eBay Raises Fees on Sneakers Sold Through Its Authenticity Guarantee Program – Update on 11/4/2022

eBay announced several changes are coming to its Authenticity Guarantee program for sneakers to go into effect in October.

To start, the company is expanding the list of eligible Sneakers to make more in-demand sneakers available through the Authenticity Guarantee program.

This expansion could good news for sellers to help them expand their business on the marketplace.

eBay is also enhancing the listing and shipping process, which it believes will offer more transparency to buyers before making a buying decision, yet it may make sneakers more expensive.

A new listing flow will automatically select the domestic service eBay will use to ship orders eligible for the Sneaker Authenticity Guarantee. Now buyers will know exactly how the sneakers arrive at their door.

On the seller side, when an eligible pair of sneakers is purchased on eBay, the company will provide a no-cost shipping label to send the sneakers to the authentication center.

Update 11/4: eBay confirmed it is now rolling out the no-cost shipping label throughout November to include all eligible new and existing sneakers listings on the platform. It appears this change was delayed from the original anticipated October start.

This label includes loss and damage protection for the seller in the event something happens to the sneakers on the way to the center.

To speed up the buying experience, eBay is implementing a new handling time on Authenticity Guarantee-eligible sneakers requiring sellers to ship the sneakers to the authenticator in 3 business days or less.

Once authenticated, eBay claims buyers would receive their items within three days. However, the company didn’t mention any updates on improving the speed at the authentication center.

While the program isn’t suffering from delays when it launched, some buyers continue to complain on social media that the actual authentication process is taking too long.

But in a somewhat surprising decision that can only negatively impact the buying experience, buyers will now pay a flat shipping fee of $14.95 in the US when ordering sneakers through the authentication program.

eBay didn’t say if this would change in other markets as well but the company will provide more shipping information soon that hopefully will offer some clarity.

This shipping charge is really a bit curious considering eBay has been encouraging sellers to offer free shipping on its platform for years.

The company must believe the authentication program provides enough of an added-value benefit to buyers that they are willing to pay a shipping fee now.

eBay Tweaking Final Value Fees on Sneakers

When eBay launched the Sneaker authentication program, it didn’t charge a final value fee. Obviously, that wasn’t going to last.

In January of this year, the company started to monetize the program by implementing a final value fee on sneakers over $100 with either an 8% or 7% fee depending on whether the seller had an eBay Store subscription.

eBay is now adding a new tier of fees that will impact lower-priced sneakers in the Authentication Guarantee program.

• The final value fee for sneakers sold between $100 and $150 will increase to 12.9% for sellers without a Basic Store subscription or above. The final value fee for sellers with a Basic Store or above subscription will increase to 12%.
• Additionally, sneakers listed for under $150 may be subject to insertion fees if the seller has used up their monthly zero insertion fee allotment.
• The new $14.95 flat rate shipping fee for buyers will not be subject to final value fees, regardless of the pricing tier.

eBay pointed out that sneakers sold for less than $100 (not eligible for Authentication Guarantee), or sneakers sold for $150 or more — which it said account for the vast majority of sneakers sold on eBay — will not be affected by a final value fee increase.

“With verified returns, seller protections, lowest fees, and highest velocity — a pair of sneakers is sold every 5 seconds on eBay in the US. We’ll continue to work closely with you to capture your feedback and improve more processes in order to provide a great sneakers experience when you buy and sell on eBay,” concluded eBay in its email to sellers.

These changes to the sneakers authentication program will be effective on October 10, 2022.

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