Facebook has announced that it has doubled its seller fees for listings sold with shipping on its popular Marketplace platform. Effective April 15, 2024, the selling fee has increased from 5% to 10%, with a minimum fee of $0.80 per listing. This change has come as a shock to many sellers who have come to rely on Facebook Marketplace as a low-cost alternative to other e-commerce platforms.
According to a notification sent out to sellers earlier, the fee increase is intended to "cover the costs of payments processing, customer support, and Purchase Protection." While local listings sold without shipping continue to have no selling fees, this change is already having a significant impact on sellers who offer shipping options to their customers.
Under the new fee structure in place since April 15th, Facebook Marketplace now charges a 10% selling fee per shipment, or a flat fee of $0.80 for products costing $8.00 or less. With this fee hike, sellers have had to carefully consider their pricing strategies to try and ensure they can still turn a profit on their sales.
For many sellers, this fee increase has been the tipping point that has pushed them to explore other selling platforms. While Facebook Marketplace gained popularity in recent years due to its large user base and low fees, competitors like eBay and Amazon are starting to look more attractive as sellers seek out more affordable options.
It's worth noting that this fee increase came right after Facebook had announced it would be waiving selling fees for all orders shipped through June 30, 2023 to help support sellers during the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As they continue to deal with the higher costs, sellers have had to weigh the diminishing benefits of selling on Facebook Marketplace against the now doubled fees. Some have chosen to absorb the additional fees, while many others have opted to raise prices or explore alternative selling channels instead.
For buyers, this change has already led to higher prices on the platform as most sellers have moved to offset the increased fees. It remains to be seen what the longer term impact of the fee hike will be on the overall user experience of Facebook Marketplace.
