General Category > General Discussion
Selling on eBay tips?
JaredUnzipped:
--- Quote from: larryinc64 on November 28, 2015, 02:56:35 AM ---So I quit my job and my last week is this week, and I want to focus on other things, and just to pad out my savings I am looking into FINALY selling my box of extras, for most things I'll post here first when I'm ready to sell, after finals, but for some things I think I'll attempt selling on eBay.
I have a pile of extra amiibo I am looking to off load, from when the TRU cancellations made me panic and preorder 3 of each as back-ups that I never go to returning and lost receipts. I have quite a few Toon Link, Bowser, Sheik, Pac-Man, Charizard, Lucario, Sonic, Mega Man, Wario and a few others I never got around to finding homes for that I just want to break even on. (If anyone is looking for these, most are US, $15 each)
What are the eBay and Paypal fee percentages? How much should I price these to not end up loosing money on the $15 I paid for each? Is it best to sell in lots VS individuals?
I guess it was good to wait this long, eBay has been trying to get me to sell something for a long time, and they have an offer to sell something by Dec 31 and get a $50 Coupon. So cool.
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I am a professional eBay retailer. I left my career in banking four years ago to do eBay full time. Since then, I've operated a fairly large collectibles and vintage '80s/'90s toy store. I'll try to answer your question as best as possible.
When I compute my eBay and PayPal fees, I figure them at 9%. I get a discount on my fees because I'm a high volume retailer, though. In your case, it would be best to figure your fees at approximately 10%.
If you paid $15 for each Amiibo, here's how it would work. I'll use some math to illustrate.
For example, the cheapest Charizard Amiibo on eBay right now for a Buy It Now listing is about $19.
$19 - 10% (Fees) = $17.10
$17.10 - $7 (average cost of shipping, depends on how far you have to send it, could be more or less) = $10.10
$10.10 - $15 (Original Cost) = -$4.90
As you can see, there is no way for you to sell these Amiibos individually on eBay and make a profit. You'll be losing quite a bit of money.
Alternatively, if you sold all of them in a lot, you stand a better chance of recouping your cost. If you could send me some details on exactly how many figures you have and which ones, I can provide you with a better idea of how to price a lot as a Buy It Now.
WHATEVER YOU DO... DON'T AUCTION THEM INDIVIDUALLY! You'll lose even more money per figure than selling them as Buy It Now's individually.
Quazimoto:
I've been selling on and off (ie not professionally, but a lot of personal possessions and listing for family and friends) for about ten years so I can offer some advice for ya...
- eBay charges 10% on pretty much everything (I think eBay Motors might have a different fee structure, but don't quote me on that).
- eBay also charges 10% on whatever you charge your buyer for shipping. This was done to encourage sellers to offer free shipping. And frankly, I almost always just up the initial price of the item to cover shipping so that I can put the "Free Shipping" on the listing. You'd think people would be smart enough not to fall for a gimmick like that, particularly when you can search for lowest total price, but apparently they aren't. I've done both and even when the total price for the buyer works out to the same amount, listing something with "Free Shipping" has a much higher successful sales rate. Although, I will include a shipping charge on heavy objects, but, in such and instance, always state how much the item weighs in the listing so that a buyer can't claim overcharging.
- Paypal charges $0.30 + 2.9% per transaction. You pretty much have to accept paypal to sell on eBay unless you're a power seller/merchant that's set up to accept direct credit card payments.
- Be thorough and honest in your listing. I can't not stress this enough. Most seller vs buyer disputes happen because a seller wasn't honest about the item condition. This is particularly important when it comes to anything of the collectible variety. If there is any major flaws, make sure to state them specifically.
- Picture, pictures, picture. Take lots. You get twelve pictures for free with any listing. Use however many of those twelve you need to in order to physically show all relevant sides of an item. For something like an Amiibo, takes pictures from the front, back, top, bottom, and both sides. Also take specific pictures of any damage (ie there's a bent corner on the figure's card, take a close up of that). When it comes things like music, movies, games, and books eBay has a system for an easy listing with item details and a stock photo. Never use the stock photo. Delete it and use your own. Not only does this show the buyer the actual item they're buying, but it helps your listing stand out from the flood of stock photos.
- Create a write up with general transaction details that's included in every listing you make. This has saved me from many disputes and buyer/seller confusion. I have one I'd be happy to send you via PM if you'd like an example, just let me know. Basically, you just want to outline things such as the payment and shipping timeline, whether or not you're willing to ship internationally, and any other pertinent details that generally relate to anything you might be selling.
- As far as pricing goes. Research. eBay has an advanced search option that allows you to see only completed or only sold listings. Use this to gauge what your item typically sells for and price it accordingly (though keeping in mind shipping costs if you choose to go with the free shipping option). Nothing will kill your sale faster than an overpriced item. On the flip side, nothing will kill your profits faster than an underpriced one.
- Seven day auctions are generally more successful than anything else. Though, I do something run three day auctions as well.
- If selling via auction, set your listings to end on either a Sunday, Tuesday, or Wednesday night sometime between 9:30pm and 11:00pm eastern US time. This isn't really a hard and fast rule. Just something I generally recommend based on my own past experience. Things I've sold via auction ending on those days and times are generally more successful than any others. And you can set your listing to begin at a specific time, so you don't need to make sure you're online, listing things exactly seven days before you want it to end.
- On the flip side, you can list things via Buy It Now instead of auctions. Honestly, I do find that the percentage of non-paying buyers is much lower when going this route (especially if you click the 'require immediate payment on buy it now' box). You can add a Buy It Now price to an auction listing as well and it usually won't cost any extra. Alternatively, you can just go Buy It Now with a Best Offer option as well. That allows buyer to either buy it out right at the stated price or send you and offer to consider. And you can set the listing to automatically accept or decline certain price points to avoid having to field a ton of low ball offers.
- On selling single items vs selling in lots... It really depends on the item. As a general rule, anything that's a bit more rare or sought after, I would sell individually. Anything that's pretty common and easy to find either in store or online, I tend to sell in lots. Again, this is particularly true with anything of the collectible nature. Reason being is that if you're going to get a buyer for the common stuff, they'll generally be someone just starting out, so they'll like the idea of having a nice little bundle to start with. Whereas the rarer pieces are probably going to bought by someone looking for that specific piece.
- Lastly, keep in mind that you may encounter the negative aspects of selling on eBay such as non-paying buyers, questions that are easily answered in the listing, upset buyers, and so on. There are a lot of horror stories about selling on eBay out there. Some people will try to tell you it's the worst thing in the world. It can be, yes. And yes, I do believe that eBay charges too much to their sellers as far as fees go. However, there is literally no other site with the vast reach of eBay. Selling on there allows you to basically have the entire world as potential buyers if you want. More importantly, as long as you're smart about it and take measures to protect yourself as a seller, you won't have too much trouble. I've had pretty much everything happen to me at one time or another as a seller over the years. But, I regard my experiences as far more positive than negative.
amiga1200:
--- Quote from: sheep2001 on November 28, 2015, 10:05:21 AM --- *snip*
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^^ YEAH, VERY PERCEPTIVE!
SJW MUCH?!
the 'word' is context sensitive, and you KNOW that. (if you're going to insult me, you may as well NUKE my account here, i won't share my shit with SJW sites.)
as far as the subject is concerned, and in the way i responded, GAY = robbing bastards. >:(
[edit]
typo.
segamer:
Make sure you post great pictures. Keep shipping low, even if you lose a little $$. This will ensure you get the maximum value for your items. Piece out your items. Make sure your description is short and honest.
Arseen:
--- Quote from: amiga1200 on November 28, 2015, 11:47:14 AM ---
--- Quote from: sheep2001 on November 28, 2015, 10:05:21 AM --- *snip*
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^^ YEAH, VERY PERCEPTIVE!
SJW MUCH?!
the 'word' is context sensitive, and you KNOW that. (if you're going to insult me, you may as well NUKE my account here, i won't share my shit with SJW sites.)
as far as the subject is concerned, and in the way i responded, GAY = robbing bastards. >:(
[edit]
typo.
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This is not SJW site, but there are some things to consider, one of them being that don't intentionally try to flame, spam or do other negative thing.
In this case you intentionally use gay as a derogative negative insult. ;)