Is Your eBay Merchandise Worthy of You?

Enough about me, let’s talk about you.

Look at what you’ve got going for you: a computer (or access to one), the
skills to use it and some hard-won knowledge about how eBay works.

Now let me ask you: Is your eBay merchandise worthy of you?

I’m looking at an eBay seller who has 25 cent thingies in her Store, with 75
cent shipping. Hokay. What are her costs?

• 5 cents for a Store listing.

• 3 cents FVF (Final Value Fee).

• PayPal transaction fee is 30 cents plus 1.9 to 2.9 cents…let’s just call it 33 cents.

• Say 5 cents for the envelope, 39 cents for postage

And what have we got? Assuming she got this thing for free, a 15 cent profit.

Not so fast.

With 142 items in her eBay Store, this thingie must pay its own way. A basic
Store is $15.95 a month, so the thingie has an 11 cent load to bear. Oh dear.
Our profit is now just 4 cents.

But surely if you sell enough and it takes only seconds to address this thing
and drop it in the mail…

Our seller received 113 feedbacks in the last 30 days. Assuming a 50% laziness
rate, let’s say that makes 226 sales. 226 times 4 cents.

Oh, you look. I’m afraid to.

$9.04 for one month’s work.

When I meet a seller like this, I ask why they work so hard for so little
return. “It’s fun!” is a typical response, or “I’m just trying to get rid of
this stuff.”

My responses are “Wouldn’t it be more fun to make some serious money selling
something people want, and doing it with the same amount of work?” and “Lot
this stuff up, take a bunch of pictures, and have one listing that starts at 99
cents.”

Guys, eBay was trying to tell you something a few months back when they
revamped Stores fees. The results are in: You didn’t listen. Only 6% of
Stores closed.

I try to avoid making pigskin prognostications, but look for
Store fees to go up again, perhaps next spring, and continue going up until the
math-impaired among you finally get It.

fLufF