Sellers nightmares continued.This can't possibly be right 😢

[jardy]

I love ebay.I love supporting the local Charity Shops,buying,selling,packaging -the lot.It's been a rewarding hobby for me.I suffer terrible anxiety and I am hopeless at figures but a few months ago I started meticulously saving every receipt and keeping a folder every month ready for my tax return which kind mumsnetters helped me with. However it seems absolutely bizarre that I appear to make a huge loss each month.Here is May's example.
Expenses
£624 ( this includes post £126,Paypal fees £134.66,ebay fees £172.12
Profit: Sales : £362.13
Loss:£261.87
I registered as a Business Seller because I thought you had to if buying stuff for profit.I can't go on like this as I am sinking into debt.What am I doing so badly wrong? No flaming please,I am extremely sensitive and bear in mind I do support my local charity shops .
Thank you so much if you can throw light on this situation.Perhaps you are similar and can show me what you do.I would be extremely grateful.

I imagine that you're buying something for say £10 then maybe selling it for £15 posted? This would generate a loss due to the postage cost and eBay + PayPal fees?

Surely you’re just not pricing it right if you’re making a loss?

I think you mean revenue and not profit.

You need to take all costs into consideration before deciding resale price. Right now you're selling for less that it costs you. So you're making a loss. So you need to take all fees and postage into account then sell above that level.

I know zilch about ebay but I do now that if you are buying stock to sell you have to include all outgoings in the sale price. So if you buy something for £3.00 and there are fees of 50p and 75p connected with the sale plus postage of £1.50 I must sell for £6.00 at least to make a tiny profit. If you arent buying and selling with this in mind for every single item you will make a loss.

Your far to honest!

Have you sold everything that is include in your purchase figure?

Great advice.I used to sell stuff for 90p which I had paid £1 for.Now that was ridiculous although I occasionally sold stuff for £20 -which I had only paid a pound for in the Charity Shop.Now I am been more discerning and so I pay £1 and charge £1.99. So if I bought a dress for £1 what is the minimum you would charge to make a profit and not these ridiculous huge losses.Thank you.

Are you selling everything included in that purchase amount? Or do you have an amount of stock still to sell?

Dear Clash,I only sell about a half.If I buy 100 items a month I am lucky to sell 50. I keep taking stuff back to the Charity Shop.Please don't flame me.Sometimes I buy a beautiful Ball Gown and literally sell it for 99p.I get lovely messages back.I like to think I am really helping someone there to look gorgeous who otherwise couldn't afford it.Please talk some sense into me.I love doing it and it really helped my mental health but I am feeling so stressed now.

What do PayPal charge for?

Op, with all due respect this isn't hard arithmetic and is the very basic of buying and selling.

Buy item for ten pounds
Buying/selling Fees two pounds
Buying /selling Postage 8 pounds.
Item needs to be sold for min 20 pounds to break even.
Anything over is profit.

I wouldn't sell anything for 99p, it's just not worth it. 2nd hand clothes can sell for £5-£20 and people don't mind paying postage as long it is not overcharged.

You're losing money because you're spending more than you sell things for.

You need to actually get an understanding of the costs involved with every sale so you can set prices that will make you a profit.

As a rule I won't buy anything to sell on eBay unless I'm confident it will sell for at least £5 more than I paid for it. Tbh I usually aim for £10 more.

You can't be selling ballgowns for 99p, that's ridiculous!

If you're taking items back to the charity shop every month you need to stop buying so much. Look at what has sold for the best profits and concentrate on those items. Stop it with the £1 stuff!

Have you sold everything you purchased or are you holding some stock? If you are retaining stock then that will account for a percentage of it as you will always have money spent and tied up in it- not really a lose as it is hopefully an asset.

What accounting period are you working to? What date is your eBay invoice raised for? If you are working 1st to 31st and EBay is doing 15th to 14th then the fees need breaking down and allocating n the correct month the goods are sold in otherwise that has an impact.

Also don't forget the 3% PayPal fees need accounting for. When pricing I would work to cost+13% fees+vat and postage before working out what I can add to make a small profit and still be competitive. I hope that makes sense!

.I get lovely messages back.I like to think I am really helping someone there to look gorgeous who otherwise couldn't afford it

They could be buying it to resell on Ebay, Gumtree or in their own shop/market stall & get a tidy profit out of it.

You need to sell for more or buy for less!

I sometimes pick up bits from charity shops & car boot sales & sell them.

I bought a girls dress for 20p & sold it for £7.50 plus postage last week. That's about £5.75 profit.

If i bought something for £1 I would expect to sell it for £8-15 plus postage.

I sell most stuff as buy it now or best offer so no real losses unless something never sells which hasn't happened so far.

Thanks Blunt and Sleeping.I shall bear your comments in mind.i will have to be very discerning from now on and start charging much more.However good quality brand names like Wallis don't seem to go for more than £2.99. Why do Ebay encourage you to put a low starting price on? Also,if you do get £50 for a dress then ebay fees and paypal shoots up too.Where are the mumsnetters that say they make 2-3 THOUSAND pounds a month? Literally it seems from purchasing from Charity shops and car boot sales.I would love to know how they do this as I have tried and it is really hard work.Also I intend to do a tax return although doubt I owe much at this rate-it's all losses .Thank you

People that make large profits from reselling have a good eye and are very discerning - if the price isn’t right, they won’t buy it.

You’re never going to make a big profit on second hand high street clothes, they sell for a pittance on eBay. There’s a reason people just take this stuff to the charity shop - they can’t make any money selling it. In my experience charity shops sell clothes for more than you’d get on eBay.

Thank you to all replying.I get charged fees half through the month.I definitely know that my stuff is occasionally sold on.Also one person asked for a refund over a tiny tiny detail.I think then to sell on.I do have a lot of stuff left.I am learning and I am making progress.Your comments are helpful and not flaming.I shall see how things go and obviously call it a day if there isn't much improvement.Its a pity as I find it a rewarding and absorbing hobby.Obviously not financially.

Thanks Sink,good advice.I have bought one or two Whistles dresses for a pound and also a Karen Millen Dress for £4. I made a lot on those -about £20 each.However they are few and far between.I am learning to be discerning.I appreciate your help .

I tend to stick to Charity Shops that have a pound Sale Day .

I've got some things to sell but I dislike eBay due to the high fees and very little seller protection against scammers. Could you look at opening an Etsy shop instead?

The people who make profit know their market very well.

Eg DVDs they will know all the "rare" ones. DH knows ebay prices and CEX trade in prices in his head he mainly buys films just to watch but will pick up valuable ones to sell on eBay.

Clothing it's all about eye and the current season.

Who has a pound sale day - never seen that round here.

I find with ebay that the fees do add up too much especially when you add paypal on top who charge a min 30 p fees so small items are ineffective.

I have better luck pricing sharply (ie just below what market rate seems to be) and not selling items less than a tenner.

To get a good price provide LOTS of detail even if it is just waffle e.g.

Ball gown - worn twice beautiful quality workmanship, fully lined, no marks. Would be stunning blah blah blah. Makes a real impact

So in effect creating a sell dialogue on the page. Make sure lots of photos try and get them on a model etc

Some figures for you:
June: Expenses-£306 ( Charity Shop purchases,post,packaging etc)
Fees:Ebay: £137
Paypal: £171
Sales:£515 ( but this included a tent sold for £300 which was personal property) therefore a loss of £400. 😮 Flame away-I obviously deserve it.