eBay

namtrag1 · ‎08-13-2018

Lets say a seller wants to profit $10,000 per month.

conditions:

sale price of widget = $35

Cost of Widget = $25

_________________________

Gross Profit = $10

eBay fee per widget = $3.25

Paypal fee per widget = $1.32

Shipping Fee per widget = $4.00

__________________________________

Expense per each widget = $8.57

Gross Profit per widget $10.00

- Expense per widget $8.57

_____________________________________

Net Profit before taxes = $1.43 for each widget

So to make $10,000 profit per month you must sell 7000 widgets per month

to sell 7000 widgets per month you must stock about 14000 widgets.

14000 widgets x $25 = $350,000 of inventory.

So who has $350,000 to stock the warehouse ?

And who can sell 7000 widgets per month ?

This does not include the 30 day Free returns that eBay wants us to do.

This does not take into account any employee wages either.

And what happens when eBay cathes a "cold" and does something majorly stupid that costs sellers dearly in lost sales ?

coolections · ‎08-13-2018

The bigger question is who can expect to make $10,000 a month on Ebay unless you are a major store player with employees, warehouses etc. No one in their right mind would be buying $25 widgets and expect to make over 6 digits annually. If that was the case, then everyone would be rich.

retrose1 · ‎08-13-2018

It will be a icy cold day in the underworld before I pay $25 for somethingI'm only going to charge $35 for.

Hit a sale last weekend, bought a pile of 12 items for $10, price per item is average $15

That's how business should work.

(*Bleep*)

namtrag1 · ‎08-13-2018

with all respect : Don't know where you live or what your nut is but we are in the Year 2018 and things aint cheap brother. And $10,000 don't spend like it used to. Got Kids?..Got a mortgage payment?..got car payments?...taxes?

coolections · ‎08-13-2018

Where I live very few make $120,000 a year and definitely there are no Ebay sellers where I live making that kind of cash. Yes things are expensive.

dhbookds · ‎08-13-2018

You can't make anything, as you prove, paying $25 and selling for $35 with free shipping.........

So don't buy at $25, unless you can get alot more than $35 for it.......

When I first started I made a chart starting at a $5 selling price going up to $50...and figured the profit at each level using various cost amounts......ignored shipping because I knew I would charge for it.....

Taught me very quickly how to know what to buy for.........and buying is where the money is made.......

luckythewinner · ‎08-13-2018

@namtrag1 wrote:
Lets say a seller wants to profit $10,000 per month.
sale price of widget = $35
Cost of Widget = $25
Net Profit before taxes = $1.43 for each widget

I did the math, and that looks like a terrible choice of inventory.

Who would risk $33.50 to make $1.50?

An item must return at least $5 or I will not list it.

And an item returning less that $10 must cost less than $1 or I will not even buy it.

bubbleman2010 · ‎08-13-2018

Most ebay sellers for hours spent if they live in a redemption state would be money ahead to just pick up cans along the highway....

zamo-zuan · ‎08-13-2018

@coolections wrote:
Where I live very few make $120,000 a year and definitely there are no Ebay sellers where I live making that kind of cash. Yes things are expensive.

We are a business that has traditionally made over $3,500,000 per year on eBay.

Yet when we share the research we have gathered, you still blame & criticize as if you know better than us, as well as eBay.

We would be, by your own definition, a "major store player with employees, warehouses, etc".

So how come we are treated as if we have no credibility...?

coolections · ‎08-13-2018

@zamo-zuan

Never said you have no credibility. Unfortunately for you your market share has collapsed. Partly due to aftermarket parts being sold cheaper than yours and also because the younger generation doesn'r work on cars as they once did. You are also competing against MAJOR automotive dealerships who buy directly from the manufacturers and sell their parts in their dealerships which consumers buy from not Ebay. You cannot expect the same results. It's like Ford and Chevy losing their market shares over the years. Trending US cars changed from US to foreign cars. Unfortunately for you, you have to accept the challenges and cannot expect to keep the same market share as in the past. Being a seller with a volume as yours you would think you would understand that.

coolections · ‎08-13-2018

Many of the complainers do exactly that. Unfortunatelt\y they do not think it through when making the purchase. If I paid $25 for an item I would not list it unless 1: Know it has demand for resale, 2: Know I can get at least $50.

dtexley3 · ‎08-13-2018

@dhbookds wrote:
You can't make anything, as you prove, paying $25 and selling for $35 with free shipping.........

So don't buy at $25, unless you can get alot more than $35 for it.......

When I first started I made a chart starting at a $5 selling price going up to $50...and figured the profit at each level using various cost amounts......ignored shipping because I knew I would charge for it.....

Taught me very quickly how to know what to buy for.........and buying is where the money is made.......

egg-zactaly, if you can't at least double the cost you are wasting your time.

Member of the Grumpy Old Man crew

luckythewinner · ‎08-13-2018

@bubbleman2010 wrote:
Most ebay sellers for hours spent if they live in a redemption state would be money ahead to just pick up cans along the highway....

Not sure if I would go as far as "most sellers". But there certainly seem to be sellers here who haven't taken a good look at their business plan.

In the OP's example, that sample seller is looking to make $10,000 a month - which requires about 7,000 sales with an average profit of $1.43 ... assuming no fraudulent SNADs or INRs.

A single fraudulent SNAD or INR would require 20 additional sales just to make up the loss, which seems like a significant risk.

If the seller in that example had a fraudulent SNAD or INR rate that hit just 2.5%, it would wipe out more than half of his profit (hegating $5,125 per month) and leave him with just $58,500 out of his expected $120,000 per year. And a rate of 5% would put him in the hole by $3,000 anually.