eBay

r1diculous_sales · ‎12-21-2017

I have been trying so hard to get a startup on an eBay business because I need some extra money for college. Just the shipping alone makes it almost impossible to make profit without even factoring in competitive pricing. Then I have these clowns doing this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-PlayStation-4-Launch-Edition-500GB-Jet-Black-Console/302569065102

WHY?! I don't understand why these bots do it! What's the motive? Are they just there to inconvenience you?

swenson8781 · ‎12-21-2017

@magicjohnsonsvariety wrote:
In general, if selling things were easy everyone would be doing it...this site would be so bloated you wouldn't be able to find anything.

I'm not understanding why the shipping cost would make it impossible for you to make a profit?...as it appears your customers pay the shipping.

Huh?! You are joking, right? As of Jan, 2017, based on a Forbes article, there is an estimated 25 MILLION ebay sellers. Maybe not EVERYONE is doing it, but certainly a LOT are!

best_vintage_photos · ‎12-21-2017

@mr_lincoln wrote:
@zzydny
@zzydny wrote:
@lookng2015 wrote:
Every time I've tried FS my sales nosedived.
Most of my items ship by First Class Mail, so I suspect that this may have at least something to do with it. As a general rule, I don't add Free Shipping unless I can ship by First Class or Priority Flat Rate.

However, the fact remains that using Free Shipping has been successful for me.
Key point is your items can ship First Class mail ... for collectibles and items over a pound Free Shipping means covering the coast to coast highest postage cost in the sale price. In round numbers, while the adjacent shipping zone may cost 6 1/2 bucks for shipping to get it to the Left Coast would cost $ 12 ...

I like free shipping for this reason:

The vast majority of the items i have been working with are small - photos, postcards, photo negatives, slides, etc., old coins and smaller jewelry items. They can be mailed in either rigid flat mailers or mailers with plastic bubble interior for $3 retail, and perhaps even less if i can take advantage of a discount. I often sell more than one of these items to a customer, so of course, i offer to combine my shipping orders.

Here is where 'free shipping' allows that to go smother:

When i used to charge for shipping, and if someone hit four of my 'fixed price' items while i was either asleep or away, some of my buyers would end up initially paying a lot extra in postage, that i would need to refund. That would happen when they just wanted to pay right away and get it over with before i could send them an invoice with all items combined. With 'free shipping' they can order whatever they want, and pay whenever they want without waiting for my invoice.

So, for my situation, it kind of makes sense. I am no longer lugging many large heavy boxes to the PO. Once in a while maybe, but that would be the exception - not the rule.

best_vintage_photos · ‎12-21-2017

@jason_incognito wrote:
I hate to say this, but eBay is really only good as a site to move excess stuff. When you sell stuff from around the house it doesn't really matter how much it sells for since it's all yours. You don't have to account for your aquisition cost.

When you're buying to sell, you gotta buy low. really low. Plan for a ton of cost.

it costs to pack stuff. It cost to take stuff to the post office. It costs to monitor shipments. returns cost you.

People WILL waste your time. People will give you the run around. Ya gotta plan for it. If it was easy to sell, more people would be doing it. As it is, so many have tried, then just given up.

Your quote merits repeating. Very good advice sir. Agreed 100%.

mistwomandancing · ‎12-21-2017

pollaus_62ckcjrj wrote:
Do you have any suggestions on a BIN price? I'm not sure its worth, it looks like new but because it was used I don't know how much to sell it for. That's the reason I ended up leaving it in auction so I could see how much people would pay for it, but I guess that idea is a bit skewed now, huh?

The reason your item ended with such a ridiculously high bid amount was because a couple of jokers decided to *play* an auction on eBay and run up the bid... with absolutely NO intention of actually paying. Often kids on holiday break, bored, no brains, and uncaring of who might be hurt financially by their actions that ruined an auction.

Look on eBay for these same items as though YOU were shopping for one. Check out the prices that comparable ones SOLD for. That tells you about how much you might expect to realize from a sale here. ..... How many other units are currently listed for sale? Those are your immediate competition.

How do you want to position your offering in contrast to those others? Are you willing to NOT get it sold for... awhile? Then you can price it somewhere in the middle and (usually) wait for awhile until some buyer makes his purchase. Do you need to sell this ASAP for school expenses and needs? Then price your item at about the lowest out there, get it sold, cover your expenses, and pocket your profit before the second semester begins.

You can also ask around. Ask your friends. How much would THEY be willing to pay for one? How much does a pawn shop or other secondhand shop ask for one of these? Price it correctly and watch it sell. Folks come to eBay to find what they are after, but when they're buying *used* stuff, they seem to be after either high-end or a bargain price.

And, remember to subtract the shipping price your buyer will have to pay out of your asking price when selling online. If they can buy one for XXX from somebody in their own area, they aren't going to pay XXX plus shipping when buying online. Good luck.

best_vintage_photos · ‎12-21-2017

@sockmonkeydave wrote:

@r1diculous_sales

The first thing you should do is spend a week reading past post on these boards.

It's like getting the answers before you take the test.

When your item "sold" for 900 bucks, ebay charged you 10% for that "sale"

So if your PP was empty, and you have a credit card or a bank tied to PP

And if your bank account is empty, like mine was when I was in school...

They will try to run the charge 3 times, and your bank will hit you with 3 insufficent funds fees.

At my bank that would be over 100 bucks...

Trust me I know about overcharge fees, still have the scars.

What you need to do is file an unpaid item 2 days from the date of sale.

Then 4 days later have the case closed.

That will get your fees back from ebay

If you do it wrong, ebay will keep the what... 90 buck fee from the "sale"

Don't get bugged up about the free shipping or not post, you have bigger problems now.

Now... when you file the UID, you may get a message from the "buyer".

asking for your e-mail address... never give that out, they don't need it.

( They might have it already, from the "sale"... not sure about that)

The point is they will send you a fake "PP message that you got paid"

It will say that the funds will clear when you upload tracking... and that is bull feathers.

Or they will say it is a gift, and please send it to a different address, NEVER do that.

You found the boards and that is good, come here at the first hint of a problem.

Most of the people here are real sellers, not some person in a call center.

Don't let my goofy name fool you, my ebay selling limit is 5.8 million a month.

( If you need a jet, I can help you )

Oh... and get to know the peeps in the financial aid office at school.

I ran into a guy at the pub the other day, the bar maid put a pint in front of me, from Bob.

I went over and said, I know you...

and Bob said "everyone who has worked at the school knows you".

You are a good man. That is some of the best eBay advice for a noob i have ever seen.

magicjohnsonsvariety · ‎12-21-2017

@swenson8781 wrote:
@magicjohnsonsvariety wrote:
In general, if selling things were easy everyone would be doing it...this site would be so bloated you wouldn't be able to find anything.

I'm not understanding why the shipping cost would make it impossible for you to make a profit?...as it appears your customers pay the shipping.
Huh?! You are joking, right? As of Jan, 2017, based on a Forbes article, there is an estimated 25 MILLION ebay sellers. Maybe not EVERYONE is doing it, but certainly a LOT are!

Not joking...

Just in the usa alone there's over 300 million people. 25 million is not even a quarter of the us population...Very small by comparison.

If say 150 mil. were selling here on ebay, now that would be considered a lot.

best_vintage_photos · ‎12-21-2017

@swenson8781 wrote:
@magicjohnsonsvariety wrote:
In general, if selling things were easy everyone would be doing it...this site would be so bloated you wouldn't be able to find anything.

I'm not understanding why the shipping cost would make it impossible for you to make a profit?...as it appears your customers pay the shipping.
Huh?! You are joking, right? As of Jan, 2017, based on a Forbes article, there is an estimated 25 MILLION ebay sellers. Maybe not EVERYONE is doing it, but certainly a LOT are!

Yes, there are a lot, and that is one of the reasons sellers, including myself, have been complaining of not enough views on our items. There is a ton of competition out there, and if we are to compete with that competition, we need to stand out in some way that others do not.

bubbleman2010 · ‎12-21-2017

You spare time would be better spent at a PT job or if your state has a redemption law picking up empty cans and bottles along the highway. With a less than 20% STR and a ASP of under 10 bucks selling on ebay is a going nowhere fast business....

best_vintage_photos · ‎12-21-2017

@mistwomandancing wrote:
@pollaus_62ckcjrj wrote:
Do you have any suggestions on a BIN price? I'm not sure its worth, it looks like new but because it was used I don't know how much to sell it for. That's the reason I ended up leaving it in auction so I could see how much people would pay for it, but I guess that idea is a bit skewed now, huh?

The reason your item ended with such a ridiculously high bid amount was because a couple of jokers decided to *play* an auction on eBay and run up the bid... with absolutely NO intention of actually paying. Often kids on holiday break, bored, no brains, and uncaring of who might be hurt financially by their actions that ruined an auction.

Look on eBay for these same items as though YOU were shopping for one. Check out the prices that comparable ones SOLD for. That tells you about how much you might expect to realize from a sale here. ..... How many other units are currently listed for sale? Those are your immediate competition.

How do you want to position your offering in contrast to those others? Are you willing to NOT get it sold for... awhile? Then you can price it somewhere in the middle and (usually) wait for awhile until some buyer makes his purchase. Do you need to sell this ASAP for school expenses and needs? Then price your item at about the lowest out there, get it sold, cover your expenses, and pocket your profit before the second semester begins.

You can also ask around. Ask your friends. How much would THEY be willing to pay for one? How much does a pawn shop or other secondhand shop ask for one of these? Price it correctly and watch it sell. Folks come to eBay to find what they are after, but when they're buying *used* stuff, they seem to be after either high-end or a bargain price.

And, remember to subtract the shipping price your buyer will have to pay out of your asking price when selling online. If they can buy one for XXX from somebody in their own area, they aren't going to pay XXX plus shipping when buying online. Good luck.

Well done! Great advice!

sockmonkeydave · ‎12-21-2017

@best_vintage_photos

@best_vintage_photos wrote:

@sockmonkeydave wrote:

@r1diculous_sales

The first thing you should do is spend a week reading past post on these boards.

It's like getting the answers before you take the test.

When your item "sold" for 900 bucks, ebay charged you 10% for that "sale"

So if your PP was empty, and you have a credit card or a bank tied to PP

And if your bank account is empty, like mine was when I was in school...

They will try to run the charge 3 times, and your bank will hit you with 3 insufficent funds fees.

At my bank that would be over 100 bucks...

Trust me I know about overcharge fees, still have the scars.

What you need to do is file an unpaid item 2 days from the date of sale.

Then 4 days later have the case closed.

That will get your fees back from ebay

If you do it wrong, ebay will keep the what... 90 buck fee from the "sale"

Don't get bugged up about the free shipping or not post, you have bigger problems now.

Now... when you file the UID, you may get a message from the "buyer".

asking for your e-mail address... never give that out, they don't need it.

( They might have it already, from the "sale"... not sure about that)

The point is they will send you a fake "PP message that you got paid"

It will say that the funds will clear when you upload tracking... and that is bull feathers.

Or they will say it is a gift, and please send it to a different address, NEVER do that.

You found the boards and that is good, come here at the first hint of a problem.

Most of the people here are real sellers, not some person in a call center.

Don't let my goofy name fool you, my ebay selling limit is 5.8 million a month.

( If you need a jet, I can help you )

Oh... and get to know the peeps in the financial aid office at school.

I ran into a guy at the pub the other day, the bar maid put a pint in front of me, from Bob.

I went over and said, I know you...

and Bob said "everyone who has worked at the school knows you".

You are a good man. That is some of the best eBay advice for a noob i have ever seen.

Man.. don't mess with my reputation...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RAQXg0IdfI

campesinoplastic2014 · ‎12-21-2017

I used to write papers for under classmen, the pay was good.

That was a long time ago, they probably just do their work on facebook or world of warcraft now

sockmonkeydave · ‎12-21-2017

@campesinoplastic2014

@campesinoplastic2014 wrote:
I used to write papers for under classmen, the pay was good.
That was a long time ago, they probably just do their work on facebook or world of warcraft now

lol Just google McBeth term paper.

I passed math with a cheat sheet.

The teacher looked around the class and said, this is odd, you all made the same error.

And as one we said... I bought it on ebay.

wait a second here.... I think... I see a new business...

d-k_treasures · ‎12-21-2017

@swenson8781 wrote:
@magicjohnsonsvariety wrote:
In general, if selling things were easy everyone would be doing it...this site would be so bloated you wouldn't be able to find anything.

I'm not understanding why the shipping cost would make it impossible for you to make a profit?...as it appears your customers pay the shipping.
Huh?! You are joking, right? As of Jan, 2017, based on a Forbes article, there is an estimated 25 MILLION ebay sellers. Maybe not EVERYONE is doing it, but certainly a LOT are!

And this site is already so bloated that no one can find anything anyway - especially through the junk chinese listings.

My guess is that there is probably like 10 million sellers, the extra 15 million are duplicate chinese ID's.

_____________________________
"Nothing is obvious to the oblivious"

campesinoplastic2014 · ‎12-21-2017

For years the unmanipuated search worked just fine. The Dunnahoe and Griff began flying to China every other month in the Ebay Gulfstream 550. They sure started changing into Hong-Bay in early 2006.

r1diculous_sales · ‎12-21-2017

I just want to take a moment to appreciate everyone has replied, taking time out of your own day to help new sellers like me. This forum has by far surpassed any other community I have seen over the Internet, and you aren't trying to keep people in the dark for your own profit. I greatly appreciate everyone who has responded.

Anyways, I have collected all of the information that I could from this thread as of 12:17 PM CST( 10:17 AM PST ) and I have made a report over the ins-n-outs of the information I have received.

Worth

Ebay advanced search tool to find sold BIN listings. (https://www.ebay.com/sch/ebayadvsearch)

credit(thatsallfolks)

Shipping

From what I've read it seems that the best way to deal with shipping costs is to offer free shipping but include the shipping cost into the listing price.

credit(zzydny)

opinion

In my own personal experience, I do look for listings with free shipping, even with some that are a little bit higher priced.

Feedback

Get feedback scores up to increase credibility, and by doing so attract a customer base. *Sell lots of items*?

credit(zzydny), (odditiesandantiquities1)

Calculations + Factors

Costs:

Item
Packing items (bubble wrap, packing peanuts, tape, etc.)
Postage
Final value fee (10%)
PayPal fee (2.9%)
(possible) : returns

(https://www.fees.ebay.com/feeweb/feecalculator)

"Goods and services – Purchase payments: There's no fee to use PayPal to purchase goods or services. However, if you receive money for goods or services (such as from selling an item on eBay), the fee for each transaction is 2.9% plus $0.30 USD of the amount you receive."

-(https://www.paypal.com/ag/selfhelp/article/what-are-the-fees-for-paypal-accounts-faq690)

credit(zzydny), (mr_lincoln)

Auctions

" Auctions should end on weekends - Sunday is the best day but Fri-Sun works.

Auctions should end later in the day on the east coast giving move western time zones decent hours to bid

5 Day Auctions - start Tuesday end Sunday

7 Day Auctions start Sunday and end the following Sunday

10 Day Auctions start on a Thursday, run two full weekends and end on a Sunday."

credit(mr_lincoln)

This is pretty much everything that I thought was important to pick up. If I missed anything, be sure and let me know.