Regards,
Good points. I think that speaks to those who have complained about the "big" increase in fees but not realizing that for the very first time in their Selling history the value of the PayPal fees were suddenly showing up in the MP fee structure total instead of being blind to them (so to speak) on the PayPal site.
The bottom line on fees is that they are relatively the same with MP compared to the eBay-PayPal model, some higher and some lower depending on category, shipping costs, sales tax fees, etc.
There was a saying started in the Building an eBay Business board some time ago (board has been merged into this one):
You make your profits when you buy, you collect them when you sell.
Know your numbers. Only you know what it will cost you in shipping costs, shipping supply costs, overhead, fees, acquisition costs..... and only you can say what is an acceptable profit margin for your time/effort. So do the math -- if you know you can sell that widget for $25 on eBay, but you also know it's going to cost you $23 to acquire, list, pack, sell, and finally ship.... maybe it's not such a good deal after all. $2 doesn't sound like a very good margin... unless you have a relatively unlimited supply and can streamline some of the handling/processing to lower those costs while still achieving a proper delivery.
When I decided to start liquidating my elongates, I put together a spreadsheet that took every, and I do mean every, cost into consideration. Detailed down to the level of the cost of the envelope for mailing, the sheet of paper for the packslip, the clear desk tape to hold the pouched elongate to the packslip.... very detailed, very easy to update (I could put in the cost of a box of 100 envelopes, indicate the qty was 100 units, and the spreadsheet determined cost per envelope, etc). Then I put in the cost of rolling my own pennies (The Memphis Zoo is a favorite of mine) and in another copy of the same spreadsheet I would use the cost per unit of the bulk lots (1000-5000 elongates each) I was buying.
I did all this a) because I'm a computer nerd, and b) so there would be no surprises in my bank balance each month. If an auction sold for more than starting bid, then I knew I had a coin of interest. Most sold for starting bid and I was perfectly fine, and profitable, with that. Supplies and new bulk lots were always funded from the proceeds of previous sales -- that was the deal I had made with my wife way back when I was still buying/selling via BBS message boards. I could buy anything I wanted online... I just couldn't use any of the family money (our W2 incomes) to do so. I'd have to sell enough to buy what I wanted. Which only slowed me down a bit... then I started selling on consignment and eventually full-time/self-employed.
What once was a restriction became a motivational point - and lead to my second career. 🙂
It's no big secret -- you just have to know the numbers and do the math. It will only slow you down at first - with time, you'll get better. And faster. And more profitable. Or you'll retire from online selling.
"Don't buy what you wouldn't want to live with - because you might have to."
"Never bet the rent - not every listing sells, or sells for as much as you needed it to."
What are other sellers, who are selling the same thing(s) you are trying to sell, doing to make their listings more popular, their products more desirable? Title keywords? Pictures? Description? Find out by checking the Solds and see if you can find out what the best sellers have in common... and can you do the same with your listings and products.
It's a process, not a secret. Learn to use it to your advantage and your perspective will change.
-Bob.
