Antiques and collectibles marketplace Ruby Lane is raising selling fees as of June 1, 2024. A reader told EcommerceBytes the fees has sellers like herself considering closing their shops.
In a letter sent to sellers, Ruby Lane said it strived to maintain static seller costs in recent years, but current conditions require a “recalibration.”
It said it saw escalating expenses over the past few years. “This year alone, we have encountered significant increases: 15% in advertising expenditures, 24% surge in the costs associated with the collection, reporting, and remittance of Sellers Sales Tax, 8% rise in insurance premiums, and a significant investment in cybersecurity to safeguard our platform against the ever-looming threat of cyberattacks.”
In addition, Ruby Lane said it has been working to address the issue of shops that evade Seller Service Fees and Sales Tax obligations, which it said impact sellers directly and compromise the integrity and fairness of its marketplace for buyers.
“Basically they are upping the shop fee from $25 to $45 and removing the $25 rebate on the fee you got by listing at least 15 new items in a month,” the seller said. “So for most it will go from $0 to $45. Most are not getting enough sales to justify paying this fee, including myself.”
The letter Ruby Lane sent shop owners included the following information about fees:
For those on the Legacy Fee Plan (available to Shop Owners before August 2021), rest assured, there will be no alterations to your existing plan.
For all other shops, the following adjustments will come into effect:
- Monthly Maintenance Fee will transition from $25 to $45 per month, which still includes unlimited items with no Listing Fees.
- Seller Service Fee is not changing, staying at 9.9%.
- To keep the Seller Service Fee the same, we unfortunately have to eliminate the current rebate for adding items.
It’s also instituting the following new Tiered Seller Service Fee for items exceeding $2,500:
- 9.9% on the total amount of the sale up to $2,500, calculated per item.
- 5.0% on the portion of the sale over $2,500 up to $7,500.
- 2.5% on the portion of the sale exceeding $7,500.
Ruby Lane said while cost adjustments aren’t ideal, it firmly believe that Ruby Lane continues to offer unparalleled advantages as a curated online platform for selling.
