eBay

e-sister11 · ‎04-03-2018

I don't know if this has been covered here, but I noticed a disdain for older topics anyhow, so I thought I'd better start fresh:

Please list pros and cons regarding the fees for listing a basic auction item such as a pre-owned handbag.

I've noticed that a seller could actually lose money if not careful because eBay counts SHIPPING as part of your profit, even though for mine, the shipping calculated barely covered the actual price of shipping I paid, so the discount wasn't helpful since eBay is taiking a fee based on the larger shipping amount, and then Paypal takes their cuts on top of that (before eBay takes their cut, so on the gross, not net).

Don't offer me a discount, then, already, eBay?!

I calculated, as a new seller, based on my first ten sales, that on average, the fees ate up about 25% of the actual selling price of the item alone- once shippingcame out and eBay & PayPal took their cuts.

So I was wondering, if I charge free shipping and try to calculate a flat ship rate into the selling price, will eBay take a cut on the shipping I actually pay in addition to their 10% off the total sale?

Will I lose on shipping if someone farther away buys it? Will people even look at my auction if the price is higher, but free shipping?

And finally, what polite advice can anyone offer to make the margins more appealing to a new seller?

Feeling disappointed in the process. Thanks in advance.

castlemagicmemories · ‎04-03-2018

@partial*eclipsewrote:
@castlemagicmemorieswrote: ... There is a world of info in the Ebay A-Z Index and seller help pages. The fee pages are listed there.
Alas, the A-Z index was not carried over to the new Help pages, though there is an A-Z index of policies.

You are right. But it is still an option, just not in the original form where you chose the letter of the first word you were looking for, and it brought you to a list of topics for you to choose from.

Now it has a question format. So if you enter seller's fees, it then brings up the page. I will admit a bit off putting to those of us used to the A-Z Index. Possibly they feel this works better and is more user friendly.

e-sister11 · ‎04-03-2018

"...the FVF is $1.50 either way."

Unless I'm mistaken, eBay takes 10% of the sale and 10% of the calculated retail postage charged the buyer. But then you get a seller's shipping discount. So let's look at a hypothetical calculation:

-----------------------------------

Item: $9
Shipping charged: $10.50
Total Sale: $19.50
Actual shipping: $ 10.20

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(eBay takes 10% of 10.50= $1.05... & Paypal takes $0.88)-*based on the shipping CHARGED, not ACTUAL SHIPPING PAID.
Total fees = $2.82

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But if they dinged you only for the ACTUAL shipping cost ($10.21)
Total fees would be: $2.78

-----------------------------------------

I know it's just 4 cents difference here, but IF there's a significant difference in shipping cost from item sale amount, you'll be in the red in the end. Like if your item sells for $1.00, but shipping is $10.00, your fees will be $1.72. You'll end up PAYING to sell the item!

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SO you can't start an auction at $1.00 (like I did one time and learned) if it's something like skates or the fees on the shipping will eat up your profit margins fast if it only sells for $1.00, but you thought it would go for at least $6!

.

And if those skates were listed for $16 (+ free shipping) to start at auction, would anyone buy them? I don't know!

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SO going back to original example, I'm asking, if instead I charged $20 + free shipping at auction for this pre-owned item:

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1. Will anyone bid?
2. Once eBay & Paypal take their cuts, when I print the actual shipping label, let's say it comes to $7.60, will there be any further fees on THIS shipping label?

In other words, will the fees only be ($20 x 0.129 +$0.30) = $2.88 Total fees

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OR

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will it be $2.88 Total fees + (12.9% of the $7.60) also = ($2.88 + $0.98) = $3.86 fees?

.

Or do you not get charged any further fees when you print up that shipping label online once they take their fees out of the $20?

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That is my question. Please, I hope someone understands.

thatsallfolks · ‎04-03-2018

@e-sister11wrote:
"...the FVF is $1.50 either way."
Unless I'm mistaken, eBay takes 10% of the sale and 10% of the calculated retail postage charged the buyer.

You're mistaken. And I don't know why you're making this out to be so complicated. eBay doesn't care what the postage is. If the buyer pays you $10 for shipping, eBay takes $1. It doesn't matter if you then pay $5 or $20 for postage; eBay still takes exactly $1 from the shipping portion of the buyer's payment, nothing more, nothing less.

partial*eclipse · ‎04-03-2018

@e-sister11wrote: ...Or do you not get charged any further fees when you print up that shipping label online once they take their fees out of the $20?
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That is my question. Please, I hope someone understands.

Your post was too complicated to even read.

eBay charges a final value fee based on what the buyer pays to you.

It doesn't matter where you purchase your postage or how much you pay for it, or whatever "actual shipping" means. There are no fees on shipping labels.

e-sister11 · ‎04-03-2018

Thanks for that, but I actually came across a site that did a breakdown on a specific brand of shoe, by size, for what it sold for not only on eBay, but also other sites, all the specs, and I found that the average price was about $35, which was what mine sold for ultimately (not counting shipping). Can't seem to find it now!

e-sister11 · ‎04-03-2018

I'm so sorry, guys, but I guess I'm not down with the lingo yet. What does "corner-to-corner" mean?
I just got my RRA & RRBs today. They'll work for some stuff but not shoes, skates, laptop bags, and paper cutters, lol. Not much really WILL fit in those in fact. But they're nice when it works. 🙂
I want to sell a pre-owned laptop bag. It's in fantastic condition which shows in the images. I listed it for $22 to start plus calculated shipping (which came to $7.60 Priority going locally).
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This exact bag sells for upwards of $70-100 new, so I felt that was reasonable, but no takers. No looker even (only 28. Do they count my own looks? Then it's more like 20). If this ships further out, shipping could go up to almost $20.
.
I might get some bids if I list it starting at $5. It's worth more than that, but if it only sells for $5, and shipping comes to $17, then the fees will make it not worth it to sell on eBay. Why does eBay take a cut on actual shipping? I don't understand the logic?

How do I list it

e-sister11 · ‎04-03-2018

I'm not looking for a "trick"

sam9876 · ‎04-03-2018

With all the goofy math you have been doing, it sure seems like you are looking for a trick.

thatsallfolks · ‎04-03-2018

@e-sister11wrote:
I'm so sorry, guys, but I guess I'm not down with the lingo yet. What does "corner-to-corner" mean?
I just got my RRA & RRBs today. They'll work for some stuff but not shoes, skates, laptop bags, and paper cutters, lol. Not much really WILL fit in those in fact. But they're nice when it works. 🙂
I want to sell a pre-owned laptop bag. It's in fantastic condition which shows in the images. I listed it for $22 to start plus calculated shipping (which came to $7.60 Priority going locally).
.
This exact bag sells for upwards of $70-100 new, so I felt that was reasonable, but no takers. No looker even (only 28. Do they count my own looks? Then it's more like 20). If this ships further out, shipping could go up to almost $20.
.
I might get some bids if I list it starting at $5. It's worth more than that, but if it only sells for $5, and shipping comes to $17, then the fees will make it not worth it to sell on eBay. Why does eBay take a cut on actual shipping? I don't understand the logic?

How do I list it

Corner-to-corner shipping: get a map of the USA. Look at the corners (Washington, Maine, etc.). Corner-to-corner = "longest possible distance"

The "new" price of your pre-owned bag is irrelevant. What are used ones selling for? Are they selling at all? You can't pull "reasonable" prices out of the air.

partial*eclipse · ‎04-03-2018

Corner-to-corner just means from one corner of the country to the other, like NYC to Los Angeles or Florida to Washington State. In other words, USPS Zone 8 postage costs.

eBay takes a percentage of the the buyer's total payment because otherwise sellers avoid fees by charging low asking prices and inflated shipping costs.

d-k_treasures · ‎04-03-2018

@e-sister11wrote:
I'm so sorry, guys, but I guess I'm not down with the lingo yet. What does "corner-to-corner" mean?
I just got my RRA & RRBs today. They'll work for some stuff but not shoes, skates, laptop bags, and paper cutters, lol. Not much really WILL fit in those in fact. But they're nice when it works. 🙂
I want to sell a pre-owned laptop bag. It's in fantastic condition which shows in the images. I listed it for $22 to start plus calculated shipping (which came to $7.60 Priority going locally).
.
This exact bag sells for upwards of $70-100 new, so I felt that was reasonable, but no takers. No looker even (only 28. Do they count my own looks? Then it's more like 20). If this ships further out, shipping could go up to almost $20.
.
I might get some bids if I list it starting at $5. It's worth more than that, but if it only sells for $5, and shipping comes to $17, then the fees will make it not worth it to sell on eBay. Why does eBay take a cut on actual shipping? I don't understand the logic?

How do I list it

You can add a handling charge to cover the fees, or you could make sure you have the retail price showing to the buyer instead of the discounted price - it's in your preferences.

And as to why they are taking a cut on shipping? Because people would list something for 1.00 with 100.00 shipping. Instead of cracking down on that, they added in a fee for everyone.

_____________________________
"Nothing is obvious to the oblivious"

castlemagicmemories · ‎04-03-2018

Never list for less than you will accept for the item.

And you don't have to research through another site. Just search on Ebay, using completed listings, which will show sold listings and unsold listings. That should give you a good idea.

luckythewinner · ‎04-03-2018

Please list pros and cons regarding the fees for listing a basic auction item

Pros: if you pay the fees, you are allowed to use the site.

Cons: if you don't pay the fees, you do not get to use the site.

I've noticed that a seller could actually lose money if not careful

This is true of all listings, not just auctions items.

If a seller fails to do a bit of simple math, he can lose money.

So I was wondering, if I charge free shipping and try to calculate a flat ship rate into the selling price, will eBay take a cut on the shipping I actually pay in addition to their 10% off the total sale?

No, they will not.

And IMHO there is nothing on the eBay fee page that could be construed otherwise.

e-sister11 · ‎04-03-2018

"Free Shipping is not free."

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Ummm, yes, I understand this point extremely well!!!!!!!

That's not the nature of my question, though! It's whether there's an added fee on the printing label or anything else AFTER you get hit for the sale of the item you marked up to cover the shipping. I detailed this in a reply to someone else who didn't undertand what my question was. I'm sorry. I'm trying to be clear.

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"Free Shipping might be attractive to a buyer who gets Ebay Bucks as they would get more Bucks on a free shipping item as opposed to one with shipping cost separated out."

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Now this is an example of a very helpful advantage to know! I didn't know about eBay Bucks. Are there any other contingencies such as does seller has to offer Return Policy, too? Thanks.

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"You might want to go to calculated shipping and set your listings up to offer this. You would need a scale and a tape measure, and a printer to print the postage labels, although I suppose you could still take the package to the post office and pay for postage that way."

.

I already DO offer Calculated Shipping on my items! This is why I'm asking about if there are any added advantages or catchesI don't know about going to FREE SHIPPING? I have a scale, a tape measure, and a printer, lol! I may be green, but not living in the stone age! ;-D

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"There is a world of info in the Ebay A-Z Index and seller help pages. The fee pages are listed there."

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I'm asking here because of the specific question I have isn't covered there. Or else I haven't found it yet.

thatsallfolks · ‎04-03-2018

@e-sister11wrote:
Are there any other contingencies such as does seller has to offer Return Policy, too? Thanks.
.

I'm asking here because of the specific question I have isn't covered there. Or else I haven't found it yet.

Have you looked there for info about return policies? Or we going to have to do all of your work for you?