why some people sell so cheap

why do some sell at stupid prices

It makes so sense to sell 300 items in a week and make maybe 1£ on each item selling for 20£, only to have that wiped out by returns and refunds

Honestly I am shocked and disgusted with some sellers

[JamesNorth101]

Its to build up feedback sometimes

People will often sell at a loss to build feedback. Being able to make £1 profit is actually pretty decent

Originally Posted by JamesNorth101

Its to build up feedback sometimes

People will often sell at a loss to build feedback. Being able to make £1 profit is actually pretty decent

no bro.. I am talking about powersellers who already have thousands of feedback.

and no 1£ profit on 20£ sale is not decent. no just no.

[JamesNorth101]

If they are a power seller then its all automated.

£1 is then workable when you sell enough

Even power sellers still need feedback to help them rank and help offset negative sales.

That is just the way eBay is I am afraid. Its been like that for years.

1£ is not workable on 20£. have you ever sold on ebay?

1 return case or one missing item cancels out your daily profit..

and this is electronic items were talking about


and why would you take such risks to make 1£ on 20£.. these people dont pay vat or import charges.. if they did they would be making huge minuses.. why take the risks for 1£

[JamesNorth101]

You are missing the point entirely...

Its not done for profit on this item. Its done to build up sales and feedback so that other items that they sell that they make more profit on get ranked higher

I know that because I do sell on eBay a lot of use tactics very similar myself.

That is how business works on eBay

[rsot]

Originally Posted by RobMele

no bro.. I am talking about powersellers who already have thousands of feedback.

and no 1£ profit on 20£ sale is not decent. no just no.

Also keeps their account active too - in spite of feedback - keeps listings up

[idds]

Originally Posted by JamesNorth101

Its to build up feedback sometimes

People will often sell at a loss to build feedback. Being able to make £1 profit is actually pretty decent

LOL... what?? Not a chance.

[MM78]

Originally Posted by idds

LOL... what?? Not a chance.

Not a chance of what? that it's possible....A LOT of people do this, I myself will sell certain items at breaking price....just to get sales, generate traffic, and feedback. You think the Chinese sellers can afford to sell an item for $0.99 cents and make a profit?

[vogeltron]

Originally Posted by MM78

Not a chance of what? that it's possible....A LOT of people do this, I myself will sell certain items at breaking price....just to get sales, generate traffic, and feedback. You think the Chinese sellers can afford to sell an item for $0.99 cents and make a profit?

Much agreed, I have a bunch of lower cost cheap items that I sell solely to generate feedback and make my account look better.

Maybe 20 Quid is on the higher side but it depends on what else they are selling and their situation. They could also have an enormous amount of product and just want to start liquidating it to break even. Don't know about everyone else but I get my products by the pallet. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and move stuff. Sometimes I even sell at loss. Part of the nature of business.

[JamesNorth101]

Originally Posted by idds

LOL... what?? Not a chance.

100% chance. Lots of people do it

[idds]

What I meant by not a chance is that I would never do something like selling ultra cheap stuff to generate feedback, not only do I lose money but I have to spend a ton of time losing money? That sounds like a fail strategy to me. If you have to resort to loss leading then maybe the wrong products are being sold.

My exclude list for products usually starts with whatever the Chinese tsunami is pumping.

[JamesNorth101]

The point is the money you loose on the products that you sell on volume is more than off set by the higher prices higher profit items

If you take this example

Case 1
Sell 100 items @ £2 for a 20p loss to generate feedback and help rankings - Total loss £20

Sell 10 items @ £200 for £40 profit each to make profit - Total profit £400

Total Profit = £380

Case 2
Sell 15 of the same items as case 1, but this time @ £3 for a £1 profit. Much lower volume sold but at a total profit of £15

Because less ranking is now being generate on your account you now only sell 4 items @ £200 for £40 profit each to make profit - Total profit £160

Total profit = £175

In case 2 you make profit on all items sold but overall profit is down. I aim to maximise overall profit sometimes at the loss of profit on individual items so use case 1 for my pricing model

This is a very basic demonstration of how eBay works and why people sell items for a loss (this is not the only reason people sell items for a loss though)

[idds]

101,

I understand the strategy, that was implicit. I just disagree with the idea behind it.

I don't really sell anything under $10 to begin with, just not worth the effort to procure it. You present your case with a container ship's worth of assumptions, with the ebay ranking being at the bow, which is something there is minimal factual data on to map against.

My experience with ebay is different, lacking facts, it's derived by inference. They dole out sales depending on a host of measures, and your placement is being modified virtually real time. For example, when I see a negative feedback, almost instantly sales drop, or a host of other metrics that indicate the same pattern get the same net result, and the inverse to boost sales.

Ebay glass ceiling's sellers, and its very hard to break past those tiers regardless of what you sell at a loss. I have experimented with it... just cut your listings in half and you will have virtually the same amount of revenue. I've tried it.

There are as many strategies to develop a store, this one ignores the kinds of sales you really want, and building a customer base around them. It's like giving away ice cream at a car dealer... lots of fat people look at the cars but little in the way of useful customers.

[Jackery]

I'm so glad I have no nickle and dime fools in my niche.

[vogeltron]

Originally Posted by idds

101,

I understand the strategy, that was implicit. I just disagree with the idea behind it.

I don't really sell anything under $10 to begin with, just not worth the effort to procure it. You present your case with a container ship's worth of assumptions, with the ebay ranking being at the bow, which is something there is minimal factual data on to map against.

My experience with ebay is different, lacking facts, it's derived by inference. They dole out sales depending on a host of measures, and your placement is being modified virtually real time. For example, when I see a negative feedback, almost instantly sales drop, or a host of other metrics that indicate the same pattern get the same net result, and the inverse to boost sales.

Ebay glass ceiling's sellers, and its very hard to break past those tiers regardless of what you sell at a loss. I have experimented with it... just cut your listings in half and you will have virtually the same amount of revenue. I've tried it.

There are as many strategies to develop a store, this one ignores the kinds of sales you really want, and building a customer base around them. It's like giving away ice cream at a car dealer... lots of fat people look at the cars but little in the way of useful customers.

It very much depends. The items I sell at zero or no profit are almost guaranteed positive feedback and I do free shipping. So it boosts my metrics up for all the DSR ratings. So heaven forbid I do get a bad review or low DSRs on one of my other items it isn't as big of a deal. If you have ever been restricted for low DSR for whatever reason this strategy really helps. Because a 5 Star from a $8 item counts the same as a 5 star from a $150 item.

There are so many different categories and what not on eBay so much is about what you list. Like one of the other Members said I have a niche so its not really a problem unless someone just has massive quantity they need to dump. My customers are usually one and done so customer loyalty etc means nothing to me. It is all about playing eBays game. Plus I like seeing my feedback number go higher.

[idds]

Originally Posted by vogeltron

So it boosts my metrics up for all the DSR ratings. So heaven forbid I do get a bad review or low DSRs on one of my other items it isn't as big of a deal. If you have ever been restricted for low DSR for whatever reason this strategy really helps. Because a 5 Star from a $8 item counts the same as a 5 star from a $150 item.

This makes a lot of sense.

[USB]

i am sure these sellers build their feedback's first than rock and roll
this is kind of strategy

[vogeltron]

Originally Posted by USB

i am sure these sellers build their feedback's first than rock and roll
this is kind of strategy

You have to have a strategy for how you sell on eBay. I use to be anti buyer return guy since I sell clothing through my store. Was missing out on the Top Rated Discounts. Found out I could add the return policy needed but also asses a restocking to deter buyer from purchasing then just sending back. It has worked out very good thus far. eBay allows me to waive the restocking fee so on the few items I got back as long I could sell as new I usually just let it go.

It really is a game with eBay and for those sellers that have been around get a game plan going. Everyone's is different but there is a rhyme and reason as to why many people do the things the do.