You Ever Get Tired of This?

TheSameIdiot said:
I do:

Sale price - shipping/fees - original purchase price

No idea whether that's correct or not.

I only started tracking it a few years ago, but I generally make less than $100 over the course of the year. This year I lost money. I turned a big profit in the past, but that was during the Mezco boom. Now that I'm selling mostly Legends, I'm lucky to break even.

These companies (even Mezco) finally figured out the supply/demand. I usually sell MAFEX figures at a loss, too.
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Thanks! Also curious about shipping. What's the norm for how (padded envelope vs. box). Is there a reliable "How to sell on ebay" video or website that's not obnoxious?
 
I don't do padded envelopes for anything but very small accessories or head sculpts and even then I double up on the bubble wrap inside the mailer. Everything else gets a well padded box.

I've ordered a few CGC graded slabbed comics from folks on Ebay and have received them cracked and broken because the people were more than happy to take my money, but only wanted to use a single layer of bubble wrap and then shove it in an envelope. So that was fun.

In the end it's worth it just to pack it right and pay a little more on shipping, make the customer happy and potentially earn more business as a result. I've had people come back to me specifically because they liked not having to worry about their item being packed right and they knew it would get there in good shape.

More money for me in the end, rather than trying to cheap out and causing myself and the customer a headache.
 
altcunningham said:
Same.

I see people listing things at questionable pricing and it never moves for weeks, if not months, which tells me that price sucks. At this point I just want anything back to reclaim my space and time and chip towards something else.

The flip side is there's that psychology from buyers that if you're just asking retail to break even (I think retail on mezco or imports is still fair because a lot of that stuff is still not readily available after a time), or even offering something cheap, they don't want it and treat you like something must be wrong with it.
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I think another part of it is some of these fuckers don't know what it is they're looking at, nor do they have ANY appreciation of aftermarket.

Case in point, sold the big Mattel BvS Batcave a few weeks back. Thing is going for around 200ish on eBay. I listed it local on Facebook Marketplace, because there's no way I'm shipping this 4 foot tall playset, BUT...it's also been stored in my attic, collecting dust, and is missing a part.

Still, again...complete, and in a box, 200. I listed it for 75. The bartering I got was absurd. Again, no one doing any research. Ended up selling it for 65 to an older guy that was buying it for his grandson. But was getting some offers for as low as 25. Really now? Come on...
 
RicksNerdLife said:
I think another part of it is some of these fuckers don't know what it is they're looking at, nor do they have ANY appreciation of aftermarket.

Case in point, sold the big Mattel BvS Batcave a few weeks back. Thing is going for around 200ish on eBay. I listed it local on Facebook Marketplace, because there's no way I'm shipping this 4 foot tall playset, BUT...it's also been stored in my attic, collecting dust, and is missing a part.

Still, again...complete, and in a box, 200. I listed it for 75. The bartering I got was absurd. Again, no one doing any research. Ended up selling it for 65 to an older guy that was buying it for his grandson. But was getting some offers for as low as 25. Really now? Come on...
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Very true. I also think there are people who just value getting the feel of a deal, no matter what it is.
 
Chooch555 said:
Thanks! Also curious about shipping. What's the norm for how (padded envelope vs. box). Is there a reliable "How to sell on ebay" video or website that's not obnoxious?
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I recommend boxes. While I never had any problems shipping in padded envelopes, boxes are safer.

I stockpile small boxes in my closet for whenever I'm ready for a purge. Anything 5x4x3-ish and larger works.

Bubble wrap, sandwich bags (for accessories), scotch tape (to seal the bubble-wrap-mummified figure), and packing tape (to seal your box) will get the job done. I try to hang on to a bit of packing paper in case the box is too large for the figure. Never bought packing paper, though. As with boxes, I stash the excess from packages I receive.

I started using Pirate Ship this month, but eBay also offers a sizeable discount during the shipping process. I believe those rates are better than what Pirate Ship offers. USPS Ground Advantage is a steal.

No idea about YouTube videos. Feel free to drop your comments here. Nearly everyone on this board runs a small-scale eBay store.
 
RicksNerdLife said:
But was getting some offers for as low as 25. Really now? Come on...
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TheSameIdiot said:
I recommend boxes. While I never had any problems shipping in padded envelopes, boxes are safer.

I stockpile small boxes in my closet for whenever I'm ready for a purge. Anything 5x4x3-ish and larger works.

Bubble wrap, sandwich bags (for accessories), scotch tape (to seal the bubble-wrap-mummified figure), and packing tape (to seal your box) will get the job done. I try to hang on to a bit of packing paper in case the box is too large for the figure. Never bought packing paper, though. As with boxes, I stash the excess from packages I receive.

I started using Pirate Ship this month, but eBay also offers a sizeable discount during the shipping process. I believe those rates are better than what Pirate Ship offers. USPS Ground Advantage is a steal.
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This is what I’ve always done except I do love my brown packing paper. Balled up pieces of brown packing paper are excellent at filling space and keeping items from moving around. A little goes a surprisingly long way.

I have a little blurb in my eBay descriptions that says “I don’t entertain offers, but I find most offers entertaining.”

If something isn’t garnering much interest, I’ll start lowering the price each week until I hit the sweet spot. I don’t haggle. If you want to haggle, go to the swap meet.
 
TheSameIdiot said:
I recommend boxes. While I never had any problems shipping in padded envelopes, boxes are safer.
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I agree with this wholeheartedly. It rarely actually increases shipping expense over the envelopes and significantly reduces likelihood of damage. Many buyers will complain if you use padded envelopes instead of boxes. Some will even immediately provide negative feedback solely due to this, even if the item received in mint condition.

Xavion2025 said:
I have a little blurb in my eBay descriptions that says “I don’t entertain offers, but I find most offers entertaining.”
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Love this! I have something saying that I don't accept offers either but it doesn't stop people from sending them. It's almost always like an offer of something like $10 for a $40 item. LOL. I used to reply to those and tell them that my shipping cost would be more than that but now just ignore and don't even bother replying to crap like that.

I usually keep right at 1,000 items listed at any given time (what my ebay store allows) so I'm not necessarily worried if any one thing doesn't sell fast. I usually average about 1 sale per day. It's just a side gig and nothing I need to move quickly for cashflow purposes or anything.
 
Reno said:
something like $10 for a $40 item. LOL. I used to reply to those and tell them that my shipping cost would be more than that but now just ignore and don't even bother replying to crap like that.
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I used to do the same. I've since switched to calculated shipping, but I used to list with "free shipping" and just have my listing price high enough to cover what I'm likely to spend on postage, so my favorites were always way-too-low offers that I'd explain, "After what it'll cost to ship, that'll barely pay for the gas to get to the post office", to which some would reply, "What? But it says 'free shipping'!"
 
LOL, exactly - like if you offer free shipping they think it doesn't cost you as the seller anything to ship it? I do still offer free shipping but just ignore pretty much any and all offers at this point. I usually try to price my listings lower than anyone else's for the same item so I just don't feel the need to negotiate.
 
Reno said:
but just ignore pretty much any and all offers at this point. I usually try to price my listings lower than anyone else's for the same item so I just don't feel the need to negotiate.
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This is exactly the same for me. Every once in a great while, I'll list something with a "if it doesn't sell, I'll keep it, but I need to get this much to part with it" price, but 99% of the time I research to see what the cheapest listing it then list for lower.
 
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