STRONGLY CONSIDERING STOPPING SELLING ON HERE - FEES

[bocaboca2010]

I have been selling on eBay off an on for years, but when I sell and item lets say for 40 dollars that cost me 30 and I got hit by ebay for their percentage, plus the paypal percentage I really have to wonder whats the point.   This also excludes getting a percentage of the shipping taken which overall dips deep into my little profit.  The customer here is us, the sellers and eBay should be helping, but instead they are doing what they want with little consideration for the sellers.  Between the poor seller system updates and the fees unfortunately other platforms are seeming much more profitable.  At least with my Amazon account I only pay 99 cents per item and I am cosidering moving to the pro which is free since I have about 45 products on there.  If anyone has suggestions feel free to post em.   Thanks

[thatsallfolks]

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@southern*sweet*tea wrote:

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@tml989 wrote:

Only paying 99 cents per item on Amazon?  I don't think so.  You're paying 99 cents PLUS a % fee.

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99 cents PLUS 15% PLUS a referral fee

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Imagine the explosion after the OP learns that the hard way.

[nawlinsron2]

"...Even if eBay were free, that margin would still be a waste of time."

Tell that to the Chinese...

[coolections]

You should actually know the cost upfront especially since you say you've been here for years. Buying for $30 and selling for $40 would only work if you are selling in volume. A purchase for resale should be minimum of at least 1/2 the selling cost.

[luckythewinner]

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@bocaboca2010 wrote:

when I sell and item lets say for 40 dollars that cost me 30 and I got hit by ebay for their percentage, plus the paypal percentage I really have to wonder whats the point.

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I would also wonder what is the point of paying $30 for something that you can only sell for $40.  That sounds like a terrible business decision. 

The fees aren't the problem - the acquisition cost is.  My best seller is a $25 item, but I won't pay more than $5 to acquire one.  

[cinjamanbooks]

As everyone already mentioned, selling an item you purchased for $30 for $40 minus all the fees associated with selling on eBay probably isn't a very smart idea.  You are doing a great deal of work for literally nothing, but opening yourself up to significant liability via the eBay return system where buyers have 30 day returns (yes, even if you don't accept returns...)

Everything we buy for resale, we aim to pay 50% or less of retail for new items.  For used items, we aim to pay 50% or less of our eBay selling price.  This allows room for fees, free shipping (unless a heavy item, then we estimate the farthest distance and ensure it is profitable for us), and to provide ourselves with a decent enough profit to cover our time, effort, and risk associated with selling on eBay.  

All of the above factors are discussed and thought through for each and every item we purchase for resale, well before it goes on eBay or any other site.  This is business 101 for us.

[cinjamanbooks]

No comparison, chinese sellers are heavily subsidized by their government in the shipping department making it very easy for them to sell mass amounts of items on eBay and elsewhere...  If our government subsidized my shipping fees, I would be raking in great profits on my products 😉 

[mr_lincoln]

@bocaboca2010  I read your post and a number of replies ... sounds like the issue is more about prcing the items correctly then anything else.  Fees are Fees, the price just has to cover them pure and simple.  Build youself an EXEL spreadsheet that generates the selling price for you based on cost, profit, fees, expense estimate, etc.

[bocaboca2010]

Thanks for the input, I dont really agree fees are fees when you get charged on postage?  If postage is actual cost then the postage is not profit.  remeber eBays original argument for all this was to put a damper on overcharging.

When it is not a profit item there should not be a charge. 

In legal terms it is a "surcharge" and a charge when there should be no charge to the chargers benefit.

[thatsallfolks]

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@bocaboca2010 wrote:

Thanks for the input, I dont really agree fees are fees when you get charged on postage?  If postage is actual cost then the postage is not profit.  remeber eBays original argument for all this was to put a damper on overcharging.

When it is not a profit item there should not be a charge. 

In legal terms it is a "surcharge" and a charge when there should be no charge to the chargers benefit.

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You’re still avoiding the real problem.

[inceptions]

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@bocaboca2010 wrote:

Thanks for the input, I dont really agree fees are fees when you get charged on postage?  If postage is actual cost then the postage is not profit.  remeber eBays original argument for all this was to put a damper on overcharging.

When it is not a profit item there should not be a charge. 

In legal terms it is a "surcharge" and a charge when there should be no charge to the chargers benefit.

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You are not charged a fee on postage, you are charged a fee on the total sale (price plus shipping/handling paid by buyer) and this fee structure has been in place for over 6 years. (PayPal also charges their fee on the total sale and always has.) eBay doesn't only provide services to help you sell your item, but to help you sell and facilitate the shipping on the item as well. (If you think you are not selling shipping as well as an item, you are mistaken.)

As nearly everyone else here has told you, you are either paying too much for your items or charging too little. No matter where you sell, you have business expenses. Those expenses should be built into your item pricing...just as every other seller does - on eBay, on any other website, in a brick and mortar store, anywhere else. Pricing an item for $40 that costs you $30 is sure to lead to failure.

remeber eBays original argument for all this was to put a damper on overcharging.

No...eBay's reason for this was to clamp down on sellers who were practicing fee avoidance by building their profits into their shipping/handling costs instead of their item pricing. Now, everyone pays on the total sale so that honest sellers are no longer paying higher fees than the dishonest ones.

[chicboutique31]

There is no reason to complain about fees anymore. they have always been there and fees always keep going up. What fee have you ever heard of going down? Rarely ever. You may want to reconsider what you are selling becuase alot of people do quite well selling here. Now, i have never been on amazon or other sites to compare to, maybe there are better options out there for you.