Got an offer from a retro game store

[zygmuray]

So I know the owner of this retro game store in my area, and I was down there today trading in some stuff. I told him I had a few games im looking to sell and he told me he would sell them in his shop for consignment. Im not a fan of ebay and all the fees and being stuck in pay pal, so I usually just stick to local classified ads, but the problem with that is always have to meet people, and probably about 40% of the time they are no shows or late, so it waste my time. (not to mention gas)

So this is almost no work for me I just give him my stuff, tell him my price I want, and he displays it and tries and sell it.

But he charges quite a bit... 25% of the sale goes to him.

I think my games would sell way faster due to having way more exposure and having good prices on them.

What do you guys think? is 25% too steep of a consignment rate? for the fact of doing nothing while your games sell?

Of course you would only need to pick the games that your bought really cheap and have a big profit margin on.

Like dont put in a Super Mario World for 10 bucks when you spent 5 on it type thing.

[wiggy]

Considering that eBay and Amazon are still gonna end up at slightly less than 25%, why bother?  Doesn't sound like there's ANY advantage to selling via consignment through this guy.

[Mick Dundee]

25% is double what eBay charges. You have to bring games to this place anyway, so its not like your avoiding leaving the house to sell.

[sheep2001]

Depends on how much you value your time, and how lazy you are. 

I would try and squeeze him down to somewhere closer to 15 percent, and then go with it.  I can't be bothered ebaying stuff, I generally give my doubles away rather than eBay list it.

[madrocsz]

It also too depends on what he sells stuff for, if he is consistantly selling items for more than what ebay etc goes for it may be better.

25% is high, but not compared to most consignment rates.

Also too, when you go get your money,  be prepared to not spend it right there in the store

[zygmuray]

Thanks for the input guys, 25% is a large portion to be giving out. And I guess im not really saving myself time by putting them there due to having to check and replace them.

Ebay still bugs me for the fact of not having real cash in hand, so I guess im stuck with local ads.

And with ebay its not like I ever sell a ton either just double and games I dont want in my collection. So my sales would be minimal so people might be worried about buying from me.

[RealPlumpBox]

I am confused on why you don't like eBay?  The money goes straight to your secure pay-pal account and you can aether use it on eBay for purchases which to me feels kind of like a gift card since I never see the money its kind of like free cash i have.  or you can transfer it from pay-pal straight to your bank account.  I love it and think it is super convenient!!!!!!

[madrocsz]

Well, you have to have so many positive transactions , at least in video games, before you get access to your money asap, at first it gets stuck in limbo until the buyer leaves feedback.

Ebay fees do suck, depending on how you sell it and selling price. Then you add shipping costs etc. Also, your always crazy afraid of that one PITA buyer who will find one miniscule thing wrong with the item and want money back.

Bank xfers can take a few days as well. Also, unless you constantly do 1 time payments to clear your ebay account it can be lame when they take it out and you forgot about it lol.

I like ebay, and I use it myself, just can be a bit lame with all the things you have to keep track of

[wiggy]

25% is double what eBay charges. You have to bring games to this place anyway, so its not like your avoiding leaving the house to sell.

Not in my experience.

[zygmuray]

I am confused on why you don't like eBay?  The money goes straight to your secure pay-pal account and you can aether use it on eBay for purchases which to me feels kind of like a gift card since I never see the money its kind of like free cash i have.  or you can transfer it from pay-pal straight to your bank account.  I love it and think it is super convenient!!!!!!

I dont buy on ebay... for me one of the biggest joys of retro games in getting my hands dirty and going to thrift stores and garage sales. So, Ebay kinda ruins the hunt for me.

Iv never really looked into Ebay selling, so what would I be looking at for sales?

Say I sell a Link to the past for $25 bucks and $5 shipping.

How much of that would I get?

[jal4u2c70]

I do a fair share of ebay sales for collectibles and star wars stuff so i have a little knowledge on the subject. Personally i think 25% is a little high. Is he charging the people that buy them tax as well? If so that will cut into your profit. Plus, other than taking up display space, what is he actually doing for you? Considering that all he is really doing is putting them out for people to see, i would say 10%....tops 15%. Insertion fees on ebay run about fifty cents and if it sells they take about 12%. And unless its a really rare piece that sells for a very large sum, the fee is really very negligible. You would probably still do better by selling it on ebay. Then again, if you don't care about the money and just want to move them quick, selling through him might get them sold a little faster. Might. You do have walk in traffic of people that are already in store for games. On the other hand, ebay folks are looking for specific games. So game x might have more people looking for it online through ebay than however many people enter his store. Whatever you decide, good luck! Hope you sell them all and make a tidy profit!

[Maben]

I am confused on why you don't like eBay?  The money goes straight to your secure pay-pal account and you can aether use it on eBay for purchases which to me feels kind of like a gift card since I never see the money its kind of like free cash i have.  or you can transfer it from pay-pal straight to your bank account.  I love it and think it is super convenient!!!!!!

I dont buy on ebay... for me one of the biggest joys of retro games in getting my hands dirty and going to thrift stores and garage sales. So, Ebay kinda ruins the hunt for me.

Iv never really looked into Ebay selling, so what would I be looking at for sales?

Say I sell a Link to the past for $25 bucks and $5 shipping.

How much of that would I get?

Well obviously, the shipping cost gets deducted from what you are getting.  Let's assume your shipping of $5 matches your actual shipping cost.  You are left with $25 minus 9% final value fee minus 2.9% paypal fee minus $0.30 (paypal fee).  Yes, it all adds up pretty quickly.  If you do a buy-it-now option ONLY (without bids), you will get less as the ebay fee will be 13% and they will charge you a $0.50 listing fee.

So in this scenario, you would end up with a little under $22 in an auction format.or a little under $21 with buy it now.  If it cost you less than $5 to ship (don't forget to include small stuff like packing material, envelope, etc!) then u can pocket that.

[zygmuray]

I am confused on why you don't like eBay?  The money goes straight to your secure pay-pal account and you can aether use it on eBay for purchases which to me feels kind of like a gift card since I never see the money its kind of like free cash i have.  or you can transfer it from pay-pal straight to your bank account.  I love it and think it is super convenient!!!!!!

I dont buy on ebay... for me one of the biggest joys of retro games in getting my hands dirty and going to thrift stores and garage sales. So, Ebay kinda ruins the hunt for me.

Iv never really looked into Ebay selling, so what would I be looking at for sales?

Say I sell a Link to the past for $25 bucks and $5 shipping.

How much of that would I get?

Well obviously, the shipping cost gets deducted from what you are getting.  Let's assume your shipping of $5 matches your actual shipping cost.  You are left with $25 minus 9% final value fee minus 2.9% paypal fee minus $0.30 (paypal fee).  Yes, it all adds up pretty quickly.  If you do a buy-it-now option ONLY (without bids), you will get less as the ebay fee will be 13% and they will charge you a $0.50 listing fee.

So in this scenario, you would end up with a little under $22 in an auction format.or a little under $21 with buy it now.  If it cost you less than $5 to ship (don't forget to include small stuff like packing material, envelope, etc!) then u can pocket that.

I guess I really do get way more money going through Ebay instead of this guy. Thanks for showing me all this, I really appreciate it!

I looked into paypal also, and it says there is "usually" no fees to transfer money into your normal bank account. is that a for sure 100%? excluding the debit/credit card stuff?

Or are there some requirements to transfer money?

[wiggy]

I've never had to pay to have money transferred to my account.  I think you pay a fee for an "expedited" transfer. 

[RealPlumpBox]

eBay takes very little % from the selling total.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070620011651AAIOF1l

Also paypal does not charge to transfer to your bank account.  But I usually leave it in my paypal account since It just sits there and re spend on eBay. (makes it feel like a gift card or free money since I never see it.  Stupid I know but eh all good.)