Ebay lowers charity charges

Ebay has made it more attractive for sellers to give a percentage of their profits to charity.

The auction site has cut the minimum fee for its Ebay for Charity programme which lets auction sellers donate between 10 – 100 per cent of the proceeds of a sale.

When the donation programme was first set up, sellers had to give £5 or 10 per cent of the item's final selling price, whichever was greater.

Changes have also been made to the way that MissionFish, the UK charity that partners Ebay on the programme, charges to collect and disburse donations. Initially the charity deducted either four per cent of the donation and any Gift Aid collected on the donation or £2, whichever was greater.

Although the initiative has proved popular, with more than 1,100 charities registering with the programme in less than a year according to MissionFish, some of the Ebay community felt the charges were too steep.

The fees deterred many people who were selling items at very low costs. They ended up out of pocket if the final selling price of their auction didn't meet the charges, in which cases they had to pay the difference.

Ebay stated on its website: "We have received strong feedback from the community that it would like to reduce the minimum donation from its level of £5 to allow more sellers to give to charity more frequently."

Now the minimum donation that Ebay allows has been reduced to £2. Missionfish will also reduce its charges and the minimum deduction will be reduced to 40p from a £2 minimum donation.

The charity will also no longer take deductions from the Gift Aid collected for charities.

There will continue to be no minimum donation or MissionFish deductions for charities selling items themselves. The new £2 minimum will continue to apply to each listing rather than each item.

Ebay has published a full list of revised charges that took effect on 28 September. Any existing Ebay for Charity listings that end on or after the morning of 28th September qualify for the new changes.

The changes mean more money goes to the charity of the seller's choice. For example if a seller donates £5, £5.66 will go to the benefiting charity (compared to £4.66 previously).

During October Ebay is running a challenge to see which charities benefit most from sellers' Ebay for Charity listings. Winning charities will receive awards and other prizes. Also keep an eye out for some great celebrity auctions.
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