posted on May 8, 2004 07:01:02 PM new
I don't usually sell for others BUT I had a friend who asked me to do this as a business deal between them and I. The agreement was that I was to get 20% of the sale. Now, my friend says that I should take the 20% off of the top and deduct my listing fees and my expenditures from my 20%. My friend said that is what sellers usually do. Since I don't usually sell for others, I don't know what is customary and what isn't.
It would be great to hear from others that do this kind of thing regularly. Thanks ahead of time for your feedback.
posted on May 8, 2004 07:12:21 PM new
I buy and sell at a B&M auction house.
They charge seller 10% and buyer 10%.
Out of that 20% they pay salaries and expenses.
So your 20% sounds about enough to do the same!
posted on May 8, 2004 07:17:37 PM new
No way!! Your 20% comes off the sale price. Then Ebay fees are deducted. They get what's left. Shipping fees collected and paid should offset each othet. I take the hit for undercharges on shipping and keep the extra on overpayments. In addition, I charge $2.00 for taking pivtures and listing, even if the item doesn't sell. Set up a seperate seller's account to handle consignments.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on May 8, 2004 07:26:45 PM new
Who's kidding who? Worth 30% + to YOU! You take ALL the flack. You will get the NEG if there is a problem. You are accountable for ALL tax ramifications,,,,,THEY don't EVEN exist,,YOU DO. You will do all the e mailings back and forth to the NON readers,,,,and the cat fight e mails IF there were a problem,,YOU will be the one taken to Square Trade if there is a problem, YOU will be the one filed against on e bays joke of a program called the FRAUD (oh Lord, please have mercy on me). YOU and YOU alone. your Friend,,,,, will just sit back and count the money, IF there is ANY and if there Ain't,,,YOUR Friend will demand you pay them. There goes your friend and ALOT of Grief for YOU.
posted on May 8, 2004 07:37:39 PM new
what jack forgets to mention-if you accept paypal payment ,it can come back and bite your ass months later when they file chargeback with their credit card company.
Your ass will be swinging,paypal will lock up your account,and any money from other auctions will be locked up ,you cant touch it and your bidders expect you to ship else they file complaints,so paypal will be more determined to keep your account locked up.
several online auction houses for antique prints take 15% from buyer and 15% from seller,so 20% is not good enough for any redblooded ebay seller ,do it for 40%.
by the way ,how soon will you be remitting the proceeds to them??think about it??
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
posted on May 8, 2004 07:41:57 PM new
Here is my advice - Tell your friend thank you, but you are too busy to sell things for them. Trust me, that is the best advice to follow. You are already having a disagreement BEFORE you even agree, it's going to be more bad news. After all, you already had an agreement, and now they want to renegotiate it? What is to stop them from trying to only give you 5%, 10% or 15%??
posted on May 8, 2004 07:42:59 PM new
I didn't forget anything, that part did not come up yet, MY REAL feeling is 50-50......they got the product and WE got the barains Or they'd do it themselves.
posted on May 8, 2004 07:49:54 PM new
Thanks everyone. I really appreciate it all. The sale already went through. It sold for $500. I didnt take paypal payments, even on my own auctions. The thing we didnt discuss is the listing fees. Which my friend wanted me to pay out of my pocket. What do you all charge or what percentage do you tell someone? I think my friend is going to have more for me to sell and I want to be ready. I checked auctiondrop's website and fees. I can just print it out and hand that to them. I just need feedback as to what individual seller do. So I can either resign myself to the fact that I will pay all fees or that most of us deduct that from what they give the owner of the item they sell. What percentage to charge.
Again, I really really appreciate all of this info.
posted on May 8, 2004 07:51:40 PM new
hi Paloma:
sounds like your "friend" wants you to work for "little-or nothing." given that ebay's insertn + comissn + possible paypal could equal 6-8%; and, that doesnt include imaging/editing/uploading/writing auction/listing it!/handling paperwork/packing/mailing/dealing with your customer... "customary" may not make you any money...
----------
... maybe you can turn these pitfalls into positives; use them; not suffer by them...
-------------
1..your customer must understand you have exclusive right to sell it within an agreed time frame.
2..within that t/frame you maintain possession...so if sold, you can ship..not leave this responsibilty to customer.
3..GET IT IN WRITING, a simple contract to protect yourself as to fees...if item doesnt sell, and you re-list, and still doesnt sell - what is the next step to be...
----------------------
4..NEVER accept a "deal." if a prospect tells you, "i want $500 for the widget; if it brings $700, you keep it"...i guess this is okay, if you can get the minimum so low that you cant lose...but get it IN WRITING.
------------------
5..you pick the merchandise you willing to sell; you accept/decline it in re: to the price the customer demands for it...if you dont list your own for "silly" prices; you certainly wont want to do so for a customer....
----------------------------
6..ABSOLUTELY NO CREDIT CARD..ONLY BIDPAY, POSTAL MONEY ORDER.. and i explain this in my tos in the auction.
---------------
7.use a separate eBay account, password, i.d. for your customer's sales.
--------
8. both jack and stop are absolutely correct in what can happen if you tackle this business..
-------------
9. but, let me end it on a positive...a retail customer of mine asked me to list a musical instrument..it sold on relist...i went by, picked up the item; wrote him a check for it; and billed my ebay winner as usual, for the auction amount...the sale was $2,225...my commission was 30%...and granted, this is not an everyday occurrence for my little business, but "we all deserve a good lick every now and then." now, if you have read the first 8 entries; this final one just might raise a couple of questions..i know that...
---------------
posted on May 8, 2004 08:00:38 PM new
Always, always have possession of the item you have listed. Sometimes if people are not getting the price they want, they may not give up the item.
If you are interested:
Search for trading assistants in your area code. You might print some out so your friend will have a choice if they do not like your fee structure.
I start all items at $9.99 with no reserve unless special arrangements are made when you bring your item in. I generally only take items with a value of $50.00 or more ,and I refuse items that I don't feel would sell on eBay (or that are not legal to sell on eBay). Because of this I sell over 99.5% of all items consigned to me. This way I don't waste your time or mine. I pretty much know what sells and what doesn't.
We charge a sliding scale rate, starting at 38% and going down depending on the sale price of the item. We pay all eBay fees, credit card fees, packing , photo fees, etc. from our commissions. Our fee is a set fee with no extra deductions or surprises and if your item doesn't sell you pay NOTHING ! Special listing services such as reserve prices, special starting times, bold listings, etc. are available at an extra fee but all fees are agreed to in writing before we take your item to list.
posted on May 8, 2004 08:17:55 PM new
there are pros and cons in having the item in your possession.
what if it is stolen or damaged?what if owner said he is missing a few or you play switch a roo??
a contract does not really mean much ,you may end up spending more in legal fee for whatever it is worth.
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
posted on May 8, 2004 08:18:14 PM new
Under no circumstances should you ever agree to pay one penny in Ebay fees out of your commission. Consingnment sales bring with them the risk of the owner wanting "book" prices out of the items they consign. You will find yourself doing many more reserve auctions on this stuff than you would on your own. To properly present any high end items they may have, you will incur many of the Ebay fees for the premium "extras" in listing. The Ebay listing fees will generally always be higher on consignment items because they generally will be higher quality items than you normally list for yourself and will warrant the additional promotion. Pay very close attention to Jack's first post and to Toy's post above. Some very good advise there. And for heaven's sake, don't list this stuff on your regular seller's accoung. Get a seperat account for this. The reasons are too numerous to go into here, but trust me on that one. I've done it both ways and a dedicated consignment account is by far the best way to go.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on May 8, 2004 08:51:22 PM new
Sometimes I sell items for my son who's too busy to list them under his own ID.
Our split is I get 25%, he gets 75%. The eBay and PayPal fees come off the top.
As others have recommended, I have the item in my possession before it gets listed. None of this "I'll email you a picture, Mom." Naturally, I take care of packing and shipping.
posted on May 8, 2004 09:46:33 PM new
I used to take 25% after all fees were paid. Now I take the 25% off the top, then fees come out of the 75% left, and the seller gets the rest.
AND I must say, it's still not worth my time for items that sell under $30! I selling a couple hundred old pipes right now for a friend--agreed to do it because I can learn a lot about pipes. I'm about 1/5 through the big pile of them, and I'm sick of them already. NOT worth my time, at all, when I have my own stuff waiting to be sold.
Next time, it'll be 30%, and $2 to photograph and list, whether it sells or not. Enough of this time-wasting piddly stuff for me!
___________________________________
posted on May 8, 2004 10:02:12 PM new
At least with John (my son) if I tell him the whatever-it-is isn't selling on eBay he says forget about it. A "friend" might not be as quick to do that.
After a few help-your-relative sales I decided it just wasn't worth it, except for John, who has his head screwed on straight.
Example - my sister had some no-name wooden stuff, trivets and bowls and such she thought would be just fantastic to put on eBay. It took a long time to do the pictures and get them listed. I think the whole bunch sold for maybe $25.00. Took close to an hour to pack. She was sooooo disappointed when I handed her a twenty dollar bill. Little did she know...
posted on May 8, 2004 11:16:02 PM new
I do consignments often and the terms will differ from person to person. The one consistant though is ALL FEES ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CONSIGNER. No ands ifs or buts. That includes the fees if the items does not sell.
Then I get my commision off of the total bid amount. Never ever agree to take the fees from your commision. You have to remember it is also your reputation that you put on the line every time you do a consignment listing.
As far as payments for consignment items. Never ever accept PayPal or a credit card to your own merchant account. If your client (consigner) can accept PayPal or has a merchant account, then they can send payment to them directly, and should. Also if they are going to send a check, again have them send it directly to your client. That way, if the check should bounce, the penalties will come out of their bank account and not yours. Always insist upon prompt payment of your expenses and commision from your clients. Remember, it is your reputation that is on the line and all the risk factors for the transaction needs to be on your client, not you.
posted on May 8, 2004 11:18:27 PM new
The best way to lose a friend is to do business with them. If you don't need the $$$ then pass.
Friends don't let friends vote Republican!
posted on May 8, 2004 11:22:12 PM new
It really depends, I have friends I would do this for, and others I would never!
Friends don't let Friends say stupid things like Friends don't let friends vote Republican!
posted on May 8, 2004 11:26:53 PM new
You guys are generous.
I never sell other peoples stuff- why should I sell THEIR stuff, I have plenty of my own. Occasionally, for a $50 or higher item I will agree to partner up on something- they get their acquisition cost and I get fees off the top, then we split 50-50. To do so for anything less is a waste of my time. Of course, no one has brought ME a $2000 item, then I might consider a different deal.
When people approach me about common stuff, 10, 20, 30 dollar items, I refer them to a local auction house.
posted on May 9, 2004 12:25:08 AM new
WOW! Lots of very very valuable info. Thanks so very much. Now when my friend approaches me to sell anything else online for them, I will have an armful of facts to back me up.
I am so glad you all are here.
posted on May 9, 2004 01:07:58 AM new
...u right..."I never sell other peoples stuff- why should I sell THEIR stuff, I have plenty of my own." and, a 10-30 bucks sale wont even buy a tank of gas..
...and with such a labor sensitive undertaking; a person wont necessarily "make it up in volume."
-------
..HOWEVER, because of my immobility, i can no longer "beat the back roads" for merchandise...in 2001, i grossed over 60k, but ytd approx. 4k...not exactly meeting my own goals-but no worry, because:
..ebay had all the clues...surfed/researched-i simply went looking for the people with THAT MERCHANDISE that was selling on eBay...i found people who needed-wanted sales assistance...and i am continually, and pleasantly surprised how many have no computers; and therefore, even some with no ebay savvy...
------------------
...i view selling for others as another market niche -- for me, it has turned into a cash cow..
-----------------------
...it is my understanding that a franchised auction consignment operation is now open on the west coast..and i am not so presumptive as to be comparing myself to a franchising organization..
-------------------
... most of my dollars come from established retailers, not a booth operation in an antique mall or personal contacts...even tho i patronize them also...
so i realize that the posters' on this thread and i arent on the exact same wavelength...except of philosophy of how to protect one's self-and stay in business!
---------------------------
...finally, when the end of the month comes, and i total up my sales, deduct expenses, and it calculates out to approx. $15.00 an hour-thats a very nice augment to my retirement income - and its a most enjoyable way to stay active...
------------------------
...myoldtoy
