Pins & Selling 101

[Whitney]

The following is "For what it's worth..." in regard to the other posts about pins and selling. I'm a teacher, I can't help it - so, if you're interested in a brief PinSelling101, let's go to school:

First - a field trip: http://www.rolbe.com/ebay.htm
...back already?

So, as per the example in another thread, if a pin sells for $22...
Postage = $1.41 if the seller prints through Paypal ($2.19 at the Post Office)
The LBE (bubble-ope) = $.50
Cost to acquire the pin (+ tax) = $9.50
Ebay fees $3.14 (per 'field trip' Olbe calculator above)
Paypal fees $.94 (Olbe again)
[ink and paper for labels is too small to worry about, but still a factor in the long run]
[[drumroll please...]]
...the seller nets right around $6 for the time and aggravation it takes to list, properly package/wrap it up, print/adhere the label, get it to the Post Office and safely get it to the buyer. Not too bad, but wait...important caveat: that figure is the one pin out of twelve (if they're lucky) that actually sells and each listing costs $.50. ...Net profit = ...zero...nada...zilch.

Is that eye opening to anyone?

***Granted there could be variables in the example I used, but that is just an example.

Now, from time to time some of us do choose to sell off some of our older traders in order to score something new [shiny eyed look/rubbing hands in anticipation of Christmas pins! ]. Sometimes it is tough to get the seven-degrees of pin trading to all line up so you end up with the new 'must have!' and cashing out of old traders and in to the new is an alternative. However, those who are scooping up tons of pins thinking they're going to be rich are going to be sadly mistaken and surprised in the long run.

Again - anyone else find that surprising? As a buyer, I always thought the seller selling the $8.95 pin for $22 was making a killing out there. Uh, notsomuch.

 

[Cicada]

this is true; often times profit is seen as "just the numbers" but other costs incurred aren't normally factored into "the big picture". in large volumes though, it may be worth it, but for the individual without an ebay storefront not selling in large quantities or moving a lot of product, it's often not worth it.

lol, corporate jargon.

 

[swim2sea]

I've tried selling on eBay and gave it up as too expensive for a "maybe" profit. If you have to relist items you can actually wind up losing money in the end. Now I just trade or sell on the boards.

 

[Cicada]

the ebay FVF and paypal fees are outrageous. it really cuts into your sale. I sold one of my video cameras about 2 years ago for about $2000, and the FVF + Paypal cut out over $100 from the sale. ridiculous.

 

[Whitney]

Exactly! I've sold two pins recently, but I'm in the red with fees (over $100)! So basically I just gave up two nice pins to have the pleasure of taking hours to list, keep it all organized and OWE eBay money!

Argh!

 

[Whitney]

If you have to relist items you can actually wind up losing money in the end.

BUT, I do have eBay to thank for meeting nice people like you Margaret! [/waving]

 

[luvsulley]

If you have a lot of pins to sell, you can open a free store at eCrater.com. The only fee is merchant fees from PayPal or Google Checkout. Your "listings" will come up in Google! Shopping results. It probably doesn't have as many shoppers as eBay but at least there's no selling fees.

 

[earthbound]

Thanks for reminding me why I NEVER use EvilBay!! & Never will!!

 

[iamdisneydan]

This is why I dont sell on the bay. I do private sales, post to boards or even Craigs List but not the bay.
How do you think Meg Whitman became a BILLIONAIRE? (fees for almost everything.)

 

[carolynhill]

Yeh, selling pins on eBay doesn't work for me. I loved to buy pins on eBay, but selling them ... not so much. Never mind breaking even: I lost money on every pin. I've given up on that. I'm grateful to the people on DPF who have bought pins from me and saved me the eBay headache and heartache as I dissolve my collection and turn the shiny little darling pieces of art back into cash I can use to pay bills.

 

[Bellecat22]

I tried selling some of my pins on Ebay and have lost tons of money. God bless the people who make money doing it but I'm not one of them. When Dizpins was around I had a sale post to sell inexpensive traders and thin out my collection. Eventually I hope to do that here too. I just really have too many pins and would like to share what I have with others. I know I will never get what I originally paid for them and that's fine as long as they go to good homes.

 

[YoSoyAhPuch]

I like buying pins on eBay. I bought a box of those Haunted Mansion mystery tombstones. total cost: $14. That's cheaper than at Disneyland. Made me happy!

 

[Nettiejeanne]

Well, Miss Whitney, if you decide to sell some of your traders here, let me know! I found 10 on your traders list with a quick look that my daughter & I have on our wants lists!

 

[erudolf]

Mmmmmm.... I see what you are saying but I think there are a couple of key points missing:

1). The seller is only out the shipping and envelope if they offer free shipping. A lot of sellers charge $3 for the first pin which should cover all that. Taking that into account, in you example they are making about $8.42 per pin and possibly even more because if you buy mailers in bulk I think they are a lot cheaper than 50 cents a piece.

2). The $9.50 cost of the pin is not taking into account discounts. They could be a cast member, have an annual pass, or a Disney visa that gets them a discount, maybe even 10%. Or, if you are looking at online, they could use a Disney Visa and ebates which could be as much as a 16% discount. So, let's say for your example they are getting a 10% discount on a $8.95 pin which about another 90 cents of profit bringing it to $9.32.

3). I don't know for sure but if the person is a power seller I think there are some additional benefits.

So...very realistically they could be getting $9.32 profit off that pin....that isn't too shabby. That is another free pin and then some.

There is definitely a difference between the continuous seller and just Joe Schmoe selling off some stuff. A lot of sellers are buying or trading new and flipping fast while the pin is still hot. Some pins might stay hot or get hotter over time but the majority take a dive. Flipping fast is where a lot of them are making their money......that, and laundering scrappers and working them up to better pins, even if they do sell them below cost.

Now, if the seller has a lot of unsold listings.....maybe they just aren't very good at predicting what people want....or, maybe that is one of the benefits of being a power seller....who knows? I would just think that if they are losing that much money on relistings then they would get out or get better at it.

If you are just the average person selling off some of your traders that aren't moving, then yeah, you might not do so well because 1). If they aren't trading well they may not sell well and 2). With the market down you may not get what you think it is worth 3). You may have paid full retail and 4). Most pins decline in value anyways so there is a good chance you will lose money.

Make no mistake, the people buying from Disney and listing them the same day are making good money off of us and more than you may think.

 

[carolynhill]

Adding to erudolf's list: 5). People don't seek out your pin auctions they way they seek out the auctions of regular sellers, so buyers will only find your auction if they do a search for a specific pin. Fewer eyeballs mean fewer sales.

 

[Bellecat22]

I buy my LBE's in bulk and they still come out to about 40 cents each. Technically, you're not supposed to be a cast member and sell pins on Ebay, but that doesn't mean your not letting someone else use your discount. What really stinks around here is it's cheaper for me to send something over seas than across the country! When I have a sale post, and say shipping is $3.50 for the first 4 or 5 pins for example, it's not like I'm making any money on shipping. It cost me $2.50 for the shipping, 40 cents for the envelope and a few cents in gas to get back and forth to the post office which is all the way on the other side of the city.

I've tried not to buy new pins but to trade for them because I have so many pins. The last time I listed something on Ebay I started my auctions at 99 cents and the highest one went for $5.00. They were all $12.00 pins. Needless to say, I won't be doing that anytime again soon!

 

[swim2sea]

BUT, I do have eBay to thank for meeting nice people like you Margaret! [/waving]

Hi Whitney, I'm waving back at ya!!! I have made some good connections on eBay, but it's because I'm careful about what I buy and how much I pay for it.

I'm happy just trading and sometimes selling something.

 

[coblj003]

I don't think I've ever sold anything on Ebay, but my brother found it pretty hard to just break even on stuff minus the shipping and rates. Technically, if the Disney Company heads found proof of Cast Members selling merchandise for profit with a CM discount, that CM in question can be terminated. I can it imagine though that it can be pretty rampant since CM Discounts range from 40-60% for certain holidays.