There is no doubt that advertising on eBay can be very cost-effective, given the number of people who might see it. Compared to other ways to advertise, it's not too expensive. But most eBay users don't take the time to figure out how much it costs them to make a sale.
There are costs that are easy to see, like the fees for listing, adding features, and getting the final value. Also, you have to add the fees charged by PayPal if the buyer chooses that method of payment. But you really should also think about what I call the "invisible costs." Let me explain. Let's say you buy a lot of the things you sell at flea markets and garage sales. How much do you value the time you spend going to these events? Also, don't forget to factor in the cost of getting there.
When you get your purchases home, you will need more time to do research, take pictures, and list them. Now add the time it takes you to package the items after you sell them and wait in line to mail them. You might find that each sale you make on eBay takes at least an hour of your time.
Keep a detailed diary for a few weeks if you really want to know how much time you spend on your eBay business. Write down the time you leave home for "eBay business" and the time you get back. Add any costs you have besides the price of the things you buy to sell on eBay. Once you get home, keep track of how much time you spend listing, photographing, and packing things.
Do this for a few weeks, and you'll have a good idea of how much time you spend on your eBay business each week that doesn't cost you anything. Next, decide how much you think your time is worth: $10, $20, or $50 an hour. This number is up to you and shows how much you would expect to be paid by someone else for an hour's work.
Then you can figure out how many items you sell on average each week. So, your numbers could look like this. The average number of items sold each week is 30, and the average number of hours worked each week is 6. This means that your time is worth $120 per week, and if you sell 30 things, each one cost you $4 of your time.
So, to figure out how much you really made on an item, you have to add up not only the cost of the item but also the costs of everything else. eBay, PayPal, shipping costs, and your time all cost you money. You can now figure out how much money you made or lost on the sale. You should also include something about the "mistakes" we all make when we buy things, which proves that you can't sell anything on eBay. Then you'll be able to figure out how much money you're really making from your eBay business.
I'm not badmouthing eBay. On the contrary, I think it's one of the best ways for anyone to build a successful online business. The point is that if you want to make real money on eBay, you need to make sure you make the most of your time. This might mean getting software to make some tasks go faster or rethinking how and where you get the things you sell on eBay.
