Ebay advice and postage please help me am I done what would you do?

soolin

2huskys wrote: »

Ok thanks yea im starting to think im not gonna be able to sell it and that Il be stuck with it . How come other people on ebay are selling it though and they cant be paying for packets because they start at £1.33 which is more than the item? I really dont get this

Many cosmetic businessess sell vast amounts and so will have contracts with RM where their prices are lower. Also, as mentioned above many sellers will subsidise postage to get better stars.

In the course of my business I was once offered some branded lipsticks at a very cheap price and was all enthusiastic until I realised that the shape of the outer case meant they had to go as a packet, then I realise why the person was so eager to off load them onto me. AS seller was selling them in boxes containing a gross a go there were even too many to realistically churn out at car boots.

custardy

2huskys wrote: »

Normal ones which I have sello taped shut and wrapped it in a bit of bubble wrap. A lot of people havent left me freedback so I am assuming they havent got it because I have probably underpaid postage.

normal envelopes are designed for letters
your type of packaging gets caught in the machines or squeezed through
this pushes the items and can push them out the end
or they end up in the cages and risk damage from larger packets/handling

2huskys

soolin wrote: »

Many cosmetic businessess sell vast amounts and so will have contracts with RM where their prices are lower. Also, as mentioned above many sellers will subsidise postage to get better stars.

In the course of my business I was once offered some branded lipsticks at a very cheap price and was all enthusiastic until I realised that the shape of the outer case meant they had to go as a packet, then I realise why the person was so eager to off load them onto me. AS seller was selling them in boxes containing a gross a go there were even too many to realistically churn out at car boots.

Thanks. Yea that sounds pretty similar to whats just happened to me lol. The next question then is how is a newbie suppose to compete on ebay then if all these businesses/top rated sellers are already there established and well known with discounts etc?

Cant buy in giant lots because not enough capital.
Becoming top rated with a lot of reputation takes a lot of work and time. Cant compete with postage prices

2huskys

custardy wrote: »

normal envelopes are designed for letters
your type of packaging gets caught in the machines or squeezed through
this pushes the items and can push them out the end
or they end up in the cages and risk damage from larger packets/handling

Ok thanks what packing could I use?The mail bags or just the padded envelopes?

custardy

2huskys wrote: »

Ok thanks what packing could I use?The mail bags or just the padded envelopes?

well a lot depends on weight/price for you
the mail bags are tough and less bulky
you may find that allows you to go large letter

2huskys

Thanks I will look into the mail bags.

soolin

2huskys wrote: »

Thanks. Yea that sounds pretty similar to whats just happened to me lol. The next question then is how is a newbie suppose to compete on ebay then if all these businesses/top rated sellers are already there established and well known with discounts etc?

Cant buy in giant lots because not enough capital.
Becoming top rated with a lot of reputation takes a lot of work and time. Cant compete with postage prices

You need to research your market. In the course of my business I have been offered many lines which look absolutely wonderful, they tell you all about the RRP and knock you down with a per item cost of pennies. Then when you stand back and take a proper look at completed listings on ebay you begin to notice that ebay sellers are selling at around 10% of the RRP and at the same sort of price that you are being sold the goods at.

The trick is to do your own leg work, don't let someone sell you something unless you know exactly what your costs are, what the selling price is and how much ebay and paypal are going to charge.

If you find an item look at the completed selling price on ebay. Work it backwards, take off listing fees, FVFs, paypal fees. Remember as a business you will also be paying tax and nI and see what sort of base figure that leaves you with. Unless that base figure is competitive judged against what you can buy at , walk away.

soolin

Also factor in returns and losses when doing even the most basic of business plans.

As an example a year or two back I was offered M and S coats, still labelled and all legit for (I'm trying to remember my prices here) £12 a coat, RRP £120. Even on that price I could not have made a profit once i factored n the fact that I had to take a full range of sizes, I could not pick and choose, I had to offer a full refund if buyer changed their mind or if they just didn't like the coat. My packaging was expensive , my postage costs exceeded the cap on postage so I would have had to add the additional postage costs to my start price. However the real thing that made this is a non starter was that other sellers were selling these for an average of £20 a coat.

basically, even if I had not had a single return, or a single unsold item I would have been barely breaking even

Anyway I hate selling clothes and tend not to touch them with a bargepole. I would think it almost imposisble to maintain TRS with anything in that line.

2huskys

soolin wrote: »

You need to research your market. In the course of my business I have been offered many lines which look absolutely wonderful, they tell you all about the RRP and knock you down with a per item cost of pennies. Then when you stand back and take a proper look at completed listings on ebay you begin to notice that ebay sellers are selling at around 10% of the RRP and at the same sort of price that you are being sold the goods at.

The trick is to do your own leg work, don't let someone sell you something unless you know exactly what your costs are, what the selling price is and how much ebay and paypal are going to charge.

If you find an item look at the completed selling price on ebay. Work it backwards, take off listing fees, FVFs, paypal fees. Remember as a business you will also be paying tax and nI and see what sort of base figure that leaves you with. Unless that base figure is competitive judged against what you can buy at , walk away.

Thanks very much for your advice. yea I studied the market first and all of the products before I bought them I just didnt factor in correct shipping costs for the nail varnish which has cost me dearly, didnt realize it was as bulky. I guess I will just suck up the losses and try and correctly factor in shipping costs in the future.

custardy

soolin wrote: »

Also factor in returns and losses when doing even the most basic of business plans.

As an example a year or two back I was offered M and S coats, still labelled and all legit for (I'm trying to remember my prices here) £12 a coat, RRP £120. Even on that price I could not have made a profit once i factored n the fact that I had to take a full range of sizes, I could not pick and choose, I had to offer a full refund if buyer changed their mind or if they just didn't like the coat. My packaging was expensive , my postage costs exceeded the cap on postage so I would have had to add the additional postage costs to my start price. However the real thing that made this is a non starter was that other sellers were selling these for an average of £20 a coat.

basically, even if I had not had a single return, or a single unsold item I would have been barely breaking even

Anyway I hate selling clothes and tend not to touch them with a bargepole. I would think it almost imposisble to maintain TRS with anything in that line.

pffft,I picked up some @£0.01 each
reminded me I need to sort and list them