Sales commission

[NoTwilight]

A coworker has inherited some coins (I'm guessing hundreds of dollars worth but perhaps a few thousand) and wants me to sell them on ebay and charge him a commission.

 

What is the appropriate/customary/normal commission for such a sales effort?

 

Thanks,

Jerry

[Doogy]

i'd say 10 or 15% would be fair, especially if you're having to photograph them and assign reserves/provide info/etc.

[CarlWohlforth]

Back when I took eBay consignments I charged %5 but had a minimum fee per lot of $5.

[MarkFeld]

5% to 10%, plus Ebay fees, depending upon the time it takes you and how nice you want to be....

[TomB]

I've always done sales for free, but I can imagine that others might not be so inclined. Interestingly, everytime I have sold coins for others, they have returned to me later and have paid me some sort of commission as a thank you.

[NoTwilight]

Thanks guys. I'm thinking between 5 and 10 percent plus fees as well. I don't owe this guy any favors. I anticipate that he will deliver me about a dozen cigar boxes full of little widgets that I will be photographing and putting on ebay for a few dollars each and then shipping out lots of packages. That's more than I want to do for free...

 

Thanks, Jerry

[jgrinz]

I also do for free BUT if there is VOLUME that is different, then there is time. I believe 10-15% plus expenses would be appropriate with Photos Descriptions etc

[jesbroken]

don't forget paypal fees/insurance fees(for your protection not theirs). hard to sell an item less than $5 on ebay and come out at all, unless your time is absolutely worthless to you. good luck.

jes

[Hoot]

10% plus fees.

 

Hoot

[gmarguli]

On average, eBay & PayPal fees will run about 8%. I don't really want to keep track of the exact fees for each, so I just use a flat 8%.

 

For most sales I'll charge 18% which works out to net 10% commission.

 

If it is nicer stuff, I'll do 15% which works out to 7% net.

 

Bigger lots or very expensive stuff can be a lower commission.

 

Usually I have a $5 minimum commission per auction, but don't actually charge that if there are only a couple of lower priced coins in the lot. It's more to discourage anyone from giving me a giant box of $20 coins.

 

Figure out how much work you're going to do before quoting a price and what you want for your time.

[gedis3]

Don't cut your own throat, get paid for your time unless you are just doing a buddy a favor... He is going to be putting money in his pocket, and you will be doing all the work, taking time away from you potentially making your own fortune.

 

It takes time to put a good listing together and do some research, I figure about 20 to 30 mins total time including research, coding the listing, taking pics, answering questions, and packing/shipping each item.

 

I put a bit more into my listings than a lot of people I see, but I have found that it pays off in fewer questions to answer (which takes time...) and higher prices (the more it sells for, the more commission you make...)

 

eBay + PayPal fees end up at about 7% to 12% on most sales... I figure 10% as the average, your mileage may vary.

 

With all that in mind, here is my pricing scale for Consignment sales on eBay.

 

Friends and Family = 20% (Includes all Fees)

 

Associates of Friends & Family = 25% (Includes all Fees)

 

Joe Blow off the Street = 30% (Includes all Fees)

 

If you go into one of the eBay Consignment drop off places, it is a straight 25 or 30% and includes fees most of the time, if you see one that will do it for 15%, they are probably charging fees seperately. Most of them won't touch stuff under a $50 estimated final selling price.

 

So, you sell something for $50 and charge 20%... break that down.

 

Sells for $50, you get $10. You have to pay about $5 in fees, so you clear $5.

 

$5 for at least 30 mins of work ain't much... if you get on the high side of the fee scale for eBay / PayPal, or take longer than 30 mins of total time to deal with the item, you are edging close to minimum wage... fast.

 

If you have nice items to sell and you have your listing system streamlined -- then you can handle some volume, and the numbers get better...

 

...the main point here is: don't give away your time for free. (Unless you want to...)