Selling

[sesac92]

When margins are usually 15 to 20% why use your platform when you charge 12 to 13 % in fees?? eBay assumes our products are free to us… margins are smaller and smaller. eBay - 8% charge would get you more market share.  Especially when Market place and Craigslist are free. I want to sell here, but I need to make some profit… thanks for listening… 

[donsdetour]

Unlikely that some one from eBay will read this.

Just us users out here most of the time....

[mrdutch1001]

Sellers have a choice..NO ONE is obliged to use eBay....they can sell their wares wherever they so choose...

However, some of us prefer the traffic that comes to this site as opposed to other sites...

[chapeau-noir]

Well, where I would start on this is examining why margins without even accounting for business expenses are only 15-20%.  That's going to limit platforms.

[sapp_72]

It kind of seems like I jumped ship awhile ago. 

My biggest issue with eBay is people race to the bottom on price and the way it is set up is not good for the sellers, or even really eBay for that matter. eBay likes to make money on the sellers really, they basically get their money from promotions, ads, their fees, their listing fees, seller stores. They don't care as much about getting as much out of the profits. They only care about the buyer and are incredibly hard to get a hold of. I will say this that eBay is an easy way to list and make money quickly but i honestly think there's way more labor involved for way less profit. Ebay is an important evil in the society for second hand goods though, and helps move the economy for sure. But it isn't really my cup of tea besides selling stuff that i got in bulk for an amazon deal instead of donating it to goodwill (who i hate).

Amazon on the other hand (hear me out), has pretty high fees but if you send your items into their warehouse, you get the prime label. Basically there's no difference between seller fulfilled and warehouse fulfilled on cost of selling with them besides you could probably sell things faster and make more money because its coming from their warehouse and qualifies for their buy box. The largest issue with them is that you have to get ungated. BUT if you treat it like a business and not some side hustle you will make money hand over fist, and not have to deal with customers or even the race to the bottom really. There's also charts to read on specific ASINS to understand if you can probably sell that item for the price you want, if you can wait it out.

[yuzuha]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

Well, where I would start on this is examining why margins without even accounting for business expenses are only 15-20%.  That's going to limit platforms.

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I was going to say. Those kinds of margins only work when you're selling in bulk.

Personally, I don't even buy something for resale unless I know I can get at LEAST double what I paid for it, preferably three times. 15-20% isn't even worth the time and effort unless we're talking items worth thousands of dollars here.

[buyselljack2016]

Good thought, but AZ warehouse is not suited for some seller"s business model including the OP selling used "one -offs".

[buyselljack2016]

As others posted that 15-20% margin is not a fit.  Not only are selling fees taking the bite, but there are other involved expenses that leave a less than desirable/realistic share of the total.

[apx4_33]

If my margins were 15%, I wouldn’t use eBay even if it were free. I’d focus on developing a business with better margins.

[tools*]

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@sesac92 wrote:

When margins are usually 15 to 20% why use your platform when you charge 12 to 13 % in fees?? eBay assumes our products are free to us… margins are smaller and smaller. eBay - 8% charge would get you more market share.  Especially when Market place and Craigslist are free. I want to sell here, but I need to make some profit… thanks for listening… 

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When your margins are in the range of 15 to 20%, you shouldn't sell on eBay. That margin is so small that you have to have control over your sales venue.

[dirk12955]

15% to 20%  would be a good margin when selling a house or a car.       It'd be a disaster when selling on ebay.   

    I want to at least double my money AFTER I've figured my expenses.      I want to more than double my money on cheaper items.    After expenses,  Fees and such.    

I don't pay fees.    My customers pay eBay fees.   

[slippinjimmy]

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@sesac92 wrote:

When margins are usually 15 to 20% why use your platform when you charge 12 to 13 % in fees?? eBay assumes our products are free to us… margins are smaller and smaller. eBay - 8% charge would get you more market share.  Especially when Market place and Craigslist are free. I want to sell here, but I need to make some profit… thanks for listening… 

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The only retailers that work on 15 - 20% gross margins are those that deal in exclusive luxury brand high value items (I mean REALLY high).

Most B&M retailers are paying 10 - 15% just to rent an empty storefront,  add staffing, the usual basic operating costs etc. and they would be bankrupt in days if they only had 20% margins.

Sure there are some sellers who do immense volume that can survive on tiny net margins.

Most smallish eBay sellers work on gross margins of 50 - 90%.

[dhbookds]

YOU are in charge of your margins........beginning with how much you pay for an item......if you can't make the money you want........don't buy the item.  With smart phones and the ability to check sold prices, you have a way to check the item selling price BEFORE you buy....  and if you don't have a smart phone, time to do it the old fashioned way.........pass up the item and come home and check it........you will build up a mental history of selling prices that will benefit you as you buy......