10.24.2019
Good morning everyone! Early in October figBid's host notified me that figBid has outgrown the server (the piece of computer equipment that allows us to step into the World Wide Web) where figBid resides. figBid's database and user traffic has grown at a tremendous pace and we've exceeded our maximum limit in a shorter period of time than expected. figBid must now move to a larger, managed server. The alternative to moving is deleting old data which I don't want to do. That data is valuable, openly available for all of us to use, and needs to be kept intact in one piece. Deleting data would only be a bandage anyhow as the amount of daily traffic through figBid is very high and has increased at an alarming rate since figBid went live on 12.15.2017. I've known this day was coming for about a year now; It's bittersweet and comes with a cost. The cost is manageable and I've negotiated an annual deal. So, effective midnight, Saturday (Friday night), October 19, 2019, figBid will begin collecting a Final Value Fee of 3% on all sales to cover the annual cost of a new larger, managed server. That means all listings active from 10/19/2019 forward will incur the Final Value Fee. Listing fees will remain at $0.25. All fees, listing and Final Value, will be billed manually at the end of each month. Until an automated system is in place, if there are any Final Value Fee refunds due to a return please send an email.
To put the new 3% Final Value Fee into perspective, in addition to the $0.25 listing fee; a sale of $10 will incur a Final Value Fee of $0.30, a sale of $50 will incur a Final Value Fee of $1.50, and a sale of $100 will incur a Final Value Fee of $3.00. The new Seller Final Value Fee will be charged to the final sale price of a successful listing only and will not include shipping charges. That means figBid remains the best value on the internet for selling fig trees, fig cuttings, and horticultural supplies. In my opinion it’s a small price to pay for preserving our data and keeping figBid a safe, clean, ad-free environment for all users to enjoy. Thank you to everyone for using figBid and for your continued support.