eBay turned out to not be evil as I thought

[Nickleanddime]

Well been selling on eBay for a few months now and when I first started the fees really bothered me. They charge for everything even on the shipping and at the time it did seen excessive.

But it's not at all. Was thinking one day after reading about a local antique store closing about the costs they had. It's about $1 sq ft here for retail, gas is high along with electric. Water is a base $55 a month and up. So you'd have to sell $3000 a month just to pay the bill, keep stock, pay employees, and pay personal bills and expenses.

So looking on it now that 13% I pay on my sales is not looking to bad for something that I love to do.

 

[Iron Patch]

Sounds like you're getting it! Even if I owned a building and had zero bills, I'd still be way worse off than selling on Ebay.... even if ebay took 2 or 3 times the amount. People cry all the time about fees, but you can be sure if they ran a similar type of business on a smaller scale they be looking for at least 13%... and I'm guessing probably a lot more. I know I stopped selling for people because 20% wasn't worth my time.

 

[diggummup]

This is why I offer cheese for the whiners.

 

[bigdaddywittenauer]

Well said. What you pay for eBay fees wouldn't even be begin to cover costs if you had physical store.

 

[Baltimore]

Absolutely agreed. I get to list and pack in the comfort of my bedroom, get my inventory seen by people all over the country/world, get my packages picked up for free and my boxes and packing material for free, and acquiring inventory is something I do for fun. I'm paying fees, but I'm definitely getting my money's worth.

 

[apush]

10-4. I could not image having to worry over paying the bills every month let alone obtaining any profit to make ends meet. Where else can I find a part-time job that pays as well and I set my own hours and pace. If I feel like working (searching, listing), I do, if not, I don't. Half of the fun is the hunt--with no worries to stock, sell, etc. I am very small time. I generally earn about $400 per month--but heck--that really helps build a nice nest egg over time--and dang sure helps with future retirement!
apush

 

[bigdaddywittenauer]

That is my goal; to make enough for supplemental income.

 

[clovis97]

We rent space in two different antique malls.

For instance, a case is $70 a month to rent, plus, they take 10% commission on everything that is sold. If a customer buys something from your booth and uses plastic to pay for the item, the mall charges us 3% of the transaction total.

There are other costs too. Aside from finding the item, I have to get it cleaned up, working, and I have to drive it to the mall and put it into our booth. If I put the item on ebay, I just bring it home, list it, and ship it, without ever leaving the house.

The local auction barns charge 30% ( and up to 50%) to sell most items. They charge 10% to 20% for cars, boats, tractors, trucks, etc. Real estate sold through an auctioneer is generally 7%, plus advertising costs.

I don't like the fees any more than the next guy.

I could always use Craigslist, wait for weeks while every low-baller in the state emails offering a fraction of the value, and then drive 40 miles one way to meet a potential buyer at a Hardees parking lot, just to hear them say "Well, I'll give you $___ (exactly half of asking price)."

Ebay's fees are high, but still a decent value, IMO.

 

[clovis97]

But it's not at all. Was thinking one day after reading about a local antique store closing about the costs they had. It's about $1 sq ft here for retail, gas is high along with electric. Water is a base $55 a month and up. So you'd have to sell $3000 a month just to pay the bill, keep stock, pay employees, and pay personal bills and expenses.

Don't forget that they also had payroll taxes. Every employer has to pay half of their employee's Social Security tax, which is 15.2%. So, if you hire a guy for $10 an hour, that will cost you an additional 7.5% per hour, or 75 cents for every hour they work. If you are a one man shop, or self employed, you get to pay all 15% of the SSI tax!

Liability insurance is expensive too. Someone walks into your shop, stumbles because they were wearing 4 inch heels, and their face lands in an antique mirror...you've got a lawsuit on your hands.

While the world is changing quickly, phones and phone book advertising is expensive. I used to pay $200 a month for a single business line and advertising.

And all in all, you'll spend two weeks of every year working for the government, filling out sales tax returns, state and federal returns, workman's comp stuff, etc., unless you hire an accountant, and then you get to pay them several hundred a month, minimum. The two weeks you give up of your life jacking with government filings is two weeks you could have been out earning more money.

 

[dumpsterdiver]

I think a more fair comparison might be selling from your own site versus ebay's site. If anyone has tried hosting and promoting their own site?

 

[diggummup]

I think a more fair comparison might be selling from your own site versus ebay's site. If anyone has tried hosting and promoting their own site?

I have had this discussion with a lady friend/buyer of ours, who besides selling at the shows statewide, she sells on ebay, Etsy and she has her own website. She said overall she sells the most at the glass shows, but online it's ebay where she sells the most. Here are links to her sites to give you an idea as to how she operates-
Cheshire Cat Antiques Depression Elegant Kitchen Glass ,

Cheshire Cat Antiques & Collectibles by cheshirecatantiques ,

cheshirecat-antiques on eBay ,

https://www.facebook.com/cheshirecatantiques

If I did this type of thing full time, I would use every source available to me, as does she.

 

[GibH]

I think a more fair comparison might be selling from your own site versus ebay's site. If anyone has tried hosting and promoting their own site?

The customer traffic alone is reason enough go with ebay. No hosting fees and you don't need to learn HTML.

 

[dumpsterdiver]

Seems to me if you were out there doing sales handing out a business card with your own site on it would be really easy. I have to give it to her because packing up glass for a show has to be the worst possible thing to pack up and sell at a show. Hosting fees are not too bad and there are some pretty easy ways around not knowing html. I think it would just boil down to the fact if people bought from your website directly. I think if you already had a store presence or vending at shows, flea market antique mall, etc it would be pretty easy to promote. Make a sale on ebay you could just throw in a card with your website on it.

I think once I get a better flow with ebay I will look into it. Thanks for those links.

I have had this discussion with a lady friend/buyer of ours, who besides selling at the shows statewide, she sells on ebay, Etsy and she has her own website. She said overall she sells the most at the glass shows, but online it's ebay where she sells the most. Here are links to her sites to give you an idea as to how she operates-
Cheshire Cat Antiques Depression Elegant Kitchen Glass ,

Cheshire Cat Antiques & Collectibles by cheshirecatantiques ,

cheshirecat-antiques on eBay ,

https://www.facebook.com/cheshirecatantiques

If I did this type of thing full time, I would use every source available to me, as does she.

 

[bigdaddywittenauer]

Yes I have tried selling from my own site. I'm still waiting for a first customer.

 

[xrunndonex]

Yes I have tried selling from my own site. I'm still waiting for a first customer.

You have to advertise it hard to get the word out. What do you sell I might be able to help

 

[bigdaddywittenauer]

I sell jewelry.

 

[xrunndonex]

I sell jewelry.

Hmm link to website?

 

[mkulltra]

I started my own blog with the purpose of listing items that I have found and put for sale on eBay to drive traffic to my listings. Haven't had time to work on it for months because I work full time plus doing internet marketing for my company. Not to mention side jobs for clients. Maybe this will inspire me to get back on it.

Here's a link: garagesaleninja.wordpress.com

 

[Nickleanddime]

On top of ebay i use facebooks online garage sale sites to push items to heavy to ship, and the penny auction sites to get my junk smalls out.I also use craiglist sometimes but people are getting crazy with their prices so its driving people off, Plus the killings and bad news it got hurt it. The internet has really helped keep the cost down for sellers and buyers compared to what it would cost to hard print items and mailing. And with research its wonderful and easy to find items most of the time. With price books and info guides theres not always a picture to compare to. But as said before I love doing this and glad i started using ebay. It really has helped my sales and business. Good luck guys.

 

[bigdaddywittenauer]

Www.jewelrybyjames.webs.com
I'm actually thinking of just shutting the site down. I've begun to realize it takes more time to keep a website than I can afford. I guess that's why eBay is so good for me.