Ebay sellers thread (other platforms too)

[QuarterMillionMan]

Good to know thanks.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I figured on setting my shipping prices higher so as to pay less in eBay fees which is now 13% to 15%. For sellers who offer free shipping they must get hit hard with eBay fees. Hypothetically, let's say this Acer laptop that I'm selling (although I wouldn't do it blatantly so as to set off red flags with eBay) set a fix price of $1 but charge a fixed shipping fee of $100, my eBay fees would be .13 cents. But at auction if let's say it sells for $100 my eBay fee would be $13, and the $35 in shipping would not be subject to eBay fees or taxes. Because eBay's fees are so high, I figure on charging more for shipping and getting less on the sale price. On a side note my phone is blowing up with new offers on the Acer which is currently at $31.

[disneysteve]

I figured on setting my shipping prices higher so as to pay less in eBay fees which is now 13% to 15%. For sellers who offer free shipping they must get hit hard with eBay fees. Hypothetically, let's say this Acer laptop that I'm selling (although I wouldn't do it blatantly so as to set off red flags with eBay) set a fix price of $1 but charge a fixed shipping fee of $100, my eBay fees would be .13 cents. But at auction if let's say it sells for $100 my eBay fee would be $13, and the $35 in shipping would not be subject to eBay fees or taxes. Because eBay's fees are so high, I figure on charging more for shipping and getting less on the sale price. On a side note my phone is blowing up with new offers on the Acer which is currently at $31.

That's not how it works. The ebay fee is based on the total of the item price, the shipping price, and the sales tax (plus 30 cents). If you sell the item for $1 and charge $100 shipping the fee is exactly the same as if you sell the item for $101 with "free" shipping.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I didn't know that and here I thought that I was getting a little slick with eBay, lol. That's good to know. Thanks for pointing this out.

[disneysteve]

I didn't know that and here I thought that I was getting a little slick with eBay, lol. That's good to know. Thanks for pointing this out.

It used to work that way years ago, but they had to change it because of people doing just what you suggested to evade fees. So now the fee is based on the total payment processed - sale price, tax, and shipping.

[disneysteve]

I had 3 days last week (11/15-11/17) when I made zero sales. It's always discouraging when that happens even though I know it won't last. Well the next 4 days certainly made up for it. Since 11/18 I've made 14 sales including 7 today (so far) totaling over $250. I'll take it.

[disneysteve]

Since 11/18 I've made 14 sales including 7 today (so far) totaling over $250. I'll take it.

23 sales since 11/18 now of $444 total. Holiday shopping is in full swing.

I hope buyers don't order things too far into December expecting to have them in time for Christmas. Amazon has trained people to expect things to come in 1 or 2 days when normal non-Amazon shipping takes a lot longer than that, especially around the holidays. I wouldn't count on anything bought after about 12/16 arriving in time.

[QuarterMillionMan]

My Acer 15.6" laptop core i5 (8th gen) sold for $102, this is why I don't wait until the wheels fall off. I paid $350 for it new in 2019 at Micro Center.

[disneysteve]

My Acer 15.6" laptop core i5 (8th gen) sold for $102

Nice.

I actually have 2 laptops I don't need. Both were my cousin's. One was his old one that he had replaced probably within a year before he died and the other is the new one. I have no use for either. I really ought to figure out how to wipe the drives and sell them.

I did list his iPhone on ebay the other day. No takers yet but I'm sure someone will buy it eventually. I also have my daughter's old iPhone that I need to list.

[disneysteve]

QuarterMillionMan How did you fully wipe the hard drive on the laptop before you sold it? I know you can do a factory reset but that doesn't actually clear the data from the drive. A hacker can still recover it.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Now you got me sweating. I did about 5 "restore to factory settings." Also, that laptop wasn't my financial or banking laptop although I did use it at times to buy things online. I hope the buyer is not smart enough to get my credit card transactions.

[disneysteve]

I did list his iPhone on ebay the other day. No takers yet but I'm sure someone will buy it eventually. I also have my daughter's old iPhone that I need to list.

It just sold. Only $35 but it was a 1st gen SE so pretty old. I'm happy with that. That's in line with comps. My daughter's 7 should go for about $80 (though I don't have the box or accessories. I will include the Otterbox case but can't actually say that in the listing because Otterbox is very particular about people reselling their products and I'm not willing to risk my account on it. I'll just say "name brand case" in the listing but not mention the brand or show a photo that identifies it.

[QuarterMillionMan]

You were right disneysteve that the shipping through eBay is heavily discounted. FedEx's website had shown $25 but through eBay it's $15, so my $35 shipping netted me an extra $20.

[disneysteve]

You were right disneysteve that the shipping through eBay is heavily discounted. FedEx's website had shown $25 but through eBay it's $15, so my $35 shipping netted me an extra $20.

Sometimes I’ll give the buyer a partial refund in situations like that but not always. They agreed to pay the listed price so no refund is required or expected. There is actually a setting on eBay to pass along the discounted rate but I don’t do that.

Just as an example, I sold a rather large item the other day with calculated shipping. The buyer paid about $67 postage. The box ended up being smaller than I had estimated and my actual shipping cost was only $18. I sent her a $40 refund so I still made an extra $9 which helps cover my packing materials and fees. I don’t refund when it’s a small difference but in this case I felt it was appropriate. $49 extra is a lot.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Nice to have money coming in rather than only going out. Prior to eBay selling for me it felt like I was always throwing out the baby with the bath water giving away my belongings or donating or dumping my things. Now if something I feel can fetch some money it gets listed on eBay, even if I can only $5 for an item it gets listed eBay. Oh prior to eBay I used to list my belongings on Craigslist which is good also but eBay is easiest and safest.