We got a letter from readers Stan and Sue L. about David's review of MyEZsale.com (you can find the original story here: http://www.auctionbytes.com/Email_Newsletter/25/25.html#ez). David sold an antique trunk using the MyEZsale.com consignment service. It's awfully confusing to figure out the pricing involved with a consignment sale like this since there are shipping and packing charges and commission fees. The lesson here is to go over fees and commissions very carefully whenever you buy and sell items, especially if a third party is involved, to make sure you understand what's involved. Here are excerpts from the letters.

David,
Love your newsletter, I have been a fan of you and Ina for 2 years. I have a question on your MyEZsale review. If your buyer pays shipping, didn't you make 58.00 and should your check be that? Auction ending price of 68.09 plus 25.00 - the buyer would have paid 93.09, correct?

Thanks for everything, a former golf pro now an e-seller.

Stan and Sue L.

Hi Stan and Sue,
The fee structure can be pretty confusing. I thought at first that I should be receiving $58 as well, but the cost of shipping ($25) is included in the cost of the item.

I had entered the minimum price of my item as $34.99. MyEZSale.com adds the cost of shipping - $25 in this case - and a non-refundable $6 fee to my minimum price and uses this as a reserve for my auction. So my reserve was $65.99.

My trunk sold for $68.09, so we have to back out all of those fees, as well as a 6% commission ($4.09) from that price. Total fees came to $35.09, which left me with a $33.00 check.

Thanks very much for writing. We're glad you enjoy the newsletter!
Regards,
Dave Steiner