Options
Found a new info Ebay Store page
davids5104
Posts: 805 ✭✭✭✭
This is a page within my ebay store that talks about costs and other information when you own a store. I am not a dealer, I am actually a pharmacist as some of you know but I thought those without a store may find this interesting. I makes me sad to see 16% the overall fee.....
transactions with cucamongacoin, FHC, mtinis, bigjpst, Rob41281, toyz4geo, erwindoc, add your name here!!!
3
Comments
Yikes!
That's been around for a long time it was just in a pie chart before.
that is VERY deceptive. They include shipping costs in the 16%. The minimum shipping cost is about $3. For inexpensive items, shipping costs are sometimes 50% or more of the purchase price. Look at the one on September 4th. It looks like it's 90% shipping fee.
I sell a fair amount of under $10 items and ship everything through eBay. My percentage is usually between 9% and 10%.
Of course, PayPal is another 3% or more.
If you sell an item with shipping for $3.99, the shipping cost will be about $3. If you have a store, the FVF will be $0.24. That will show total cost as 3.24 out of $3.99 which is 81%. LOL.
In fact, if you also include the PayPal fee which is $0.30 + 2.9%, that's another $0.42. So, the total cost of the $3.99 item is $3.66.
If you sell a $10,000 item on eBay, the total fees (including PayPal) are $650 which is a very reasonable 6.5%. If you sell a $100,000 item on eBay, the total fees (including PayPal) are $3350 or a lousy 3.3%. A real bargain. But the bargain gets worse as the sale price gets smaller.
Still the best deal in town. IMHO Even if you are running 16% because of inexpensive items, the next cheapest outlet would be GC where it could cost you over 100% for items. Sell a $4 item on GC and it will cost you $5.40 to do it - although they will pay the shipping. LOL.
Honestly, you'd have a hard time selling all those under $50 items on BST for less. A $50 total purchase on BST would have $1.50 PayPal fees plus $3 shipping for a 9% total. Sell a $25 on BST, PayPal is $0.75 + $3 shipping and you are at 15%. Go under $25...well, you get the point.
It's also worth pointing out, on $184 in sales, you couldn't pay rent on a B&M. And even a privately hosted website would cost you $30ish per month+3% paypal which would be more expensive with fewer eyeballs.
Viva la eBay.
Enter @coinstartled LOL
@errorsoncoins to follow immediately after.
Although your point remains coherent, those are the net selling costs. My selling costs are around 10% all in, which is not too bad.
Professional Numismatist. "It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."
I stopped printing shipping labels through eBay for inexpensive items around 2 1/2 years ago. WAG, 1,500+ shipments later and two were never received (which can also happen if you use tracking, BTW). This cost me $25 in refunds but I saved $3,000 on shipping. Kind of a no-brainer for me. Ok- so I'm not a top rated seller anymore due to lack of tracking, but the discount on eBay fees wouldn't come close to what I saved on shipping. YMMV, as always.
Not touching this one with the Mods ban happy!
I've found this to be true also.
I tried that for a short time, but I didn't like giving stuff away for free. Just about every item I shipped that way the buyer filed an item not received claim.
I have 2 accounts. One for stamps which ship 1st class , the other for coins. You can sneak a raw coin through 1st class but technically it is supposed to be a package.
Whether the discount is worth it or not depends on your price point.
As long as it's under 1/4" thick, it doesn't have to be a package- it can go as a letter. No sneaking required.
edited to add, from the DMM:
1.0 Physical Standards for Letters
1.1 Dimensional Standards for Letters
Letter-size mail is:
a. Not less than 5 inches long, 3-1/2 inches high, and 0.007-inch thick. For pieces more than 4-1/4 inches high or 6 inches long, or both, the minimum thickness is 0.009.
b. Not more than 11-1/2 inches long, or more than 6-1/8 inches high, or more than 1/4-inch thick.
c. Not more than 3.5 ounces (First-Class Mail letter-size pieces over 3.5 ounces pay flat-size prices).
d. Rectangular, with four square corners and parallel opposite sides. Letter-size, card-type mailpieces made of cardstock may have finished corners that do not exceed a radius of 0.125 inch (1/8 inch). See Exhibit 201.1.1.1.
It definitely needs to be under a quarter inch. But the hard coin itself isn't clearly allowed in a first class LETTER. I've gotten a few back claiming they need to go parcel, although most go through.
Sure it is. Again from the DMM:
1.0 Physical Standards for Letters
1.2 Nonmachinable Criteria
A letter-size piece is nonmachinable if it has one or more of the following characteristics (see 601.1.1.2 to determine the length, height, top, and bottom of a mailpiece):
d. Contains items such as pens, pencils, keys, or coins that cause the thickness of the mailpiece to be uneven; or loose keys or coins or similar objects not affixed to the contents within the mailpiece. Loose items may cause a letter to be nonmailable when mailed in paper envelopes; (see 601.3.3).
Oh, I know what it says. Lol.
Yep, it says coins are allowed if the envelope is under 1/4" thick. I've dropped them off at the counter on occasion, and sometimes, the clerk will pull out his cardboard gauge with a 1/4" slot to check if the envelope fits through. Never had one rejected.
edited to add... I have no doubt that acceptably packaged coins get rejected at the letter rate. All USPS workers don't know all the rules, so it's bound to happen.
edited once again... At a post office I used to frequent, one of the clerks would refuse to allow me to purchase insurance for anything in a #10 envelope using the logic that, if it's in an envelope, it's a letter and you can't insure letters. I talked to the postmaster, bringing a printout of the DMM to make my case and she said "Well, that's just Bob. Why don't you go to a different clerk?" How can you argue with that?
>
Those are net sales fees, but as you all know it is hard to make money on what for the most part is readily available coins with a few treasures scattered in without taking a hit on the common coins here and now.
[Ebay Store - Come Visit]
Roosevelt Registry
transactions with cucamongacoin, FHC, mtinis, bigjpst, Rob41281, toyz4geo, erwindoc, add your name here!!!
Sorry, you are correct. I stand (well, sit) corrected.