Anyone willing to take in SLOW detail on how I can make a profit on Ebay?

[laidlawgifts]

Please check out my store

laidlawgifts

These items are the same that I sell in a retail store in downtown Toronto. 

So changing the items or "widgets' is not an option for me.

After calculating fees for the item .. I get wholesale at 50 percent

Ebay fees for having a store

Ebay fees for listing an item

Ebay fees for commision for the sale on the item

Ebay fees for commission for the sale on the shipping costs

Fees for packing material .. bought from Uline.ca

I am just going over my past sales and realize my profit margin is very low

and I cant find any cheaper way to list the items nor cheaper shipping costs

which give me a low DSR rating 😞  

Is there a way to do it I am unaware of or are my items the wrong type of 'widget' to sell on Ebay?

Thanks so much for any help

Nancy

laidlawgifts

[piterpater005]

I am fascinated how many stores on Ebay are making a profit... I did a few calculations of fees and with such low retail cost and free or really cheap shipping... I cant figure out how they are doing it.  I was hoping someone knew that secret and would share it. 

First of all, you have no idea if any store other than your own is making a profit. You can see sales...you can't see their overhead or expenses or item cost.

The real trick to making a profit on ebay is item sourcing.  For most items, if you can't get your items dirt cheap...it doesn't work.

[pierrelebel]

"markup of 50 percent is required for me to make any kind of profit. "

????

I understood from your original post that you get 50% discount from retail price

For example your cost $5.00 retail $10.00 (that is 50% discount from retail)

However if you work on a 50% markup for a cost of $5.00 you would retail at $7.50 (50% markup from your cost).

Frankly, 50% markup (33.3% discount from retail) is NOT enough to run a business offering your kind of items.

You gave a few examples earlier where your fees were a large percentage of your selling price.  In all instances, in my opinion, those items are not meant to be offered for sale by mail on eBay or anywhere else because the cost of packing and shipping the item exceed their value. An item may be worth $10 in your store even if a competitor offers an identical item somewhere else for $7.  However, it is a long way to $20 including packing and shipping charge.

I suggest you limit your online sales to profitable items from your brick and mortar store that are relatively valuable (selling for more than $10) where the packing and shipping cost is low relative to value.

You can then use the time not spent listing those cheap items on eBay researching other sources of supplies for your store, preferably offering more than 50% discount from retail. That time will bring you more rewards with less frustrations.

Good Luck.

[laidlawgifts]

I am still curious.

Any other sellers of regular stock willing to share their fee percentage per item?

Is the 17 to 20 percent that was mentioned earlier... normal and I am just the freak.. lol

[laidlawgifts]

Nodding...

Thanks Pierre.... I have been thinking the same thing.

The thing that confuses me is that I see similar items ALOT cheaper with very cheap

or free shipping.   After dong any kind of math, I cant seem to understand how they are

making a profit.

I was hoping to hear a "secret" that I could apply to my store, in the same way... lol

One could always hope eh?  lol

I have over 2000 items, and was using this time on Ebay as a test market...

and for most items, it doesnt look good.  As you noted as well.

[bb_cool_stuff]

Got ya, i forgot about the name brands.

Can you add another line Laidlaw, or get another supplier which sells comparable items at a lower cost or do a combination of the two ?

[pierrelebel]

My actual fees are well below the 17%/20% indicated earlier.  That is an estimate of what your fees should be on average.

My own fees run at less than 10% (net of the 20% rebate as Top Rated Seller).  I also have a large percentage of buyers who pay by cheque or Interac (but that is another story), lowering my PayPal fees. 

Shipping costs for postage stamps are very low in relation to value and all my listings offer "free shipping" meaning no extra eBay fees. That would not work with your items.

[laidlawgifts]

piterpater,

"

The real trick to making a profit on ebay is item sourcing. For most items, if you can't get your items dirt cheap...it doesn't work."

Nodding, I think I am realizing that.

Since I buy most of my stock from regular suppliers for regular pricing, Ebay isnt looking good for me ;(

[laidlawgifts]

pierre

"My own fees run at less than 10%"

VERY impressed. 🙂  Your system sounds very profitable and I am jealous 😉

As you said, shipping stamp s is very different than me shipping my stock. 

[pierrelebel]

Looking at eBay's financial statements, it appears that overall - including all transactions - fees average slightly more than 10% of the total value of all transactions.

Obviously, it is a much lower percentage for items of greater value and a larger percentage for item of relatively low value.

[pierrelebel]

"and I am jealous"

Please do not be!

Just stop listing and selling low priced items with a high shipping cost.

The minuscule profit does not pay your time.

[laidlawgifts]

bb cool stuff

"

Can you add another line Laidlaw, or get another supplier which sells comparable items at a lower cost or do a combination of the two ?

 "

Well, in fact I am going to the Gift Show, Traders Forum and Toy Show today and this week.. lol

It looks like for MOST of my brick and mortar store, they are not suitable for Ebay.  A shame.

I am thinking is it worth it to carry a whole separate selection for online stores.

The administration, storage, costs and of course.. work... would be separate as well.

It wasnt my orginal thinking of having 2 separate "stores" and product lines.

BUT if I want to make any profit online, I think it might be required.

[i*m-still-here]

Any other sellers of regular stock willing to share their fee percentage per item?

Is the 17 to 20 percent that was mentioned earlier... normal and I am just the freak.. lol

IMO, That question has different answers for every item, and it depends on the item.

IMO for a seller on ebay the actual markup might not be as important as the actual number is.

For example: If someone pays $1,000 for an item and sells it in a few hours for $1,250 then the percentage isn't great but the profit is just fine for a half hour's work.

On the other hand if a seller has a $10 item and it takes months to sell it for $20, the percentage is nice but the profit might not be.

Your lower end items might allow for a nice percentage but do the numbers make it worth the time of listing, packing etc.?

[tobyshitzu]

You aren't competing with a lot of the inventory on ebay on an even basis.  All you need to do is do $1,000,000 gross on ebay a year to get far lower fees, and be able to commit to 1000s of parcels a year to get far lower shipping (or move out of Canada)

Failing that, that stuff  isnt likely going to work at retail costs.  If you can get higher priced items along the same line (eg different then is sitting in every walmart) it might be worth listing here.

[bb_cool_stuff]

IMO, That question has different answeres for every item, and it depends on the item.

On the other hand if a seller has a $10 item and it takes months to sell it for $20, the percentage is nice but the profit might not be.

That is the tough part, it is so hard to predict with any line we buy.

I guess it depends on how our figures look at month end. Some sell for higher margins, some lower.

I'm just a lightweight part time seller, my philosophy would probably change if i was selling full time.

[cumos55]

Profit is made on how much you pay for inventory.... not its selling price

Pay an average $2.75  each for inventory --- Sell for close to $32.00 each

Fill a niche  and work it ... never let it sit still.... always adding inventory to the store...

more inventory equals more sales

More sales allows you to buy more inventory

Always looking for something new to add to inventory.... to complement inventory already selling

and above all list it at the right price....  Many sellers are afraid to do so.... for fear it will not sell.

If you do not list it for $150... It will not sell for $150

[dipmicro]

I am still curious.

Any other sellers of regular stock willing to share their fee percentage per item?

Is the 17 to 20 percent that was mentioned earlier... normal and I am just the freak.. lol

Although I don't have exact number, 15-20% on fees sounds like right.

Try to keep 25-30% or better from the total. That means if you make sale of $10 item with $15 shipping, make sure at least $7 stays in your pocket after all the fees - even if you have to pad shipping with healthy handling.

Secondly, if your low-price items need high shipping cost, you need higher price orders. Since you cannot change into different items,

1) Make domestic shipping discount for any subsequent item. CanadaPost Expedited Parcel base price is high, but it does not go up that much with weight, perhaps $1-$2/kg. Add $2/kg into your item price and make shipping discount of $20 for additional item, which will practically make it "pay shipping for first item only".

2) Offer multiple lots of the same item or sets of multiple items to get shipping cost under 1/3 of the price.

3) look for local courier companies in Toronto and make special deal for Torontians. When I was looking around, I seen someone who delivers next day within Toronto for flat rate $5 up to 4kg. That beats any CanadaPost discount you can get. Perhaps rate went up since then, but still - look around. You have 3mil market in Toronto, you don't need to be on Ebay.

4) use ChitChat for US and Internationals, it will make huge difference. CanadaPost is unusable for e-commerce outside domestic category. You will actually have much better rates for international than US sellers starting today.

[laidlawgifts]

Thank you all for your help.

There is alot I am re-evaluating as well as trying some new ideas.

Like the courier in Toronto, Chitchat Express for Intl deliveries.

Finding higher priced unique items that are worth all this trouble to list,

worth the cost of shipping, etc.

Trying to find discounted items... going to check closeout places, etc.

Also, trying to learn the shipping discount rules, but I started another topic about that... lol

I have private messaged a couple of people to work through my confusion on some

of their suggestions, as well. 

It is great that people take the time to offer their thoughts and suggestions

and it is VERY much appreciated 😉

THANK YOU!!!!

Nancy

laidlawgifts