eBay

ca2014-hamil · ‎06-25-2014

Hi, I'm new to selling. I often see an item on sale for 2.99 or even less with free shipping added. How can that be , when the shipping cost is more than the price of the item. What if it does not sell for more than that price?

rose-dee · ‎06-26-2014

Some sellers run items - particularly auctions - at a loss (and with free shipping) hoping to entice buyers to buy their other items on which they can make some profit. However, you have to balance that strategy so that the profitable items cover your losses on the others.

Other sellers list on eBay as a sort of hobby, to clear out things they don't want or need, and they don't really care if they make any profit -- or don't understand what is required to make a profit.

Some others (including sellers in China) have the benefit of next-to-nothing acquisition costs and subsidized shipping rates.

Either way, it's hard to compete with sellers offering items virtually for free. Still, you don't have to undercut everybody's prices. If you're on eBay to make some money, the best thing is to do your homework before selling and make sure you set your prices and shipping competitively at least somewhere in the middle of what sellers in your category(ies) are offering, so that you will see some profit from your time and effort. It's also helpful to have top-notch photos and good descriptions that will give you an edge over your competitors. Offering a range of items at different price levels to attract a variety of customers is a good idea as well. Best of luck!

View solution in original post

mr.elmwood · ‎06-26-2014

Different possibilities:

1) loss leader

2) sellers from China have very cheap postage costs

3) lots of folks are hobby sellers and lose money on every sale.

Hum? I just read Rose's answer after I wrote the above. Apparently her eloquence sniped me.

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View solution in original post

iankimmerly · ‎06-25-2014

The average IQ is 100.

Half the population then have IQs of less than that average.

Explains a lot, really.

pjcdn2005 · ‎06-26-2014

@ca2014-hamil wrote:
Hi, I'm new to selling. I often see an item on sale for 2.99 or even less with free shipping added. How can that be , when the shipping cost is more than the price of the item. What if it does not sell for more than that price?

Then the seller is out that money. It is not a good idea to start an auction at a price less than what you are willing to take.

rose-dee · ‎06-26-2014

Some sellers run items - particularly auctions - at a loss (and with free shipping) hoping to entice buyers to buy their other items on which they can make some profit. However, you have to balance that strategy so that the profitable items cover your losses on the others.

Other sellers list on eBay as a sort of hobby, to clear out things they don't want or need, and they don't really care if they make any profit -- or don't understand what is required to make a profit.

Some others (including sellers in China) have the benefit of next-to-nothing acquisition costs and subsidized shipping rates.

Either way, it's hard to compete with sellers offering items virtually for free. Still, you don't have to undercut everybody's prices. If you're on eBay to make some money, the best thing is to do your homework before selling and make sure you set your prices and shipping competitively at least somewhere in the middle of what sellers in your category(ies) are offering, so that you will see some profit from your time and effort. It's also helpful to have top-notch photos and good descriptions that will give you an edge over your competitors. Offering a range of items at different price levels to attract a variety of customers is a good idea as well. Best of luck!

mr.elmwood · ‎06-26-2014

Different possibilities:

1) loss leader

2) sellers from China have very cheap postage costs

3) lots of folks are hobby sellers and lose money on every sale.

Hum? I just read Rose's answer after I wrote the above. Apparently her eloquence sniped me.

.
.
.

ca2014-hamil · ‎07-03-2014

Thanks. Great answer. It helped clear up something I was really wondering about.

torontonian · ‎05-02-2017

I am having the same issue. I've made a list with about 10 products I would like to start selling, but my competition sells them for $6 with free shipping, when the actual shipping is $9. These people are not hobbyist, their products are new, bought from aliexpress.com ( product description and images are identical). Also, all sellers are based in Toronto, not in China. Any other ideas on how they do it?

I am pretty much seeing this pattern with all products I research.

hlmacdon · ‎05-03-2017

@torontonian wrote:
I am having the same issue. I've made a list with about 10 products I would like to start selling, but my competition sells them for $6 with free shipping, when the actual shipping is $9. These people are not hobbyist, their products are new, bought from aliexpress.com ( product description and images are identical). Also, all sellers are based in Toronto, not in China. Any other ideas on how they do it?
I am pretty much seeing this pattern with all products I research.

Lettermail (if the item fits the dimensions) or dropshipping. Both awful options for a new seller to try to establish a business.

torontonian · ‎05-03-2017

Why lettermail is a bad option for a new seller?

pierrelebel · ‎05-03-2017

Why? Because seller has no protection whatsoever against claims for non receipt.

Many crooks will take advantage of a new seller that way.

torontonian · ‎05-03-2017

Makes sense....but won't this happen if you are an old seller also?

hlmacdon · ‎05-03-2017

@torontonian wrote:
Makes sense....but won't this happen if you are an old seller also?

Any experienced scammer knows a new seller will cave quicker or will respond poorly, both of which make their job easier. New sellers that ship via untrackable methods are low hanging fruit, or easy marks if you prefer.

tobyshitzu · ‎05-03-2017

Yes, any buyer can claim non receipt from any seller who doesn't use tracking. Makes no difference if the seller is new or not, there is nothing any seller can do about it. However its very rare. And no issue at all if you are selling $1 items from aliexpress, who cares of you lose a fraction of a % of sales.

The real problem with your plan ism there are a piles of people who thought the same thing , plus piles more sending direct from china. And nothing to stop any number mroe from doing it. Selling here trying to make a tiny amount per item, with huge volume to make anything gets old pretty quick. Someone decides they are more anxious for the sale and cuts the price, and your sales go to zero until you do to

If i was setting out to find something to sell from scratch, I'd look for the most expensive thing I could find that would make sense to sell here. Definitely wouldn't want to be selling $6 items

torontonian · ‎05-03-2017

Thanks for the reply. This also makes sense. How many scammers are out there? I assume not many. My only concern is that the envelope will be returned to me if the item I am selling is thicker than 2 cm. At least this is what the lady at the post office told me.

hlmacdon · ‎05-04-2017

@torontonian wrote:
Thanks for the reply. This also makes sense. How many scammers are out there? I assume not many. My only concern is that the envelope will be returned to me if the item I am selling is thicker than 2 cm. At least this is what the lady at the post office told me.

Entirely dependent on the category. Some categories are relatively minimal (expect a loss rate below 2%) and with some categories it is considerably higher. It is not only scammers you have to worry about, but buyers who get nervous because there is no tracking and file item not received cases. Again, I would recommend you look into USPS forwarding by someone like chitchats. Like toby said, trying to make anything selling in the low asp ranges, otherwise you will find this about as fun as bashing your head against the wall repeatedly.