Selling low end common cards on eBay

[quickblitzhitz]

I’m new to selling low end sports cards on eBay I have about 1300 listings and about 130 sales in 3 months. How long did it take you guys to get consistent sales and any tips? I don’t really have anything special Card wise. Surprisingly the cards I thought would never sell sold the quickest. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

[caldreamer]

I am not a sport card seller but I just wanted to point out that you may be losing money.   Selling cards for only 99 cents or best offer (don't know you can make any profit after paying EBAY fees).   EBAY fees are based on the entire amount ( card .99 + shipping .63 + sales tax .16 ).   You pay fees on $1.78 plus 30 cent handling charge.

[mam98031]

@quickblitzhitz 

@caldreamer  brings up some very good questions for you to consider.  The only way you can make a profit on those low $$ cards is if you regularly get buyers that buy multiple cards.  Selling one offs will put you into trouble before long.

You are likely not clearing much more than 30 or 40 cents per card you sell and from that you have to cover your shipping supplies, product costs and a profit.

Now I use to sell low $$ items for years.  Not cards, but in a different category and I found I could do well at the auctions because I was more likely to get those buyers of multiple items, however you need to do some research before going that route.  Auctions aren't as popular with buyers as they once were, however certain categories still do OK with them.  So do some research and see if that helps you.

Raise your pricing a little.  99 cents is not a magic number.  You can go to $1.29 and make a big difference in what you clear off your items.  Also don't charge 63 cents for shipping.  Bump that up a little.   You have to pay fees on that money, buy an envelope and print a label.  You can charge a modest handling fee.  There are lots of other sellers of cards like this that are charging 90 cents and even 99 cents for shipping.  It is a very reasonable amount.

It appears you are building a nice little business for yourself.  I hope your Holiday sales are very good too.

[quickblitzhitz]

Right now the inventory I have I’m getting around .01-.03 a card or less plus some I already have from personal collection. Usually after fees I’m about .35-40 profit a card minus envelope, top load, penny sleeve and such I’m making about  rough estimate .15-20 a card. I did get a thermal printer and bulk envelopes for around .02/each.  My thought process  was to build up a following with cheaper products and quicker sales to build back more feedback. But I’ll defiantly give it a shot raising a little more. I’m getting about 1 sale a day but not many repeat buyers. Do you have any opinion on using pronation at small rate at 2%? I hear mixed opinions about it. Thanks!

[thelongball]

Hello- I've been selling sports cards and memorabilia for a long time. You need to sell better stuff. It's not the price that sells, it's the desirability of what you have that sells. Certain cards are very hot and others take years to sell. I don't really sell to make a living. I sell to rid my duplicates. But my bottom line on a sale is $2.50 including free shipping. Making .20 on a sale isn't worth it. Try selling in lots or groupings of cards to get your volume up there. Or try selling what's hot.  Unlike other categories, in cards auctions are very well the way to go. Buy not .99 cards.  Only when selling the hot high desire cards will auctions work. The amount of work your doing for so little money won't get you too far. At .20 a card profit, you would have to sell 500 sales a month to make a $100.00. in all reality that isn't going to happen unless you have about 25,000 listings. Even then look at how much work it will be to package up 500 cards a month. You would have to eat and sleep in there too. You need to reinvent yourself. Its great to have such a low cost on your cards, but spending more on better cards would get you some volume in sales that would make you more money. Like I said I sell just my duplicates. But I sell enough in duplicates to replace what I spend, and then I can buy more. It's what keeps my wife happy because it's rare that I dip into our family funds to support my addiction. Try it and you will sell more and get many return buyers. I have people who have bought from me for 20 years. 

Good Luck and Happy Selling

[luckythewinner]

How long did it take you guys to get consistent sales

On this account, I see 'sold' items almost every single day.

That seems pretty consistent to me.

What is your definition of "consistent sales"?

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Your sell through rate seems pretty in line with listing common cards - 3%/mo.

Your profit level on most cards is pathetic, as others have calculated and posted.

You cannot afford to promote, And if you did, the results would probably be inadequate because your inventory is wide and shallow.

You can only consider more of the same if you want to keep your strategy, and improve it by removing the unprofitable listings.

[worldcoinauctions]

I sell common cards on my card account, I auction them at .99 and $1 shipping so I net about 70 cents. I suggest that vs lower or free shipping (I forgot once to add shipping and lost 30 cents on the order). Consistent sales? If it's a good card we sell in in our brick and mortar store. Lots of the low end ones get made into baggies for 45 cents or 3 for a buck. More of the low end get made into $5 boxes. When I have time from my other ebay accounts I will add more cards to the card acct, generally just relist them over and over again. 

[12345jamesstamps]

Your business plan should be "repeat buyers". Always go above and beyond with a new buyer who might become a repeat buyer. Answer all emails from buyers. And take care of repeat buyers. They buyers will get you through the slow periods of any months.

[quickblitzhitz]

I’ve been trying to get repeat customers. I have a few that do a couple orders a month. Believe it or not they but base 1990s baseball. I send every customer coupons after each purchase and send a message. No luck getting more just yet

[quickblitzhitz]

I’m doing about 1 a day. I’ll have random weekends where I’ll get like 6-7 orders. Realistically I’d like to get to 3-5 orders a day is the starting goal at least

[mam98031]

Patience, you will build up your repeat buyers with time as long as you offer them good products, a variety and great customer service.

[quickblitzhitz]

I’m in the same boat about reselling. I went over board buying cards lol. Just selling to get a little vacation fund going, plus I enjoy listing cards!

[thelongball]

Every Card Collector Goes Overboard ! LOL Its the nature of the Beast. Like my wife says " At least I know where you are !

[thelongball]

Go on Vacation in areas where there is a card show going on. Set Up at it and thats how you get the money to pay the hotel tab. Try it as it Works. LOL