Started in February Struggling

[tennissea39]

Hi everyone! 
I started selling on EBay in Feb of 2022. I started w/ no capital and items in my house. I’m on my way to being a Top Rated seller around the end of August. I’ve worked really hard but I’m basically breaking even. I’ve made almost 5k since then but between the fees and then the shipping I don’t know what I’m doing wrong or if it’s inflation or both. 

Are others having the same issue? I know it takes time to build I just don’t know if I’m handling this right. 

[katzrul15]

@tennissea39 

Sounds like you are selling things from around your home in order to learn the "ropes" of online selling?

Honestly, no better way to get in there and learn the ins and outs and with minimal "at risk" while you are doing it.

There are many, many factors at play right now for online sellers and with the economy and gas prices - think there is only so much disposable income left over.  

You may very well be trading dollars.  Here is a link to the online calculator, so you can play with your listing prices and see where you might need to be relative to the "profit" you wish to attain.  Remember too, e-Bay will be reporting the income to the IRS, so consider a small burden rate for that if you think you will have taxes due as a result of your online sale.

Good luck!!

eBay Fee Calculator 2022 | How to Calculate eBay Fees (zikanalytics.com)

[dbfolks166mt]

     As  katzrul15  mentioned there are a couple of tools available to help you. Some things are quasi "fixed costs" i.e. the eBay fees while some are variable such as the COGS (what you paid or have invested in the item). The other one is shipping. There are literally hundreds of options available for shipping. Understanding those and factoring them into your cost model can help you choose the best option and factor into your shipping costs on/in your listings. This helps you prevent losses on shipping costs or overcharging the buyer for shipping. It may also help you to determine whether to use calculated shipping, which is almost always the best option for first class packages, or a flat shipping rate to all buyers or whether to incorporate the shipping cost into your price and offer free shipping. 

     It is more important for you to figure out what you want your net return to be that it is to simply sell items to attain TRS and break even unless you are doing this for fun. Build your cost model first and let that drive your listing price. 

[caldreamer]

I have looked at your past sales and I hate to tell you this but "you lost money on some of your sales".    If you have "auction" be sure starting price is "lowest price you are willing to accept" (customer winning auction at 99 cents) creates a loss for you.    Auction are best when you have a "rare item" that everyone wants (which creates a bidding war).

Hard to make any profits selling items for less than $25 (I suggest you combine several items in one listing (to get the value of your sale up).   Also, remember selling fees are based on (purchase price + shipping costs + sales tax) plus 30 cent handling charge.   Also bear in mind...when you sell internationally you have to pay additional "international fee".

I would get rid of "best offer" (that just tells customer "don't pay my asking price") unless you are just trying to dump items quickly .   Customers are not shy about contacting you and asking you to drop your price.

[duncanvr]

You need many more home run items selling for better $$$. I would also look into niches and niche down. Try to increase your asp. Try to get into the faster selling categories to and find a source of supply for those items.

[fairdeal*lb]

It's good to see someone look at the bottom line, I mean the real net bottom line.. Is it really worth your time and effort? eBay is more like a casino people.. Don't get blinded by the flashing lights.      

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/eBay-Chooses-to-Suffocate-Sellers-with-Nickel-amp-Dime-Tactics...

[toysaver]

You have to buy low and sell high to be profitable.  If you've started to buy things to sell the minute you select an item you have to do the math in your head.  That's what business is all about.  What can I sell it for, what will the fees be and what is the profit.