer amount of time we spend on the internet, most consumers use this medium to browse or purchase new items. Sellers are now focussing majorly on perfecting their online stores and ensuring that their online marketing is up to date with the latest trends. Much of the market could be considered saturated which is why it is so important to ensure that you choose the correct place on the internet to showcase your items. Choosing the right place could mean the difference between success and failure for your business.
Shopping fees are incurred when you place your items online and these fees could be on an item by item basis or subscription-based, sometimes both. Let’s take a look at different online marketplaces to compare and contrast the different fees you may need to pay.
Amazon
Amazon offers a free individual but a professional plan of $39.99 a month. It is the largest marketplace and has a worldwide reach. Individual sellers pay $0.99 for each item sold as well as varying closing fees from $0.45 to $1.35. Professional sellers pay varying closing fees and referral fees which range from 6% to 25%. Professional sellers are exempted from the $0.99 per item fee.
Because of this, the prices do tend to be more competitive however, you will have greater access to customers which will lead to more sales. As a new seller, beware, as some categories and brands may be restricted. Some categories require approval and sometimes a one-off fee of a few thousand dollars. Bear in mind that Amazon fees are 15%.
It can be very tempting to use the Amazon marketplace however, you will need to be aware of a few things to ensure you don’t lose your profits in a mess of fees and returns. Some common areas where your profits can disappear are returned items that are lost or damaged and not receiving funds for items that are refunded straight away. Amazon may also not receive your shipments in full, it’s fairly common for parts of your shipment to get lost or damaged on the way to Amazon’s fulfillment centers. To avoid this, you can either choose to ship the items yourself or ensure that you are meticulous about confirming the SKUs match up with the shipment you sent.
Another profitability leak happens when the SKU quantity from your vendor is incorrect. Ensure that you triple-check that the quantity received is what you ordered. This will save you from a lot of hassle and loss of money.
Google has become a contender in the market through their Google Shopping feature. It receives over 3 billion searches a day, increasing your chances of being noticed and making sales. It takes a 12% cut and does not have a minimum cost for Shopping or listing your ads. You can showcase your item for as little as $0.01. There is also no minimum daily budget, so you can have a fair amount of flexibility with how much spend.
To become profitable by selling on Google, you should ensure that your Shopping feed is working accurately. Many sellers run into issues when it comes to setting up their feed. Before setting up or at the early stages ensure that you learn how to fix your Google shopping feed errors so you are all set up from when you run into any. Some of the common errors are having invalid images, which can be fixed by downloading the images report. Review your data and ensure that the items imagine_link parameter is pointing to the correct URL. If the images are too small, make sure that you are using images with the correct dimensions, for apparel products, images need to be at least 250×250 pixels. For all other products, images need to be at least 100×100 pixels.
eBay
eBay is one of the most recognized online marketplaces. Similar to Amazon, eBay has a basic fee structure as well as different store levels which take slightly lower fees. eBay’s store subscriptions take around 9% instead of 10%. There are however further listing fees and promotional fees which when added up, increase your expenses.
Despite the popularity of the marketplace, you can run into some risks as a seller. eBay tends to side with customers for the most part. This can be an issue if you run a small business or the majority of your income is tied to your business. Where there are disputes, eBay tends to favor the customer which could lead to a financial loss for you. Due to the nature of online marketplaces, customers can leave negative feedback which could affect your future sales. You want to bear this in mind when weighing up your options, as this could all affect your future finances.
Etsy
If you are looking to sell handmade or crafty items, Etsy is the marketplace for you. Most of Etsy’s customers come there looking for unique items, especially ones with a personal touch. It’s a lot more difficult to sell these kinds of items on bigger marketplaces like amazon as you tend to have a lot less product. This makes it harder for it to make it to the front page, therefore decreasing your chances of making a ton of sales. Etsy’s fees include a 5% cut as well as an extra 3% if you use their payment system. There are also listings and other additional fees.
It can be difficult to keep up with paying recurring listing fees. Etsy also tends to push a free shipping guarantee and where sellers don’t want to always participate, it can lead to your shops or items being advertised less.
Hopefully, you have a clearer understanding of the different shopping fees associated with online marketplaces and how to combat some of them.
