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eBay Selling and pricing tactics
PmanFL
Posts: 100 ✭
Just wanted to get some feedback on eBay Selling especially on the low priced cards under $5.00. What’s working for pricing? Higher price and free shipping? Lower price but charge shipping? Buyers are so smart
Nowadays. Thanks for any feedback. Happy New Year. Pman
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I know that many people sell/list cards under $5 and I'm sure do well with a lot of them. I just can't bring myself to list anything under $4.99. It's too much work for such a small amount. Heck, I don't like to list anything under $9.99, but that's just me. That being said, I did just purchase a single, raw card to complete a set. It was $1 and $1 shipping. Came in a regular envelope in a card saver.
Thanks for the feedback. I’m trying to unload the bottom priced stuff and then get to a higher price pointmyself. I don’t mind sending in a regular envelope with card saver but i keep getting burned when i don’t send with a tracking number, so many people claim they “didn’t get” the mailed item. Shipping in bubble envelope with tracking is approx $2.77 so i have to do that.
As someone who very rarely sells on ebay, I tend to steer clear of sellers that are padding their shipping costs, even if the totals are the same. If someone is selling an item for $4.99 w/ free shipping and another person the same item for $1.50 w/ $3.50 shipping I'm ALWAYS going with free shipping.
I usually have no problem with a CS1 and a PWE but you damn well better make sure I know in advance that that's how you're shipping it to me so I can make the decision on my own whether I want to go that route. I think most people are reasonable as long as you are up front and transparent with them. It's when sellers try to sneak one by the buyer that people really get pissed.
Arthur
any ungraded card i sell under $10 gets shipped in a PWE. i'll put each card in a toploader,inside a team bag,then taped between two cardboard inserts cut to fit perfectly inside the envelope so there won't be any sliding. I recommend just charging the $3 shipping so you get tracking and not have to deal with stuff "getting lost"
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
Thanks. So what is more appealing then; .99 + $3.00 shipping or $3.99 free shipping? Or on a $5.00 item, .99 + $4.00 shipping
Or just $4.99 shipped? That’s what I’m trying to better understand. Pman
I have been shipped numerous items in a PWE, and have received them every single time with no issues. However, there are multiple videos on YouTube about the USPS letter sorting machine operations, and if you watch some of the 180 degree turns that the letter must go through, you'd wonder how any of it ever makes it through without damage.
If I were shipping in a PWE, a card saver or toploader would be my method, but to each his own. It sounds counterintuitive, but you want the contents of a PWE to be as pliable as possible. The thicker and more rigid that you make the contents inside the PWE, the higher the likelihood of jamming inside the postal equipment, and perhaps damaging the cards by stopping in mid turn on the flywheel or jammed inside the gate to the sorting bin. Despite what you may think, writing "Hand Cancel" or "Do Not Bend" on the outside has absolutely zero effect, as human eyes likely never see those markings until the carrier is delivering the letter, long after it's been through the machine the 4 or 5 or more times necessary to be sorted to your address.
Having said that, I prefer to both send and receive cards in a padded envelope, with reinforced cardboard around the contents, with tracking.
As a buyer, I just prefer the seller be transparent in their shipping methods. If you're going to mail it to me on the cheap, that should be reflected both in the description and in the price charged. I do take into account the cost of materials and time. I just don't want to feel gouged.
Also, as a buyer, if the card is $1 plus $3.50 or $4 shipping, with tracking, and free or minimal additional charge for a certain number of extra cards, then I will browse the seller's other items and perhaps make an impulse purchase or search for other cards on my want list. Very rarely do I look at the seller's other items when everything is $5 with free shipping, or they charge $3 shipping for every item with no combined shipping discount. More eyes on your items increase the likelihood of sales.
I opened this last night after the mailman dropped it off. It was sealed inside a small padded envelope then sealed inside a slightly larger padded envelope with no cardboard protection in either. Luckily the damage was only to the slab and not the card. i decided to just keep it and have reholdered when i send some others to get new holders but even with the bubble envelopes there aren't any guarantees the card(s) won't be damaged.
Eric
Erikthredd’s MJ Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/publishedset/395035
Erikthredd’s Nike Air Jordan Collection: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/basketball/key-card-sets/nike-poster-cards-michael-jordan-1985-1992/alltimeset/408486
I personally think it looks better to have the "free shipping" badge than not. I also only send in a padded envelope with tracking. By going the pwe route you're asking to get taken advantage of as a seller on ebay. The lowest I'll go is .99 for the card + the $2.77 shipping, so I just list at $3.99 + free shipping, but I do factor the shipping cost into my pricing. I actually had someone leave me feedback once that said "I LOVE FREE SHIPPING!!!!!!!!" lol.
Hopefully you get a pro-rate on that from the seller? Reholder fees if at the minimum/
Strictly from my viewpoint as a buyer and mainly a vintage set builder, both raw and graded, if I need one card, then I could/would go with the seller that lists with free shipping vs the guy that lists with $4 shipping with free or minimal additional charges for additional items, but you better believe that if I'm searching for the last 6 cards in my set, or just have the itch to buy multiple cards that day, I'm buying from the second guy and bidding or BIN on lots of his other items. I'm not wasting a second looking at the hundreds of other items the guy with "free shipping" is offering.
As a seller, it is important to make it clear that you will offer combined shipping for multiple items purchased.
As a buyer, I would rather pay $3.00 for shipping than get free shipping, since almost every time I buy something with free shipping, it seems to be the seller's way of cheapening up by using a PWE with insufficient protective packaging. Usually a $3.00 shipping charge ensures that you'll get a padded bubble mailer as well as tracking info. Though it can be found, it is certainly a rare breed who ships properly w/ bubble & tracking and still has it as free.
I use a separate eBay ID for my cheap stuff. I'm not risking a neg for a $1 purchase on my primary selling account.
I charge a $3 combined flat rate for all items (well packed in a bubble envelope). It essentially covers my cost and folks who buy multiple items don't end up paying a multiple of my cost.
Always plenty of PSA-graded cards in my ebay store -- https://ebay.com/str/thelumbercompanysportscards
Something to think about and as somewhat of an aside....from a seller's perspective, there is no such thing as "free" shipping, especially for small sellers who are just collectors selling a handful of cards per year. I have less than 50 sales per year for graded cards (these are my doubles or ones I'm tired of and want to move rather than a business). One graded card in a bubble mailer and wrapped heavily with bubble wrap weighs about 4 ounces. USPS First Class shipping cost at this weight with eBay discount is $2.61. Bubble mailer cost for someone with less than 50 transactions per year where it makes no sense to buy in substantial bulk is $0.42 (Walmart sells a package of 12 #0 bubble mailers for around 5 bucks). Bubble wrap per card (not much) maybe $0.10. Tape per card, maybe $0.05. 2.61+0.42+0.10+0.05 = $3.18. If I charge $3.18, then the eBay shipping final value fee on $3.18 is 10% of $3.18 = $0.32 (yes, eBay charges the seller a final value fee of 10 percent of a shipping charge received from the buyer). That brings the total shipping charge for the seller to $3.50.
The last month or so, I have been offering free shipping on most of my cards just to move them because it seems like very few people are willing to pay for shipping anymore even though there is a real cost to ship the item. If I can't get at least 7 bucks with free shipping on an item, I don't even bother. It goes to GoodWill, or I'll bundle it up in lot if it fits with other like items. Even at $7, once you take away the $3.18 to ship, and then another $0.70 for the eBay final value fee on $7, the net at that point is $7-$3.88=$3.12. Then you add the PayPal fee of $0.30 plus 2.9% of $7, and the seller is left with $2.62. Total waste of time. The only reason I bother, is that I want the card to go to someone rather than get thrown out.
I never grumble anymore when a seller charges me $3.50 or even $4.00 to ship a card in a bubble mailer now that I know what it costs them.
Awesome Jordan by the way!
How true, especially on ebay. Yet how many people stop buying from an auction house when they charge $30-40 to ship one $250 winning lot.
I have to much S**t; so if you working on sets or are a player/team collector, send me your want list, with conditions desired. Keep in mind I have a another job so please allow me a few days to respond.
For much of the cheap stuff, it's just easier to send in to COMC than deal with shipping costs.
I charge $2.99 shipping in bubble mailer with cardboard on both side of the card for 1-4 cards
than if they purchase 5 or more cards then shipping is free for the whole order.
Also offer PWE for $1 for (1) card only at buyers risk as an option.
James
Coincidentally, one minute ago, I just received a $200+ graded card +$3 shipping in the mailbox in a #00 mailer. No bubble wrap and no cardboard protection, just a slab in the mailer. Having just read through and posted to this thread about an hour or so ago, including viewing the cracked Jordan slab above, I held my breath as I opened the mailer. Thank God the holder wasn't cracked and the card is ok.
Agreed, plus than dealing with the associated time as well. It takes the same amount of time to list and ship a $1,000 card as it does a $1 card. So, the relatively lower value items tend to pile up in the collections of many of us on the board here, where the items have too much perceived value to donate but not enough to triage their way to the top of the list when it comes to getting around to selling them instead of spending that time on other items instead.
I haven't personally sent any items to COMC yet but I do have a box I've been filling up that I mean to get to them. I think there is another thread here somewhere that details the costs with going the COMC route; if I remember correctly without finding it and rereading it, I want to say the over/under sale price was something like $2.99 (not including shipping) for a minimum on there where you'd still be able to come out in the positive after all of the associated fees and costs are taken out (and that does not take into account the cost of initial acquisition), and that is if your item actually would sell during the first month at that price instead of get stuck in a cycle of monthly storage/relist fees.
I use a top loader/sleeve & team bag in a PWE and charge 50-80 cents postage.....basically the stamp cost.
So far no issues. Of course we are talking stuff under 10 bucks.
I am actually cheap, so if a seller charges $5 with free shipping or $1.50 with $3.49 shipping, I will pay the $4.99, but thats just me, I will add the amounts and pay the cheapest. I have found that it really depends on the person, some like free shipping, some add the cheapest price, some like the low value of paying for the card without regards to shipping.
Going by ebay rates, it costs $2.61 for a card sent in a bubble mailer, roughly 16 cents buying in bulk for the mailer itself, say 7 cents for the hard cover and penny sleeve. Basically cost is $2.84 for the cost of shipping. Taking into account ebay/paypal fees of 12.9% for most of us, charging $3.25 breaks you even on shipping. Factoring in the fact that non everyone buys bubble mailers in bulk and may buy them 3 for a buck at walk mart, I can see where $3.50 is a break even for most and have no problem if the shipping is $3.50, especially since low dollar items have little room for added costs.
I had someone charge me $6 for shipping and they crammed 4 cards into two penny sleeves sent in a PWE.
Another thing to consider, and this is rare for low dollar stuff, but if for any reason you have to return an item, you don't get the shipping back. That's another reason why I'll always choose the free shipping option and stay away from seller's that weigh down their profit on the shipping side.
Arthur
Usps 1st class package shipping prices go up in jan 2018 fyi...
As swish54 said, sellers factor the "free shipping" into the listed price of their cards. Nothing is really ever free. Yeah, it's a bonus If you have to return the item or trying to accumulate eBay bucks, and if you're just buying one item that day, then, sure, the guy offering free shipping is the one to go with, all else being equal. But if you're buying multiple items from the same seller with "free shipping", you're paying for their factored in shipping expenses for each item. They surely aren't (rarely, anyway) shipping each item individually. That's the definition of padding their profit on the shipping side. If I'm hunting for multiple items, I won't even give the sellers with all of his items listed with "free shipping" even a second of my time.
I guess agree to disagree. As soon as I pay the seller with all their shipping costs and little item price tags, that money is as good as gone. They can send me a couple of farts in an envelope and there's nothing I can do to get that money back. Of course shipping is never "free," but if it's in the form of the item price than I have recourse. Like these people that sell sets for $2 and charge $18 for shipping, that has bad transaction written all over it. And when it goes south, what are you going to do? Spend $9 shipping it back to get your $2?
Arthur
Know that to make any REAL money on low end raw cards sold via the eBay marketplace, you will need to sell in high volume...which will directly translate to high work load...so it may be better to put these low end cards into segregated boxes and sell at card shows with deals if people buy more than 1. This may be both logistically easier to do and also increase sales volume. If you do sell on ebay, make sure to price each card at or below market price to ensure rapid sales, offer free shipping via PWE (state this clearly), and accept the fact your actually profit on a card that sells for $4.00 on ebay will be around $1 after all is said and done (fees, what you have into it, etc.). So to make 1000 bucks profit, you will need to sell $4000 in low end cards...which will require more than the 50 free listings ebay gives you, assuming it takes more than 30 days to sell a single $4 card. Just some thoughts...
I agree with others who said have 2-3 ebay accounts. 1 for buying, 1 for selling low end, and 1 for selling high end. This will help keep you organized and ensure your record of performance is correctly noted when buyers come looking for a specific value of card.
I guess I've been lucky in that I've purchased literally thousands of items on eBay, and never had cause to return a single item. So, until it jumps up and bites me, that aspect doesn't even factor into part of my decision. I've had a few items that were never marked as shipped, and no communication from the seller, that eventually eBay ruled in my favor and refunded my money in its entirety, but that's it. Again, maybe I've just been lucky.
Of course, I avoid those yahoos that list a $2 item with $18 shipping just as fervently as I avoid the guys with 1500 items listed, all with free shipping. I have no problem with paying $3-$6 for the first item, with everything purchased after that being free or a reasonable charge, up to $12-$15 total for a large number of graded cards. Believe me, if I buy 20 items from a guy, all with "free shipping", they better all be shipped individually, or else they better, at the very least, slip a crisp $50 bill in with my cards, because they're just padding their pockets with the built in markup to cover the "free shipping" being offered... To each his own... I guess we will indeed agree to disagree, but on a positive note for the OP, the difference of perspective and opinion will give him multiple views when deciding ultimately how he wants to list his items.
I think when my low end cards dry up I’m moving up to a higher end higher minimum selling price guy, that’s what I’ve taken from the answers. I am still confused if free shipping or charging shipping is correct on the low end stuff, so many different opinions! Happy new year all.
Just curious here, but do you indicate this desire to the seller before you purchase the items?
I think a lot of sellers factor the shipping cost into the item price and offer free shipping so that their transaction "stars" can't be dinged in that category.
Happy new year to you as well.
My take on all of the responses is that it's not worth selling low end cards on eBay. My other take is that no matter what one does, one can't please all of the people all of the time. So as a buyer or seller, I try not doing anything to them that I wouldn't want done to me.
And as a buyer and assuming no other red flags, whether I buy one item or multiple items is an economic decision. I don't really care whether or not shipping is free. If in the end, the cards are worth it at whatever the total cost is including shipping, I buy it/them.
Its true on the low end stuff that it becomes more hassle than what any money it could bring in. I have started selling a lot of my lower dollar items on sportlot auctions. Even though many times, it gets less than you might get on ebay, you dont have the fees, the BS and other issues you find on ebay, plus, since they pay you by the month, you get this nice little chunk at the end of the month instead of it trickling in (Yes, I know its the same, but mentally it feels like you made something)
Okay, now I smell what you're stepping in. I think we're in agreement.
Arthur
For older raw low end singles, it's hard to compete with the larger companies, some of whom get preferred rates from ebay. Not only that, but they also have (presumably) low wage employees working for them. So, if you try to compete as a one man band, then you ARE the low wage employee.
The cheaper the card, the cheaper the buyer, in my experience.