Am I pricing my merch too low?
I tend to price my old preowned shirts at around $10 with free shipping, even shirts I only wore once. I really only sell stuff I was into in the past, but not anymore. With fees, I may make $2 to $4 per shirt. Most of these came from WalMart, discount stores, or Aliexpress.
Some examples:
 
 
 
My sell through rate is extremely low (may only sell once a week with 57 listings.) I'm not trying to make a huge profit, just trying to clear my closet. I don't carry any name brand merch, so that may be a reason.
32 comments
sfau
·1 year agoSome people just want to keep things out of a landfill or offer low pricing to help others out - and that is okay too.
robar_s_dwhe1ey
OP1 year agoYeah, I guess that's me @sfau . I'm a bit of an altruist. Not afraid to lose something on behalf of making someone else happy. It's a good/bad trait to have sometimes.
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@robar_s_dwhe1ey
I just sold an Anthropologie top in excellent condition for $15, so NO -- $10 for a used Walmart t-shirt isn't too low. If anything, It's way too high.
robar_s_dwhe1ey
OP1 year agoYeah, you're right @adamcartwright .
adamcartwright
·1 year agoDo you send offers when you have watchers?
I do sell items that way. Not a majority, but enough to make it worth my while.
And it shows eBay that you're engaging.
robar_s_dwhe1ey
OP1 year agoI do @adamcartwright . Anytime it gives me the option. Even my cheapest items.
albertabrightalberta
·1 year ago@robar_s_dwhe1ey
I don't think you're even making that much! Have you looked at the fees? You do realize you're paying FVF on the buyers' full payment amounts, including sales tax on buyers who are in states in which clothing is taxed, right?
And don't forget the 1099K you'll receive for your sales and income you'll be claiming on your tax return.
For the prices you're selling your items for and the small amount you (may) net after shipping and fees, you might be better off donating the clothes at your local church or homeless shelter.
robar_s_dwhe1ey
OP1 year agoHi, @albertabrightalberta . You're right, the true number is about $1 to $3 per shirt. Granted, my jeans and hoodies I sell do shipping baked in.
Be honest, I never considered the tax info. Didn't file the 1099K because I thought the amount I made in 2024 was negligible. I may have made $600 that year.
I guess I was trying to follow the strategies of a Chinese seller, with my pricing,lol. Still curious as to how they make money. Never wanted to be a full-time reseller, only part time.
luckythewinner
·1 year agoAm I pricing my merch too low?
With fees, I may make $2 to $4 per shirt
I'm not trying to make a huge profit, just trying to clear my closet.
IMHO if you are "just trying to clear your closet" pricing should be $2 to $4 lower, not higher.
robar_s_dwhe1ey
OP1 year agoYeah. My market research is usually to find the lowest price something sold at and then take $5 to $10 dollars off or add free shipping on top of that. Bad business, I know @luckythewinner .
pickapaper
·1 year ago@robar_s_dwhe1ey
You can't be making any money with the low prices you have plus giving free shipping. I wouldn't think it is worth your time to photograph, list, wrap, and take to PO, but you would know best about that. It looks like you would make about the same amount of money just having a garage sale.
But as far as selling on eBay, it looks like you have some fun tshirts. As @soh.maryl suggested, you might try bundling them into similar groups of three or four which would save on postage. Or, you might change all that free shipping to charging for shipping and see what happens.
robar_s_dwhe1ey
OP1 year agoYeah, admittedly I'm not super satisfied @pickapaper . I do have a modded game console I'm working on that I'm pretty confident will sell immediately ($500). These shirts were mostly extra chump change.
I need to grow a backbone, lol. I offered a buyer a poker shirt for $10 (free shipping) and they did a counter offer for $7. I stupidly accepted it. Only made $1 off that shirt.
m60driver
·1 year agoIf you are previously only listing and selling inexpensive clothing and then suddenly list a $500 game console the scammers will descend upon you like a plague of locusts. Don't do it, just sell the console locally for about 20% below your Ebay listing price. You will net the same amount without nearly as many risks getting scammed.
As for you cheap clothing listings of $10 and free shipping, it just ain't worth the time and effort. Just find a local non-profit thrift store and donate them. And even when selling cheap clothing you will need to have better photos of the garments than you have now such as using a white background and using better lighting.
robar_s_dwhe1ey
OP1 year agoThanks for the advice @m60driver . I'm going to add shipping to those shirts. Do scammers usually deal with retro game consoles? This is a modded Wii I'm trying to finalize before listing.
titipeo
·1 year agoOh yes. Electronics are prime target fo scammers, do not list here.
robar_s_dwhe1ey
OP1 year agoCool. Thanks for the heads up @titipeo . Think I'll try offerup or some other local selling app.
m60driver
·1 year agoScammers target any valuable gaming item, retro or otherwise, that is being sold by a relatively new/infrequent seller as yourself
robar_s_dwhe1ey
OP1 year agoGood to know @m60driver . Yeah, I'll find s9meone who seems trustworthy sell to.
funfactorychannel
·1 year agogaming section you not only deal with scammers(pro) but just gamers who want items they cant afford and find any excuse to get it for free.(amatuer scammers)
robar_s_dwhe1ey
OP1 year agoWow, I'm surprised Ebay hasn't flagged these problematic buyers @funfactorychannel . About two years ago, I sold a Sega Saturn with a fenrir mod (play games from SD card) for $345. Guess I got lucky...
Could you recommend a site for game selling?
funfactorychannel
·1 year agoeBay still your best bet, I recommend get to top rated plus first before selling any high priced items.
iamalwaysright
·1 year agoThe only way you made a dollar profit off that shirt is if you originally stole it, it was a gift, or you paid zero dollars for that shirt to begin with. After eBay fees on a $7 sale you’re left with about $6. Shipping would cost around $4.50-$5. Not including packing material and other small factors, you’re left with about a dollar.
How much you bought that shirt for will determine if you profited anything or not. Let’s hope you don’t any returns on these neither.
robar_s_dwhe1ey
OP1 year agoYeah, I'll just cut my losses. @iamalwaysright @ I think I paid $12 for that shirt at a discount store. I'm learning more about budgeting and pricing from everyone's responses.
I was a little too focused on building a customer base that would return each time I listed something.
iamalwaysright
·1 year agoThat's fair. We all started from there just like you did. Cracking eggs to make an omelet.
robar_s_dwhe1ey
OP1 year agoI'm making the mother of all omelets here @iamalwaysright . Can't fret over every egg!
Lame, I know.
simply-the-best-for-you
·1 year agoThat's likely not going to happen. Clothing is so saturated that even a good repeat customer contingency is maybe 1%. Also, at 57 items, selling 1 a week is pretty typical. Look, if you feel it's worth it, then it's worth it, but personally I don't bother with low $$ amts like that, it's not worth my time. However, no one can make that decision for you.
robar_s_dwhe1ey
OP1 year agoObjectively, it isn't worth it @simply-the-best-for-you , but I'll admit, I'm a little stubborn. Some of these shirts I bought years ago, so if I can make half of what I paid for them, then I'm happy.
simply-the-best-for-you
·1 year ago@robar_s_dwhe1ey I understand & for some people if they can offset what they initially spent, they find it useful. There's really no 'objectively' b/c each person's goals are different & why they sell here is different. If it makes YOU happy, that's all that matters. The fact that it wouldn't make others happy is irrelevant, they run their business, you run yours.
albertabrightalberta
·1 year agoBut to make half of what you paid for them, you need to sell for (at least) what you paid for them.
soh.maryl
·1 year agoAre you satisfied with the way your selling career here is going? If you're just trying to clear out your closet, I guess that answer would be "yes".
Be aware that the clothing categories on eBay are probably the most saturated.
You could probably try bundling your shirts into lots of three.
robar_s_dwhe1ey
OP1 year agoThat's actually good advice @soh.maryl . I think I may try to do bundles of shirts, this weekend.