The Real Cost Of Selling On Ebay

I am an amateur collector and any cash made from online auctions is spent (with a lot more) buying more stamps from other collectors.

I managed to sell a few on eBay last week, I hadn't done so for quite a while, and was amazed at what it cost between auction fees and paypal. My calculations are in Euro (apologies):

I had a free auction listing, my item sold for €2.74 and €1.56 p&p from Ireland, total €4.30.

I paid a final value fee of .25 and then (which I just could not believe, a further .14 on the shiipping fee. Then paypal at .35 and .15.

My own postage cost is .82, and my packaging - card backed envelope and glassine - about .35.

Full cost is 2.06, not including my time/effort, and walking to/queuing in the post office.

So I received 2.24 for an item that was probably worth a little more than that.

I know eBay offers the best exposure and best chance of selling, and I try to keep all costs as low as possible, but I can see everyones P&P costs rising over time and little value to be had in the long term, maybe its time to consider more exchanges or more sales offers on this forum.......when I reach my 50 posts!

E bay has the best coverage of any auction site but the fees are high.
Shamrock once you have your 50 posts this is a great site to sell a few stamps.

I've been selling less on ebay partly because of the increased fees and other rule changes. Plus they started withholding my funds, but that's been discussed else where.

isn't it funny how in the last few years just how much of a part eBay has come to stamp collecting. First thing to do before you start collecting stamps get a eBay account

I am just a collector, not a dealer. But, having discussed this with dealers at stamp shows, from a collector's point of view, eBay is a nice place to look for lots, series, collections, groups of stamps (because of those fees).

Bid Start is nice because dealers can post individual stamps without getting socked for a fee.

The Delacampe rep. I met in Columbus said, by and large, eBay was most expensive (for buyers), BidStart No. 2 and Delacampe was cheapest (but not always for Americans, because not all Euro dealers take PayPal.)

And, a fellow poster here tipped me off to Stamps2Go (a non-auction site) - one big hunt and purchase there and I can say I liked it.

i was going to reply to another member but could not find her post about eBay fees....many of us are collectors...whether we sell here or on eBay its seldom at a profit...i have many duplicates or stamps not in my area of interest picked up in box lots...what to do with them ? I figure a piece of bread is better than none...you try trading with other people..but everyone has different interests...so for me...selling on eBay or here to certain friends is the way to go !

Yes, there are always hidden fees, one sometimes avoids
thinking about, even on SCF, when just a few stamps are offered
the cost of the shipping can keep one from dipping
into the wallet.
I like to think I get bargains at my stamp clubs auctions,
but you see, I am in the country and have to drive 400Km
to a stamp show, there's $50 in fuel, pitch a tent for the night
at the caravan park $23, subway sanwiches coffee, $20
and on it goes.
I still avoid ebay, it prevents me spending daily
and I like my jaunts to the city, sort of like mini holidays.

But when it is all said and done, the best view of Perth City
is in my rear vision mirror :)

Rod, Yes the city is nice for a day..but it ain't home !!

I'm with you Phil,
we had a 5 bedroom, 3 bath in the City,
and 23,000 cars a day passed by the frontage.
Man, that sucks.

The "spending daily" comment is spot on. As for the city? I worked very hard over the past decade to be able to afford a move to the suburbs. Now I can't wait for retirement so I can move even farther away from the city!

I watch Ebay for deals... I just snagged 4000 stamps for $67.... And then every so often I find a group of stamps I need at a good price. But I use caution, easy to get caught up in the bidding frenzy,,,,, and thats dumb... For me stamps are a great past time, way to relax, and the hunt for new stamps is thrilling,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Marko I agree,its fun to browse and bid....but I am getting discouraged as a collector/seller...say I put an item out for 99 cents and 75 cents shipping...it would take me months to make a days pay...it can be fun when you get bids...but the dry spells in between can be frustrating !!

Ebay charges a lot because they can. You cant beat the exposure.

On the upside selling stamps is exactly what ebay works best at. I used to sell all sorts of collectible stuff on ebay and the thing that really forced me to stop was the time and fussing around that it took to properly pack something which was larger/fragile.

I sent an old mirror to Japan once - it took a day of thinking and scrounging packing materials, then at least an hour or so to actually make the box - 40 dollars shipping and the sale price was only 13 bucks. Arrgh!

Stamps go in the envelope, cardboard stiffener, some packing tape and off they go. So you still may lose money on every sale, but you'll have more spare time because you won't be in the side-business of engineering packaging (ha ha ha).