how this guy make any money ?

Ilovecards · February 6, 2014 12:52PM

charges 50 cents a card to ship ? and like starts at one penny on some cards. With fees,time to list, is he in the whole like a dollar or so on each item ?

ebay listings

fiveniner · February 6, 2014 9:47PM

I have started Vintage sets at .99 cents with excellent returns.I once started a 63 kaline in poor/fr condition at a penny and did got much more than I thought I could.You just never know.

jeffcbay · February 6, 2014 10:01PM

He's only in the hole $0.34, but yeah that seems like a lot of work to be in the hole. If you do it right you never have to pay listing fees.

I sell cheap cards too but I at least clear a minimum of $0.81 per card. I know it doesn't sound like a lot but when you have 900+ cards listed it adds up.

billwaltonsbeard · February 6, 2014 10:05PM

he makes it all up selling those rubber stamps

coachnip13 · February 6, 2014 10:06PM

"Only" in the hole .34? The OP's point is why would you sell anything at a loss? Why not throw it away and just go fishing?

fur72 · February 6, 2014 10:09PM

I see a lot of people like this. My guess is the card is shipped in a PWE or some type of greeting card. But you are correct the $1.00 sales will not generate you much profit anymore.

Edit to add I have been looking for a VTG FIELD & STREAM SHEEPSKIN SUEDE LEATHER MARLBORO MAN WESTERN RANCH COAT 40. Need something to wear to the National Pimp convention

cardbender · February 6, 2014 11:41PM

On some cheaper cards, it's often best to just give them away or throw them away.

Think of your time being more valuable than scanning, listing, packaging, answering messages, leaving feedback, etc....
on penny cards.

miwlvrn · February 7, 2014 12:41AM

I've noticed a couple sellers who started taking small losses on low price items after they got a star ding or two in order to "buy" enough feedback to quickly restore their selling fee discounts.

mlbfan2 · February 7, 2014 12:55AM

<< "Only" in the hole .34? The OP's point is why would you sell anything at a loss? Why not throw it away and just go fishing? >>

It's an auction, so the sale price is unknown beforehand. If he knew he'd definitely lose money on an item, I'm guessing he would not have auctioned it. Also, due to buyers buying more than one card, maybe he's making a small profit overall.

mtcards · February 7, 2014 1:18AM

Maybe he steals stamps from his day job, ships in a PWE and pockets the 50 cents shipping and final bid price.

Aric · February 7, 2014 2:27AM

Paypal offers a service they call micropayments. The fee is 5% instead of the normal 25cents plus 2.9% so in your examples his paypal fees would be 3cents and 5cents. I have two paypal accounts and direct any low-dollar payments to my micropayment account and everything else to my normal account.

Paypal Micropayments

coachnip13 · February 7, 2014 2:48AM

<< 

It's an auction, so the sale price is unknown beforehand. If he knew he'd definitely lose money on an item, I'm guessing he would not have auctioned it. Also, due to buyers buying more than one card, maybe he's making a small profit overall. >>

That's absurd. Start the auction at the minimum price at which you make a profit. If your break even price is .90, start it at .91. I can't imagine listing an item, buying a stamp, mailing a card, etc., only to see my PayPal balance go down.

coachnip13 · February 7, 2014 3:04AM

<< Paypal offers a service they call micropayments. The fee is 5% instead of the normal 25cents plus 2.9% so in your examples his paypal fees would be 3cents and 5cents. I have two paypal accounts and direct any low-dollar payments to my micropayment account and everything else to my normal account.

Paypal Micropayments >>

I'm seeing that it is only available for digital products. Is there a way around this?

mlbfan2 · February 7, 2014 3:07AM

<< 

<< 

It's an auction, so the sale price is unknown beforehand. If he knew he'd definitely lose money on an item, I'm guessing he would not have auctioned it. Also, due to buyers buying more than one card, maybe he's making a small profit overall. >>

That's absurd. Start the auction at the minimum price at which you make a profit. If your break even price is .90, start it at .91. I can't imagine listing an item, buying a stamp, mailing a card, etc., only to see my PayPal balance go down. >>

No. Check his feedback. Lots of buyers are buying multiple cards.

People that own stocks lose money on some of them. Some supermarkets sell milk at a loss, and some gas stations sometimes sell gas at a loss. All that matters is how you do overall. He's has 3,089 sold listing - some over $50. He loses money on some. Why would you care? If it's ever a problem for him, he'll stop doing it.

CNote · February 7, 2014 3:14AM

<< 

<< 

It's an auction, so the sale price is unknown beforehand. If he knew he'd definitely lose money on an item, I'm guessing he would not have auctioned it. Also, due to buyers buying more than one card, maybe he's making a small profit overall. >>

That's absurd. Start the auction at the minimum price at which you make a profit. If your break even price is .90, start it at .91. I can't imagine listing an item, buying a stamp, mailing a card, etc., only to see my PayPal balance go down. >>

Then, sell how you want to sell. You have know idea what's going on behind the scenes for this seller, so for all you know he/she is doing just fine. Your criticism makes you sound like a former member here that adored the year 1979.

hyperchipper09 · February 7, 2014 5:09AM

Maybe he's in it for the fun of it. Profit or loss be damned

telephoto1 · February 7, 2014 5:20AM

My time has too much value to jerk around with something that nets pennies. You're taking time to photograph, describe, list and ship something only to essentially give it away? No thank you. We have a rule that if it isn't expected to bring at least $20 it doesn't get listed. Cheap stuff goes in a lot or more likely it doesn't get listed at all. Also, cheap items=cheap buyers=more problems. It's been proven time and again. No thanks.

Ilovecards · February 7, 2014 6:55AM

<< Maybe he's in it for the fun of it. Profit or loss be damned >>

lol

I cannot imagine anything more horrible than listing on Ebay.

psychump · February 7, 2014 7:16AM

At least he charges for shipping.

hyperchipper09 · February 7, 2014 7:37AM

<< 

<< Maybe he's in it for the fun of it. Profit or loss be damned >>

lol

I cannot imagine anything more horrible than listing on Ebay. >>

I don't sell on eBay and just recently made my first purchase one there. May make another this year, may not. It's too much trouble in my estimation. In my mind the bad outweighs the good by far, and the risk / reward for me isn't skewed in my favor. Who knows, maybe he's d.icking - around for the hell of it. God only knows what his motives are. Just one theory

mknez · February 7, 2014 10:10AM

Maybe he lists just to sell at a loss so that he complain on the ebay boards that he's losing money selling on ebay.

Maybe. Maybe not.

Ilovecards · February 7, 2014 10:27AM

<< Maybe he lists just to sell at a loss so that he complain on the ebay boards that he's losing money selling on ebay.

Maybe. Maybe not. >>

lol lol

coachnip13 · February 7, 2014 9:02PM

<< 

No. Check his feedback. Lots of buyers are buying multiple cards.

People that own stocks lose money on some of them. Some supermarkets sell milk at a loss, and some gas stations sometimes sell gas at a loss. All that matters is how you do overall. He's has 3,089 sold listing - some over $50. He loses money on some. Why would you care? If it's ever a problem for him, he'll stop doing it. >>

Wow, what awful examples. Stores sell milk at a loss because they have to sell milk. No way around it. Selling milk ensures that people will walk in and buy milk AND their profitable items. The stock thing is completely irrelevant.

I care for the same reason you cared about my post.

coachnip13 · February 7, 2014 9:03PM

<< Your criticism makes you sound like a former member here that adored the year 1979. >>

And that'll make me lose sleep.

mlbfan2 · February 7, 2014 11:33PM

<< 

<< 

No. Check his feedback. Lots of buyers are buying multiple cards.

People that own stocks lose money on some of them. Some supermarkets sell milk at a loss, and some gas stations sometimes sell gas at a loss. All that matters is how you do overall. He's has 3,089 sold listing - some over $50. He loses money on some. Why would you care? If it's ever a problem for him, he'll stop doing it. >>

Wow, what awful examples. Stores sell milk at a loss because they have to sell milk. No way around it. Selling milk ensures that people will walk in and buy milk AND their profitable items. The stock thing is completely irrelevant.
>>

Ha ha. The stock thing is a perfect example. No one cares if they lose money occasionally - it's how much they make overall.

BTW, stores don't have to sell milk at a loss. Some sell it for a profit, and some don't. "No way around it"? lol

coachnip13 · February 8, 2014 12:03AM

<< 

Ha ha. The stock thing is a perfect example. No one cares if they lose money occasionally - it's how much they make overall.

BTW, stores don't have to sell milk at a loss. Some sell it for a profit, and some don't. "No way around it"? lol >>

Stock example is terrible. You don't buy some with the expectation that it's going to lose money. When you start a common card at .01, it's going to lose money. It's dumb to list it.

No one said that stores have to sell milk at a loss. I said they have to sell milk. There's no way around that. And some don't mind selling it at a loss, because selling it ensures that people will come in. If you're going to respond, at least get my words right. Sound good, champ?

Gemyanks10 · February 8, 2014 12:06AM

Where's Maurice when you need him?

Estil · February 8, 2014 2:33AM

On the other extreme, I don't get how the granddaddy of all dealers (Firisich's) stayed in business...maybe in the past they were different but their prices were/are high!

telephoto1 · February 10, 2014 12:33AM

You want nice fresh oats, you get to pay a fresh oats price.
You want oats that have already been through the horse... well that comes a little cheaper.

itzagoner · February 10, 2014 12:39AM

<< Where's Maurice when you need him? >>

cornfield.

akuracy503 · February 10, 2014 2:40AM

I was thinking if dealers who list thousands of $1 cards from box rips could benefit from the loss category when it comes to filing taxes.

jeffcbay · February 10, 2014 2:56AM

I can scan and list about 100 cards in a four hour period... I do it all the time... if I have a stack of 100 cards and I can net $1 per card on them, why would I not want to make $100? I scan and list cards on ebay in the evening when my wife and I are watching TV. Time that I usually spend doing nothing else anyway, so why not make money while doing it? That's my thought process, anyway. I honestly can't relate to the guy who's taking a loss though.

beydoun · February 10, 2014 7:27AM

Maybe McDonalds wasn't hiring in his area. He would do much better, per hour, than listing cards like that.

how this guy make any money ?

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