The Economics Of Low-Value Lots On Ebay

Just a quick note to anyone selling $10K
or more per month... the Paypal fee is 2.2%
with a Premier Business account...

I would think there would also be a problem if you listed some lots you wanted payed through a micro account and other lolts you wanted payed through your other (higher value) account - what happens if one buyer buys one of each? Does ebay send out two different invoices? Is a buyer going to be happy with having to pay twice?

The more Ithink about it, it sounds like a hassle to have 2 account.

A seller can send a combined invoice to a buyer of multiple lots. In that invoice, the seller can choose which Paypal account to use.

But some buyers pay rather fast ff the invoice ebay auto-sends to them.

True.

I just bought an item today for $4.99 and it included free shipping from Hong Kong, with Paypal, ebay and shipping how can they do that?

They'd likely still come out ahead if their cost on the item is ~$2.50 or lower, depending on their shipping costs. If I were shipping a 1-oz letter to Hong Kong, ebay would take 50 cents, PayPal 45 cents and postage would be $1.15 (lower if I wanted to use discount postage). Add another 10 cents or so for an envelope and my total costs would be in the $2.20 ballpark, $2.50 if I have to also figure in an insertion fee. They certainly wouldn't make much, but they would still come out ahead if their product cost is low enough.

For things like small electronic pieces (cell phone cables and the like), sometimes the listing might state the seller is in Hong Kong, but the item still ends up shipping from somewhere in the US. At least that's what I've seen when purchasing items like that.

More than likely the seller purchased the item from China proper for a very small amount, so there is still profit left after all the expenses. Most things you buy from Chinese sites such as Alibaba are dirt cheap and include free worldwide postage. Some of these Alibaba sellers also sell on e bay and list their location as Hong Kong, while it could be anywhere in the world.

All I know is that I got my little item for $4.99 and it would have cost $25 + sales tax at Best Buy. I've also gotten 2 rather annoying ebay messages from the seller regarding Feedback.

"If I were shipping a 1-oz letter to Hong Kong"

But it is coming from HK, and I bet their postage costs are higher.

"But it is coming from HK, and I bet their postage costs are higher."
Right, I was just illustrating an example, not claiming to know their exact costs. Even so, you just move the break even point over a little farther, but the principle is the same. If their product cost is 50 cents or a dollar (not inconceivable), they're still coming out ahead by a decent margin. Move a few thousand of them a month and they could make a living at it.