As an example, I've got a ton of assorted breweriana stickers/decals that I need to sort and list. I got them all for free either at tastings or from my friend who owns a liquor store, so my costs are zero. I have multiples of most of them, so I can just make a single listing for each one. Since they're one-sided, I only need to take one photo for them. They can be shipped ESE for next to nothing.
I plan on listing them for $1.95-3.95 each. For zero COGs and next to no time investment, that will add up given the sheer number of them that I have.
IMO it's not even worth ones sanity to sell $1-2 items on eBay. It reminds me of the ex-gf booth in an antique mall where some months she'd break even or lose money after the space rent. All I could do was bite my lip when it came to just the time lost to make nothing.
I'm not a charity with my time. It takes time to process items for shipment, the materials etc.
China? Those are clearly subsidized and then get to ride in shipping containers so shipping is nothing, and probably subsidized. They just want US dollars and ebay and Amazon are enabling that. Domestically, they may be building brands or feedback (which few do anymore).
Breaking up a stamp collection that I've purchased.
By the time I price a stamp that low, $3.00-$4.00 MY cost is zero on those items and
I've already turned a very tidy profit on the good stuff.
Maybe I'll sell a one off to a buyer and yes, I didn't make much $ off him.
Then the next buyer, Will buy a menu of cheap stamps, all on one invoice,
10-12-15 stamps at $3.00-$4.00 each and it's pure profit.
If you believe that ALL cheap item sellers are losing money, You are mistaken.
That's kind of how I managed the last collection I got... I sold off good stuff to recover cost, and the box of cheap stuff is all profit (less fees of course).
I got an album a couple of weeks ago and pulled out one stamp that's going to sell for enough to pay for the album, then I'm auctioning off the album. Whatever I get for the album is profit.
For me it's about more than just busy work, it has to also be fun. It's like a treasure hunt for me, buy a big lot of cassettes for a couple bucks then find a couple $20 tapes in the lot and I'm a happy camper.
I can't help but think of the time one puts into selling low dollar items. Don't know about you, but my time has value. Therefore I cannot afford to list $1-$2 items. However, if enjoyment is more important than profit, then more power to you. 😊
In volume. Most people who sell very low-value items are generally selling items that people tend to buy in bulk, e.g. stickers, buttons, things like screws/nuts/bolts/etc., that sort of thing.
In volume. Most people who sell very low-value items are generally selling items that people tend to buy in bulk, e.g. stickers, buttons, things like screws/nuts/bolts/etc., that sort of thing.
Exactly. I can purchase a flat washer at Home Depot for 3 cents but how often am I going to buy just one flat washer? Also seller may have nothing invested in the item they are selling so ROI is pretty high.
How do they make money, can someone enlighten me ?
These are the same sellers who will come on these boards and complain that eBay is a giant rip-off because they can't make any money and it's all eBay's fault.
These are the same sellers who will come on these boards and complain about the fees they claim to know nothing about and the postage charges that they can not understand because after all they did list it with free shipping.
I sell a lot of cassettes and cd's, I pick these up for pennies. Yet when I go to list some of them and see other sellers prices I can't figure out how they make any money.
I sell a lot of cassettes and cd's, I pick these up for pennies. Yet when I go to list some of them and see other sellers prices I can't figure out how they make any money.
I assume it's quantities: people might buy multiples from the same seller, but those quantities, weight-wise, don't cost much if anything more than if the seller was shipping just one item, so the seller is hoping to sell more than one at a time. Your pre-recorded commercial cassettes and CDs, for example, can go by Media Mail, and any quantity up to a pound goes for the same price.
Mostly they don't, some sell low value items just to increase their transaction count and don't care about profit (on those items).
You didn't mention if there are shipping charges on those listings or not, some sellers will sell $2 items with a shipping charge that includes a healthy handing charge where all the profit is. Some sellers (if they charge shipping in addition) hope to sell multiple items to the same buyer, items that they can combine without increasing their shipping costs.
Of course there are also plenty of mostly new sellers who have no idea what they are doing but eventually they figure out they are making no profit or even worse losing money on every sale.
Make it on volume...and repeat buyers...and cheap USA stamps under face value bought on eBay from USA sellers.
Have you ever had a buyer purchase 30-40+ items at 2 bucks....that's 60 bucks or more...and shipping is like .68 cents sometimes.
I have $1 and $2 items. I charge 1.40 for shipping on a lot of these items, and my cost is about 45 to 70 cents for postage (with discounted stamps like @12345jamesstamps does.
I don't do $1 with free shipping because then for sure I wouldn't make money... my shipper takes a quarter for every stamped envelope I give them to mail, but with the discounted postage I might make a few cents on shipping (or break even on shipping), and then whatever I get for the item is profit.
A $1 item might cost me 10-20 cents to purchase, or it might have been part of a much bigger collection and 1 of 500 items (where the whole collection was $50 - so 10 cents per item). Also some of these $1-2 items came from a bigger collection where a few good things in the collection got us back what we paid for the collection, so the $1-2 I get selling is all profit.
These items create lots of traffic in the store, and usually people buy a few at a time. When purchasing 3 stamp lots they will pay $2.50 in postage, but once again, my cost is 45 to 70 cents.
Make it on volume...and repeat buyers...and cheap USA stamps under face value bought on eBay from USA sellers.
Have you ever had a buyer purchase 30-40+ items at 2 bucks....that's 60 bucks or more...and shipping is like .68 cents sometimes.
No offense to you James. I'm sure you do.
I'm just saying that there are "many" sellers out there who have no idea what they are doing and have never sat down to run the numbers and see just how much they are making (or losing).
Make it on volume...and repeat buyers...and cheap USA stamps under face value bought on eBay from USA sellers.
Have you ever had a buyer purchase 30-40+ items at 2 bucks....that's 60 bucks or more...and shipping is like .68 cents sometimes.
No offense to you James. I'm sure you do.
I'm just saying that there are "many" sellers out there who have no idea what they are doing and have never sat down to run the numbers and see just how much they are making (or losing).
Since I sell for a B&M Store, I'm forced to log sales and account for every penny spent on expense. Then we have a column to determine how much we got once everyone is paid (eBay, USPS, my shipper, etc), and another column for cost. If the amount made is greater than the cost, it was a profit and we can see how much we made.
On my own sales I don't log stuff regularly, usually in the latter half of the year when I'm thinking about taxes needing to be done at the end of the year. But I have a good idea how much is being made since I'm used to how much the expenses are.
And there is the naive group of sellers that start their auction at 99 cents that WISH and HOPE for a bidding war run up in price BUT that never happens but they do make it up in volume. Some say that eBay suggests sellers do this for some unfounded reason - probably some one at corporate fresh out of college with a liberal arts degree. Kinda like that 11% increase in sales if you offer free shipping - that same percentage was stated year after year - amazing. Never did offer free shipping
yuzuha
·2 years agoAs an example, I've got a ton of assorted breweriana stickers/decals that I need to sort and list. I got them all for free either at tastings or from my friend who owns a liquor store, so my costs are zero. I have multiples of most of them, so I can just make a single listing for each one. Since they're one-sided, I only need to take one photo for them. They can be shipped ESE for next to nothing.
I plan on listing them for $1.95-3.95 each. For zero COGs and next to no time investment, that will add up given the sheer number of them that I have.
paxilill
·2 years agoIMO it's not even worth ones sanity to sell $1-2 items on eBay. It reminds me of the ex-gf booth in an antique mall where some months she'd break even or lose money after the space rent. All I could do was bite my lip when it came to just the time lost to make nothing.
I'm not a charity with my time. It takes time to process items for shipment, the materials etc.
baydealz
·2 years agoChina? Those are clearly subsidized and then get to ride in shipping containers so shipping is nothing, and probably subsidized. They just want US dollars and ebay and Amazon are enabling that. Domestically, they may be building brands or feedback (which few do anymore).
dreambooks
·2 years agoSome retirees just want a hobby to remain busy.
dirk12955
·2 years agoIn General:
Breaking up a stamp collection that I've purchased.
By the time I price a stamp that low, $3.00-$4.00 MY cost is zero on those items and
I've already turned a very tidy profit on the good stuff.
Maybe I'll sell a one off to a buyer and yes, I didn't make much $ off him.
Then the next buyer, Will buy a menu of cheap stamps, all on one invoice,
10-12-15 stamps at $3.00-$4.00 each and it's pure profit.
If you believe that ALL cheap item sellers are losing money, You are mistaken.
sin-n-dex
·2 years agoThat's kind of how I managed the last collection I got... I sold off good stuff to recover cost, and the box of cheap stuff is all profit (less fees of course).
I got an album a couple of weeks ago and pulled out one stamp that's going to sell for enough to pay for the album, then I'm auctioning off the album. Whatever I get for the album is profit.
C.
jg.mason
·2 years agoYes we do. So profit isn't a make or break thing.
For me it's about more than just busy work, it has to also be fun. It's like a treasure hunt for me, buy a big lot of cassettes for a couple bucks then find a couple $20 tapes in the lot and I'm a happy camper.
meme6253
·2 years agoThey Don't!, They Can't selling that low, They are only here to mess things up for everyone else!, & To annoy us!
pls-consignments
·2 years agoI can't help but think of the time one puts into selling low dollar items. Don't know about you, but my time has value. Therefore I cannot afford to list $1-$2 items. However, if enjoyment is more important than profit, then more power to you. 😊
yuzuha
·2 years agoIn volume. Most people who sell very low-value items are generally selling items that people tend to buy in bulk, e.g. stickers, buttons, things like screws/nuts/bolts/etc., that sort of thing.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoIn volume. Most people who sell very low-value items are generally selling items that people tend to buy in bulk, e.g. stickers, buttons, things like screws/nuts/bolts/etc., that sort of thing.
Exactly. I can purchase a flat washer at Home Depot for 3 cents but how often am I going to buy just one flat washer? Also seller may have nothing invested in the item they are selling so ROI is pretty high.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoIntelligent....
stainlessenginecovers
·2 years ago$1 or $2 PLUS shipping?
Your opening post is sorrily lacking key information.....
dhbookds
·2 years agoWhy waste time thinking about it?....lol........
richard1rst
·2 years agoThese are the same sellers who will come on these boards and complain that eBay is a giant rip-off because they can't make any money and it's all eBay's fault.
These are the same sellers who will come on these boards and complain about the fees they claim to know nothing about and the postage charges that they can not understand because after all they did list it with free shipping.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoI have no complaints and sell items at .99 with free shipping and am still selling. LOL.
jg.mason
·2 years agoI agree with inhawaii "they don't".
I sell a lot of cassettes and cd's, I pick these up for pennies. Yet when I go to list some of them and see other sellers prices I can't figure out how they make any money.
a_c_green
·2 years agoI assume it's quantities: people might buy multiples from the same seller, but those quantities, weight-wise, don't cost much if anything more than if the seller was shipping just one item, so the seller is hoping to sell more than one at a time. Your pre-recorded commercial cassettes and CDs, for example, can go by Media Mail, and any quantity up to a pound goes for the same price.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoLook at my feedback and I am still selling...LOL.
slippinjimmy
·2 years agoMostly they don't, some sell low value items just to increase their transaction count and don't care about profit (on those items).
You didn't mention if there are shipping charges on those listings or not, some sellers will sell $2 items with a shipping charge that includes a healthy handing charge where all the profit is. Some sellers (if they charge shipping in addition) hope to sell multiple items to the same buyer, items that they can combine without increasing their shipping costs.
Of course there are also plenty of mostly new sellers who have no idea what they are doing but eventually they figure out they are making no profit or even worse losing money on every sale.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoI sell some items at .99 with free shipping...not a new seller here...LOL.
If I sell over $1000. in a month like I do sometimes I guess it works...guess I have the brains?
inhawaii
·2 years agoThey don't.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoOuch!...I do.
Make it on volume...and repeat buyers...and cheap USA stamps under face value bought on eBay from USA sellers.
Have you ever had a buyer purchase 30-40+ items at 2 bucks....that's 60 bucks or more...and shipping is like .68 cents sometimes.
sin-n-dex
·2 years agoI have $1 and $2 items. I charge 1.40 for shipping on a lot of these items, and my cost is about 45 to 70 cents for postage (with discounted stamps like @12345jamesstamps does.
I don't do $1 with free shipping because then for sure I wouldn't make money... my shipper takes a quarter for every stamped envelope I give them to mail, but with the discounted postage I might make a few cents on shipping (or break even on shipping), and then whatever I get for the item is profit.
A $1 item might cost me 10-20 cents to purchase, or it might have been part of a much bigger collection and 1 of 500 items (where the whole collection was $50 - so 10 cents per item). Also some of these $1-2 items came from a bigger collection where a few good things in the collection got us back what we paid for the collection, so the $1-2 I get selling is all profit.
These items create lots of traffic in the store, and usually people buy a few at a time. When purchasing 3 stamp lots they will pay $2.50 in postage, but once again, my cost is 45 to 70 cents.
C.
inhawaii
·2 years agoNo offense to you James. I'm sure you do.
I'm just saying that there are "many" sellers out there who have no idea what they are doing and have never sat down to run the numbers and see just how much they are making (or losing).
sin-n-dex
·2 years agoSince I sell for a B&M Store, I'm forced to log sales and account for every penny spent on expense. Then we have a column to determine how much we got once everyone is paid (eBay, USPS, my shipper, etc), and another column for cost. If the amount made is greater than the cost, it was a profit and we can see how much we made.
On my own sales I don't log stuff regularly, usually in the latter half of the year when I'm thinking about taxes needing to be done at the end of the year. But I have a good idea how much is being made since I'm used to how much the expenses are.
C.
johnrj1226
·2 years agoAnd there is the naive group of sellers that start their auction at 99 cents that WISH and HOPE for a bidding war run up in price BUT that never happens but they do make it up in volume. Some say that eBay suggests sellers do this for some unfounded reason - probably some one at corporate fresh out of college with a liberal arts degree. Kinda like that 11% increase in sales if you offer free shipping - that same percentage was stated year after year - amazing. Never did offer free shipping