Selling items under $5-10 - how can you really make money on eBay?

[x.four]

When I calculated it, it seems like selling items that are worth less than $5-10 price range is pretty much about breaking even with the fees. Unless I end up subscribing to the store, which I don't have that volume to move... So how do individual (non-high volume sellers) really make money other than raising the price and unable to compete with the other people?

One example, i just sold 3 generic older phone cases for $3.99 with free shipping. Most run around $1-2 new (with shipping from china or whatever)

Total breakdown:

+ $3.99 - payment

- $0.42 - Paypal fee (2.9% + $0.30)

- $0.40 - FVF

- $1.69 - shipping

= $1.48 net profit?

20.5% of the cost of auction went to ebay/Paypal for their services.

Even if I was selling a single unit for $2 with free shipping, I'd only make less than a buck after all fees... 

[theguitarpartsguy]

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@disneyshopper wrote:

I agree with taadaa58.

I rarely list items under $20 unless I get them at a really good price.  It takes just as long to take pictures, write up the listing. and package a $5 item as it does a $40 item, so why not go for the item that brings a higher profit?

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Ok, I realize I'm responding to an OLD post here, but @disneyshopper , the thing you have to remember is you are (hopefully) thinking LONG game when on eBay, rather than quick profit.  AND, profit is about percentage more so than the number of dollars made.  There's a very popular mixing console for churches and bands out right now that features a TON of cool features and useful stuff built-in, and it sells for $2000.00.... however, dealer cost on that console is about $1650 plus freight from New York (it's box is too big to go UPS or FedEx, so it HAS to ship freight, which is a big expense unless you order a LOT of stuff from the company at once.  So, you make about $250.00 on a two-thousand dollar sale after freight costs.  That's not a very high margin, but it IS 250 dollars.  What if I told you that I'd much rather sell one of my guitar parts that sells for $10.99 shipped every day, instead of selling 2 or 3 of those consoles a year?  (2-3 is the average number of that console that the company's smaller dealers sold last year, according to industry magazines' printed statistics)... On my $10.99 shipped guitar part, I make on average 500% profit margin.  I would much rather sell my higher MARGIN product, long term, on a regular basis, than the bigger dollar, but low margin item a couple of times a year.  You need to think LONG game, and you need to think of profit as MARGIN, not as just the number of dollars you make on one sale.   You have the power to LEVERAGE your margin based on how much quantity of your item you buy, and based on how much quantity of shipping materials you buy at a time.  THOSE two factors do more do determine your PROFIT than your actual selling price, because your selling price is not determined by you as much as it is determined by what EVERYONE ELSE selling the same type of items is selling them for. 

Again, I realize I'm responding to an old post, but this is something that MANY new sellers fail to consider when talking about making a profit on eBay. 

[thesupplier2]

how i do 1.69 shipping on ebay

[loveyourimagination49]

Get in a time machine set it to 2013. 😂
Sorry you can’t.

[doboi82]

So I'm really new to this selling stuff on EBAY, so if you don't mind will you teach me on how to maximize my profits somehow to where whatever we sell we can clear all the EBAY fees and still have over 50% profit in our pockets? If you have that answer that would be so freaking amazing. Anyways, thank you for your time.

[theguitarpartsguy]

Source things in large numbers to get max discount at your cost. This may mean buying things as many as 50 or 100 at a time. Find a category or two that you are interested and are REALLY knowledgeable in, and stick mostly to those categories. Buy shipping supplies in huge bulk, too. If you use padded mailers, invest in a couple of Rubbermaid tubs, the large ones. Buy mailers 500 at a time. That's not a typo. The mailers I use, if I buy them at Walmart, Staples, or Office Depot, will cost me 60 cents ore more each. Buying them here on eBay 500 at a time, I can get them for between 5 and 6 cents each. Buy a digital scale and a postage printer. I use the Brother QL-700, which can be had for about 50 dollars new if you shop around a little. The percentage you save by buying postage through eBay will pay for the printer in short order. Buy your labels from House Labels here on eBay, they've got great quality and their pricing is superb. 1/6th price of buying blank postage labels from the office supply store. Buy shipping tape in bulk. You have to think LONG GAME when selling inexpensive items on eBay, but you CAN make money. I normally make 300-500% on inexpensive items that are 10 dollars or under. If you can't find a way to make that percentage, either you are buying your stock wrong, or you're trying to sell the wrong items.

[vintagerama]

This is an old thread but certainly still relevant to all us sellers on Ebay.  Didn't the original poster say they were NOT a high volume seller?  Many of the responses here seem geared to people who are buying items in bulk to re-sell on Ebay.  That doesn't seem to be the case with the person who originally posted.  The original poster was asking a simple, basic question: if you are not a high volume seller, is it really worth it to sell an item for a low price (like $5.95 or whatever) and go thru all the hassle of packing it, shipping it, taking photos, researching it, etc.  to make a small amount like $1.50 (or less!) after all that hassle.   They wanted to know how they could compete with high volume sellers from China or wherever.  And the answer is:  you can't.  Unless you are okay with getting $1.50 (or less!)  after all the hassle, it's certainly frustrating and  pointless to sell for less than at least !5.99 or thereabouts to at least put a few dollars  in your pocket.

 Are there times when $1.50 is better than zero (as in donating an item to a thrift shop).  Yeah, I guess so.  But when it's down to that amount in your pocket, the time spent on creating a listing, etc. a person has to think carefully about doing that.  Sometimes it's just better to donate rather than sell. 

Therefore, all these posts in this thread which go on and on about buying a special printer, or special labels, or calculating various other expenses, are really not pertinent to what the original poster was asking, i.e. is it worth it for a low volume seller to list something for a low price with all the expenses and fees associated with selling on Ebay.  The simple answer is:  NO. It is not worth it.  Unless you are okay with getting a very small sum of money for an item after you do all the hassle necessary to get it sold, then I don't recommend a low volume or casual ebay seller wasting  their time on listing an item  for $5.95. My cut off point for listing things is about $10.99-15.00.  Anything less than that for a person who doesn't sell in bulk is a waste of time.  Naturally, at the end of the day, it's up to the individual as to how much or how little they are willing to make on any particular item.  For some people, a dollar is still a dollar, which I totally understand.  But even for us folks who "get" this concept, it's still frustrating to do everything you need to do to list an item and end up with $1 or less in your pocket.  

[on_the_edge_of_forever]

Exactly right! My minimum selling price is about $14 and I charge shipping. Otherwise it's just not worth my time and materials.

[r-n-rtreasures]

since you added no tracking with the shipping...  they could say did not receive and you out any monies

[kh-stanley1]

Hello Everyone,

Due to the age of the thread, it has been closed to further replies.  Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thanks for understanding!