Now that you've specified all of your options for the calculator you can begin to enter in the amounts you
wish to calculate your eBay and PayPal fees for.
Just to quickly recap setting your options, first you choose your auction type (either
Single Item or
Multiple Item), then you choose your options for that type (for
example, No Reserve, Reserve,
or Buy It Now for a
Single Item Auction). Next, you choose any
listing upgrades you may be using and also if you're using
eBay Picture Services in your auction. Next, you
choose whether or not you're selling an item in eBay Stores and also whether
or not you're listing your item in the special
Business & Industrial category. Next, you set your
PayPal options (including what country the money is coming from, what country the
money is going to, your monthly sales volume, and whether or not the payment is an eCheck). And finally, you specify
whether your item sold or not.
OK, so after you've finished setting all of your options you can begin to enter your auction's pricing
information. First, you enter in the Opening Bid of your auction, then you choose your auction's
duration (either 1, 3, 5, 7, or 10 days), then you enter in the Closing Bid of your auction. Next,
you enter in the amount you have charged for shipping & handling in the textbox labeled S&H Charged.
Below that you enter in your actual cost of shipping (used for Net Profit calculation) and below that your
Cost To Acquire.
Tip:
Your Cost To Acquire is the price that you paid to first acquire the item.
This amount is also used when determining Net Profit. If this amount is not applicable to you, you can simply
enter 0 in the textbox or leave it blank.
After you've finished entering all your amounts (the white textboxes) simply press the
Calculate button to calculate your eBay and PayPal fees. You will notice your fees are displayed in
grey and yellow textboxes. This is to make it easy to determine what you have to fill in and what the calculator fills in. Any
textbox which has a white background is what the calculator expects you to fill in and any textbox
which has a grey background is what the calculator fills in for you. Once you press the Calculate button the
calculator will display to you a number of useful pieces of information. Which include...
Insertion Fees
Your Insertion Fees are charged at the initial time of listing and are determined by your opening bid amount. They are
non-refundable. Also, if eBCalc determines that you must pay a Reserve Fee (in the case of a
Reserve style auction and the item did not sell), this fee will be added into your
Insertion Fees as well.
Upgrade Fees
Your Upgrade Fees are your combined fees for any listing upgrades you may be using. These fees also include any
applicable fees for eBay Picture Services.
Final Value Fees
Your Final Value Fees are determined by what price your item closes at (your "Closing Bid" or "Buy It Now" price).
They are only charged if your item successfully sells. In the case of eBay Motors, this field will display
your Transaction Services Fee, and in the case of eBay Real Estate this field will display
your Notice Fee.
Total eBay Fees
Your Total eBay Fees are the total combined fees you will be paying to eBay for that particular auction. It is
simply the sum of your Insertion Fees, your Reserve Fees (if applicable), your Listing Upgrade fees, and your
Final Value Fees.
Total PayPal Fees
Your Total PayPal Fees are the total combined fees eBCalc has determined that PayPal would charge you if you were
to receive a payment in the amount you have entered. Your PayPal fees are determined by the total amount your buyer
sends you (that is, the closing price of your item plus the amount you have charged for shipping & handling). The
PayPal fees eBCalc displays to you are determined using the percentage and the fixed fee amount you specify in
the PayPal options box.
Total Fees
Your Total Fees are your total combined fees for eBay plus your total combined fees for PayPal.
Net Profit
The final and most important piece of information calculated by eBCalc is your Net Profit. Your Net Profit is
basically your total income minus your total "out go". With all auctions, there is income and there is "out go". Your
income is the amount you initially receive from the auction (that is, that total amount your buyer sends you). Your
"out go" is the collective term for all of the fees and charges that are associated with your auction (for example,
your eBay fees, your PayPal fees, your actual cost of postage/shipping, the cost of shipping materials, whatever
price you paid to first acquire the item, etc). These are all "outgoing" costs. If we take our total income from an
auction (the total amount the buyer has sent us) and we subtract from that all of our total "out go" (all associated
fees, costs, charges, etc. for the auction) what we are left with is our Net Profit. Your
Net Profit can be thought of as your bottom line. It the single most important piece of information
all sellers must think about before selling an item on eBay. eBCalc is one of the very few eBay fee calculators out
there that can accurately calculate true Net Profit (making sure to include important factors
such as the amount your charge your buyer for S&H, your actual S&H cost, and what amount you first paid to acquire
the item).