eBay

bwalton · ‎10-16-2016

This may be a nonsense question or one that can't really be answered, but you are the people with the experience so here goes.

Based on your experience do you have a threshold on profit that you have to realize to make it worthwhile to sell an item on ebay ?

Let me give you an example, a music CD, are music CD's really worth selling on ebay, given that in most cases (not rare etc) you can pick most of them up at the flea market for not much more then $5. I remember i sold a few years ago and when I looked at the profit I was making less then I could get by going to the flea market or selling on Kijiji .

Case in point and there are lots of examples on ebay, I just looked, a fellow is selling a cd for about $4 with $3.50 shipping now by the time he pays ebay, pays paypal, he is likely going to make $3 or less and then takes his time to package it up and post it is it really worth the bother for $3 ? Now maybe if you sell 1000 a week it might be but for a small seller like me I can't see it. am i missing something ?

So again I guess my main question is based on your experience do you have a minium you have to make in profit on any given item to make it worth your time ? $5, $10 $20 I mean grocery stores can live on 5 or 6 percent but there working on volume I would think most sellers in Canada are not working on that kind of volume.

Thanks

momcqueen · ‎10-16-2016

It's the kind of question that will net you a different answer for everyone who answers it.

Basically, I think that you have to price your items at the point to sell what makes it worth your time. And leave it at that. (I try not to worry about what the other guys are doing because they're not doing it as well as me, in my not-so-humble opinion.)

Some people come to ebay just to get rid of stuff. They are happy to get anything for it and enjoy the thrill of selling something even if they don't really profit from it. I'm not sure the reason they don't just donate that to Goodwill but it could be that they gain something from the feeling they are working on something.

Other people flip garage sale finds. They are buying cheap and hoping to sell at a profit. This can be fun but you really have to know your stuff and market. Otherwise, you might just end up with a house filled with junk.

Other people come to ebay to fill a need they have found in their own life. Like, let's say you are a collector of hunting knives and it's super hard to find a nice hunting knife locally so you think to yourself, man, it would be so great if you could just go to ebay and buy knives, and then suddenly you find yourself selling hunting knives on ebay. This also happens.

ypdc_dennis · ‎10-16-2016

@mjwl2006 wrote:
... Some people come to ebay just to get rid of stuff. They are happy to get anything for it and enjoy the thrill of selling something even if they don't really profit from it. I'm not sure the reason they don't just donate that to Goodwill ...

There is stuff you can't donate to charities -- the choice for those things is recycle, trash or sell on eBay.

Also the buyer's location will determine whether donating is an easy option.

-..-

But you are right, the tip point will be different for everyone.

Plus the tip point can vary for each person depending on what's being sold. When I'm buying stuff for resale I do have tip points in mind (how inexpensive to buy versus potential profit). When it's something I already own, and no longer want it becomes sunk cost versus profit.

A times my tip point is modified by other considerations, like pumping up my sale numbers to meet eBay minimums, or needing some cashflow to pay the bills.

-..-

I have a bunch of stuff that came in this weekend. I'm selling the art, toys and other collectibles for the estate of a dear friend. So tip point doesn't really apply. I have until the end of the year for each item to either sell on eBay, list on eBay's K-village cousin, find a place to donate to, or recommend recycle/trash to her estate executor.

I like doing research, so that will be part of my pay back.

An auctioneer has already done an appraisal, I'll see whether I can do better.

Example 1: My research has found the $5 appraised photo print (still in shipping box) is a limited archival print signed by the photographer with a $300us selling price. eBay

Example 2: The out of package LotR figure was identified as missing it's LED torch. Kijiji or donate or bundle with the Sword of Strider for eBay.

Example 3: World Space Museum models, cool product. This one does have a cut point -- when the cost of shipping is more than the sale value of the item, so Kijiji or donate or perhaps a bundle with other stuff

-..-

i.am.vivian · ‎10-16-2016

To be happy on eBay you need to just like doing it. Like the others have said how you feel about the amount of money and if its worth it is a personal choice. Some people make almost no money and just do it as a hobby. A good way to start is clearing out the junk you don't want any more. If you make some money, great. If not, you're no worse off. After you've been selling a while you'll get a feel for what has resell potential and what doesn't. I really helps if you are not trying to make a living wage out of it. If you get hung up on "paid by the hour" for your time here you will end up miserable.

This question comes up again and again, about profit. You have to decide for yourself. The seller of the $3 CD makes almost no money but if the items are sitting around gathering dust, maybe even a little amount clears the space. It is best if you like taking pics, listing items, etc, and this way you make more money filling in your hours than if you sat on a couch and watched TV commercials night after night. 🙂

musicyouneed · ‎10-16-2016

I sell CD's and I am not in it for the money. If it was not my hobby and I did not absolutely love music, I would not be doing this. CD's are a hard sell, if they are not new or in perfect condition or somewhat scarce to buy. You are competing with US sellers who purchased new CD's for pennies and can send them media mail, cheaper that we can. I am a small seller, I have about 1400 listed and have only sold 42 this month. I usually sell anywhere from 40 to 80 a month. Storage can be a problem as you have CD's, envelopes, new jewel cases, packing material, etc. Some CD's take a year to sell, some sell within a month. Also demand for CD's is dropping. Most young people just download their music from itunes and the older ones like me either have enough or are slowing dying off.

How can you compete with these sellers:

I posted this earlier on another thread. This CD was not a run of the mill and was in mint condition. It was part of my personal collection.

I sold a CD today for $12 Canadian, free shipping and I was working out how much it cost/fees. etc.

Postage was $3.10

Envelope was .50 (I got them cheaper but when you factor in cost of shipping to me, that is what it cost)

New Jewel Case was .50

Ebay Fee was $1.20

Paypal Fee was .65

That is a total of $5.95.

That is also not taking into consideration a portion cost of a store.

So I only clear $6.05, that is not including the cost of the item. Considering all the work, photographing, resizing photos, researching writing up listing, all for $6.05. Now I sell what I know and like. I have been into music now for 55 years, so I love it. If I didn't love it I sure wouldn't do it for $6.05.

So bwalton, it really depends on how much you value your time. If you sold very few of the CD's for a year would you be OK with that? I do it because music I love. Now I wouldn't do it for stamps, or toys. You have to decide for yourself.

Great advice from all that have responded to this thread.

momcqueen · ‎10-16-2016

I was thinking of your earlier thread, musicyouneed, as well today when I saw this one. Can you link it?

musicyouneed · ‎10-16-2016

Hi MJ, I had posted that discussion "I wonder how someone selling something under $5 makes any money?" to discuss sellers selling under $5.00, how they ever made any profit. What people responded to was that they pay less for their envelopes than me and don't include a new jewel case. It became all about me and that is not what I was going for, so that is why I didn't include a link.

I just wanted to discuss the fact that by the time you pay for shipping, cost of materials ie envelopes, boxes, all the ebay and paypal fees you don't end up with much profit. For US sellers selling for 99 cents free shipping, it cost them more to list and ship ($2.61 media mail), than they receive, if it were me for .99 cents, I would just donate it, it is a waste of time and money.

A lot of new sellers don't really work out the numbers before they start selling. It is good the OP is asking the question "Tipping Point for Profit" If I sell 1-2 CD's a day and make $5.00 profit and worked 4 hours to clean, photograph, list, pack, take to PO, is it worth it? The OP will have to decide that for themselves.

momcqueen · ‎10-16-2016

Fair enough, I'd forgotten that aspect of the previous thread.

I remember the day that I stopped to count how many hours I'd invest selling an item. I think that was the day I stopped pricing against my competition. I exert way more effort than practically anyone else who sells what I sell, and I like to think I offer exceptional service and experience to go with that item. But maybe it's just excessive effort and people really would be happy with one photo, six-word descriptions and a car thrown into a Kleenex box for ten bucks less. I'll never know.

thestuffofchris · ‎10-16-2016

i.am.vivian wrote:

To be happy on eBay you need to just like doing it. Like the others have said how you feel about the amount of money and if its worth it is a personal choice. Some people make almost no money and just do it as a hobby. A good way to start is clearing out the junk you don't want any more. If you make some money, great. If not, you're no worse off. After you've been selling a while you'll get a feel for what has resell potential and what doesn't. I really helps if you are not trying to make a living wage out of it. If you get hung up on "paid by the hour" for your time here you will end up miserable.

This question comes up again and again, about profit. You have to decide for yourself. The seller of the $3 CD makes almost no money but if the items are sitting around gathering dust, maybe even a little amount clears the space. It is best if you like taking pics, listing items, etc, and this way you make more money filling in your hours than if you sat on a couch and watched TV commercials night after night. 🙂

This is exactly me.

As I wrote in an earlier thread, I mainly sell old media (mostly video games) that I have owned for years and I just don't want anymore. I actually make more selling them on eBay than the alternative of trading them in to stores that still accept trade-ins for cash. (I don't make "profits" because I don't buy to resell or get anywhere near the original cost of what I originally paid years ago).

For example, most of the older games I sell might net me less than a dollar each at the store (seriously), or $5+ each on eBay. Sure, selling on eBay is a lot more work than taking them to the store 15 minutes away, but I do genuinely enjoy all the aspects of selling on eBay: creating listings, taking pictures, researching prices, etc.

I don't worry about paying myself for my time because, again, I genuinely enjoy doing this, so if I can clear some clutter and make a few dollars per item, I'm happy.

But, to each their own!

ricarmic · ‎10-17-2016

@mjwl2006 wrote:
Fair enough, I'd forgotten that aspect of the previous thread.

I remember the day that I stopped to count how many hours I'd invest selling an item. I think that was the day I stopped pricing against my competition. I exert way more effort than practically anyone else who sells what I sell, and I like to think I offer exceptional service and experience to go with that item. But maybe it's just excessive effort and people really would be happy with one photo, six-word descriptions and a car thrown into a Kleenex box for ten bucks less. I'll never know.

Here is a thread I did up a while ago for my experience...

http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/My-experience-so-how-long-does-it-take-me-to-sell-1-ebay-...

I try to avoid listing anything less than $10 worth for this reason....

bwalton · ‎10-18-2016

Thank you all who posted, it certainty helps to learn from those that have "been there, done that"" your opinions and insights have been most helpful

Thanks Again

Bill

ypdc_dennis · ‎10-18-2016

thestuffofchris wrote
As I wrote in an earlier thread, I mainly sell old media (mostly video games) that I have owned for years and I just don't want anymore. I actually make more selling them on eBay than the alternative of trading them in to stores that still accept trade-ins for cash. (I don't make "profits" because I don't buy to resell or get anywhere near the original cost of what I originally paid years ago).
...

That's what's called "sunk cost" -- the original cost no longer matters, since it's sunk out of sight...

A bunch of the oddball stuff I list has a sunk cost of zero, since the alternative is trash or recycle (with donate not even an option).

-..-