RubyLane Now Charging A Fee To Buyers!

[YadaYadaYada]

I came across this reading the Etsy forums today. Apparently RubyLane is now charging a fee upon purchase that is lumped in with taxes. It's my understanding that the fee is not disclosed until after a purchase has been made. It is also not separated from the amount of tax collected, so if a buyer doesn't pay attention to the amount of tax collected then they won't even realize they are being charged anything extra! Here is an example someone shared on the forums:

"I've bought quite a lot from Ruby Lane. I put a random item in my cart and sure enough "Fees and Estimated Tax" was added. When I clicked on the ? this was the message:

Fees & Estimated tax
Service Fee: $9.00 USD
This service fee helps us operate Ruby Lane.

Estimated Sales Tax: $0.00 USD
Finalized tax and fee will be shown after your order is placed"

Granted I don't know what the amount of purchase was to generate a $9 fee but that is outrageous especially because the fee is not disclosed prior to a purchase.

Thoughts on this? Will this added buyer's fee discourage you from buying on RubyLane in the future?

 

[whitewave]

That’s Nuts

 

[MamaBee]

Wow! I buy a lot from them...I’m not happy about it but I would still buy from them if the price is right...If the fee becomes ridiculous..I won’t..

 

[CSpan]

They need to disclose that at a minimum. shady.

 

[PreRaphaelite]

Sucks.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

@whitewave are you in pain ?
do you eyes hurt?
i wish you a speedy recovery

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Okay guys, got more information for you. The fee charged to buyers is considered a "service fee" and is 2.95% of the total items purchased, plus any shipping/handling, rounded up to the nearest 25 cents. It is charged on all purchases made on Ruby Lane. RubyLane is justifying this fee because they now have to collect and remit sales tax for buyers, so they say it is to offset the cost. They also said this is common with auction houses who charge a buyer's premium, except RL isn't an auction site, so that angle IMO is not even relevant.

Also the buyer fee went into effect November 14th of this year, sellers will be paying higher fees starting in January.

This will definitely keep me from buying on RL. Luckily I have found that a lot of sellers who have a presence there also have their inventory listed on Etsy and/or EBay. So if you do find something you have to have be sure to check out whether it is also listed on another site so you can avoid paying that ridiculous money grab fee.

*Edited for clarity

 

[lyra]

RL isn't really Canada friendly anyway, for me. I've only ever looked at things there. It's a shame really.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@lyra, not Canada friendly because of the cost for shipping or something else? Just curious.

I have bought a couple of rings on RL but won't be buying anything in the future with this ridiculous fee. Plenty of other sites that don't charge you to shop!

 

[lyra]

Yes. Shipping is crazy expensive on my end, plus we have 15% hst that is hit and miss with vintage things. Even etsy and ebay are harder. Some places won't even ship to Canada. ETA: it's a major pain if a site does not convert to CAD as well.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I figured it was the shipping but didn't even consider the conversion issue, I can see how that would be annoying @lyra

 

[marymm]

If the service fee refunded if you timely return the item?

 

[YadaYadaYada]

If the service fee refunded if you timely return the item?

That's a good question, I'm not sure to be honest.

ETA: I just checked their site and there is no mention of the fee being refunded in the event of a return, they don't even address the issue.

 

[marymm]

^ Yeah, I looked too on the site and didn't see it covered ... I am guessing it wouldn't be refunded as that would negate the value of a "service fee" but if it isn't to be refunded I would think it would have to be so stated in the Terms and Conditions section ... I have two items being delivered this week and if I ended up returning one or both, I'll update this thread re: the service fee/refund question.

 

[marymm]

^ I am keeping both items.

However, I don't plan to purchase from Rubylane again as I don't appreciate the lack of transparency re: the service fee.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Do you mind me asking what you bought @marymm? Understand if you can't/don't want to share, just always love seeing vintage finds.

 

[LemonMoonLex]

I'm not a buyer that hates these "Seller or Service Fees" (even when they seem so random) but what isnt okay is them not saying a word and just slyly slipping it in there when you purchase the item. These fees need to be on the item description at the bottom or at least under Terms and Conditions.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Right...transparency, these fees should be disclosed prior to purchase and be their own line item @TheGarnetGirl