Negative earnings surely

[hazegiftproducts]

I sell personalised ribbon.

For a single ribbon I charge £2.60 plus £1.80 postage with franking.

Just seen a seller £2.70 free postage.

For my item I pay ebay £1.

I have to buy envelopes sellotape. Hire of franking machine to give cheaper post. Labels,  paper the ribbon and foils. Software machine upkeep.  Electricity and i pay tax. Then I hope to earn a few pennies. Help me feel better. How does someone make anything with £2.70 free postage?  🤔

[typo_lee]

They cant be making anything and its the same with my line of products. I'd ditch the franking machine as well as there is no savings to be had now IMO

[tornari-group]

They don't, and you probably don't either. Not many sellers make a lot of profit on eBay. All you can do is stick with it and hope prices improve to allow you a small profit, or change what you offer slightly to be a little 'different'. It might give you and edge for a while. Keep evolving, keep working. Good luck!

[hazegiftproducts]

I sell across several platforms and have done for many years.

I do make a profit but this seemed mindless and blew my mind.

[dch2112011]

It all depends on material cost, a metre of ribbon bought in bulk from a Chinese manufaturer would cost considerably less than 5.5p  a metre  -( one roll delivered price 38mm quality ribbon 5.5p metre 114 metres )- overheads split between a large number of items sold across a range would for a volume seller be negligible and postage and fees -  fees would be less in money terms as would postage.

I would think it would be profitable 

When volume comes into selling - costs reduce dramatically - 

[exponential_developments]

I have a few lines i don't make money on, i want rid off them....simple.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Money can be made, even when it appear that someone is selling too cheaply.

If you have sufficient turnover etc, then your postage can be considerably cheaper than what everyone else pays for instance.

But even forgetting about that, there are a lot of other reasons why you might sell something below cost.

Just getting rid of stock.  Wanting to establish a high ranking for a product.

There are also things such as if it's one of thos SKU's that most people will buy more than one of.  ie. if they are buy a second one, same postage cost = profit!  And if enough are doing that, it makes it worthwhile.

[carbtec]

What percentage of your sales are at this base price point?

I don't know anything about the market for 'personalised ribbons' but judging by how many are out there selling them I guess it is pretty healthy. It is competetive because it is easy.

Many business's consider their lowest price selling point as an eye catching loss leader & look to make their money from the upgrades & variations that gets the customer to what they actually want.

[hazegiftproducts]

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@dch2112011 wrote:

It all depends on material cost, a metre of ribbon bought in bulk from a Chinese manufaturer would cost considerably less than 5.5p  a metre  -( one roll delivered price 38mm quality ribbon 5.5p metre 114 metres )- overheads split between a large number of items sold across a range would for a volume seller be negligible and postage and fees -  fees would be less in money terms as would postage.

I would think it would be profitable 

When volume comes into selling - costs reduce dramatically - 

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🤣Ha ha I tried the Chinese stuff when I first started. The print is awful so I will only buy fromone seller where the ribbon is optimised for printing.

[hazegiftproducts]

Agreed of course. A lot are singles some multiples but of course they get a discount 

the more they buy the percentage discount increases.

[nigel_paul_wright7557]

1/ need to get better feedback ratings.

2/ Dumping dead stock.

3/ loss leaders.

[dch2112011]

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@hazegiftproducts wrote:

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🤣Ha ha I tried the Chinese stuff when I first started. The print is awful so I will only buy fromone seller where the ribbon is optimised for printing.

they possibly source the ribbon from China - you have to be selective with supplies from anywhere including China -  you can get any quality, any grade if you look for it !  

But the question how competitors make money at a low price is low costs which comes with volume.

Most goods  including top brands out source the manufacturing  and the vast majority is Chinese - just the way of the world -  

To get top quality made in factories in China, you have to find the quality manufacturers willing to supply you - not usually  via Temu or Ali Express, the larger the volume the cheaper it becomes but these factories manufacture in thousands of metres per order.

They will manufacture to your design and spec and will produce and send samples for approval - along with the correct certification 

[wyntersemporium]

Same here, I just want rid of some of mine, so some are between £1.50 to £2.99 

[wyntersemporium]

I'm dumping dead stock cheap. Just want rid, if not I'll do a job lot especially on those chokers I sell