Selling on-line, fees are getting too high!

[CRUSADER]

I'm just realizing actually how difficult it is to make money on-line selling cards. Between the Paypal and eBay fees you have to pay, it is nearly impossible to make money.

Can someone tell me what % paypal takes from total payment?

Selling a card ebay, they take listing fee, plus 10% of final sell fee, correct? On top of that, do they take a percent of the shipping fee as well? It looks like it to me? Can someone explain this?

[asujbl]

Nearly impossible to make money? Really?

[quobbinnobbin]

I sold a few cards on ebay about 6 months ago for the very first time. I made the mistake of getting suckered in with the "50 free listing fees" promo so I thought I'd just have to pay the paypal fees. I didn't realize I would still have to pay 10% on the back end on anything that sells. That invoice at the end of the month had me confused and upset. Make no mistake - it was my fault for not reading the fine print. I don't remember having to pay anything extra with shipping though. Selling online:
convenient? Yes. Bit of a ripoff? Yes.

[njdunkin1]

After everything, eBay takes about 11% and PayPal takes about 3.5 (roughly). In order to clear any significant profit, you have to sell a card before fees for about 25% more than you paid for it. Anything less typically is not worth one's time in my book.

[mlbfan10]

I sold a few cards on ebay about 6 months ago for the very first time. I made the mistake of getting suckered in with the "50 free listing fees" promo so I thought I'd just have to pay the paypal fees. I didn't realize I would still have to pay 10% on the back end on anything that sells. That invoice at the end of the month had me confused and upset. Make no mistake - it was my fault for not reading the fine print. I don't remember having to pay anything extra with shipping though. Selling online:
convenient? Yes. Bit of a ripoff? Yes.
Listing fee and final value fees are different. You will always pay final value fees.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[Alienyouth007]

Its best to try and sell here or facebook if you can help it. the ebay fees suck

[corndog]

I and many others have profited quite well on Ebay for years.

[eb12057]

I have no advice for you. I pay to much, and sell to low for the most part.

[dolphinsdude]

When I started on ebay the FVF was under 5% and shipping in a bubble mailer was under a buck. Those were the good ol' days.

[Doodlegrass]

ebay waters down the market for cards, so then they sell for less, but ebay continues to increase its cut, then you must use paypal, which takes its cut PLUS 30 cents for every transaction. Then you go on the forums to avoid the ebay fees, and for it to sell there, you then have to be 20% lower than ebay to sell it in a reasonable amount of time, which gives you 10% less profit than selling on ebay. Hard to win at that game unless you are paying pennies on the dollar for your inventory, or have enough cash flow from elsewhere to sit on cards for a long time. Football is probably the worst to try and make money from because you have a smaller buyer base, less predictable players, fewer superstars, playing once per week, shorter windows to perform or be replaced and shorter careers dont give you the luxury of holding cards hoping fo turn a profit. Its rough.

[bronxbombers14]

I mean, the other alternative is to open a store... I think the overhead may be a little more expensive then 10%

[Branesergen]

I mean, the other alternative is to open a store... I think the overhead may be a little more expensive then 10%

Or anything else for that matter lol Even at 15% ebay/PayPal is the cheapest, most secure form of selling.

[quobbinnobbin]

Listing fee and final value fees are different. You will always pay final value fees.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Yeah I found that out the hard way. Live and learn.

[cardking739]

As of May 1st ebay is switching up policies that I didn't read over completely but looked once again to help the buyers, not sellers

[IronMonkey415]

I do okay on Ebay.
I usually use them when rats..RATS ON THIS SITE, say they will pay and then never do.

I rub it all over their face by telling them I sold it on ebay cheaper and that they missed out and then I put them on my ignore list.

<drop mic>

[Grid]

I sell on ebay when I don't care what money I make, I just want the cards gone. You sell fast, you put your stuff in front of the largest market in the world for sports cards, and you are done with it.

So I'm not trying to make a profit, I'm moving stuff I just don't want. If you want more, and can wait, use COMC and hope the right buyer comes along.

[fazzle]

How I imagine OP

http://insider.foxnews.com/sites/insider.foxnews.com/files/styles/780/public/mcmillan.jpg

[sportscardsnow]

I just reviewed my most recent ebay sales report and between Ebay and PayPal my fee percentage of sales was 14.9 percent (10.1 Ebay and 4.8 PayPal). That is with an anchor store, top rated seller status and PayPal merchant account.

The paypal .30 cent fee per transaction adds about another 1.5% to the fees at my volume of sales per month. Plus they charge more for international orders.

Top rated sellers will soon (not sure when this year) receive a cut in their discount from 20% to 10% (FVF) according to ebay. Also FVF fees will be going up for non top rated sellers by close to 5% so I would think their total fees would be close to or over 20% when the change occurs.

[majestik101]

You're just now figuring this out? 99% of my "sales" are done on Facebook. Started doing that last year. Haven't looked back since.

[brentandbecca]

I just reviewed my most recent ebay sales report and between Ebay and PayPal my fee percentage of sales was 14.9 percent (10.1 Ebay and 4.8 PayPal). That is with an anchor store, top rated seller status and PayPal merchant account.

The paypal .30 cent fee per transaction adds about another 1.5% to the fees at my volume of sales per month. Plus they charge more for international orders.

Top rated sellers will soon (not sure when this year) receive a cut in their discount from 20% to 10% (FVF) according to ebay. Also FVF fees will be going up for non top rated sellers by close to 5% so I would think their total fees would be close to or over 20% when the change occurs.

top rated sellers cut changes next month to 10% (and we now have more hoops to jump thru and higher %'s to deal with on shipping; not to mention the new guaranteed delivery that will be rolling out this summer OR shipping refunded AND buyer may returned due to arriving late)

PLUS paypal JUST eliminated the merchant discount rates a week ago, so now everyone, regardless of volume is at 2.9% + the 30 cents
that hit me hard too at my volume

[chris_ac]

How many here actually pay listing fees? I haven't paid a listing fee in ages. And I'm not a regular seller either. I don't sell enough to qualify anyways even though they asked a few years back if I wanted to be a top seller.

[majestik101]

I do okay on Ebay.
I usually use them when rats..RATS ON THIS SITE, say they will pay and then never do.

I rub it all over their face by telling them I sold it on ebay cheaper and that they missed out and then I put them on my ignore list.

<drop mic>

I like that strategy. Do you mind if I use it? Or is it "patent pending".

[Siberian13]

You're just now figuring this out? 99% of my "sales" are done on Facebook. Started doing that last year. Haven't looked back since.

How would one sell on facebook? It would be new to me. In the past, you mentioned you joined a group you can trust. Is there a lot of scamming issues on FB too?

[majestik101]

How would one sell on facebook? It would be new to me. In the past, you mentioned you joined a group you can trust. Is there a lot of scamming issues on FB too?

Basically it's an inclusive group of buyers/sellers. The group I belong to is made up of about 50 people and we all basically trade amongst ourselves.... Gotta build up some trades first. Our group had a requirement of 15+ trades before you could sell. It's up to 20+ trades now. Then we'll open it up to sales.

Plus we have a rule, no trades/sales done outside of a 200 mile radius. Some transactions may only occur face to face (depending on the card). No out of state sales, it's just less drama that way.

Certain FB groups do things differently, I know our group is strict compared to others out there. Just keep in mind, not all FB groups are trustworthy, a lot of them are super shady and looking to steal peoples cards. Good Luck!

[quobbinnobbin]

Anybody been around online long enough to remember when you could sell for free on Beckett's site?

[pgisback]

If you want to know how much you need to sell a card to make a certain percentage after paypal and ebay fees, use this equation. And yes ebay takes a final value fee off shipping as well. People would just charge ridiculous shipping fees to avoid paying the FVF.

.3 = Paypal Fee
Make it .6 if you have a $.30 ebay listing fee.

((WhatYouWantToSellItForWithoutFees)+shipping+.3)/.871

Or

(WhatYouPaid*(1+ROI)+shipping+.3)/.871

It is pretty ridiculous. If you want to sell a card and keep $20 from the sale you'd need to sell it for $26.75.

[Dielon]

How I imagine OP

http://insider.foxnews.com/sites/insider.foxnews.com/files/styles/780/public/mcmillan.jpg

I knew someone was going to reference this.

[vikingsilver]

15% in fees is extremely cheap considering what eBay offers you. They have MILLIONS of buyers that you are offering your goods to. Try going to an auction house and see what the percentages are...and that's just for the 50 people in the room that can buy it.

[twisty571]

Anybody been around online long enough to remember when you could sell for free on Beckett's site?

When it was like this site basically? Yes,now I go there look at it a close browser or look at POP reports:)!

[hermanotarjeta]

You have to take into consideration that the fees you are paying is to pay for the advertising and exposure that eBay offers you.

In other words, your card is being publicly offered to tens of millions of people, granted, only about 3 of those people would actually be interested in purchasing it at any price.

[asujbl]

Profit is such a relative term as well...

If I sell a $350 card does it suck I only get $300? Sure...

But you have no idea if I paid $325 for that card or $225

The latter? Oh shucks I only made $75 instead of $125... I still made profit

[hermanotarjeta]

Try selling your cards from your front porch - you may not get many looks, but hey - NO FEES!!!

[rman112]

15% in fees is extremely cheap considering what eBay offers you. They have MILLIONS of buyers that you are offering your goods to. Try going to an auction house and see what the percentages are...and that's just for the 50 people in the room that can buy it.

Bitching and moaning about eBay/PP fees on here is a time honored tradition.

It's funny.. I've tried selling many items on here in the past, at more than fair prices. Many times, I ended up getting frustrated and putting them on eBay because everyone wanted a HEAVY discount (ya know, to combat the fees!). Most of the time I ended up selling for way more on eBay, fees included.

[rman112]

Also, OP, you have 424 auctions currently up, and 139 sold (that are showing), yet you don't know what you're paying eBay for fees?

https://img.memesuper.com/d00191a1cbda8e417570265b0fa761c9_cmon-son-cris-carter-is-mad-chris-carter-cmon-man-meme_636-358.png

[CRUSADER]

Also, OP, you have 424 auctions currently up, and 139 sold (that are showing), yet you don't know what you're paying eBay for fees?

https://img.memesuper.com/d00191a1cbda8e417570265b0fa761c9_cmon-son-cris-carter-is-mad-chris-carter-cmon-man-meme_636-358.png

It seems as they are taking more sales fees everytime I turn around. One graph shows me one thing, another graph shows me something else. lol. I like the C'mon Man picture though!

[Frankp2311]

I don't believe this is a serious post. Think he's trolling everyone.

[RogerGodahell]

Get rich or die tryin'

[RogerGodahell]

5qm8PH4xAss

[CoolG]

Nearly impossible to make money? Really?

If selling singles it's not that big of a deal but if you sell cases it's tough.
Selling a $750 case will cost you over $125 in fees and ship. Doesn't leave much for a profit in most instances.

[jhuch]

Some of us old timers use to sell on the AOL forums. Payment was a check in the mail and a SASE was a common way of shipping a card.

[RogerGodahell]

I remember in the old days we used to use telegraph and pony express. Ahh those were the good ol' days...wish i still had a few of those H. Wagners.

[trixstar]

I can remember when we had to etch cards on stone from the description we received on papyrus delivered by Ravens.

[Stat Monsters]

Figure you need to make 25% over what you paid for the item, just to break-even.

15% goes to eBay and Pay Pal

10% goes towards the overhead of your time, shipping/packaging materials, etc.

The secret or not so-secret is to get a high return on investment by selling items where your acquisition costs are low.

If you buy singles to flip quickly that are hot, odds you'll lose.

If you buy singles as speculative buys to hold and sell later, be cautious, otherwise you'll find only 1 of 10 players you scouted out are worth anything.

If you bust wax (packs, boxes and cases) odds are you'll spend more money on the cards, you'll recoup some of your gambling costs on a few cards, still take a loss and get stuck with a bunch of garbage cards you'll never be able to sell.

The best cards to buy are high grade hall of fame players who've retired, and especially autographed cards of these legends. Not every HOF'er is expensive, you can look 'em up yourself, and find there's so many hidden gem opportunities.

[nman84]

And if you do turn a profit, don't forget Uncle Sam

[sportscardsnow]

I have a website with big commerce and they have negotiated a 2.2% +.30c rate with paypal for their customers (my fees to sell there are about 6% of sales total but with a smaller market size than ebay can reach). I Feel like eBay should be negotiating with paypal also for their sellers now that the two companies have split. Doubt they will though.