Selling Cost too high

[dawgg*]

My selling cost was 42% of my total sales? Any suggestions on how to lower the percentage of my selling cost?

[inhawaii]

Buy stuff cheaper and/or sell it for more. 

[katzrul15]

42%?  What did you sell??

[nobody*s_perfect]

The final value fee is a percentage of the buyer's total payment including not only the selling price but also shipping and sales tax if any.  So when you divide the total fee amount by just the total of selling prices, the percentage is exaggerated.  And if you happen to sell items for which the shipping cost is nearly equal to the selling price, that effectively doubles the apparent rate.

[eleanor*rigby]

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@dawgg* wrote:

My selling cost was 42% of my total sales? Any suggestions on how to lower the percentage of my selling cost?

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Use appropriate mathematical formulas?

[tdumonde2014]

Please break down your "Selling Costs".

[fern*wood]

We could offer suggestions if we knew what your 42% is including.  Some expenses you have control over and other expenses you don't. 

[fab_finds4u]

I was going to take a look at your listings to see if you sold something with expensive shipping or optional upgrades but there's no recent selling activity.  Is it listed on a different name?

ANYWAY, the final value fee is on the buyer's total payment which is item cost, shipping cost and applicable sales tax. Are you only basing the fee on the item cost?

[crazystuff4sale]

You mean your expenses are too high.

Most of that 42% is shipping costs.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@fab_finds4u wrote:

I was going to take a look at your listings to see if you sold something with expensive shipping or optional upgrades but there's no recent selling activity. ...

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Here are the OP's recent Sold items.  As you can see, quite a few of them have shipping costs which are close to the selling price.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&_ssn=dawgg*&_sop=13

[releasethekraken_1]

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@dawgg* wrote:

My selling cost was 42% of my total sales? Any suggestions on how to lower the percentage of my selling cost?

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If you're including shipping cost in that 42%, there's your problem.

[coastaltechsolution]

Buy lower and sell higher?

There is no other answer 

[releasethekraken_1]

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@coastaltechsolution wrote:

Buy lower and sell higher?

There is no other answer 

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Actually, in this case, the answer is "don't sell cheap stuff that costs a lot to ship, even if you acquire it for free".

[coastaltechsolution]

Well true if shipping out costs the purchase price but that is why sellers need to figure in total cost of sale 

Cannot give away items and prey that it will bring more traffic

That is not a solid business plan   

[luckythewinner]

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@dawgg* wrote:

My selling cost was 42% of my total sales? Any suggestions on how to lower the percentage of my selling cost?

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It's not rocket science. You just look at every element you consider to be part of your "selling costs", examine it, and look for ways to improve.

Are you paying store fees?

Are you paying insertion fees?

Are you paying listing upgrade fees (bold, subtitle, reserve price, etc.)?

Are you paying Promoted Item fees?

Are you selling items with high shipping costs?

Are you paying too much for shipping supplies?

Are you paying too much for your inventory?