eBay Fees

Any one who sells on eBay knows that eBay, and PayPal, fees add up quickly. When I first started selling I was starting my auctions out at 99 cents. Unfortunately there were things that actually sold for that price and I found myself making about a quarter on the item. I have since learned my lesson and always start my auctions at the least amount I’m will to let an item go. But of course that means that the higher price you sell an item the higher the fees are. And what is eBay and PayPal doing with all our fees? Well I found out recently.

As some of you know Northern California is home to a lot of big companies. We all know that Apple is located in Cupertino. And eBay/PayPal has a campus in San Jose. I happen to have a friend that works for PayPal. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean I get any special treatment. That does mean that anytime I have a problem I text him to complain about it (the cost of being my friend). Several months ago he invited my Princess and I to have breakfast with him before work. On our way to meet him he called to tell me he had been called in to work early and asked if we could meet at work so we could get a coffee and bite to eat there. I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t what I found.

He was waiting for me in front of the main entrance which was a huge beautiful glass building. I had to sign in at the front desk, hand over my ID, give a sample of my blood and promise to name my first born after them before they handed over a badge for me to get in. OK the last two didn’t actually happen but I did feel like I was being allowed entrance into the National Treasury or to see Mr. Obama himself security was that tight. To the right of the entrance there is a Starbucks and this is where we went to get some coffee. The windows at the Starbucks look out into a gorgeous courtyard. After our coffee (juice for my Princess), we went out and he showed me around. The courtyard had a couple large fish ponds which my Princess loved. We were surrounding by different buildings that house who knows what department. He said PayPal (and his desk) were to the right. There is a gym, a court of some kind (tennis maybe?), and there are different cafes throughout the buildings. You never have to leave. And I can say I really didn’t want to. Everything was so green and bright and beautiful. But real life intruded and he had to get to work. Plus I think he might have been a little worried I might pull an egg or rotten tomato out of my purse and throw it at one of the buildings.

As I sit every day in my tiny run down building housing our office with a tiny kitchen that we finally got a refrigerator put in, the freeway noise booming through the windows, and the man at the corner asking for money (and no he’s not homeless because I saw him get into a car the other day and drive to his house), I remember my eBay campus experience and sigh for what I can never have. And then I curse them because my eBay and PayPal fees are paying for everything I saw.