[TinjunTribe]

Everyone, take the time to look into the details of ebay promotions like [I]"no insertion fees" on your first 5 auctions this month.[/I]

If you DO NOT opt out of the promotion, a different set of FINAL VALUE FEES will apply to your auction.

Typically, you pay 8.75% on the first $25.00 of sale value, then 3.5% on the next $75.00, then a lower % on the next $50.00 or so (check their site to see the exact rate schedule).

Under the promotion "no insertion fee" gimmick, they waive the insertion fee (which would be $0.15 if you have an auction with an opening bid of 0.99......) but charge you a FLAT 8.75% on the entire amount your item sold for.

In my case, I sold a $77.00 external hard drive....and they got $2.58 more than they should have......I was unaware of this different set of rules.

CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW MUCH MORE THEY TAKE OUT OF YOUR POCKETS ON A CAR, or RARE HIGHLY VALUED ITEMS???????

When you set up an auction, don't take what they give you by default (promotions or otherwise), as the notification that different expense rates may or may not be readily visible.

And always look at your final value, and calculate it and check it to make sure it's calculated correctly (as you expected). This is the second issue I have had in two months. Luckily, they did credit me and reverse the fees when I contested them through their online chat tool.

Their disclosure is very faint at best. They probably nickel and dime people to death this way........