Charity auction and fees?

[Sellingnow1982]

I did a charity auction through ebay giving 100% of the money to charity thinking that I get my fees waved.  But I was charged by paypal and probably ebay too.  I thought that when you do a charity auction and donate 100% of the money through mission fish that the money goes straight to the charity.  Instead it when into my paypal account and paypal charged me a fee.

[Ben_Abney]

Same thing has happened to me. Have done several charity sales recently, some partial and some 100% and it looks like all the proceeds are going into my account and that I am being charged all the standard fees. I need to figure this out. Worried that if I just forward the proceeds to the charity i will later learn that my account gets drafted for the contributions later. Anyone know how this works?

[Sellingnow1982]

Partially I understand the fees but 100% I don't understand the fees.

[PayPal_Olivia]

Hi folks!

To learn about the reduced fees for eligible nonprofits, check out this page, and click the pricing tab. There's information there about who qualifies for the lowered rates, and how to apply.

I hope this helps!

Olivia

[ddoering]

Unfortunately, Olivia, those procedures do not seem to apply to charity auctions.

The procedure you link to is for donations made directly on a charity's site using PayPal. It does not describe if there is or how to obtain a refund for a charity auction held using MissionFish on eBay, as it is in my case. As the sum is substantial, the PayPal fee is as well.

eBay prominently describes that in a 100% donation auction conducted using Mission Fish, "all fees" will be refunded. Will that be the case for PayPal fees as well? If so, what do I need to do to ensure that occurs (or is it automatic at some point)?

Thanks,

Dave

[PayPal_Olivia]

Hi ddoering, and welcome to the forums!

I'd be happy to clarify. For a baseline, take a look at a non-charity situation. Imagine I'm selling a camera on eBay. If I list a camera on eBay, I will pay a listing fee. If I sell it, I will also pay a final value fee. These are fees charged by eBay for the use of their marketplace. When my buyer pays me through PayPal, I will pay a fee to receive the funds. This is a fee that is charged by PayPal for the use of the PayPal system to move money from one person to another.

When you change the situation to a charitable auction, the same fees apply, but they may be either waived, prorated, or reduced by the companies that charge them, subject to eligibility. 

• The MissionFish/Giving Works program is a discount on listing and final value fees for charitable auctions that are hosted on eBay. This affects only eBay fees.
• The discounted charity rate for receiving funds is applied to PayPal fees, for accounts that qualify.

Charities may qualify for fee reimbursement by eBay based on the MissionFish criteria, but the PayPal account receiving the funds would still have to undergo review at PayPal to qualify for the reduced PayPal fees for eligible charities.

You can learn more here:

How does PayPal approve charities and nonprofit organizations?

I hope this helps!

Olivia