How does someone make a profit on ...

ballisticbrian

I think he means everyone assumed they knew something everyone else didn't. until we all found out about the fraud.

Double_V

Poundland sells them for £1 as well.
I think they buy in bulk and sell them as a service. Bringing feedback up I guess.
Or make profits from other items.
This is normal in business.

Brooker_Dave

Double_V wrote: »

Poundland sells them for £1 as well.

They don't have to spend 90p on a stamp and 30p on ebay fees to get their pound though.

makeyourdaddyproud

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

They don't have to spend 90p on a stamp and 30p on ebay fees to get their pound though.

No, they spend £150k a year rental for each site instead.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

makeyourdaddyproud wrote: »

No, they spend £150k a year rental for each site instead.

Every avenue has it's overheads but national chains are working on serious volume to earn their profit.

Poundland did £780 million worth of sales in a year netting only £18 million profit, that kind of margin on a small eBay account is a waste of time.

RFW

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head wrote: »

Every avenue has it's overheads but national chains are working on serious volume to earn their profit.

Poundland did £780 million worth of sales in a year netting only £18 million profit, that kind of margin on a small eBay account is a waste of time.

Poundland have a mix of profits, so some items will cost them 10p and some nearer to 90p. The watch battery packs are near the lower end of cost, the biggest cost on those is the retail packaging.
Even on accounting we very rarely see the actual profits for these companies as a lot of money is reinvested in growth. I think Tesco give themselves five years per new store before it turns a profit.
Sometimes the online retailer can have an advantage. I'd still stand by that the £1.25 mentioned in the OP can turn a profit, it may well be 20p/listing but on high volume that could work. I also think they're crazy but it's not impossible.

RFW

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

They don't have to spend 90p on a stamp and 30p on ebay fees to get their pound though.

Are you still stuck on 90p for a stamp?

Apart from anything they could send them as a letter. A lot of the bulk batteries are loose so they can stick them on a piece of paper. If they sell big volume that 90p is nearer to 40p even with VAT. Ebay fees are possibly 8% (less discount) plus 5% Paypal, so below 20p.

Brooker_Dave

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head wrote: »

Every avenue has it's overheads but national chains are working on serious volume to earn their profit.

Poundland did £780 million worth of sales in a year netting only £18 million profit, that kind of margin on a small eBay account is a waste of time.

The ebay fees and the returns would kill it.

Brooker_Dave

RFW wrote: »

Are you still stuck on 90p for a stamp?

Apart from anything they could send them as a letter. A lot of the bulk batteries are loose so they can stick them on a piece of paper. If they sell big volume that 90p is nearer to 40p even with VAT. Ebay fees are possibly 8% (less discount) plus 5% Paypal, so below 20p.

But sticking 10 batteries to a piece of paper would be incredibly laborious.

Surely they come in blister packs of 10 with tare off strips in between?

RFW

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

But sticking 10 batteries to a piece of paper would be incredibly laborious.

Surely they come in blister packs of 10 with tare off strips in between?

Some do, you can buy them loose from China. I've had some arrive stuck with masking tape. We probably aren't far apart in thinking that some sellers are crazy listing them, I can just see how they can squeeze a profit. Even in a blister pack you can probably get some watch batteries in a standard letter.