Does anyone sell on ebay or amazon?

[bensd]

Just looking into prices to sell on ebay/amazon for a new project.

When I take into account ebay&paypal / amazon fees it would wipe off most if not all of my profit!

 

[pbryd]

As I said on twitter - I sell t-shirts that I print from home. Each year eBay and Royal Mail and my suppliers raise their prices, so every year profits are squeezed again and again.

I could raise my price from £10 per t-shirt but there are plenty of other sellers who'll happily sell their t-shirts for cheaper than mine already.

The good thing about ebay is, there's already a massive customer base, you can try a product and see if there's a market without the expense and hassle of setting up your own online store.

If you're in the UK the increase in VAT to 20% certainly hasn't helped either.

Phil

 

[MikeJDS]

Its not that cheap.
But I think Amazon is usually under rated by alot of people versus ebay.

We (me & mrs) used to sell quite a bit of gear online a few years ago.
Fees can eat into profits but it still can be worth while if done right.

We found an ebay shop to be worth the fee (it was £30/month then)
But like you said paypal fees are the biggest downer for ebay.
IMO you need to shift large volumes & be able to retain your customers.
If your not prepared to get 'powerseller' status then I wouldn't bother.

Amazon is a much cheaper option, plus we shifted tons of stuff.
I would start there!
Thing to bear in mind with Amazon though, is they won't let you sell around the Christmas period

Good luck with your project.
Mike

 

[bensd]

I have hear good things about amazon however they take up to 25% of the final price (inc postage!) for some items

That's on top of your £30 a month

 

[MikeJDS]

I have hear good things about amazon however they take up to 25% of the final price (inc postage!) for some items

That's on top of your £30 a month

Oh dear.
I'm a bit out of date then.
It was 4/5 years ago

 

[MikeJDS]

I would think of Ebay/Amazon in terms of advertising 'your brand' through the listings of auctions/shops.

Coupled with your own ecommerce store you could do quite well, even if your sales through ebay/Amazon don't make much profit.
You would gain visitors to your website.

As I already said the main aim for the 'big sellers' is to get the returning customers.
They will include their brand (own website) on packaging etc.
Pop in a discount voucher or incentive for the next order & try and keep the customer.

Obviously alot has changed over the last few years.
Its probably alot harder to make a profit then it used to be.

 

[getmein]

I use both channels. I think the key thing to remember is that consumers will tend to buy far more readily on a platform where they already have an account.

You are quite right about the margin compression on both channels, if you are competing on generic products it's all about small margins and large volumes. If you are selling 'unique' products then you can build the fees into your prices and see how that goes.

Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) is a nice service if it's suited to your products. Then even small margins are nice to have for an autopilot business.