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eBay fees are a sore point among many sellers. However, the fees you pay cover all the costs of making the marketplace so great. Along with listing fees and Final Value Fees, eBay also offers Listing Upgrades, but each come at a cost. These upgrades offer your listings greater exposure, and therefore, should increase your sale price.
There are a few Listing Upgrades to choose from, so which ones are worth paying for? Below I've listed eBay's most popular Listing Upgrades and offered my thoughts on each of these. Let me know your experiences with Listing Upgrades by leaving a comment below.
Also Read: eBay Dropshipping Guide
Gallery Plus
Cost: $0.35 or $1 for Good Til Cancelled (GTC) listings.
What you get: A larger version of your featured image which stands out in search results and attracts more buyers.
Worth having? Get used to me saying that it's worth paying extra if you sell generic items (that all look the same such as DVDs or video games) or if you sell in a competitive market. If either of those apply to you, this Upgrade is worth testing out. Track your metrics and see if it gets more views than other listings do.
Listing Designer
Cost: $0.10 or $0.30 for GTC listings.
What you get: An attractive listing design that requires no HTML knowledge. It gives your listings a more professional feel, without the hassle of designing something yourself (choose from 100 themes by eBay).
Worth having? Worth a try if you can find a theme that will suit your audience. Some themes are a little cheesy and outdated in my opinion, but it's obviously a much cheaper option than going for something custom.
Subtitle
$0.50 or $1.50 for GTC listings.
What you get: An extra line of text to showcase your items in the search results.
Worth having? I wouldn't be surprised if eBay saw a drop in the use of subtitles since the Fall 2011 Update when the character count for regular listing titles went from 55 to 80. However, if less people are using the subtitle feature, that's probably a good reason for you to start. Scope out your competitors and see what others are doing. $0.50 per subtitle soon adds up, so testing is imperative. Above all else, remember that this Upgrade is only going to benefit you if you have something useful to say in the subtitle!
Value Pack
Cost: $0.65 or $2 for GTC listings.
What you get: All the above three Upgrades, all bundled for $0.65 (worth $1.05 separately).
Worth having? If you are considering using a subtitle, it's certainly worth the extra $0.15 to get the full package because it will undoubtedly get your listing noticed more in search results. Every seller should at least test using a Value Pack.
Bold
Cost: A whopping $2 or $4 for GTC listings.
What you get: Bold type font in search results to make your listings stand out.
Worth having? I personally think $2 is a huge fee for a bold type font, but if it works, it's worth paying for it. In my opinion, images are what gets clicks in search results and therefore, I would rather spend $0.35 on Gallery Plus.
Scheduled Listings
Cost: $0.10 for all listings.
What you get: Control the start and end time of your listing.
Worth having? For auction listings, yes! Very rarely do I skip this. Different products sell better on different days and at different times of the day which makes this $0.10 fee an essential one. (If you don't know what times and days suit your buyer audience best). It's also good to have your listing end at a well rounded time such as 8.30pm or 9pm so that buyers can easily remember what time the auction they are watching will end.
Other Listing Upgrades
List in two categories. Fees vary between categories. Readers, can you comment on this? I've never used it personally so I'm interested to hear what other's thoughts are. Leave me a comment below.
International site visibility. List your items on your local eBay site, but show them to buyers on worldwide eBay sites. Fees vary from $0.10 to $0.50 depending on listing format and starting price.
Auction format upgrades: Add Buy It Now to your auction (from $0.05), add a reserve price (from $2), or extend to a 10 day duration ($0.40). Auctioneers, what are your thoughts? Do these listing upgrades help? Share your thoughts below.
Listing upgrades can help customize the appearance of your listings and attract more buyers to your items. Check the fees for selling on eBay for details on which upgrades are available and how much they cost.
Hope this helps!
In your case, yes, the additional costs will probably be inconsequential to you, assuming you've got a significant profit margin. However, many eBay sellers, especially dropshippers, are selling on very low margins, and all these add-ons can eat away at those profits.