What percentage should I charge to sell items on ebay for a local business?

Question

A local business asked me if I would be interested in selling Items from his store on Ebay, He wants to pay me 3% of what I sell the items for. He said he would take pictures and give me info to put on the Ebay page. Does this seem resonable or do you think I would be taken advantage of. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Hi Alan,

This type of business is called eBay drop-off. You know how much middleman like you charge individuals for selling their items on eBay? Up to 50%!!!!!

You should never go for 3% - it's nothing and the business just wants to use you.

It depends on industry - if it's small and comparitively unexpensive items - you have to charge 40 - 50% and if it's more expensive and luxury items - 10 - 15%.

Of course, they'll probably never agree to give you 50%, but you got the idea - if it's some hot selling stuff etc, don't go below 20 - 30%, it simply won't be worth the time and hassle.

And for eBay selling grab the free 5 day video course 'Fix My Auction' from the second link below - it's superb and will give you loads of ideas!

Hope this helps,

Robby

Answer 2

You should charge a flat fee per auction and then a percentage of the profits. This will show that you anticipate a lot of profits.

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Answer 3

It depends on who is paying for expenses like eBay and PayPal fees, and who is doing the work.

If he is going to pay all the fees, take pictures, and write descriptions, then you have to list the items, deal with buyers, package and mail the items. You will also have the admin of reporting back to him and calculating your commission.

Do a quick calculation based on a typical item you would sell. Think through the whole process and for each stage put down the cost, who will be paying, the amount of time required, and who will do the work.

From that you will probably find that the 3% commission is peanuts, unless you are selling very high value items. The calculation will help both of you understand what is involved and should help you negotiate a better commission.

With the arrangement you describe, I would still expect at least 10% if the items are worth around $100, more if they are of lower value.

Answer 4

if he is supplying the content and pics i think 3% is actually not that bad (esp if it is high ticket items). he probably is just a little afraid of computers. tossing up a listing is really fast and easy. if it is cheap items ask 5%.