posted on February 23, 2001 11:05:20 PM
Ok. ive been on ebay for a few months, ebay just increased thier fees, does anybody find them too high now? i mean if you sell a few items fine, but selling 30 + items a week can add up. I really liked using the 10 days auction now thats gone up. I don't know. Let me know what you think.
posted on February 23, 2001 11:12:42 PM
The new fees don't bother me much. I never list any items with a starting bid over 24.99. 10 day auctions aren't necessary and I never use a reserve. The new fees only amount to a nickel per listing to me. Really not that bad....
[ edited by outoftheblue on Feb 23, 2001 11:13 PM ]
posted on February 23, 2001 11:34:43 PM
Don't forget that it really depends on what you sell. To me, yes, they are too high. That is because I sell buttons and posters and photo's and stuff. But to someone who has a higher profit margin, they are not that bad. That is of course why eBay charges so much. They want to week out the people who don't have a higher profit margin. I do ok. I make $2500 per month and can pay my bills. But then again, I am preparing about 250 auctions per week and scan every single item... I wish I had larger items to sell...
posted on February 24, 2001 05:08:06 AM
It's not the ebay fees, it's the shipping fees that are killing me. Who wants to pay $5 shipping on a $5 item? So it looks like I will have to change my merchandise (which is a good idea anyway!) and only have low prices on items that go media mail.
posted on February 24, 2001 06:59:45 AMIt's not the ebay fees, it's the shipping fees that are killing me. Who wants to pay $5 shipping on a $5 item?
I think that is a rhetorical question {smile}.
But, the question I would ask is 'Who wants to sell a $5.00 item?'.
I have never sold on eBay but back when the earth was cooling I owned and operated a mail order business so I do have a little understanding of the time involved in order fulfillment and even if your cost is zero, I don't see how you can make any money on five buck sales.
I am trying to find a line of items to sell on eBay and recently I found some posters that I can buy wholesale from the manufacture for $4.00 and I think they would fetch $10.00 - $15.00 on eBay and I am not sure, considering the time that would be required for each sale, that it would be a worthwhile venture.
Back when I did everything from writing ad copy, printing catalogs, source goods, have some items manufactured, yakitty yak, I was probably the fastest shipping clerk in town <grin> un till I grew to the point I could hire a few and I have been dinking around with computers for 17 years and am pretty good at automating repetitive tasks but I am leary of selling for this dollar amount.
Perhaps someone who sells in this price range has some words of wisdom to share?
As an aside, I would say to anyone who complains about UPS or the USPS that while they are less than perfect today, you are really lucky that you were not using them 35 years ago.
posted on February 24, 2001 07:16:13 AM
Jim: I have sold about 800 items on ebay during the last year and a half. $10.00 is my borderline. If I don't think an item will bring that much, I rarely will put one on. The only reason I ever do is just to get rid of it. My "bread & butter" items usually sell for around $25.00 although I have sold items for as much as $750.00. If I had to list items that only brought 3-4 dollars I would quit the business even if these items were given to me.
posted on February 24, 2001 07:30:02 AM
Thanks Stan,
That makes sense to me - I would think that a range of $25.00 to $50.00 (which is avaible in another non-agroo a line I am looking at) would make sense.
I have seen gross margin discussed here in another thread but I think that is less important than enough dollars to cover the transaction cost.
Cheers, Jim
The difference between sex and lust is inconsequential
posted on February 24, 2001 08:00:30 AM
Yes...fees are sure eating up the profits on the under $10 items.
Personally I think we have seen the glory days of on-line selling. The only thing we need now is an internet sales tax. If you were to couple that with higher selling fees (Yes eBay will continue to hike to try and support their inflated stock price), increased shipping, PayPal fees, etc. and then add in a declining economy, the result will not equal increased profits for us sellers.
posted on February 24, 2001 09:10:06 AM
""But, the question I would ask is 'Who wants to sell a $5.00 item?'.
I have never sold on eBay but back when the earth was cooling I owned and operated a mail order business so I do have a little understanding of the time involved in order fulfillment and even if your cost is zero, I don't see how you can make any money on five buck sales."
Simple math, when an item sells hit relist, do it over and over again, sell 60 items an hour at $5, equals $300. Not bad for an hours work.
posted on February 24, 2001 11:13:43 AM
I sell several items at $5. They are my own software programs and an information guide. The winner downloads the program from the Web. There is no shipping or handling fee. The sales do supplement my other items.
Another point: If a buyer will balk at a $5 item plus $5 shipping, will that same buyer purchase a $25 item at $5 shipping? I suspect sellers AND buyers will be leaving eBay. Perhaps Yahoo Auctions will pick up the slack.
eBay fees aren't what bother me. My rent has gone from $1175 to $1500 in the past year, and now gas/electric bills have doubled. Housing in Silicon Valley is incredibly expensive and I'll probably be moving out of the county just so I can afford rent.
In the next couple of months I'll be developing some new products which will add to my income. Roll with the punches, and all that rot.
