Selling fees

[e-sister11]

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.

[e-sister11]

I'm very sorry you don't get it.

[e-sister11]

"... despite having shown you 6,643 reasons this absolutist statement is not always good advice. An auction with 0 or 1 bid isn't really an auction. In this case, the 18.99 price attracted at least 2 people interested in buying the shoes, and they ended up paying (well... they were supposed to pay...) $15 more than the old start price that didn't attract any bids at all.



I"m no expert in shoes, so I can't say whether trying to sell them with a real auction is folly or not... OP could have just got lucky... but I do know for what I sell, a 99¢ start auction moves more product, AND produces better prices. That's not an absolutist statement, your position is often the correct one - depending on what is being sold."
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Yes, yes, 100% YES!!!



I don't know why any seller hoping for a 1 bid auction result with a hard minimum acceptable price wouldn't just list it Fixed Price. That should be the common advice from the Board. High start price auction listings (encouraged by eBay's Free Listing policy) is what is primarily responsible for the decline of the auction format in many categories here.

[e-sister11]

Ha ha ha! YES, Too bad! Lol. I will even give ou a thumbs up on that comment because it made me laugh and I need a good laugh right now!

But no thanks for any HELP from you, which is what this board is supposed to be about: HELPING! LOL.

At least some of us still have a sense of humor

[castlemagicmemories]

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@ted_200wrote:

IF the seller is ok with just one bid for $18.99, then that is the amount she will accept and she would not be listing for less than what she would accept.

Hindsight is great.  You are looking at a completed listing.  That same listing might have ended with one bid at $18.99.  Just listing lower does not guarantee that you will have more than one bid on the item.

That is very true.   They might well relist that item that way - the exact same item/listing - and it might sell for $18.99.  There is risk in an auction.  There is also potential reward. 

And quite often, listing an auction at the "not less than you will accept" price does guarantees you will not have more than one bid on the item. 

I only make the point because you continue to post:

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

... despite having shown you 6,643 reasons this absolutist statement is not always good advice.  An auction with 0 or 1 bid isn't really an auction.  In this case, the 18.99 price attracted at least 2 people interested in buying the shoes, and they ended up paying (well... they were supposed to pay...) $15 more than the old start price that didn't attract any bids at all. 

I"m no expert in shoes, so I can't say whether trying to sell them with a real auction is folly or not... OP could have just got lucky... but I do know for what I sell, a 99¢ start auction moves more product, AND produces better prices.  That's not an absolutist statement, your position is often the correct one - depending on what is being sold.

I don't know why any seller hoping for a 1 bid auction result with a hard minimum acceptable price wouldn't just list it Fixed Price.  That should be the common advice from the Board.  High start price auction listings (encouraged by eBay's Free Listing policy) is what is primarily responsible for the decline of the auction format in many categories here. 

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You are right; that may be a reason why 80% of all listings are fixed price.  I understand that my position is often the correct one, but thank you.   Not listing for less than you will accept can be accomplished by either method, fixed price or auction listing.  I know you stated that the decline of the auction format is primarily due to higher start prices, but~unless the seller likes to gamble~sellers will want to start at an acceptable price to them, and that is understandable, as bidding wars are not as prevalent as they once were, sellers use fixed price to avoid non pays, and many buyers don't want to wait a week to see if they won.

This is all a moot point; somewhere is this thread, an important point was overlooked in the myriad of OP's questions and push back.  OP is just selling no longer wanted possessions, as in an internet garage sale, and thus should not be selling for more than she paid for the items~(fixed price listings would be best in that case), potential reward would not be a consideration nor would it come into play.

[e-sister11]

It's amazing they keep insisting that they are correct and try to explain it a little bit different, but still the same, and still just as wrong on the math while telling us WE are doing the math wrong!

Amazing. Maybe if you just tell them they're right, they'll believe they are and will be quiet?
X-D
I am laughin' out loud over here, BTW.

[e-sister11]

OHHH!!! I feel your pain! I do!!!! LOL!

[ymeagainlord]

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@e-sister11wrote:
Okay that PULL QUOTE doesn't look all neat & small with the grey vertical lines like everyone else's. Guess I didn't figure that one out after all...
😞

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All you have to do is hit the reply button (not the quick reply) and then hit the quote button.

[ymeagainlord]

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@ted_200wrote:

GET IT NOW?

Yeah.  It's a $9 sale, and the fees got calculated based on $19.49.

They're still going to insist it's 10%, and eBay will probably tell you it's the "Lowest Fees Ever!" (a famous quote from them after they raised FVF 68% in 2008). 

It's good you're paying attention at least... a lot of people end up losing money selling here and never even realize it!

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If you sell on AMZ your fees are ALSO calculated based on the total cost - item + shipping. The IRS considers the shipping "income" as well, then you deduct the actual shipping cost.

[e-sister11]

"... and eBay will probably tell you it's the "Lowest Fees Ever!" (a famous quote from them after they raised FVF 68% in 2008)."

Right? It reminds me of 2008-ish when the USPS started reducing open hours, deliveries on Saturdays for a while, and closing Post Offices. They came out with this profound announcement:

"Open fewer hours to serve you better!"

That was a real belly laugh. Remember that?

They must all work for the same people.

[e-sister11]

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@ymeagainlordwrote:

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@e-sister11wrote:
Okay that PULL QUOTE doesn't look all neat & small with the grey vertical lines like everyone else's. Guess I didn't figure that one out after all...
😞

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All you have to do is hit the reply button (not the quick reply) and then hit the quote button.

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AH! There we go! Durned QUOTE button! It was just too obvious to see!

@Thank you, @ymeagainlord

[e-sister11]

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@ymeagainlordwrote:

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@ted_200wrote:

GET IT NOW?

Yeah.  It's a $9 sale, and the fees got calculated based on $19.49.

They're still going to insist it's 10%, and eBay will probably tell you it's the "Lowest Fees Ever!" (a famous quote from them after they raised FVF 68% in 2008). 

It's good you're paying attention at least... a lot of people end up losing money selling here and never even realize it!

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If you sell on AMZ your fees are ALSO calculated based on the total cost - item + shipping. The IRS considers the shipping "income" as well, then you deduct the actual shipping cost.

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That's the same math I did. I don't know what the problem is. You didn't mention the fees. I'm certain that the IRS will consider the fees, so your actual profit will reflect a 28% deduction from the sale in the end. The math is the same. Some people are refusing to admit the obvious.

[ymeagainlord]

Okay, I give up. Your fees are 28%

[coolections]

A smart seller would know if they have to pay $9 shipping to add $1 to the price of the item to cover the shipping fee. Do that would result in not paying ANY fee on shipping. I have never paid a fee on shipping OR the item price as my buyers pay that.

[e-sister11]

Never mind

[ted_200]

The IRS considers the shipping "income" as well, then you deduct the actual shipping cost.

Yes, exactly, unlike eBay, the IRS does not assess you tax on income you had to pay to someone else to get the deal done.