Question about Ebay India

capricious said:

... if there is so little profit margin.
- Do all indian Ebay sellers face it? If yes, how do you make profit with such high fees?

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srb888 said:

Less profit margin? Sell more... Simple.Personal story: Began selling on ebay.in about a week ago. Found a great product in my town and listed it. Got the first sale in 3 days! That's the power of ebay, at least for me. It's a very-high competition product, but I am sure I will sell more because the product that I have chosen is simply an outstanding in its category, and is unavailable outside a few towns and cities. No one has tried selling it online too, so that's a special incentive for me to tap the online market... There are still so many great things lying around you unnoticed, and which can be introduced successfully online, you see. You simply need to open your mind to the surrounding... Other items listed simultaneously are being watched too by ebay members. That means for me, that my products are already getting seen on ebay, and that's a wonderful assurance for the positive future of the new e-business I have chosen.I had included all the fees and shipping costs in the mark-up so it's not going to bite me. If the product is really good and is presented beautifully and professionally (it's in the Women's Clothing cat.) then it's, on its own, going to find its buyer sooner than later. That's how ebay works for some of its categories imo. And after marking up the product suitably, it is leaving me a small profit even after paying CST/Vat too, and I'm happy with that.No question of not paying the fees. For me, the business is too exciting and will be very profitable in the long run.P.S.:This new ebay business is very special to me, because now my wife and my daughter will be able to handle it as a team. I am training them in the finer aspects, and they are already in the advanced stages of learning how to select the products from the many manufacturers who exist near my home, how to package and dispatch them, how to list them on ebay.in, how to fill up all step required by ebay during the selling process, how to do mark-up effectively, etc., ... everything that I could think of is in one small Excel file. So, now I have those 2 dear ladies who can carry on the small e-business easily, and without taking many risks or going through a lot of trouble, do it successfully and effectively, and be self-dependent for life. It makes me think of the "teach someone to fish..." story.I always wanted that to happen because I am having a life-threatening cardiac disorder, and this business will ensure that they will carry on with life successfully, even if something bad happens to me any time in future. That, friends, is the biggest advantage I am having from this ebay business, which fortunately has also become quite manageable to my dear ones in a relatively short period of time. Paying a small ebay fee is not a big hurdle if you consider the huge advantages that ebay is offering to small-time guys like me! Of course, it has not happened overnight... It took me many days to find the product, the local manufacturers, calculate all the pros and cons, and learn the techniques, read and learn from plenty of ebooks and sites before I listed the first item on ebay.in. It was easy then, of course, and I am sure I can do it successfully, and so will my dear ones do it independently, because of those initial pains we went through... The hard training will enable us to expand the online horizons for other similar things too.Next week, we are going to list about 30~50 more exciting items, and possibly create a eBay shop too, God Willing! And, thanks to ebay.in

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capricious said:

Thanks for sharing your story buddy. Its a great thing that you taught your wife and daughter to become independent. I wish you all the best for your endeavors. And pray that your cardiac problem is solved. Hard works definitely pays off I have a few questions for you if you can answer: - did you sell that product in india only or outside india? because I believe that india is a great market to expand to because internet is still developing here.- how much fee did you pay because I was charged almost 15%+.- Delivery method. how to deliver the product to the buyer? And yes, I have payed the fees and will think of a few products now to sell on ebay.

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capricious said:

Thanks for sharing your story buddy. Its a great thing that you taught your wife and daughter to become independent. I wish you all the best for your endeavors. And pray that your cardiac problem is solved. Hard works definitely pays off I have a few questions for you if you can answer: - did you sell that product in india only or outside india? because I believe that india is a great market to expand to because internet is still developing here.- how much fee did you pay because I was charged almost 15%+.- Delivery method. how to deliver the product to the buyer? And yes, I have payed the fees and will think of a few products now to sell on ebay.

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http://pages.ebay.in/help/sell/fvf.html

http://pages.ebay.in/help/account/fees.html

http://www.indiapost.gov.in/SP_Dom.aspx

http://deals.ebay.in/powership-rates/index.html

srb888 said:

First, many thanks for the kind words.
I have still to get the money in my bank, but the ebay fee (called FVF: Final Value Fee *) is 7% (the product being in the Women's clothing category, Clothing & Accessories category actually). I think 7% is the highest ebay.in fees calculated on your selling cost. Of course on any transaction like the ebay.in fee, there is 12.36% tax (12% ST on the ebay fees, 2% and 1% cess and higher edu cess respectively, both are calculated on the ST chargedon this ebay fee).... this tax works out to about 12.36% on the ebay fee that is charged on your item's selling price.

* Ebay.in FVF:

Code:

http://pages.ebay.in/help/sell/fvf.html

ebay.in Fee structure:

Code:

http://pages.ebay.in/help/account/fees.html

Of course, the ebay fees is different on different categories, but I think 7% is the highest fees charged by ebay on an item sold on ebay.in.

Delivery: I am delivering the product through the India Post (Speed Post) and also attaching a Proof of Delivery (PoD) card to it which costs Rs.10 + taxes (12.36%). The delivery charges by Speedpost depends on distance and weight of the item slabs, but it is quite affordable.

For example, my item weighs 450 gms (total 495 gms., including the packaging material), and if I send it to the farthest distance in India, from my place's Post Office, then too it will cost me only Rs 112 only which includes the PoD charge of 10 + taxes on it. In my case, the total Speedpost charge was Rs 79 only, and I didn't charge it to the buyer separately, but had it already calculated in my overall selling price mark-up, so the delivery was "free" to the buyer. When ebay.in permits me to use their courier service partners (PowerShip ** program of ebay.in), then the delivery cost will be reduced, and the service too will be more reliable and faster.

Please see how it works at these links:
Speedpost:

Code:

http://www.indiapost.gov.in/SP_Dom.aspx

** PowerShip program of ebay.in:

Code:

http://deals.ebay.in/powership-rates/index.html

PaisaPay charge: It is 4.5% of the selling price of your item + 12.36% tax on this PaisaPay charge, and charged only after your product is sold. Same is the case with the ebay fees (7% in my case) -- both are charged to you after the item is sold.

Selling to buyers in other countries?:
No, I am not selling my products to buyers in other countries. At present, I am selling the product only within India because I want to be more comfortable with the money transactions at this stage. I guess, the overseas delivery takes more time, and for a newcomer, the money that he earns isn't released until the delivery receipt process is completed. That means, if I sell it abroad, I will have to tie up 1000s of Rupees (e.g., my item will cost me about Rs. 1500 through International Speed Post department of India post if the buyer is in USA). I don't wish to tie up that kind of money (that too for weeks on every item, e.g., about 3~4 weeks in the USA case) on every overseas business, hence selling to overseas customers will come at a later date but not in near future.


HTH

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