Shortly after the social marketplace Poshmark announced it would lower selling fees and increase fees for buyers, the company decided to revert to its original fee structure following outrage among sellers.
In an email to sellers sent on Monday (and viewed by TechCrunch), founder and CEO Manish Chandra wrote an apology about the fee change, saying it resulted in shoppers spending less on purchases, “leaving our sellers with less cash in their pockets—despite the seller fee reduction.”
Chandra added, “The outcome of the change did not meet our expectations, and I sincerely apologize for the disruption and impact that this has had on you.”
Earlier this month, Poshmark introduced a new fee structure to replace the original 20% seller fee. The new structure included a 5.99% fee for sellers and a 5.99% “protection fee” for buyers. Additionally, both buyers and sellers were required to pay an extra $1, $2, or $3 based on the total order amount. For example, orders under $15 incur a $1 fee, orders between $15 and $50 incur a $2 fee, and orders over $50 incur a $3 fee. Buyers are still responsible for covering shipping costs.
Many sellers expressed their disappointment on Reddit about the new system, stating that their sales had significantly decreased, possibly due to customers abandoning purchases after seeing the new fee. One Redditor mentioned that they used to make “12-15 sales” per week but were now making fewer than than five.
Poshmark is not the first resale platform to face this kind of backlash. In March, Mercari began eliminating seller fees completely and charging buyers a service fee for “hassle-free returns.” Not surprisingly, people were unhappy, and Mercari reversed part of its policy after just two months.
Poshmark’s original fee structure will become effective this Thursday, October 24. It’s also issuing sellers a rebate for the difference in seller fees on listings created or edited during the fee change period (October 3 to October 23) and sold from October 24 through October 27.
