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. 

[bobstechbooks]

I like SPAM!

[gamersbaystore]

They can sell so cheap because they're selling counterfeit goods. A few of those mega media sellers are without a doubt hawking hundreds of millions of dollars of fake movies, games, and who knows what else. Those of us who play by the rules and are honest are the ones who lose.

In other cases sellers have to compete with those selling stolen goods, another big problem that's always plagued this platform.

ebay used to have checks and balances in place to keep counterfeiters and those selling stolen goods off the platform. They used to demand receipts from sellers, and if you couldn't cough them up, your account was done for.

They've demanded proof of who and where I bought my goods from in the past, including proof of receipts. Maybe they don't do this anymore? Not sure, but there's an awful lot of shady sellers on this platform today.

[pburn]

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@parkersparrow wrote:

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In my local grocery store the baby formula is locked up.

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Weren't there some issues with baby-food tampering a few years back?

[slati_2013]

Easy. They buy them  in bulk. Many times the government will get rid of an item in the thousands. Most pass on these sales because they come on several pallets and most do not have the ability to pick them up or have a place to store them. Those who do buy them end up paying a fraction of the actual cost of the items. Even if they sell these items at half the price other sellers are selling them for on eBay, they still make a massive profit. 

[clemowbooks]

Not particularly cheap.

I bought four Oral B toothbrushes at our local pharmacy for $1.00 Cdn each (the Canadian dollar hovers around 45 cents US).

It was a special offer, possibly even a loss leader, but the usual price is still only about $3.49 (~$2.60US).

Your Costco price of $1.25 each is about $1.56Cdn.

even on markdowns, Costco is making a profit on those.

Not necessarily.

While this isn't the kind of thing a company would sell below cost to make room for more up to date/seasonal product, if the company makes money on the basket of purchases, the loss on a toothbrush or 20 is made up on the other purchases at full price.

Which is where "loss leaders" come in.

Milk and bread are common loss leaders in groceries. Mum comes in for the milk, and also buys the cereal, sandwich meat, apples, and frozen peas.

[clemowbooks]

@inhawaii
Corned beef?
Not Spam?

[clemowbooks]

@upgradedendmills
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

I buy tampons and pads whatever is on sale to put in the Food Bank box at the supermarket.
Another expense for young women in need.
I've had some odd looks from female cashiers- since I'm 73.

[josell-10]

Money power! Buy thousands of toothbrushes and you'll get it for dirt cheap. Also some online sellers including amazon are selling replicas, in other words fakes! (There are many more reasons but here are 2 to consider.) Lately I've bought axe deodorant bodyspray on amazon. I contacted the seller if it's from manufacturer? He said yes! Long story short  amazon was selling it for around $2.71 per 5.07 oz can if you buy pack of 6. (Amazon currently has it available from 15 sellers.) Bottom line when I got it delivered I tested it and sure enough it was a replica made in south Africa. It also caused skin burns. So now I know why the retail price for the original axe 4 oz can is $6.49 I'm not saying this is the norm but you never know.

[parkersparrow]

Maybe, but I just looked it up and it seems to be to keep people from stealing it.  The top 3 most shoplifted items are: 

1. Meat
2. Razors
3. Baby formula

[josell-10]

Also once sellers earned enough profit and they got leftovers they just getting rid of stuff

[upgradedendmills]

Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[southern*sweet*tea]

RE: the laundry detergent

Rings of thieves would steal the detergent pods, then sell the pods individually at laundromats for 50 cents to $1 apiece. That's why they started locking them up.  Fast and easy way for a thief to make a fast buck.

[vintagecraze50]

Yep. Our walmart actually has three police cars parked in front of the store. Wonder what all this says about the reality of an abundant life in the US when more and more people are stealing stuff. I think is says that there are a lot of folks that are flat broke.

[vintagecraze50]

Yes, that’s true. There are a lot of people struggling to make ends meet and minimum wage just is not going to cut it so some people probably resort to crime.  This country is going to continue to have problems with violence, crime etc. It happens when people become desparate. Add to this families where kids get receive little attention or are not taught moral behavior and here come the gangs. Sad situation.  

[nc-daydreamer]

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@inhawaii wrote:

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

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She was rejected for the job before she stole the underwear.