posted on February 14, 2001 09:06:59 PM
I'd like to hear some tips if you're willing to share.
Myself, I almost never spend extra money on listings. I use no Featured or Gallery, very seldom use reserves, and most of my stuff is listed for 9.99 or less. Even expensive items. Yes, I take a chance sometimes that I will not realize a good and fair price for an item, but most of the time I come out a winner. 99.9% of the time a very good/valuable item is more than safe to list cheap with no reserve...on ebay that is...wouldn't try it at another site without a lot of traffic.
Another thing I do is pay for internet service 6 months at a time. I save a little that way.
Income taxes worry me and I'm working on getting a home office area so I can take that deduction. You have to have a separate office area to legally qualify for that one. Any ideas on how I can get around that for this tax year? I need more deductions.
[ edited by loosecannon on Feb 14, 2001 09:08 PM ]
posted on February 14, 2001 09:12:01 PM
In Dec I stopped using the "gallery" feature because, let's face it, it doesn't increase exposure by much AT ALL on most items! I will still use it for certain items, but not most of my stuff and the end result of just that one cutback has made a major difference in my ebay bill for the month! I have gone from a monthly bill of around $250 to under $100 for my meager listings. (I only list 20-30 items at a time now) Also, I cut out my 10 day listings and only do 7day. That .10 makes a difference in the long run!
posted on February 14, 2001 09:54:18 PM
Interesting topic.
I have been cutting back on gallery listings since AW and others have insitituted our little storefront displays. I know this is different than ebay gallery listings by category, but I think they do a better job of cross merchandising my offerings.
As to the 10 cents for 10 days I look at it this way: if I get an extra bid or two in the three extra days it has more than paid for itself, it has made a profit.
Cutting the ebay bill isn't as important to me as selling at a higher price. As they say, you have to spend money to make money. Now if I could figure out which spending is really working!
IRS note.....having a home office is an almost certain way to trigger an irs audit so become very familiar with the arcane rules involved and have an accountant/tax attorney look at the setup. It's a minefield.
posted on February 14, 2001 10:47:55 PM
Got a question, been buying on ebay for over a year and I don't really have a clue what the gallery is. 99.9% of the time I use the search to find what I want, so I don't know what the gallery is. Somebody mind explaining.
posted on February 15, 2001 01:14:16 AM
After having claimed two home offices for one household for about ten years (legitimately), I can say we've never had an audit. My feeling is (backed up with some personal and professional experience) if you have the evidence you need and the deduction is legitimate, then take it!
The home office rules have been eased somewhat over the past few years. No longer does the office have to actually be a separate room. An AREA is enough, so long as it is used regularly and exclusively for your business operation and nothing else. You may also take your eBay storage area, if you have one (and don't we all?), again, so long as that's all it's used for.
If you are renting, the home office deduction is virtually problem-free, if you qualify. If you are buying your home, you may have to recapture any depreciation on that space when you sell. That's one reason why it's a good idea to have a pro set you up with this deduction--at least the first year--and answer all your questions. From then on, you can probably handle the return yourself.
posted on February 15, 2001 02:54:49 AM
great topic...
1- learned html and created my own templates for mr. lister and sell pages. Doesn't look like a cookie cutter.
2- no gallery, no feature...no bells and whistles
3- use excel for my spreadsheet on costs, inventory, etc. do it on a monthly and weekly basis. Know profit and loss and balance with check book daily. Quick and clean. No outside expense.
4- had stopped 10 day auction because of .10 fee -- but Litul has a good point. I'll review it.
5- sell antiques and collectibles.
list everything under $10. usually under $4.00. Most items cost way more than opening, but I get the bid and make a comfortable profit.
6- re: home office - by all means deduct. You're entitled to it. Be legitimate - don't pad - but list your space (divide by overall space), depreciate your computer and accessories, paper, telephone, cellphone, mileage to post office, mall, auctions, etc., digital camera, heat or air conditioning for space, etc.
In summary - i try to do as much as i can myself so i can become more internet savvy and control my own bottom line.
posted on February 15, 2001 03:07:12 AM
I never pay for extra features on ebay, but my main emphasis on cutting costs is constantly striving to find sources of very low-price stuff that will sell either on ebay or a fixed-price site, and no-cost packing materials.
I also think I am saving a lot of money this year because I use a digital camera instead of paying for photo development 1-2 times a week, but that tip is probably a no-brainer.
We do have a home office here, but my husband uses it a lot for personal stuff, and I do personal email a lot, too. So I haven't really gotten into that yet.
posted on February 15, 2001 04:20:14 AM
For me, far and away the best method for cutting expenses is to be painstakingly selective about what I buy. Yes, it's nice to find things that cost you next to nothing, and sometimes I do, but if you build a significant amount of labor into them during the listing process and don't get that back when the item closes, you've wasted something far more precious than a dime for a ten-day auction or a gallery listing. I'd rather pay ten or twenty bucks for a single book, for example, and make a hundred dollars or more than find a truckload of books for next to nothing and make a few bucks each on only some of them. It might be satisfying, in one sense, to sell a book you paid a quarter for for five bucks, but if you put an hour into the process (buying, listing, shipping, etc.), even a half hour, then you've come out behind where you could be.
posted on February 15, 2001 06:42:51 AM
If you are buying and selling antiques and collectibles use your local public library for research and study! Books, magazines and newspapers free for your use. Ask the staff for help finding books via interlibrary loans, almost always free sometimes there will be a nomimal charge. Most libraries now have their catalogs avialable online, you can save heaps of time before going to the b&m.
Buy books about your area of interest. A single tip, idea or bit of information will recoup your investment and now the book is "free".
The same applies to that box-of-bits you're reading this message with. Use your library as a resource. Buy books. Sign up for non-credit computer courses at your local CC. You'll only make more money by learning to use your tools more effectively.
Hey! While I'm on a roll I'd suggest doing the same for small business training. Libraries, books and your CC.
posted on February 15, 2001 06:48:43 AM
Amen to iowaantiques. RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH. The time you put in doing this will repay itself many times over. When you're at that estate sale and there are buyers to the left of you and buyers to the right of you pulling things off the shelves faster than you can sometimes even focus on them, you need to be armed to the teeth with knowledge.
posted on February 15, 2001 06:52:12 AM
just a tiny idea, won't save much money but adds to professional look to packing. Virtually every town no matter how small has a newspaper. In printing they start out with massive rolls, but when they get to the end they replace them before they run out. This is clean paper without ink, on a roll so you can cut it to size. It's lighter without the ink, crisper so you don't need as much, and your hands stay clean. Plus it looks better. The best part is you get it for free.?!?
posted on February 15, 2001 07:02:22 AM
jayadiaz - that's great that you get the newspaper for free.
Here they charge $3 for a roll, the rolls each have 50 ft left on them. I do like packing with them, but after I use the 50ft (1-2 days for me) I am left with a very heavy metal tube. So far the trash guys have not complained about picking up 10-15 of them at a time. I wish I could find them for cheaper though, it adds up. My relatives give me newspapers, but I use them up faster than they get them.
posted on February 15, 2001 07:56:29 AM
Here is information that I got from the IRS:
if you own your home and sell it and the IRS discovers you used part of you home for business then they will subtract the home business deduction from the basis even if you didn't claim that deduction.
In other words, if I got the information right, if you sell your home for $100,000 and the basis is $50,000 your profit is $50,000 and if taxable you will pay taxes on the $50,000. If the same home was partially used for business and you did or could have deducted $25,000 as home business deduction then your basis is reduced to $25,000 and your taxable profit would be $75,000.
I am not a tax expert and probably have not used the correct terms. And, I may have misunderstood what IRS said. Nevertheless, it seems that taking the home business deduction may the best thing to do and may be a possible use it or loose it kind of deal.
posted on February 15, 2001 10:45:33 AM
if you're doing buisness taxes, pay attention to your schedule C. Deduction-wise, you can't beat a rule that's been in there for awhile that allows you to expense up to 5 (or is it 15?) K of capital investment. This means that any significant expenditure that would normally have to be depreciated can be expensed outright in the year it was bought. (think computer stuff). Much of your CODB goes on this form too - ISP, etc.
If you kept good track, you could probably put in listing fees from failed auctions here. That adds up over the course of a year, at least for some people.
posted on February 15, 2001 03:31:09 PM
Loosecannon:
The home offide deduction rules changed a year ot rwo ago such that if you store inventory in your home, you can take the deduction, even if you do not meet the "separate and exclusive area" rule.
++++++
But as far as saving money:
My primary goal is to reduce fees and increase profits. I have been edging into higher end merchandise where evern if I'm not selling for 3-4 times what I paid, I'm making a lot more $$ on each sale.
My other goal is working really hard to establish my own online presence through a website. eBay listing fees increase infinitely in proportion to your listings and sales. Whereas, with a website, the costs are not infinitely variable in relation to the sales.
Billpoint fees, PayPal fees are no different than merchant account fees (for me, at least), so the #1 key to reducing costs is shifting sales away from the eBay (infinite fee) model towards the website (somewhat fixed fee) model, especially for merchandise that really needs to "wait" for the right buyer, if you know what I mean.
That's easier said than done, because with eBay, you already have an audience.
Besides, with every change that has taken place in the year and some that I have been selling on eBay, I am 100% convinced that one day the axe is going to fall and eBay is going to become the kind of place where it's difficult or dang near impossible for the little guy to make money. And I would hate to have all my egs in the eBay basket and get stranded when they decide to take it away.
