DSF

Hi all im shocked, just brought in new flip covers for samsung 3 and iphone 5, and just done a search on ebay for phone covers, to see if any others sellers are selling them, and noticed the crazy prices people are selling the original style samsung s3 and iphone 4 covers some are like £4.95 plus free p&p, how do they make any money on these products.
just can't believe some of the prices these days for personalised items. thought i share

they probley buy the cases in bulk from china at 70 p a go ebay fee's and paypal fees 70 pence ish? and postage at maximum a pound= 2.50 a print ? dosent seem to worth while but would be small profit i would imagine? just hoping for high turnover. although they are ruining everything lol

just put them on at what you want to sell them for, and let your feedback and designs speak for themselves, there are people on ebay who get £8-£9 a mug and sell them by the 100, where you will also see mugs for £3/£4 just get on and do your thing, and dont worry - ebay the easiest way to get depressed lol

This is something that will probably drive most of us crazy. On a none sublimation related note, people sell rubiks cubes for like £2 with free postage. A rubiks cube is going to cost £2.20 to ship as its a packet? On top of this they have to pay ebay/paypal fees and then theres the cost if the item itself. I'm sure this isnt the only example as well, pretty hard to get your head around.

If people like what they see for a ready made design i think they will buy it what ever the price. ( sold a mug for £14.99 the other day i couldn't believed it myself was actually ment to be £4.99 but i typed it in wrong)

Very hard to get sales from the 'Personalised iphone Your Photos' type of listing though like you said so many are doing them at such a little price, but very high turnover 800+ sales.

I still have 0 sales on this listing lol :frown:

Also i see couple of weeks ago someone selling mugs at a silly price think it was £2.80 or something with FREE first class delivery! plus fees from ebay so thats crazy. Seem to of vanished now.

When I first started I used to let Ebay sales really bother me.. now I just think if I am going to make a sale it is on the quality of my product and then I get repeat business..

I have noticed a lot of people start up and within 6 months end up on here selling there stock.. I would rather be around for a few years selling the products at the prices I believe they are worth..

why dont look at Ebay another way guys - instead of trying to make a fortune from it, look at it as extended advertising for your own web store / site.
Ebay has great SEO because of there size and customer base ect.
1 mug costs £2.70 1st class and £2.20 2nd class post. Add ebay fees ( higher if you not got shop ) paypal fees, product and prints fee's ect, you aint left with much profit as some of the prices i have also seen.

BUT ....

There is another reason for selling "some" stuff at minimum profit or even at a loss on Ebay....use your brain and think about it ...its not hard to work out.

johnny

Agree with Bigj2552 here.

I dabble with selling on ebay, normally when i have some expenses coming up (i.e. Christmas or Holidays) and I do sell at quite a low profit margin but get lots of orders. What has been really good is that since dabbling I have had several customers come to me for repeat orders and good bulk ones. To get these customers would have cost me a fortune in marketing, phone calls and a lot of time and effort. This way I have effectively got them on board while making a profit.

Looking at the original topic I think 4.99 is not bad on profit depending on what you are doing. My ex business partner scum has been selling iphone covers on ebay for £4.99 (although he has put it up to £6.50 now) The blank costs £1.56 and the print about 20p, fees are about 70p and postage would be a maximum of a large letter at first class which is 90p. He does not offer to put text or anything on there so time is nominal. If you are organised then you would press 6+ at a time. he has sold 300+ and profit is in the region of £2.00 after envelopes and electricity etc. So he has made £600 in 1 week on something that will not take him that long to do. Personally I don't think its that bad, I maybe missing something there and prices are good estimates so don't quote me back exactly but they are pretty much there ish.

i agree with simon also i was looking at bulk buying from china an i can get the blanks at a pound or less when hitting the right amount so the bulk buy sell cheap option probley will work for some people.

Ebay is a great internet mystery for some, but not for others.

Some people see Ebay as a place to sell:

To a VERY large audience,
Sell large quantities at a low price,
Advertise their business
A lead generator
SEO

One thing is clear, many people who sell on ebay say they couldn't run their business without it.

We don't have an ebay shop at the moment, but after some pre Christmas testing, we will be in the New Year.