Do people just sell for the heck of it?

[aking]

I swear no matter the category, there are people selling items and they can't be making any money. It's ridiculous and I'm seeing it more and more. The bad part about it is its not even Chinese sellers, they are right here in the USA.

I'm sorry, I just had to vent. I am doing some research for new items and this is killing me. Also, some of the items I have now have slow sales b/c people are buying for these guys selling items for dirt cheap with free shipping.

How do you guys manage this?

[topnotchsports]

I've thought the same thing. I constantly see things with fees, shipping, & cost of goods there's no way thru can be profiting. My only suggestion is think outside the box. The items I sell are unique items that I make myself, and I can customize them for customers. I learned that they tend not to harp on the price because they can get exactly what they want. Hope that helps. Good luck man!

[dealagreeproceed]

Maybe it st*len items bein unloaded for da low low

[MM78]

Originally Posted by dealagreeproceed

Maybe it st*len items bein unloaded for da low low

[Atom]

Same in the UK too!

[ovidiu]

Two, ok three groups here:

1. Stolen items being unloaded quickly. There is an epidemic of theft going on at retail stores. In the nice area where I live, all Walmarts now have private security or a employee in front of the store to deter grab & runs. These will never be sold at close to regular pricing because the thieves don't want a bunch of stolen stuff loitering on their shelves in case of a visit from the cops.

2. Idiots selling for super low prices in the delusion of carving out a chunk of the market for themselves. These come and go as the previous morons go bankrupt and new ones think they will make it work this time around.

3. People who literally sell for fun and think it's some sort of valid social interaction. Think dumb old ladies who destroy the market for a lot of craft type stuff. Etsy is full of these; they admit this on the forums.

[aking]

Originally Posted by topnotchsports

I've thought the same thing. I constantly see things with fees, shipping, & cost of goods there's no way thru can be profiting. My only suggestion is think outside the box. The items I sell are unique items that I make myself, and I can customize them for customers. I learned that they tend not to harp on the price because they can get exactly what they want. Hope that helps. Good luck man!

Yea, I've been thinking about a product that I can make myself, or a product that I can customize for buyers. That is probably the way to go.

[ovidiu]

Better think ahead to protect your product or any hint of success and Chinese lowballers will copy your product and destroy all profit potential.

[tempusfugit]

I believe some people sell at a near loss in an effort to build feedback also.

[MM78]

Originally Posted by tempusfugit

I believe some people sell at a near loss in an effort to build feedback also.

This is very common with the Chinese Sellers. They sell at super low prices and then they sell their higher priced stuff.

[Burger Box Man]

If I have anything lying around like ps4 games, i will sell them for any price as long as it covers postage

[luckoftheirish93]

Originally Posted by Burger Box Man

If I have anything lying around like ps4 games, i will sell them for any price as long as it covers postage

yes good idea, sometimes i do it just to make going to the post office a worthwhile trip and to push selling limits rather than for profit

[jjohnson777]

I tried giving away stuff and noticed one thing the people who get freebies are complainers and take up more support than paying customers. They not happy with 1 freebie they make few accounts a day get lots of them. So I learned quick not give anything away. Well I tried it once if they of played nice I would of keep doing it but now I never offer freebies until I forget this experience (so probably do it again next year). It did help sales but not enough for time took.

[dealagreeproceed]

Originally Posted by jjohnson777

I tried giving away stuff and noticed one thing the people who get freebies are complainers and take up more support than paying customers. They not happy with 1 freebie they make few accounts a day get lots of them. So I learned quick not give anything away. Well I tried it once if they of played nice I would of keep doing it but now I never offer freebies until I forget this experience (so probably do it again next year). It did help sales but not enough for time took.

so true. whenever I discount something I always get the annoying cheapskates complaining about something

[Rhonda]

eBay is now a place to get free stuff. I'm about to move onto Etsy and my own website. I find the items those Chinese sellers are selling are even cheaper than stuff I can find on the China market.

[GhostOfAmazon]

Originally Posted by Rhonda

eBay is now a place to get free stuff. I'm about to move onto Etsy and my own website. I find the items those Chinese sellers are selling are even cheaper than stuff I can find on the China market.

I'm seeing that too.

There are a couple of products I no longer buy in bulk...I buy from china single piece one at a time....

[oompaloompa]

Ive noticed this too, usually though they run out of stock and dont come back with it....

so if you checked a month later, probably that product is good to go...

but when researching what to sell, eg. cross checking wholesalers and then price on ebay, you can sometimes discard a profitable item because some joker is monopolizing...and often you do not come back to it...

its even worse when you already have the stock, and the joker sinks the ship....and then it is tempting to just offload so you are not stuck with it....

[aking]

Thats a good point, they wont be selling long at that price. Why would you want to have like 50+ sales a day making no $. Seems like it would just create stress.

Ah well, they will run out of stock fast and not have any profit to buy more inventory, haha.

[dan_ebay]

even worse in the UK, we have to pay 1/6th of the sale price in tax if you're legit and most don't.

Not sure what its like over there but various ways to scam over here, not paying postage,not paying the tax above.
Biggest ebay seller in the UK/world shut down 2-3 months ago, sued by royal mail and had all assets seized

[jjohnson777]

Or group #4

People who discovered Dave Ramsey and selling all junk bought over years with credit cards in order to get out of debt. He mentions selling on ebay or having yard sells. He also suggest getting 2nd job as pizza delivery man. But of course think they do better listing on Amazon not ebay and alot sell there too.

[yankee]

One more thing, without any doubt, not ALL people are paying the same costs for goods. People who are buying several thousand items at a time can oftentimes get 50+% better pricing.

[newjerseymax]

Originally Posted by yankee

One more thing, without any doubt, not ALL people are paying the same costs for goods. People who are buying several thousand items at a time can oftentimes get 50+% better pricing.

Very true!

I know my prices are better when I spend 50k on one items versus someone who is buying few hundred dollars...

Then I often still not cheapest as to be lowest price = annoying buyers, pesky questions and buyers remorse.

Also, the type of shipping you have plays a role. Offer FREE priority or express mail at higher price and you get a whole different type of customer....