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Not making any money.
We've been selling for a month now, and despite heavy sales we're not making any money. We need some advice; we're about to stop using eBay altogether.
$14,766.49 (total sales)
- 816.26 (taxes)
- 3, 289.67 (eBay fees *)
- 1,550.20 (shipping labels)
------------------------------
$9,110.36 (net sales)
THAT'S ABSURD! THAT'S ONLY 62% PROFITABILITY! WHY IS EBAY TAKING 38% DESPITE US SUPPLYING THE PRODUCTS, DOING ALL OF THE WORK, AND HAVING ALL OF THE RISKS? BY COMPARISON, AMAZON (FBA) TYPICALLY COSTS SELLERS 33% BUT THEY DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU!! MOREOVER, WITHOUT USING PROMOTIONS, NOTHING SEEMS TO SALE DESPITE BEATING EVERYONE'S PRICES ON THE SAME ITEMS!
* eBay fees include $2,163.50 (final value fees) and $1,272.52 (ad fees).
kh-shakhib
·1 year agoHi everyone,
Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.
Thank you for understanding.
allthingssurplus
·2 years agoSounds about right eBay is like 33% of the net. Problem with eBay is they are not paying their fair share of the overhead. In my case that's $40k+ a month. I only do 9% of my business on eBay and still pay $8-10k a month in fees. If I were to do all of my business on eBay I would be out of business.
kalyoth
·2 years agoAll the fees were up front when you registered your account. Failure to understand is your fault & no one else's. Evey marketplace exists to make money - don't like the fees - go elsewhere. You are not required to sell here.
As to making a profit - to be successful you have to price in costs. Sounds like you are not doing that well & should reevaluate your race to the bottom pricing as it sounds like you are not doing well with it.
mam98031
·2 years agoOMG, you don't think a 62% profit is good.
NO Ebay does not take 38% of your money for their fees. It just doesn't happen UNLESS you are using promoted listings and have volunteered to pay a large percentage in fees over the regular fees. You decide what your ad fees will be, so it isn't something you should then turn around and complain that Ebay's fees are high, YOU decided you were willing to pay that fee to get a sale.
Shipping costs are NOT Ebay fees. They are certainly a cost of sale, but not a fee paid to Ebay. That money goes to the carrier.
It is hard to try to help when you aren't posting with the account that is having all those sales.
jg.mason
·2 years agoSomebody valued it at $5 and I bought it, then I sold it to someone that valued it at $40 they may be able to sell it to someone that values it at $ 60. Three different people three different values.
I never said anything about the Mona Lisa but since you brought it up it would only have a value of 860 million if there was someone that would pay 860 million for it.
The only true value is what someone is willing to pay.
I will agree that there are many sellers on here that will sell items below the ebay market value thus driving prices down.
isaiah53-57
·2 years agoSorry about the Mona Lisa comment - I thought I was responding to a different poster.
In response, I would say they only valued it at $5 because they didn't know its true value was $60 - And again, in the post you are responding to, I said you didn't buy that $5 item because it was worth $5...You bought it because you knew it was worth $60 and could turn a profit - What you pay for something does not determine its value.
yuzuha
·2 years agoBingo. You can claim something is valued at $60 all you want, but if no one is willing to pay $60 for it then it isn't actually worth $60.
isaiah53-57
·2 years agoWho said no one was willing to pay the $60? As we all know who sell, the thing is to stay with items in high demand, short supply, or that value up over time - If you situate yourself correctly, people will always pay for the value you have and they dont
Aside from that, the point being, you have to start somewhere, and to maximize trade value, if an item has a consensus value of $60, why start out at $39.95?
inhawaii
·1 year agoSlightly off topic.
I have a friend who brags to me how much some of his baseball, cards are worth.
He says he will NEVER sell them.
Then they're worth nothing. 😉
strugglinlikeyou
·2 years ago$14K in sales in a month. I wish I had your problem!
rugerskick
·2 years agoEbay isnt taking all of that. Your shipping and sales taxes collected, ebay doesn't bank that. Your package carriers and state revenue agencies get these.
The roughly 2100 of your 14,700 gross is just over 14%. The money you decided to give them for ads is another roughly 7%. So you can actually save 7% by dropping your ad fees. Then ebay only gets 14% of your sales.
yuzuha
·2 years agoExactly. Shipping and sales taxes are pass-throughs that don't get banked by either eBay OR the seller, so they should not be considered a part of your sales totals at all.
rugerskick
·1 year agoThe order total is item cost plus shipping.
As for the tax, consider that ebay collects all sales tax for all states that have a sales tax, and makes sure the states get the money, for you and me as sellers. The very small amount ebay gets from including sales tax in the final value fee, is arguably understandable for having them deal with all state sales taxes for us as sellers.
jerseyboymusic
·2 years agoI would GLADLY "not make any money" at $9k
jg.mason
·2 years agoSold an item for $40 after subtracting all my costs I was left with $10 profit. If the buyer didn't pay for all the costs who did?
isaiah53-57
·2 years agoYou did - You had a $40 item and now you are standing there with $10 bill - From your $30 loss, how do you figure your buyer paid for your costs?
southern*sweet*tea
·2 years agoWhat you are missing is that the seller does not pay $40 for a $40 item if they are intending to make a profit.
If I am going to sell an item for $40 I am not going to pay more than $5 (probably not even that much) for the item.
A general example:
I want to list an item with a going cost of $40 and I plan to use "free" shipping.
I pay $5 for the item.
I have...let's say $3 in costs for supplies (labels, tape, ink, shipping box or envelope, paper, etc)
That's $8.
Let's pretend it costs $10 to ship it.
Now we're up to $18.
I pay myself $15/hour (a quarter a minute). I spend 15 minutes to list and pack. (yeah, I'm slow) That's $3.75 payroll ($4 to make the math easier lol)
Now we're up to $22.
Yipee, I sold the item!
Let's pretend the buyer pays 10% sales tax. That would be $4.
Now we're up to $26.
For ease of math, let's pretend Ebay fees are 15%. 15% of $44 is $6.60. Let's say $7, again for easier math.
Now we're up to $33.
I just made $7 profit on top of the $3.75 salary I paid myself, for a total of $10.75, with the buyer paying ALL of my fees and costs, including my piddly salary and profit.
Y'all let me know if I missed something or my math is off lol
(in the real world I would not pay $5 for this item, nor would I ship for free unless it weighs 8 ounces or less)
isaiah53-57
·2 years agoAfter reading the 1st statement of your response( the one above) I didnt need to read the rest of the knot.. knot.. double.. knot math(ie Jethro)
Unsure how you could think for a moment I would miss what the seller paid for the item - But what does that have to do with the items value? The simple fact is, the seller had a $40 item and now a $10 bill - Are you saying he did well because he bought that $40 item for a $5 bill, but now he has a $10 Bill? - If so, then you proved my point - Thats a bad trade - It's that way of thinking that stops people from making the money they should be making... from "messing around" with online sales to running a business.
This is about maximizing the money you make in the time you spend making it - One sure way to do that is to own your costs - If you dont own them then you dont have enough focus on them to control them - If you think someone else is paying for them, they lose importance - There is not as much urgency to consider or cut costs if you feel your buyer is paying for them. Many people here don't account for their time or costs even close to what they really are because of that...
If you are not working with a business model that looks at everything sold below true value as a loss, which includes taking responsibility for your own costs, I promise I will consistently make more money selling the same items on average operating in that fashion.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoThis is about maximizing the money you make in the time you spend making it - One sure way to do that is to own your costs - If you dont own them then you dont have enough focus on them to control them - If you think someone else is paying for them, they lose importance - There is not as much urgency to consider or cut costs if you feel your buyer is paying for them. Many people here don't account for their time or costs even close to what they really are because of that...
This is a statement I will quasi agree with you on. In business there are two ways to increase profits the first is to increase prices the second is to cut costs. The first only works if the market will bear it. The second is somewhat under the sellers control but not totally.
If you are not working with a business model that looks at everything sold below true value as a loss, which includes taking responsibility for your own costs, I promise I will consistently make more money selling the same items on average operating in that fashion.
My focus is on my profit and ROI and meeting those goals regardless of what the item sells for. Since you no longer sell on this venue my assumption is you were unable to control your costs to a sufficient extent to remain competitive in this venue's marketplace and there is nothing wrong with that.
There are a lot of items I do not list on eBay but sell through other venues simply because it is easier to control costs and maximize profits on those venues as opposed to eBay.
fbusoni
·2 years agoMy focus is on my profit and ROI and meeting those goals regardless of what the item sells for. Since you no longer sell on this venue my assumption is you were unable to control your costs to a sufficient extent to remain competitive in this venue's marketplace and there is nothing wrong with that.
There are a lot of items I do not list on eBay but sell through other venues simply because it is easier to control costs and maximize profits on those venues as opposed to eBay.
Ah, now I am beginning to understand the passionate and borderline hysterical opposition to my discussion of my eBay endeavor.
Envy will certainly destroy a person.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoYou did - You had a $40 item and now you are standing there with $10 bill - From your $30 loss, how do you figure your buyer paid for your costs?
There is no loss there is a $10 profit. The other $30 covered your costs.
jg.mason
·2 years agoEbay is taking 38% leaving you with 62% and you're not making any money.
Amazon is taking 33% leaving you with 67% and you are making money there?
Does that mean your profit margin is less than 5%?
I would then focus on Amazon. Stop using promotions on Ebay (which may mean less sales, but is still better than losing money) and be Happy, Happy, Happy.
pls-consignments
·2 years agoDyson? Aren't they part of the VERO program?
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoDyson? Aren't they part of the VERO program?
Yes they are. Following is the PDF from their VERO participant page.
https://ir.ebaystatic.com/pictures/aw/pics/pdf/us/help/community/vpp/Dyson.pdf
pls-consignments
·2 years agoHmm... now I have more questions than answers. 🤔
1786davycrockett
·2 years ago@pls-consignments
According to the the "Item descriptions" on one of the Dyson items which the OP is offering for sale:
"Pistachio Enterprises, LLC is an authorized reseller of Dyson parts and products. All items sold by us comes {sic} directly from the manufacturer (Dyson) and is {sic} guaranteed to be genuine."
Although we only have the OP's word for that -- and the grammatical errors are not helpful -- perhaps another reason why the OP's sales are not as high as desired, since the errors in grammar make the OP appear to be yet another Chinese seller, hiding behind a fake U. S. address.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoAlso if you bloat your prices on the items to make up for the bloat you pay for the items and then add additional BLOAT with a high promotional rate the equation becomes the item will not sell.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoSelling on the internet is Not A CHEAP ADVENTURE ANYMORE. Back in the early days profits were much better. It becomes less and less profitable every year for some and especially for those who cannot obtain goods at an extremely good price so that you can ,mark them up for enough profit. It is going to be the most important issue in selling cost of goods. If the cost of goods are too high you must sell in LARGE QUANTITY.
1786davycrockett
·2 years ago@pistachio.enterprises
Your listings include this statement:
"Interested in buying in bulk? Contact us directly! We have a huge inventory of Dyson parts and products available!"
That's an open invitation for buyers to avoid buying your items on eBay, and can get you suspended from eBay permanently.
You should definitely consider removing that statement.
slyders_finds
·2 years agoWelcome to Ebay. I hope you didn't buy into those videos on social media about how easy it is to be rolling in the money.
luckythewinner
·2 years ago$14,766.49 (total sales)
- 816.26 (taxes)
- 3, 289.67 (eBay fees *)
- 1,550.20 (shipping labels)
------------------------------
$9,110.36 (net sales)
Shipping and sales taxes are both a pass-through. Sales tax is collected by eBay and disbursed to the buyer's state. Even if eBay had no fees, you would have no claim on that money. Shipping is collected by eBay, and used to buy shipping labels from the carrier. Even if eBay had no fees, you would have no claim on that money.
So assuming you charge the buyer the same amount you pay for labels, your actual numbers are closer to:
$12,400.03 (actual selling prices)
$3,289.67 (eBay fees)
------------
$9,110.36 (net sales)
= 73.5%
luckythewinner
·2 years agoTHAT'S ABSURD! THAT'S ONLY 62% PROFITABILITY!
eBay fees are known.
Shipping costs are known.
Taxes can be estimated.
Which of the numbers that made up that 62% came as a surprise to you?
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoYou only have 58 items for sale...need to have more of a variety...like maybe 3000+.
A lot of your items are being sold by other sellers. You don't have anything unique.
It's like your trying to resell items to make a few extra bucks...I don't know where your inventory comes from or what your items cost....Has nothing to do with pricing...sad but true.
Someone selling 20,000+ items a buyer will spend most of their day on just that one seller all day looking at their items.
Your margin is shipping+eBay fee
Cost of item - cost of buying item to resell.
Taxes should not be included.
You are also a new seller and it takes a while to get notice...not just in months.
ten_o_nine
·2 years ago@pistachio.enterprises
I agree with you, but eBay will be greedy as long as there are people willing to pay.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoAs others have explained there are a few adjustments to your numbers. Assuming your $14,766.49 is your total Gross Sales and does not include the $816.26 in sales taxes collected by eBay then eBay's FVF's would be $3,289.67 / (($14,766.49 + $816.26 + ($.40 * # of items sold)). Since I don't know the number of items you sold in your figures I will just utilize the sales and sales tax.
FVF = $3,289.67 / $15,582.75
FVF = 21.1%
It appears you are promoting in the 7-8% range but that is just an estimate based on the limited information available. Without the use of PL your effective FVF would probably been in the 14-15% range. Your shipping cost is NOT an eBay fee it is a selling expense and is currently in the 10% range. ($1,550.20 / $14,766.49).
Since you offer free shipping on virtually all of your items I am assuming you are baking the worst case shipping scenario into the price of your item which may put you at a disadvantage with other sellers who utilize calculate shipping. While it would probably be an indifferent cost to potential buyers that are more distant from your Kentucky location it may be inflating the items cost to your more regional buyers.
The other disadvantage to free shipping is the shipping cost is buried in the price of the item and cannot be easily identified therefore eBay is compelled to apply sales tax to the total cost. Where calculated shipping is used sales tax may not be applied to the shipping cost since about half of the states do not charge sales tax on shipping which would result in the buyer saving some small amount and you paying less in fees.
The use of calculated shipping however does require you to have the dim's and weight of the items correct in your listings. In addition if you are not passing the shipping discount along to the buyer then the difference between what the buyer pays at full retail and what you actually pay for a discounted label usually covers some of the FVF's and packing materials.
I have not purchased labels from eBay in a long time but utilize Pirate Ship which has the same, sometimes better, discounted shipping rates as eBay. I pay for those labels with a cash back credit card which also reduces my actual shipping cost.
Just a few thoughts for consideration on ways to improve your profit margin. The one obvious one of course is to increase your selling price if you can do so and still be competitive in the marketplace.
oszika
·2 years agoThe rule is buy low, sell high. If there's no profit, you need to work on your business model.
gone.c-33
·2 years agoIf laundry detergent A worked better than laundry detergent B, I wouldn’t ask laundry detergent B to change for me, I would just stick with laundry detergent A.
pistachio.enterprises
OP2 years agoIn the world of business, money talks. Simple as that.
gone.c-33
·2 years agoExactly. So if laundry detergent A gives me more bang for my buck, I’ll stick to it.
fbusoni
·2 years agoYour anger is misplaced. You should be (and I suspect you are) angry at yourself for failing to do due diligence before starting on eBay. By your own admission you have made $9110 in net sales. So you have in fact made money. But $9110 will not go very far depending on how many employees you are paying, how much warehouse space you are renting, etc., etc.. Maybe your business model is broken?
pistachio.enterprises
OP2 years agoYour response is flawed; and it is very doubtful you're dealing with the level of money and product we are. The bottom line is out of $15k, we (the seller) should have profited much more than $9k. Regardless of what the fees may be called (advertising, listing, etc.), considering we supply the products, do all of the work, have all of the risks and eBay in turn does very little, the profit margins should be much more (at least 90%), and that amount should go down based on what the platform offers in return because without us, the sellers, they have nothing. I frankly do not understand why you or anyone would argue otherwise.
richard1rst
·2 years agoThe contra-argument is very simple. It is your own fault that you are not happy with your profit margin.
You say - “we (the seller) should have profited much more than $9k.†If you are not happy with 9K that is YOUR fault. Want to fix that? - then YOU must reevaluate your business model and YOUR pricing structure..
One of the first lessons my Marketing professor taught was: When you can’t raise the bridge, lower the river:â€
You complained about paying what seems to be 14.65% FVF plus an additional 8.62% in promotional ad fees for a total of 23.27%
Yet when inhawaii points out he is only paying 13.25% and I follow up with 11.12% your only response is to toss a cheap shot at inhawaii and ignore me completely. If I was told by someone that they were buying the same things as me and paying significantly less I would pull them aside and ask HOW! are you doing it. Yet you ignore it completely.
Have you seriously investigated whether the promo ads are even worthwhile? I pay ZERO promo fees. Bingo - instant 8.62% additional profit.
Have you bothered to investigate alternative shipping methods to reduce your cost and simultaneously making sure that your BUYER is paying at least that much plus an extra bump to cover the FVF fees associated with shipping? In reality shipping labels are NOT a cost you should consider.
You say “eBay in turn does very little†- Frankly it is NOT eBay’s responsibility to look out for you. Any more than a mall operator (which is essentially what eBay is) is responsible for handholding their individual tenants. That is YOUR job.
fbusoni
·2 years agoMy response is flawed? That's rich. You're the one with the problem, not me.
If you "should have" profited more than $9k but did not, you have only yourself to blame.
And you're right, I would never attempt to make a living off eBay. I do well here precisely because I'm retired and financially secure.
I've never invested a penny of my own money in my eBay activity. Everything I invest in to resell is purchased with funds generated by the sale (for $200) of a $1 book about Witchcraft that I purchased at a thrift shop 25 years ago.
isaiah53-57
·2 years agoOh man here we go again... the horns are a blowin'...
I would never attempt to make a living off eBay. I do well here precisely because I'm retired and financially secure.
My guess is 99.9% of the people financially secure do not spend their valuable time selling on ebay.
I've never invested a penny of my own money in my eBay activity. Everything I invest in to resell is purchased with funds generated by the sale (for $200) of a $1 book about Witchcraft that I purchased at a thrift shop 25 years ago.
This statement AGAIN?? Let's dissect - You say never invested a penny of your own money in ebay activitiy yet in the next statement you say you invested $1 in a book you sold for profit - Beyond the contrariness, and continuous suspect, false or impossible statements, do you think this makes you unique? - some kind of financial genius? -My guess is half of ebay sellers got their start the same way.
Your statements that proclaim your buyers pay for your selling costs is absolutely absurd and reveal your lack of business acumen to a non-redemptive degree.
And your statements in other posts saying you haven't had a loss in 20 years here? well...
I would love to see this enchanted selling account you pose and impersonate...
fbusoni
·2 years agoI'm flattered that you take such an interest in me and have spent so much time and energy this morning parsing my prose. 😄
Now, read and learn:
My guess is 99.9% of the people financially secure do not spend their valuable time selling on ebay.
Your federal tax dollars help pay for my CSRS pension (Google it). So I thank you for that. Now, if you are ever lucky enough to be able to stop scrounging for nickles and dimes on eBay and retire (I did, at age 59 from a 40 year career*), you will find that its a lot of fun finding valuable antiques at thrift shops and then finding them a new home on eBay. That, and exercising.
You say never invested a penny of your own money in ebay activitiy yet in the next statement you say you invested $1 in a book you sold for profit.
You're right... technically I invested a dollar, which netted $200, and that $200 is what launched me. Good catch!!
Your statements that proclaim your buyers pay for your selling costs is absolutely absurd and reveal your lack of business acumen to a non-redemptive degree.
Not absurd at all. Lots of smart people here do it. (Why don't you?) As for "non-redemptive"... no problem, I don't need "redemption." 😆
And your statements in other posts saying you haven't had a loss in 20 years here? well...
Why the big surprise? I sell to wealthy, educated buyers. I don't deal with low-lifes who populate categories that are vulnerable to scams. Believe me, its mostly in your control. In 20 years, I've had three items break in transit, and USPS reimbursed me for all three. So yes, no losses.
I would love to see this enchanted selling account you pose and impersonate...
Oh, that'll never happen because I created THIS account to shield myself and my eBay account from the likes of potential buyers just like you. 😇
----------------------
*Since I know you are going to ask, I started my career at age 19 because I could read what at the time was considered by the USG an unusual language. And it was the height of the Cold War. So I was hired while still in college. 19 + 40 = 59. 😅
isaiah53-57
·2 years agoI sell to wealthy, educated buyers
Too bad, looks like you lost a customer assuming I am not either or even both of these...
Surely educated well beyond knowing its a delusion to believe the "my customers pay for all my costs" mantra you run on 3 wheels with... It is one of the most utterly ridiculous statements to ever be posted on these boards...
And yet you propose to educate the OP with statements like maybe "your business model is broken" because he/she is able to see that FEES ARE HIGH here and no amount of smoke and mirror from posters or the site can hide it from ANYONE with an ounce of business acumen...
He asked for advise - The only given provided is the FEES ARE HIGH - My advise was reduce your fees - He/she can remove PLs and create a store to do that - If he/she cant sell enough here to make it worth their time without using PLs? Well then...
fbusoni
·2 years agoToo bad, looks like you lost a customer assuming I am not either or even both of these...
Thanks, that made my day. 😃
As for your other points... there are many here on these fora who have their customers pay all their fees. Here's how I do it:
I visit a thrift shop and pay $2.99 for a Waterford crystal wine glass. I sell the glass on eBay for $49.99. Postage is another $9 or so.
That sum of $58.99 covers the gas I used to drive to the store, the tape I used to close the cardboard box (which I got for free from USPS), the toner I used to print the label, the piece of paper the label was printed on, and the gas I used to drive to the post office. It also completely covers eBay's fees. I reckon that from a $2.99 investment, I am left with about $39 or so.
And I do not use eBay ads or promotions. eBay promotes my listings at no charge because I am top rated plus.
See how it's done? Its not magic.
I spend anywhere from $1.99 up to $3.99 for the items I resell. My average sale on eBay is $49.
Now, as far as the OP... did he not know about eBay fees? Everyone else does. You examine the fees BEFORE you start selling.
Or do you recommend the reverse, and then come here to complain about how high eBay fees are?
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoSurely educated well beyond knowing its a delusion to believe the "my customers pay for all my costs" mantra you run on 3 wheels with... It is one of the most utterly ridiculous statements to ever be posted on these boards...
Logically if your buyers/customers are not paying all of your costs, which would include not only the eBay costs but COGS, Federal and State income taxes, operational expenses, etc., then you are not making any profit. The same logic and calculations apply to any business that is selling a product or a service unless they are a non-profit.
In reality it is irrelevant since the only thing that really matters is the bottom line in any business. So yes the customers/buyers pay ALL costs and you are left with what is left after that.
isaiah53-57
·2 years agoOne reason is that YOUR FEES alone account for over 25% of your items $12,400 aggregate selling price RIGHT OFF THE TOP.
When you haven't even begun to account for all other costs including but not limited to: the acquisition cost of your items, State/Federal income taxes, office costs, shipping material & shipping related costs, asset wear and tear, gas, storage costs, loss/returns/theft, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc...
It would seem you need to get control of those fees...
deltilogical
·2 years ago"$14,766.49 (total sales)
- 816.26 (taxes)"
Ebay shows several numbers in different ways - Are you sure the $816 was included in the $14.7K? Ebay collects the sales tax but it is not remitted to you and it is not included in the Gross Sales amount, someone please correct me...I don't seem to remember seeing it in my data sheets...You're doing a lot better than I am this month let me tell you!
dhbookds
·2 years agoQuibbling about ebay fees is a waste of time (my opinion)..........they aren't going to change.
We can't know what your true "take" is without knowing the cost of items(which we have no right to expect you to reveal). .......your "WITHOUT USING PROMOTIONS, NOTHING SEEMS TO SALE DESPITE BEATING EVERYONE'S PRICES ON THE SAME ITEMS!" leads me to believe there may be room for increasing prices.
As said..........the free shipping and the ad fees are hurting you.....so some reconsideration of those may be in order. Adding a small shipping fee to everything or some, reducing the promo level slightly, etc.
Also, increasing the # of items which have the highest return.....and decreasing those that have a lesser return may increase your bottom line.........even if it doesn't substantially increase the $ value of sales.
It's not terribly hard to make sales if you are lowballing prices.....it's a good technique to get started..... But after that comes the "tweaking" to increase the actual profit margin and that's probably going to take some experimentation...........
ed8108
·2 years agoYou appear to effectively be requesting ebay to lower final value & ad fees for you to bcome a happier ebay seller.
Wishing you have good luck !
argentphil
·2 years agoAll the judgements against eBay for the retaliation scandal and pill press sales ads up. We sellers pay for every last cent of eBays lack of leadership.
fern*wood
·2 years agoEveryone that sells has to account for all fees/expenses in their pricing to achieve the profit they want. Do you have to offer free shipping? Do you incorporate that expense in your pricing? Have you tried not promoting? Something basic is wrong if you aren't making any money.
yuzuha
·2 years agoSounds like your problem was that you didn't factor all of your costs into the item price. Here was my total take on two items I sold for $4.95 each last week:
 
inhawaii
·2 years agoYou must be special.
I only pay 13.25% in fees.
pistachio.enterprises
OP2 years agoinhawaii: Thanks for nothing.
inhawaii
·2 years agoThanks for nothing?
You're complaining that you're not making money.
You say you're paying 38% in fees.
I'm telling you I pay 13.25% in fees.
This doesn't concern you?
No wonder you're losing money.
richard1rst
·2 years ago( re Animal Farm) We are all equal, it's just that some of us are more equal than others. I only pay 11.12%
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoYou are smart and do not use bloated ad fees.
monica-sells
·2 years agoeBay is taking 14.64%
You are spending an additional 8% on optional advertising.....
Shipping (11 %) is not an ebay "take" it is the take of the carrier you use (USPS, UPS, FedX).
Realistically, without your ad fees, you are doing fairly well..
Shipping is a thorn in the side, but not ebays fault
the only way you're not making money is if you are paying too much for inventory
pistachio.enterprises
OP2 years agoWithout advertising, nothing seems to sale. Literally, every transaction we have has "promoted listing" beside it; in other words, it sold because of advertising. It seems eBay has algorithms in place that make it necessary to use their advertising otherwise the items will not sell, or sell so slowly that you'll be enticed to use advertising.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoWithout advertising, nothing seems to sale. Literally, every transaction we have has "promoted listing" beside it; in other words, it sold because of advertising. It seems eBay has algorithms in place that make it necessary to use their advertising otherwise the items will not sell, or sell so slowly that you'll be enticed to use advertising.
Of course it appears that way simply because you were promoting the item but you have no way of knowing if the item would have sold had you not been promoting it. I have never used, and never will use, promoted listings and I still manage sales. However, a lot of it depends on what you are selling as to the value of using PL.
redlinear
·2 years agoThis isn't true...yet it is.
Promoted seems to get you a bump to be seen somewhere....but it's short lived no matter what the percentage. Or rather, your items might sell a little bit quicker with promotion, but....still going to sell without, just might take more time.
Time is everything of course. If sold in 30 days it pays rent. If sold in 45 days, you gets evicted.
The trick then becomes to have enough to pay rent and then survive an extra 15 days.
Normal eBay fees are not killing you.
Drop your promotion % to zero, or to a very small percentage.
Shipping is going to be there no matter what. It just looks bad because eBay shows it to you and breaks it up for you.
I run right at a 30% average. If I sell $1000 worth of items, I get about $700.
If I sold that elsewhere, or local, I'd get less. AND, it would take longer to sell....thus, back to the rent/time issue
meekamaye
·2 years agoI dropped promoted listings and have not used their new approach to the advertising of listings. So far I have not noticed any difference in sales. I just can't see the benefit in it anymore.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoThey need to look at adjusting their ad fees.