Many people that we deal with make extra income from sites like Ebay or affiliate sites like Amazon. Whether you have a stay at home business or are trying to make some extra money selling on ebay here are a few tips if you sell items online.
Ebay’s Pricing Structure
If you are selling items on ebay you need to understand there pricing structure before you start to list. Many people waste a lot of money throwing it down the tubes due to the fact that they do not have a listing strategy. What do I mean? If you are selling a Derek Jeter cards and you are not sure at what price to start the auction at you will need to consider a few factors. There are free ebay auction calculators which will help you find out what ebay will charge if the card sells for a certain price. These calculators will give you the insertion fees, final value fees and paypal fees if the person pays through paypal. These calculators can be very helpful to see what is the right listing price to start an auction as well as what you need to get for the item to make a profit.
Know all Costs
Now that you know how much it will cost you to sell a Graded Comic Book or Babe Ruth Card you need to figure out your shipping cost, Shipping supplies and time. Shipping fees can add up quickly. We recommend that if you sell the same type of products over and over that you package one up and figure out what it will cost to ship it across the United States. You can do this on the Unites States Postal Services web site. Also consider the packaging of the product. Does it cost $1.25 for a box and another .50 for the popcorn. Know your total shipping fees. This will give you an accurate way to figure out if you are making money.
Calculating Profit on ebay
Here is the formula for calculating your real profit on an ebay item
Sales Price – Cost of Item- ebay fees – paypal fees- Shipping Supplies Cost- Shipping Fees = Profit!
Real Example
You sell an Autograph Michael Jackson Photo for $99.00. It Cost you $45 to buy the item a few years ago. Lets calculate your profit.
Sales Price ($99) – Cost of Item ($45) – Ebay Fees ($1.65 list+$6.85 final value fees) – Paypal Fees ($3.35)- Shipping Supplies ($1.10)- Cost to Ship 3.25) = $37.80
Most people would see the sales price and say they made $55.00. Pretty big difference.