Im beginning to do research, and the number of fees is staggering. Any tips?
As much as I hate to look like a threadshitter, the time when a small-time amateur could make any kind of money on eBay has passed. At the time I left it was being taken over by professionals using it as their on-line storefront and by hobbyists who did not care if they made a profit. YMMV
That being said, what are you thinking of selling? There are major differences between selling comic books, or clothes, or automotive parts and there is little one-size-fits-all advice beyond the “have good sources, ship promptly” basics.
Mainly coins and watches. Coins has a 6% fee but margins are really slim. Looking at what sells and how much i can get it for, maybe i can buy an ounce for 22, sell it for 25, or about 15% profit. But the eBay fee, PayPal fee, and shipping costs eliminate all profit. I can sell watches with a much higher margin, but the eBay fee goes up to 9% in that category. That 9% is killing me.
That’s where good sources come in. I sell books online. I do a lot of scouting at thrift shops, library sales, estate sales and tag sales. I will not buy something that I could only sell for a 15% return; I aim for my acquisition price to be less than one-fifth of my sale price and I am happier with an even better margin.
I have not had time to seek out stock enough this year, so sales have been terrible, but this week I did sell a book for $25.00 that I paid less than $2.00.
Yeah, im mainly interested in gold/silver, and the margins are usually really small. I can get gold for under .5% over spot, and sell it easily for 5%. 5% profit on one ozt is close to 100, a decent profit but a terrible margin. Making 100 per sale is good in just about any situation.
I do a lot of ebay selling. Unless you can buy or acquire merchandise at a huge discount off retail (70% is my rough goal) it’s not worth it. Also small items need almost as much work to package as large items. Also be aware that at $20,000 in sale or 200 items whichever is first ebay/paypal reports your sales to the IRS so you will pay a tax on profit income as well.
From what I’ve seen there are a gazillion coin sellers on ebay and some are more desperate than others. Unless you have unique merchandise it’s a cutthroat market. If you are going to get serious you need to sign up for an ebay storefront ASAP. They are cheap and the management tools are worth the money if you have significant inventory.
I’ve sold a few mid priced watches but I’ve never dealt with metals. Given the issues I’ve had over time with a few ebay buyers just selling shoes, I’d be scared poopless to sell gold or precious metals through the mail. It would seem like it’s just ripe for being scammed. And be aware than ebay is NOT on the sellers side in most disputes. You are guilty until proven innocent.
And I know this will roll eyes but just because you don’t sell $20k doesn’t mean you aren’t required to report your income and possibly pay taxes.
Not to the point, but important enough:
ebay REQUIRES sellers accept 1 of 3 online payent systems:
PayPal (which is owned by ebay)
nobody 1
nobody 2
I once (2-3 years ago) tried to add the term “check or M.O.”. It actually blocked the word “check” under payment.
So everybody uses Paypal - ebay fees + paypal fees add up to close to 20% (yes, ship/hand fess are also subject to commission.
Paypal started “guaranteeing satisfaction” - as it turn out, the buyer can make up any complaint it wishes, and paypal will seize funds for the full amount of the transaction.
See the problem?
Buyers are now routinely claiming “not as advertised” and then extorting payments in exchange for dropping the complaint and letting you have your money.
This is why craigslist tells people not to accept paypal.
If you do decide to sell on ebay, grab the money instantly - paypal will then show a negative balance, but you can simply demand paypal make a determination as to responsibility.
Don’t bet that they will make the obvious decision.
I was buying and selling on ebay - turned a few dollars here and there - but when the extortion became commonplace, I quit.
I still have some inventory.
I used to sell worldwide - at least the expense of return shipping limited complaints. Now paypal will order the seller to not only refund original price and fees, but return shipping as well.
Let me know when they wake up.
Meantime, I will sell only locally (where cash can be specified).
eBay fee max is 10% plus $0.30, and Paypal max is 2.9% + $0.30. That doesn’t get close to 20% unless you’re selling things for < $10.