eBay

Anonymous · ‎07-26-2022

I paid $500 for a 1907 d $5 gold piece , I sold it for $600, e bay took $84 .40 and I made $15.60,

I am very sad and my lady friend thinks I should go to a shrink

stephenmorgan · ‎07-26-2022

That sucks, but that is the way it is with many collectables. The value goes up but others involved in the sell make more than the seller.

hartungcards · ‎07-26-2022

This is why nobody in retail sells stuff at a 20% mark-up over cost.

maxine*j · ‎07-26-2022

The adage is old, but still true: You make your money when you buy, not when you sell.

But, hey! You ended up ahead of the game, still. By, oh, say, three gallons of gas.

-

soh.maryl · ‎07-26-2022

You did not make yourself familiar with eBay's selling fees (and other costs) BEFORE listing your item?

Seems strange for an experienced seller.

m60driver · ‎07-26-2022

Perhaps you should heed the advice of the lady friend as Ebay does post all its fees and thus this totally predictable outcome should not cause sadness.

luckythewinner · ‎07-26-2022

@Anonymous wrote:
I paid $500 for a 1907 d $5 gold piece , I sold it for $600, e bay took $84 .40 and I made $15.60,
I am very sad and my lady friend thinks I should go to a shrink

There is no need to see a shrink - I doubt they are experts when it comes to the eBay fee schedule.

genv · ‎07-26-2022

You did well... you -could- have sold it, gotten a SNAD, and rec'd back a different coin after refunding 100%.

Anonymous · ‎07-26-2022

A shrink costs money. Reading the fee schedule for eBay is free and doesn't cost a thing.

luckythewinner · ‎07-26-2022

I generally aim to sell an item for at least three times what I pay for it.

So if I see an item for $10 and I don't think I can sell it for at least $30, I generally do not bother with it.

If I charge my buyer $4 for shipping and sell it to someone with a 7.5% sales tax, after fees and shipping and the cost of the item I will clear about $15.

Out of that $15 that I clear, I consider $10 to be my profit ("doubling my money") and I consider the other $5 to be "insurance" as a hedge against returns, damage, fraud, and guessing wrong about what I can sell an item for.

zero29zero · ‎07-26-2022

The fee for selling coins with a basic store subscription is 8.8%

If you plan on selling higher priced coins regularly it won't take long for the $28/month store subscription fee to be a good deal for you

donsdetour · ‎07-26-2022

@Anonymous wrote:
I paid $500 for a 1907 d $5 gold piece , I sold it for $600, e bay took $84 .40 and I made $15.60,
I am very sad and my lady friend thinks I should go to a shrink

So now you owe income tax on $15.60.

Oh and that of course was if you did not pay for packing supplies,store fees and so one...., or get the item not as described case to scam you out of the item and money...

And you have been on eBay for how long???

Oh yep it right there on your feedback page: Dec-29-11

So I don't have much sympathy for you.. Maybe your friend is correct.... LOL

kennys-kollectibles · ‎07-26-2022

Your profit was around 3%....tell your friend that no business can survive on only a 3% profit margin.

And make a note to your friend that ebay made 5X the money on your item than you did.

How is that fair?

jameshen1 · ‎07-26-2022

You have over 150 items listed currently, and you have sold over 25 items in the last month alone. Hard to believe you don't understand the fees. If you aren't making sufficient margins in selling here, then time to move on or change your selling model.