How do ebay sellers sell low priced items?

[bigcasey123]

I'm trying so hard to find stuff to sell but the shipping cost keeps killing my profit (if i make the buyer pay then i lose clients and if i higher my prices i still lose clients). I'm going for low priced items (manly because they sell more and faster) but with shipping at 1.93 and fees at 0.60 cents (this is ebay and pp fees added together) i can't do it.

Right now i'm sell acne products (actually just 1 product) and i have been shipping with letter mail (2 stamps and a envelope which cuts shipping by 0.95) but i need more items to sell!

How do ebay sellers sell items for a buck? i see people selling phone chargers for $1.63 with free shipping and even if they made the chargers themselves and lowered their pp/ebay fees they still would lose 90% of their profit to shipping (unless they're paying 90 cent shipping which i doubt is possible).

I don't want answers like "they're losing money" because that's stupid and untrue. If they sell 16k chargers and make 0 to negative profit their business would be in major debt.

[Bunneh]

Lots and lots and lots of research!!

People list cheap items for different reasons.
For example on a new account you would probably go to the dollar store or dollar tree and and get the $1 items to build up ratings and increase limits. Even if it means losing money on postage. It is worth it in the long run.
Also Buying from wholesalers in large bulk often makes things cheaper.

There are also shipping companies which give you discount when mailing larger quantities which enables them to offer it to postage cheaper.

[BigCJ]

they're losing money

And its not a stupid answer at all.

You need to spend money to make money.

They buy things in bulk to build their feedback, raise their limits and to sell higher end items and make their profit back on other things.

This is the basics of any business.

The reputation aspect of it means everything.

[yankee]

In order to save endangered account this month, we will push through thousands of items at a loss. probably loose 10k this month on that account. Better than loosing the account.

I did very well last year selling items at tiny margins. Oftentimes just a dollar per item in profit, but selling many hundreds of them a day. Keep in mind that that is profit $1.00 per item after my shippers get paid, packaging, fees, etc...

[glacier922]

How do you lose an account if you don't sell thousands? They reduce your limits if you don't use then?

[yankee]

Originally Posted by glacier922

How do you lose an account if you don't sell thousands? They reduce your limits if you don't use then?

Need transactions to offset low DSR on a stale account, meaning it is the off season for this accounts product and the manager of the account slipped up due to lack of focus so has a 2.1 DSR in shipping and that puts the account below standard and a 21 day hold. because the account has been stale two months, it is back to the 12 month review. the only way to get it above standard is to max it out. So the manager will bust his but this month at a loss because of his laziness last month. Better than loosing the account of this size.

[Lost in the Supermarket]

Ask yourself.....do you want a lot of transactions or a lot of profit?

Either is a legit reason..

# transactions gives lots of FB, buildup of limits, fix bad DSR/FB ratings......

I made a decision at one time to sell fewer items at $20 profit per rather than 10 times as many items at $2 profit per. Same bottom line and much easier to ship 5 items per day.

[MM78]

This reminds me of SuperMarkets, they drop the price on certain things but make it back on other items, in the end it all evens out.

For example, I have an item I use for feedback strictly...I know I can make a profit but I choose to break-even and get that feedback which is like "Gold" for us eBay sellers.

[vogeltron]

Sometimes you gotta sell stuff at a loss or whatever. Either just to get rid of it or to pad your feedback & DSRs.

In many cases it isn't always the worst idea. I know on my main account I have quite a few items that I basically just break even on but sell over and over again because I can basically get 5 star feedback across the board on every member that actually leaves feedback.

Everyone once in a while I have damaged items or defective things. I just throw at for .99 cents 7 day listings to get rid of. So many members are right. The game eBay plays is it doesn't matter if you get a positive feedback on a $2,000 item. It counts the same in many aspects as a positive feedback on a $2 item. So you have to play their game. Most of us who have been around for a while have just learned how to adjust all our accounts to deal with this.

[yankee]

I like it all. Huge volume of cheap items(mostly $6.00 profit per item) good mix of high dollar items($750.00 or more), medium priced items with huge profit at medium volume and massive velocity of very cheap items. A lot of people depend on these businesses on my side of things, so I always want to keep everybody well fed. The most recent thing is autos, mostly old jeeps, broncos and toys such as buggies and sand rails. My brother is passionate about this, so it works well and as a general rule has been very good so far, but of course it does not get the velocity of say baby diapers.

[Salvo]

I've also read that overseas sellers (China in particular) offer a sort of pre-paid yearly postage rate so regardless of weight, especially lighter/cheaper items, it can be pennies per shipment because of volume.

I'm at a selling quandry like yourself. My main income comes from high-value items >$500, but I can get good deals on particular items that I end up breaking even/losing < 1.00 after pp/eb/shipping, but almost always get positive feedback... like 90% of sales leave feedback within a day or two of delivery. My high-value items rarely get feedback for some reason, like less than 10%.

[rsot]

Some sellers will take losses on low end sales to make profits on BIG sales...balanced out

[vogeltron]

Originally Posted by Salvo

I've also read that overseas sellers (China in particular) offer a sort of pre-paid yearly postage rate so regardless of weight, especially lighter/cheaper items, it can be pennies per shipment because of volume.

I'm at a selling quandry like yourself. My main income comes from high-value items >$500, but I can get good deals on particular items that I end up breaking even/losing < 1.00 after pp/eb/shipping, but almost always get positive feedback... like 90% of sales leave feedback within a day or two of delivery. My high-value items rarely get feedback for some reason, like less than 10%.

From what I understand as well. China has a subsidized shipping service. E-Packet I think I have heard it referred to as well.

Sucks to deal with. But like you I just try to get my volume of sales up overall enough to keep lots of positive feedback coming in. Sometimes it is higher dollar items. Sometimes it is low cost items. Just gotta keep the account primed to sell in my opinion and play their game.

[rsot]

It is possible to get corporate subsidized shipping in North Am but...takes business registration and setup costs IF you have decent volume

[vogeltron]

Originally Posted by rsot

It is possible to get corporate subsidized shipping in North Am but...takes business registration and setup costs IF you have decent volume

Never hear of any individual sellers. But I know companies like Netflix send enough and the do all their own pre-sorting. So they have been able to negotiate a lower rate with USPS.

[getset]

Yes, I understand USPS will definately give you a discount if your volume is high enough. They will pick up for you every day.

Just have to watch your profit margins as the shipping can really throw a curve.

[nodeal]

How cheap and how small are your items?

If you can, just put them in an envelope and ship them like you would a letter. USPS postage for a letter envelope is .49 .. Look at their website for their exact guidelines.

I notice buyers aren't that picky on tracking when it comes to items that are a few dollars.

You can easily get scammed when you ship without tracking, but it isn't a big deal on an item that is only a few dollars. Don't hold me to this figure, but 9/10 times you won't get scammed and the money you save in postage is worth whatever you lose from the few scammers you come across.

[bigcasey123]

Already doing this and even though i'm paying the non-machinable surcharge fee my items still get put through the machines, which causes them to rip out of the envelope. This is because my items are unbend-able (they're made from stainless steel).

So far 10 out of 30 items shipped in an envelope, have fallen out of the envelope (which of course is losing me money). Even though i have received no negative feedback (manly because i ship the replacement first class with tracking) i still hate loosing money!

I have been trying to find more small items that can be shipped in an envelope but so far had no luck (manly because the items i found were more then 1/4 thick which can't be shipped through normal letter mail).

[slapped]

Here is what I will tell you, Sellers sell Items at a Loss for a LOT of Reasons as mentioned above,,,,BUT,,,You would be AMAZED at what you could Pay for for some items at COURT ORDERED Bankruptcy Liquidations,, I STREESS court ordered because there are a LOT of "So Called" Bankruptcy Liquidations that are nothing more that sales out there,,,Above you mentioned Phone Chargers, recently I was at True COURT ORDERED Bankruptcy Liquidation of a 15 Location chain of Cell phone stores, a lot of 1000 Assorted phone chargers sold for $100.00, thats .10 CENTS Apeice, a lot of 12 Motorolla V3i Phones NEW for $8.00 each, ect, ect, those chargers can EASILY be be sold on Ebay for .99,,,so do NOT think that Everyone loses money,,,,There are THOUSANDS of liquidations like this EVERYHERE in the USA,,,Keep an Eye on SEARS, odds are good that they will go out of business this year, do you have any idea as to how much inventory will become available in a liquidation of a company that big???? I CANNOT wait for that liquidation,,,

[rsot]

Agree on Sears slapped - they are trying to change their model up with online revamping and such but ...it`s looking rough for them

[vogeltron]

Originally Posted by rsot

Agree on Sears slapped - they are trying to change their model up with online revamping and such but ...it`s looking rough for them

I don't see sears going completely out of business. They do still have profitable ventures such as the Craftsman tools, the Ken Moore appliances and the Auto Center I think do ok. But as far as their clothing retail business that is a dead weight along with KMart which has gotten its but kicked by Competitors.

Would not be surprised if there is downsizing and liquidation of assets such as KMART.

A store that very well could go out of business is JCPENNYs. I don't even know what a JCPENNYs shopper looks like. If anyone goes under I think it is them.

[slapped]

Originally Posted by vogeltron

I don't see sears going completely out of business. They do still have profitable ventures such as the Craftsman tools, the Ken Moore appliances and the Auto Center I think do ok. But as far as their clothing retail business that is a dead weight along with KMart which has gotten its but kicked by Competitors.

Would not be surprised if there is downsizing and liquidation of assets such as KMART.

A store that very well could go out of business is JCPENNYs. I don't even know what a JCPENNYs shopper looks like. If anyone goes under I think it is them.

Sears is already quietly looking at offers for Craftsman and Kenmore, It is VERY likely that they will sell them off before any Bankruptcy is initiated