ecnewell 

I won't beat the math to death, but I agree you didn't own the shipping. You were just a go-between for the buyer and USPS, for which you earned $3.

On a side note, next time you're selling a classic snare drum, let me know! I wish there really was a drumforums.net

lunch money

When shipping is included in ebays final value percentage fee and is also taxed once it hits your paypal, why wouldnt you include that in your assement of fees?

tugrul

Who here hasn't included it?

People are looking at the money eBay and Paypal take off the top, whatever the rational is, and compare it to the winning bid.

The fact that they take a cut from shipping just makes their effective rates higher.

fender1

(R+M)/2 is the method I use.

Right Said Fred

That only applies to eBay sales over 98 octane.

wrk101

+1 Shipping is a wash. But the ebay fee charged on shipping of course comes out of your bottom line. About 15% sounds right.

Many of us, (I know me for sure) are spoiled by the free status of Craigs List. This is a recent phenomenon. It wasn't that long ago that the only practical way to sell stuff was buy a tiny ad in the local paper, have it auctioned off, have a garage sale, or sell it word of mouth. I consider ebay's charge to be the fee for access to their potential customer base. If this customer base is not worth 15%, then I am using a different outlet. I think 15% is too high for lower end to mid grade bikes. But on other stuff, I am happy (OK not real happy) to pay that charge.


I see more and more people selling stuff via forums, whether it is the bicycle forum, or the garage forum I belong to (people sell high end tools there all the time), or whatever.

shnibop 

the fees ebay/paypal charge is painful no doubt, but you're paying for world wide exposure with hundreds of millions of users, and eye balls. no where else can you even come close to that level of exposure. if you're looking for top dollar on something of value, ebay is the way to go. if you're looking for make a reasonable profit or break even, craigslist or some other route might be the way to go.


i recently sold some drillium levers i did (ebay listing: https://tinyurl.com/6x5t3pn)



sold for $305.09+$5.20 shipping

total received: $310.29

listing fees (includes extra pics and subtitle): $2.05
final value fee: $27.46
final value fees on shipping: $0.47
paypal fee: $9.30
total fees: $39.28

total after all related fees: 271.01

shipping: $12.85

total after fees and shipping: $258.16


anyone think i could have asked and received $258.16 on craigslist, or on BF for that matter? i don't think so.


$39.28/$297.44=13.20%, 297.44 being the total received after deducting shipping. so i paid 13.20% of my total income to ebay/paypal for their service, not bad IMO, especially considering some auction houses take 30%.



and in regards to the earlier argument about shipping being included in the calculation to reach the percentage that it costs to sell on ebay... the shipping is paid by the buyer, not you, how does that number get added to your expenses in the end (or in calculating the total cost of selling on ebay). it doesn't. only the final value fee on shipping does, and that can be included in the total cost.

roadbike68

You pay for the worldwide market on ebay. Where else could you get $40 for dust caps? On CL you'd be relisting for years. If you are buying as low as a lot of the folks on here like to make me believe they do before they sell it online, then 15% cost is great. Lots of other businesses get the opposite, you make 15% while you spend the other 85%.

-holiday76

I look at the extra Ebay fees as a charge I have to pay to avoid having to deal with CL noshows and BF lowballers

If you really want to sell things and make money and waist the least amount of time, blow your stuff out on Ebay, not here or CL.

I'll pay the extra amount for the time savings. I'm also not doing this to make a living though.

Picchio Special

Not long ago I sold a bike for $900 - about $100 less than I had paid for it. The guy who bought it from me parted it out on ebay and made $2400. And he didn't have the extra wheelset - I kept that. Guy knew what he was doing.

thinktubes 

Paid $50 for this and totally atomized it for $860. Frame was in very rough shape and there was damage from a front-end impact so parting out was a no-brainer. Parts were all campy and Durace.

Iowegian

and isn't this.....Priceless!

Sometimes I don't care what I get for stuff as long as it disappears.

fender1

Was that a green Waterford that had been on Lancaster CL?