Fees, Shipping, and Tax Costs?

[kaldoverde]

@ldubbs

Hello everyone! I am a newer Collector and have been really getting into the hobby lately and loving it! But as I’ve started to expand my collection and start selling a few of my cards I’ve noticed how hard it is not to lose money on lower priced cards through selling on ebay. Since ebay takes 10% of the sale and Paypal takes 3% +.30$ and then there is shipping which would be $2.50-3.00 for one card give or take is it not worth it to sell cards $50 or lower? It comes out to losing 20% or more loss on sales of $50 and lower. I am starting slow and have been investing in less expensive sets like unlimited base set, fossil, jungle because the great joy of nostalgia and memories ive been getting and theres no price for that! But, I am concerned that my collecting at this level will ultimately always result in a loss if i choose to sell at a later time unless all purchases rise over 20%+. Does anyone else face this dilemma? Or do most people make sales in the 100$ range?

My experience as a UK collector was the exact opposite, most of what I’ve sold on ebay has been under the £20 range and it paid for all my expensive cards, even with £2.50 postage fees. May be worth it to review your strategy both in terms of buying and selling.

When it comes to buying I suggest you go for mid-late month auctions as that’s when people have the least amount of money so being patient and staying away of those payday impulsive buys that lead to bid wars will add up in the long term.

As far as selling is concerned, I would suggest the exact opposite. Put your items for sale slightly above market price in a ‘Buy it Now’ format at the start of the month and you’ll get those impulsive buyers to pay top dollar on your items.
Lastly, I would recommend the below calculator that helps you find out before hand what your actual profit will be:
finalfeecalc.com/

[shizzlemetimbers]

@kaldoverde yeah I mainly sell PSA just illustrating how little you can get if you sell in those lower tiers on eBay

[cross]

It depends on how much your time is worth. Listing correctly takes time and energy, I’d rather put that energy towards making substantially more $/hour, buying more cards, or enjoying what little free time I have.

What I do with my less valuable cards is put them in huge bulk lots and sell them locally to 2/3 different collectors for around .10 a card.

[ldubbs]

Idk if Old Skool Pokemon saw it, but does anyone know the answer to my previous question? “Also I am new to this method of mailing, do you have to bring the PWE to the post office, or could i just drop it in the outgoing mail slot at my apartment complex/USPS blue drop box. Also do you have to include the packing slip/transaction confirmation with the card in the PWE or is the Semi Rigid the absolute only thing you put in the PWE?”

[gottaketchumall]

@ldubbs

Idk if Old Skool Pokemon saw it, but does anyone know the answer to my previous question? “Also I am new to this method of mailing, do you have to bring the PWE to the post office, or could i just drop it in the outgoing mail slot at my apartment complex/USPS blue drop box. Also do you have to include the packing slip/transaction confirmation with the card in the PWE or is the Semi Rigid the absolute only thing you put in the PWE?”

I personally include a packing slip in all orders. You can drop PWE or even any prepaid postage items in the blue boxes, drop bins at your post office, or mail slot/mailbox at home. They aren’t tracked anyway so for PWE specifically you gain nothing handing it to a clerk. Some people like to hand tracked mail to a clerk to get the receipt scan proving it was shipped.

[ldubbs]

@gottaketchumall

@ldubbs

Idk if Old Skool Pokemon saw it, but does anyone know the answer to my previous question? “Also I am new to this method of mailing, do you have to bring the PWE to the post office, or could i just drop it in the outgoing mail slot at my apartment complex/USPS blue drop box. Also do you have to include the packing slip/transaction confirmation with the card in the PWE or is the Semi Rigid the absolute only thing you put in the PWE?”

I personally include a packing slip in all orders. You can drop PWE or even any prepaid postage items in the blue boxes, drop bins at your post office, or mail slot/mailbox at home. They aren’t tracked anyway so for PWE specifically you gain nothing handing it to a clerk. Some people like to hand tracked mail to a clerk to get the receipt scan proving it was shipped.

What is a packing slip actually? Is it just a print out of the order confirmation?

[gottaketchumall]

@ldubbs I mean that eBay literally has a “packing slip”. They call it an invoice/packing slip when you go to print labels there is the option to print invoice/packing slip. It contains the to and from addresses as well as the item title and cost paid.

I hate receiving items without packing slips personally because many times I buy several of the same item and can’t tell who to leave feedback for as I receive them.

[ldubbs]

@gottaketchumall

@ldubbs I mean that eBay literally has a “packing slip”. They call it an invoice/packing slip when you go to print labels there is the option to print invoice/packing slip. It contains the to and from addresses as well as the item title and cost paid.

I hate receiving items without packing slips personally because many times I buy several of the same item and can’t tell who to leave feedback for as I receive them.

Ahhhhhh okay I gotcha. My printer actually doesn’t work and I need to get a new one. I have been bringing everything to the post office myself, but I definitely need to invest in a printer to save on shipping costs and be able to print the packing slip. Thanks!