I was reading how to sell and I don't understand how to make money seems like lots of fees

[tishymary]

I must be dense, I don't understand how to sell and make money.  It seems like there are a lot of fees to pay even if you don't sell your item.  Am I misunderstanding?

[2014sportsterguy]

Generally no fee if you list a certain style if does not sell, if you sell BIN buy it now then a small insertion fee and fee if sells.
maybe very roughly 15% just roughly.
Never sell what you could not afford to loose in mail, set up your account to screen out dead beat buyers and scammers.

Go into advanced search and see what wiidgits have sold for, it's easy to sell just need practice. Good luck

[maggiebvintage2010]

Fees for eBay and PayPal total roughly 20% of the item's sale price.  Sellers receive 50 free listings each month for either fixed price (Buy It Now) or Auction with or without BIN.  Another 50 free listings are available for auction format listings in certain defined categories.  Final Value Fees of 10% are paid for the final selling price plus the shipping charge UNLESS you specify free shipping for your first domestic shipping option, then you don't pay a fee on shipping for any destination.  PayPal charges a flat 30¢ per sale plus either 2.9% of domestic selling price or 3.9% of sales to other countries.

You should spend some time as a buyer first, getting used to how eBay operates.  This will help you build up your feedback a bit, which will help you in attracting your initial buyers.  Use this waiting time to Investigate the Canada Post site, learn how to properly package for mail order selling, and figure out what your shipping costs will be.  Then check out your potential competition on eBay , researching how items similar to what you intend to sell, are selling.  Make certain you can be competitive.  Wander around the rules and regulations for both eBay and PayPal - there are a lot of them.  Read the announcements, and read these boards - there is a lot of useful information from experienced sellers.  Pay attention to the restrictions placed on new sellers - these will all apply to you until you reach a certain amount of sales.

By sticking to the free listings when you start selling, you will not incur any fees unless you sell something. 

[pierrelebel]

" I don't understand how to sell and make money. "

Business 101: sell for more than you pay for it

Business 102: know what you sell, sell what you know

Business 103: understand your costs and control them

Business 104: know what you sell, sell what you know

Business 105: know your competition (prices, quality, terms)

Business 106: know what you sell, sell what you know (it is well worth repeating as many new sellers miss the point!)

[femmefan1946]

If you don't sell something the first time out, use that as a learning experience.

Does the price +shipping equal, undercut or exceed the prices of similar items that have sold? Check at the top of the page under Advanced Search for comparisons.

Is your shipping higher than your asking price? Buyers hate that, even though it is reality for Canadian sellers.

Do you understand why Free Shipping is not free?

Yes there are fees. There are also sites that allow free listing. However, they don't have buyers either. You can transfer all your eBay listings over to Bonanza for example, without taking them off eBay. it's easy and free. My experience has been that sales there are about 1% of sales on eBay. YMMD.

It's not all about price. Most consumers feel (not think,feel) that the higher priced item will be better. If your item is in short supply, consider making it more attractive by raising the price.

When you start to make sales, and you will, Paypal will Hold your customer's cleared payment against your good performance for 21 days. This is not a reflection on you, but a Buyer Protection Policy.  The time you spend with the Hold hanging over you depends not only on your performance but also on the category you sell in.

And always listen to pierrelebel. You can disagree, but think about what he says first.