New seller, lots of questions

[drewmagoo14]

Hello sellers of ebay!

I am new to selling on ebay and very enthusiastic to start wheeling and dealing. I'm going to be selling video games, which have the same cases as dvds. I have many questions primarily with shipping.

When shipping an item internationally. How what price do I claim on what im selling. The price I bought it for or the price that Im selling?

(for anyone experienced with selling dvd/console games) What is the cheapest way to ship light packets?

Do any of you make your own packaging? I was thinking about using bubble wrap and cardboard to package my own items. Or would it be better to buy padded envelopes from Canada Post?

I feel like we are at a disadvantage from American sellers. Is this true and if yes how do you compensate to compete.

I appreciate and insight any of my fellow Canadian sellers can shed.

Drew

[pierrelebel]

"I'm going to be selling video games,"

First thing you should do is check your competition.

How many video games are offered for sale on eBay?  How many actually sell? At what prices?  How much do other sellers charge for shipping?

Then try to understand eBay's and PayPal fee structures and policies (such as the 21 day money hold for new sellers).  You will soon realize it is very costly to sell low priced items on eBay. I mean very very costly.

"disadvantage from American sellers"

Yes, that is a reality some of us have learned to live with.  Many others have given up.  It can be challenging.

Since the marketplace generally determines the selling price, to realize a profit one needs to have excellent sources of supply at extremely low cost. Otherwise, you are wasting your time and money.

[gotwhatchuneed]

Not sure if it's good advice or bad advice but I know from shipping dvds that if you can exclude the case you can ship for peanuts. If your buyers are happy getting the disc in a paper sleeve with the original covers they can insert into their own dvd case you can sell for a much lower price.

Some buyers just look at the picture, never read the ad and then will complain they don't have an original  case but thats a risk I would take personally. IMO it's stupid to pay high shipping for a piece of plastic you can get at the nearest dollar store.

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

Since the marketplace generally determines the selling price, to realize a profit one needs to have excellent sources of supply at extremely low cost. Otherwise, you are wasting your time and money

Kinda falls under the heading of "you make yer profit when you acquire the widget". I got, upon second glance, $700 worth of parts for $5 yesterday.

The next key is keeping overhead costs low. Know where you can get supplies the cheapest. I have a box company I get sheet cardboard from. I make a lot of my own boxes. Shrink wrap from Rona. Got a couple of cases of bubble wrap from a guy operating out of his garage. Bubble mailers from either Shippers Supply or Uline, depending where you are.

Biggest thing, for me, was identifying my bottlenecks. Packing caused me the most problems, so, I throw my money at that point. When packing is easy, the whole operation streamlines. I do not mind paying extra for some packing supplies as it is a major stress reliever.

[theafkgamer]

Welcome to ebay 🙂

I'm assuming you mean used video games, as the new video game market is extremely hard to get into/find a supplier that will sell to you under retail.

Don't buy the CP bubble mailers. They are overpriced. A pack of 5 for the smallest size will cost you ~$6 + tax. I have a packaging supply store near my house and I get packing materials for cheap.

Search up some video game titles you'll be listing to find some examples of what your listing should look like and what price you should list at.

That's about it

[drewmagoo14]

I get my games at a price that I can make roughly 20 dollars each on, I'm hoping to find a supplier that I can get them cheaper but for the moment i'm happy with 20 dollars per unit sold.

[pierrelebel]

"I can make roughly 20 dollars each on"

OK - you know your cost. 

Do you know what these games sell for on eBay? (not what they are offered at - that is meaningless - but at what price do they actually sell for based on completed sales)

Do you know how much of that $20 will go into eBay and PayPal fees and packaging materials?

[drewmagoo14]

Well, being a new member I have my first 50 sales free. For packaging i figure that I can make my own packaging for the time being, I have cardboard and bubble wrap to help me cut down on my expenses. When I said i was making 20 dollars i was including my expenses aswell

[007steveb16]

Well, being a new member I have my first 50 sales free. For packaging i figure that I can make my own packaging for the time being, I have cardboard and bubble wrap to help me cut down on my expenses. When I said i was making 20 dollars i was including my expenses aswell

You can list them for free.

You're still going to be charged a final value fee, final value fee on shipping & a PayPal fee on any sale.

Welcome to eBay.

[pierrelebel]

"my first 50 sales free"

All sellers on eBay without an eBay store have 50 free insertion auction listings every month.

Only the insertion fee is free and only for auction style listings

Then you need to add 9% eBay fees

Another 3%+ for PayPal

etc...

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/insertion-fee.html#fvf  

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

I budget 30%, off the top, for fees and expenses. My COGS (cost of goods sold) is included in that.

The expression "I was making $20" is meaningless. There is gross sales, the amount you sell for. There is "net sales", sales minus direct expenses, COGS, eBay fees, Paypal fees, packing supplies. Then there is net profit after all the other overhead expenses.

[brandeentertainment]

18-20% for fees .. I sell DVD so same fees as games..

buy now 13%

Auction 9%

of TOTAL PRICE ....

Paypal roughly 3% plus 30 cents every sale ...

Bubble mailers 25-30 cents a piece

poly mailer 3-4 cents a piece 

Ship Lettermail within Canada and for faster results to the US use light packet instead of lettermail Cost difference is not much for keeping the cuistomer happy

Cheapest mailers are on ebay but uline or canadian mailers are good ...

Games have there market and it moves fast .. I was in it then got out when I first started my ebay adventure it was with gaming ... I did not try hard though .. New Games you can make profit on here unless you have  like a pawn shop hook up or are HUGE ...

Basically after I do everything I pay about 20-22% total ...

Time will give you lessons that question after question won't give you soooooooo head up and have fun..Good luck

[drewmagoo14]

Thank you, your post was very helpful. I'm a pretty experienced gamer, so i know which games will have a market for longer and which won't. I try to get the games for as cheap as possible through classifieds and such. Hoping to find a good link on cheap games eventually.