How are some sellers able to sell so cheap.

[inhawaii]

When i'm out shopping i'm always on the lookout for bargains that i might be able to sell on eaby. 

I'll only sell items if i can double my money (or more).

I was at Costco the other day and saw this 8 pack of Oral-B toothbrushes that were discounted down to $10.  I thought to myself "I could sell these on ebay". I got home and went on ebay to do my research. 

[nc-daydreamer]

One can never judge another's reasons or circumstances. especially when it comes to being suddenly poor.  I feel the need to share this story...

I had a neighbor who relayed a story to me about when she went to court with her son to support him in some unfortunate situation, who heard a woman in a case with stealing from Walmart.

Her husband had left her with the kids and they were hungry. No one would give her a job (over 50 years old) including Walmart. She could not get social assist because she was still legally married even though he could not be found.

They were getting tossed out of their home for no rent and the kids were hungry. She devised the plan that if she were arrested for something, then the kids would go to a foster home and have a roof, a bath and food. She'd tough it out in jail. She told them what she was doing and said her goodbyes.

She purposely got caught stealing some nice underwear. Now she had 3 hots and cot and the kids were taken care of.  Walmart dropped the charges - which left her in the same position - hungry kids and no where to sleep.

So not all theft is done with reckless abandon... just food for thought. Made me want to cry for her. I prayed... The social services system is really at fault here - they could have and should have helped... Those with jobs, fine homes, luxury cars and credit cards get all the public benefits (housing, foodstamps, clothes, insurance, etc.) while those with nothing go without. Something is desperately wrong with this idea of society... 

Reminded me not to be so judgmental - one can complain of not having shoes - until one meets another with no feet. There are reasons some people do what they do... and not all of them mean they are 'bad' people.

[upgradedendmills]

Walmart missed a golden opportunity here to hire someone who really needed a job and could have had a public relations bonanza by giving her one and getting the story out there. Win, win.  The recent posts concerning laundry detergent and toothbrushes make me think that these and similar items would be fantastic things to purchase when on sale and donate to a shelter or homeless organization or pass out yourself to those in need. Much more profitable than making $10 on eBay.

     True story and flip side of this.  A few years ago my estranged daughter who hadn't spoken to me in over 10 years reached out to me through her brother with a woeful story of divorce and other bad life issues. She needed a car to get her kids to school and pursue a job. I offered her one I had here with no strings attached or family reunions required. She turned that down because it didn't have working A/C. Go figure.  

[mountainmommie]

You'd have to be truthful about your motivation for wanting to know. Are you envious they can sell like this? Are you calling out their "apparent" lies? Are you hoping to develop a skill? Do you wish something was different in your selling situation and can't figure out how to change it? 

There are hundreds of thousands of successful sellers on eBay and they all operate distinctively different ... because there are hundreds of thousands of potential buyers on eBay who have distinctively different demands.

Do you want to control the way you sell and market it to the people who want to buy it that way? Or do you want to find a demand of consumers and constantly adapt to their demands by changing the way you sell?

Your question is a venture into the twilight zone because you will NEVER know the motivation of another seller. Not truly.

[soh.maryl]

I know your post wasn't intended to sound this way, but, first of all, even if WalMart had given this person a job, how do we know she'd be happy about her unfortunate circumstances being publicized by WalMart?

Second of all, do you really believe WalMart really needs more publicity than they already have?In some locations, they are the only game in town.  

And, also, we really don't know, and don't need to know, this woman's circumstances.  It could be that she's unemployable for one reason or another.  

The rest of your post was helpful.  Locally, there are a couple of groceries that have "buy one, get one free" sales.  Many of us give that extra free one to the Food Pantry.  Sometimes it's even "buy one, get two free".  

[upgradedendmills]

You are right, my post is not meant to insult or degrade anyone in any way. If I were in circumstances that prevented me from taking care of my children, I would do whatever that took to fix it. It is very difficult to help someone and remain 100% politically correct.  I would help people in bad circumstances personally in any way I could.

[this*old*attic]

Noooooooooo waaaaaaaay!!!!!!

Popular in Polynesian dishes? Are Hawaiians Polynesian?

OMG, we are so Geographically challenged in the US. I am edjumacated, I swear.

[luckythewinner]

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@inhawaii wrote:

When i'm out shopping i'm always on the lookout for bargains that i might be able to sell on eaby. 

I'll only sell items if i can double my money (or more).

I was at Costco the other day and saw this 8 pack of Oral-B toothbrushes that were discounted down to $10.  I thought to myself "I could sell these on ebay". I got home and went on ebay to do my research. 

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If selling on eBay were as easy a buying at a big box store and marking up the price, everyone would be rich. 

[inhawaii]

You are a genius.  That would have been a public relations bonanza ... hiring the same person who stole from you. 

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

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@this*old*attic wrote:

Noooooooooo waaaaaaaay!!!!!!

Popular in Polynesian dishes? Are Hawaiians Polynesian?

OMG, we are so Geographically challenged in the US. I am edjumacated, I swear.

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Yes the original Hawaiians were.

Maybe it's a substitute for that other Hawaiian staple - SPAM?

[parkersparrow]

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@inhawaii wrote:

Sorry, computer trouble.  But you guys were smart enough to figure out what i was going to say.

So it turns out i can't sell them and  make a decent profit. 

I just makes me wonder how are these other sellers getting their product so cheap?

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Do you have a barcode scanner app on your phone? You can use it to look up prices it could be going for before you decide to buy.

[parkersparrow]

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@this*old*attic wrote:

Although I live in a nice location, the next town over has socioeconomic challenges.

At the neighborhood WalMart on the edge of town, even the super large clothing detergent bottles/boxes are tagged with security devices.

It's not the sort of item one thinks of as high crime... so sad. I think most of us don't realize how fortunate we really are.

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I remember a few years ago Tide detergent being in the news for getting stolen a lot from stores to be then sold in bodegas cheap. In my local grocery store the baby formula is locked up.

[snewville2000]

Physical items are one thing, but if we're talking software, the amount of people selling pirated software on ebay is insane.  It is very difficult to find legitimate copies of what I'm looking for, if at all.

Stay cautious.

[upgradedendmills]

Wally dropped the charges so I don't think there was any stealing. Anyone aware of the issue could have offered a helping hand, rather that was a lawyer, Walmart employee, juror, court groupie, family member, or complete stranger. If I knew of a similar incident, I would have tried to send a gift card from MacDonald's or a box of easy to prepare food on the QT.

[chapeau-noir]

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@inhawaii wrote:

You would never guess what is kept in a locked case here in Hawaii?

Canned corned beef.

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Wow!  When I rode my bike around the Big Island I sure had a lot of corned beef, come to think of it. Corned beef, rice and poi.  Spam and bananas.

[no_zero369]

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@mg152 wrote:
Detergent is a high theft item. They had to put the anti theft stickers on it. Sad, really!

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That is because SNAP benefits do not cover essential living items, only food.  If you are scraping by on 195/month for food, where does the extra come from for laundry detergent?