What Percent % Do You Use To Figure Your Selling Price?

[kavi1030]

To appox figure your percent between eBay fees and paypal's fees, what percent do you use as an average? Now that eBay is going to 9.15% for my category, then is 15% to much or to low?

Example: Item cost me $10. x 2 (I double cost) = $20 item price. $20 x 15% = $3 eBay & paypal fees. $20 - $3 = $17 - $2.61 (4 oz item) shipping costs = $14.39 - $10 item cost me = $4.39 profit?

[thatsallfolks]

If you offer free shipping, and if your example price and postage are typical for you, 13-14% is probably closer to your actual fees.

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

If I have money invested in the product, I use 300% as a minimum. That is, if I pay $10 for an item, I won't sell it for less than $30. (Well, maybe $29.95.) Doing so easily takes care of all eBay and Paypal fees. Of course, shipping is extra -- over and above the selling price.

In my case, much of my inventory cost me nothing or only pennies. I am also liquidating stuff I've owned for 20-60 years and don't care what the original cost was (if anything).

~~C~~

[kavi1030]

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@thatsallfolks wrote:

If you offer free shipping, and if your example price and postage are typical for you, 13-14% is probably closer to your actual fees.

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Thank you!

[kavi1030]

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@duchess-at-speakeasy wrote:
If I have money invested in the product, I use 300% as a minimum. That is, if I pay $10 for an item, I won't sell it for less than $30. (Well, maybe $29.95.) Doing so easily takes care of all eBay and Paypal fees. Of course, shipping is extra -- over and above the selling price.

In my case, much of my inventory cost me nothing or only pennies. I am also liquidating stuff I've owned for 20-60 years and don't care what the original cost was (if anything).

~~C~~

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So if you pay $100 for an item, you would put the price at $300? Used or New Items? Mine are all new items that I have to pay for from a company.

[slati_2013]

You have to really price them based on the competition. If the item is new, you can charge even up to twice the competition. I never put pen to paper to figure out a price. Before I buy anything to sell on eBay, I already have run exhaustive possible pricing based on what the items already sold for on eBay. If I don't feel I can make a decent profit, I avoid the item.

[buyselljack2016]

I sell mostly smalls that go in the $10-50 range. 

I sell them based on what the market will bear based on recent sales, and my past sales.

Many items sell at up to 10 times my purchase price.

If I can not make at least a 100% profit after fees, and shipping, I don't sell it.

[retrose1]

I do not figure out the price when I sell - I figure out the % of what to sell an item for when I'm buying it before I buy.

There are a lot of things I leave behind because I know what I could get for it and what the seller wants for it is too much.

[odditiesandantiquities1]

Because I'm dealing with pricier items, I base it on a standard mark up. If I happen on a really good deal, then my customers get a really good deal. Everything I purchase is based on making a fair profit but also something I know I can sell for that price.

[thatsallfolks]

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@kavi1030 wrote:

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@duchess-at-speakeasy wrote:
If I have money invested in the product, I use 300% as a minimum. That is, if I pay $10 for an item, I won't sell it for less than $30. (Well, maybe $29.95.) Doing so easily takes care of all eBay and Paypal fees. Of course, shipping is extra -- over and above the selling price.

In my case, much of my inventory cost me nothing or only pennies. I am also liquidating stuff I've owned for 20-60 years and don't care what the original cost was (if anything).

~~C~~

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So if you pay $100 for an item, you would put the price at $300? Used or New Items? Mine are all new items that I have to pay for from a company.

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My selling price is determined by how much I can get for the item, not by my acquisition cost or my fees. I've bought things for 99 cents and sold them for $250; why would I apply a formula that would tell me to sell it for $5? When I have an idea of what an item will sell for, I then work backwards and determine the maximum amount I'm willing to pay to acquire it.

One of the wise posters in these forums often says, "you make your profit when you buy an item, not when you sell it". Doing it any other way will severely damage your chances of being successful.

[luckythewinner]

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@kavi1030 wrote:

Re: What Percent % Do You Use To Figure Your Selling Price?

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I do not buy an item and then figure out what my selling price will be. To me, that is 100% backwards.

I figure out what my selling price will be and then decide whether to buy the item. And that purchasing decision is based on a lot more than just the item cost and the fees - it is based the cost of shipping, the likelihood of it selling, the risk of fraud, how much time it will take to list, and an estmation of my risk vs. my reward.

If an item is cheap, easy to list, easy and cheap to ship, and will sell easily ... I might flip it even if my anticipated return is just $5.

But if an item is expensive, hard to ship, expensive to ship, or a fraud risk ... I might decline to flip it even if I stand to make $100.

[thatsallfolks]

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@kavi1030 wrote:

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So if you pay $100 for an item, you would put the price at $300? Used or New Items? Mine are all new items that I have to pay for from a company.

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So you're using a dropshipper? That severely squeezes your margins. It also means you're probably in competition with a lot of other people selling the exact same product. And if your dropshipper doesn't perform (e.g. out of stock problems), they'll cause you to lose your selling privileges permanently.

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

If I realistically can't sell an item for $300, I certainly would not pay $100 for it.

Remember: You make your money when you BUY, not when you sell.

Of course I've made a few exceptions over the past 30+ years of selling (long before eBay). In early 1997, I bought a very rare piece of Greentown glass for $800 from an individual in Nova Scotia. At shows during the next year, my asking price was $2000 but I certainly was open to offers. In March 1998, a serious collector from the Midwest saw the piece at Portland Expo, didn't buy it, but left his contact information. I accepted an offer of $1500 plus UPS shipping.

The original purchase came via my website and did not involve eBay. I incurred no commissions, fees or advertising expenses on either end. The piece attracted a lot of interest at shows -- when meant increased sales of other items in my booth. And I got to enjoy owning the piece for a year!

I sell primarily pre-owned goods made prior to 1960. One exception is value guides, although I no longer offer new titles because anyone can buy straight from the publisher and get the same discount. Another exception is "incidental merchandise" such as souvenirs and postcards that have limited geographical distribution.

~~C~~

[kavi1030]

I do NOT use a dropshipper. I buy from a company that has been in business since 1974 in the USA. When I get orders, I email them into the company. The company packs up all my orders in a box and ships them to ME. The next business day the box arrives to my house by way of UPS. I then take each item and pack and ship to each of my buyers.
This company keeps a area on their site with updated stock all the time. I have no problems. I have been buying from them for the 10 years I have been selling on Ebay. I am at 100% feedback at this time.

[thatsallfolks]

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@kavi1030 wrote:

I do NOT use a dropshipper. I buy from a company that has been in business since 1974 in the USA. When I get orders, I email them into the company. The company packs up all my orders in a box and ships them to ME. The next business day the box arrives to my house by way of UPS. I then take each item and pack and ship to each of my buyers.
This company keeps a area on their site with updated stock all the time. I have no problems. I have been buying from them for the 10 years I have been selling on Ebay. I am at 100% feedback at this time.

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Call it whatever you like, but it's the same as dropshipping (you don't possess the product, and you don't order it until you get an order), except you're paying extra to have it shipped to you first.

It's great that they've never messed up, but the entire process squeezes your profit margins.