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

[chrysylys]

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@bocaboca2010 wrote:

 If anyone has suggestions feel free to post em. 

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Don't list anything for less than you're willing to accept.

[frodobagginskennedy]

profit is  made at the time YOU purchase the item,  If you are paying 30.00 and selling for 40.00,....that is the problem

[baantiques]

You make your money when you buy, not when you sell.

If you're paying $30 for something you're getting $40 for, you're paying too much.

I won't touch anything like that unless I can get it for $10.  It's simply not worth it.

[southern*sweet*tea]

The fees here are very reasonable, IMO

Your problem is acquisition costs. If you pay $30 for an item and sell it for $40, you have to back off FVF and Paypal fees out of that cost. Paypal fees would be $1.96 ($.30 + $1.56), FVF at 10% would be $4, leaving you with $4.04...and these figures don't even include shipping costs, whose percentages would be added in there as well. This gives you nothing for your time, your profit, your packaging materials and any other expenses. By listing a $30 item for $40 you are losing money before you even list it.  

If I price an item at $40, I would have paid no more than a couple of dollars for it, probably less than $1.

[slati_2013]

As many will tell you, your problem is the price you are buying your items and the price you then sell them. You should do the PayPal and eBay FVF math before deciding to purchase anything. 

[anthemshop247]

Have you read the thread on Amazon's business practices?

[rolenboy01]

You are selling an item you paid $30 for $40 that sounds like problem right there those are some slim margins.

[honestabe411]

You buy items for $30 and resell for $40....? -$4 in fees, gas time and listing, your making what...$2? I wouldn't sell ANYWHERE with those kinds of numbers.

[mistwomandancing]

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bocaboca2010 wrote:..........but when I sell and item lets say for 40 dollars that cost me 30..........

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And there's the crux of the problem. 

There needs to be a much larger spread between your acquisition cost and your selling price!  You have to have a good feel for what your item will bring today, what all of the related selling expenses will be to get this item delivered into the buyer's hands and all your fees, etc. paid, and then add in how much profit you want to make on the item for your work effort.  IF the selling price isn't going to be enough to cover all the expenses AND pay for its initial purchase AND put some decent profit back into your pocket, then you can't afford to be buying that thing as a resale possibility, because there isn't enough spread between acquisition and selling price!

[retrose1]

OP, when I had my B&M store I factored my pricing markup as 3 up to 5+ to one.  If I buy for $1 - I plan to sell it for at least $3 -5 or more.  Right now my Christmas sweaters that I am getting $9.99 + for I paid a dollar or less.

Everything that I list on ebay I can afford to toss in the trash with the postage costs.  No matter what I am charging for it.  If I got paid $25 for an item, and got scammed, I didn't really lose $25, I lost the dollar and postage - it hurts a lot less that way. 

But if I don't get scammed, I made around about $20 in profit.

[thatsallfolks]

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

[plumbingspecials]

Do the math before you set your acceptable price.

[tml989]

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

[southern*sweet*tea]

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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