pelorus
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posted on January 24, 2002 07:05:27 AM new
As a seller of mostly $5-10 items I have been moving more from ebay to half.com. Question: Why are there so many books offered on half.com for under $1? The economics of a $1 sale are: $1 sale + $2.33 shipping allowance = $3.33 income. $3.33 -.15 half.com comm. -1.78 postage = $1.40 net profit.
How can it possibly be worth someone's time for that little money?
There are similar economics behind ebay sellers who put items up for $1-2, when you add in Paypal fees, AW fees, and listing fees for items not sold.
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mballai
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posted on January 24, 2002 07:15:58 AM new
In effect, it's a waste of time, but it also helps clear some dead inventory and build feedback. I frequently get books for as little as a $.25 and for these it's ok if undesirable. A lot of people on both sites are closet cleaners and not sellers.
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stopwhining
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posted on January 24, 2002 08:27:57 AM new
there are some full time sellers who do well on 1.40 profit per book.
this topic has been discussed to death on many forums including amzn message board.
some listed books at one penny.
some sellers have 1000 books listed and if they get 10-15 orders a day and they have packing and shipping down to a science,they claim to come out ahead/
some claim they save money on storage,every book out of storage is pennies saved.
some work for print shops and get imperfect paperbacks free,so they are getting a few bucks here and there to subsidise their meager wages.
then some are lonely people who crave emails????
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mballai
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posted on January 24, 2002 08:42:59 AM new
If you subtract the cost of a mailer and assume nothing for your time, you might net about .25. This is why it doesn't make much sense; I have very limited space and make most of my profit on books that sell anywhere from about $5-35.
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pelorus
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posted on January 24, 2002 10:05:06 AM new
Maybe this topic has been discussed to death but I have never seen it.
When I end up with $1 books to sell I take them to Goodwill. I don't care how efficient someone's mailing procedures are, when you add up all the time for listing, inventory maintenance, processing orders and shipping it just isn't worth it.
You would have to sell 71 books to clear $100 at $1.40 each. It's crazy.
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stopwhining
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posted on January 24, 2002 10:05:52 AM new
may be they get free mailers or they recycle used mailers.
may be they are wealthy folks who love to brag in cocktail parties about their e commerce expertise.
half does not allow seller to list book less then 75 cents,but amzn has no restriction,there are still books for one penny.
now they can make more money on amzn as amzn is giving more for shipping 2.23 to 8.95.WOW!!
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RainyBear
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posted on January 24, 2002 11:40:51 AM new
I've wondered the same thing. I looked up a John Grisham title the other day and there were hundreds of them for under a dollar. Mine is going straight to Goodwill! The tax writeoff will be worth nearly as much as selling it on half.com would have been.
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stopwhining
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posted on January 24, 2002 12:30:51 PM new
pelorus,
believe it or not,many folks are doing it,along with baseball cards.
some claim they do well,some claim they do okay,some say consider the storage fee saved ,it is worth it.
some could be lonely people who crave quality emails.
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MAH645
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posted on January 24, 2002 02:27:22 PM new
I used to sell on Half.Com but anymore I couldn't be bothered. I sell on Amazon and get my money on my stuff.Smae with other items they give away on E-Bay,I sell mine at the Flea Market and triple my money,why should I sell it on E-Bay and make $1.00 profit?
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bidsbids
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posted on January 24, 2002 03:09:56 PM new
For years all I've heard from sellers selling items for $1 with reasonable s/h is "I'm building up my feedback rating'.
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figmente
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posted on January 24, 2002 03:17:49 PM new
Seems that a trash bin would more effective for saving storage fees.
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ahc3
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posted on January 24, 2002 03:18:14 PM new
There is another possibility - Use stamps that you can resell used at a high price. I ask for the stamps back (I enclose a self addressed stamped envelope with my orders) and usually get them back. (I don't resell the stamps, I collect them, but you could sell them!) Here are some examples:
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1320620022
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1321808124
These are stamps that you can purchase for face value at the post office right now.
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goldenclutter
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posted on January 24, 2002 03:29:07 PM new
I never buy a new book anymore. I go to Goodwill and all books are 10 for $1.00. All of them- hardbacks, papaerbacks, encyclopedias, you name it it is there for 10 cents a piece. Good bargain for me, but kinda sad actually when I think how much money I paid for books in the past.
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robnzak
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posted on January 24, 2002 07:53:56 PM new
. I looked up a John Grisham title the other day and there were hundreds of them for under a dollar. Mine is going straight to Goodwill
I pay no attention at all to the lowballers. I sold a Grisham mmpb a couple weeks ago on HDC for five bucks, and there were 79 others priced lower than mine. I feel rather confident that for every person who wants that book for a penny, theres another who passes it by and is willing to pay a fair market price, feeling a bit more secure in the quality of their purchase.
Rob 
1st Editions and more
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bidsbids
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posted on January 25, 2002 03:46:50 AM new
Rob has a point there. Some of the feedback ratings of those lowball sellers is very weak and do not inspire confidence. You will see 4.2/5 feedback ratings and say hmmm...
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