Intro to this group (And some questions)

Hello all, Jeff here. Been lurking a short time (I do know a couple of
people here from other groups though). I have been selling on ebay on and
off for about 6 years. Nothing major like some of the seller's on here, just
to add to my "Guitar and accesories" fund now and then. I would like to sell
more but I think I am doing something wrong with the selling. Hoping someone
might take a look at this and give me some pointers. If I took all the
pointers that Ebay gives on thier site Id be giving everything away. First I
usually list 5-7 items at a time. THey are usually low cost items (valued
5-20 dollars). I do a standard listing and use the gallery on everything I
list. Unfortunatly I still dont make much on anything I sell. Fees eat up
the profit. So, I have a couple of questions about possibly increasing
profit on these auctions. Here is an example of 5 items I sold and the costs
in the last week.

Five items sold for a total of $67.04 (with shipping and handling). I add
$1.50 for handling/packaging. SHould I increase this. I have found that the
shipping calculator doesnt usually give an accurate accounting of what it
really cost to ship the item. WOuld it be a real issue to increase the
weight on the calculator to a realistic number. For example: If an item
weighs 3 pounds, other than the ethical problem , should I increase the
weight so that I actually get what it costs to ship?

I only accept Paypal. I did accept Money Orders but the last two times I
closed an auction with a win from someone who wanted to pay by M.O. once
they had my address, it turned out to be a Nigerian Scam. (Wwere going to
send you a check for $3000, keep what we owe and we will send someone to
pick up the remainder). So I discontinued accepting M.O's. Would it be
beneficial to add other methods of payment? Does that actually attract bids?
How do you avoid getting tied up with a scam? Paypal fees arent exactly that
high but when profits are low, 4 bucks is a chunk.

Shipping to foreign countries. Does it/Would it actually increase bids buy
shipping to say Europe and Asia?

I use a standard listing and only add the gallery option. As according to
ebay, would increasing options like adding additional photo's, paying for
bold lettering in the heading and using subcategories increase bids or is it
just another way for ebay top collect fees.

On the original 67.04, with shipping, cost of boxes (90 cents each) bubble
wrap and tape, paypal fees and ebay fees my sales went from 67.04 to a
profit of $7.75.

Of the last 50 or so items I have sold its been that way with the COST TO
SELL vs PROFIT ratio.

Another issue is BIN, starting bids, reserves. What is the best way to go
with that? I have been told repeatedly the best way to draw bids is to start
at $1.00 and no reserve. Well, that doesnt seem to work for as an example I
recently sold a dress that was new with tags and cost $85 less than 3 months
ago. It went for $1.00. I have posted a lot of networking hardware and a lot
of it has gone for $1.00 even though its new in the box and definitly worth
A LOT MORE. I am legit, so regardless I always send it even though I am
taking a huge loss but would appreciate ending that aspect of it.

Thanks in advance to all who answer.




.

Quantcast