eBay has announced fee changes and standardization of VAT tax rates for seller in EU (European Union) countries. Some of the changes affecting UK sellers are outlined below - see individual eBay websites for details.

eBay UK is reducing Final Value Fees for items with a final selling price of £30 or higher in the following categories: Mobile and Home Phones (excluding the Mobile Phones with Contracts sub-category), Computing, Consumer Electronics and Photography. The change applies to listings in the Buy It Now and Auction-style formats and does not apply to listings in the Shop Inventory Format. eBay said it is making the changes "to promote a wider availability of technology products on the site, many of which sell for more than £30."

eBay UK is also reducing listing fees and is simplifying the Final Value Fees in Media categories (Books, Comics & Magazines, DVDs, Film and TV, the Games sub-category of Video Games, and Music, with some exceptions). Multiple item listings in these categories will now also have a slightly different pricing structure.

eBay UK is adjusting pricing in the Vehicles categories and said, "We believe that these changes reflect the growth in the Motors marketplace in recent years, and the value sellers get from access to the customer base and features that we offer." eBay Motors Pro prices remain unchanged.

eBay UK will no longer refund Reserve Fees if an item sells. The cost and rules for using reserves will remain unchanged - the Reserve Fee is 2% of the reserve price (must be above £50), up to a maximum fee of £100.

It appears sellers in media categories will benefit from the changes. James Scott posted a reaction to the changes on the ChannelAdvisor board, "This is a very interesting move from eBay and one which we think the seller base in general will welcome."

Media sellers in particular will benefit. Scott wrote, "Our media seller clients have told us that, since the changes in store inventory visibility in search results last year, they have had to take a lot of their slower selling inventory off eBay as they simply can’t afford the listing fees. However, by reducing listing fees to 10p in the media categories (or as low as 5p if the starting price is less than 99p), media sellers will be able to put more of their product inventory on eBay and buyers will therefore have more choice. This is a win-win for all concerned" (http://digbig.com/4rcdx).

eBay has set up a new entity in the European Union, based in Luxembourg, that will become the new contractual partner for all European members (http://www2.ebay.com/aw/uk/200701291138522.html). This means that all non-VAT registered sellers selling on eBay, and based in the European Union will pay VAT on their seller fees at the Luxembourg rate of 15 percent. eBay will continue billing sellers without a VAT number for selling fees including VAT. The invoice will no longer specify the amount of VAT, but will state the total amount due (fees plus VAT). To pay eBay fees net of VAT, all sellers will need to register their VAT number on an EU eBay site. In order to register VAT numbers with eBay.co.uk, sellers must be registered as business sellers.

eBay is changing its user agreement, stating that the main change is that the contractual relationship between users and eBay International AG will be transferred to eBay Europe S.à r.l. ("The main change is that the contractual relationship between you and eBay International AG will be transferred to eBay Europe S.à r.l. (http://www2.ebay.com/aw/uk/200701291257062.html).

eBay UK also announced it will extend its eBay Seller Rewards program (http://pages.ebay.co.uk/sell/sellerrewards).

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/uk/200701291040572.html