Are you willing to lose money to sell merchandise?

[b86fiero]

eBay Q3 report not so rosy for sellers.

Buyers down 5% - merchandise volume up - number of sellers up.  How do you compete during the busiest selling time of the year?

Aside from the usual suggestions, are you willing to lose money to move merchandise?  Do you drop the price below what you paid for it hoping to get some of your investment back so you can invest in new merchandise?  There are myriad reasons why merchandise seems to lose popularity.  Do you lose a few dollars to keep your sell through rate up so eBay will hopefully keep showing your items to prospective buyers? 

Do you list a few loss leaders hoping to get buyers into your store and really hoping they will purchase multiple items?  Loss lead one item hoping they will buy a collection?  PJ's and slippers and robe or train set plus extra cars, etc.  Remember the much ballyhooed eBay Collections promotion from years ago?  Do you create and list multi item collections or related or complementary groups?

In my 20 year eBay selling experience buyers usually buy only the loss leaders and nothing else.  In all the years I've had an eBay store I have had a handful buy totally unrelated items from my store giving the impression that they did look through it.  I do have quite a few who purchase multiple same type items at the same time and are given a discounted price.  

So, what do you think?  Is it worth losing a bit of money to move certain merchandise or wait for a buyer to pay your asking price and take a chance your merchandise becomes outdated and less desirable and maybe doesn't sell for a long time?

With all the eBay changes being made, more sellers saying they are leaving or diversifying, and the Q3 numbers, do you see a sliver of opportunity for your eBay business to thrive and grow?

[coolections]

I doubt anyone would be willing to lose money. With that said some seller do not mind loosing a little "if" they just throw a few junk items out there to drum up business in hopes those buyers will look at their other stuff. As far as all the other ramble you included, EBay is doing just fine. For those sellers who come here saying they are leaving there are plenty more taking their place. Been that way since the start of Ebay.

[coastaltechsolution]

Depends on what the seller's markup is, is it worth losing a certain % is up to the seller

Some sellers are on such a thin line of markup that they cannot afford the loss but others are and have been on a very comfortable margin and can afford the loss 

To broad of a situation as all sellers on a different profit margin and hopefully know what they can afford to discount  

[buyselljack2016]

I will take a bit less money to get some things off the shelves, but I don't purposely sell to "lose" money.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

I haven't found it necessary or advantageous. I can understand that in some situations it can be a good idea, but I see no advantage for me.  While I'd like to see ebay change some things, I still see plenty of opportunity here, not a "sliver".  

[divwido]

On some items-yes.  Sometimes I bought too high or bought wrong. 

But no, not as a general rule.  My sales are going quite well

[kensgiftshop]

To lower the price just to make a quick sale, no, I don't.

If an item has been listed a couple years, I might lower the price a little then.

[erkosuniverse]

Same goes for me,sometimes i bought being in a hurry,not realizing i did not get the best "pick-of-the-litter'

to re-sell😃

[coastaltechsolution]

Yes happens to us all and it's like "what was I thinking?" 😁

[101dolphns]

That's what the RIVER did, illegally, for years and years, just to put the competition out of biz.

[flyingmvp]

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@b86fiero wrote:

eBay Q3 report not so rosy for sellers.

Buyers down 5% - merchandise volume up - number of sellers up.  How do you compete during the busiest selling time of the year?

Aside from the usual suggestions, are you willing to lose money to move merchandise?  Do you drop the price below what you paid for it hoping to get some of your investment back so you can invest in new merchandise?  There are myriad reasons why merchandise seems to lose popularity.  Do you lose a few dollars to keep your sell through rate up so eBay will hopefully keep showing your items to prospective buyers? 

Do you list a few loss leaders hoping to get buyers into your store and really hoping they will purchase multiple items?  Loss lead one item hoping they will buy a collection?  PJ's and slippers and robe or train set plus extra cars, etc.  Remember the much ballyhooed eBay Collections promotion from years ago?  Do you create and list multi item collections or related or complementary groups?

In my 20 year eBay selling experience buyers usually buy only the loss leaders and nothing else.  In all the years I've had an eBay store I have had a handful buy totally unrelated items from my store giving the impression that they did look through it.  I do have quite a few who purchase multiple same type items at the same time and are given a discounted price.  

So, what do you think?  Is it worth losing a bit of money to move certain merchandise or wait for a buyer to pay your asking price and take a chance your merchandise becomes outdated and less desirable and maybe doesn't sell for a long time?

With all the eBay changes being made, more sellers saying they are leaving or diversifying, and the Q3 numbers, do you see a sliver of opportunity for your eBay business to thrive and grow?

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In the past years, the strategy of selling at cost (or loss god forbid) might would have work for a seller/business with a long time plan, get the attention of the algorithm and pump up the sales , but nowadays, with the algorithm weekly changes, the surprise category changes, PLA's that make you almost invisible overnight, and few more factors we are all familiar with, it might be too big of a gamble.

there is no long term solution or a magic trick/sliver of opportunity on eBay to thrive and grow,

one day you are a "king" selling tenths or hundreds of items making $10,000 per month for years, and one morning something has changed and your sales fall of the cliff and you are barely pulling $2000 per month because they changed something.

you are trying to be realistic in an unrealistic environment, just in the past 4 weeks, they dropped all those constant updates on the sellers at times we are supposed to be busy selling, not updating listings, they  cut on advertising and planning on milking more money from us, when the venue is shrinking as it is.

 So sell at loss? go ahead, won't really matter, Ebay will still cut their Fees,  maybe shut your sales in half the day after if they feel it serves their cause, not yours.

Happy Halloween!

[inhawaii]

Are you willing to lose money to sell merchandise?

No.   

Sometimes i am willing to make less money/profit than i normally do to move an item, but never lose money.

[jayjaspersgarage]

I'm not at the level that would have me strategize loss leaders on a regular basis.  However, when the right buying opportunity arises I jump on it. 

Some ebay sellers already have B&M locations with plenty of warehouse space so I can see how they would use their massive purchasing power to appear to sell loss leaders when in fact they are buying below wholesale on larger volume.  

There is no single answer to this question.  It depends is the operative phrase.

[katzrul15]

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@inhawaii wrote:

Are you willing to lose money to sell merchandise?

No.   

Sometimes i am willing to make less money/profit than i normally do to move an item, but never lose money.

---

Agree with above ^^^^

Willing to wait for the "right" buyer on certain items - especially items that no longer in stock, but in-demand still.

Not the grocery store, so I am not in favor of "loss leaders" to get you in the door.  I DO expect for e-Bay to advertise and do it well (remains to be seen) in order to drive buyers to the site in the first place.  I see Amazon advertising in one format or another, every day.  E-Bay - it has been a long time.  

[yuzuha]

I never buy anything to resell at a price where I would lose money on it in the first place unless I were to cut the price by about 75% percent. If I can't mark it up for at least three times what I spent on it, I won't buy it.