eBay

darwinfarms · ‎09-06-2017

I recently became a licensed nursery. Online plants sales are becoming a new thing. Originally I had planned to just do my sales through ebay. It seemed like it simplified things enough and I could still make money.

..then i get my first invoice for fees..

It is just too much. By Spring of 2018, if I continued to do 90% of my sales through ebay as I had planned.. I am going to be writing some LARGE checks to Ebay. For this amount I could build a website, cover cc transactions, AND pay to have traffic directed my way.

It's just, too, much. You gotta lower the fees before I will make Ebay part of my plan going forward. I'll be using it for the slow season this fall and winter.. But when Spring comes, no way am I going to cut ebay in this high on my sales. With Paypal 13%?!?!? Are you kidding me??

Bigcommerce, here I come.

darwinfarms · ‎09-06-2017

Seems like a sliding scale, with lower % fees for sellers who are selling more, would be much more reasonable than a flat 13%. Once you get beyond selling $2k per month you are robbing people taking $260+.

Am I crazy here? Were the fees always this high? I used Ebay much more back in late 90s, early 2000s. I don't remember feeling robbed when I got the invoice back then.

lacemaker3 · ‎09-06-2017

@darwinfarms

Maybe you should look into the store fees. If you are consistently selling more than 50-100 items per month, having a store can save you some money with lower final value fees.

Fee Illustrator - eBay

eBay Stores fees

eBay & PayPal fees have always run around 12% - 15%. There used to be a tiered final value fee system, but then you always had to pay insertion fees up-front.

deep-garnet-red · ‎09-06-2017

@darwinfarms wrote:
Seems like a sliding scale, with lower % fees for sellers who are selling more, would be much more reasonable than a flat 13%. Once you get beyond selling $2k per month you are robbing people taking $260+.

Am I crazy here? Were the fees always this high? I used Ebay much more back in late 90s, early 2000s. I don't remember feeling robbed when I got the invoice back then.

The fees were always that high. They just didn't charge a FVF on shipping back then.

deep-garnet-red · ‎09-06-2017

You just need to add that 13% to your price.

dhbookds · ‎09-06-2017

lol, I've been buying mail order plants for longer than was an internet......and been buying on the internet since it started........

If you think 13% is high.........don't list here.

Certainly, you can do a website, but driving the traffic is the key to any website......good luck with that.

luckythewinner · ‎09-06-2017

@darwinfarms wrote:
..then i get my first invoice for fees.. It is just too much.
{snip}
For this amount I could build a website, cover cc transactions, AND pay to have traffic directed my way.

Well, it looks like you are moving in the right direction.

You are wise to investigate the costs of setting up your own website before you make that move ... unlike you did with eBay, where the costs that you could have determined upfront appear to have taken you by surprise.

mistwomandancing · ‎09-06-2017

@darwinfarms wrote:
I recently became a licensed nursery. Online plants sales are becoming a new thing. Originally I had planned to just do my sales through ebay. It seemed like it simplified things enough and I could still make money.
..then i get my first invoice for fees..

It is just too much. By Spring of 2018, if I continued to do 90% of my sales through ebay as I had planned.. I am going to be writing some LARGE checks to Ebay. For this amount I could build a website, cover cc transactions, AND pay to have traffic directed my way.

It's just, too, much. You gotta lower the fees before I will make Ebay part of my plan going forward. I'll be using it for the slow season this fall and winter.. But when Spring comes, no way am I going to cut ebay in this high on my sales. With Paypal 13%?!?!? Are you kidding me??

Bigcommerce, here I come.

You gotta' do what you gotta' do. When selling on eBay, you need to know how you can price your product to sell, what ALL of your selling/shipping expenses are going to be in the end, and this includes ALL fees to eBay and PayPal or your merchant card carrier, costs of supplies, etc.

THEN, after you have all your figures set out... you will know whether that amount remaining after all are paid is enough PROFIT for you. If yes, you likely have found something that you can sell here and profit from, enough to make it worthwhile to go with. But if that bottom line PROFIT isn't as much as you need it to be, that tells you that you DON'T have a product that will be good to sell online on ANY site where you have to pay usage fees (so to speak) and I will tell you that eBay is less expensive than several other places to sell.

Selling online isn't necessarily a Path to Riches, although it's amazing how many folks think that because they are showing the world their merchandise, they will therefore actually make SALES. There is a lot of competition out there once you start competing for online sales. It simply isn't as easy to make good $$$ as it seems to be from the outside, looking in.

And I have NO idea you came up with thinking PayPal charges 13%..... when they are about 3% for most.

pantlandia · ‎09-06-2017

@darwinfarms wrote:
I recently became a licensed nursery. Online plants sales are becoming a new thing. Originally I had planned to just do my sales through ebay. It seemed like it simplified things enough and I could still make money.
..then i get my first invoice for fees..

It is just too much. By Spring of 2018, if I continued to do 90% of my sales through ebay as I had planned.. I am going to be writing some LARGE checks to Ebay. For this amount I could build a website, cover cc transactions, AND pay to have traffic directed my way.

It's just, too, much. You gotta lower the fees before I will make Ebay part of my plan going forward. I'll be using it for the slow season this fall and winter.. But when Spring comes, no way am I going to cut ebay in this high on my sales. With Paypal 13%?!?!? Are you kidding me??

Bigcommerce, here I come.

Congratulations on finding out that just because it CAN be sold on eBay doesn't mean it SHOULD be sold on eBay. If your pricing strategy can't handle the fees, it's not because eBay is charging too much, it's that your products just aren't suitable for this type of marketplace. Thousands of sellers are just fine with the fees, including me.

I wouldn't open a brick and mortar storefront for my CDs on the busiest street in the city knowing my rent will be $4k a month and then complain that the rent is too high. That's not my landlord's fault. It's more my items and business model just can't sustain that amount of rent.

Good luck on your move.

richard1rst · ‎09-06-2017

Just curious.

Do you have a physical store?

Do you pay rent, utilities, insurance, etc?

What are those amounts as a percentage of your sales?

On top of that, those amounts are due even if you do not have a single sale.

I know there are others here who disagree, but as far as I am concerned the fees I pay to eBay are no different than the rents, etc I paid when I had a brick and mortar store.

By the wat, the fees you pay to Paypal are no different than the fees you pay for your in store sales so they don’t really apply.

Price your product accordingly.

"Laissez-faire capitalism (AKA The Great Material Continuum) is the only social system based on the recognition of individual rights and, therefore, the only system that bans force from social relationships." ~ Ayn Rand

darwinfarms · ‎09-11-2017

Sold my last item, just shipped them out and paid off the fees.

Drop to 6% (including PayPal) and I might come back.

Later.

mistwomandancing · ‎09-11-2017

darwinfarms wrote:..........Sold my last item, just shipped them out and paid off the fees..........Drop to 6% (including PayPal) and I might come back...........

Oh, HECK yeah!

I LOVE it when businesses I use drop their prices and costs! Loved it especially when my lender dropped what he charged for my mortgage, but it was almost as good when my utilities told me they were going to start charging 40% less for each unit I used as well. Based on the good feedback they got from their utility customers, our grocery stores here are also dropping their prices by 40%.

And when you drop your prices by 40% on all your nursery stock, I'm going to buy one TON of stuff to plant here! I do love it when businesses cut it to the bone and beyond!

OK, in other words, I'm sorry selling nursery stock here at the costs charged in fees wasn't a feasible business plan for you. IF you are really wanting to sell online/e-commerce level of business, you might investigate what it takes to have your own website..... Good luck with your nursery business. It seems like that would be a real pleasant business to work each day. Sun and rain, earth and green leafy plants...

darwinfarms · ‎09-11-2017

i'll look into the store fees.. Thank you for the advice.

ecommercemom · ‎09-11-2017

Starting your own site and driving traffic to it via ads is going to cost a lot more than what eBay charges in fees. Also, just building a site and driving ads does not guarantee you're going to get more sales than you would on eBay either. I have a friend who sells mostly on eBay and he built his own site hoping that he would get more buyers on his site than eBay. He soon realized that 95% of his sales still come from eBay. He has spent hundreds (sometimes thousands ) on paid ads to drive traffic to his site as well. Along with hosting cost, On site optimation, maintaining, etc. The biggest thing is customers feel more trust buying on eBay than a third party site. They know if the deal goes bad eBay will still have their back. Same goes with buying on Amazon.