HIGH FEES

[bbhockey7]

So hard to make money now. 35 cents listing fee, 12.35% final fee and a new 30 cents per item surcharge. I pay 95 cents in fees on a $2 sports card. THats 45% in fees.  Used to get plenty of free insertion promotions. Now I am done after the first week of the month and cant list until next month.  UGH!

[coolections]

What I did years ago was decided not sell sell cards that are common and you can only make $1 each. Sell them in large lots, or pack them all up into one lot and get rid of them as fast as you can. You can also donate them to several places that would love them such as children's hospitals, boy scouts, etc. It is just not worth the time and effort. 

[alcoforever]

You are behind the times.   The FVF went up to 12.55% on April 1.

Brutal fact is you cannot make money selling items for $1.29 on ebay.   Personally, I don't touch anything that will sell for less than $25.

[katzrul15]

Open a store?  You would get more free listings and a break on your FVFs.......How many does your dashboard say you can list each month?

[millersbrbooks2]

If you open a few more new IDs, each will give you 200 free istings per month

[gwzcomps]

Even then such low value one off items make no sense on eBay or any eCommerce site as far as I know.

[fashunu4eeuh]

It boils down to the fact that some items are not suitable to list on eBay.

[flyingmvp]

Maybe, the venue is telling you very politely not to sell here 2$ cards?

I can't even  imagine a return request or  Inr/inad etc',  that would suck quite a lot.

Not worth it.

[mr_lincoln]

@bbhockey7   I have to agree with @flyingmvp on this one on not only $ 2 cards but anything for $ 2.  Sellers should FIRST decide what their lowest priced item is OR what is the lowest price they will sell anything for.  You will spend just as much time preparing a listing for a $ 1 item as you will for a $ 10 item as you will for a $ 100 item.

I made the decision a few years ago that $ 9.95 was my lowest price and I would work on increasing that over time.  It makes one more selective with what one sells.  at the end of 2019 I had worked that lowest price up to $ 14.95 and was ready to go to $  19.95 in 2020 then Covid hit, inventory became hard to come by, I am still at $ 14.95 and hope to move forward again in the not too distant future.

My average sale price just prior to Covid was "just" under $ 50 ... it sank to just over $ 40 during Covid (2020) and has FINALLY climbed back up to just over $ 45.  When I shifted from $ 9.95 to $ 14.95 lowest price my average sale went from just over $ 29 to just over $ 43 in the first year.

[zero29zero · Accepted solution]

You might consider a store subscription, basic store is $27 + change on monthly basis, not yearly rate if you'd just like to try it out

You are already in managed payments so with a basic store subscription you now get 1000 free listings, up from 350 previously

Don't let the "high rollers" on here get you down, selling cheap stuff (as I do on this ID) the key is sales volume, You'll have to figure out if you could get 1000 items listed for the $27 price & if "sales volume" would be enough to make it pay

Keep your head up

[toysaver]

I recommend expandng your inventory beyond cards to include bigger ticket items such as sports memorabilia and sporting equipment.

[bbhockey7]

Thanks- I used to get 1000 item free insertions all the time. Now just 250 per month. I list then in the first few days and then sit here the rest of the month unable to sell. I wish they would give unlimited free insertions for buy it now listed under $5.    12.55% and the 30 cent surcharge is enough on a $2 sports card. I could list all month and I would sell hundreds of items a month and they would collect more in fees. 

[forward-motion]

I have changed what I sell on ebay over and over. What do I sell? Whatever makes money. If what you are selling isn’t making money, then quit doing it. 

Someone once told me if you buy something for a dollar and sell it for two, sure you doubled your money but you only made a dollar. 

If you buy something for 50 and sell it for 100, you double it and make $50.00. Yeah I know fees and what not. My point is, sell something you are going to make money on or don’t do it. 

[luckythewinner]

35 cents listing fee

I have 1200 items listed on six accounts. I haven't paid a listing fee in ten years.

12.35% final fee 

It's 12.55% actually - which is fairly close to the combined 12.9% that eBay and PayPal charged. 

a new 30 cents per item surcharge

The 30 cents has been there for a decade. You just paid it to PayPal instead of eBay.

I pay 95 cents in fees on a $2 sports card

There have always been items that were a terrible fit for eBay. That 30 cent fixed fee that PayPal charged was 30% of $1 , 15% of $2, and 3% of $10. That has not changed under Managed Payments.

[magic*moonbeams]

I had actually forgotten about the free listing offers I used to get until I read your post.

Yes, fees are killing me too, and the fact that the USPS raised the shipping rates twice in the past 12 months.

If you sell sports cards, maybe instead of selling individual cards, sell them in lots by player or team?  Then you get just one transaction fee, one listing fee, one shipping fee 🙂

That's what I do with my fashion doll accessories.. It's not cost effective to sell individual pairs of shoes or a dress for a doll that might cost me $3.49 to ship if the buyer is on the other coast, so I make up lots 🙂