Promoted Listings - how are you handling it?

[kirkland]

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

Not even going to ask how you're doing that but I hope they stay active. Is it expensive on the banking side? One issue I had during the transition from Paypal to managed payments was all the bank accounts I'd opened to connect to Paypals that started charging me monthly fees once they stopped getting ACH's from PP.

Expensive in what way? Do you mean inactivity fees? A minority of banks do require transaction minimums, but those are easily dealt with either by setting up auto-recurring ACH deposits from some other accounts, or for those that require DDs simply by simulating DD's by using an app like Novo to complete the deposits. Sorry if youre referring to another fee.

There was another issue recently though. The way my biz works is I have a # of smaller storefronts (each with its own bank account collecting proceeds from ebay) which individually send their balances to a single larger "operating account". It's just for convenience and allows me to have greater control over my funds all being in one larger account rather than several smaller accounts. But anyway, that bank has been up my ass these past 12 months as to why Im receiving "so many deposits from so many different banks", and recently they made the decision to shut down my deposit accounts and tradelines as a results. Whatever. It's a hassle for sure, but it's been the only real downside thats come from operating multiple accounts.

[phaz0rz]

You mentioned that you've got several accounts on standby so I assumed that they have active attached bank accounts which are sitting dormant racking up monthly fees.


I do something similar on a much smaller scale. My 3 selling accounts have their attached checking accounts which are all at the same bank. When it comes time to pay for inventory, I transfer funds to one account and send a wire out.

[SaiJin]

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

You mentioned that you've got several accounts on standby so I assumed that they have active attached bank accounts which are sitting dormant racking up monthly fees.


I do something similar on a much smaller scale. My 3 selling accounts have their attached checking accounts which are all at the same bank. When it comes time to pay for inventory, I transfer funds to one account and send a wire out.

I have attached bank and CC on my amazon too.... even ones not selling and they're still taking the monthyly fee.

Don't wanna mess with it honestly

[rsot]

Originally Posted by SaiJin

I have attached bank and CC on my amazon too.... even ones not selling and they're still taking the monthyly fee.

Don't wanna mess with it honestly

You selected the monthly fee option? What is it these days anyhow? I think it used to be 39.99? I remember it being steep for that reason.

[hello1212]

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

Not even going to ask how you're doing that but I hope they stay active. Is it expensive on the banking side? One issue I had during the transition from Paypal to managed payments was all the bank accounts I'd opened to connect to Paypals that started charging me monthly fees once they stopped getting ACH's from PP.

Wait.. Don't tell me you get charged rent in the States for simply opening and having a current account? If so that's a rip off..

I bank with 10 different high street banks and another 10 neo banks free of charge here in the UK

[phaz0rz]

Yeah, that's standard practice for almost all checking accounts in the US. You can usually avoid the monthly fee by using your debit card a certain amount of times or by receiving a certain number of ACH deposits. Which is why I'm wondering how kirkland is handling his banking. I used to run around with 8 debit cards trying to make sure I used each one enough times every month, and it was a nightmare.

[hello1212]

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

Yeah, that's standard practice for almost all checking accounts in the US. You can usually avoid the monthly fee by using your debit card a certain amount of times or by receiving a certain number of ACH deposits. Which is why I'm wondering how kirkland is handling his banking. I used to run around with 8 debit cards trying to make sure I used each one enough times every month, and it was a nightmare.

Damn that really sucks.. Maybe you could use Wise or Chase though, I think they are free to use there?

[rsot]

Some checking accounts waive the monthly fee if you keep a balance in the account - that's also one way...

[hello1212]

Originally Posted by rsot

Some checking accounts waive the monthly fee if you keep a balance in the account - that's also one way...

We have that here too, probably the easiest way. Still can't stand how they love to inconvenience people though, it should be a free service as it costs nothing for a bank to open/maintain a regular current account

[rsot]

Originally Posted by hello1212

We have that here too, probably the easiest way. Still can't stand how they love to inconvenience people though, it should be a free service as it costs nothing for a bank to open/maintain a regular current account

Of course - just a cash grab

[kirkland]

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

Yeah, that's standard practice for almost all checking accounts in the US. You can usually avoid the monthly fee by using your debit card a certain amount of times or by receiving a certain number of ACH deposits. Which is why I'm wondering how kirkland is handling his banking. I used to run around with 8 debit cards trying to make sure I used each one enough times every month, and it was a nightmare.

Oh, I understand the question now. Many of my business accounts just require some nominal balance to avoid fees (eg WF 500, Chase 2k, KeyBank 1000, etc) although others dont (US bank, Axos, most credit unions, etc). I also use some personal accounts and those generally dont require minimums

Yeah the debit card tx requirement would be a huge burden for sure

[hello1212]

Sigh.. These greedy banks fatigue me

[SaiJin]

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

Yeah, that's standard practice for almost all checking accounts in the US. You can usually avoid the monthly fee by using your debit card a certain amount of times or by receiving a certain number of ACH deposits. Which is why I'm wondering how kirkland is handling his banking. I used to run around with 8 debit cards trying to make sure I used each one enough times every month, and it was a nightmare.

Eh? What does Kirkland/Costco have anything to do with banking?

Are they starting one?

[vettefever17]

Promoted listings have become so competitive that I am now having to shift sourcing products shipped via sea freight. I just don't have enough margin or economic opportunity cost to work with. Almost all of my products are sitting at 9-15% boost requirements. I am averaging 28-33% in product and fee costs, BEFORE shipping. As shipping costs increase at a much faster pace, that alone can cut net profit in half on many transactions.

Some may ask, why have you not been profiting the whole time with sea freight? A lot of my products have very fast turnover. I must time everything perfectly to have a paycheck. Don't get me started on how much wholesale I have to hold in cash on my books to make a living still at this. I will say it is 100-150% more than the good days when I only needed 6-9k dollars in revolving cash and credit.

Another gripe of mine is eBay return ratios that punish you with an extra 5%, which they're about to increase to 6%. We are talking return ratios of 5% or less and still getting penalized because they want it at <1%. Amazon ruined this metric with return-happy customers who return for any reason and abuse the rules.

[vettefever17]

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

I'm talking about people who used to sell eBay accounts on this forum. All of the accounts I'm running today came from plumsake. I bought them as "high limit stealth accounts" then made them legit by adding an EIN.


I don't remember his name but there used to be a Canadian eBay account seller here that I bought 3 accounts from. I miss those days, a lot. I ran tens of thousands of dollars through those accounts without ever opening a Canadian bank account. I just used Paypal invoicing to transfer all the money to my US Paypal accounts. Always amazed me how seamlessly it worked.



Needless to say, managed payments put an end to that. It's probably not a stretch to say that kind of thing is exactly why managed payments even became a thing.

Plumsake was a goat. Dudes account ran gold into my bank accounts. Bjammin was solid as well.

[rsot]

Originally Posted by SaiJin

Eh? What does Kirkland/Costco have anything to do with banking?

Are they starting one?

Kirkland is the name of a member here - that's what he was referencing is

[agent006140]

Originally Posted by hello1212

Wait.. Don't tell me you get charged rent in the States for simply opening and having a current account? If so that's a rip off..

I bank with 10 different high street banks and another 10 neo banks free of charge here in the UK

There is a minimum balance one has to maintain in the account,say $1500 for checking,$300 for saving,else there will be a monthly fee ,say$15,.
You figure it costs the bank money to maintain accounts,sending out bank statements ,etc

[hello1212]

Originally Posted by agent006140

There is a minimum balance one has to maintain in the account,say $1500 for checking,$300 for saving,else there will be a monthly fee ,say$15,.
You figure it costs the bank money to maintain accounts,sending out bank statements ,etc

That's not so bad, I've seen banks requiring over $10,000 as a minimum balance, that's when it starts becoming an inconvenience, especially when you use your money to make more money. Over here in the UK, we can open several current accounts free of charge that's why I found it bizarre that you pay a subscription for the same service in the States

[agent006140]

May be UKers are good savers ,USers are cash poor and credit rich,they own many credit cards and use them to buy things,they can also use them to pay for auto insurance,utility bills.
Most small businesses frown on credit card users,they prefer cash and I dont blame them.

[phaz0rz]

It's because banking is a Wolf of Wall Street style madhouse in the US. Between banks and credit unions we have over ten thousand options to choose from (actual chartered institutions with deposit insurance). In the UK you guys have what, like a dozen options at most to choose from?

[agent006140]

We do have too many banks.
But how many of us really keep a lot of money in our bank account?
Banks have made our deposits available sooner than later as many just use their bank account as a way of cashing their paycheck and want to withdraw immediately to buy grocery,pay bills.
There are other ways to cash your paycheck at supermarkets,currency exchange but with a high fee.

[agent006140]

Originally Posted by hello1212

That's not so bad, I've seen banks requiring over $10,000 as a minimum balance, that's when it starts becoming an inconvenience, especially when you use your money to make more money. Over here in the UK, we can open several current accounts free of charge that's why I found it bizarre that you pay a subscription for the same service in the States

I dont recall ever running into any US bank with minimum balance of $10,000,Chase has some premier accounts which require higher balance,but it promises a higher interest rate
Business checking account does have a higher requirement,say $1000,