eBay

maximum61 · ‎09-14-2023

I'm confused....I have a lot of used books to list. I don't understand how other sellers can sell a book for $3 and offer free shipping. And there are a ton of similar listings. Even with media mail rates, I can't turn a profit selling a $3 book. Can someone explain please?

lux.ra_14 · ‎09-14-2023

@robbie31415

Your math is off, or your calendar is off.

The USPS link you provided gives the correct MM rate of $3.63 for the first pound. It goes up at each successive pound.

It hasn't been $2.89 for 1 pound or less since at least a couple of price hikes ago. Your screen shot is outdated.

If you're saying that Facebook has integrated shipping with lower rates for books, that's news to me. That lower rate isn't available to sellers on eBay, Biblio, Abe, Amazon, Etsy, or other sites where books are sold.

robbie31415 · ‎09-14-2023

Once Again, incorrect.

The only reason you don't know about the commercial media mail is because you most likely aren't a volume seller.

coolections · ‎09-14-2023

@lux.ra_14 All of the above. Maybe you think it is just a mega seller story. Even if they get a cheap discount on shipping they are still not the only ones who list cheap for the reasons I gave. Even the mega sellers are terrible, usually hundreds of negatives.

lux.ra_14 · ‎09-14-2023

@robbie31415 wrote:
Once Again, incorrect.

The only reason you don't know about the commercial media mail is because you most likely aren't a volume seller.

I realize there are special rates for mega-sellers. I mentioned it in a post above. Are you a mega-seller who gets a special rate? If so, you didn't mention it.

You entered this thread with the blanket claim that MM is "expensive" on eBay compared to Facebook. You didn't mention anything about volume discounts or your own selling status.

And the $2.89 price in your dated screenshot was available to ALL booksellers before the latest rounds of price hikes. It was never a "commercial" rate. Even the volume sellers couldn't sell a $3 book with "free" shipping that cost them $2.89 + eBay fees and other costs.

movieman630 · ‎09-14-2023

I've been seeing this for years with all things. Imagine someone shipping an oversized, cast iron, 25 lb car part for $14.95 with free shipping! I can't do it, but they can somehow.

I think a lot of these people are selling things like those books for $3 at a loss to get traffic. They have thousands of listings and are hoping for repeat customers or customers who buy more than just one book for $3.00. It's the only thing I can think of. There is no way to make money on that, even if its a paperback.

robbie31415 · ‎09-14-2023

Once Again, incorrect.

Here I just took another screen shot for you from today. 🙂

You still don't know what you are talking about.

monster-deals · ‎09-14-2023

@maximum61 wrote:
Can someone explain please?

Any number of reasons really including:

Buying feedback

Bulk buyer...like semi trailers full of books so the price per unit is $0.001 and they make it up in volume and the other .5% that sell for real money.

Numpty nooblin

Someone that just wants the space back and doesn't care about the money.

nobody*s_perfect · ‎09-14-2023

@lux.ra_14 wrote:
@robbie31415 wrote:
Ebay media mail is expensive. Even facebook is less than 3 dollars for first lb. With commercial media mail.
No such thing, as far as I know. MM rates via eBay and other online sites are the same as the counter rates. There is no lower "commercial" rate available to Facebook users.

Commercial Media Mail rates are available to bulk shippers who presort.

http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/notice123.pdf

lux.ra_14 · ‎09-14-2023

@robbie31415

You didn't answer the question: Are you a mega-bookseller who gets special rates? If so, we're talking about two different things.

All regular booksellers, from hobbyists to top ABAA dealers, pay $3.63 for Media Mail up to 1 pound. $2.89 was the rate around 2019, and it's gone up more than once since then.

You also didn't answer the question of whether Facebook has integrated shipping and is subsidizing shipping for booksellers who sell there. I tend to doubt that's the case since no other site does it. I don't use FB, so educate me. Strikes me as odd that your purported "commercial" rate of $2.89 is the exact counter rate that MM used to cost for all sellers.

robbie31415 · ‎09-14-2023

That's not the point.

The point is, and I'm assuming this, is that facebook has made a deal based on their size to gain near commercial pricing (usps states starts at 2.59) to its individual sellers. (Facebook current price 2.89).

Ebay needs to strike a similar deal. If facebook can do it, why can't eBay?

I never said commercial pricing wasn't exclusive. It's very hard to get for media mail, and is limited to certain organizations and situations.

I sell more media on facebook than ebay because that 1.03 difference makes a significant difference in discounted media.

lux.ra_14 · ‎09-14-2023

Hard to believe more books are sold on FB than on Abe and other book-specific sites, not to mention eBay. Doubtful that FB would have more clout with shipping rates than eBay.

Amazon's shipping credit for booksellers has been stuck at $3.99 for years, no matter what it actually costs the seller to ship. Is the $2.89 a credit on Facebook or the actual cost to the seller to ship? If it's the latter, it's way out of date and ripe for FB to increase it.

chowpit36iw · ‎09-14-2023

Yeah, you said the first lb, but your photo shows .5lb or less.

lux.ra_14 · ‎09-14-2023

@nobody*s_perfect

I realize there are commercial rates. My comment was specific to Facebook. Does FB have a bulk deal that applies to anyone selling one book on its site? That seems to be what's being suggested here.