How Many times Do We See This

[traditonalproducts]

"After my fees etc. I have a loss or Ebay is taking 30% out for everything". These posts are killing me. I guess I need another drink. 

Get real, did they account for the shipping cost to ship an item if its free shipping? Did they account for the deduction of shipping supplies, mileage to and from a shipping center? What about the Ebay fees? My suggestion is to read up on business deductions or talk to your CPA. 

The so called 30% is really not 30% once the deductions are claimed. 

The final net sales are not final until you file your quarterly or year-end tax return thus providing a final net percentage.

[mam98031]

Well that is pretty open ended.  Define "hand over fist".    Most everything talked about here is tax deductible for sellers.  Shipping, shipping materials, Ebay fees, price of the product if you purchased it, etc.  It doesn't have to be overcomplicated or made into something it isn't.  

I'm sorry you had a loss in 2008 and maybe thereafter.  The same certainly isn't true for everyone.  

The thing someone up thread inserted that changes what this conversation started as is "we get back" which wasn't the correct words.  We do get to deduct business costs from our income.  The Net balance is the income that is taxable.

[yuzuha]

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@wes-4507 wrote:

Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, etc.

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Yep. CL is where all of my heavy/bulky stuff goes. Three piece luggage sets, aquariums, large bird cages, etc.

[laststopgeneralstore]

Yea, that'll never happen. I never understood why people add the cost it takes to ship an item into "eBay fee's". The people that are accounting the cost to ship and item to a customer as an "eBay fee" most likely has no idea how eBay works thus blaming eBay for every little thing that goes wrong. IE. sales, traffic, best offer etc... etc...

It's not that hard to sell on eBay. Source and sell items with a high sell thru rate(if you want slow sales then do the complete opposite), have good prices, photos, description return policy, handling time, customer service etc... That's about it. It's all about what the CUSTOMER wants NOT what you want(to sell). Don't worry about things that are out of your control and focus on things that you can control.

[laststopgeneralstore]

"eBay steals that money right out from under you". No, they don't lol. That has everything to do with the shipping company and absolutely nothing to do with eBay. Even if you had your own website selling the same items with your own payment processor, the same thing would happen. eBay isn't "stealing" anything. Know the facts before making false accusations especially when your stating that eBay is taking 30% in fee's which is completely false.

Everything is laid out clearly in the terms and conditions. If you're not making the money that you want then you need to either spend less on the items your sourcing/selling or even better, source better items with higher sell thru rates that you can sell at a higher price. Make sure that you are charging enough for the item and the shipping as well. If you're charging shipping then always make sure to charge the retail amount and NOT the discounted price that us sellers get(if you always charge the exact amount for shipping then you will always lose money on every sale via the shipping).

I always get flak for this but almost every single business that sells online charges the retail rate for shipping when they themselves are charged a discounted rate to ship said item. Since they are getting charged a fee from their payment processor on the shipping, if they were to charge the exact amount then they would effectively lose money on every sale.

[huntfishdie45]

You are forgetting about one thing; eBay is not the only marketplace for online shoppers. People have choices of where they shop online so you are competing with those sellers too. Everybody who sells online ships so there is no advantage there. Go look at your items up the river you might be shocked like I was.

[mam98031]

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@huntfishdie45 wrote:

You are forgetting about one thing; eBay is not the only marketplace for online shoppers. People have choices of where they shop online so you are competing with those sellers too. Everybody who sells online ships so there is no advantage there. Go look at your items up the river you might be shocked like I was.

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You can say it.  Amazon.  I sell there too.  As a seller it is more expensive to sell on Amazon, so I have to charge more for some of the very same items I sell here to cover the additional fees.  

You are absolutely correct there are more marketplaces out there for both buyers and sellers, but they aren't all created equal.  There are some very big differences between sites for both buyers and sellers, all of which has to be considered.

[mam98031]

@traditonalproducts 

They are all mistaken and don't pay attention to the details, it is as simple as that.

Name ONE category, any category that Ebay charges a seller a 30% FVF.  Just one!!  Here I'll even give you the link to the policy.

Selling fees | eBay