redeemed763 Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Actually the point of free shipping is in favor of the seller. If you wrap it into the cost of the auction then you can't be rated below 5 on DSRs for "How Reasonable Were the Shipping Charges?". Regardless of how reasonable your calculated shipping charges are, people are often not happy with them. I realize bundling in the shipping is a trick, but it works.... I hadn't thought of it like that, but I see your point, I would be afraid the items wouldn't sell as quickly because of sticker shock. Personally, I almost never wind up buying free shipping deals because they wind up charging too much and can go unsold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emes Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 I hadn't thought of it like that, but I see your point, I would be afraid the items wouldn't sell as quickly because of sticker shock. Personally, I almost never wind up buying free shipping deals because they wind up charging too much and can go unsold. I haven't had an issue with the sticker shock aspect of this. Most of my auctions close and I get the profit percentage that I want. The only real issue is that you have to get good at predicting all of the shipping costs and building it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orodes Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 I noticed that in my last reply i put is using poly bags for shipping, i meant poly mailing bags and are they ok to use for certain items, such as the smaller sets, poly bag sets and spinners? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickleboy Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 I've tried including shipping so it's "free shipping" and I have tried flat rate and I haven't seen a big difference. I have not tried the "calculate it yourself" option b/c it never seemed to work for me as a buyer so I have never been able to buy an item so i assume other have the same problem. I box and weigh everything as I am listing it to see what the rate it. I always charge a couple of dollars lower than what the very top rate is. I can do this b/c like80% of my buyers are East Coast buyers and I typically make some off shipping on those. I might lose a couple of bucks on one shipping item but I a couple of bucks is priced into my price as well as the additional funds i make from those who ship close to me. The bigger, heavier and further away you have to ship, the more sense it makes to use fedex or UPS. I rarely specify exclty which service I am going to send (I.e. I might use, I forget the exact term, the "standard shipping 1-5 days" which can be fedex, ups or priority mail USPS.) Once the order comes in, if it's close, I will use USPS, if it is going cross country, the more likely I am going to use fedex or UPS. It's just as easy to use any of the services directly from ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickleboy Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Sry about the child like grammar above. I am in a hurry! I am sure you get the gist of what I am saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanom71 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orodes Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 I have been looking for discounts on websites here in the UK and then checking what those sets are gong for on eBay and on eBay most of the time it seems to be cheaper than what the actual discount is, how re people getting the sets so cheap? They must be buying them at extremely low prices to be able to still sell them well under the RRP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanom71 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I have been looking for discounts on websites here in the UK and then checking what those sets are gong for on eBay and on eBay most of the time it seems to be cheaper than what the actual discount is, how re people getting the sets so cheap? They must be buying them at extremely low prices to be able to still sell them well under the RRP. Do you have any examples? For sets still in production (especially small-mid size) there have often been 25-40% reductions on Amazon (if you look on the Brickset EU shopper, it shows you the lowest prices ever for each set on Amazon), so people who want a quick turn-around could sell at less than RRP and make a profit. There are also end of line clearances - for example I picked up a couple of Ninjago Fire Temples from John Lewis for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilted Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Yeah, I think there are a lot of local deals people can take advantage of. For example, when I got back into LEGO, it was common to see 50% off sales every other weekend. Also, I had the chance to purchase 3315 Olivia's House for 35 EUR, 30% off from an already discounted 50 EUR price tag (retails for about 75 EUR). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orodes Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 I have only checked out a few sets, these sets coming from the Atlantis and ninjago themes, I guess I still have a lot to learn before using eBay lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNH1974 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 This is pretty much what I have been doing as well. My kids love getting a huge lot of Lego to sort through and find interesting pieces, new minifigures etc. I have tended to start trying to buy lots where I know there are going to be a decent number of complete sets, they have instructions, minifigures and sometimes even boxes. The problem with massive mixed lots is that the end result is great, but the amount of time required to sort it all out, order all the undoubtedly missing pieces, build it, photograph it, break it down and check the parts etc. before advertising. I have made around 20-30% profit so far, but if I looked at the hourly rate I'd be paying myself for the time I spend, it would be a pittance! Good job it's a load of fun really. I agree that badly described/photographed auctions are the best. I bought a lot described as "mixed lego" or something, but I could see the edges of the UCS Star Destroyer and Death Star II in the single picture - not that obvious, so less watchers. Took a punt and spent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNH1974 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I have only checked out a few sets, these sets coming from the Atlantis and ninjago themes, I guess I still have a lot to learn before using eBay lol. Pick a theme you like (and may know about) at first. I came in on the Modulars range. Follow auctions on Ebay.uk and keep note of all the selling prices. They can be quite a bit different to what is quoted here on this site (which is based on US sales) but not always. A few examples: 10193 Medieval Market - just gone EOL. UK price averaging Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicblast Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Pick a theme you like (and may know about) at first. I came in on the Modulars range. Follow auctions on Ebay.uk and keep note of all the selling prices. They can be quite a bit different to what is quoted here on this site (which is based on US sales) but not always. A few examples:10193 Medieval Market - just gone EOL. UK price averaging Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNH1974 Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Looks like it has just gone EOL In the US. Hence a 40% price increase in one month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich B Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Pick a theme you like (and may know about) at first. I came in on the Modulars range. Follow auctions on Ebay.uk and keep note of all the selling prices. They can be quite a bit different to what is quoted here on this site (which is based on US sales) but not always. A few examples:10193 Medieval Market - just gone EOL. UK price averaging Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich B Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Whenever a set goes EOL in Europe, but is still available in th U.S., it means that it is most likely to go EOL in the U.S. soon. This is exactly hat happened with 10217. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDarkness Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Whenever a set goes EOL in Europe, but is still available in th U.S., it means that it is most likely to go EOL in the U.S. soon. This is exactly hat happened with 10217. Which is why us Aussies are trying to snap up as many as we can. It was a Target exclusive here at $279. With Target online dropping it to $179 to try offload the stock, it looks very attractive. Ones of those rare times for us where the exclusive nature of the set has been beneficial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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