Is it worth it?

[ok-mrs-bee]

Is it worth it?

I got quite excited by the idea of 20 free listings per month.  I haven't tried selling anything on eBay for a few years because I got fed up with paying fees for items which didn't sell.  I have loads of books and other items which I would like to list so I investigated further.

I am going to disregard the cost of travelling to the nearest post office ( a six mile round trip in the car at 13p per mile for fuel - 78p) because that would make listing one item ridiculous in the first place.  I'm going to list 20 popular books, at auction and hence finishing on the same day so that I can take all the parcels to the PO at the same time.  If only 10 sell I can swallow the diesel cost.

Then I look at the Royal Mail pricing.  If a lightweight book is less than 25mm deep I might be able to post it for £1.10.  A little heavier book would cost £1.40 or £1.60, but it's still got to be less than 25mm thick.  If it's more than 25mm I'm looking at £5.30 for a parcel.  Have I misinterpreted something here?

Now look at the cost of selling just one of my 20 books.  Let us suppose ...

It sells for 99p with p&p of £1.20 (10p added to cover the cost of the packaging).

Let's say the buyer pays £2.19 via Paypal ( does the buyer have an option?)

Whoopee, I've got 99p - I'm in the money!

Wait - eBay will take 10% of the final value AND postage ... minus 22p

Further - Paypal will take 20p plus 3.4% ... minus 27p

My 99p sale with a bit of leeway on the postage has given eBay and its subsidiary, Paypal, 49p, and I've made 50p.

In answer to my own question - no it's not worth it.

[millielilac]

It has always been questionable whether eBay is a viable place to sell low cost items ....

If you live in a rural area the fuel costs to the PO can be a major factor ...you could end your listings at the same time but that does not guarantee the buyers will pay at the same time .

You are correct ...its just not worth it !

[johnsmeccparts]

You've overlooked the small parcel rate

See here for sizes and prices of Royal mail postage:-

http://www.seajays.org.uk/postage/index.cfm

[ok-mrs-bee]

Thanks, Meccanoman, I didn't have the small parcel prices on my PO printout.  At £2.80 for a larger book it matches Amazon;s postage and eBay would take 28p of that --- then Paypal would have a chip.

But it may be worth considering the small parcel rate for other items which I have to sell.

[ok-mrs-bee]

Thanks, also,  Millie, for your response - yes I'm in a rural area,

Meccanoman - I just longed for a set of Meccano when I was young.

[rose2008-2008]

I dont use E.bay for selling although i have things i would like to sell. Once you have paid fees although there are at times the free listings i know,,,,, theres no point. I want to get a decent amount to make it worth my while if i sell goods. Seems you cant get that anywhere nowadays

[Anonymous]

From a buyers point of view I used to buy a lot of books from ebay, happily paying somewhere around half the new book price. But then RM got greedy  and it pushed the prices up to the point where there was only a small difference to buy new with free postage from the popular book selling sites. 

I think it must have hit the regular book sellers hard, but like everyone I have a budget to stick to.  I still buy books that are no longer in print of course, ebays convenient for that. 

[Anonymous]

Even boot sales have got expensive, the trend seems to be for huge affairs that charge upwards of £11 these days. A friend sold at one in the local supermarket car park, that was a much smaller affair and I believe it was £17!!!. You have to sell a lot of stuff to just break even.

[ok-mrs-bee]

Thank you, angrydrag0n. I had wondered about taking all my books to a boot sale but those prices would put me off.  How do we get a decent return for our books?   I suppose 50p is what I would ask for a paperback at a boot sale - so maybe eBay isn't so bad after all.

Angrydrag0n, my daughter uses the online pseudonym dracoiratus (angry dragon)! 

[ok-mrs-bee]

:Sorry about those grinning faces above - they were supposed to follow my personal comment to the angry dragon.

smileyembarrassed:

[jeffbrg23]

I find boot sales really poor for selling books, when I use to take boxes of books I'd only ever manage to sell a handful.

I certainly wouldn't bother doing a boot sale if I was mostly taking books, you need to have lots of other items to sell and just take a few of the better books.

The only books I've found that sell consistently well at car boots are craft books.

Prices do vary a lot between carboots around me its between £5 and £15. Theres a medium sized one I go to which is £7. The more expensive ones tend to be the bigger ones but I don't find the increased size increases my sales that much.

I think with the bigger car boots theres too much choice for people and they walk around and end up hardly looking at most of the stalls, whereas when theres a bit less choice they tend to spend a lot more time looking and then buying and I actually end up making about the same from a smaller customer base.

[Anonymous]

Nice to know theres a few of us around Mrs B. 

Some roads and villages are organising and advertising garage sales on the same day, to maximise punters. I dont think it would work up here, I'd have to lay a bus on or rope the farmer in for tractor rides.

[Anonymous]

I always prefered the smaller venues as you get the chance to see everything on offer, and I think sellers lay things out in a better way.

At the bigger venues a lot of the sellers seem to have so much stuff, and frankly dont seem too keen to sell anything, often its just thrown on blankets (ie clothing), or in cardboard boxes, but a lot of  buyers cannot get down low enough to rummage. Last time I went the only thing I came back with was an apple tree which is happily fruiting in the back garden, and the couple of times before there was just nothing. I used to have to send OH back to the car with several bags, so I could buy more.

[ok-mrs-bee]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Some roads and villages are organising and advertising garage sales on the same day, to maximise punters. I dont think it would work up here, I'd have to lay a bus on or rope the farmer in for tractor rides.

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There you go, you've sparked an idea.  Thank you, great fire-breather.  Our village has the ideal geography for such a venture. 

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[margaret*e]

Have you tried Gumtree, I believe it's free to advertise oon there, but I don't knoow how good it is for selling.

I gave up on Ebay when last 2 buyers didn't pay.

[ok-mrs-bee]

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@marg*e wrote:

Have you tried Gumtree, I believe it's free to advertise oon there, but I don't knoow how good it is for selling.

I gave up on Ebay when last 2 buyers didn't pay.

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Thanks, Margaret (long time, no see), I'll have a look at Gumtree.

[rose2008-2008]

Gumtree is very good for all sorts of things,,,im going to have another look but im looking for jobs!!!!.. Good Luck hun!!!.

[jimbooks360]

Be aware that Gumtree is owned by Ebay. Which explains the recent adverts on TV and the general feeling that ebay is trying to get rid of small scale sellers.

[pageandturner64]

Then you have LOSSES! with NO insurance cover, you will get the loss. e-bay take the money from your account details and pays the disgruntled buyer whatever. so add that your 99p listing issues and with 3 losses a quarter, it would add up. Oh and then there is the loss of 100% feedback and ratings, which could see you banned from ever selling on e-bay again (see other threads).